บท 192: Explosive Night
With Friday's reminder, Charlie Cooper blinked and checked the clock. Twelve hours had passed since he last set up Daredevil's Auto-Hack. Time really had flown by, and now Daredevil's mission time limit had come to an end.
Charlie leaned back in his chair, temporarily exiting the Stark Lab's vibrant and high-tech interface to return to the hero selection screen. His fingers hovered over the controls as he reselected Daredevil, immediately switching into the iconic red costume of the "Night Devil" as the map updated to the sprawling cityscape of Grace City.
For the past twelve hours, Daredevil had been hard at work, completing missions one after another. Grace City was not like Riverton. In Riverton, the city was practically under Batman's iron grip, and every criminal knew it. The thugs and gangsters who once roamed the streets in confidence had now been molded by fear into something else entirely—something weaker, something afraid. Crime had dropped so low that people were beginning to act like model citizens, almost as if they were afraid Batman might swoop down from the shadows if they so much as jaywalked.
Grace City, however, was different. It was still in its early stages, a breeding ground for crime and corruption. Daredevil, or the "Night Devil," was still whispered about as a myth. Criminals operated openly, not yet realizing the threat Daredevil posed. Charlie smiled as he saw mission after mission get completed, his character mowing down petty criminals and taking down underworld figures with precision and ease.
Thanks to Daredevil's radar sense—a supernatural ability that allowed him to perceive his surroundings with uncanny accuracy—missions kept triggering one after another, and Daredevil had cleaned up the city with surgical efficiency. The overnight Auto-Hack had been a resounding success, yielding quite the haul of rewards and experience.
As the morning sun streamed through Charlie's window, he scanned the hidden side mission that had been triggered. It seemed like a fragment of conversation Daredevil had overheard through his enhanced hearing—bits of chatter that would have escaped the ears of ordinary people. After sifting through the details, Charlie smirked as the mission details became clear: Director Linton was once again in trouble.
This wasn't the first time Charlie had noticed a pattern. Director Linton was like a walking mission generator. No matter how many days passed, new dangers and elite enemies seemed to crop up around him, almost as if they were drawn to him. Every time a new mission was triggered, it was usually connected to Linton in some way, and this time was no different.
Charlie's strategy had been deliberate. When he first set up Daredevil's Auto-Hack, he specifically chose to place Daredevil near Director Linton's office in Grace City. That way, if any trouble brewed, Daredevil would pick it up immediately. And sure enough, trouble had arrived.
But this wasn't just any trouble. This time, a big fish had surfaced.
Black Sun—the name alone was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. The infamous assassin was as feared as the organization he had once built. Charlie quickly accessed Friday's dark web intel, scanning the information she had compiled. Black Sun had built his name from the ground up, creating an assassin empire that dominated the shadows. His name was legendary among hitmen and killers, a figure of almost mythic proportions. Back in the day, before the assassin industry had become as developed as it was now, Black Sun had been a pioneer. He was responsible for some of the most impressive and deadly feats in the business.
He had retired long ago, leaving the bloodstained world of assassinations behind, but something had drawn him out of retirement. And now, it seemed, he was making an exception—for Grace City.
Charlie couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a strange sense of irony. It was almost like he was the protagonist in some sort of martial arts fantasy. He was the young upstart who had come to challenge a top-tier sect, and now, the big guns were being called in to deal with him.
The situation reminded him of a classic martial arts trope: the younger, lower-ranked disciples had been beaten black and blue by an outsider, so they went crying to their master for help. The grandmaster, a legendary figure, had now been forced out of retirement to restore the sect's honor. But, much like in those stories, Charlie knew the truth—the grandmaster was about to be thoroughly outclassed.
This wasn't a fair fight. It never had been. Black Sun might be a legend in the assassin world, but Charlie had leveled up. He wasn't just some young challenger—he was a force to be reckoned with.
The oddest part of the whole situation, though, was that Black Sun didn't come quietly. Instead of making a covert strike, the assassin had left behind a bold and audacious message—a notice of crime, almost like something out of a comic book.
The contents of the message were simple and chilling. Black Sun had declared the time and place of his next hit: Director Linton's office. The assassin had even specified the exact date and hour he would strike. It was the kind of arrogance Charlie hadn't seen in a while. Not only had Black Sun named his victim, but he had also publicly announced the location and time of the assassination—targeting the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Grace City.
"Should we have Miss Cain keep an eye on things?" Friday's voice, calm and efficient, brought Charlie out of his musings.
Charlie's lips curled into a smile. "Of course," he said smoothly. "But let's add some new tricks this time. Maybe we'll introduce some fresh blood into the mix."
He had been waiting for this. After unlocking Iron Man, Charlie had been itching to test out his new hero in the field.
Sure, using someone like Iron Man to deal with a bunch of assassins was overkill. It was like using a sledgehammer to squash a mosquito—completely unnecessary. But the thought of flying through the skies in the Mark 40 armor, testing its long-distance flight capabilities, was too tempting to pass up.
This wasn't just about defeating the enemies. For Charlie, Iron Man's appearance signified something much bigger. With Iron Man now in his lineup, Charlie had unlocked his second hero capable of long-distance travel, the first being Batman.
Currently, the fastest armor in his base was the Mark 40, codenamed "Shotgun." Stark had specifically designed this suit for ultra-high-speed flight. With its full thrusters engaged, the Shotgun could reach speeds over five times the speed of sound. For context, even the most advanced fighter jets didn't exceed Mach 3, making the Mark 40 a marvel of cutting-edge technology.
Because the Shotgun wasn't built for combat—it was designed purely for high-speed flight—it wasn't loaded with heavy weapons. This meant that using it wouldn't drain Charlie's energy as quickly as combat-heavy suits. Plus, with the Auto-Hack function, Charlie could have Iron Man fly from Riverton to Grace City while minimizing his own energy consumption.
As he prepared for the next phase, Charlie decided to bring in some of his lesser-used heroes. He swapped out a few members of his team, adding them to the bench for the upcoming mission. His plan was simple: he'd fly to Grace City with Iron Man and introduce his new heroes to the field.
Before he could initiate the flight, Friday interrupted him with a reminder. "Sir, you might want to check the card draw before heading out."
"Card draw?" Charlie paused, momentarily confused. "What card draw?"
Friday's holographic image blinked at him. "You earned a reward in your last mission—a card draw ticket for a C-level hero."
Charlie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It had slipped his mind. He hadn't even looked at the rewards from his last mission, but now that Friday had reminded him, he saw it: 20 C-level hero draw coupons.
Ever since he had unlocked the B-level pool, Charlie hadn't bothered with the C-level heroes. They felt like a distant memory, something from the early stages of his journey. But hey, it was free. No money or points involved, and the coupons weren't going to do much good sitting in his inventory.
With a shrug, Charlie opened the C-level pool and threw all twenty coupons into the draw.
What followed was a nostalgic cascade of "Thank you for participating" messages—those painful reminders that not every draw could be a winner. It had been a while since Charlie had seen those words, but this time, they didn't bother him. His mindset had shifted. Ever since unlocking the B-level pool, Charlie had developed a more laid-back approach to the C-level draws.
Besides, after unlocking Iron Man, Charlie was in an excellent mood. Even if every single draw turned up empty, it wouldn't ruin his day. He was just doing it for fun.
But as it turned out, the C-level pool wasn't completely devoid of rewards. After twenty rounds, a hero appeared—Deadshot.
Deadshot. The world's greatest marksman. His accuracy was so precise that it bordered on the supernatural. Charlie grinned as he considered the possibilities. Deadshot wasn't just good—he was the best. A master assassin with a reputation that preceded him, Deadshot could hit a target from 800 miles away, assuming the bullet could travel that far.
[Tl Note - huh? 800... Nani]
A sudden idea sparked in Charlie's mind.
As the saying goes, "Fight fire with fire." Since today's mission involved taking on a legendary assassin, why not add some legendary assassins of his own?
Without hesitation, Charlie added both Deathstroke and Deadshot to his team's substitutes. Two of DC's deadliest killers, primed and ready to face off against the assassins of Grace City. Unfortunately, Marvel's Winter Soldier was still tied up in the lunatic asylum, and Charlie wasn't in the mood to retrieve him just yet. But that didn't matter.
Looking at his lineup—Iron Man, Deathstroke, and Deadshot—Charlie felt a rush of anticipation.
Tonight's showdown was going to be explosive.
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