If Su Ming, with his outstanding temperament and exquisite attire, was merely striking when he emerged from the luxurious Manhattan Hotel, then as he ventured deeper into Hell's Kitchen, he became utterly out of place.
Neon tubes flickered with Shadows on peeling brick walls, and the whispers of drug deals drifted from behind rusty iron gates.
The glass windows of abandoned bars were covered in filthy grime, and emaciated addicts huddled inside.
Foul White mist rose from sewer openings, and behind every door, there seemed to be a pair of greedy eyes.
Even stray cats carried coins with bullet holes.
This was a paradise of crime—Hell's Kitchen.
Wearing a mask and transformed into a noble Prince, Su Ming ignored the women who tried to strike up conversations and walked directly into an antique shop.
Although the shelves were piled high with moldy old books and skeletal statues, biometric scanners were embedded within the walls.
After confirming that Su Ming was unarmed, the hidden guards relaxed their grip on their guns, and the entrance to the underground exchange slowly opened.
This was Su Ming's first time here; a descending staircase led to a spacious hall.
The hall wasn't luxurious but was notably clean.
An air filtration system wafted the scent of cedar, forming a stark contrast with the foul odor on the ground.
All sorts of people moved through the various private rooms, but upon seeing Su Ming, they all showed expressions of astonishment.
There was even an attendant-like person who specifically invited Su Ming to dine with his Master.
After politely declining with a smile, Su Ming approached the service counter and gently called three times before waking the receptionist lady, who was staring at him with a lovesick expression.
After choosing the task retrieval card, he entered a small room according to the number on it.
The room contained only a chair and a screen; after Su Ming sat down, he seemed to hear a faint female voice from the speakers:
"Oh my God ~ He's so handsome…"
After the door closed, the screen automatically displayed a dense array of various Bounty tasks, scrolling continuously.
Missing persons, assassinations, kidnappings, threats, cutting off hands and feet…
The Bounty amounts consistently left Su Ming unsatisfied.
Of course, after earning 2 million U.S. dollars in one go, anyone would look at other amounts and think—they're just okay.
Suddenly, Su Ming's gaze was drawn to a task scrolling by:
Protect Tony Stark, Bounty 1 million U.S. dollars.
Because among so many tasks, requests to protect someone or act as a bodyguard were almost nonexistent.
It was as if the task employers tacitly believed that the gentlemen of Hell's Kitchen were more adept at killing and destruction.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth; this Tony was indeed a popular figure.
For no other reason, Su Ming had already seen several requests concerning Tony Stark—the vast majority were assassinations.
The highest Bounty was only 800,000 U.S. dollars.
This protection task, however, was as high as 1 million, the highest-priced of all Bounty tasks so far.
There were indeed many people eyeing Tony!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Ming chose to accept this task of protecting Tony Stark.
At the same time, people in other private rooms of the exchange saw the notification that this bodyguard task had been claimed, and they began to discuss animatedly:
"He dares to take on a task related to Tony Stark; this person is probably tired of living!"
"That's right, those targeting Tony's head are top-tier capital magnates or regional overlords; small-time operators who can only pick up tasks from this underground exchange aren't even enough to fill their teeth…"
"Good luck, brave fellow!"
…
Su Ming didn't know any of this; he only saw a drawer suddenly pop out from the bottom of the screen, containing a phone and a card.
Just as he was looking at the card, puzzled, the phone rang.
Being here for the first time, he didn't understand the rules, and the staff's prompt sounded around him:
"Employer calling, please answer."
Su Ming suddenly realized and picked up the phone:
"Hello, Mr. Courage, I'm glad you accepted this task."
The encrypted dialing and blurred voice only allowed Su Ming to barely make out the content of the call but not distinguish the voice.
"Mr. Stark will be traveling to Afghanistan for business activities soon, and I will arrange for you to be by his side, making it convenient for you to complete the bodyguard task."
Su Ming listened to the other party's words, feeling it was only natural.
But then the content of the call took a complete 180-degree turn:
"Oh, by the way! Mr. Courage, are you interested in learning about a 3 million-dollar deal?"
Su Ming's eyes lit up at the words, 3 million? A new high!
"Willing to listen."
The other end of the phone seemed very satisfied and continued to explain:
"It's like this: the Bounty for protecting Mr. Stark is 1 million, and I also have a task to eliminate Mr. Stark—worth 3 million.
I wonder if Mr. Courage is interested?"
Things were getting interesting…
A hint of playfulness appeared in Su Ming's eyes as he waited for the other party to explain further.
"Sir, there's no need to be confused; it's just business. As I said, protect Mr. Stark on his return from Afghanistan, and 1 million will be paid in full; the task to eliminate Mr. Stark is effective at any time."
Su Ming was very curious:
"Dear Master, I understand the task rules, but why choose me? I mean for the latter task."
A deep laugh sounded from the other end of the phone:
"Mr. Courage, I didn't choose you; you chose the task. When you accepted this bodyguard task, I knew you possessed extraordinary courage."
Courage, my foot; it's probably that no one dares to take on tasks related to Tony…
Su Ming grumbled inwardly, then thought, Tony hasn't gone to Afghanistan yet; this is his good opportunity.
He exchanged pleasantries with the other party for a few moments and then hung up the phone.
According to the staff's explanation, the card in the drawer was the voucher for claiming the task, containing the bank card number and code name of the person who claimed the task.
Su Ming had no idea he also needed to provide a code name, so he temporarily thought of a transliteration of his own name—Destiny.
Amidst the reluctant farewells of the service girl, Su Ming left the underground exchange with the task contact phone.
In the Manhattan Hotel, Su Ming lay on the bed, contemplating the upcoming task.
He remembered that Tony suffered quite a bit in Afghanistan, and at the same time, awakened a rare compassion within his arrogant personality.
To put it bluntly, he almost died from a missile developed by his own company, which sent a chill down his spine.
That's why he later made the decision to completely cancel all weapon development projects.
Su Ming felt that as a Bounty Hunter, his first task still required a certain level of respect for the job. No matter if he was the future Iron Man, now that he'd fallen into his hands, sorry—I am a Bounty Hunter with no feelings!
Thinking of this, Su Ming knew which direction his abilities should develop.
He realized he had no long-range attack methods.
Before this, relying on his Jeet Kune Do Mastery, which allowed him to move freely through Brooklyn, in the hail of bullets in Afghanistan, facing the fully armed Taliban, Su Ming realized that he must possess an outstanding long-range striking method!
Guns? Bow and arrow? Or something else?
Carefully browsing the system store, Su Ming fell into deep hesitation.
Any of them would be good! But they're expensive…