'Since the customer is a lawyer...'
Ye Li speculated.
'Then he must be trying to hire Jessica to find some evidence for a case...'
'At least it's not another job catching mistresses...'
A lawyer was already a rare client for Jessica's detective agency.
After all, not many people knew that the girl running this detective agency was actually the superhero 'Knight Lady'.
The people living around here were mostly apathetic and decadent individuals who didn't pay much attention to the news.
Moreover, while at the detective agency...
Jessica always wore a beret and a pair of non-prescription glasses.
She called it a disguise.
Ye Li had once experimented with a detective-style look~
Recalling in his mind.
Oh no...
Thinking back on it———
'Back then, I thought she was just in the mood for it.'
'Didn't expect that she was actually returning from the detective agency...'
'Tonight, let's have Jessica try it again...'
Knock, knock——
At this moment.
A knock was heard at the door.
"Come in."
Ye Li said casually, "The door's not locked."
Outside the door.
"..."
Matt Murdock (Daredevil) paused his knocking motion.
Why is it a man's voice...?
…..
As a street hero who had long opposed Kingpin.
After Kingpin put himself in prison, Matt felt that this was an opportunity.
He wanted to take advantage of this moment to gather evidence of Kingpin's crimes and send him to a real prison.
Instead of the fake prison that Kingpin had built for himself.
Thus.
Jessica, who had set up a detective agency here, caught Murdock's attention.
He had noticed Jessica's superhero identity.
Compared to him, who was only somewhat known around Hell's Kitchen as 'Daredevil', 'Knight Lady' had been trending online for quite some time.
This made Matt think of visiting her, hoping she could help with the Kingpin situation.
But what's with this man's voice?
A newly hired assistant?
But this voice...
It doesn't sound like someone doing errands.
Daredevil was blind, but his other senses were extremely sharp.
He could hear the confidence and composure in Ye Li's tone.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
The next moment.
Matt suppressed his doubts and pushed the door open.
Ye Li glanced over.
Tsk...
That red tight suit.
He instantly came to a conclusion——
——DD... Daredevil.
Ye Li still had an impression of the superhero 'Daredevil'.
Among Marvel superheroes.
Many heroes were quite miserable, constantly getting beaten up by enemies and frequently losing loved ones.
And among them, Matt Murdock, 'Daredevil', was one of the best examples.
Not only was he constantly getting beaten by Kingpin and his subordinates.
His girlfriends kept getting kidnapped by his arch-nemesis 'Bullseye', and it was completely normal for one of them to die every few days. The ones who survived ended up going insane and getting sent to a mental hospital.
In Daredevil's story, there was a female lead named Karen Page, who was originally Murdock's secretary.
After breaking up with Murdock, she even became an adult film actress...
I wonder if she's already gone into the industry.
It could be said.
The life that Ye Li wanted.
Was completely the opposite of Daredevil's——
A complete contrast...
For him to be this miserable, that's a talent in itself.
…..
"Hello, sir."
Ye Li crossed his legs, looking at Murdock with a rather indifferent attitude.
"Jessica is busy. I'm her brother, Ye Li, meeting you on her behalf. Do you have a case to discuss?"
'So he's her brother... They don't look like biological siblings...'
Matt shook his head at Ye Li. "What I need to talk about isn't something ordinary people should know. You should be aware of your sister's identity."
He didn't want to involve ordinary people.
However, a certain someone also didn't want his dear sister to get involved with the future members of 'The Defenders'.
"Then you should also know..."
Ye Li sneered, "Jessica is just a———high school student still in school. Her superhero identity has clouded your judgment, Daredevil."
"This....."
Ye Li's words.
Were like a cold splash of water to Murdock's face——
Yeah...
How could he involve a high school student in this?
She was still just a kid.
He had indeed overlooked this matter...
Knight Lady voluntarily upholding justice was one thing.
Him coming to seek her out was another matter entirely.
Thinking about it, this Knight Lady's brother was probably very unhappy about his sister risking her life as a superhero...
Realizing that he was facing Knight Lady's brother.
Matt sincerely apologized to Ye Li, "Sorry, that was my oversight. Just let her know that I'm canceling our meeting."
After apologizing to Ye Li.
Matt felt a bit ashamed of his oversight and was too embarrassed to stay any longer, so he turned to leave.
However, in the next moment.
His steps suddenly halted.
"...Someone has their eyes on this place. They're approaching fast, and it's more than just one group..."
Matt pulled out his billy clubs, twirling them skillfully. "They're probably coming for me, Mr. Ye. You'd better hide."
With his super hearing, he could pick up sounds from several blocks away, so of course, he detected the unusual movements.
Ye Li remained seated, not moving, his brows furrowed slightly...
He was contemplating the best way to torture someone...
[Detected: Jessica Ye's destined enemy, 'Purple Man' Zebediah Killgrave]
'That guy in the red bodysuit...'
A graceful blonde figure crouched on an abandoned floor, using a binocular equipped with investigative lenses to observe the detective agency.
'...He should be that crime-fighting Daredevil from Hell's Kitchen.'
Barbara mused silently, reaching into the family-sized bucket by her feet and stuffing a fried chicken leg into her mouth.
She finally caught a moment when there weren't any girls around Ye Li, thinking this was her chance to get close, so she followed him.
But she didn't expect him to come near Hell's Kitchen.
Sensing something was off, she kept her distance and observed from afar.
Sure enough.
She quickly saw the scene of Daredevil visiting.
'What is he meeting Daredevil for? Is he trying to recruit a new superhero for the club?'
'Hmph, there might be something big going on here...'
As the club continued to grow in size and influence, especially with Gwen and several other superhero members gaining online fame.
Nick Fury was now paying a lot more attention to the 'Ghost Spider Club'.
And naturally, Barbara's tasks had increased in difficulty.
She had to investigate Ghost Spider, get close to Jessica, look into Black Cat, make contact with Cindy, befriend Skye, investigate Ye Li... and so on.
Thinking about all this made Barbara extremely frustrated——
'Damn you, Fury!'
'Doesn't he know I need help right now? Why hasn't he sent Natasha over? What is he so busy with...?'
She bit into the chicken leg hard, snapping the fragile bone along with it——
'And that annoying Hill, always acting superior in the comms! If she's so capable, why doesn't she come investigate the club herself? With those long legs of hers, Ye Li would definitely like her... Hmm?'
'Who are these people now?'
Barbara was still thinking about how to drag Hill into this when she saw a group of people quickly approaching the detective agency.
She paused mid-bite on her fried chicken, activating the investigative lens on her binoculars to lock onto the leader of the group.
Before long.
The investigative lens finished analyzing the facial data and pulled up the information from the S.H.I.E.L.D. database——
[Super Criminal: 'Purple Man' Zebediah Killgrave. Possesses hypnotic control abilities, capable of manipulating hundreds or even thousands of people... Has committed multiple crimes including sexual assault and abduction of women...]
'That infamous pervert, Purple Man?'
As a fellow woman, Barbara couldn't help but shudder.
Although her training gave her some resistance to psychic abilities, she still felt wary of Purple Man.
In a certain sense.
This was an extremely dangerous individual.
And she had heard...
Purple Man wasn't only interested in women...
'Huh?'
'Then Mr. Ye Li is in serious danger...'
Barbara started to contemplate: 'Should I notify Gwen and the others...'
'Or...'
'Should I have S.H.I.E.L.D. send backup? That would be a good way to earn some favors...'
'That Daredevil guy is still inside. Can he even handle Purple Man...?'
After thinking it over.
Barbara decided to let S.H.I.E.L.D. send agents to check it out while she observed from a distance, ready to step in or notify Gwen and the others at any moment.
Having multiple backup plans ensured nothing would go wrong!
This!
Was the mark of a professional agent!
Feeling proud of herself, Barbara reached into the family-sized bucket again and popped a piece of popcorn chicken into her mouth——
The faint sound of "crunch crunch" echoed through the building...
"A little burnt... Hmm... I won't buy from this place again next time."
…..
"This is the place.... My little beauty~"
A bizarre man in a purple suit.
Wove through the crowded street, striding openly to the front of the detective agency.
His skin was also purple.
He was accompanied by a group of armed men.
Yet, the pedestrians on the street acted as if they saw nothing unusual, completely oblivious to the scene.
If one looked closely, they would notice.
Pedestrians who brushed past Purple Man would have a momentary blank look in their eyes before regaining clarity once they were farther away.
As for the armed men around him, their eyes were dull and lifeless—clear signs of being hypnotically controlled.
"I'm here~"
Killgrave had heard that the owner of this new detective agency was an exceptional beauty, so he hypnotized a group of subordinates and made his way over.
Purple Man had already used his hypnotic abilities to violate many women he found attractive.
He was confident that this one would be no exception.
"What a shame. Blame it on being too far from paradise... and too close to Hell's Kitchen."
Seeing that the door was unlocked, Killgrave smirked and pushed it open, ready to claim his new plaything——
Except.
Just as he was about to make his move, he sensed someone behind the door.
He immediately took a few steps back, using his hypnotized subordinates as human shields.
In the next moment.
The door was pushed open by an arm wrapped in a red bodysuit, revealing Murdock holding his twin billy clubs.
"Purple Man?"
"Daredevil?"
Purple Man took another step back, positioning more of his men in front of him. "Daredevil! What are you doing here?!"
Killgrave had his reasons for being wary of Murdock.
His hypnotic abilities didn't work on everyone.
People with strong willpower or those with physiological differences from normal humans could resist his mind control.
And Daredevil not only had an iron will but also an enhanced echolocation-based sensory system that differed from ordinary humans, making him one of the few who could resist Killgrave's powers.
'Why am I here?'
Matt was puzzled by Purple Man's words. Wasn't he the target?
However, his sharp lawyer's mind quickly pieced together the reason—— 'That's it...'
'Purple Man is one of the worst sex offenders among super criminals...'
'He probably doesn't know Knight Lady's true identity and thinks she's just a beautiful detective girl...'
After figuring it out, Matt didn't choose to leave.
Fighting criminals was what he had always done.
He spun one of his billy clubs, splitting it into two sections connected by a steel wire.
The club's head shot out and retracted precisely, wrapping around a firearm to snatch it away or knocking it directly to the ground.
Killgrave's expression darkened, and he commanded his controlled gunmen to fire at Murdock——
Gunfire erupted in an unending barrage!
Even if he couldn't control Daredevil, he could still try to take him down with physical attacks, right?
Matt's acute echolocation allowed him to anticipate and dodge bullets before they reached him.
However.
Killgrave had too many men, and their firepower was overwhelming.
And it wasn't nighttime, Daredevil's preferred battleground, making things even harder for Murdock.
Whenever he found an opening to attack.
Killgrave would use his mind-controlled people as human shields!
Daredevil's no-kill rule severely restricted his actions...
Ye Li remained inside, not in a hurry to intervene. Watching Daredevil struggle, he felt speechless.
'He's shackling himself with his own principles.'
'No wonder he always gets brutally beaten by villains.'
…..
"Daredevil!"
Seeing that he was gradually gaining the upper hand, Killgrave began to gloat—— "You rat of the night! There's no place for you in the daylight!"
'Oh, look at him barking now'
Ye Li had seen enough. He swiped a finger across his black wristband——
The black ring spun rapidly.
It began whirling around his wrist~
In an instant, his figure vanished from his seat.
The information isolation function of the wristband made his disappearance completely undetectable, even to Daredevil's senses.
At the same time.
Boom——!
A hole burst open in the clouds above the detective agency!
A cocoon-like metallic object plummeted at high speed——
With a series of "clack clack" sounds, its wings unfolded, and the fans on them roared!
This was, of course, Ye Li's summoned [Vulture].
"What the hell is this now?!"
Killgrave spotted the bird-like figure swooping down and immediately commanded his men to fire at it!
Clang! Clang clang clang!
After being enhanced by Ye Li with the Rat Talisman, the Vulture armor had reached a level where it could even take on Tony Stark.
The bullets fired by the gangsters' weapons couldn't even dent the folded metal wings.
Killgrave also attempted to use his powers to control Vulture, but he found it completely ineffective...
Not just resisted like Daredevil.
It was completely ineffective!
As if the thing was a soulless puppet...
And so, he could only watch as the enormous silver talons closed in on him——
"No!!"
Killgrave, unwilling to accept his fate, frantically commanded his mind-controlled minions to shield him, hoping it would make the enemy hesitate!
But the metal talons mercilessly pierced through both his shoulders, impaling him along with his human shields!
Vulture's claws locked onto Killgrave's scapula, lifting him into the air and soaring off into the distance———
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
Leaving Murdock completely dumbfounded...
Who the hell is this guy?