Daily Bugle

Here we go!

When he returned to that park again, the two Black Thugs were already gone. They had probably gone to the hospital after waking up, though the police might have dragged them away instead.

Hawking pulled the tree trunk out of the ground, threw it again, then rode it back to the Mutant School.

"Good morning, Professor. You're up early!"

The moment he entered the cafeteria, he saw Professor X sitting in his wheelchair, seemingly waiting for him.

Clearly, Professor X had been very concerned about what had happened to him last night.

"I had someone buy quite a few ingredients overnight. You must be hungry after not eating all night."

Professor X smiled and pointed to a nearby table piled with all kinds of high-calorie food: steaks, hot dogs, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and more.

"Haha, then I won't hold back!"

Hawking's eyes lit up. He immediately sat down and began devouring the food.

Spending an entire night leaping across the city's rooftops had been a kind of training in itself, and it had drained plenty of his stamina.

Once he was mostly full, Professor X began asking about Hawking's experiences the previous night. Hawking did not hide anything, though he polished up the details before giving him a general account.

After hearing Hawking's account, Professor X wore a satisfied smile.

He felt Hawking had done far better than expected. Hawking had not merely used his abilities to save those humans; he had even deliberately crafted a fully realized persona.

That would undoubtedly have a significant positive effect on changing humanity's attitude toward Mutants in the future.

He could already imagine it: if the "God of War" Hawking had created truly became widely revered by the public, then once Hawking revealed himself to be a Mutant, people's view of Mutants would surely change dramatically.

"Excellent, Hawking. You did very well.

"Yesterday, as you suggested, I had someone acquire the Daily Bugle. From now on, if you have any ideas about how it should be run, you can speak directly to the person in charge there, J. Jonah Jameson."

"What? That fast?"

This time, Hawking was the one left stunned. He had only made the suggestion to Professor X the night before last, yet Professor X had already acquired the Daily Bugle yesterday.

All he could say was that Professor X's family was even more powerful than he had imagined.

"You opened my eyes the night before last. You were right—I should have recognized the power of the media much earlier."

Professor X smiled.

Even if Hawking's Super Hero plan failed, owning a media outlet that could report positive news about Mutants would still change at least some people's perceptions.

So yesterday, he had called in numerous favors and spent a fortune to buy the Daily Bugle from J. Jonah Jameson, turning J. Jonah Jameson into his employee.

"Once I've rested this afternoon, I'll go speak with him."

Naturally, Hawking was delighted that Professor X had handed control of the Daily Bugle directly to him.

It also meant that, in Professor X's eyes, he had become someone capable of handling major responsibilities independently, rather than merely a child.

It seemed the high-IQ image he had cultivated over the past few years was finally beginning to pay off.

Starting a Super Hero International Company like the one in The Boys was no easy task. Even if he acquired plenty of money, without the right connections to enter the world of capital, he still would not be able to make it happen.

Being strong would not help with that either, unless he became powerful enough to stand against the entire world alone and enslave all humanity. Otherwise, he still had to abide by certain rules.

If his methods were too extreme, he would only end up like Magneto, becoming someone hated by everyone and ganged up on by various Super Heroes as a villain.

Earth held far more dangers than it seemed, especially since Universe 838 differed greatly from the Main Universe. Who knew how many powerful beings were still hidden away?

Besides, he was not alone. He had Wanda, Pietro, Oleg, Elena, and others who were like family to him.

That was why Professor X's recognition and trust were so important.

Professor X was not only a Mutant, but also the heir to a major capitalist family. He himself could be counted among the capitalists.

With Professor X supporting him from behind the scenes, many things would become much easier.

"Professor, get me a camera. I need it for something."

After breakfast, Hawking informed Professor X, then left the cafeteria and returned to his room.

At two in the afternoon, Hawking opened his computer the moment he woke up.

Although most ordinary people still primarily got their news through newspapers and television in this era,

most news could actually already be viewed online.

Sure enough, he quickly found plenty of news stories about himself online, along with videos filmed by passersby and all sorts of comments.

Some said the video had to be fake. Some said the golden armor looked incredibly cool, and that the name Golden War God was awesome. Others said gods had always existed in this world.

Some extremists even claimed that humanity was about to enter the apocalypse, which was why the gods had descended upon the world.

There was all kinds of nonsense, with people saying everything imaginable. Still, the buzz had taken off, and because he had stopped criminals, most of the reactions were fairly positive.

After washing up, he first went to the Combat Simulation Room and used the camera to stage some photographs. Then he went to Cyclops and borrowed his modified Harley motorcycle.

Broad daylight was not the right time to go Tree Hopping through the city.

"Now this has some kick!"

When he pressed the special modified button on the handlebar, the motorcycle's speed instantly broke past its limit and doubled, making Hawking unable to resist a cry of admiration.

If I'd had a motorcycle like this in my Previous Life, I would've looked insanely cool.

He sped all the way there. This time, he did not stop in the Bronx, instead heading straight for the Daily Bugle's news building in Manhattan.

"That Armor Man? You want him on the front page of tomorrow's paper? A clown hiding his face—how could someone like that make our front page? I already put that story on today's fifth page."

Jonah Jameson looked at Hawking seated across from him, laughing as he waved a hand. Clearly, he did not approve of Hawking's absurd suggestion.

But Hawking slammed his palm down on the desk.

"Not Armor Man. God of War. And Mr. Jameson, get one thing straight: this is not a suggestion. It is an order.

"Mr. Charles should have told you that my orders are his orders. All you need to do is carry them out."

"But... but it definitely won't sell. The front page should be about Tony Stark's secret hotel meeting last night with the newly crowned Best Actress. That's what everyone wants to see."

Jonah Jameson responded with an unpleasant expression.

He was beginning to regret selling the Daily Bugle he had worked so hard to build. Charles had actually sent some guy who knew nothing to come here and tell him what to do.

But there was nothing he could do. Competition in the industry was fierce. He looked successful on the surface, but he was actually carrying enormous debts. One wrong move and he could go bankrupt—and Charles had simply offered far too much.