I Think That's Pretty Scientific

Chapter 14: 014: The Bustling Hell’s Kitchen

“Operation commence.” Martin Lee, having left his home, pressed a button on his Bluetooth earpiece and issued orders to the Devil Gang members who were already standing by. “Got it, Boss.” A deep, hoarse voice came through the radio waves back into Martin’s earpiece, and the Devil Gang members—hidden throughout New York’s Chinatown—sprang into action, flooding toward New York’s largest gang hotspot: Hell’s Kitchen. Soon, Martin Lee’s cell phone began ringing off the hook. “What are you trying to do? You bastard!” A voice like a muffled thunderclap boomed from the phone. “It’s just a personal vendetta, Kingpin. You know that.” Martin Lee’s appearance had changed at some point; his entire body now appeared in black and white, like a roll of film, and his voice had become as deep and hoarse as that of the Demon Gang members. “Just giving Hammerhead a hard time?” “Just giving him a hard time.” “If you go too far, you know what the consequences will be, Negative.” “Don’t worry, Kingpin. I have no intention of making enemies of the entire New York underworld.” “That’s for the best.” After exchanging a few probing remarks, Kingpin hung up the phone and instructed his henchmen standing nearby: “Keep an eye on every move the Devil’s Gang makes. As long as they don’t mess with our turf, don’t do anything.” Aside from King Pin, every gang in Hell’s Kitchen—big and small—was in an uproar over the Devil’s Gang’s actions. Those in the know—and those who could reach Martin Lee—remained relatively calm, but the many smaller gangs, unaware of the situation, huddled fearfully within their own territories, bracing for an “invasion” by the Devil’s Gang. However, instead of an invasion by the Demon Gang, quite a few gangs took advantage of the chaos to begin ruthlessly taking over rival gangs in the areas surrounding their own territories. The superheroes active in Hell’s Kitchen—Daredevil, the Punisher, and others—grew tense as a result, but once they realized it was a gang war, most chose to sit on the sidelines. With no third-party forces intervening, the Demon Gang members advanced unimpeded and successfully stormed into the Magia Gang’s territory. As longtime rivals of the Devil’s Gang, the Magia Gang had been keeping a close eye on their movements, so they weren’t caught off guard—instead, they had been bracing for battle deep within their own territory well in advance. Although the Magia Gang’s boss, “Hammerhead” Joseph Harrow, still hadn’t figured out why the Devil Gang kept targeting him Martin Lee, now known as “Mr. Negative,” was a formidable fighter in his own right, and the Devil Gang’s influence was slightly greater than that of the Magia Gang, but once the two sides exchanged fire, the battle reached a stalemate. The Magia Gang had a slight advantage by fighting on their home turf,but more crucially, as a gang composed primarily of Chinese Americans with territory located entirely within Chinatown, the Demon Gang couldn’t match the Magia Gang’s local connections—the Magia Gang had been hanging out in Hell’s Kitchen for years. Upon detecting the Demon Gang’s movements, Hammerhead quickly contacted his allies in Hell’s Kitchen, which is why they were able to hold their ground against the Demon Gang’s full-scale offensive. “Hmph! Bunch of losers!” Although Negative Film didn’t think he could wipe out the Magia Gang in one fell swoop, the intensity of their resistance still took him by surprise. He snorted coldly, conjured a Heart Demon mask from negative energy, and slipped it over his face, intending to join the battle himself. Martin’s true identity wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret in New York’s underworld, but publicly, he was still a philanthropist who had been awarded the Medal of Freedom. Coupled with his attachment to Kraft, whenever he operated as Mr. Negative, he would wear a Heart Demon mask to conceal his identity. This was also why Hammerhead still hadn’t figured out when he’d managed to cross the Demon Gang. With Mr. Negative joining the fray, the Demon Gang’s offensive became utterly devastating. Under his leadership, the Demon Gang took down three key Magia Gang strongholds in quick succession within an hour. At this point, the big boss, Hammerhead, could no longer sit idly by; he hurriedly gathered his men and rushed to intercept them. “Negative!” As a Russian, Hammer immediately raised his Chicago Typewriter the moment he saw Negative and fired a full magazine at him. However, Negative simply raised his arm casually, creating a negative energy shield in front of him that effortlessly deflected the bullets. “Die!” Seeing no need to converse with Hammerhead, Negative Film waved his hand, signaling the Devil Gang members to continue attacking the Magia Gang, while he himself charged toward Hammerhead wielding a negative energy sword. Compared to Martin Lee, Joseph Harrow didn’t possess any special abilities. He had simply suffered a severe head injury during a gang shootout and replaced his skull with an iron one, which prevented bullets from blowing his head off. Moreover, after some training, he could easily use his iron head to smash cars and knock down walls—hence his nickname, “Hammerhead.” But in the face of Mr. Negative’s negative energy, Hammerhead’s iron head—which had been invincible in ordinary gang fights—proved to be nothing to speak of. In just a few minutes, Hammerhead was slashed to shreds by Negative; his already scarred head was cut open once more, revealing the metallic sheen of his skull beneath. Although Hammerhead hadn’t experienced Mr. Negative’s full might firsthand, as an adversary, he had gathered some information on him and knew he was a man with special abilities—and such individuals were far from rare in Hell’s Kitchen. “BOOM!” A massive figure smashed through the wall and burst out from the adjacent building, ramming its shoulder into the unsuspecting Negative, then charging forward while holding him in place. They crashed through several walls in succession before Mr. Negative, unleashing a burst of negative energy, finally sent the figure flying. “Cough, cough… Damn it…” Negative struggled to his feet from a pile of rubble, his left hand slumping limply at his side. He gently rubbed his left ribs and immediately felt a sharp sting—clearly, he’d been seriously injured. Although the negative energy obtained from the human experiments had granted Martin Lee superhuman strength, this power was primarily geared toward mentally stimulating others and launching energy attacks; while it did enhance his physical capabilities, the improvement was not particularly significant. “Alexei!” Difen glared intently at the assailant who had just ambushed him, forcing the man’s name out through clenched teeth. Like Joseph Harlow,Alexei Mikhailovich Sisevich was also a Russian—though unlike Hammerhead, who had carved out a vast territory for himself, the simple-minded Alexei had always scraped by as a thug in Hell’s Kitchen. Later, he was tricked into participating in human experiments, where he was forcibly covered in rhino hide, granting him near-invulnerability to blades and bullets as well as physical prowess far surpassing that of ordinary humans. Alexei the Rhino scrambled to his feet, shook his dizzy head, snorted a heavy breath through his nostrils, and glared back at Di Pian. Alexei wasn’t the brightest, but his fighting prowess was among the best in Hell’s Kitchen. He wasn’t helping Hammerhead out of any “fellow countryman’s loyalty”—it was purely because he’d been paid. And if someone paid him, he had to do the job—Alexei’s way of thinking was that simple. “Ha!” Alexei lowered his head, aiming the rhino horn on his head at the Negative. With a thunderous roar, he planted his feet and charged at him, truly like an enraged rhino. “Ugh… this is trouble!” Dìpiàn conjured several spears of negative energy and hurled them at Alexei, while simultaneously unleashing a burst of negative energy from the soles of his feet to propel his body to the side. The pitch-black spears struck Alexei, causing him to cry out in pain, but they couldn’t inflict much damage on his body; instead, Alexei smashed them all to pieces with a single charge. Retreating back among his minions, the Negative Film narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. The Hammerhead had already vanished without a trace, leaving only a group of minions and Alexei here to block his path. “Let’s go!” Pressing his lips together, Mr. Negative reluctantly gave the order to retreat. Apart from creating blades and energy attacks, Mr. Di Pian’s most formidable ability was actually negative energy corruption—in simple terms, amplifying the negative emotions deep within others’ hearts. Against ordinary people or those who had experienced profound grief, this ability was naturally unstoppable, but when facing the thugs of Hell’s Kitchen, its effectiveness wasn’t nearly as pronounced. If he hadn’t been ambushed, he might have been able to keep fighting Alexei, but now, with his serious injuries, he was unable to stop this brutal rhino-man. Aside from him, the Demon Gang had no other members with outstanding individual combat skills; continuing the fight would only result in Alexei wreaking havoc. “I really underestimated Hell’s Kitchen…” Stereo Film left Hell’s Kitchen surrounded by members of the Demon Gang, glancing back at the Magia Gang’s headquarters with a look of reluctance. As one of New York’s biggest crime bosses, Negative naturally couldn’t help but pay attention to Hell’s Kitchen—this unique place. But his territory was ultimately confined to Chinatown. Even though he knew of the existence of figures like Golden Boy, Alexei, and Daredevil, he’d had no concrete contact with them; his interactions with Hell’s Kitchen were mostly limited to retaliating against the Magia Gang. That was why Alexei caught him off guard. Just as Negative didn’t fully understand Hell’s Kitchen, Hell’s Kitchen hadn’t previously had a clear grasp of Mr. Negative’s true capabilities. That’s why he wasn’t able to finish the job in one fell swoop; it would be much harder to force Hammerhead out again later. And even if he did manage to lure Hammerhead out, the latter would undoubtedly be fully prepared. But eliminating the Magia Gang isn’t limited to taking out Hammerhead. As long as he keeps disrupting the Magia Gang’s business and assets, the hungry wolves of Hell’s Kitchen will naturally pounce on their misfortune, swarming in to tear the Magia Gang apart and divide the spoils. Even if this means inflicting a thousand wounds on the enemy while sustaining eight hundred of our own, Mr. Negative is willing to pay any price for revenge. But as an outsider, while the Demon Gang can launch a single large-scale raid against the Magia Gang, a prolonged conflict is something Hell’s Kitchen bigwigs like Kingpin would never agree to. With Alexei’s example fresh in his mind, Mr. Negative won’t underestimate these people again. “Tell the others to retreat…” Film clutched his side and gave the order reluctantly. “Send a few more men to Kraft’s place to ensure his safety.” Today I took Zhongyuan to get his second “Miaosanduo” shot. He calmed right down as soon as we got to the hospital, so I thought I’d have the doctor trim his nails while he was at it. But the moment the doctor touched his paw, he started hissing at him—it even scared the doctor… In the end, we still didn’t get his nails trimmed ┑（￣Д￣）┍