Chapter 605

If the Hand truly had the long history and vast influence they’d claimed, while remaining hidden in the shadows for so many years, then caution had to be part of their nature. An organization like that would think before it acted, weigh every possibility, and only move once it had a plan.

So after the ninjas they’d sent to Umbrella disappeared without a trace, their next move couldn’t possibly have been to come charging in with machetes looking for revenge.

Nor would they simply roll over and surrender.

That explained why Wesley, Wilson Fisk’s assistant, had come alongside Madam Gao.

They’d arrived carrying both a gun and an olive branch, as the old political saying went. Their purpose had been to assess Umbrella’s strength, determine exactly what they’d stumbled into, and decide what to do next.

But after only a brief conversation with the Eredar twins, they had apparently learned enough to immediately offer compensation and seek peace.

That was what bothered Evenson.

Unless the ninjas Moira had already dissected into biological waste had secretly been the Hand’s supreme grandmasters, and their deaths had sent the rest of the organization into such a panic that everyone above them had collectively decided Umbrella was some kind of divine judgment.

Which was obviously absurd.

What kind of grandmaster personally went climbing walls with disposable underlings?

That left only one possibility.

"Which of them was unusual?" Evenson asked slowly. "Wesley or Madam Gao? Or both?"

The only explanation that made sense was that one of them—or both—had recognized the Eredar twins for what they really were.

That would explain why they’d said nothing about the missing ninjas and shown no interest in revenge. Instead, they’d immediately offered an olive branch.

"Wesley is a capable man," Salorathis said. "Polite, quick-witted, and loyal. But he’s still an ordinary human."

She thought back to the meeting.

"Madam Gao is different. She seemed to notice something the moment she saw us."

Salorathis still found the memory amusing.

When Madam Gao and Wesley first arrived at the company, both had looked furious. They’d clearly intended to make a statement.

Even while waiting in the reception room, Madam Gao had been visibly impatient.

Then the twins arrived.

The old woman’s entire demeanor changed in an instant.

She froze.

Every trace of arrogance disappeared.

Her wrinkled face immediately produced the most respectful smile she could manage. She began apologizing for her ignorance and claiming she was only an insignificant junior who had offended her seniors. She insisted their visit was solely to make amends for their earlier disrespect.

Then she produced a substantial payment.

When the Eredar twins began discussing the offer, Salorathis lightly tapped one finger against the table as though considering the matter.

Madam Gao visibly tensed.

The muscles in her face trembled.

Sweat appeared across her forehead.

When the twins finally accepted her terms, she looked as though she’d just been told she was allowed to keep her life.

She practically fled the building.

Arrogant when she arrived.

Obsequious when she left.

The change had been almost comical.

"There is a strange energy inside Madam Gao," Olesys said. "But she isn’t an Inhuman."

"Then what is she?"

Evenson frowned.

"A sorcerer?"

He thought about it.

"Maybe she’s a former student of Kamar-Taj who got herself kicked out. Ancient One took away her magic, so now she’s making a living in the criminal underworld with the Hand."

"Not a sorcerer."

Salorathis considered the old woman again.

"If I had to classify her, I’d say she’s a martial artist. More specifically, a monk."

"A monk?"

That finally caught Evenson’s interest.

"What level?"

"I couldn’t tell."

Olesys shook her head.

"You two couldn’t determine it?"

Evenson’s eyes widened.

He’d assumed Madam Gao must have been extremely powerful if she could conceal herself from the Eredar twins.

Was she some kind of hidden grandmaster?

"She must be very strong."

"No."

Salorathis sighed.

"She was very weak."

Evenson stared at her.

"...What?"

"She was too weak for us to properly place her."

Salorathis shrugged.

"At her level, those foolish Kamar-Taj students could probably beat several of her at once. The only reason I noticed anything unusual was because her attitude changed so dramatically when she saw us. That made me curious, so I examined her carefully."

"Otherwise, I might not have noticed anything at all."

Evenson finally understood.

She wasn’t too powerful to read.

She was too weak for the twins to bother putting her into any meaningful category.

Levels one, ten, twenty...

What did those numbers mean to beings like the Eredar twins?

As far as they were concerned, the difference was practically irrelevant.

Still, things had already worked themselves out.

That was fine.

Sometimes it was better not to create unnecessary trouble. Evenson had no desire to spend his time fighting with an organization operating several tiers below the problems he normally dealt with.

More importantly, the Hand was paying a substantial monthly protection fee now.

That made everything considerably easier.

Inside one of Wilson Fisk’s private residences in Hell’s Kitchen, the Kingpin continued speaking with Madam Gao.

"I never imagined that company would make you this wary."

Fisk lowered his head slightly.

"This was my mistake. I allowed you to act without properly investigating the company first. Please forgive me."

For all his influence in Hell’s Kitchen, Fisk had no intention of offending Madam Gao.

He had known her since he was young.

As a young man, he’d sought her guidance and spent time studying under her. He knew better than most that the frail-looking old woman sitting before him was far from ordinary.

There was another detail that bothered him.

When Fisk had been young, Madam Gao had already looked like she was one foot in the grave.

Now Fisk was well into middle age.

She still looked almost exactly the same.

Sometimes he genuinely wondered whether he would die before she did.

"It’s not your fault."

Madam Gao waved a hand.

Fisk had retained his respect for her despite his current position, and she had no reason to abuse that respect.

"With the abilities of those two women, if they don’t want their background discovered, then no one will discover it."

Fisk silently agreed.

He’d investigated the company several times.

Every investigation had produced roughly the same answer.

Umbrella was a medical-equipment company. It had business ties to the U.S. government and a close relationship with New York’s newly elected mayor.

And that had been precisely why the Hand had targeted it.

Those connections made Umbrella an ideal intermediary for laundering money.

That was the whole reason they’d approached them.

But now...

Fisk wanted to scream.

This wasn’t even pretending to be weak while secretly being powerful.

They’d been pretending to be a rabbit while he charged forward like an idiot and discovered he’d just run headfirst into an elephant.

And now he had to pay protection money every month.

The story would be unbelievable if anyone told it.

Wilson Fisk.

The underground king of Hell’s Kitchen.

The Kingpin.

Paying protection.

"There’s always someone stronger."

Madam Gao still sounded shaken by what she’d experienced.

"When I trained in K’un-Lun, I believed there were only a handful of people in the world who could stand against me. Even after I was expelled because our philosophies differed, I still thought I was among the strongest."

She lifted her cup and took a measured sip.

"Then, many years ago, I had the opportunity to witness the Sorcerer Supreme in action."

Her expression became solemn.

"That was when I finally understood how little I truly knew."

"The Sorcerer Supreme?"

Fisk frowned.

The title meant nothing to him.

Still, he couldn’t resist asking.

"Compared to those two women, who is stronger?"

"I don’t know."

Madam Gao shook her head, almost embarrassed.

"How could someone at the bottom of a well possibly judge the size of the ocean?"

Fisk said nothing.

"But those two women feel completely different from the Sorcerer Supreme."

Madam Gao’s brows drew together.

"When I stood before the Sorcerer Supreme, I felt like a frog beneath the open sky. I understood my own insignificance."

She paused.

"But when I faced those two..."

Her fingers tightened slightly around the teacup.

"It felt as though a storm had swept me up and thrown me into an endless abyss."

"I could only fall."

Fisk listened closely.

"The power I’ve cultivated is called qi," Madam Gao continued. "The Hand’s philosophy is to serve life itself. In that sense, qi can also be considered life energy."

"That’s why I was able to sense something different in those women despite the fact that they deliberately suppressed their power."

Her fingers trembled slightly as she remembered.

"When I faced them, my qi reacted with instinctive fear. It kept warning me that they were dangerous."

She lowered her voice.

"Their power felt capable of severing life itself."

"I could sense nothing from them except destruction."

Fisk’s expression changed.

"That powerful?"

He was clearly shaken, yet the description was so abstract that he struggled to comprehend it.

Madam Gao looked him directly in the eyes.

"I’ve killed many people, Fisk."

She spoke with absolute calm.

"And I’ve met many people who have killed many more."

"My qi allows me to recognize the presence of such people. There’s a particular quality that comes from taking many lives."

Her expression twisted into a faint, bitter smile.

"But this time..."

She gave a small shake of her head.

"It sounds ridiculous even to me."

"I actually felt as though the number of people the Hand has killed over the last thousand years combined couldn’t compare to the presence those two women carried."

Fisk’s eyelid twitched.

"That much death..."

Madam Gao stared into the distance.

"What kind of existence needs to have taken how many lives to develop that kind of presence?"

Fisk quietly absorbed the message.

Whatever the strange metaphors meant, the practical advice was obvious.

Pay the protection money.

Keep your distance.

Don’t provoke them.

"I understand."

"Good."

Madam Gao relaxed slightly.

She’d been afraid Fisk would refuse to believe her and decide to test Umbrella’s limits himself.

If he got himself killed, that was his problem.

If he dragged the Hand down with him, however, everyone would suffer.

"There’s one more thing."

Fisk looked up.

"Those two women have given you another task. Wesley knows about it as well, but I wanted to tell you personally."

"What is it?"

Fisk glanced toward Wesley.

The bespectacled man gave him a slight nod.

So it was real.

"Don’t worry."

Madam Gao smiled faintly.

"This won’t be difficult for you."

Back at the Black Chapter command center, Evenson stared at the Eredar twins.

"You want Fisk to deal with the doctors in Hell’s Kitchen?"

His expression was incredulous.

"All of them?"

"Of course," the twins said with a smile.

"Legitimate doctors and underground doctors?"

"Yes."

Olesys nodded.

"For a place like Hell’s Kitchen, what profession could possibly be more important than a doctor?"

...