“I hope you’ve brought me good news.”
Seeing Axel’s triumphant strut, Blacksmith offered a look of anticipation.
“Of course.
I brought the files back.”
Axel grinned with absolute confidence.
Unzipping his waist pouch, he reached inside to pull out the files.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Axel’s movements grew faster and more frantic, and the smile on his face slowly froze.
He flipped the pouch inside out and shook it violently, dumping its entire contents onto the desk.
Out tumbled an assortment of lethal weapons disguised as magic props: exploding rubber chickens, hard candy shells, expanding gum, itching powder, T-bombs…
Everything was there, except for the Network files.
He rubbed his eyes, but still saw nothing.
Blacksmith’s face instantly went cold.
Axel broke into a cold sweat, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
“That’s impossible!
I got them!
They were right inside!”
Axel was positive he had put the files in the pouch.
The zipper was intact, the pouch wasn’t torn, and no one had intercepted him along the way.
How could they have disappeared?
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he could never have guessed that an invisible alien had stolen the files right from under his nose.
“I need an explanation,” Blacksmith said, her tone devoid of emotion.
Axel felt a chilling dread that made every hair on his body stand on end.
He recounted his actions step by step: recruiting Yuri’s group, using the four punks as a distraction, acquiring the files, and slipping past the FBI guards to escape.
After finishing, Axel stole a glance at Blacksmith, who was staring at him with an expressionless face.
“Are you certain no one spotted you on your way here?” Blacksmith suddenly asked out of nowhere.
Axel blurted out immediately, “I’m positive.
I can guarantee it.”
“Heh,” Blacksmith let out a cold sneer.
“Then how did the files vanish?”
“I…
I don’t know, but…” Axel summoned his courage and continued, “I don’t think those files are a real threat to the Network anyway.
They don’t know where we are, they don’t know this place is underground, and they don’t know how many members we have. This story is hosted at g.com.
The few low-level perimeter members they know about can’t leak much…”
*BOOM!*
A deafening crash shattered the silence as Blacksmith suddenly erupted.
She charged forward like a bullet, smashing the heavy desk in front of her to splinters like soft tofu.
Under Axel’s horrified gaze, Blacksmith’s skin transformed from head to toe into blue metal.
She lunged forward, locking her hand around his throat.
“I don’t want to hear ‘I don’t know’!”
Blacksmith hoisted Axel high into the air by his neck with a single hand.
The sudden suffocating pressure made Axel thrash wildly.
“Do you have any idea how important those files are to us?!” Blacksmith roared in fury.
“The Network’s next operation is critical!
We cannot afford the slightest risk of a leak!”
“They haven’t noticed the truly important details in those files yet, but sooner or later, they will piece the complete line of clues together.
When that happens, every single one of us is finished!”
“Maybe you think that because The Flash isn’t in Central City, we can act without restraint!
But don’t forget there’s a damned satellite in the sky monitoring the entire planet!
If our plan leaks, the Justice League will mobilize!
We must tread with absolute caution!”
Axel choked out a desperate plea.
“I…
I understand my mistake, but I guarantee the files aren’t in the FBI’s hands right now.
Your plan…
still has time.”
“Please give me a chance to make up for my error.”
Blacksmith stared at him coldly for a long moment before finally releasing her grip.
Axel collapsed to the floor, clutching his neck and dry-heaving violently.
“I will give you one more chance.
Remember this: I will not tolerate a second failure!”
Axel breathed a sigh of relief.
He had truly brushed against death just now.
“I will retrieve the files as soon as possible.”
“No need,” Blacksmith shook her head.
“If the files were in James’s hands, they would be hidden somewhere we could never find.
Axel didn’t quite understand her meaning, but he didn’t dare ask, remaining quiet as he waited for her to continue.
“The Keystone City Police Department has an external profiler named Hunter Zolomon.
He thinks he pulled the wool over my eyes, but I’ve long known he’s in contact with my ex-husband.
Your mission is to erase every file stored on Hunter Zolomon’s private computer.”
Blacksmith tossed a palm-sized disk at Axel.
“Stick this onto the computer.
It will automatically wipe the data.”
“Axel, do not disappoint me!”
***
Meanwhile, at Yuri’s place.
Yuri sat inside the Rustbucket, reviewing his haul.
The Omnitrix was still analyzing the mysterious energy captured from Kid Flash, with roughly seventeen hours remaining.
Until then, Yuri temporarily couldn’t use the device.
He turned his attention to his second piece of loot: the Network investigation files.
Yuri spread the documents out on the table, reading through them line by line.
“Wow, this Network actually has some serious clout.”
The contents weren’t overly long, totaling just over a dozen pages, but the density of information on each page was staggering.
The Network’s headquarters was extremely secret; even now, its exact location remained unconfirmed.
Every known supervillain in Central City had collaborated with the Network to varying degrees.
Logically, interrogating them should have yielded plenty of intelligence.
Yet the reality was that every captured supervillain remembered visiting the Network, but completely forgot where it was located and what they had done inside.
They showed no signs of mental illness, had suffered no head trauma, and bore no physical marks whatsoever.
Even the warden of Iron Heights Penitentiary, infamous for his cold brutality, had failed to torture any useful intel out of them.
The Network held a total monopoly over the black markets of Central City and Keystone City, maintaining deep trade connections with black markets across multiple states.
Virtually anything could be bought through them.
According to FBI estimates, the black market’s annual turnover reached two hundred million dollars, from which the Network took a twenty percent cut—meaning their annual profit alone sat at fifty million…
Before long, Yuri finished reading the entire dossier.
Beyond describing the Network’s operations, the files specifically noted that a small number of supervillains had vanished mysteriously after committing consecutive crimes, or remained at large to this day, suggesting they possessed much deeper ties to the organization.
The final page focused entirely on the leader of the Network, compiled from information provided by an anonymous informant.
The leader of the Network called herself Blacksmith, her real name being Amunet Black.
She was the ex-wife of Keith Kenyon—the former supervillain Goldface and current president of the Kenyon Union in Keystone City—and had begun building the Network fifteen years ago…