MUP: Chapter 58. Talk

The battle of Midland Circle Financial ended.

The four of them found a Chinese restaurant nearby as a temporary base.

"So, who exactly are you guys? And why are you in Midland Circle fighting ninjas?!" Jessica raised her slender eyebrows as she surveyed the odd-looking men in front of her, lingering a few moments on the mask on Matt's face in particular.

"Defenders, a team that joined forces to fight the Hand." Although Luke and Ah Xing helped Matt successfully defeat the Hand's ninjas that were in Midland Circle Financial, repeated battles still left some scars on his body. Matt gasped as he covered the sword wound on his shoulder.

"Defenders? Sounds like some third-rate gang."

"As I said before, you should have changed the name." Turning to look at Matt, Luke spoke with a shrug.

Ah Xing: "No, I think it sounds good."

Luke Cage: "Ah Xing, are you sure you really know what Defenders mean?"

Ah Xing: "I know. You just don't like the title. Just like the nicknames Pop gave you, you don't like them either."

Luke Cage: "That's because Pop's nicknames aren't that good."

Ah Xing: "Since you have so many ideas, why didn't you mention them when he first named us?"

Luke Cage: "That's because I didn't want to join at all."

Ah Xing: "Then why bring it up now?"

Luke Cage: "That's because the name really isn't great, and it's been tossed around."

　　...

After watching Ah Xing and Luke bickering with each other with a great interest for a while...

Jessica turned and spoke to Matt, who was treating his wounds, "It looks like your teammates have a problem with the name Defenders."

"But at least when it comes to fighting, they're both reliable." After handling the wound on his shoulder, Matt shook his fist to feel the impact of the injury on his movements. He turned his face to Jessica and asked, "What about you? Who are you? I never thought a detective could do what you did."

"Maybe, I'm special." Grimacing at Matt, Jessica promptly spelt out the reason for her appearance at Midland Circle Financial, "I recently encountered a threat because of a case, and after tracking it down, I found out that it was all related to an organisation called the Hand, and followed the leads to Midland Circle Financial. Then I met you guys."

"You know about the Hand. It's not something a private detective can get access to." Matt frowned and pursued.

"I have my ways," Jessica said mysteriously.

'Your so-called 'ways' is standing by your side. '

In the antique shop, Ryan observed the situation in the Chinese restaurant through his clone. Hearing Jessica's words, he couldn't help but silently say so in his mind.

　　...

"I heard that your recent plan hasn't been going well, Madame Gao."

In Midland Circle Financial, looking at the battle traces left by the Defenders, a silver-haired old man with a thin figure approached Madame Gao's side and spoke in a hoarse and low voice.

"It was my negligence." Madame Gao, leaning on her cane, glanced at Midland Circle Financial and paused at the big hole in the wall, "I thought it was just a couple of small rats that I could solve easily, but it turned out to be a big problem."

"Time is running out. I can feel the strength maintained in my body gradually fading."

The withered old man reminded Madame Gao, who was beside him, "It seems that time has once again caught up with us."

"Don't worry, my people have found clues about Iron Fist in Cambodia. We still have time."

After centuries, Madame Gao hadn't let go of life and death. On the contrary, she was even more reluctant to face the arrival of death. The Hand was originally built for the purpose of continuing immortality for the five of them.

"I hope everything goes well." The withered old man nodded, looked at everything in Midland Circle Financial, and said, "If you need, I can step in to take care of these guys for you."

"No need." Shaking her head, Madame Gao slowly turned around on her cane and spoke as she walked, " Sometimes, you don't need to get your own hands dirty. I happen to know someone who shares our abhorrence of these troublemakers."

"You mean ... Kingpin?"

　　...

"So, what else did your informant tell you?"

In the Chinese restaurant, Luke asked Jessica while eating Chinese food that wasn't very authentic.

"More than you can imagine … is this shrimp?" Turning to Luke, Jessica suddenly pointed to a dish coming up in front of her and asked.

"No, it should be a pork dish." Next to her, Matt calmly replied.

"How do you know that? You can't even see it." Even though it was clear during the previous battle that Matt was extraordinary, Jessica couldn't help feeling surprised when she heard him lightly distinguish the differences between the individual dishes.

"When your eyes can't see, the ability of the other senses will be amplified to replace sight."

"I know! It's an ability that's somewhat similar to the mind's eye in our martial arts." Ah Xing spoke up, trying to remind people that he was still there.

"You are all a bunch of weirdos." Looking at the few people in front of her, Jessica couldn't help but say so, followed by a self-deprecating comment, "And so am I."

After calming herself down, Jessica started to tell them everything she found out from Ryan, "As far as I know, the Hand is a rather old and evil organisation. They have some magical powers. They have been recruiting a lot of people to do something shady in New York. My client's husband went missing because of them. Although... I'm not sure about what shady thing they're up to."

Luke Cage: "What kind of magical powers?"

Jessica: "Does immortality count?"

"..."

Jessica's words silenced the two for a moment. Matt, although he had been fighting the Hand since the beginning, was equally unaware that they actually wielded such mysterious and terrifying power.

"Immortality? That's impossible." Luke shook his head, having some difficulty accepting it.

"It's impossible for humans to block blades with their bodies and kick through a wall."

'Wait a minute, why did that sound familiar?'

Jessica's words were somehow familiar to Ryan.

...

-:Binge:-

Read next 40 Chapters on -patreon.com/bingefics