Chapter 48 Matt Murdock

After finishing his conversation with Aisha and Winston, Anton left the Continental Hotel and returned to the Daily Bugle.

"Anton, are you alright?" Betty was waiting for him at the entrance, looking tense, ready to call the police if he didn't show up soon.

Anton had looked a bit off when he got out of the car earlier.

Thinking back, Betty was certain that black car following behind their vehicle had been suspicious.

"Of course, I'm fine." Anton waved with a smile. "Betty, don't worry about me. Instead, you might want to worry about other people." He paused. "Where's Eddie?"

"In the office." Betty pointed to the room behind her.

Creak

Anton pushed open the door and saw Eddie going through some documents.

"Anton, you're back," Eddie said, unsurprised. "Today's newspaper sold well, better than expected. I'm guessing you'll double my bonus?"

"If taking pictures of Batman wasn't something I specifically asked you to do, I would," Anton shrugged. He sat across from Eddie and said, "You should know, I caught a guy named Bullseye."

"Yes." Eddie nodded. "From what I know, Bullseye has some serious connections."

Anton said, "He works for Kingpin."

"Kingpin? The ruler of Hell's Kitchen?" Eddie pondered for a moment. "To be honest, I don't know much about him, but back when I worked as a reporter in New York, I met plenty of people from Hell's Kitchen, and they all avoided even mentioning him."

"Then you probably don't know Kingpin's real name: Wilson Fisk," Anton replied.

"The real estate and energy tycoon?" Eddie looked genuinely surprised. "He's the underground king of New York and even the U.S.? That's pretty shocking."

Anton crossed his arms. "As you know, Batman capturing Bullseye has already angered Kingpin. So, our next target is Fisk Corporation. We need to gather enough evidence against Kingpin and put him in the prison where he belongs. That's our next mission."

"Understood," Eddie said immediately. "I'll start investigating Fisk Corporation right away. Once I have any leads, I'll let you know."

"Good." Anton nodded with satisfaction.

…

After work, Anton and Eddie went out for drinks and didn't part ways until late in the evening.

Eddie went to find some of his old contacts in New York to start his investigation into Kingpin's crimes.

Anton, meanwhile, walked toward his next destination.

Hell's Kitchen

Though it was just eight streets long, the crime here could put even eight demons to shame.

Especially at night, Hell's Kitchen was crawling with all types of shady characters.

It was a haven for scum.

Other than last night's brief action in his Bat-Suit, this was Anton's first official foray into this crime-ridden, gang-filled area.

He looked around, feeling as if he could smell the lingering scent of alcohol and drugs in the air.

Of course, he wasn't here to clean up the area but to find someone.

A blind lawyer was quite famous in Hell's Kitchen.

Many people knew of him.

A man known as a genuinely good person.

As Anton was mulling things over, he stood at the corner, watching the traffic go by, waiting patiently.

Finally, a man wearing dark sunglasses and carrying a white cane came walking from the other side of the street.

Tap, tap, tap!

The man with sunglasses tapped his cane on the ground as he walked, while Anton followed him step by step, resembling a stalker.

Except this time, he wasn't stalking a woman—but a man!

Which somehow seemed even creepier.

When they turned into a dark, narrow, deserted alley…

Whoosh! A sudden gust of wind swept toward Anton as he entered.

Anton sidestepped, avoiding the cane aimed at his head. He stepped forward, forcing the blind man to back up. Anton's fist, already prepared, landed squarely on the man's chest.

Thud, thud, thud! The blind man stumbled backward, pain searing through his chest.

Though he couldn't see, he focused all his attention on his opponent.

The blind man sensed that he was facing a young man, one with remarkable skills.

"Who are you? You don't belong here," the man asked in a low voice.

Growing up in Hell's Kitchen, he was certain he had never met this person, sensing that his opponent wasn't from Hell's Kitchen.

"Daredevil, nice to meet you."

To his surprise, the young man had spoken the identity he had kept hidden for years.

Then, the young man's next words left him utterly shocked.

"I'm Batman. I believe there's a Braille edition of the Batman novel, so if you know the story, feel free to call me Bruce Wayne."

Anton looked at the blind man in front of him with a smile, as if meeting a kindred spirit.

The brief exchange had given Anton a general idea of the man's fighting abilities.

In some ways, Daredevil was similar to Bruce Wayne—a relentless warrior who had pushed his body to its limits.

"Batman?"

The blind man looked stunned. He hadn't expected this answer.

Batman.

The man who had recently stormed through the Continental Hotel, taken down the Life Foundation in San Francisco, and caused trouble for Kingpin was standing in front of him so casually.

"How do I know you're not lying?" the man asked, though he could tell from Anton's steady heartbeat that he wasn't lying. However, his experiences as a lawyer had taught him that people could mask their reactions, so he wasn't ready to trust a stranger blindly.

Snap! Anton snapped his fingers, and in an instant, his suit appeared on his body as he smiled. "This kind of entrance is hard to fake, right?"

"Batman… it's really you." The blind man was shocked.

As a child, he had been blinded by radioactive materials from a truck spill, which had heightened his other senses, granting him superhuman perception. Fueled by his father's death and childhood trauma, he had become a formidable fighter.

His heightened senses were so extreme that he could detect vibrations in the air and form a radar-like image in his mind, capturing changes in the environment around him.

Because of this, he was amazed by Anton's transformation, murmuring in awe, "How did you find me?"

Anton replied bluntly, "There's only one blind lawyer in Hell's Kitchen, Matt Murdock. You weren't hard to find."

"If you can uncover my identity, finding me wouldn't be difficult."

Matt paused for a moment and then began to lead the way. "This isn't the best place to talk. Come to my place, Batman."

"My pleasure."

The two entered a sparsely decorated apartment.

It was spacious but furnished with essentials only, with a punching bag hanging from the ceiling and various pieces of exercise equipment—a clear sign of Matt's dedication to training.

Anton noticed that the layout seemed off, and guessed there might be a hidden room behind one of the walls, likely where Matt kept his Daredevil gear.

"Batman, I don't understand why you're here to see me."

Matt, behaving as if he were a regular host, poured a glass of water for Anton. Holding his cane, he sat across from Anton with a calm expression.

"You know, I've made things difficult for Kingpin, even putting Bullseye in police custody, so he's bound to come after me. In fact, he's already started."

Anton, unhurried, smiled as he went straight to the point. "Before things escalate, I've decided to take the first step and put him behind bars. So, Matt, are you interested in joining our team?"