54 Mr. Negatives
Primitive demon, Beast!
Although Russell didn't know which dimension Beast was from, the fact that the Hand was still active suggested that Beast wasn't an ambitious demon.
Otherwise, with the way the Hand operated, they would have been eliminated long ago by the Supreme Sorcerer Ancient One and the Sorceress Kamar-Taj.
Regarding the origins of the Hand, Russell had two versions in his memory.
One was from 1588, when a Japanese nation individual named Kagenobu Yoshioka developed the Hand into an international organization.
Later, it changed its name to "Snakeroot" and began worshipping the primitive demon - Beast. It became an infamous group of ninja assassins.
The other version was that the Hand was established by defectors from K'un-Lun, including Madam Gao. As disciples of K'un-Lun, Madam Gao and others were expelled for attempting to use dragonbone to extend their lifespans.
While escaping K'un-Lun, they took dragonbone with them and utilized the various abilities they had learned in K'un-Lun to create the Hand. They became its rulers, known as the "Five Fingers."
Russell hadn't dealt with the Hand before, but as a colleague, he had some understanding of it.
Firstly, the Hand founders were people like Madam Gao.
Secondly, the Hand here also worshipped the primitive demon, Beast. When defeated or killed, the Hand ninja would similarly disappear without a trace, turning into ashes.
Lastly, the Hand here adhered closely to tradition and only used cold weapons for combat.
Without pressuring Russell, Kingpin patiently awaited his response.
After some serious consideration, Russell eventually made a decision.
While Kingpin was unlikely to offer a reward that would greatly entice him, Russell still intended to accept the commission.
There were two reasons for this decision.
One, the Hand possessed dragonbone. Two, the defectors like Madam Gao knew how to enter K'un-Lun.
Russell had no idea why Kingpin wanted dragonbone.
However, he thought that since dragonbone could be used to extend lifespan, there should be no issue using it for enhancing physical fitness.
Considering he had a girlfriend like Diana, he felt it necessary to further strengthen his physique.
Sigh, being a man was tough!
Especially when you had a demigoddess girlfriend.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall his earlier awkward exit.
"I can accept this commission. However, I need more detailed information."
"Additionally, apart from the reward you're offering, I want half of the obtained dragonbone!"
Russell looked at Kingpin and said slowly.
To prevent potential issues down the road, he felt it was better to clarify things with Kingpin in advance.
"Agreed!"
Kingpin didn't hesitate at all and immediately accepted.
Although he knew of the existence of dragonbone, his knowledge about it was limited.
In his view, Russell's desire for half of the dragonbone was likely just driven by curiosity about this unique existence.
Once his curiosity waned, Kingpin could easily buy the remaining dragonbone from Russell.
After a lengthy conversation, they reached an agreement for this cooperation.
Kingpin offered a reward of one hundred million US dollars and commissioned Russell for an operation.
Apart from Russell, there were two others involved in this operation.
Bullseye and Mr. Negatives!
Neither Bullseye nor Mr. Negatives were Kingpin's subordinates; they were mercenaries hired at a significant cost.
Bullseye, previously a mercenary and now a professional assassin, possessed innate accuracy in throwing.
He could throw any object with unbelievable precision, including unconventional weapons like playing cards, paper airplanes, and toothpicks.
Besides extraordinary throwing ability, he was also a skilled martial artist and marksman proficient with both ranged and close combat weapons.
It wasn't surprising that Bullseye would participate in this commission alongside Russell.
However, it was unexpected that Kingpin had hired Mr. Negatives as well.
Mr. Negatives!
In public, he was the philanthropist Martin Li, who founded the homeless shelter FEAST.
He was also the attractive aunt of young Peter Parker and currently volunteered at the shelter.
But in New York's underworld, Mr. Negatives was one of the city's top gang leaders, heading the gang "Inner Demons."
Originally an unknown member of a snakehead organization, Martin Li wasn't his real name.
The real Martin Li was a Chinese stowaway who died en route to sneaking into America.
Mr. Negatives falsely claimed to be Martin Li, successfully garnering sympathy from the American government and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He formally became an American citizen.
Only he knew his true name.
He possessed superhuman strength beyond ordinary levels and far superior physical abilities. He was a skilled street fighter.
Furthermore, he could catalyze the negative emotions of his targets by releasing negative energy. This caused family, friends, and loved ones to turn on each other in violence.
His negative energy could also be transformed into energy waves or materialized into weapons like blades, swords, and spears.
His abilities were a result of inhumane experiments conducted on him by the Maggia, which gave him powers that defied conventional human limits.
Although he survived great adversity, he developed a second, insane personality due to the fusion of negative energy and the symbiote.
Because of this, he held deep hatred for Hammerhead, another gang leader who led the Maggia. He sought to eradicate the Maggia and become New York's "Kingpin."
In the Marvel world, Mr. Negatives wasn't a particularly well-known supervillain.
Russell's familiarity with him came from the fact that he played a crucial role in transforming Venom into Anti-Venom, namely in creating the serum.
While considering Venom's evolution, Russell was already pondering whether he should seize the chance to meet Mr. Negatives and explore the possibility of transforming Venom into a serum.
Although Venom was highly effective as it was, compared to the serum, it was clearly weaker.
Not to mention the serum's abilities to heal genetic mutations and addiction-related "illnesses."
Just the fact that it was unaffected by sound waves and flames was sufficient evidence.
After accepting Kingpin's commission, Russell left the hotel and drove back to his apartment.
While Kingpin harbored intentions of dealing with the Hand dragonbone, he didn't immediately initiate action against them.
In his own words, he needed to make some preparations.
Russell wasn't particularly concerned about Kingpin's preparations; after all, grabbing a piece of dragonbone from the Hand wasn't a big issue for him.
Compared to the dragonbone, which was virtually risk-free, he was actually more eager to meet Mr. Negatives.
He had a hunch that his Venom might evolve into the serum very soon.
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