The next day,Hawke woke up early, dressed, and shouldered his backpack.
He then grabbed the documents Mrs. Snow had given him and headed for the subway.
He'd originally planned to take the bus.
As everyone knows,the New York City subway is incredibly difficult to describe.
Unfortunately, Hawke discovered there was no direct bus from his new apartment to the Osborne Bio-Industry Building.
Taking the bus would require three transfers.
So, the subway seemed like a better option.
At least,if you're not a moralist, you can ride it for free.
In other words,you can jump over the fare barriers at the subway gates, and even if you don't skip your fare, the total cost is still cheaper than the bus.
So,Hawke decided to just take the subway.
But he regretted it the moment he got on.
Stink!
So stinky.
The riot of colors and aromas flooding in from all directions made Hawke shut off his sense of smell almost instantly.
But if it were just the stench, it wouldn't be a big deal.
There were plenty of people messing around inside the train.
There were hippies clutching guitars, howling and wailing, dreaming of becoming great musicians.
Not far away, a black woman who looked like a tank from every angle had a golden python wrapped around her neck.
Who knows how she managed to get in there?
But that wasn't the point.
It's well known that if you were to list the most common places to be robbed in New York City, the subway cars would definitely be on the list.
And so, a hooded, dark-skinned Blackie spotted Hawke.
His instinct told him Hawke was a subway rookie.
A so-called "subway rookie" refers to passengers who don't ride the subway often and don't understand the dangers and unpredictable nature of subway cars.
These passengers might not be wealthy, but they are definitely the easiest prey, hence their designation as "subway rookies" by their peers.
Soon,
Blackie, pretending to adjust his headphones, moved up behind Hawke, humming a song to himself while shaking his head.
The next second.
The moment Xiao Hei lowered his right hand from adjusting his headset, he whipped out a folding knife, aiming for Hawk's shoulder bag.
At that moment,Hawk, whose back was to Xiao Hei, suddenly stumbled, seemingly losing his balance, and took a few steps back.
Xiao Hei, standing behind Hawk, was about to strike, but he was caught off guard.
The handle of the folding knife, which he had just drawn and hadn't yet adjusted, was twisted by Hawk's impact, and with a swish, it pierced Xiao Hei's wrist.
"Ah!"
Xiao Hei screamed, his eyes wide as he gasped at the folding knife lodged in his wrist.
Blood dripped from the wound onto the carriage floor.
The people around him were startled by Xiao Hei's scream, then quickly looked away after seeing Xiao Hei's skin pierced his wrist.
The subway had just stopped.
Passengers around him rose and left the train.
No one exclaimed.
Ads by Pubfuture
No one cared, let alone asked if Blackie needed medical help.
Hawke followed the crowd out of the train.
He never once turned to look at Blackie.
After exiting the train, Hawke felt the one or two or three resentful glances cast at his back from behind, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
He had been merciful enough.
If this weren't the subway, but some remote area or an alleyway devoid of security cameras, he would have scattered Blackie's ashes to the ground.
Didn't he see that he was wearing cheap street goods that cost no more than fifty dollars?
He was so broke, and yet he still stole?
Are there still laws? Are there still laws?
And...
"Gwen?"
Hawke, still reeling from the subway station, still reeling from the near-accident he'd encountered, saw Gwen standing not far away, downstairs from the Osborn Biotech Building, seemingly waiting for someone.
Gwen, surveying her surroundings from the doorway, suddenly caught sight of Hawke across the street.
Her eyes lit up, and she raised her right hand, waving quickly. "
Waiting for me?"
Hawke paused, then, taking advantage of a break in traffic, quickly crossed the street.
The Battle of New York had taken place two weeks ago, and now, even the slightest sign of an alien invasion remained in Manhattan.
Such was the allure of money.
The Battle of New York had ended in the morning, and repair work on the damaged buildings in Manhattan, particularly on Wall Street, began at noon.
The facade of the Osborn Biotech Building had also sustained significant damage.
But now, it was no longer apparent that the Chitauri had penetrated it during the Battle of New York.
Hawke glanced up at the Osborn Biotech Building, towering as tall as Stark Industries five blocks away, then glanced back at Gwen, who seemed to be waiting for him at the door.
"Are you waiting for me?"
"Of course."
Unlike her school attire, Gwen wore a long ponytail and a white lab coat, the standard issue for researchers.
She smiled and said, "How can I find out your secret if I'm not here waiting for you?"
Hawke shook his head, a little speechless.
"I don't have a secret."
"No, you do, and I'll find it,"
Gwen said sternly. Then, a smile returned to her serious face.
She said to Hawke, "Okay, enough teasing. Mrs. Snow called me this morning and forgot you didn't have a phone or an Osborn access card.
She was worried you wouldn't even be able to get through the main gate, so she called me and asked me to take you in to find that person..."
Gwen paused and looked at Hawke.
"By the way, what's the name of that person you're looking for?"
"Max Dillon!"
Hawke mentioned the future super villain Electro, now a very obscure engineer.
Gwen's expression dawned on her.
"Yes, that's him.
Let's go. I'll take you to the Bio-Electro Engineering Department."
"Okay,"
Hawke said, not refusing.
Gwen then put her hands in her pockets, tossed her ponytail, and turned gracefully, leading Hawke to the card swipe area.
After entering, she spoke to the security guard nearby.
The security guard followed Gwen's finger, glanced at Hawke, nodded, and manually opened the gate.
After Hawke entered, Gwen thanked the security guard.
A moment later,Gwen, with familiarity, led Hawke to the Bio-Electrical Engineering Department on the first floor of the annex building.
...
Read 100+ Advance Chapter At Pa Treon.
patreon.com/MrsFahad
Remove @ to a...
(End of this chapter)