62, From now on you are my friend

When Hawk returned home, in addition to pulling a twenty-inch carry-on suitcase, he was holding an express delivery envelope in his left hand.

This had just been handed to him by the courier.

It was reportedly sent via expedited shipping from New York University that very afternoon.

New York University?

Hawk pushed the suitcase aside casually, sat down on the sofa, glanced at the return address on the envelope, and tore it open directly.

The next second.

He pulled out an admission letter to the New York University School of Law, complete with a full-ride scholarship.

"Hiss!"

Hawk drew in a cold breath. He blinked as he looked at the official, stamped letter of acceptance in his hands, which promised a full-ride scholarship awaiting his enrollment next September.

Then...

He couldn't help but frown.

Well, well.

It really was just a gift with no strings attached.

Thinking to himself, Hawk looked at the admission letter, which probably had been printed only that afternoon, while taking out his phone, pulling up his call history, and tapping the most recent number to call back.

The call went through almost immediately, and the voice coming from the other end carried a hint of pleasant surprise.

"Mr. Hawk!"

"I received the gift."

"That's wonderful... Wait, Mr. Hawk, the New York University admission is not the gift. That's merely a greeting gift."

"Huh?"

"I just checked, and it seems Mr. Hawk hasn't reviewed the real gift yet."

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

The next second.

Anna's voice came through: "Hasn't Mr. Hawk logged into that webpage from yesterday to check my message?"

Hawk said "hold on a moment," then got up and walked over to the folding table, turned on his phone's hotspot, and opened his laptop.

It was the same dark-web forum as yesterday, the same chat box.

But this time, there was an additional message in it, with a timestamp showing Anna had sent it a little past eleven o'clock.

Hawk stared at the extra line of text, his pupils contracting slightly.

Coming into view:

"New Jersey, Culver Lake, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross will be starting their Christmas vacation there."

"..."

Hulk!

After comprehending the content of this message, Hawk's breathing involuntarily grew a bit heavier once again.

"Is this information accurate?"

"So far, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross's itinerary hasn't changed. The vacation cabin was booked by Ms. Betty Ross and has not been canceled."

Anna on the other end of the phone was still smiling.

"Does Mr. Hawk like this gift?"

"Call me Hawk."

Hawk said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the message Anna had sent: "I like it very much. What do you want from me in return?"

Anna smiled.

"Mr. Haw..."

"Just call me Hawk."

"Alright, Hawk!"

Anna's voice seemed to sound even a bit more joyful: "New York University was just a greeting gift, and this is the real gift. Giving gifts to friends requires nothing in return, doesn't it? Of course, provided Hawk truly believes we are friends."

Hawk slowly withdrew his gaze from the computer screen and said in a deep voice, "If this information is accurate, from this moment on, you have my friendship, Anna."

He couldn't be bothered to guess who or what forces were behind Anna.

Whoever helped him was his friend.

The logic was just that simple.

Besides, the forces behind Anna were most likely nothing more than Hydra anyway.

So what?

Because of the whole Hulk incident, he had long since lost any rose-tinted glasses for these so-called superheroes.

The notorious supervillain Hydra?

Heh.

As someone once said, failure is called rebellion, while success is called revolution.

Hydra had failed, and history is written by the victors, which is why Hydra became the big villain.

Hawk's reply was dead serious.

This was also the first time he had formally made a promise.

"I always repay my debts of gratitude!"

"Anna."

"Tell me directly what you want. Anything I can provide, I will definitely provide, as long as this information is accurate."

"This is a gift, and gifts between friends are given without expecting anything in return."

Even though Hawk made such a solemn promise, Anna on the other end still insisted that this was simply a gift, one that symbolized friendship between friends.

Seeing this, Hawk did not press the matter further.

The next second.

An idea suddenly occurred to him, and with a chuckle, he said, "I actually have a matter on my end. If you can help with it, perhaps we can make a deal."

Upon hearing this, Anna was slightly stunned before she reacted.

"Please speak."

"I need meteoric iron."

"How much?"

"The more, the better."

"By when?"

"Before Christmas, I suppose."

Hawk said in a calm tone, and then added, "But I don't have money to give you. However, you can make a request of me; as long as I can produce it, the deal is done."

His Cosmo Phoenix constellation chart was still in the process of being refined into Gammaanium.

To make Gammaanium capable of granting life to Cloths, it required the refinement of the corresponding constellation.

However, Hawk anticipated that this Christmas vacation would see the completion of the refinement, and after that, the next step of refining meteoric iron could be put on the agenda.

Hawk's original plan was to obtain the required meteoric iron during this Christmas vacation, and then, after the holidays passed and he turned eighteen next year, he would travel abroad alone to Wakanda to retrieve the Vibranium he needed.

After all, he couldn't fly right now, nor did he have any smuggling channels.

But right now?

During his conversation with Anna, Hawk suddenly realized that he might be able to obtain the meteoric iron he wanted without stepping out of the house.

Regardless of whether Anna and the forces behind her were trying to win him over or playing a long game.

He genuinely liked and was satisfied with the gift Anna had given him.

The most important point.

The more Anna wanted nothing in return from him, the more he wanted to give her something.

In a word.

When he made friends, he didn't care who the other person was, only whether they suited his taste.

After Hawk stated his trading terms, Anna on the other end fell silent once again.

If nothing unexpected happened, Anna must have gone to consult her superiors behind the scenes—the person who could truly make the decisions.

Hawk didn't rush her either. He switched his phone to speaker mode, opened a satellite map, and began searching for the Culver Lake in New Jersey mentioned in Anna's message.

After a while.

Anna's voice sounded again, though this time with an extra hint of caution, as if she were afraid that asking for too much would anger Hawk.

"Mr. Haw..."

"Hawk, we are already friends, Anna."

"Alright."

Hearing Hawk interrupt, Anna let out a soft laugh, and her tone recovered somewhat.

"Is truly anything acceptable?"

"Of course, as long as I have it."

"Then..."

Anna paused here, as if gathering her mental fortitude, and said, "Could we have some of your blood?"

Hearing Anna's request, Hawk raised an eyebrow.