**Chapter 79: Cleanup, Special Forces Arrive, Coming Out of Seclusion**
As one of the top gangs in South Korea, the Golden Gate Group had also developed its overseas business.
They engaged in human smuggling across Southeast Asian countries, helping people stowaway to the Federation and charging exorbitant intermediary fees.
Because it was an illegal trade, it was commonplace for the Golden Gate Group's gunmen to detain and trade these stowaways.
A large portion of the girls in the adult establishments they opened in New York and Los Angeles were Southeast Asian girls they had brought over on stowaway ships.
These girls, who yearned to come to the Federation to make big money, were beaten, trained, and then sent directly to brothels.
Girls with some looks and who were relatively pretty had slightly better treatment.
The Golden Gate Group's most profitable business in the Federation was actually human organ smuggling and illegal trade.
The hospital in Los Angeles, run by Koreans, was the Golden Gate Group's stronghold for illegal organ transplants.
The person responsible for guarding this hospital was Wan Xi of the Golden Gate Group. He was a subordinate of Li Zhongjiu, the Golden Gate Group's third-in-command, and was in charge of the organ smuggling business in Los Angeles.
"Damn it, where did Zhong Xi run off to again?"
Wan Xi stood in the operating room, hands on his hips, watching two doctors skillfully remove the valuable organs – the man's two kidneys, heart, and corneas – from the operating table one by one and place them in specialized thermostatic boxes.
He tapped a cigarette out of a pack, muttering curses.
Zhong Xi was Wan Xi's younger brother, and both brothers were gunmen for the Golden Gate Group.
"Damn it, you bastard, be gentle! If you break it, I'll take your heart to replace it!"
Seeing a doctor almost drop a thermostatic box while carrying it, Wan Xi was so angry that he threw the cigarette in his hand at him and cursed loudly.
The doctor quickly bowed repeatedly to Wan Xi, then picked up the thermostatic box and fled in a panic.
Wan Xi cursed again and tapped out another cigarette, just about to light it.
His mobile phone suddenly rang.
"Damn it!"
Wan Xi angrily took out his phone, and his expression changed.
"Hello, Brother Zhongjiu!"
"Wan Xi, Ding Qing's men had trouble in New York. You guys in Los Angeles need to be careful too!"
In Seoul, South Korea, inside an unfinished building that hadn't been topped off yet, Li Zhongjiu sat on a leather sofa, overlooking the night view of Seoul.
He had just received news that multiple strongholds of the Golden Gate Group in the Federation had been raided.
After warning his subordinate, Li Zhongjiu hung up the phone and cursed, "Shit!"
He really didn't understand what the Boss was thinking. The entire Federation's underworld was on high alert, yet he insisted on going after the territory Kingpin left behind.
"Shit!"
After taking the last puff of his cigarette, Li Zhongjiu flicked the butt downstairs and casually slung his suit jacket over his shoulder.
"Let's go, boys! I'm treating you to Korean BBQ today!"
Li Zhongjiu led the way, followed silently by four or five subordinates who bowed behind him.
...
Los Angeles, Illegal Clinic.
Wan Xi hung up the phone, his expression somewhat solemn. After thinking for a moment, he pushed open the door and exited the operating room.
"Hey, you, and you, come here!"
In the corridor outside the operating room, several burly men of different skin tones were leaning against the wall, smoking.
Looking at the tattoos exposed on their bodies and the handguns openly tucked into their waistbands,
one could tell the origin of these burly men; they were gunmen hired by Wan Xi.
The Federation was not South Korea. If you didn't have solid capability here, you would have been swallowed whole long ago, leaving not even bone fragments.
Wan Xi used the money from selling organs to hire over a dozen gunmen in Los Angeles. This was his confidence in being able to conduct the organ trade safely in this Korean district.
As Wan Xi called out, several burly men gathered around him.
"Strengthen security these two days. Don't let outsiders in!"
Wan Xi was giving instructions to the gunmen when the door of the Illegal Clinic was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Wan Xi's first reaction was to quickly reach for the handgun at his waist. Before he could draw his gun, he saw the person who had arrived under the corridor lights.
"Damn it, it's you, kid! Where did you run off to fool around again!"
Seeing that it was his younger brother, Wan Xi breathed a sigh of relief. He cursed with a smile, and just as he was about to step forward, he suddenly noticed that his brother's expression was wrong.
Zhong Xi's eyes kept glancing to his right, and large drops of sweat streamed down his forehead.
"Damn it, I told you not to go looking for those foreign women. Aren't the Southeast Asian women at the venue good enough?"
Wan Xi teased as he walked towards Zhong Xi. His hand was behind his back, and after signaling to his subordinates, he quietly reached for the handgun at his waist.
"Pfft!"
Before Wan Xi's hand could even touch the gun grip, a black crossbow bolt directly pierced his hand.
"Ah!" The intense pain made Wan Xi let out a miserable howl.
He clutched his hand and awkwardly tried to turn and crash into the operating room door next to him.
In front of the operating room door, green spirit marks appeared in the air, and then a burly white man in a camouflage uniform appeared out of thin air, blocking his path.
"Snake Eyes, you should have hit his head!"
The burly man blocked Wan Xi and threw a heavy punch directly.
His sandbag-sized fist landed heavily on Wan Xi's head with a dull thud. Wan Xi felt his vision go black and crashed to the ground with a clang. The strong impact caused blood to flow from his nose and ears.
"I like this job!"
The burly man kicked the fallen Wan Xi four or five meters away, drew his handgun, and fired several shots at the black gang gunmen who hadn't reacted yet.
A black man with a nose ring didn't even have time to react before being hit by several shots in the chest, turning him into a honeycomb.
"Fuck!"
Another black man who was close by was so scared that he lay on the ground, his hand trembling as he reached for his handgun.
*Whoosh!* A katana directly pierced his back, pinning him to the ground.
A mysterious person completely wrapped in black armor stepped on his back, pulled out the katana, and with a backhand swing, chopped off the hand of another henchman who was trying to shoot him.
"Nice job, Snake Eyes!"
The burly white man gave a thumbs-up to the mysterious person whose head was covered by a black helmet, and with a backhand, he grabbed a henchman by the neck.
*Crack!* With a slight exertion of force from his arm, which was as thick as an ordinary human's thigh, the unlucky guy's head saw his own rear.
"Want to see who kills more!"
The burly white man clenched his fist and gave Snake Eyes a challenging look.
Snake Eyes twirled the katana in his hand and extended his little finger towards the burly white man.
The two exchanged a look filled with tension, and just as they were about to rush to deal with the remaining few henchmen.
"Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft..."
After several silenced rifle shots, a familiar voice came from the communicator:
"Roadblock, Snake Eyes, hurry up, we have a mission. General Hawk's orders, we need to go to the Middle East to perform a rescue mission!"
The burly white man shrugged at Snake Eyes and tapped his communicator: "Roadblock, copy!"
As the two walked out of the Illegal Clinic, the burly white man stepped on the neck of the just-reawakened Wan Xi, snapping his neck with a crunch.
"One more than you!" The burly white man grinned, showing a row of white teeth, and held up one finger towards Snake Eyes.
"Pfft!"
Before the burly white man could be happy for too long, Snake Eyes threw his katana backhand.
Zhong Xi, who was hiding nearby, trembling, didn't even have time to react before the sharp katana directly pierced his temple.
Snake Eyes walked over, pulled out the katana, and wiped the red and white liquid stained on the katana with the clothes from Zhong Xi's corpse.
After wiping the katana clean and inserting it back into the scabbard on his back, Snake Eyes also extended his index finger towards the burly white man and gently shook it.
The burly white man spread his hands, and the two walked out of the Illegal Clinic side by side.
...
"I still quite like this job!"
In the passenger seat of a military Humvee, the burly white man held a flat flask, drinking and chatting with the driver in the driver's seat.
"I've long disliked these gang thugs, but I didn't expect those important figures in the Department of Defense would actually let us clean up these gangs. How do you say it in the East? Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!" "Oh right, what mission are we going to the Middle East for?"
"To find a missing billionaire. We're not going back to Serbia. We're going straight to the airport. There's a plane there, direct to Afghanistan!" The driver answered the burly white man's question while driving.
"Billionaire? When did that become our job?" The burly white man took a dissatisfied gulp of alcohol.
"The optical camouflage you're wearing and a lot of the equipment at our base were developed and manufactured by him. What do you think?"
The driver glanced at the burly white man.
The burly white man touched the oversized camouflage uniform he was wearing. "Tony Stark?"
Thinking of the sensational news from the past two days, he suddenly understood. No wonder they had to dispatch their special forces unit to find someone. Tony Stark was a favorite of the Department of Defense.
In the back seat of the Humvee, Snake Eyes sat with his arms crossed, watching the burly white man chat with the driver next to him.
Suddenly, Snake Eyes turned his gaze towards the car window. Two Mercedes-Benz cars passed them.
Through the open car window, Snake Eyes's gaze met that of a burly man wearing a black skeleton shirt.
Danger. Like two fierce beasts meeting on a narrow path, the sixth sense between kindred made Snake Eyes instinctively reach for his katana.
The three cars quickly passed each other.
The burly white man in the passenger seat also seemed to have seen the person in the passenger seat of the passing Mercedes-Benz car. He muttered to himself in confusion:
"Why is he here?"
"Who is it?" The driver's position didn't allow him to see the person in the passing Mercedes-Benz car, but he noticed Snake Eyes's reaction through the rearview mirror.
To be blunt, Snake Eyes was the most skilled person in the entire special forces.
Anyone who could make him react with vigilance instantly was definitely not an ordinary human.
"Frank Castle! Former Marine Corps Captain! I've dealt with him before, a very capable person!"
The burly white man looked at the taillights of the departing Mercedes-Benz car through the rearview mirror. As if afraid the two didn't know how capable Frank was, he added, "While in the Marine Corps, he received the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, 3 Silver Stars, 4 Purple Hearts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom!"
Hearing about these almost complete set of honors, the driver gasped.
In the back seat of the Humvee, Snake Eyes's black face mask hid his expression, but from his eager, almost drawing-his-katana posture, it was clear that a competitive spirit had been ignited in him!
...
In the passenger seat of the Mercedes-Benz car, Frank leaned against the car window, holding a phone in one hand and extending the other hand out the window, playing with a ballistic knife.
The sharp blade rotated between his fingers, and faint blood-red spirit marks could be seen on the blade.
As Frank's fingers rotated rapidly, the ballistic knife seemed to turn into a line of fire, with faint firelight flashing in the night sky.
"Okay, I understand. I will definitely take over the Los Angeles smuggling business before the Boss comes out of seclusion!"
...
"Sir, we've found them. These are anonymous accounts opened in Swiss Banks!"
In the President's office at Stark Tower, two agents were busy organizing the data in their hands.
With J.A.R.V.I.S., the artificial intelligence, helping, they quickly compiled a file.
The file contained records of Wall Street accounts that had abnormally sold Stark Industries shares before Tony Stark's disappearance.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., can you find the identity information of the account holders for these accounts!"
Phil Coulson held up the document in his hand and said to J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Sir, my programming does not allow me to perform illegal actions!"
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice echoed from the room.
Pepper Potts, sitting nearby with a tired expression, rubbed her forehead and said, "J.A.R.V.I.S., please retrieve the identity data for these people! Tony needs us!"
"Yes, madam!" J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice had no pause.
The corner of Phil Coulson's face, which always wore a gentle smile, couldn't help but twitch.
Soon, a data file was transferred to Phil Coulson's laptop.
Looking at the names that appeared on the computer, Phil Coulson's complexion suddenly became serious.
...
The Golden Gate Group's various strongholds in the Federation suffered devastating blows.
These Koreans used their lives to illustrate the price of going after Kingpin's legacy.
Many hyenas who had been itching for action were scared and retracted their claws.
Just at this time, Tang, the cleaner in New York, dispatched a large number of gunmen and took over Kingpin's casino, smuggling channels, and drug operations in New York...
For a time, gang forces of all sizes in New York hid in the shadows, planning to watch Tang Song's downfall.
Two days passed, and to everyone's surprise, Tang Song's men successfully occupied Kingpin's territory in New York and quickly extended their reach to Los Angeles, San Francisco...
At this point, everyone couldn't sit still.
...
New York, nightclub venue, Lane, dressed in a butler's uniform, was constantly making calls on his mobile phone, mobilizing manpower.
In just two days, fourteen of the seventeen territories they had just taken from Kingpin had suffered attacks of varying degrees.
However, Lane had already made ample preparations. With Kane leading a group of gunmen stationed there, plus the elite assassins from the Brotherhood of Assassins, so far, except for two venues in Los Angeles that were lost, the others were still in their hands.
However, one venue in Los Angeles involved drug smuggling, which was extremely profitable, and Frank had already taken people to handle it.
"Hello, okay, I'll be right back!"
Lane's phone rang just after he finished dealing with a small gang fight.
The call was from Tang Manor. Someone had come to visit the Boss.
By the time Lane returned to the manor, a slightly balding middle-aged man had been waiting for a long time in the living room.
"Hello, I am Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., here to visit Mr. Tang and also to consult Mr. Tang on some matters!"
Phil Coulson had a gentle smile on his face, making people feel very approachable.
Looking at the identification Phil Coulson took out, Lane frowned slightly.
"Mr. Coulson, our Boss is temporarily unavailable. You can discuss any matters with me!"
A maid on the side brought over two cups of coffee. Lane politely invited Phil Coulson to sit down:
"Our Boss mentioned you before, on the cruise ship. Are you here about the Costa Cruise Ship incident?"
"Our Boss said that you are a federal government department, and helping you is what we should do. No thank you gift is needed!"
Phil Coulson's smiling face stiffened for a moment. He didn't expect Lane to bring up the incident on the large passenger ship back then.
Although Tang Song had saved Hawkeye's life back then, S.H.I.E.L.D. had also opened up a portion of the New York gang database to Tang Song, otherwise, Tang Song and his men wouldn't have been able to occupy Kingpin's industries so precisely.
"You've misunderstood. I'm here to ask for some advice!" Phil Coulson picked up his coffee cup. "According to our understanding, Mr. Tang Song previously purchased some shares in Stark Industries!?"
Lane smiled. "That's right. Our Boss has always been keen on stock investment in the financial market, but it's not just Stark Industries. Our Boss has also invested in shares of Oscorp and Hammer Industries! Is there a problem with that?"
"Purchasing shares in Stark Industries is not a problem,
but the shares of Stark Industries held by Mr. Tang were suddenly sold off before Mr. Tony Stark's disappearance," Phil Coulson stared into Lane's eyes. "Mr. Tang's financial sense of smell is truly sharp. It's as if he predicted that something would happen to Stark Industries!"
"You mean this?" Lane made a look of sudden realization. "Mr. Coulson, you're not suspecting that Tony Stark's disappearance has something to do with our Boss, are you!"
Lane said with a wry smile, "The reason our Boss sold off his shares in Stark Industries was just following the trend!"
Following the trend? Phil Coulson's expression brightened, and he stared intently at Lane.
"Not long ago, we had a business in Rome that was competing with Stark Industries. The person in charge of that project at Stark Industries was their vice president, Obadiah!
Out of professional habit, our Boss had us investigate this competitor. Unexpectedly, this vice president was secretly selling off a large amount of his own company's stock.
Our Boss thought there was some inside information, so he had us follow suit and sell off all the shares we held!"
"So, Obadiah is problematic," Lane said with a look of sudden realization, looking at Phil Coulson. "Could he be related to Mr. Stark's disappearance!"
When Phil Coulson heard Lane's words, he stood up abruptly as if there were thorns on the sofa.
He shook hands with Lane. "Thank you for your cooperation. I still have some matters to deal with, so I won't bother you any longer."
...
After seeing off Phil Coulson, who left in a hurry as if his rear was on fire.
Lane drove directly back to the venue. The Boss was in seclusion, and he needed to stay at the venue. If there were truly enemies invading, he himself would be the first line of defense.
When Lane pushed open the secret door in the private room, a figure making tea came into his view.
"Boss, you've come out of seclusion!"
Today, the father-in-law and mother-in-law came over, drank too much, so I'll update 5000 first
(end of chapter)