Chapter 25: A Superman

After confirming there were no other ambushes or pursuers, Paul drove his motorcycle to a dark corner.

"Fuhh..." Paul let out a few breaths slowly. His violent heartbeat gradually slowed down, the flow of time returned to normal, and his astonishing body temperature slowly dropped. He suddenly felt a strong sense of weakness and lost control, collapsing to the ground.

Bullet time, as omnipotent as it seems, is not without side effects. If used for a short time, it's not too dangerous, but maintaining bullet time for long periods puts the body under immense strain. The heart beats like a pile driver, adrenaline fills the body, and blood pressure soars. No one can withstand it for long. A person with a weaker physique might suffer heart failure or cerebral congestion. For Paul, who maintained bullet time for several minutes, his organs were overwhelmed. Once the bullet time was released and adrenaline wore off, the feeling of near-death overwhelmed him. Yet, while his organs failed, a wave of heat quickly began repairing the damage to his body.

Seeing Paul collapse, Frank dragged his injured body over to check on him. Finding that Paul had just passed out, he carried him on his shoulder with his uninjured arm and quickly left the scene.

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Two hours later, in a remote hut, Frank skillfully handled his gunshot wound. After putting on his clothes, Frank walked out and saw Paul holding a Gatling gun, making strange noises. Despite his earlier collapse, Paul didn't seem weak at all.

Frank approached Paul in a few quick steps. "This is not your toy. Put it down!"

"Don't be so stingy. I'm your savior," Paul reluctantly let go of the Gatling gun. He couldn't help but notice that Frank's safe house was much better equipped than his own room. It had all kinds of firearms and weapons, including heavy firepower like Gatling guns and bazookas—a small arsenal. With his talent as a super high school sharpshooter, Paul could easily distinguish various types of firearms and configurations. He noted that Frank's weapons were carefully modified, including a Browning automatic pistol much larger than ordinary pistols. Paul felt a strong urge to modify firearms himself.

Frank twitched at Paul's comment. "Whose fault do you think this all is?" If Paul hadn't implicated him, he wouldn't have escaped in such a panic.

Paul looked at Frank, who was shot but still full of energy, and asked, "Why don't you tell me the truth? Have you participated in transformation experiments, like the super soldier project? Turned into a Superman with big chest muscles?"

"That's Captain America, not me," Frank replied, sullen. Captain America was no secret. There was even a museum in New York dedicated to his deeds and his relationship with his friend Bucky.

"Then it doesn't make sense," Paul muttered. Frank's physique seemed a bit inhuman.

Frank, not wanting to continue this boring topic, said in a deep voice, "We are in trouble. The Russian gang is looking for us everywhere and has issued a high reward for us on the underground exchange. They don't want to let us go."

Paul was taken aback. "Is it because I messed up their deal?"

"No, it's because you killed their leader's younger brother, Anatoly."

"Ah..." Paul was very surprised.No wonder the gangsters pursued them so persistently. It was because he killed their second boss.

Frank continued, "It's not over. Another group has also issued a bounty on us. The reward isn't as rich as the Russian gang, but it's enough to attract attention."

"Who are they, and where did they come from?" Paul asked.

"They're the trading partners of the Russian gang. The leader is Curry, a known drug dealer. But recently, Curry found a backer and now works for Kingpin."

"Wait... Kingpin is involved?" Paul was confused. Kingpin, Marvel's famous villain and the biggest leader of New York's underground forces, was not to be underestimated. The commission Paul accepted was to disrupt an illegal transaction between a gang and a drug dealer organization, but it didn't mention the person in charge. How could Paul know that one side was the relative of the Russian gang's leader, and the other side were Kingpin's subordinates?

Now, Paul had to face bounties from both Kingpin and the Russian gang.