This world's development wasn't quite what Lynn had guessed, but at least some things weren't too different from what he expected. Jessica Jones existed in this world, and she had definitely been taken by the Purple Man.
Still during her high school years.
"What shocks me is that this guy is controlling her somewhere nearby, and he hasn't even thought about fleeing the scene," Lynn said.
Lynn hadn't expected the Purple Man to remain at his crime scene, and considering the age when it happened, the Purple Man had acted much earlier this time.
"Right now she's just a high school student whose entire family has died. Considering the Purple Man, I suspect her foster family in this world is also finished."
Lynn wondered what would become of this universe's Jessica Jones if he didn't intervene. But from his own experience, a high school girl tortured from a young age by a supervillain would hardly turn out well.
Those mercenaries, after the first round of gunfire had knocked Jekyll to the ground, were now checking his "corpse."
One mercenary cautiously approached Jekyll, his Vector submachine gun aimed steadily at the body. He was being extremely careful.
But caution only works against humans. Against non-humans, caution alone doesn't count for much.
A large hand suddenly burst through the skin, and with tremendous force crushed the mercenary's helmet. There wasn't even time for a groan or wail.
The mercenary's spine was separated from his body under Jekyll's direction.
Simultaneously, more intense gunfire came from other barrels, but these anti-personnel rounds clearly couldn't penetrate the beast soldier's defenses.
Amidst the hail of bullets, Jekyll stood up. His muscles were protected by chitin armor, and his compound eyes revealed no emotion whatsoever. As humans, it was impossible to tell where his gaze was directed.
He looked like a humanoid dung beetle.
"Kill them all," Lynn ordered.
Receiving Lynn's command, the pitch-black giant figure moved without hesitation, showing no hindrance from his massive form. Before the mercenaries could even react, a giant fist had already sent one man's head flying like a ball, leaving the remaining body to sway twice before collapsing like a puppet with cut strings.
The submachine gun in his hand was still firing.
But such a violent death didn't make the other mercenaries retreat, even though their hands and feet were trembling.
Mind control prevented them from withdrawing or fleeing.
They had to eliminate an enemy they had absolutely no ability to fight.
This was destined to be a one-sided battle. Lynn didn't pay much attention, as the slaughter would soon end. Lynn was looking for someone else.
Throughout this time, Lynn had been trying to find someone resembling the Purple Man nearby, but clearly, he hadn't found him.
He withdrew his power without any hesitation. The purple psionic light was quite conspicuous, and he didn't want to use it more than necessary.
"He might not be in this neighborhood at all. Makes sense—someone as cautious as him wouldn't come in person. There would always be only agents."
A few minutes later, Jekyll was picking up clothes from one of the mercenaries. After transforming into beast soldier form, he didn't have Hulk's impressive pants, so he was looking for clothes from the dead.
Lynn arrived at the crime scene at the perfect moment.
Without exception, all the mercenaries had been decapitated.
"Find their IDs and set them aside," he said.
He didn't feel frightened or nauseated by the horrific scene. After all, at the beginning of his arrival in this world, he had already vomited many times when he encountered Blade decapitating vampires at the entrance of the chicken restaurant.
Through their identification documents, Lynn confirmed these guys were indeed mercenaries from Sinkaria—professional, swift, expensive, and ruthless killers.
Although they had a lot of identification, Lynn knew only the Sinkaria ID was real, as it looked the most worn with age.
Besides this, Lynn also found a hotel key card.
"Northcross Hotel..."
The Purple Man's mind control needed periodic reinforcement, and he needed to use language to achieve this process. That meant he must appear at these mercenaries' base.
Lynn quickly entered the house across from Jessica's home. The owners opened the door to welcome him, temporarily under Lynn's mental control, with psionic tentacles connecting to the backs of their heads from the void.
But as expected, they hadn't seen the Purple Man either.
Lynn hadn't counted on finding anything from their thoughts anyway.
What Lynn needed was evidence.
"Surveillance..."
The surveillance camera at this family's doorway had been removed long ago, and the storage was likely destroyed as well.
What Lynn could think of, the Purple Man naturally thought of too. With Jessica's house as the center, almost everyone had removed the surveillance cameras from their doorways.
It seemed nothing useful could be found in this neighborhood.
Shaking his head, he walked over to the mercenaries.
"Just the key card and car keys, boss," Jekyll said.
"Let's visit the hotel..." Lynn replied.
On the way to Northcross Hotel in a black pickup truck, Lynn pondered how to find the Purple Man.
This guy's ability was quite convenient. If he wanted to hide, apart from machines, there was no other way to locate his specific position.
And surveillance, under his ability range, was the least reliable thing.
The drive didn't take long. Lynn arrived at the entrance of Northcross Hotel, tossed the keys to the valet, then pulled out a few bills from the storage compartment and handed them to him. Lynn then had Jekyll take the key card and head straight to the point.
Room 1102. Lynn just hoped he had come quickly enough. At the same time, with a try-it-and-see attitude, he walked toward the hotel's surveillance room.
But soon he was stopped by security.
"Sir, this isn't—"
But as Lynn shook his hand, purple psionic energy invaded his brain. The security guard smiled and led him toward the surveillance room.
But Lynn got the result he had expected.
"So the entire day's surveillance was lost?" he asked.
"Yes, boss. We've been frequently losing surveillance footage lately. It's strange—our equipment has no problems. We've had the manufacturer's technicians come check."
After all, it wasn't a technical problem at all.
There probably weren't more clues here. Better to check these mercenaries' rooms.
——
The hotel room was very messy. It seemed these guys didn't like room service, as there were quite a few contraband items inside, along with weapons the mercenaries used for their cases.
But Lynn didn't find any clues.
These mercenaries' rooms were as clean as blank paper apart from the mess. After the Purple Man's ability failed and he could no longer use information channels to maintain contact, he would definitely not return to the same place.
"This guy really has the perseverance to walk through two or three blocks, going door to door. There's no way I can find him like that..." Lynn thought as he sat in the room.
"It's too difficult to track down the culprit. I'm not like SHIELD who can cast a net across the entire area. Relying on just a few primitive methods, it's probably hard to find him. Should I just give up?"
Lynn seemed to think of something.
"He's never seen me. I'm now a school teacher. Perhaps some minor taunting could lure him in."
The Purple Man was, to a considerable degree, a psychological pervert. Although Lynn hadn't met the Purple Man in this world yet, based on the current situation, this guy could go to such great lengths to obtain a high school girl.
"A pervert's self-esteem is always easily punctured, and their possessiveness is always strong. But where can I talk about this?"
Lynn looked up toward the window, and soon he noticed a somewhat familiar man.
"The police almost caught this masked pervert, Spider-Man in his red and blue tights! Your doom is approaching!"
JJJ's voice didn't reach Lynn's ears—the hotel's soundproofing was very good—but Lynn saw the big screen.
That's right, that big screen that everyone in New York could see.
Lynn didn't stay at the hotel for long.
After erasing part of people's memories, he left the hotel and had the security guard delete that day's surveillance footage.
After some time, Lynn confirmed no one had returned to that room and left Northcross Hotel. He went back to his chicken restaurant and took out all his cash.
He wanted to find a way to make the Purple Man send out another group to find him. The more danger he faced, the more traces the Purple Man would leave behind.
"Using a big screen to insult him—perhaps cliché, but very direct. At the same time, maybe I can check with local gangs. The Purple Man won't keep her in one place for long."
Lynn had roughly formulated a plan in his mind. He took out a map of New York and marked several investment locations.
"There's no way to defend against thieves every day. Since I've already angered him, it's best to finish him off directly."
However, while Lynn was considering which areas to target, Jessica Jones's home had other visitors.
Although Lynn had promptly dealt with those corpses, he had left in a hurry and hadn't removed many traces. At least he couldn't repair the bullet holes and damaged walls.
Two police officers stood at the Jones's doorway, looking at the devastation. Lynn had stuffed the corpses into a car, but he obviously hadn't had time to clean up the bloodstains.
Or rather, he deliberately hadn't cleaned them. He needed the police to notice that the entire Jones family was missing, so he could find some clues at the police station that he didn't have.
"Should we call for backup?"
"Or seal off the scene first?"
——
Early the next morning, Lynn arrived at Midtown High School as scheduled. The Jessica and Purple Man matter would be put aside for now.
He still had classes to teach. Last night, lying in the basement of his home, he had received the next day's schedule in his email.
With the prepared schedule and teaching plan, Lynn sat in his biology classroom very early.
"Mr. Sidis, you seem quite skilled at teaching?" a woman asked.
"Ms. Maggie, I'm not skilled at all, but one always has to learn," Lynn replied.
"Ho ho, you're too modest, Mr. Sidis. I won't disturb you anymore—class is about to start."
With that, Maggie took her snacks and walked toward her own classroom, leaving Lynn in his.
Soon he welcomed his first group of students. Children aren't much different anywhere—they walked into the classroom chatting and laughing.
They were surprised by the sudden arrival of a new teacher, and one particularly bold girl even chatted with Lynn between classes.
"Mr. Sidis, are you from Nevada?" she asked.
"How did you know?" Lynn replied.
This was the first time Lynn had heard he had a Nevada accent. But then again, how could a New York local have just one chicken restaurant? He would at least have his own small house.
"My mom also has a Nevada accent, just like yours, haha."
"Hmm..." Lynn recalled the girl's name for a moment, looking at her healthy tan skin, thick black hair, and a face that seemed oddly mature for a student girl.
Beneath her youthful and attractive face was a kind of unique determination.
"Miss Ava, it's getting late. If you don't have any curriculum questions, you'd better..."
"Uh... actually, I have some small questions," she interrupted.
Ava Ayala—Lynn recalled her name. A flicker of distant memory passed through his mind, but he couldn't fully recall it.
"Of course, regarding today's topic?" he asked.
"Of course not, Mr. Sidis. Your class is very simple and easy to understand, actually better than most biology teachers I've seen," Ava said somewhat awkwardly, hugging her textbook.
"I wanted to ask, if I suspect something has radiation, is there any way to detect it besides a Geiger counter?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Um, just asking?"
"If something has strong radioactivity, then you yourself are the best monitoring method. Exposed to strong radioactivity for 5 hours, you'll start feeling dizzy. After more than 10 hours, your DNA will begin to break down," Lynn explained, discussing some basic science. However, in the Marvel universe, cosmic rays didn't necessarily lead to death—they could also create some superhumans.
"Is... is that so?"
Lynn noticed she subtly clutched something in her pocket.
"But there are exceptions. Who can say for sure about this world? That good neighbor who swings between skyscrapers every day on TV—maybe he's undergone some beneficial mutation?"
Lynn joked. He had checked, and Ava didn't have any radiation source on her. Considering her actions, what she was clutching must be what she wanted to consult about.
"It's getting late, and you need to get to your next classroom, Miss Ava."
Lynn patted her shoulder, then walked out of the classroom with her.
"But I should warn you, radioactive elements are very dangerous. If you notice any of the above symptoms, it's best to go to the hospital immediately. That might save your life. None of what I mentioned has happened to your family, right?"
"No, no, Mr. Sidis. I was just asking out of curiosity."
After this, Lynn saw Ava out of the classroom, then began organizing teaching materials, waiting for the next batch of students.
After a morning of classes, following lunch break, Lynn finally waited for a familiar face.
Peter Parker wasn't listening during class, as this guy was a top student. He was busy borrowing materials from school to make his high-performance spider silk.
Thompson, who still didn't know Peter was Spider-Man, wasn't listening to the lecture either. He was watching Spider-Man videos on his phone and making strange noises, looking like a number one fan.
Lynn had no choice but to move him to the back row and place his phone by the door. Although Flash had the appearance of a school bully, he didn't contradict Lynn's words, silently sitting in the back row and closing his mouth.
After class, Peter lingered at the door, looking at Lynn with interest, as if wanting to say something. But upon hearing Mary Jane's voice, he was pulled away by Harry.
After all, he hadn't met Lynn before—it was Spider-Man who had met Lynn.
The day's classes ended quickly. In the afternoon, as Lynn was tidying up the classroom, Maggie came over again and handed him a bag of cookies.
At this point, Lynn also noticed that Maggie had a Nevada accent as well. Perhaps that's why she frequently brought him snacks?
Purple psionic waves slowly spread out, and Lynn subtly treated Maggie's gout in her feet, then smiled and accepted the cookies.
Closing the classroom door and taking his things, Lynn prepared to leave Midtown High.
"Has the package been delivered?" Lynn asked Jekyll.
"Tom completed the mission. The big screens should now be looping the video you recorded, boss."
"Very good."
Meanwhile, many large screens across New York began playing the missing person notice Lynn had recorded.
Lynn certainly wasn't a good person, but what he hated most were psychological perverts, especially those who put their thoughts into action.
He had already made contact with Jessica Jones out of curiosity, and the Purple Man would definitely want to do something about it.
There's no way to defend against thieves every day. Lynn planned to strike first and kill the Purple Man. Finding the Purple Man naturally became the first thing he needed to do.
"The criminal is definitely a pedophile—a narcissistic, self-important psychological pervert who lacked necessary education since childhood. I can't imagine what would happen to my student in such a situation. I can't believe the police haven't even discovered this yet..." Lynn's recording went on with a string of American profanities, using almost every derogatory term that normal people would hate.
At that moment, a man stood by a floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the big screens and TV Daily Bugle were playing the missing person notice Lynn had recorded. On the double bed nearby was Jessica Jones, wearing a black silk nightgown.
She stared at Kilgrave with wide eyes, her gaze filled with indescribable emotions—fear, anger, despair, resentment.
Overall, there wasn't a hint of any positive feeling.
If looks could kill, the Purple Man would have died many times over.
The Purple Man's face looked extremely unpleasant. He clenched his teeth, his eyes red and swollen, his anger having risen to the top of his head, seeming ready to explode at any moment.
But Lynn wouldn't care about the Purple Man's feelings.
He was watching television, which was showing Stark Industries news. Tony Stark stood spiritedly in the desert's barren wasteland—footage obtained from who knows where.
That playboy was once again the center of attention.
"He still has to make a bomb for a bunch of terrorists who can't even connect a light bulb. I estimate it'll take at least a month before he can fly out," Lynn said, shaking his head as he closed the chicken restaurant's roller shutter, preparing for bed.