New Gods of North America.

Chapter 680 Match
In the dock area, almost every gang leader who has the right to speak openly, regardless of the specific circumstances, at least on the surface, has so-called "powerful and influential friends" in the city.
Gang warfare knows no bounds, and they certainly wouldn't hesitate to use some legal means—such as reporting others.

The Michelson Brotherhood was arguably a gang with considerable growth potential in the docklands area.
They couldn't stand up to a gang like the Erlan Violent Gang, which had a large and stable territory, alone; they couldn't afford to mess with the Rabbit Gang, which was doing well; and they were slightly inferior to gangs like the Tuto Gang or the Sailor Gang, which clearly had extra support in the shadows.

However, at least they were able to claim a reasonably respectable territory, preventing them from constantly being at a disadvantage in everyday skirmishes.
Normally, they can chase away petty thieves from the Mongoose Gang like stray cats, and they can also easily deliver heavy blows to some street thugs.

They were roughly considered "middle class" within the dockside gangs.

Objectively speaking,

They've grown to their current size because, in addition to fighting and killing, they've also been quite strategic.

After hearing that the "red armband" members were demanding that gangs ban the use of firearms in fights, Michelson guessed that many gangs would not comply.
However, he still restrained his men last night, instructing them not to use firearms when fighting back against the Erlan gang.

as predicted,

Gunfire continued in the dock area last night.

As they claimed, the detective agency also deployed even stronger firepower to punish the "rulebreakers."
Michelson's men were all unharmed, but some gangs that had also spoken with Mr. Wayne at James Damody's house suffered losses or had some key members arrested.

Michelson was a strategic man, so he didn't believe Mr. Wayne's claim that he "wouldn't fight for territory."
Any intelligent person has their own goals when they do things. The detective agency first helped investigate the plague, and then helped the city hall collect taxes. It was obvious that they wanted to expand their influence in the dock area.

Although it was unclear why the Rabbit Gang and the Tuto Gang had chosen to side with him, Michelson estimated that they were probably about the same.

They all saw the advantages of the dock area's location or its security features and wanted to profit from it.

The dock area is only so big. With more gangs emerging, smaller gangs like theirs are the direct victims. And with more people "doing business," gangs face more constraints in their operations.

So even though Michelson has no immediate conflict with those "red armband" members, it doesn't stop him from targeting them now.

It couldn't be called "targeting" him; he also wanted to test the other party's true worth.

That detective agency isn't part of the police force, so what right do they have to prohibit other gangs from using firearms? Won't the gentlemen of Richmond have a problem with them?

If they can openly carry lever-action rifles and arrest people in the dock area at night, can't other gangs do the same?
Michelson waited at the estate until the sun was setting before the gentleman he had visited returned home.
Then he received a series of unexpected replies.

"Keep an eye on your own people and don't get into any conflicts with that detective agency during this time. As for the territory in the dock area... I just need you to do the things I assign you. If you want that territory, go and take it yourself. It's not like you're fighting for me anyway."

"They used firearms illegally? You think you're the only one who knows? Let me tell you, someone already talked about it during the parliamentary recess today and was immediately shut down. From what I understand, both the cathedral and Senator Walter's staff have subtly conveyed their tacit approval on a small scale today. This is not something to be taken advantage of."

"Don't talk to me about law in the dock area! Taxation and reducing violence in the dock area have garnered considerable support. People can tolerate the competition between your gangs—killing each other and nobody cares! But they don't want this competition affecting too many innocent bystanders. Why do you think they're being let off the hook for now? It's because some of you have gone too far." "Don't worry, there are more people watching them than you think. Nobody wants the dock area's order disrupted. They can be their vigilante police, and you can do your thing. If they dare to seize territory like the gangs do, much of the tacit approval will eventually become the noose that strangles them."

So that detective agency, now representing the gentlemen of Richmond, is punishing the gangs?
No wonder not only the Rabbit Gang and the Tuto Gang, but even the targeted Ellan Gang and Sailor Gang, cooperated so much when facing them openly.

It turns out they were all actively handing over "indulgences".

Having reached this conclusion, Michelson returned home and quickly summoned his "strategist" and "right-hand man":
"Tell your men to treat those 'red armband' members as police officers during this period. Don't trust them, and don't confront them directly. If they catch you at the scene, run if you can. If you can't run, don't fight back directly. You can pretend to be from another gang."

"Firearms aren't entirely unusable, but you have to be careful not to let them see you use them. They probably only protect people outside the gang and won't get involved in gang fights. With the Ellan gang currently being targeted, now's a good time to take down some businesses in their community. If we can seize them and make them afraid to do the same things again, they'll be ours in the future."

"I suspect that detective agency will now also prohibit the Ellan Gang from obstructing outsiders from entering their community. During this time, our people can try to probe their community during the day, but don't cause trouble, and try not to hurt anyone unrelated. If the Ellan people can't stand it, they will move to a more distant place, and the vacated area will be our territory. If the Ellan Gang takes action, then they are the ones causing trouble, and we will secretly find an opportunity to take them down."

Similar situations occurred in more than one place in the dock area, with different people receiving different information and drawing different conclusions.
Some people think that if they just endure it for a while and then pay the "protection fee," everything will go back to normal. Others see both opportunities and risks and plan to use them to their advantage.

……

Compared to the gangsters, the detective agency was much more on edge.

"There might be Extraordinary beings in the dock area who are even more dangerous than Miss Inessa." Upon receiving this news, Connor, who would probably want to fight even a gorilla, was currently discussing with his team how to cover each other's retreat in case of danger.
Some agents couldn't help but compare the combat abilities of the partners. Under normal circumstances, Miss Lina should be no match for Miss Inessa, but if she summoned "that one," who would be more terrifying?

Wayne also took the time to participate in the discussion, and in the end everyone felt that this kind of thing should be tested by others. To see the power, you still need to shoot at targets. The result of an internal duel cannot represent the power of the firearm itself.

After Inessa, who had been secretly cricketed by everyone, returned, she was accompanied by Brother Merlin and a larger investigation team than before, who arrived at the temporary base with her.

The Exorcist Guild didn't have any demon-hunting bullets for hunters, but items that the detective agency was allowed to possess, such as firearms, holy water, and high explosives, were unloaded from the carriage in boxes.

Mr. Paul of the Rabbit Gang, who was slacking off at the hideout as usual, became much calmer after seeing this.
Inspector William, who seemed to be constantly tipping people off, initially wanted to come and ask questions, but after Brother Merlin, dressed in ordinary clothes, got off the carriage, he chose to pretend he didn't see him.

Some things seem normal until you notice them, and then, just as the new officers arrived, patrolling officers came to report the murder to Sergeant William.
Wayne and Inessa selected a group of people and went directly to a relatively secluded warehouse with Brother Merlin and the others.

Then everyone was a little surprised.

One person single-handedly killed a group of people, and judging from the scene, he seemed to have been shot several times, yet not a single drop of blood was shed. It certainly looks like the work of an extraordinary individual.
Judging from the opponent's courage to confront them head-on in broad daylight (someone heard continuous gunshots at the time of the incident), their unhurried attitude (one guy ran quite a distance with bloodstains before finally being cornered in the room), and the strength and defense they displayed (who in their right mind would choose to walk through a wooden wall and take bullets for no reason), their rank is probably not low.

However, compared to what Inessa discovered earlier...
His extraordinary abilities and modus operandi don't seem to match up.

(End of this chapter)