Chapter 123: The Absent-Minded Night Phantom (Late Night Bonus Chapter for the Handsome Leader of the Sailors at Qidian)

Daredevil listened intently and spoke in a low voice, "Someone's coming."

The two gunshots just now had clearly drawn more attention than just his.

The gangster, who had been hanging upside down, let out a sinister, eerie laugh. "You better not mention that gentleman’s name, kid—you’re as good as dead! And you, demon of Hell’s Kitchen… ah!"

Daredevil landed a solid punch squarely on his face, knocking him unconscious.

"Are you also looking for Wilson Fisk?" Daredevil asked, his expression unreadable beneath the mask as he looked at Spider-Man.

Spider-Man forced himself not to look toward Luke, unwilling to expose his teammate.

What Spider-Man didn’t know was that Luke’s cover had already been blown. In English, "you" can mean either singular or plural. He had misunderstood Daredevil’s question and replied, "Yes, I’m looking for him. Do you know where he is?"

Daredevil shook his head.

He, too, had been trying every possible means to track down Fisk lately. But every time he thought he had a lead, it would mysteriously vanish. Informants either died or disappeared. Fisk was incredibly cunning.

The gangster’s earlier words held clear meaning to Daredevil. The sly Fisk strictly forbade anyone under his command from ever mentioning his name. "Wilson Fisk" was a taboo.

Not long ago, Daredevil had witnessed firsthand a gang member being executed on the spot in a police interrogation room by two corrupt officers bought off by Fisk—simply for revealing that name.

A thought struck Daredevil, and he grabbed Spider-Man firmly. "You need to leave here. Don’t come back."

In Daredevil’s mind, a child of possibly only a few years old should never be involved in such matters. Hell’s Kitchen was his territory, and it was his responsibility to protect its people—not for a kid to do in his stead.

No sooner had he spoken than a dozen burly, menacing thugs armed with submachine guns poured out from the gang’s hideout. The earlier gunfire had disturbed a secret meeting inside.

Neither Daredevil nor Luke knew at this moment that Fisk himself was inside.

Tonight was a remarkable coincidence. Fisk was meeting here with several partners: Madame Gao, a representative of the Hand, and some major gang leaders.

The sudden gunfire interrupted the meeting. Fisk and the others had already begun to withdraw.

Under the veil of darkness, Daredevil moved like a phantom, swiftly charging at the gunmen. His fists and feet struck with practiced precision, each blow knocking them down but causing no fatal harm.

"Buddy, lend a hand!" Luke instructed through the earpiece.

Spider-Man, stunned for a moment, immediately joined the fray, his small figure darting forward.

Though small in stature, he was remarkably agile. All night, he had been skillfully wielding his armored web shooters, sending out white strands with a "whizz"—some to jam gun barrels, others to entangle enemy submachine guns and snatch them away.

Gunfire cracked intermittently through the night, but none hit Daredevil. He had to admit that Spider-Man had saved him a great deal of trouble.

There were over a dozen enemies, all wielding short submachine guns. Normally, Daredevil would never engage such foes head-on.

Suddenly, he felt that having a partner like this at his side wasn’t such a bad thing.

Only, the partner was far too young.

"I’ll hold them off. You get out of here!" Daredevil said again to Spider-Man.

"Sir, I can help you," Spider-Man said enthusiastically as he got into the swing of things. "Take this white spray! I’m shooting, I’m shooting! Oops, missed—sorry!"

"…" Daredevil found one foot stuck in a web strand. He tried to lift it, but it wouldn’t budge.

"Sorry, sir! Let me help you out," Spider-Man said sheepishly, rushing over to free the tangled web.

Within moments, the dozen or so gunmen had all been incapacitated by their combined efforts.

This was the first teamwork between Daredevil and Spider-Man in this universe—eight years ahead of schedule.

Daredevil had only knocked them unconscious, killing none.

Just as he was about to say something, Spider-Man shouted, "Sir, watch out! There’s someone behind you!"

Daredevil paused, suspicious yet uncertain. He shifted to the side just in time to feel a sharp gust of air brush past his ear, a spray of blood bursting from his shoulder.

He gritted his teeth against the pain, alarmed beyond measure.

He couldn’t sense the attacker’s presence at all!

Before he could react further, Spider-Man warned again, "Careful, he’s coming again!" and shot a web strand toward the shadow behind Daredevil—but the figure deftly evaded it.

The attacker wielded a katana, its blade gleaming coldly in the night.

But Daredevil was blind. He couldn’t see the glint of the blade. Worse, he couldn’t hear a single sound from the assailant.

To Daredevil’s ears, the attacker made no noise—not even footsteps.

Only when the blade was almost touching his body could he faintly sense a chill.

On a nearby rooftop, Luke observed the sudden scene and muttered, "A ninja? Why the hell is a grave-digging assassin here?"

The Hand loved grave digging because they possessed a supernatural resurrection technique. They could bring the dead back to life and train them into a legion of fearless ninjas.

Literally, "fearless unto death."

These death-defying, highly trained ninjas formed a powerful force controlled by the Hand, known for their overwhelming numbers. Even if wiped out, they’d return in days, clinging like stubborn burrs.

To other superheroes, these ninjas were merely skilled warriors and not very difficult to handle.

But Daredevil was blind. He couldn’t see them.

These trained ninjas, skilled in masking their presence, were the bane of his heightened senses. He couldn’t see or hear them at all.

On the street below, Daredevil started to panic. In all his years of ability, this was the first time he’d encountered such a situation. The enemy was virtually invisible to his senses.

"Sir, he’s coming again!" Fortunately, Peter Parker was nearby. Spider-Man quickly realized Daredevil’s predicament. Though he didn’t know why, he willingly became Daredevil’s temporary eyes.

Under attack from the Hand ninja wielding the katana, Daredevil dodged and fled desperately. Even so, the ghostly blade slashed small blood wounds across his body.

Matt Murdock strained to detect the subtle changes in air currents caused by the blade’s swings. The katana was as silent as a shadow; only once in several swings could he barely sense it.

Seizing the moment, Daredevil launched a counterattack, knocking the Hand ninja to the ground instantly.

Yet the enemy flipped over and quickly got back on his feet.

Luke watched this helplessly, wanting to curse. He thought Daredevil was stupid for holding back at a time like this. Not finishing the job was just asking for trouble.

The renowned Daredevil, known as the "Devil of Hell’s Kitchen," never killed.

As a result, Matt often came back from missions battered and bruised by the relentless waves of enemies who kept getting back up.

Luke considered Daredevil’s mercy typical foolishness.

Not a lack of cleverness, but a lack of heart—just the wrong kind.

This blind man’s super senses were almost like a mirror of the "Blind Eye" skill from the game Dungeon Fighter Online. Which was stronger was hard to say.

But the blind man in the game killed with ruthless efficiency. In contrast, Daredevil… well, he was down.

Against this Hand ninja—his nemesis—Daredevil’s kindness cost him dearly. He collapsed early, bloodied and motionless on the ground, his fate unknown.

The ninja slowly shifted position, turning his blade toward Spider-Man.

Danger surged instantly.

For young Spider-Man, this Hand ninja was a serious threat. These undead assassins’ swordsmanship easily overwhelmed Spider-Man’s relatively unrefined fighting style.

Moreover, tonight’s ninja seemed no ordinary soldier—far stronger than the low-level Hand thugs Luke was familiar with.

"After all, he’s still young and has much to learn. Let’s call it a night," Luke thought. Not everyone was like him, who had instant mastery of skills at a master’s level.

Under the cover of darkness, he stood on the rooftop and said, "Time for me to step in again."