Chapter 258: Subtle Influence

Words : 1548 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Swish! Bullets whizzed through the air as Gwen gracefully dodged the trajectory with stunning agility. She followed up with a backflip, then delivered a spinning double kick. Even with minimal force, it was more than enough to send an ordinary thug into a baby-like slumber almost instantly. "These guys don't seem like the local gangs. Anyone have a clue?" Gwen had plenty of support—technical backup from Peter and intel assistance from Leo, who directly forwarded the signals to Skye. Skye's voice came through, brimming with excitement. "Why do you say that? Superhero instincts?" "Not exactly. Local gangs usually like to fire their guns while yelling their heads off," Gwen replied. Surveying the gangsters around her, Gwen used the micro-camera attached to her mask to scan and record all their faces. At the same time, she assessed the civilians in the area. While she had done her best to ensure their safety, the chaos had still resulted in collateral damage—some civilians had been hit by stray bullets. "Help! My wife's been shot!" Gwen looked up to see a man shouting desperately, two children clinging to him as his wife clutched her bleeding abdomen. But soon, Gwen's enhanced hearing picked up more cries for help—some were from people with minor injuries, while others were simply panicked screams. She frowned. "We've got a casualty here." Suddenly, her Spider-Sense went haywire! A micro-missile was heading straight for her! Boom! The missile exploded mid-air. Luckily, Gwen had reacted quickly enough that the shockwave and heat blast barely grazed her— But the streetlamp she had been standing on moments ago was obliterated into fragments! "How excessive," Gwen muttered as she landed. She glanced toward the direction the missile had come from and spotted a half-cyborg raising its mechanical arm atop a distant building. Its target? The man carrying his wounded wife to safety behind cover! Without hesitation, Gwen sprang into action. She delivered a fierce kick to a nearby van, sending it tumbling, and simultaneously shot a web to sling a manhole cover into the air. The van flipped over at high speed, while the manhole cover flew through the air, landing perfectly in front of the family of four. Bang! A massively powerful bullet tore through the van's body, igniting flames as it passed through both the vehicle and the manhole cover, before slamming into the wall behind them, leaving a deep, exaggerated dent. The bullet's kinetic energy was so overwhelming that it partially embedded itself into the concrete, veered off course, and flipped upon impact, stopping just shy of piercing the entire wall. Chunks of concrete crumbled to the ground from the force. Had the van and the manhole cover not absorbed and deflected some of the energy, the bullet would have had no trouble breaking through solid concrete. "What kind of sniper rifle is this? There's a devilishly modded cyborg in that building!" After confirming that the family of four had safely taken cover inside a shop, Gwen resumed assisting the civilians while continuing her counterattack against the remaining gangsters. She radioed her support team for answers. "Uh..." Skye quickly pulled up the ballistic data. "Oh my god... That van had reinforced bulletproof panels, but this bullet's firepower exceeds even a Barrett sniper rifle!" "I... our signal—" "Hello? Skye? Are you okay?!" The communication channel abruptly cut out, but Gwen had no time to worry about Skye's situation— The modified cyborg had suddenly leapt from the building, using mechanical legs and boosters to charge toward her at high speed down the street! Locking her eyes on the approaching death warrior, Gwen noticed something strange in the corner of her vision—a row of text flashing across a series of electronic billboards. Or rather, due to a trick of visual alignment, the billboards' fragmented messages formed a single coherent phrase: "Exhaust him. Stay safe." "Mission Report: Unknown target intervened, long-range assassination failed." The Death Warrior's mechanical voice transmitted to the operator's computer. A cloud of dust rose around him as white smoke trailed from the gun barrel-like component of his arm, which flipped and rotated back into position along the arm's exterior. Under his feet, the ground cracked into a small circle. "Damn it! Damn it! Why does New York always have to be a mess?! First, some paralyzed kid turns into a genius out of nowhere, and now some freak in tight clothes kicks a van to save people. Damn it!" In the comms channel, Harlan cursed furiously, completely losing his composure. This wasn't how the plan was supposed to go! The plan was to wipe out the gang, kill the target, or at least push them to the brink of death. The Death Warrior would then provide long-range fire support to ensure the target's elimination, using explosives to destroy the scene. At that point, he would enter to clean up the gang remnants—conveniently shifting the battle toward the governor's location. Finally, the plan was to launch an electronic assault, take down the ctOS system, and "accidentally" kill the damn governor in the chaos. But now, the very first step had gone off the rails! The Death Warrior scanned the scene while analyzing the mission's progress. The micro-missiles had proven ineffective against the Spider-Woman. Even as mere distractions, they had failed miserably. Spider-Woman seemed to have some kind of preemptive warning system, allowing her to react and counter every move at lightning speed. Furthermore, the absurdly powerful armor-piercing rounds, capable of punching through a tank's main armor, were essentially anti-tank weapons in the truest sense. However, such powerful weapons required equally impressive firing mechanisms, fuel, and energy sources. While the Death Warrior's reserve fuel supply was indeed remarkable, engaging in long-range attacks seemed less and less reliable. His electronic brain processed this data rapidly, and the reliability of his long-range weaponry in achieving sufficient damage began to plummet in his systems. The Death Warrior concluded his analysis: "Situation analysis: energy calculations, weapon cooldown times, target behavioral patterns, and timeline projections indicate a very low probability of success using long-range sniper tactics. Requesting permission to engage on the battlefield with more flexible combat methods." "Then do it already!" Bang! The Death Warrior smashed through a wall and crashed onto the ground, his massive mechanical legs creating another shockwave. Using his calf-mounted jet boosters, he launched himself straight toward Gwen! The heavy thuds of his footsteps felt like drumbeats pounding in the hearts of onlookers. Gwen instinctively responded with a familiar move, slinging a 100-kilogram manhole cover at him with her webbing. The cover, propelled with incredible kinetic energy, shot toward the Death Warrior, but he didn't even flinch. He ducked and, with a single punch, sent the manhole cover flying! The hefty projectile didn't even slow him down. His primary target was now Gwen herself! Bang! The Death Warrior leaped high into the air, landing on the roof of a van and crushing it under his weight. He fired his weapons and threw punches in rapid succession, overwhelming Gwen and forcing her onto the defensive. Boom! Another micro-missile exploded mid-air. Frank Castle, shielding his wife, took the brunt of the debris and shrapnel. Looking up, he saw the remaining gangsters rallying themselves. They retrieved a fresh batch of firearms, and Frank's pupils shrank in alarm— They were clearly after him! Bang! At the critical moment, Frank saw the governor sprinting from across the street. With a flying kick, the governor flipped a van over! The gangsters were caught off guard by the sudden move. One tried to retaliate with a gun butt, but the governor, moving swiftly, punched him square in the chest. The blow left a visible dent in the gangster's chest, sending him flying as if it were a special effects stunt. Thud. The gangster's gun clattered to the ground as his comrades reloaded their weapons. The governor quickly took cover behind the flipped van. Despite his bravado, the situation remained dire. To be fair, these guys didn't seem like ordinary gangsters— No regular gang would have access to such heavy weaponry, nor would they stay this composed in such chaos. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets peppered the van with sharp, crisp impacts. The governor managed a wry smile. "This political rally sure turned out eventful. If I survive this, maybe I should run for president." The gunfire grew more intense, and the governor hadn't yet come up with a solution. "Hey! Governor! Toss me that gun!" He turned to see a middle-aged man with short hair shouting at him. The man looked unremarkable, shielding his injured wife while his children hid in a nearby café. It was clear the man had been shot as well, his injuries significant. But his voice carried strength, laced with anger. "I'm Captain Frank Castle of the Marine Corps! They're after me! Hand me a gun!" The governor, seeing the fury in Frank's eyes, slid the recently acquired gun toward him. "Fine, tough guy. I'll trust you this once!" The weapon skidded across the ground. As soon as Frank grabbed it, his expression twisted— Into something terrifyingly fierce. [TN:The Punisher is here baby]

Chapter 258: Subtle Influence

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