A beautiful woman's personal mobile phone and a beautiful woman's personal laptop.

Evening.

On the rooftop of his new apartment.

Hawk, having finished his workout, tugged at his shorts and sat down directly on the floor, leaning against the ventilation duct behind him. He grabbed a soda from the side and took a long, deep gulp.

Just then, Hawk seemed to recall something. He set the soda aside and opened his right palm.

Looking down, the trace that had appeared like fresh skin earlier when Gwen was examining it had now completely vanished.

Since awakening his Cosmo, his three fundamental attributes—strength, speed, and physique—had completely transcended the realm of mortals.

Even without burning his Cosmo, his strength could effortlessly shatter boulders, destroy thick walls, and even twist steel. His speed, whenever he desired, could reach the speed of sound.

His physique was the same. He could withstand powerful impacts and blows that would kill an ordinary person on the spot, even without the protection of a Cloth. Furthermore, even if he were injured, his self-healing ability, far superior to that of a normal human, allowed him to recover quickly from fatigue and minor wounds.

That was the case with the fragment that had shot out from the high-speed centrifuge earlier today. If he hadn't acted at that moment, Gwen would have had no hope of survival; without a doubt, she would have been struck in the head by the high-velocity projectile.

But that was not the point.

The point was…

Hawk recalled the image of his subconscious reaction, rubbing the spot on his right palm where he had felt the pain with his left hand.

Just as he was frowning, lost in thought, the phone he had placed to the side began to ring.

Hawk snapped back to reality, momentarily stunned as he looked at the phone, which was ringing for the first time since he had purchased the SIM card.

He answered.

"Hello?"

"…Yes, that's me. You've arrived?"

"Alright, I'll be there in a moment."

He hung up the phone.

Hawk rose from the floor and, with a *whoosh*, his figure vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already by the fire escape. He returned to his new apartment through the window, opened his backpack, and took out five hundred dollars.

His computer had arrived.

Ten minutes later, at the entrance to the Bridge Park across the street.

Hawk arrived at the park entrance, surveyed the empty surroundings, and took out his phone to dial the only number in his call log.

At that moment, the lights of a van parked not far away flickered.

Hawk instinctively looked toward the van.

The driver’s door of the van opened. A moment later, an Asian woman with long, thick brown hair, looking to be in her early twenties at most, stepped out and waved her phone at Hawk.

Hawk raised an eyebrow as he took in the woman's appearance.

Skye?

Standing beside her van—which served as both vehicle and mobile home—Skye looked at the approaching Hawk: "Superman isn't as good as me?"

Hawk nodded: "That's right."

Upon hearing this, Skye didn't waste any time. She pulled out a laptop and handed it to Hawk: "Just as described when we chatted this afternoon. Used for three years, ninety percent new. I've already reinstalled the system. Check it out; if there are no issues, then pay me."

Hawk gave a hum of acknowledgment. He didn't say anything like "no need," but instead took the computer. After all, this was a five-hundred-dollar purchase. If he hadn't felt slightly embarrassed, he might have even asked Gwen if she had any spare computers she could give him.

Still, the saying holds true: lines are meant to be crossed. Although the phone he currently possessed was one Gwen had practically forced upon him, he had accepted it in the end. But Hawk thought to himself that a man should still try to maintain some reserve.

However…

He never expected that the random seller he had found on a second-hand marketplace after using an office computer that afternoon would turn out to be another well-known figure in the Marvel Universe.

Skye. The future Quake.

While reflecting on this, Hawk checked the laptop. After confirming it could boot up normally and run the pre-installed programs, he closed the lid, took the five hundred dollars he had prepared from his pocket, and handed it over.

Skye took the five Benjamins and checked them as well.

A moment later, she tucked the money away, reached out to Hawk, and smiled: "Pleasure doing business."

Hawk switched the computer to his left hand and extended his right: "Pleasure."

No small talk. Only business.

Once the transaction was complete, Skye said nothing more. She got into her van, started the engine, and drove away with a hum.

Hawk returned to his new apartment, placed the laptop he had bought from Skye on the folding table, and set the phone Gwen had given him next to it.

Hmm.

Compared to this, Gwen is better.

Wait, what am I thinking?

Hawk frowned again, shaking the distracting thoughts from his mind. He immediately connected the laptop to the mobile hotspot provided by Gwen's phone.

Next step.

Quantico.

Hawk opened a satellite map webpage and set the coordinates to Quantico. Although the satellite map had hidden some of the more sensitive buildings and items, it was of no consequence.

With a single glance, Hawk spotted a dilapidated building surrounded by corrugated iron on the map. It took him half an hour to confirm that this building was indeed the laboratory where Dr. Bruce Banner had worked in Quantico.

The internet is highly developed these days, especially after the exposure of the original Avengers, not to mention that Bruce Banner had already been exposed once in 2009. Therefore, information regarding his life, why he became the Hulk, and when it happened was all available online. At the same time, the gossip regarding the past relationship between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross had also been exposed.

But that was not what Hawk was focused on.

In his new apartment, Hawk rested his chin on one hand while the other scrolled on the laptop's touchpad. He stared at the introduction to the Quantico military base and the satellite map, his gaze resting thoughtfully on the marked abandoned laboratory.

He felt he might have to break his own bottom line early.

There was no helping it. He had no money, and even if he did, he doubted Quantico would sell him Gamma stones. But he needed those stones. After all, they were vital to the Cloth.

So, there was only one path before him.

If you won't give it to me, then I have no choice but to take it.

But…

Stealing Gamma stones from Quantico was different from stealing Vibranium from Wakanda.

To put it simply: if he were to steal Vibranium from Wakanda, it wouldn't matter even if it were exposed. It would be like having teammates automatically matched for him the moment he initiated a team fight. The rest of the world wouldn't come after him; they would go after Wakanda. Needless to say, the five great powers would certainly force Wakanda to surrender the Vibranium, or at the very least, force them to accept a United Nations garrison.

That was why Hawk hadn't given Wakanda a second thought.

But stealing from Quantico was different.

However…

The Gamma stones.

I must have them.

Hawk’s eyes glimmered as he stared at the satellite map of Quantico on his computer screen.