It Turned Out to Be Universe 838

Two months later, basement.

"287, 288, 289, 300."

Wearing a tank top, Hawking gritted his teeth and completed his three-hundredth push-up before struggling to his feet and dropping onto the floor.

"Sure enough, a Saiyan's body is insanely resilient."

His body now looked about eleven or twelve years old. Under normal circumstances, he would not even have started middle school yet. If an ordinary child trained the way he had these past few days, they would probably have ruined their body long ago.

At the very least, muscle breakdown would have been unavoidable.

Yet every time he trained until his entire body gave out, all he had to do was eat his fill and sleep, and he would wake up the next day full of energy, completely recovered.

Moreover, he could clearly feel his body growing stronger every day.

In just two months, his strength had already surpassed that of an average adult man.

Only now did he understand the joy of those fitness fanatics obsessed with working out. It was like leveling up in a game—immensely satisfying.

When someone realized they were improving every day, they really could become addicted to it.

"It's just that money is still a bit tight."

Sokovia was currently being rebuilt, and Oleg and Elena had both found decent jobs.

Normally, raising three children would not have been much of a problem. But a Saiyan physique required far too much food.

If Hawking really ate to his heart's content, Oleg and Elena's wages would not even be enough to feed him alone.

After all, at the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, Turtle Hermit had won a 500,000 prize for taking first place, and Sun Goku had eaten 480,000 of it in a single meal.

That was why his current training intensity had not actually reached its maximum.

He had considered activating the Goku Template. With Goku's strength, earning a little extra dirty money outside would not be difficult.

Sokovia's public safety was hardly good these days. He could rob criminals, make some money, and accumulate a bit of Justice Points while he was at it.

But after thinking it over carefully, he ultimately rejected the idea.

He had suddenly remembered that Sokovia seemed to contain a Hydra stronghold, led by Baron Strucker, who loved researching people with special abilities.

If he acted rashly and was discovered, not only would he be in danger, but Wanda's family would be endangered as well.

If he could remain in Goku's form indefinitely, then naturally he would have nothing to fear. He could even destroy a Hydra base single-handedly.

After all, a Hydra base was not necessarily stronger than the Red Ribbon Army.

But he could only maintain Goku's form for an hour, and afterward, his entire body would be left weak and exhausted.

Although that side effect had become increasingly minor as his own strength grew, it was still extremely dangerous.

More importantly, and this was something that gave him quite a headache, transforming into Goku affected his personality to a certain extent. He could no longer handle problems as rationally as he did now. He became too kind, too righteous, and too fond of fighting.

So he felt there was no need to rush. It was only the year 2000, and Iron Man would not appear for another ten years.

He should lie low for a while, at least until his strength was sufficient, before considering how to make money and earn Justice Points.

After resting for a while, Hawking pulled out the tail hidden around his waist, wrapped it around a chair, and continued training it.

A tail was a Saiyan's weakness. Once it was grabbed, their entire body would instantly lose all strength, so naturally he needed to spend time training it in advance.

"Hawking, Hawking, come out! The moon is so round tonight. Let's go to the second-floor balcony and look at it!"

Just as he was diligently training his tail, Wanda and Pietro poked their little heads through the crack in the door and waved at him excitedly.

Hawking froze at once, then turned back with a smile.

"You two go ahead. I don't like looking at the moon."

What a joke. The blood flowing through his body was the same Saiyan Bloodline as Sun Goku's. If he went outside and saw a full moon, all of Sokovia would be in for a lively night.

The next day, there would probably be a major headline around the world: King Kong Wreaks Havoc in Sokovia!

Then every major organization in the world would send people to cause him trouble.

There were normally twelve full moons in a year. From now on, he would have to avoid them every time, at least until he could either keep himself from transforming or retain his sanity after transforming.

"Okay."

At Hawking's answer, disappointment immediately appeared on Wanda and Pietro's faces.

In their eyes, Hawking was a very mature and dependable older brother. He took great care of them, so they always wanted to include him in everything.

Besides, their parents did not get off work until late every day, and they were bored.

"How about this? After you finish looking at the moon, come down to the kitchen on the first floor. I'll make noodles for you."

Seeing Wanda and Pietro's dejected expressions, Hawking smiled and comforted them.

The unusual family circumstances of his Previous Life had taught him to live independently at a young age, so naturally he knew how to cook.

He was no master chef, but ordinary home-cooked dishes were no challenge for him.

He felt embarrassed just eating and doing nothing in this household. Now, he handled all three meals and all the housework, treating it as physical training.

In fact, this perfectly matched the Turtle Hermit Style's philosophy of cultivation: everyday labor was cultivation.

Foreigners had different tastes from Chinese people, but that was fine. He could make suitable adjustments.

Wanda and Pietro's favorite dish was his tomato-and-egg noodles, the outrageously sweet kind.

And as for Western food... honestly, it was not difficult to learn on the spot.

"Oh, awesome!"

The moment the two little ones heard there would be noodles, the disappointment vanished from their faces. They happily high-fived and nodded.

To them, Older Brother Hawking was simply amazing. He could make all kinds of delicious food, knew so much, told them all sorts of stories they had never heard before, and always protected them like an adult.

"Hawking, this is a comic Dad gave me before. I've already finished reading it, so I'll lend it to you."

Before leaving with his sister Wanda, Pietro suddenly seemed to remember something. He handed Hawking the comic book in his hands as if presenting a treasure.

"Thanks."

Hawking rubbed Pietro's head. Pietro was half a head shorter than him, and Hawking casually accepted the comic.

He was not particularly interested in comics, but it was a child's heartfelt gesture. Refusing it would make the child sad.

"And mine. This is my absolute, absolute favorite DVD. I'm giving it to you."

Not to be outdone, Wanda handed over a DVD as well. It was the first season of her favorite sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show.

"Thank you too."

Hawking also rubbed Little Wanda's head.

After the two left, he set the comic and DVD aside, intending to wash up before heading downstairs to cook noodles in the first-floor kitchen.

However, just as he finished getting dressed and was about to go upstairs, he accidentally glimpsed the comic's cover. His expression changed instantly.

"What is this?"

The cover depicted a woman holding a shield fighting a man with a red skull for a head, with several eye-catching words written beside them.

"Captain Carter Battles Red Skull."

Captain Carter battling Red Skull? Shouldn't it have been Captain America battling Red Skull?

He quickly picked up the comic and flipped through it. Hawking could not help muttering,

"Could it be that I transmigrated into Universe 838?"