American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

The third robber, seeing the commotion at the door, immediately opened fire. The bullets struck Marcus's energy barrier and were completely blocked.

"All hostages, get down!" Lynn shouted through the megaphone.

Most of the hostages immediately followed the instructions and lay down on the floor. Eileen reappeared, now next to another group of hostages, and guided them toward the door.

Seeing the situation was completely out of control, the ringleader pointed his gun at the nearest hostage—a young female bank employee. "Back off! Or I'll shoot!"

At that crucial moment, Banner burst through the bank's side door. His right arm, still in Hulk form, grabbed the lead robber's weapon and crushed it. The robber stared in horror at his deformed weapon, then at Banner's calm but resolute expression.

“I suggest you surrender,” Banner said, his voice carrying a hint of the Hulk’s deep gravitas. “Believe me, you don’t want to see me fully transformed.”

A third robber attempted to fire at Marcus and Lynn, but the bullets continued to be blocked by the energy barrier. Using cover, Lynn accurately shot one of the robbers in the arm, causing him to drop his weapon and collapse to the ground in pain.

“All robbers have been subdued,” Lynn reported to the team. “Marcus, maintain the barrier to protect the hostages during the evacuation. Eileen, make sure no threats are missed. Dr. Banner, well done.”

The hostages were evacuated in an orderly manner under the protection of Marcus's energy barrier. Medical personnel immediately entered to care for the elderly person requiring attention. Police quickly entered the bank and arrested three robbers.

Lynn approached the capable robber, who was already unconscious from the sedative. "This man needs special handling," he told Sheriff Green. "He has special abilities; an ability suppression device will be required."

Sheriff Green nodded, though his expression held a hint of confusion and worry. "Your team was extremely efficient, Detective Hall. This is the cleanest hostage rescue operation I've ever seen."

Lynn relaxed slightly. "That's why we created the 'Guardians' program, Sheriff. Regular law enforcement faces difficulties in these situations, but by combining specialized abilities with regular training, we can deal with these new challenges more effectively."

As the situation gradually stabilized, Lynn gathered the team members. "Well done, everyone. Especially you, Dr. Banner. Your control over your abilities was impressive."

Banner's arm had returned to normal; he looked tired but satisfied. "It feels...good. To be able to control my strength and use it to help others, not to cause destruction."

Eileen nodded. "That capable robber—Jack—seems to be able to sense my presence, even though I'm invisible. That's interesting."

"It might be some kind of connection between people with similar abilities," Marcus speculated. "It's worth investigating."

Lynn watched the robbers being taken away by the police, especially the capable young man. "I want to talk to that Jack after he wakes up. He might not be just an ordinary criminal."

"Do you think he might have been coerced?" Eileen asked.

Lynn nodded. "Very likely. His behavior differed from the other two; he was more hesitant, almost reluctant. Furthermore, people with such abilities typically don't choose such a high-profile method of crime unless they are desperate or being manipulated."

“So, it’s not the end, but another beginning,” Banner said thoughtfully.

The air in the interrogation room was stagnant and stifling. The walls were painted a lifeless, pale gray, and a single, stark white light shone down from the ceiling, illuminating the metal table in the center with a glaring reflection. Lynn Hall stood with his arms crossed in one corner of the room, his gaze sharp as an eagle's as he stared at the man seated in the metal chair. This was one of the most frequently used interrogation rooms in the Manhattan FBI branch, codenamed "Room Three," renowned throughout the department for its superior soundproofing.

Jack was shifting restlessly in his chair. He was a burly man with broad shoulders, his face covered in deep wrinkles and several grotesque scars, the most prominent being the one above his right eyebrow, which almost split his eyebrow in two. His hands were firmly locked in silver handcuffs, which were connected to a metal ring in the center of the table, restricting his movement.

Lynn took a deep breath, moved away from the wall, and slowly walked towards the interrogation table. He was about 1.85 meters tall, with a well-proportioned and muscular build. His short, jet-black hair was neatly combed back, giving him a sharp and energetic appearance. He wore a well-tailored dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath and a navy blue tie. The FBI badge on his chest gleamed faintly under the light. His deep brown eyes seemed capable of seeing through any lie, which was one of the reasons he was known in the department as the "human lie detector."

“Jack, this is the third hour of our conversation.” Lynn’s voice was low and calm as he sat down in the chair opposite Jack and placed a folder on the table. “We have seventeen eyewitnesses, surveillance footage from six different angles, and your fingerprints and DNA from the scene. The chain of evidence couldn’t be more complete.”

Jack sneered, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth: "Then why are you even interrogating me? With such solid evidence, why not just take me to court?"

Lynn smiled slightly, but his eyes grew even sharper: "Because we all know you're just a pawn. I'm not interested in the millions you stole. What I'm interested in is who's playing the game."

Jack's eyes flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained his nonchalant expression: "Ha, what chess piece? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Lynn opened the folder, took out several photos, and neatly arranged them in front of Jack. The photos showed several corpses, all wearing the same style of black combat uniforms as Jack's gang, but each of them died in an extremely gruesome manner. Some had their throats slit open with sharp weapons, some had their chests pierced by some kind of sharp object, and others were charred black all over, as if they had been burned into charcoal.

"Do you recognize them? These are your accomplices, murdered one by one over the past two months." Lynn's voice was eerily calm. "I imagine you're quite familiar with these men; after all, you two planned at least five bank robberies together."

Jack's expression changed visibly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He swallowed hard, his gaze unable to leave the horrifying photos: "What does this have to do with me? Maybe they have a conflict."

Lynn stood up, walked behind Jack, placed his hands on the interrogation table, and leaned down to whisper in Jack's ear, "Jack, do you know why these people died? Because they all tried to escape. You thought the money you stole was for yourself? Wrong. From the beginning, you were just working for someone else. And this is what happens when someone tries to keep it all for themselves, or tries to quit." He pointed to the photograph.

The interrogation room door was suddenly pushed open, and a blonde female detective poked her head in: "Lynn, the chief wants to see you."

Lynn nodded and said to Jack, "Think it over carefully. I'll be back soon. You'd better pray you come to your senses before then, because if you don't help us, I can't guarantee your safety." With that, he picked up the folder, turned, and left the interrogation room.

In the hallway, blonde Agent Sarah Collins hurried to catch up with Lynn: "How is it? Has that tough nut to crack?" Lynn shook his head: "Not yet, but soon. He's terrified, just won't admit it."

Sarah frowned. "Lynn, we don't have much time. There was another mutant-related robbery last night, this time at a jewelry store, and two police officers were injured. The media is starting to question our capabilities."

Lynn's eyes hardened: "I know. Give me half an hour, and I promise I can get him to talk."

They arrived at the director's office, and Sarah gently knocked on the door.

"Please come in." A deep, steady male voice came from inside.

The office was spacious and bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows covering an entire wall offering panoramic views of Manhattan. Director Robert Wilson, an African American in his sixties, had completely white hair but was remarkably sharp, his eyes gleaming with intelligence. He put down the documents in his hand and gestured for the two men to sit down.

"Lynn, any progress on this bank robbery case?" Chief Wilson asked bluntly.

Lynn gave a concise report on the interrogation: "Jack is about to speak, I can sense it. He's more afraid of a certain person or organization than of going to jail."

Wilson nodded: "This matches our intelligence. In the past year, there have been at least twenty crimes involving mutants in Manhattan, each with different methods, but they all have one thing in common—"

“They were all extremely precise, leaving almost no conventional evidence,” Lynn continued. “If it weren’t for a mistake by someone in Jack’s team this time, we might still be without any breakthrough.”

Wilson stood up, walked to the office's electronic screen, and opened a series of documents and photos: "There's likely a unified organization pulling the strings behind these cases. We call it 'Ghost' because we can barely trace it."

Sarah added, "Based on our analysis, this organization specifically recruits or controls mutants to engage in criminal activities. Their goals are not limited to money; they also include specific technological equipment and research materials."

Lynn seemed thoughtful: "So Jack's bank robbery might only be a small part of it."

Wilson nodded seriously. “Exactly. Lynn, I need your full support. If we can get Jack to talk, this will be our first opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the organization's inner workings.”

Lynn stood up, a determined glint in his eyes: "Give me twenty minutes, and I will make him tell me everything we need."

On the way back to the interrogation room, Lynn's mind raced. He needed a breakthrough, a way to completely break down Jack's psychological defenses. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he turned to Sarah: "Go to the evidence room and get that black cell phone that was seized in Jack's case."

Ten minutes later, Lynn pushed open the interrogation room door again. Jack looked even more uneasy than before, with beads of sweat running down his face.

Lynn didn't sit down; instead, she placed a black cell phone on the table and pressed play. A recording began to play:
"Once the mission is complete, clean up all traces. If anyone attempts to betray us, silence them. Black Crow allows no mistakes." The voice in the recording had been digitally altered, making it impossible to discern the original, but the chilling tone was unsettling.

Jack's face turned deathly pale. He stared at Lynn in horror: "Where...where did you get this?"

Lynn looked at him calmly: "Does that matter? What matters is that Black Crow already knows you've been arrested. Do you think they'll let someone who knows so many secrets and could speak at any moment go free?"

Jack began to tremble violently, his eyes filled with terror: "You don't understand. You don't understand how terrifying they are. Those mutants. What they're capable of."

Lynn sat down opposite Jack, her tone softening. "I can protect you, Jack. The Federal Witness Protection Program, a new identity, a new life. But on the condition that you tell us everything about Black Crow."

A brief silence fell over the interrogation room, broken only by Jack's rapid breathing. Finally, he looked up, his eyes filled with despair replaced by fear: "Fine, I'll talk. But you have to promise me my safety."

Lynn nodded: "You have my promise."

Jack took a deep breath and began to explain: “Black Crow isn’t an individual, but an organization. Nobody knows who the leader is; all orders are relayed through intermediaries. They specifically target impoverished or desperate mutants, offering them shelter and money in exchange for the mutants working for Black Crow.”

Lynn took out her notebook and began to write: "What kind of job?"

"All sorts of things—robbery, intelligence theft, kidnapping, assassination—as long as someone can afford it, Black Crow will send the right mutant to carry it out." Jack's voice trailed off. "The bank we're robbing this time is ostensibly for the money, but Black Crow is actually most interested in a special safe deposit box in the bank's underground vault, which contains research data from a certain scientist."

Lynn narrowed his eyes: "What research data?"

“I don’t know the specifics, but I’ve heard it’s related to genetic modification. Black Raven is particularly interested in this kind of technology.” Jack shook his head. “We were just ordinary people responsible for the robbery; the one who actually took the contents of the safe was a mutant who can walk through walls.”

Lynn pressed on, "Where is the Black Crow's base?"

Jack gave a wry smile. "That's the problem. They don't have a fixed base, or rather, they probably have many. I've only been to one of them, underground in an abandoned factory in Queens. But I'm sure it'll be abandoned by the time you get there. Black Crow never stays in one place for long."

"How did you contact each other?" Lynn asked. (End of Chapter)