Chapter 31. The Punisher

At night.

Manhattan under the moonlight.

A man in a black windbreaker walked the streets of Hell's Kitchen.

The man's brows were deeply wrinkled, and his expression sombre as his eyes swept the surrounding streets from time to time.

Just then, there was the sudden sound of heavy gunfire in the distance and a loud scream.

With the screams, a large and panicked crowd appeared in the middle of the street.

Facing the crowd running head-on, the man's gaze flickered, then he collected the look of grief on his face and quickened his pace toward where the sound of gunfire had erupted.

　　...

He kept his head down and dodged the stray bullet.

There was no sign of emotion on Frank's face, despite the fierce counter-attack presented by the Savage Gang.

Raising a hand to finish off one of the armed gang members across the street, Frank lowered his burly body and expertly dodged a sweeping barrage of shots.

The Savage Gang's firepower was somewhat higher than he expected. Under the intense barrage of gunfire, even Frank, a veteran with extensive combat experience, struggled for a while. In short, years of combat experience not only enriched his combat capability but also gave him plenty of patience.

Therefore, even if he was at a disadvantage, Frank could still maintain his pace in battle, constantly using various means to wear down the opposite savage gang's men.

Click, click, click --

Dodging another flying bullet, Frank pulled the trigger, only to hear the empty clicking of the Browning Hi-Power in his hand. His brows instantly furrowed, yet he dropped the gun in his hand on the spot.

Under the circumstances, a pistol without bullets was no different from a piece of scrap metal.

"He's out of bullets!"

On the other side, the Savage Gang noticed Frank's action.

"Haha, let's see how he escapes this time!"

"You're a dead madman now ..."

"I'm gonna shoot him full of holes! "

Across the street, the savage gang's shouting didn't have any effect on Frank. As a veteran who had experienced real battlefields and witnessed brutal wars, this level of provocation was childish to Frank.

With one hand, he took off the last grenade from his bulletproof vest and threw it over.

Boom --

Ignoring the wreckage flying in all directions from the huge explosion in front of him, Frank reached out and ripped a submachine gun from the hands of a mangled corpse and coldly said, "Seems like I found some more bullets..."

"Bastard, go to ..."

At the edge of the blast, a bloodied member of the Savage Gang staggered to his feet. The shock of the blast had left his brain in a state of confusion. He lowered his head and scanned the bodies spread around him, many of which were familiar faces.

It made the survivor subconsciously raise the submachine gun in his arms and shout toward Frank.

Bang --

However, without waiting for him to carry out his revenge, a flying bullet ended his actions from a distance.

Frank looked at the collapsed body in front of him, but his expression didn't relax. The bullet that killed the guy didn't come from his gun.

Turning his head and staring at a shadowy corner, Frank asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

"..."

The short silence didn't make Frank lower his guard. On the contrary, he raised the submachine gun in his hand and repeated, still with the same expression, "Who are you?"

"A passerby."

"Huh?!"

However, to Frank's surprise, the sound came from behind him.

[Reputation points from Frank Castle +20]

Frank quickly turned around. He saw a man in a black trench coat with a brooding expression stepping out of the shadows.

Having said that, everyone should understand it by now.

That's right, the man in the trench coat with an expression that looked like the world owed him was none other than Ryan.

Of course, his identity at the moment should be -- Wesley Gibson, a member of the legendary mysterious organisation, the Brotherhood.

"Do you think I'll take your word for it?"

Staring at the man who suddenly arrived in front of him, Frank's expression looked stony.

He was quite confident in his own judgement. He had clearly determined the location of his opponent's hiding place by the direction of the bullet trajectory before, but he never expected a huge deviation. Such a mistake would definitely be fatal if it occurred on the battlefield.

"All right." Faced with Frank's distrustful reaction, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of Ryan's lips, and a deeper and more sombre look crossed his face, "I admit, this time, it was for you."

"So, your someone they hired?"

Hearing the reply from the other man, Frank didn't hesitate to raise his submachine gun and fire.

'Shit! are you kidding me?!'

Faced with the onslaught of machine gun fire, even though he had a premonition in his heart, Ryan was still surprised by the cruel character of the Punisher, who would strike without saying anything.

Sure enough, as expected of the grumpy old man of the Marvel world, he shot at the drop of a hat.

Even surprised, on the surface, Ryan still looked calm. With his super dynamic vision and fast reflexes from his [Adrenaline Acceleration] skill, he easily dodged the bullets in front of him while taking out his own gun and firing a shot at Frank.

In the face of Ryan's counter-shot, Frank remained the same, and even his position didn't change.

According to his judgment, it was impossible for the bullet to hit his body.

However, Frank obviously forgot the previous scene.

The bullet, which he thought couldn't hit him, suddenly turned, correcting its flight path and instantly becoming a lethal attack from a previously harmless shot.

[Reputation points from Frank Castle +75]

In a life-or-death moment, the instinct from a soldier saved Frank.

He made a split-second decision and didn't choose to dodge, but decided to receive the shot with his chest.

With a dull thud, the impact of the bullet made Frank subconsciously grimace, but his bulletproof vest managed to shield him from a fatal blow.

"Who the hell are you?"

After seeing Ryan's magical [Curved Ballistics], Frank didn't get carried away by anger and chose to retaliate.

Although some of Frank's behaviours were bloody and violent, it didn't mean that he only used violence to solve problems.

Brutality was what he used to fight crime. In fact, while being an experienced specialist in unconventional combat, he was equally an expert in military engineering, familiar with conventional medical and battlefield rescue skills. If it weren't for the incident that killed his family, Frank wouldn't have chosen to fight against the evil forces in Hell's Kitchen in this way.

Feeling a vague painful impact in his chest, Frank looked straight at Ryan.

He didn't think that the Savage Gang was capable of hiring a helper with powerful means to deal with him.

If the Savage Gang had that kind of power, they wouldn't have been in the state they were in now.