Chapter 421: Ace Mole Kang Requests Deployment!
Kang moved lightly and swiftly, like a shadow in the night, slipping silently through the noisy streets until he came to a stop before a mysterious bar with retro décor.
He pushed open the door. A complex smell of alcohol and tobacco hit him. The bar was dimly lit and full of shadowy figures, yet strangely quiet. Everyone was absorbed in their own world, completely unaware of the newcomer.
Kang's eyes were cool and detached. He swept a glance around the room, then walked straight toward the back of the bar, every step unhurried, as if this were a place he knew better than any other.
The others weren't ignoring him by chance. They truly couldn't see him.
Past layer after layer of noise, Kang finally reached a private booth at the very back of the bar.
The door was half open, and a faint light spilled out, standing out sharply against the gloom.
He gently pushed the door open, and an even thicker cloud of cigar smoke rolled over him.
Inside, a massive, stern-faced man sat at ease on the sofa, an expensive cigar between his fingers. Through the smoke, his face looked both familiar and strange.
It was a man known to everyone in the Big Apple: the mayor, godfather of Ethan, Lord of Hell's Kitchen. Kingpin.
"You've come, Dr. Kang." Kingpin's voice was deep and resonant. He slowly exhaled a stream of smoke. There was no hostility or surprise in his eyes at all, as if he'd been expecting Kang.
Remember, Kang had betrayed Kingpin not long ago. They had even come to blows, and the whole city had heard about it.
Yet now the two of them looked like old friends. Kingpin showed no sign of wanting a fight, as if there had never been any conflict between them.
If Reed could see this, he'd realize at once he'd been played.
Kang wore a faint smile, as though Kingpin's attitude didn't surprise him in the least. He simply nodded, walked over to the bar, picked an ordinary-looking bottle of red wine from the rows of fine bottles, and expertly poured it into a crystal-clear wine glass.
His movements were elegant and unhurried, as though this weren't a gang hideout full of hidden currents but his own private lab.
"You weren't followed?" Kingpin checked.
"Impossible. Before the Kyōka Suigetsu Mr. Cross granted me, no one can see me. Surely you know the power of Kyōka Suigetsu very well, Your Excellency," Kang said confidently.
Kingpin gave a slight nod. Kyōka Suigetsu's power was not to be underestimated.
Especially since they had staged a whole show back then. In front of a live broadcast to the entire Big Apple, Kang had used Kyōka Suigetsu once. You could say the whole city had fallen under his Kyōka Suigetsu.
"The plan is going smoothly," Kang said, glass in hand, walking over to sit on the sofa across from Kingpin, his voice carrying an indescribable confidence.
"That arrogant Reed never managed to escape my design. Not only did I persuade him to join our plan, I also confirmed that the last Stone really is in his hands. With that Stone, our plan can proceed flawlessly."
At that, Kingpin's lips curved into a meaningful smile. He patted the arm of the sofa lightly, as if applauding Kang's excellent performance.
"So your instincts were right. Black Bolt in the Illuminati had the Soul Stone, and the remaining Infinity Stone really was in the Illuminati, just hidden deeper. Looks like your plan should work."
Kang suddenly stood up, spread his arms, and spoke with fervor.
"Of course it will work. The plan I told him was only about getting the Celestial's power."
"But the truth is, I want all of it. The Reality Stone, the Celestial's power, weakening the Council of Reeds and the Dynasty of Kangs. I'll take every last bit of it!"
"I'm going to clear every obstacle from the path of Ethan, Lord of Hell's Kitchen!"
"Good! Well said! Hell's Kitchen needs talent like you.
"It's just a shame you've had to suffer for it, staging a whole defection and not even being able to let the rest of Hell's Kitchen know. Maybe I should have a word with the others." Kingpin clapped Kang on the shoulder with satisfaction.
"No. If we want to fool S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Illuminati, we have to fool everyone. And I really did take the Golden Serum. They just don't know that we developed five vials of it.
"Besides, if it weren't for Mr. Cross and Hell's Kitchen, I'd have been dead twice over already."
Kang shook his head as he said it.
That's right. Ethan had saved him the first time when the big mushroom cloud appeared over the Big Apple. Ethan had saved everyone in the city then.
The second time was when Hell's Kitchen's people fought the Chitauri. Kang had nearly died at the hands of Corvus Glaive, and Ethan had saved him again.
And because of that battle, Kang's home was destroyed. With nowhere to live, he asked the federal government for help and got none. Hell's Kitchen gave him temporary housing instead.
After that, Kang swore to repay Ethan and join Hell's Kitchen.
Anyone who threatened Ethan had to be eliminated.
So when he joined the Dynasty of Kangs and learned all of this, he went to Kingpin and devised this whole series of plans.
"I'd better tell Mr. Cross the news right away. He should be pretty happy to hear it."
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