041. The Mafia Ambush

Hearing the voice behind him, the shadow in the darkness quickly reached for the pistol tucked at his waist. But in the next instant, a strand of white webbing suddenly appeared, sticking to his gun and flinging it away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there's no need to get all worked up with guns and knives. Relax. Can’t we have a calm conversation?" The voice rang out again. The man didn’t even need to turn his head; just from that strand of webbing, he already knew who he’d run into.

"Spider-Man? What are you doing here?" he asked, while stealthily reaching for the phone in his pocket. He intended to dial his boss blind, hoping that if he could get through, he could report Spider-Man’s whereabouts and earn himself a major credit.

Unfortunately, such a small move, even under the cover of night, was as obvious as lice on a bald head to Su Ye, with his superhuman vision.

Whoosh!

Another strand of web shot out, gluing the man’s hand right to his crotch. Then Su Ye leapt down from above, delivering a flying kick.

"Since you don't intend to cooperate, I’m afraid you leave me no choice!"

Bang! The man was launched off his feet, sent flying backward off the rooftop, plummeting in free fall from hundreds of meters up.

"No! Help! Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you everything I know! Everything, everything, everything—"

"What’s that? I can’t hear you!" Su Ye leaned against the rooftop edge, letting the man sail out into the night. His cries distorted in the wind, but Su Ye paid him no mind.

Only after the man had flown dozens of meters out—far enough that it looked like he’d wet his pants—did Su Ye fire off a web, reeling him back and hanging him out to dry on a nearby lightning rod.

"Hey buddy, did you have watermelon or beer tonight? That’s a lot! Now, tell me everything you know. I guarantee, you won’t want to experience that again."

The man was not one of strong will. After a taste of free fall from the building, survival instinct took over, and he spilled everything he knew, including an address and part of the operation plan.

He was just a lookout and didn’t know much. But for Su Ye, it was more than enough.

"Kingpin, the Yakuza, the Mafia—three organizations joining forces to go after Harry? That’s quite the lineup! What on earth did Harry do? Sleep with Kingpin’s girlfriend?"

Su Ye joked as he made his way toward the address he’d just acquired. Spider-Man’s method of getting around meant he wasn’t as fast as Harry, but he wasn’t in any rush.

Harry wasn’t made of paper—he could surely hold out for a while. Besides, Su Ye had no intention of showing up on the battlefield right away. An act of timely rescue is always more valuable than embellishing a victory, and moving in the shadows often allowed him to play a more decisive role.

In an abandoned steel mill on the outskirts, members of the Mafia were loading goods onto a truck.

Their bosses were the Rankhoff brothers—Vladimir, the elder, and Anatoly, the younger. Years ago, they ran into trouble in Russia and were arrested, but later broke out of prison and fled to America, beginning their lives of crime.

Every mob boss probably has a tragic past and untold stories they’d rather forget. The Rankhoff brothers were no exception, but Su Ye had no interest in their woes. The moment they started trafficking in human lives, all their suffering became irrelevant—no amount of tragedy could justify the harm they did to innocent women.

By now, the Mafia had been loading the truck for quite a while. To stall for the arrival of the Green Armored Man, they even went so far as to unload and reload the cargo under false pretenses, finally managing to keep busy until Harry arrived.

From afar, as the green glow approached, the Rankhoff brothers wore matching, vicious grins.

"Our guest is here. Get ready!"

At their command, dozens of henchmen hidden in the shadows gripped their rifles and shotguns, aiming at the green light in the sky.

The green light sped closer, and in the blink of an eye hovered above the abandoned factory. But before it could even come to a stop, a barrage of gunfire erupted from below.

The Rankhoff brothers each hefted a grenade launcher, squeezing the triggers. Two grenades, trailing fiery tails, streaked toward the green light.

Ratatatat! Boom!

Under the onslaught of bullets and grenades, the flying device in the green light was blasted to pieces, exploding in midair like fireworks and scattering debris in every direction.

"Yeah! Success!" The crowd cheered. With the glider blown to bits, there was no way the Green Armored Man could have survived. Even Iron Man wouldn’t have withstood such a hail of bullets and grenades.

"We won’t need the rest of those plans they made. We’ve finished the job ahead of schedule!"

The Rankhoff brothers exchanged glances, barely able to contain their triumphant smiles.

"Brother! We did it!"

"Brother! We’re the best!"

Having taken down the Green Armored Man, the Mafia’s reputation was sure to soar. Perhaps they’d no longer have to live under Kingpin’s thumb, at the beck and call of his secretary.

But as they indulged in dreams of a brighter future, a few pumpkin-shaped metal balls suddenly dropped from the sky, their red lights blinking ominously.

"What are those—wait, no!"

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late to dodge. Explosions erupted in blinding fire.

It was hard to imagine that a few fist-sized pumpkin bombs could unleash such devastating force. After a handful of blasts, half the gunmen were down.

Before anyone could catch their breath, a buzzing filled the air—more glowing mini-pumpkins darted through the darkness, wings whirring like insects.

Wherever they flew, screams followed, and another half of the gunmen fell.

After two volleys, barely a dozen shooters remained, and the Mafia still hadn’t even located their enemy.

"Didn’t we blow him up? What’s going on—where are these attacks coming from?" The Rankhoff brothers shouted from behind cover, their faces now stripped of any trace of optimism, replaced by pure fury.

How was the Green Armored Man still fighting? Hadn’t he just been blasted to bits?

On the factory rooftop, Harry crouched in the shadows, relief plain on his face.

Luckily, he’d been cautious enough to jump off his glider from afar, sending it ahead by remote control to scout the way. Otherwise, if he’d been caught in that barrage, even if he hadn’t been killed outright, he’d have been hard-pressed to escape unscathed from the ensuing siege.

This Mafia transfer really was a trap. With all the strategists in the operations department, none were as effective as Xiao Ye alone. When he got back, he’d fire the whole lot of them!