Chapter 36. Overestimation

"Sorry, son."

Bobby, as an old resident in Harlem, was well informed.

Seeing his firm reply, Henry nodded and told Ryan, "At least there's no place called Villard in Harlem. Maybe you can look in other districts. Maybe you can look in other neighborhoods, Manhattan is huge, and Harlem is just a small piece of it."

After a little reassurance, Henry asked again with some concern, "Perhaps, you're looking for Villard because of a friend or relative of yours?"

Shameek interjected, somewhat gloating, "It's obvious, Pop. He's been duped, or this Villard place doesn't exist."

Henry: "Shut up, Shameek. Nobody knows everything."

Turning his head and scolding Shameek, Henry consoled Ryan, "Don't take Shameek's words to heart; he has always been like that." Despite the words of comfort, Henry actually felt that Ryan must have been lied to.

Seeing Henry and the others looking as if they had misunderstood, Ryan felt the need to explain.

After all, he wasn't here to look for relatives.

He shook his head, looked up at Henry's concerned face and said, "No, I'm going to Villard to find the Beast, the ultimate king of killers, hiding there."

[Reputation points from Luke Cage +5]

[Reputation points from Henry +2]

[Reputation points from Bobby +2]

[Reputation points from Shameek +2]

[Reputation points from Chico +0.01]

"..."

Pausing his broom, Luke Cage looked up at Pop and faintly shook his head at Pop's questioning gaze.

He had never heard of someone called the ultimate king of killers, or the Beast, or whatever, either in prison or during the time he was on the run.

Even as Luke Cage's gaze swept across Ryan's face, it was uncertain whether the so-called ultimate king of killers, whose name was too high sounding, was real or not.

Perhaps, everything was just the imagination of the Asian kid in front of them.

In the barbershop, the crowd looked at each other for a while because of Ryan's sudden words, then Shameek reacted first, "Haha, kid, you actually believe such an obvious lie? The Beast? The Beast sounds cool, it sounds cool. Could be my nickname from now on ..."

'Well, I overestimated the reception of the crowd.'

But come to think of it, although New York, including Hell's Kitchen, already had a handful of superheroes like Daredevil active, there was still a bit of a gap between that and the mass appearance of superheroes in front of the public's eyes like the later Battle of New York. Without the big impact like New York, it was more or less... no, very, difficult to get people, especially the black crowd in the barbershop, to accept a setting like the 'ultimate king of killers' with its obvious oriental touch all of a sudden.

Anyway, Ryan was also aware that things weren't going to pan out overnight.

So, the goal he set out to achieve from the beginning was simply to create the first impression in the minds of the barbershop crowd, and especially in the mind of Luke Cage, while preparing for a long-term plan.

Although he had achieved his goal, he should continue acting.

In the face of Shameek's teasing words, he deliberately frowned and said, "The Beast is quite a dangerous existence and is not a name you can joke around with."

"What? You're not happy about that?" Compared with Luke Cage, Ryan was obviously a runt in Shameek's eyes. After hearing his retort, Shameek smiled, got up and looked at the guy half a head shorter than he was. He spoke with a mocking smile at the corners of his lips, "You wanna do something about it?"

Naturally, Ryan had nothing to say when confronted with Shameek's actions, looking for a fight.

It's not like he's Pop; he didn't need to accommodate the other party.

With a little energy in his feet, he intended to throw his leg out and show his opponent just how much he could do.

However, just then, a tall figure stepped in between Ryan and Shameek. Luke Cage looked at Shameek, who had an arrogant expression on his face, and spoke in a quiet voice, "Shameek, Pop's shot isn't a place you can cause trouble. If you really want a fight, I can always meet up with you in the back alley."

"Luke, it's none of your business!"

"As long as it's in the barbershop, it's my business."

Gritting his teeth, he glared at Luke for a long time. Shameek then turned his head and looked at Ryan, who was blocked behind the tall figure, "Boy, you're lucky."

'Actually, you're the lucky one.'

Ryan silently stared at Luke Cage's tall back, somewhat speechless.

It was clear that everyone in the barbershop was subconsciously treating him as the weaker party in the conflict, but the truth was that Shameek, with his little arms and legs, wouldn't have been able to stop a single kick from Ryan's Mighty Steel Leg.

Having been humiliated twice in a row, even if Shameek had thick skin, he wouldn't want to stay in the barbershop any longer.

Looking at Shameek's slinking back, Henry couldn't help but shake his head, "I hope Shameek will understand that fighting is not the only way to solve problems, someday."

Bobby: "This is Harlem, Henry. You know it's not that easy to survive without throwing a punch or two."

Henry: "I know, Bobby, but I also know that Harlem is slowly changing for the better. Although it's not changing as fast as I thought it would, at least it's changing."

After a casual conversation with Bobby, Henry refocused his attention on Ryan.

Luke Cage was back to his previous quiet self after resolving the conflict at the barbershop.

If he hadn't been aware of his abilities, perhaps Henry would have dismissed him as an ordinary man.

Shaking his head, Henry approached Ryan and deliberated, "Son, although there's something wrong with the way Shameek spoke earlier, some of the facts may not be wrong. Villard may be a place that doesn't exist."

"No, Villard exists."

Faced with Ryan's unwavering gaze, Henry had a bit of a headache. After a moment's thought, he decided to take a softer approach and let Ryan uncover it for himself, "Okay, but son, New York is a big city, and it's not easy to find the Villard you're talking about in such a big city, not to mention, you don't have any money either."