As time passed, the Octopus Gang's reputation gradually spread through New York's underworld.
This emerging force possessed tremendous power. Whenever the Octopus Gang set their sights on territory, no matter which gang controlled it, they had no choice but to surrender it.
This was all because of the Octopus Gang's new boss—a guy who'd suddenly risen to fame calling himself Kraken, after the North Sea monster of legend.
Before this, no one had heard the name Kraken. They didn't even know such a person existed.
But now they couldn't ignore him. This guy with four mechanical tentacles had become extremely dangerous.
Under Kraken's leadership, the Octopus Gang had destroyed several rebellious gangs.
Some people had personally visited the firefight locations. What should have been simple gang battles looked like war zones. They'd even seen shredded car wreckage at the battle sites.
And it wasn't wreckage damaged by explosions or other weapons—these were cars that had been directly torn apart.
The vehicles were ripped to pieces. If you looked closely, you could see where the metal had been twisted and shredded.
This made many gangs nervous. They'd faced strong opponents before, but only Spider-Man could fight against someone like this, right?
Spider-Man, who gang thugs usually cursed, had now become their hope. They wanted Spider-Man to face Kraken—hopefully both would destroy each other.
Of course, they knew mutual destruction was impossible. It wasn't even certain whether Spider-Man would be a match for this guy.
In desperation, New York's gangs could only watch the Octopus Gang's continuous expansion.
Looking at territory that once belonged to them, now marked with Octopus Gang logos—an octopus tentacle wrapped around a lotus symbol.
On this day, gang leaders from across New York gathered together. They really couldn't tolerate the Octopus Gang's endless expansion anymore.
Large portions of their territories had become Octopus Gang turf, significantly reducing their income.
"We have to unite! If this continues, we'll all be swallowed up by the Octopus Gang!"
A bearded boss shouted. The Octopus Gang had already reached his doorstep, and he didn't want to lose his territory.
"Don't be naive, Mikhail. I've seen that guy. His mechanical tentacles don't just destroy opponents—even artillery can't damage those tentacles. I suggest you go back to Siberia and dig potatoes."
Another boss, covered in tattoos, smoked a cigar and looked at Mikhail with disdain.
"What did you say, Slade? You want to go to war with me?"
Mikhail and Slade had bad blood. Both were in the arms business with completely overlapping territories. Each side wanted to throw the other into a meat grinder.
However, Slade wasn't provoked by Mikhail. He understood the Octopus Gang better than most people here.
"You really are just a Siberian brute."
Slade looked at him with contempt, then took a puff of his cigar.
"Everyone should understand—the reason the Octopus Gang can expand so aggressively is entirely because of those mechanical tentacles behind Kraken. If we can't destroy those four tentacles, we can't defeat him."
"Maybe we could use artillery bombardment!"
A muscular boss suggested. He led the Pier Ghost Gang, but now their pier had been annexed by the Octopus Gang.
"When the Octopus Gang was still the Hyena Gang, I fought with Hyena, and those tentacles were attached to him then. I hit him with a rocket launcher, and soon after, the Hyena Gang became the Octopus Gang!"
The Pier Ghost leader's meaning was clear—bombardment with heavy weapons might destroy Kraken. After all, Hyena had never appeared since that battle, and the mechanical tentacles had somehow transferred to Kraken.
At the Pier Ghost leader's suggestion, all the gang bosses nodded thoughtfully, even Slade.
While the mechanical tentacles' defensive capabilities were impressive, the Kraken protected by them was still flesh and blood.
Ordinary weapons could be blocked by those tentacles, but against powerful weapons like rocket launchers, even if he blocked the explosion, he couldn't block the violent concussive force.
"That raises another problem—the New York police aren't blind. How do we handle them?"
This was a major headache. They were gangs, not the military. If they prepared that much artillery, they'd likely alert the NYPD and might even draw military attention.
Even if they defeated Kraken and the Octopus Gang, they wouldn't gain any benefits.
"This..."
Now all the bosses were stumped. They'd forgotten the most serious problem.
If it was just an ordinary gunfight, the NYPD might not take major action. But using multiple rocket launchers would change everything.
Such actions would seriously affect New York citizens' lives. The police wouldn't be able to ignore it even if they wanted to, and the military might get involved.
"Why don't we lure that spider who swings around all day and let him fight Kraken?"
Mikhail suggested. Nothing was more famous than Spider-Man's reputation. If Spider-Man took action, the whole situation would change.
They'd no longer be gang warfare participants, but concerned citizens helping Spider-Man defeat the bad guys.
After hearing Mikhail's words, everyone fell silent, considering whether this plan was feasible.
After a long pause, Slade looked up at Mikhail.
"You actually have brains. This really opens my eyes."
"Hmph! Remember to learn something—my bears are much smarter than you!" Mikhail retorted.
Faced with his old rival's comeback, Slade ignored it. He also felt this method was workable. As long as Spider-Man was involved, they could attack Kraken without restraint.
"Then we need to consider how to draw Spider-Man to the fight location. After all, where that guy shows up is completely random."
This was a crucial issue. They had to attract Spider-Man's attention and lead him to Kraken.
All the bosses fell silent. They were criminals and Spider-Man's primary targets. Attracting Spider-Man's attention wasn't difficult, but drawing him to the right place required careful planning.
After all, Spider-Man didn't need much effort or time to deal with them.
Except for their guns, which could barely threaten Spider-Man, they weren't comparable to him in any other way.
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