…
“That’s more like it!”
As he opened the safe door, Hawking’s face immediately lit up with a smile.
Stacks of dollars, blocks of gold, jewels, diamonds, and precious ornaments filled the safe to the brim.
Indeed, compared to those small-time thugs who collected protection money, this kind of business-savvy boss was the real deal regarding wealth.
“Shrink swiftly!”
After a moment’s thought, Hawking didn’t take the cash and jewels out of the safe but instead cast a shrinking spell, reducing the entire safe to the size of a thumb, which he then slipped into his pocket.
It was unfortunate that, at this time, Harry hadn’t learned the Undetectable Extension Charm yet; otherwise, he could have made something akin to a space bag with it.
“Considering how much you’ve contributed, I’ll spare your life.”
He glanced at the unconscious old man and quietly left the villa.
The situation in the Bronx wouldn’t change by killing one boss after another; killing one would only lead to another taking his place or his territory being taken over by another power.
Things would remain the same, and it could even cause more trouble.
Besides, how could there be light without darkness to contrast it? Without criminal events, there would be no ‘justice points’ to earn.
His first foray was fruitful, and Hawking didn’t venture into the territories of other bosses but instead headed north to return home.
This amount of cash was enough for now; having too much was pointless since using large amounts could lead to questions about its origins, and if needed, he could always acquire more with his abilities.
Although he was now trusted by Professor X and had been given management rights over the Daily Bugle, the newspaper still didn’t belong to him but to Professor X, and its profits naturally went to Professor X.
It wasn’t that Professor X was wary of him; it was just that he wasn’t yet of age to handle the entire Daily Bugle in Professor X’s eyes.
This issue would resolve itself in a couple of years when he came of age, or later, he could establish the Super Hero International Corp earlier once his reputation was fully established.
He had already thought of a name for it, “The League of Heroes International Corp.”
Then, all sorts of hero merchandise, advertising, endorsements, etc., would be the legitimate money he could use.
The next day, when Hawking woke up in the afternoon, he saw a text message on his phone from Peter Parker.
The message agreed to work temporarily for Hawking and expressed a hope to meet again today for a detailed discussion.
“Excellent, the first member of the League of Heroes is in.”
He replied to the message, arranging a meeting time and place with Peter Parker, and then Hawking started browsing the internet on his computer.
Indeed, due to his repeated public appearances rescuing people, his popularity had been further boosted, and he also saw the article about the “Golden Armor God of War” written by Eddie.
This article attracted many loyal fans to him, although some people commented that only some things written by the Daily Bugle might be true.
There were also various speculations about whether his identity was that of a mutant.
Overall, things were still moving in the direction he wanted, and although some extreme comments were attempting to tarnish his reputation, these were minor flaws.
Besides money, you can only make some people like you.
Especially those who are already inclined towards or engaged in criminal activities, they definitely wouldn’t like the Golden Armor God of War, a superhero who meddles too much.
One thing surprised him, though; even though he had introduced himself as the Golden Armor God of War, it seemed that people didn’t like it, possibly finding it awkward.
So, the internet had uniformly started calling him “Armor Man” or “Knight of Armor.”
Seeing this, he couldn’t help but complain, thinking that “Armored Warrior” might have been better. Some things went differently than planned.
He thought he might as well have gone with “Saiyan Superman” like Son Goku had, primarily since Superman comics also existed and were easy to understand.
“Knight of Armor it is, then!”
After taking a shower and changing clothes, he went to borrow a motorcycle from Cyclops.
…
At four in the afternoon, at a burger joint on East River Dock Street in Queens.
Hawking watched as Peter Parker walked through the door and said:
“Do you guys get out of school pretty early?”
“Usually, we can leave after 3:30 PM, but it’s around five or six o’clock if you participate in some clubs. I’m not in clubs, so I leave school at 3:30 to catch the bus.
I live in the suburbs, and it takes over an hour by bus to get there.”
Peter explained as he sat down across from Hawking.
“Public schools are laid-back.”
Hawking couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
This is senior year, you know. My senior year was from six in the morning to eleven at night, but it’s from nine to three here.
“Are you sure?”
“Sure!”
Peter nodded, then asked somewhat sheepishly:
“Last time you mentioned I could get an advance, could I possibly get an advance of five thousand?”
“Of course, but may I ask what you need it for?”
Hawking nodded, his face showing a hint of curiosity.
Peter replied, a bit embarrassed:
“I’d like to buy a used car before graduation to take my classmates out for drives.”
“I see, but why settle for a used one? I’ll advance you a hundred thousand and get a new one instead [found at a book domain]. It’s less than two years of your salary anyway. Driving a used car to impress girls doesn’t make a good impression!”
Hawking immediately laughed and patted Peter on the shoulder.
He knew immediately that Peter must be doing this for Mary Jane; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so eager to ask for an advance on his salary.
This girl, Mary Jane, didn’t have a good impression of her.
In high school, she always hung out with Thompson, who liked to bully Peter, and probably lost her innocence early.
After graduating high school, she didn’t go to college but worked as a waitress, dreaming of becoming a star. Then, she broke up with Thompson and fell for Peter’s wealthiest friend, Harry.
Once she finds out Peter is the famous Spider-Man, she breaks up with Harry and falls for Peter again.
But because Peter was busy saving people and didn’t have time for her, she seemed to have cheated on him, fallen for a military officer and almost married him.
After reconciling with Peter, she betrays him again and gets back together with Harry.
Looking at Mary Jane’s career, graduating high school to become a waitress, never studying acting at university, then later becoming a famous star, he couldn’t believe she didn’t compromise somewhere along the way.
But, as they say, it takes two to tango, and there’s not much to say. He was just using this to tie Peter to his warship.
So, not just a hundred thousand, even two or three hundred thousand wouldn’t be a problem; he hoped Peter would take more.
“Is… is that okay?”
Hearing that he could get an advance of a hundred thousand, Peter’s face showed an incredulous expression.
He hadn’t even started working yet and could get an advance of a hundred thousand; this boss was too generous, almost unbelievably so.
Even bank loans have interest.
…
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