Marvel - The Blood God

"In other words, are you deliberately luring them into the alley to rob them?"

Spider-Man felt a bit dizzy; kids these days are really something else.

The little girl nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I'm showing mercy. Those scumbags should've been killed outright."

Spider-Man exclaimed, "That's not right. It's wrong to lure others into committing crimes, and it's even worse to rob them."

The little girl looked at him with disgust. "You're so old-fashioned. No wonder you're not as popular as Electro. Kids like Electro, but not you."

"Really? Kids don't like me?"

Spider-Man felt a bit deflated. He thought of something and shouted, "Wait, that's because Electro was on a kids' show—uh, that's not the point. The point is, you can't do that. You have to give their stuff back."

"Whatever."

The little girl was dismissive. She put the wallet and baton into her bag, turned around, and ran away. Spider-Man was about to chase her when she shouted, "Help. Spider-Man is bullying a child."

Spider-Man almost tripped. This little girl was really a handful. He was about to give chase when suddenly, a woman's voice called for help in the distance: "Help. Someone help me."

He hesitated and decided to save the person first. Seeing that Spider-Man was no longer chasing her, the little girl snorted, took out the wallet she'd just grabbed, and started counting the money.

After counting, she sighed, "So little. When will I collect enough money to find my dad? Maybe I should rob the rich. The Osborn Group seems to be doing well lately."

For now, let's leave the little girl's thoughts aside. Spider-Man followed the voice and rushed to the door of an abandoned warehouse. He saw two tattooed thugs harassing a woman.

Without hesitation, he approached and easily knocked the two men to the ground. He then reached out to the woman who had fallen. "Ma'am, the nights in Hell's Kitchen are very dangerous. You shouldn't be out alone."

"Thank you, Spider-Man." the woman said gratefully, raising her hand to take his.

"Huh?" Spider-Man sensed danger and immediately pulled back.

Seeing that he was about to back away, the woman clenched her fist, and the gem on her ring shot out energy, hitting his chest. A dazzling electric light lit up, and Spider-Man screamed and fell to the ground, a section of his suit on his chest charred.

"Spider-Man is nothing special." the woman sneered. She got up and moved to knock him unconscious, but he suddenly swept her legs, knocking her down, and then kicked her away.

He got up as if nothing had happened, looked at the charred part of his suit, and sighed, "Another one ruined. Making new suits is such a hassle. Maybe I should just buy those Spider-Man costumes from the store. But they're expensive, and I don't get any profit from them."

At that moment, a group of guys in black T-shirts rushed in, blocking the warehouse door.

Spider-Man realized this was a trap. He looked around and found that the warehouse wasn't large, the ceiling wasn't high, and there was only a small window—escape was difficult.

"You really chose a good place." he remarked.

A tall, burly man wearing a bullseye mask walked in, grinning. "Of course it's a good place. I even had the walls reinforced. Spider-Man, you can't escape today even if you had wings."

"I don't have wings." Spider-Man quipped. "Hey, can you even see with that mask on?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Get him. The doctor said to take him alive." The man—Bullseye, Kingpin's top enforcer—waved, and the group of men in black began tearing off their shirts, revealing muscular bodies.

Spider-Man complained, "You guys don't need to tear your clothes. You're not transforming."

The enhanced men were furious, threw aside their shirts, and rushed at him with weapons. The woman from before also got up and joined the attack.

"Enhanced people aren't as impressive as they used to be," Spider-Man mused.

He raised his hand to shoot webs but found his web-shooters malfunctioning. He tried several times to no avail. "That electric shock must've shorted them out. I shouldn't have used cheap parts."

Spider-Man cursed and began fighting hand-to-hand with the enhanced men. Despite being outnumbered, he held his own, trading blows effectively.

"Thanks to the good-tempered big sister, thanks to the bad-tempered little sister, thanks for toughening me up every day." he muttered, kicking an enhanced man with a back kick.

Bullseye stood aside, holding a handful of playing cards, watching coldly.

After a while, Spider-Man leaped up to avoid an attack. Bullseye flicked his wrist, and five playing cards shot at him like sharp blades. Startled, Spider-Man tried his best to dodge, but three cards still cut his arms and legs.

He landed and shouted, "That's dirty."

"Glad you noticed." Bullseye laughed and threw more cards. The other enhanced men intensified their assault, and Spider-Man's situation became precarious.

Just then, smoke bombs were dropped through the small window, filling the area with thick smoke.

"Who's interfering?." Bullseye was furious. With a flick of his hand, the playing cards spun and shot toward the window, curving downward outside.

A sharp scream came from outside; it sounded like a little girl.

Spider-Man's face changed dramatically. He rushed out, relying on his memory in the smoke. The enhanced men couldn't stop him in time due to the poor visibility.

Bullseye sensed the movement and hurled playing cards in Spider-Man's direction. Spider-Man grabbed a nearby enhanced man, used him as a shield to block the cards, and then pushed him hard toward Bullseye.

Bullseye felt something collide with him and kicked it away without hesitation, sending the man flying.

At that moment, Spider-Man dashed out the door, running to the side. At the corner of the outer wall, he saw the little girl in purple lying on the ground in pain—the same girl from before. She had been hit in the abdomen by a playing card and was bleeding heavily.

Despite the injury, she didn't cry. She covered her wound, her face contorted, gritting her teeth to endure the pain. "I overestimated myself," she thought. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to help Spider-Man. I don't want to die; I still have to find my father."

Meanwhile, in a desert in Texas, a stern man in a leather jacket riding a motorcycle suddenly looked toward New York. He sensed that his daughter was hurt and needed his help.

"No one harms my daughter." The man was furious. He turned his bike around and sped toward New York. His eyes glowed with fierce intensity, and shadows gathered around him, coalescing into flames, burning his flesh, leaving behind a burning skeleton racing toward its destination.

Outside the warehouse, seeing the little girl like this, Spider-Man felt a surge of guilt. If she hadn't tried to help him, she wouldn't be injured. That guy is heartless, attacking a child.

"I'll take you to the hospital right away." he said, quickly picking her up and heading toward the nearest hospital.

Bullseye and the others chased after them. Seeing that Spider-Man was about to escape, Bullseye hurled nearby objects as projectiles. Spider-Man's spider-sense allowed him to dodge without looking back, but his abrupt movements caused the girl's wound to worsen, and she groaned.

"This won't work." Spider-Man thought anxiously. He recalled a place and quickly changed direction. Bullseye and his men continued their pursuit.

People on the street gasped at the sight of Spider-Man being chased. Many hurriedly called the police. Bullseye grew more anxious but still couldn't close the distance.

Spider-Man suddenly stopped at the door of a teahouse that was still open and shouted, "Madame Gao, help me."

He didn't rush in, knowing how formidable this place was.

Madame Gao, meditating in the backyard, heard the call. She swiftly moved to the lobby, her speed defying her age. Seeing Spider-Man, she motioned for the waiter to open the door. "Come in," she said.

"Thank you, Madame Gao." Spider-Man quickly carried the girl inside. Madame Gao asked him to place her on a table to examine her injuries.

"It's not too serious; she'll survive," Madame Gao said, tapping around the wound. The girl immediately felt less pain and looked at her gratefully.

"Such a brave child," Madame Gao smiled kindly. She gently pressed her hand, using her energy to remove the playing card. The girl groaned but held back tears.

Admiring her resilience, Madame Gao used her energy to seal the wound, preventing further bleeding.

The girl looked at her in surprise. "What kind of ability is this?" she wondered. "It's amazing and comforting."

Outside, Bullseye and his men arrived. He was about to rush in when Madame Gao shouted, "Enter if you dare, but leaving won't be so easy."

"You think you can scare me?" Bullseye was about to sneer but then recognized her. Breaking into a cold sweat, he turned and fled without a word.

As Kingpin's enforcer, Bullseye knew how formidable Madame Gao was. Even Kingpin showed her respect. Plus, this was vampire territory.

He had just turned when a group emerged from the nearby construction site. "Vampires." Bullseye quickly led his men to retreat. The mission was a failure, but at least they had obtained Spider-Man's blood.

The vampires were about to give chase when Madame Gao called out, "No need to pursue; let them go."

"Yes, Madame Gao." they replied respectfully, returning to the construction site—they were renovating the headquarters of the Council of Blood, soon to be completed.

With Bullseye gone, Spider-Man breathed a sigh of relief. He then remembered his earlier slip and felt uneasy—Peter Parker knew Madame Gao, but Spider-Man shouldn't. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice.

She finished tending to the girl and said, "Take her to the nearby hospital for proper treatment. You should get treated as well."

"Okay," he nodded, then hesitated. "I don't have any money, and they'd ask for identification."

"No money?" Madame Gao snorted. "Are you expecting her to pay for herself?"

Hearing this, the girl weakly said, "I have no money, none at all."

"You clearly have... uh, maybe I shouldn't expect you to pay," Spider-Man stammered, frustrated by the predicament.

Seeing this, Madame Gao asked, "Why don't you join the Watchers' Company? With their support, you wouldn't have these problems."

"I just want to be everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I don't want to be a star or make money from this."

"It's been a long time since I've seen someone so pure-hearted," Madame Gao sighed. The girl scolded, "Idiot, don't you know how to earn money?"

Madame Gao suggested, "You could authorize the Watchers' Company to produce your merchandise. The profits could cover any damages you've caused, aligning with your principles."

"Is that possible? I've seen those products, and it bothers me—they don't give me any money but sell them at high prices." Spider-Man was intrigued. The girl curled her lips and muttered, "Idiot."

After thinking for a moment, Madame Gao said, "Fine. Leave the girl here; I'll treat her. The medical fees can be deducted from your future earnings."

"Thank you, Madame Gao." Spider-Man said gratefully. He then felt her gaze and added awkwardly, "Uh, I mean, thank you."

Madame Gao gave him a knowing look. Did he really think she didn't know his identity?

Feeling uneasy, Spider-Man said to the girl, "I'll go now. I'll bring a gift when I visit tomorrow."

As he left, the girl called after him, "Bring some gold as a gift; I don't want anything else."

Spider-Man stumbled and nearly fell. Where was he supposed to get gold? And who brings gold as a get-well gift?

After he left, Madame Gao asked the girl, "What's your name? Do you need me to contact your family?"

"My name is Mindy, Mindy McCready," she replied with a hint of sadness. "My dad is gone; there's no one to contact."

While examining her, Madame Gao asked, "You're a strong one, Mindy. Have you... killed anyone?"

Mindy said proudly, "I'm also a superhero. My name is Hit-Girl."

"Hit-Girl? That's a good name." Madame Gao smiled, then noted, "Your martial arts aptitude is excellent, but your training method is flawed. If you continue like this, you'll become quite... bulky in the future."

"Bulky?" Mindy's eyes widened. "Is that how you'd describe a girl like me?"

"I'm not lying to you. Mindy, would you like to become my disciple? I can teach you real kung fu."

Madame Gao said kindly. Teaching was her greatest joy, and Mindy was the kind of genius every master desired.

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