“You!
What are you doing?!”
Wade was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of someone breaking down the door while he was still half-lost in sleep.
“What’s going on?!”
He had a bad feeling about this, so he sprang out of bed in one motion.
He didn’t even have time to put on his slippers before running barefoot out of the room.
It was past midnight in New York.
That was a particularly sensitive time, especially in Flushing, one of New York’s notorious poor neighborhoods.
“It’s already past midnight.
Why would someone break into my house?”
When Wade reached the doorway, he grabbed the baseball bat leaning beside the battered wooden door.
He was only twelve years old, about 1.6 meters tall, with long limbs and a surprisingly sturdy build.
Since he wasn’t wearing shoes, he barely made a sound as he moved across the floor.
Of course, that was partly because Wade knew exactly which parts of the floor in their tiny, run-down house were still in decent condition.
It was an extremely small place.
After taking only a few steps, Wade could see what was happening outside.
“It’s them!”
Wade tightened his grip around the baseball bat.
They were notorious local thugs.
At the moment, they reeked of alcohol, apparently having stolen another batch of cheap beer from somewhere.
“Old woman, hurry up and hand over the money!”
The leader was still speaking clearly enough.
“I know that kid you took in is about to start middle school.
Where’s the tuition money?”
Standing before them was an elderly woman.
She was already well into her eighties.
Her once-beautiful hair had turned gray and messy, while the heavy burden of life and her advancing age had nearly crushed her back.
“N-No, please.”
The old woman practically begged them.
“This is money my grandson worked so hard to earn.”
“Shut up!”
The leader shouted.
“Your grandson’s nothing but a Chinese kid.
He should just stay in this godforsaken place for the rest of his life!”
“That’s right!”
The other two echoed him in unison.
The leader seemed to have figured out the only place in the little house where money could be hidden.
He strode toward it, completely ignoring the old woman’s attempts to stop him.
“Found it!”
The thug grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth that looked utterly disgusting.
In his hand was a neatly stacked bundle of cash.
It was money Wade had painstakingly saved by collecting scraps of trash during his spare time.
“That’s quite a lot.”
Just as the thug was about to leave, feeling completely satisfied, a gust of wind swept past his ear.
He wondered where the wind had come from.
The house might have been shabby, but it could at least keep out the wind and rain.
Before he could think about it any further, Wade suddenly appeared in front of him and brought the baseball bat crashing down onto his forehead.
His vision went black, and he collapsed to the floor.
“Boss!”
The other two men stared at Wade, who was gripping the battered baseball bat.
Wade’s young face was filled with determination.
His eyes swept over the two men, remaining so unnaturally calm that neither of them dared to move.
“Wade.”
The old woman was initially delighted, but her expression quickly turned worried.
“Wade, go inside.
Leave this to Grandma.”
Wade gently squeezed her hand before turning around and giving her a reassuring smile.
“Grandma, don’t worry.
I’ve got this.
Don’t be scared.”
He was dressed in worn-out clothes, but when he smiled, it was as though the clouds had parted and the snow had melted.
His handsome features gave him an impressive, almost dazzling presence.
“Shit!”
The two men finally seemed to snap out of their stupor.
Their expressions became furious.
“We actually got scared by a kid?”
Wade turned around and positioned himself in front of his grandmother, his long fingers tightening around the bat.
Bang!
Bang!
Two more dull thuds rang out.
The already cramped little living room now contained three unconscious grown men.
“Seriously.”
Wade retrieved his money, then wiped the baseball bat against their clothes with a look of disgust.
“How dare you try to rob my house in the middle of the night?
Haven’t you heard of the Little Tyrant of Flushing’s Backstreet?”
With that, he grabbed one man in each hand and tossed the three men outside, despite each of them weighing more than seventy kilograms.
Once everything had been cleaned up, the house finally returned to normal.
“Alright, Grandma.
It’s fine now.”
Wade smiled warmly.
“Sorry for scaring you!”
The old woman rubbed her chest, still somewhat shaken.
“You scared me half to death.
You need to be careful.
What if they come back to get revenge?”
“Don’t worry.”
Wade patted his chest.
“I’m strong!”
The old woman didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him.
Perhaps because the tension had finally faded, exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her.
“Grandma suddenly feels so sleepy.
I-I need to rest for a while.”
Wade quickly supported the old woman and helped her into the other, even smaller room.
There was nothing inside except a tiny bed.
She had given the largest room to him as his bedroom while she slept in the worst room herself.
As Wade carefully helped his grandmother back to bed, she fell into a deep sleep almost the moment her head touched the pillow.
“Grandma, I’m sorry.”
Wade looked at the kind old woman, his heart filled with guilt.
He was a transmigrator, but he had arrived in this new world in the body of an orphaned Chinese-American boy.
After piecing together all kinds of strange information, he had finally confirmed that he had arrived in the Marvel Universe.
Unfortunately…
In the eight years since he had arrived here, he hadn’t discovered anything resembling a cheat ability or golden finger.
The only unusual thing about him was his physical strength.
And it was the kind of strength that made him far stronger than other children his age despite suffering from malnutrition.
As for who his parents had been in this life, he had no idea.
The only person who had raised him was this eighty-year-old grandmother, who had managed to bring him up through nothing more than her modest shoe-repairing skills.
“It’s all because I’m useless.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
Wade pulled the blanket over his grandmother and tucked her in.
His thoughts were a mess, so he carefully pushed open the door and walked outside.
It was midsummer, and the night breeze was pleasantly cool.
The gentle wind passed through Roosevelt Avenue, brushing against the leaves and producing a soft, pleasant rustling sound.
Wade wandered toward the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
Not far away stood Flushing’s iconic landmark—the Unisphere.
The nearly ten-meter-tall globe stood in the center of a fountain, surrounded by a marble border.
“Sigh.”
Wade walked to the edge and silently sat down.
He idly stirred the water in the fountain with one hand while gazing at the clear night sky.
He stretched out his hand and spread his five fingers, as though simply curling them would be enough to make the stars fall from the sky.
“I must be crazy to have thoughts like this.”
Wade wrinkled his nose, almost teasing himself.
“Damn heavens, if I ever get the chance to become awesome, then send me a spectacular shooting star!”
Wait.
What was this oppressive feeling?
The moment he finished speaking, Wade looked up at the sky.
Holy shit!
Why was something actually falling down?!
And why was it coming this way?
Don’t hit me!