"What, you said you want to pay me to help you fight criminals?"
Peter, drinking a coke, looked at Hawking with a bewildered expression.
He was just a high school student about to graduate and go to college, and he was often bullied by his classmates.
Even with his new abilities, he hadn't thought about fighting criminals; that was the Police's job.
"Don't worry, you don't need to do anything, and there won't be any danger.
You just need to spare a little time every night, use your abilities to help me find ongoing criminal activities, tell me, and I'll take care of it.
I can pay you one hundred U.S. dollars per hour!"
Hawking said in a tempting tone.
He didn't have much money in his pocket right now, but that was only for now; soon, he would have a lot of cash.
Paying Little Spider a few hundred U.S. dollars a day was a small matter.
"One hundred an hour!"
Peter Parker's expression changed instantly.
One hundred an hour, three hours at night would be three hundred, nine thousand a month, and one hundred thousand a year.
You know, his Uncle Ben only earned thirty to forty thousand a year before he was laid off, so this was truly too tempting for him.
With this money, Uncle Ben wouldn't have to struggle to find a job, his college tuition would be covered, and he could buy some decent clothes, so he wouldn't have to feel inferior every time he was in front of his goddess, Mary Jane.
"I… I'll think about it."
Just thinking about Uncle Ben and Aunt Mei, who would definitely not agree to him doing such a dangerous job at night, he hesitated again.
He had always been a good student, a good kid, and asking him to hide it from Uncle Ben and Aunt Mei, suddenly running out at night instead of sleeping—even though it was to help do good deeds—was a difficult choice.
"It's okay, take your time to think, no rush.
If you decide, you can call me at this number or send me a text message.
Oh, and if you're in urgent need of money, I can advance your salary; ten or eight years is not a problem!"
Hawking was not surprised by Peter's reaction and didn't try to persuade him further, simply leaving his phone number.
The current Peter had just mutated and hadn't become the real Spider-Man yet; his mindset was still that of a high school student.
If he became the real Spider-Man, he wouldn't need to be told; he would actively fight criminals.
However, at that time, it would not be easy to trick him into working for himself like this.
"Okay, can I ask why you want to fight criminals?
I've seen many reports about Mutants on TV, all reporting on the trouble they cause, and I haven't seen any Mutant who would want to use their abilities to fight criminals like you."
Peter picked up the paper with the number written on it and looked at Hawking before leaving.
Hawking, hearing this, retorted:
"Then do you think Mutants are all like what the news says?"
"No, I don't think so.
I think everyone is human; just like after I was bitten by a spider, although my body changed, my heart didn't.
I think Mutants are similar and shouldn't be deliberately targeted."
Peter gave his answer without hesitation.
"As expected of the inherently kind Peter."
Hawking smiled upon hearing this:
"Exactly, so I want to use my abilities to change humanity's perception of Mutants, so that many discriminated Mutants might have a better life.
Of course, fighting criminals was also one of the things I wanted to do."
For someone who, even after turning dark, only bought discounted suits and asked his boss for a promotion and double salary, one can imagine how kind his heart must be.
For such a Spider-Man, sincerity is sometimes more effective than money.
"You are a good person!"
Peter left that sentence, then pushed open the door and left the burger shop.
However, the scales in his heart had already gradually tilted towards Hawking.
"Spider-Man, about to be acquired."
Looking at Peter's final expression as he left, Hawking knew it was almost a sure thing.
Humming a tune, he got on his big motorcycle and started his journey back.
Physical training, researching Bukujutsu, and practicing magic—none of these could be relaxed.
10 PM, in the combat simulation room.
"Harder, even harder, come on, Wanda, you can do it!"
Hawking, doing inverted push-ups with two fingers on the ground, encouraged Wanda, who was already sweating on her forehead and diligently controlling Chaos Magic to put pressure on him.
Under the pressure of Wanda's Chaos Magic, he felt that training for just one hour was comparable to the effects of several previous days.
"I can't, Hawking, I can't!"
Wanda's body went limp, unable to hold on any longer, and she collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Today was the first time in her life she had maintained Chaos Magic for such a long time.
"Then that's enough for today."
Hawking pushed off the ground with two fingers, then flipped in mid-air and landed easily in front of Wanda.
Being able to last an hour was already beyond his expectations.
It should be known that Wanda was only thirteen years old and hadn't trained much; concentrating and continuously using Chaos Magic to its maximum extent to create pressure for him was indeed a very difficult task.
With continuous practice later, as her strength improves, the duration and magnitude of the pressure will increase, and the efficiency will be even higher.
So there's no need to rush, and even like this, the effect is already very good.
"Oh dear, I overexerted myself just now, and my body is weak; I can't stand up."
Seeing Hawking come before her, Wanda, who was about to get up, rolled her eyes, her body went limp again, and she slumped back to the ground.
Hawking immediately stepped forward and picked her up.
"I'll take you back to your room to rest first."
"Hawking, am I useless?"
Her little trick successful, Wanda's face immediately flushed.
Hawking often carried her before, even tossing her into the air and catching her repeatedly.
She felt so happy then and had no other thoughts, just thinking how wonderful it was to have Hawking as a brother.
But now, as she was experiencing her first stirrings of love, being carried by Hawking again felt completely different.
"Who said that? You're already amazing, and you've helped me a lot!"
Arriving at Wanda's room, he placed her on the bed:
"You rest here; I have a gift for you."
Saying this, Hawking turned and went to his room, returning with a box in his hand.
"This is for you."
"Wow, this is… this is a full set of Estée Lauder cosmetics!"
Looking at the brand on the box, Wanda immediately sat up from the bed, grabbing the box into her hands, her face full of excitement.
Hawking paused, then smiled:
"It seems your body has recovered quite a bit; I'm relieved."
He felt a little bad about asking Wanda to spare time every day to help him with his training.
So, on the way back, he used all his savings to buy Wanda a full set of Estée Lauder cosmetics that she had been longing for.
As girls grow up, they find it hard to resist such things.
"Ah, yes, I suddenly feel much better now, and my strength has returned."
Wanda, realizing, quickly put down the box and hurriedly tried to cover up, following Hawking's words.
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