38. Chinese Cabbage brought back a wild boar.

5:00 PM.
New York, John F. Kennedy International Airport, or JFK for short.

Captain George Stacy of the NYPD’s 19th Precinct, feeling like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, paced back and forth near the arrivals exit.

This was a disaster.

The precious flower he had painstakingly raised with such care had finally been targeted by a wild boar from the outside world. And not just any boar—a wild one at that. But that wasn’t even the main point. The real point was that, judging by the current situation, it seemed—or rather, appeared—that the precious flower had taken the initiative to go find that wild boar herself.

George found it difficult to comprehend, but even that was no longer the main point. At this very moment, George had only one thought in his heart: he wanted to shoot the boar that had made off with his little flower.

Just then, the flight from Hagerstown Regional Airport in Maryland arrived in New York, and passengers began to deplane. George, still pacing, took a deep breath, stood by the exit, and peered inside.

The next moment, his breathing grew ragged once again.

Jesus Christ. What was he seeing? His own precious daughter was holding hands with some wild—no, some handsome—boar from who knows where?

George’s face turned black instantly. Others nearby waiting for arrivals seemed to sense a sudden chill; they glanced at George subconsciously and then instinctively moved away from him.

Finally, the couple, having just confirmed their relationship not long ago, also felt the intense chill coming their way. Gwen subconsciously looked toward the source of the cold, and then, with a soft *pat*, her small hand let go of Hawk’s right hand. "Shoot, it’s Dad."

Hawk had also spotted Captain George Stacy standing at the exit in his black suit, radiating an aura of righteous indignation and icy coldness, the very moment he stepped out.

Their eyes met. He could see the vigilance and scrutiny in the gaze Captain Stacy fixed upon him. This was understandable. Hawk figured that if he were in his shoes, and his daughter had run off without a word only to return with a man, he would probably be even more furious than George Stacy. Breaking the boar’s legs would be getting off lightly.

Wait. Now *he* was the boar? Oh. Never mind then.

Hawk thought to himself. He was still a bit curious about how he and Gwen had ended up holding hands.

Memories were hazy. But… he was happy.

As the saying goes, it wasn’t that Hawk hadn’t thought about dating—especially dating Gwen Stacy, the most iconic girlfriend in the Marvel Universe. But he hadn’t had the confidence before. Now, he did. Not only did he have it, but it was substantial. And it would be even greater once he collected the meteorites, obtained Vibranium from Wakanda, and forged his Phoenix Cloth.

So!

As he watched Gwen trot ahead toward George Stacy and grab his arm, Hawk’s expression remained unchanged. He maintained eye contact with George, walked right up to him, and extended his right hand first.

"Mr. Stacy, I’m Hawk. Sorry for making you worry."

"..."

George didn’t speak, nor did he shake Hawk’s hand. After a single glance, he ignored him and turned his attention to Gwen. "Let’s go. Helen is still waiting at home."

"Dad!"

"It’s alright, Gwen." Hawk retracted his hand calmly and said to her, "You go home with Mr. Stacy first."

He understood George. Right now, let alone refusing a handshake, even if George were to attack him, Hawk would at most dodge and not fight back. After all, he was the one who had played the role of the wild boar.

So, after speaking, Hawk gave Gwen a slight smile, bade farewell to Mr. Stacy, and left on his own, not wanting to make things difficult for her.

An hour later, Hawk returned to his apartment near Bridge Park in Queens.

He turned on the lights. He had expected to see a room covered in dust after being away for over twenty days.

As it turned out... there wasn't much dust at all. Even the shorts he had hung outside the window had been folded and placed on the sofa. There was an envelope sitting on top of the folded shorts.

This must be the letter Gwen had mentioned over the phone, the one Dr. Connors had asked her to deliver for him. Hawk thought to himself as he sat on the sofa, picked up the envelope, and pulled out the handwritten letter inside. It was a recommendation letter written by Dr. Connors to New York University.

Only then did Hawk remember that Dr. Connors’ doctorate was, in fact, from NYU.

"Whoa!"

"That’s quite a heavy gift." Hawk blinked.

To be honest, the weight of this gift was significant. Although, given Dr. Connors’ reputation, it could only be considered "adding flowers to embroidery," but even adding flowers to embroidery is still a gift. Others might not even be able to get such a recommendation letter if they tried. After all, in the West, a recommendation letter is essentially a transaction of favors.

So, if Hawk hadn't awakened his Cosmo, he would have been absolutely thrilled to receive this. But right now, Hawk didn't really care whether he could attend NYU or not. Not that he planned to quit school entirely; it was just that his mindset had leveled out.

*Whatever comes, I embrace; whatever is lost, it is fate.* After all, he had already seen another different, more magnificent, and colorful future.

However... thoughts aside, he at least needed to make a call to thank Dr. Connors for the letter.

Hawk turned the envelope over; Gwen had handwritten Dr. Connors’ number on the back. He took his phone from his pocket, looked at the black screen, chuckled, stood up from the sofa, and walked into the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Hawk plugged his phone into the charger and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for it to power on. His peripheral vision caught the photo frame on his nightstand, which seemed to have been shifted slightly.

Hawk raised an eyebrow, reached out, and adjusted the frame so it was angled toward his bedside again. There was no other reason; he liked to sleep on his side, and with the frame positioned this way, there was a 70% chance he would see it the moment he opened his eyes each day.

Done.

After repositioning the frame, Hawk smiled, watched his phone boot up, and dialed Dr. Connors.

The call was answered quickly.

"This is Curtis..."

"Dr. Connors, it’s me, Hawk."

Hawk identified himself and apologized for only just seeing the recommendation letter, explaining that he had been away on a trip. Dr. Connors on the other end of the line sounded very happy.

After chatting for a moment, Hawk casually asked, "Dr. Connors, you sound very happy. Did the experiment succeed?"

Dr. Connors laughed heartily. "Almost. One of the test mice has given me hope for victory."

"...Well, congratulations in advance, Doctor."

"Thank you. Alright, Hawk, I have to get back to work."

"Understood, you go ahead."

"..."