In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

At that moment, Mason's expression... remained completely unchanged.

He had a general understanding of what this New York Grand Stage was all about. He had only been in the world for a few days and had already experienced Hydra's activities, the escape of the sinister Six, and vaguely started the mutant war mission line. Now, with the addition of a ninja... well, that's about it.

It's no big deal, keep playing the music, keep dancing!

There were only him and Lorna in the ward, but Mason heard a lot of screams from the next room and the room after that, interspersed with questions like "Why are there ninjas?" It seemed that the phenomenon in his ward was not an isolated case... Could it be that the entire hospital had been hijacked?

In the instant the screams erupted, Lorna, who had been sleeping, opened her eyes and immediately fixed her gaze on the ninja at the door.

— In situations like this, I should speak first.

Mason frowned, and after preparing himself, asked warily, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The ninja glanced at him, then spoke in a low growl in broken English with a distinctly Japanese accent.

—To be honest, if Mason hadn't watched a lot of cartoons and been somewhat familiar with English after it was corrupted by Romanization, he wouldn't have been able to understand what this guy was saying at all.

"Quiet! Don't move! Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety!" he said energetically. "Once our Hand leader reaches an agreement with the US government, you will be released—but before that, anyone who tries to escape from this hospital will face the punishment of ninjutsu!"

To be honest, Mason almost burst out laughing on the spot after hearing it.

What's the punishment for using ninjutsu? Dude, aren't you going to activate your Sharingan to prove your strength?

He had indeed heard of the Hand before. It was a deep-dark villainous organization in the Marvel Universe. Although it was called a ninja group, it was actually closer to a cult. This group worshipped a demon called "Beast" and made a living through dirty businesses such as assassination and drug trafficking. They were one of Daredevil's adversaries and had caused the "Shadowlands" incident, so they were somewhat well-known.

— Rather than hoping that such people will obediently release the hostages after a deal is reached, it's probably more realistic to believe that sows can fly trees and airplanes.

So, what should we do?

It's the middle of the night, and there's no way to expect the New York police to launch a major crackdown immediately. If the entire hospital is being held hostage by the Hand ninjas, I probably won't be able to escape with just an air gun that's more effective at repelling than killing.

As for Sadako's videotape... not to mention that the thing takes a full seven days to kill someone, even if you just see it, you'll die instantly. This hospital doesn't have any equipment to play the videotape, so it's basically a piece of high-level waste.

Thinking of this, Mason glanced at Lorna.

There was no sign of tension on her face, and she was undoubtedly capable of handling the current situation. With her help, ensuring her own safety should not be a problem.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Mason could tell that even if he didn't speak up, Lorna would definitely lend him a hand if they were really in danger. He figured that Lorna, the good daughter of the man in the scene, could easily annihilate these clueless ninjas a hundred times over!

In other words, as long as one is willing to curry favor with powerful figures, the current crisis is not a crisis at all.

Relaxed and enjoyable.

However... he didn't really like this approach.

Mason doesn't really like being helped.

He naturally distinguishes between situations where division of labor and cooperation are necessary, or situations where not relying on others would lead to problems. But he dislikes, or rather, hates, the situation where he has to be helped because of his own incompetence.

Of course, whether he likes it or not is one thing, but arguing in the face of a crisis is another. If he really has no other choice, he will naturally ask for help without hesitation, but it doesn't seem to be that time yet.

There is still room for maneuver.

He glanced at the clock on the wall out of the corner of his eye. It was 11:52. In eight minutes, a new day would begin—for him, a new opportunity to be summoned.

Even though you might get a bag of potato chips or something even more absurd, you should always give it a try first.

That's what he thought, but the patient seemed to have a different idea.

"You...no, you're involved in a kidnapping scheme and are using me as a hostage, aren't you?"

She raised her head and stared at the black-clad ninja with a chillingly cold gaze.

Mason seemed to vaguely see some strange, dark green smoke rising from her, but it disappeared immediately.

"Shut up!"

In an instant, the black-clad ninja drew his short sword from his waist. The gleaming blade stood out conspicuously in the dim light. Even through his mask, one could sense the intense cruelty on his face, as if he were looking at two lambs to the slaughter.

"No talking, no screaming, no moving." He casually twirled his knife as if showing off the sharpness of a weapon, and sneered, "I don't have that much patience. If you dare to resist, I don't mind rendering you incapable of moving forever."

If Mason were alone, he might have been sweating at the threat, since the ninja seemed to have some supernatural abilities and he might not be able to defeat him. But the problem was that there was another person in the ward who appeared to be an Alpha-level mutant. Thinking of his father's ruthless methods, Mason couldn't help but light a candle for the ninja first.

"I see."

Lorna turned her head, slowly exhaled, and her tone suddenly became sharp: "Then that would be self-defense—"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a click, and the clock hanging on the wall detached from its fixing pin, flew into the air, and then slammed down towards the black-clad ninja's head.

In a flash, the black-clad ninja looked up with an incredulous expression, and with a backbend, he assumed a bridge-like stance, narrowly dodging the fierce attack.

However, upon seeing this, Lorna immediately beckoned, and the clock made a large arc near the ground, crashing down on the ninja who had no way to avoid it.

A clock the size of a washbasin slammed into the black-clad ninja's face, instantly causing blood to gush out, his nose to break, and his entire face to ooze out a mixture of salty, sour, and spicy flavors, like a sauce and oil shop had been opened.

He tried to struggle to his feet, but the clock moved up and down twice inexplicably. After two loud thuds, the unfortunate man finally kicked his legs and lay sprawled on the ground, clearly beyond saving.

Therefore, even when it comes to committing crimes, one must consult the Chinese almanac.

Wow.

Mason gave a brief sigh, then leaned over and gave Lorna a thumbs up: "Well done."

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she got out of bed, went to the black-clad ninja, checked his breath with her right hand, then turned back, gave Mason a somewhat gloomy look, and asked in a muffled voice, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Mason chuckled: "Why?"

"...That's usually how it is, isn't it?" Lorna pursed her lips. "No matter how nicely they talk, they'll start to get scared once they actually witness violence."

"Huh? Mutant abilities, huh? I've seen them before." Mason shrugged. "I watched Spider-Man beat up Rhino up close the other day, and he didn't even blink—don't think of me as some kind of two-faced loser!"

"..."

Lorna fell silent, simply lowering her head, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Mason shrugged, hopped off the bed on one foot, went to the window, took out his phone, quickly found Elliott's contact page, and sent him a text message.

[Mass kidnapping incident at Hyde Medical Center, requesting assistance]

A reply arrived within seconds; it was concise and easy to understand.

"What are you doing?"

"Call the police, get reinforcements," Mason replied to Lorna without looking up. "Those who dare to attack a hospital in the middle of the night are no ordinary criminals; we have to crack down on them!"

After saying that, he added a text message.

I'm not kidding.

There was a moment of silence on Elliott's end, but he quickly replied.

[This is true—the Japanese ninja organization "Hand-kai" has just issued a statement to the government claiming that they have taken Hyde Medical Center in New York City hostage, demanding the release of their arrested former leader, "Mrs. Taka." They claim that each ward is guarded by an elite ninja, and that any unusual activity will result in the killing of patients and medical staff in groups of ten.]

what?

Mason hissed, then sent another message requesting backup.

A high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official is also trapped at Hyde Medical Center. Nick Fury has dispatched an elite team of agents to the scene, who will arrive within ten minutes. Figure out how to survive this time yourself.