Chapter 6: Chapter 5: The Chair Man of the Punisher
The man, disoriented, held onto Cohen and rambled incessantly.
He used to be an intelligence analyst for Homeland Security and stumbled upon a video of U.S. troops executing an enemy in Afghanistan. He keenly noticed something wrong in the footage. The executed man clearly identified himself as an Afghan National Police officer but was still mercilessly killed.
The man reported the situation, but it brought disaster upon himself. He was executed by his colleagues from Homeland Security on a bridge, shot in the chest, and thrown into the river.
The man, teary-eyed and emotional, clung to Cohen's leg, refusing to let go. Cohen was speechless, 'Bro, I'm in the middle of a murder here. Could you pick a better time?'
However, as the man kept talking, Cohen suddenly realized the story sounded familiar.
The man had miraculously survived. But for the safety of his family and himself, he had to go into hiding. Thanks to his superior hacking skills, he lived comfortably but couldn't reunite with his family. He knew that if he was exposed, he'd face relentless pursuit. To seek revenge, he purchased a large amount of electronic equipment and built a secret intelligence base, hoping to uncover the truth behind the assassination attempts. However, his solitary life was unbearable. For months, he could only watch over his wife and children through surveillance footage. Finally, his emotions boiled over today. Drunk and distraught, he knocked on the church's door, seeking solace from God.
Cohen's eyes lit up. He cautiously asked, "What's your name?"
"Da-David... Lieberman."
As expected, he was the real Chair Man of the Punisher, the man behind the scenes for Frank. A super hacker, operations commander, and almost... the guy Frank almost cuckolded. Desperate to see his wife, Lieberman had asked Frank to check in on her, but on the surveillance footage, they... well, let's just say, Frank wasn't exactly a saint!
But even without considering that tempting wife, David himself was a gem. Earlier, while scouting, Cohen realized that killing wasn't hard—it was leaving no trace that was tricky. Especially when working in Hell's Kitchen, where he had to watch out for retaliation from enemies and the red devil. He had no doubt that Daredevil would throw him in jail if he got caught.
But with a super hacker, things would be much easier, especially one skilled with drones. Having a bird's-eye view was a game-changer for Cohen!
The problem was how to get David to work for him.
After thinking it over, Cohen knocked David out with a single blow to the back of his head. The chatty man collapsed instantly. Cohen hauled him upstairs to a guest room and resumed burying his victim.
Half an hour later, the system finally chimed in his mind.
[Mission completed.]
Character Level: Black Iron Grade
Upgrade: Not yet upgraded
Death Method: Buried alive
Freshness: Five stars
Final emotions: Fear, regret
Emotion grade: Five stars
Overall Mission Rating: Five stars!
Special reward for a five-star rating, upgrading gift box…
Reward: Black Iron five-star gift box, luck doubled.]
Cohen opened the gift box.
[Congratulations, you've received: Night Vision.]
This was a pretty great ability! Vision is the most important human sense for perceiving the world, and night vision would turn him into a beast in the dark!
Cohen realized that the system clearly encouraged creative killings. As long as he received a five-star rating, the chances of getting something good from the gift box increased significantly.
Looking back at the system, his Black Iron-grade prey progress had reached 1/5. This meant that the number of kills required for the same grade increased in odd numbers—1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and so on. This implied that the best way to ensure a five-star rating for missions would be to focus on the first few stages of each grade, especially 1, 3, and 5.
As the numbers increased, unless he could carry out a large-scale massacre in one go, it would be hard to guarantee a five-star quality for each kill. That meant he needed to be cautious for the next four five-star kills to get the second gift box.
It seemed that his dealings with the Flame Crip Gang weren't over yet.
---
Pain.
It hurts so much.
So much pain.
David woke up from his sleep, clutching his head. Looking around, he wondered, Where am I?
Startled, he hurried downstairs, only to find himself in a church.
He slapped his forehead, trying to remember what had happened, but then heard a voice: "You're awake? Come over here."
In the church's backyard, Cohen, wearing rubber gloves, was tending to some plants.
Seeing David approach, looking confused, Cohen smiled, "The previous priest was too busy to take care of these plants. They've all withered. I just fertilized them. Maybe in a few days, they'll bloom."
David looked him up and down. Black cassock, white Roman collar, a cross on his chest. He looked scholarly and had a warm smile. But something felt off. There was an unsettling presence about him, like facing a tiger. David only felt this way when dealing with top-tier agents from Homeland Security.
Something was wrong.
As a top-tier hacker and intelligence analyst, David trusted his instincts completely.
"Uh... I must've been really drunk last night, haha…" He tried to play it off, "Hi, Father! My name is... Frank, a novelist. I've been struggling with writer's block and drank too much. I must've mixed up fiction and reality last night. Please don't mind me, and I'm sorry!"
Cohen smiled, "David Lieberman, there's no need to hide who you are from me."
David's face changed as he tried to explain, "My name is Frank. David Lieberman is a character in my novel. I must've gotten too into it…"
"Your wife is Sarah Lieberman, and you have a son and daughter, Zach and Leo."
David's expression instantly shifted. His family was his weakness—he wouldn't let anyone threaten them. Furious, he grabbed Cohen by the collar. "Who are you? Damn it, who are you?"
His moves were unrefined.
Cohen punched him hard in the gut, and the intense pain made David double over. Cohen dragged him to the small chapel, under the altar's cross.
"I am a knight of God, sent to punish evil. I am the sword of God's second flood, here to cleanse this world. I am the Punisher!"
He crouched down, looking at David kneeling on the ground. "Follow me, and you will witness the darkest parts of this world. In the deepest despair, you will also see the light of hope. The flood is destruction but also salvation. It is despair, but also hope. This world will either be purified by me or destroyed by me…"
Cohen spoke solemnly, his face full of authority, like a true savior.
David glared at him and spat out two words coldly, "Faking Bullshit!"
Cohen sighed inwardly. I gave my grand speech, why isn't anyone bowing?
But he wasn't angry. He had more cards to play.
"Last night, I learned everything from God. David Lieberman, a Homeland Security analyst, discovered a video documenting 'Operation Cerberus,' and was subsequently shot in the street by Agent Carson Wolf, falling into the river. Ironically, your phone saved your life, and after escaping death, you went into hiding, plotting your revenge. Am I right?"
David hesitated. He hadn't known the operation was codenamed Cerberus.
"These are just things I said when I was drunk. You're just adding details to make me believe you. I'm not buying it!"
"Then do you have plans to find Frank Castle and work with him?"
David was stunned. He had only thought about this, never told anyone.
But he still shook his head, "I don't believe you."
"Fine, then I'll spell it out for you. During the Afghanistan war, the CIA was growing opium in remote mountain areas and smuggling drugs. They used the bodies of fallen U.S. soldiers to transport the drugs to the States for huge profits. Operation Cerberus was their cleanup mission, a series of assassinations to cover up their drug trafficking. Wolf was one of them. And the mastermind behind all of this is none other than William Rawlins, the current head of the CIA's Special Operations Division."
David stood frozen.
"So, do you want to fight them? Or do you think Frank Castle can do it alone? Don't be foolish! Real life isn't a movie. Do you really think he's got plot armor and can survive anything?"
David snapped back, "And what about you? You think you can take them down?"
"Of course!"
Cohen stood under the cross, arms outstretched, bathed in sunlight, exuding a divine aura.
"I'm not human. I'm an agent of god! The god who punishes all evil!"
David, an atheist, found his vision blurring slightly. "This… this can't be possible…"
(End of chapter)
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