After causing a ruckus in Hell's Kitchen, various pieces of information about Mondo quickly spread to different factions in less than half a day.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick looked at photos of Mondo from two different periods. "Is this the same person?"
"Yes, based on stolen intelligence and analysis of his behavioral logic, he can be identified as the same individual," Maria replied.
A time of trouble, indeed...
Nick pressed his temples, sifting through the available personnel.
Coulson was currently in the North Pole searching for Captain America and wouldn't be able to return anytime soon.
Hawkeye and Natasha were thoroughly investigating the root cause of the body theft incident; Nick suspected there were other Agent organizations with hidden personnel within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Sharon Carter was taking care of her great-aunt, Peggy Carter, and was responsible for liaising with U.S. government personnel.
Marcus Jensen, with the Haven team and technical support, was maintaining the global safe house network.
Victoria Hand was not suitable for handling such matters that were being watched by countless eyes.
After much thought, there seemed to be only one candidate.
"Maria, where is Melinda now?" Nick asked, looking up.
"According to her mission assignment, she will board a plane to Bahrain in three hours. Intelligence personnel there have reported a suspected discovery of an Inhuman."
Maria reported Melinda Mei's status without needing to consult documents; this was one of her abilities as Nick's important deputy.
"Cancel the mission, change the mission to investigate the Mondo incident. I want to know what happened to him to make him like this," Nick ordered.
"Understood."
Kingpin Group, Fisk Tower.
Through an undercover Agent in the Irish Mob, Kingpin obtained a briefing about Mondo that Danny Cooley had submitted to Finn Cooley.
"Able to withstand close-range gunfire, caused a ruckus at the underground boxing ring, and escaped safely. This is a dangerous individual," Kingpin said, putting down the briefing.
"Boss, do we need to eliminate him?"
Beside Kingpin, Scarface asked, his two crimson electronic eyes imprinting Mondo's appearance into his brain.
"No, this is exactly what I need. The Irish Mob should get out of my territory," Kingpin's words were full of ambition.
"As you wish," Scarface replied quietly.
Irish Mob, Hudson Consolidated Warehouse in the dock area.
Danny had just been severely reprimanded by Cooley.
Just compensating the accidentally deceased clients and making the NYPD turn a blind eye had cost a huge sum of money.
Even for the Irish Mob, taking out so much liquid capital at once was a bit damaging.
Spending money aside, this incident also laid a hidden mine that would surely be unearthed when other forces caused trouble in the future.
Furthermore, the culprit had still not been found and brought to justice, which was also a hidden danger and severely damaged the Irish Mob's reputation.
"Boss, what did the Elder say?" a subordinate cautiously asked Danny.
"The man—no, that purple monster—has he been found?" Danny's fists creaked. He personally suffered a great loss this time too.
The gang's various businesses were all accounted for, and the closure of the underground boxing ring was no small loss for him.
"Not yet..."
"Then go find him! Fuck! Are all of you eating shit? You can't find such a big monster?!"
"Boss... it escaped into Kingpin's territory, and Kingpin's Butcher Squad won't let us in..."
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Danny flew into a rage, kicking over the table in front of him, sending various bottles and jars crashing everywhere.
After venting his anger, Danny stared intently at his subordinate. "Find him! I want his head hung outside the boxing ring! Understand?!"
"Understood! Understood!"
And where was Mondo, whom Danny was so fixated on?
After expelling the bullets from his body, Mondo went directly into the Hudson River via the sewage system.
This was a river adjacent to Hell's Kitchen and the most important shipping area in Manhattan, where the Irish Mob's smuggling operations primarily landed.
In the murky river, Mondo reached out and grabbed a carp, stuffing it directly into his mouth.
After a few simple chews, it was swallowed whole.
The mutated Mondo possessed extraordinary digestive abilities; let alone eating raw fish, he could even gain considerable energy from eating garbage.
In special circumstances, Mondo could even feed on plankton through filter feeding, though the efficiency was relatively low.
As for the pollution of the Hudson River, it was even less worth mentioning; even the most severely polluted areas did not compare to the "toxins" within Mondo's body.
"Patient, patient, where are you, patient?"
Mondo occasionally poked his head above the Water, his nose catching scent molecules in the air, searching for Danny's trace.
After the brain's thinking, storage, and other areas degenerated, some of the remaining sensory abilities were significantly enhanced. Coupled with his mutated nose, Mondo's sense of smell was stronger than that of an average domestic dog, approaching that of a pig.
"Mondo found him!"
His massive body thrashed twice, and Mondo looked towards the brightly lit dock area 500 meters away, and the largest warehouse on it.
Using the constantly moving boats on the river, Mondo secretly approached the dock.
No one noticed his presence; after all, no one would expect a large figure like Mondo to gradually make his way from the riverbed.
According to common sense, a large figure requires a terrifying amount of oxygen, and massive muscles would increase water resistance, hindering swimming movements. Therefore, such individuals usually aren't good swimmers.
However, Mondo was not bound by common sense.
He found a ship that had completed unloading, and Mondo hid beneath the dock, watching his target from afar through the gaps in the wooden planks above his head.
After a quiet wait, Mondo finally saw Danny appear.
He was constantly urging his subordinates to continue searching for Mondo's hiding place overnight.
At the same time, Danny was also communicating with Randolph Castle, one of Kingpin's subordinates, trying to get him to agree to let Danny send a small team to search for Mondo under the supervision of the Butcher personnel.
Additionally, considering that Mondo might have already been found by Kingpin's people, Danny again increased the private bounty.
He didn't have too many demands; he didn't even need the person, just the head would suffice.
However, Randolph ignored him. Kingpin's explicit order was to maintain a safe distance when interacting with Mondo, and besides, they hadn't found Mondo either.
In the shadows, Mondo silently counted the number of people entering and exiting the warehouse.
After another convoy departed, he moved.
He stealthily climbed onto the dock, his huge body, under extraordinary muscular control, made only extremely faint sounds, attracting no one's attention.
"Hoo hoo~ Mondo's here~"
Mondo, relying on muscle instinct, used some of the cluttered buildings and containers on the dock to approach the warehouse. However, there was still about 50 meters between them, and with the bright lights, it was unlikely he could sneak across.
Scratching his head, Mondo fell into confusion. His walnut-sized brain wasn't working, so he could only continue to think with his muscles.
Thinking, he propped himself up to the side, his fingers piercing the brittle wooden box and touching a sharp object.
He looked down.
Hmm, why is there a cleaver?