Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 146: The Terrifying Bill

Alvin grinned ear to ear as the old blind dude got hauled into the cop car. Man, he hoped this would be a lesson the guy wouldn't forget anytime soon!

The security guards knew better than to mess with their boss right now; the whole scene was just too intense.

Five ambulances, the top hospital in town—this was gonna cost a fortune, probably tens of thousands. Fingers crossed the old man had some serious cash stashed away.

After sending the guards off, Alvin hung around the construction site for a bit. He knew the Handshake Association was after something called the "dragon bone," but he had no clue what it actually looked like.

The site was huge, and Alvin had already let the Corpse Flower loose underground, but it came up empty. He had no idea how the old blind guy and the Handshake Association planned to find this "dragon bone."

But Alvin wasn't sweating it. If they wanted to dig, they'd need his okay first. The Corpse Flower was sticking around, and maybe it would get a good meal out of this!

Matt got a call from his mentor, "Stick," and rushed to the police station. He had no idea what went down, but he needed to bail his teacher out, pronto.

For Matt, this was a piece of cake. He was a top-notch lawyer on Hellfire Boulevard, and getting someone out of jail was no biggie.

At the station, "Stick" calmly took his cane from a cop. Being blind, he stayed cool. If he could see the pitying looks from the officers, he might not be so chill!

After handling the paperwork and coughing up some bail money, Matt met Stick in the police office.

A white cop was with him. When Matt showed up, the cop pulled out a folder and said, "Matt, here's the other party's claim list. Let me read it to you.

Even though this list is kinda over the top, I still think you should settle. You know Alvin's a tough nut to crack!"

Matt, rubbing his temples in frustration, knew there was only one person on Hellfire Boulevard who could be called the principal, and that used to be his buddy. Now, he wasn't so sure.

They had taken Colin and didn't keep their word.

Little did they know, the kids had already landed at the New York port, and Ben was handling them. Things were messy, and the Rand Group was getting hit with accusations left and right, making life tough.

Matt knew Alvin wasn't a bad guy. He just didn't get how his teacher had ticked him off.

Listening to the jaw-dropping numbers the white cop read out, Stick's face got more serious.

He'd just taught a lesson to some punks, so how did he end up in the slammer and facing a huge bill? How did $176,800 even happen? American hospitals were nuts; how could a CT scan cost $3,000?

Matt took the folder from the white cop and said with a wry smile, "Thanks for the heads-up. I'll go talk to Alvin."

The white cop gave Stick a sympathetic look and told Matt, "I suggest your client pays up fast. We all know Alvin's pretty chill, but you barged into the school and hurt some guards. That was way out of line.

If he wasn't blind, things would be a lot worse!"

Matt felt a pang of sadness hearing his teacher had stormed into the school and hurt people. He should've warned his teacher to be more careful at Lincoln Valley School.

Adding up all his assets, Matt realized it was nowhere near enough to cover the compensation. He cautiously asked Stick, "Do you have any savings? We're in deep trouble this time!"

Stick turned to Matt, shocked. "Savings? Where would an old blind guy like me have savings? Even if I did, I wouldn't pay them. This is nuts. I just dislocated a few punks' arms and even put them back in place.

How could this bill be from a hospital? What hospital charges like this? Aren't they scared of going to hell?

This compensation is ridiculous. You're a lawyer; we can counter-sue them for extortion!"

Matt sighed, "These hospitals do exist. The New York Special Surgery Hospital is one of them.

Teacher, why did you get into it with people from Lincoln Valley School? The principal there is the toughest guy on Hellfire Boulevard!"

Stick angrily punched a nearby filing cabinet, leaving a clear fist mark. The white cop initially wanted him to pay for it but decided to let it slide, considering the old man's miserable situation. The old man was pitiful enough!

Stick said helplessly, "I just went there to check things out, see if I could find those items first. The Handshake Association needs them, and it's my job to stop them!"

Stick's tragic tone made Matt uncomfortable. He said softly, "Then why did you get into a fight? It wasn't necessary!"

Stick, with his chin raised, said angrily, "Those damn security guards told me to get lost and even cussed at me. I just gave them a little lesson.

What's with this Alvin? Calling the cops at the drop of a hat isn't how things are usually handled on Hellfire Boulevard, as you told me!"

Matt rubbed his temples in frustration and said, "People on Hellfire Boulevard usually don't call the cops when something happens. Alvin's different. Unless it's something that crosses his line, he prefers to call the cops."

Stick asked curiously, "What if it crosses his line? What would he do then?"

Matt took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The last incident with the Handshake Association was his doing. Almost everyone in the New York branch of the Handshake Association was killed, and Mrs. Hayes also died. We even saw her body in Japan.

And there's Botu. I guess he's dead too. Otherwise, he would've come to New York to either fight Alvin or negotiate by now."

Stick gasped in disbelief, "How is that possible?

I met him before. He seemed very ordinary. I didn't notice anything special about him!"

Matt shook his head with a bitter smile, "Only by truly interacting with him can you see his uniqueness. At the very least, I've never seen him take a loss.

He can control several wolves and vines, which is pretty powerful. The changes on Hellfire Boulevard in the past year have his fingerprints all over them.

Luckily, he's a good guy. Otherwise, I can't imagine what Hellfire Boulevard would become!"

Finally understanding his predicament, Stick remained silent for a long time and said to Matt with difficulty, "I have a few valuable antiques left, my last possessions. Go sell them and see if you can pay off this damn bill.

And see if you can arrange a meeting with him. The Handshake Association should be our common enemy!"