Hearing this, Bullseye first nodded and offered a bit of flattery to Kingpin.
"You're wise, Boss. Actually, after seeing the reports of Electro's gruesome death, I also suspected that The Punisher was the dock butcher."
After echoing his boss, Bullseye then turned to the business at hand.
"As for Obadiah, that idiot said he could handle his own business and is unwilling to provide us with a free weapons system."
"However, he also stated that as long as we stop sourcing from Hammer Industries in the future, he's willing to give us a fifteen percent discount on our orders."
Hearing this, Kingpin couldn't help but let out a sneer.
"He certainly has it all calculated!"
Thinking about how he was no longer short of money after swallowing Mrs. Gao's territory and business, Kingpin said coldly.
"Feign agreement for now and get our hands on this latest batch of weapons first. As for the future..."
At this point, a cold and sharp light flashed in Kingpin's eyes.
"Once we have our own army of supervillains, this small amount of money will be completely insignificant. At that time, I want his entire Stark Industries!"
"Understood, Boss!"
...Another wonderful day of high school life came to an end.
Nowadays, Gwen had practically carved heroism into her DNA.
After hurriedly making an appointment with Peter for a combat practice session on her rooftop tonight, she donned her suit and quickly disappeared into the concrete jungle, swinging on her webs.
After watching Gwen leave, Peter was considering whether to check out Parker Technologies or pay a visit to William Baker, when he heard a familiar voice from behind.
"Hey, Peter."
Peter turned around and found that the person speaking was none other than Felicia.
"Is something the matter?"
Felicia crossed her arms, staring straight into Peter's eyes, trying to project an air of being "upfront and honest."
"Thank you for giving me the emerald dragon scale. So, as a reward, would you like to go grab some dessert together?"
Looking at her feigned composure and tsundere-like attitude, Peter couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
His gaze swept over Felicia inconspicuously, noticing that while she wanted to appear indifferent, she had clearly dressed up for the occasion.
Her silver hair was styled to be smooth and voluminous, and her outfit—a khaki trench coat paired with jeans and tall Dr. Martens—perfectly accentuated her curvaceous figure.
Especially... the curves of her bust highlighted by the turtleneck sweater were clearly not in the same league as Gwen's.
Did Felicia have such a big advantage before? Surely she isn't using padding to deceive the customer?
Peter almost wanted to use his Byakugan to investigate, but he ultimately suppressed his intense curiosity.
"If you want to thank me for giving you the emerald dragon scale, then don't bother."
Before the light in Felicia's eyes could dim, Peter suddenly changed his tone.
"But if it's a treat as a friend, then I won't be polite!"
Hearing Peter's words, Felicia was stunned for a moment, then she broke into a wide smile and lightly punched Peter's shoulder.
"No wonder Gwen is so head over heels for you. It turns out your old nerd image was just a disguise!"
"Let's go, I know a place nearby where the egg tarts and milkshakes are great!"
Noticing Felicia's behavior, Peter also laughed. This was the Felicia he remembered.
In the dessert shop, the atmosphere between the two had clearly become much more harmonious.
Peter then casually asked about the conflict between Felicia and her mother that night.
Felicia had clearly adjusted by now, and she relaxed as she explained her mother's plan to remarry.
"To be honest, I was completely panicked then and had no idea what to do."
At this, Felicia paused, and a hint of daze unconsciously appeared in her eyes as she looked at Peter.
In her perspective, Peter seemed to be wearing a hood and a Hollow mask again, transforming into that powerful and overbearing "The Punisher."
"However, your appearance helped me make up my mind. Now, I've completely figured it out."
At this, Felicia unconsciously clenched her fist.
"If that woman really dares to abandon me and my father, then I'll use the same way my father accumulated that wealth to make her lose everything he ever gave her!"
Felicia's words were a bit cryptic; if Gwen were here, she would definitely be completely confused.
But Peter understood.
He knew who Felicia's father was—the master thief "The Cat," Walter Hardy.
Clearly, Felicia didn't plan to stop her vain mother, but instead intended to punish her in a more ingenious way.
She was going to steal all of her mother's assets, making the woman regret her wrong choice.
Although this method sounded somewhat improper, there was no doubt that Felicia had overcome her inner weakness after obtaining the emerald dragon scale.
She was gradually revealing her true character, becoming more and more like the "Black Cat" from the original story.
However, the current "nightingale" was no longer morally ambiguous, but more like the current Peter—only doing what she believed was right.
"Do you think I'm being too excessive by doing this?"
After revealing her plan against her mother, Felicia suddenly stared straight into Peter's eyes, as if waiting for a judgment.
She even quietly employed the micro-expression analysis techniques her father had taught her to judge whether Peter was lying to her.
In response, Peter just smiled and raised his glass to Felicia.
"No, I think your approach is just right."
Peter meant this from the bottom of his heart.
Having lived two lives, his way of thinking was completely different from the "Friendly Neighborhood" Peters of other parallel Universes.
Regarding Felicia's actions, he wouldn't think they were excessive; instead, he only felt... that the girl wasn't being ruthless enough.
A gold-digger who runs off with her predecessor's assets would have been drowned in a pig cage in ancient times... After confirming that Peter wasn't lying, Felicia suddenly laughed, her laughter incredibly cheerful.
She cooperatively clinked glasses with Peter and then downed the milkshake in her glass.
"Thank you, I mean it."
"Also, let me tell you a secret: my dad has a cellar full of fine wine. Maybe next time, we can bring Gwen along and try what drinking is like together."
Because of the prohibition laws in America, teenagers have to wait until they are 21 to drink.
Although the vast majority of teenagers try drinking secretly before that age, the previous Peter and Gwen were clearly not among them.
After saying this, Felicia picked up her schoolbag and left with a light step.
Only when she reached the door did she playfully wink at Peter.
"See you tomorrow, Peter."
"See you tomorrow."
After watching Felicia leave, Peter couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.
Thinking to himself, Will you really invite Gwen when the time comes?
I doubt it...