Chapter 18: Beautiful, Kind-Hearted, and High-Achieving! (Please Keep Reading!)

Inside the old gymnasium.

Although Hawk’s Cosmo had already awakened, the habit of throwing ten thousand punches a day for one thousand consecutive days was not something he could just drop.

Therefore, these past few days, he had still maintained his habit of throwing ten thousand punches a day.

Besides, he was idle anyway.

What’s more, with his daily training over these past few days, Hawk could still feel another star in his Cosmo beginning to glow faintly.

Although it hadn’t been lit yet, he reckoned that if he could keep it up for a month, it would truly be lit.

Clearly, fighting was not the only way to light up a star.

At the very least, fighting was not the only choice; it was just that compared to the efficiency of lighting a star by persisting in ten thousand punches a day for a month, fighting was the only shortcut.

But this was not important.

Hawk did not care either.

First, he didn’t feel he was some kind of maniac, and he certainly couldn’t be the type who, upon gaining extraordinary power, would turn into someone who says "I don't eat beef" the very next day.

A thousand days of ten thousand punches a day tempered not just his strength, but more importantly, his character.

He controlled his power, rather than the power controlling him.

Second, he hadn’t even gathered the materials needed to forge a Cloth yet, so he was in no rush to light up his own constellation.

As everyone knows.

A Saint who hasn’t donned a Cloth and a Saint who has are two different species.

Uh...

At least, most of the time that is the case.

A while later.

After taking a shower and changing into a new T-shirt and new pants, Hawk shouldered his messenger bag, walked out of the old gymnasium, and headed toward the school gate.

The independent hearing he had applied for was being held at three-thirty this afternoon.

At this time, if he went to the school gate to catch a bus and then transferred twice, he could just about make it to the courthouse by three o’clock.

Sitting at the bus stop by the school gate, Hawk chewed on a sandwich while waiting for the bus.

Watching the various vehicles entering and exiting the school gate, Hawk began to wonder if he should go buy a car himself.

Of course, before buying one, he should go get his driver’s license.

Yes.

Compared to his classmates, almost all of whom had a driver’s license, he did not.

After all, Hawk had never even thought about buying a car before.

But now, he had the idea.

He didn’t want one before his Cosmo awakened because he needed to consider his future; after all, there would be no federal subsidies after he became an adult, and he would need to cover his own rent and potentially student loans for college.

The visible pressure of life in the future made him feel like he could barely breathe, let alone play with cars?

Was he worthy?

He wasn't worthy; he might not even be able to pay the insurance premiums after buying a car.

But things were different now.

If there was one thing Hawk felt most after awakening his Cosmo, it was that he had let out a heavy sigh of relief in his heart.

He had completely shed the pressure of an unknown future.

After all...

Now that his Cosmo had awakened, barring any accidents, there were only two choices for his future.

Living comfortably, and living even more comfortably.

Even, if he were a bit darker inside, relying on his awakened Cosmo and forging a Cloth, he could completely live a life like an emperor, where those who submit prosper and those who resist perish.

Power is authority.

Authority is the fist.

Unfortunately.

His fist could now be called sonic, and in the future, it would even surpass the speed of light.

But he didn’t have those thoughts, nor did he have that "I don't eat beef" mentality.

At least not for now.

However, after shedding the pressure of the future, Hawk felt he could improve his quality of life.

If nothing else, he still had five Chitauri alien weapons hidden away that he was planning to sell when the opportunity arose.

Even if one alien weapon sold for a cheap twenty thousand dollars, five of them added up to one hundred thousand dollars.

So...

Buying a car and improving his life didn’t seem impossible.

As Hawk was thinking this, just as he began to wonder why he had been waiting so long without seeing a bus, a yellow Toyota Corolla with a personalized license plate reading "GW521" pulled up in front of him.

The window rolled down.

Gwen, with her blonde hair tied up casually, a delicate face, and a pair of blue eyes that seemed to see through people’s hearts, appeared in Hawk’s line of sight.

"Get in."

"..."

Hawk looked at Gwen, who was waving at him, and remained silent for a moment: "No need, I'll just wait for the bus, thanks."

Gwen smiled.

"Are you sure you aren't getting in? The buses are out of service today, you know."

"Out of service?"

Hawk was stunned upon hearing this.

"Since when? Why?"

"At noon."

Gwen said with a smile: "The New York bus drivers' union is on strike today; didn't you notice there's no one else at the bus stop?"

Hawk subconsciously looked around.

Indeed, at the entire bus stop, he was the only one left alone.

Damn!

Hawk took a deep breath, looked at Gwen, who was sitting in the car smiling at him, thought for a moment, then rose from the seat, grabbed the backpack he had placed to the side, walked to the car, opened the passenger door, and sat in.

"Sorry for the trouble, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Gwen said, and after Hawk got in, she stepped on the gas and sped off, carrying Hawk toward the Queens courthouse.

"Oh, right."

Gwen, who was driving, remembered something and glanced at Hawk in the passenger seat: "The judge in charge of your independent hearing has been changed to Judge Bross, and the time has been moved up to three o'clock."

"?"

Hearing this, a question mark slowly appeared over Hawk’s head, and he subconsciously looked at Gwen.

Gwen smiled slightly: "You left the school's number as your contact, and the counselor couldn't find you. I saw you go to the old gymnasium at noon, so I guessed you might be waiting for a bus here."

Hawk suddenly understood and nodded.

A while later.

He realized, looked at Gwen who was driving, and thanked her once more.

"Thank you."

"Once again, you're welcome."

Gwen responded with a smile and looked at Hawk: "I'm the student assistant for the grade; helping students is what I should do."

This was the truth.

At Midtown High, Gwen, as the eleventh-grade student assistant, had always been recognized as beautiful and kind-hearted.

Gwen was always very patient in helping classmates who came to her to ask about academic points.