Starting Today, I'll Be a Hero

"Alohomora!"

With a flick of his wand, the tightly locked shop door was instantly opened by the mysterious magical power contained within the Unlocking Charm.

Honestly, if this were an ordinary world, Jerry could have become one of the greatest thieves in the world with this single Unlocking Charm alone, living a carefree life without worrying about food or clothes.

Unfortunately, this was Marvel. An Unlocking Charm could not stop Purple Sweet Potato.

After pushing open the door, checking that there were no Cameras, and entering the shop, Jerry searched around for a while before appearing at the register. He wore a black Wizard Hat, a black mask that exposed only his eyes, and a loose black Wizard Robe.

He took several bills totaling two hundred USD from his pocket, placed them on the counter, then turned and left.

He had not chosen to buy the outfit openly because he was afraid someone might use the style of the clothes to trace his purchase records.

And two hundred USD was enough to buy at least three or four sets of the outfit he was wearing. As long as the owner was not an idiot, he would not call the police.

Even if he did call the police, they would not bother with something so minor. His dad was a police chief, so he knew all the ins and outs.

Though he was a wizard, he was not like those backward-thinking wizards born and raised in the Wizarding World. He had never underestimated the power of this world's technology.

Especially since this was the Marvel world, where some technologies far surpassed modern standards.

Actually, his Hogwarts uniform would have made the best battle outfit, but when he returned, he had been afraid the robbers would notice something strange, so he had only brought back the necessary wand.

After closing the shop door, Jerry walked through the darkness in his black Wizard Robe, heading toward the areas with high crime rates.

Jerry's father's full name was Hass Weit. He was a police chief at the Queens precinct, and his daily duty was maintaining public order in Queens.

So, as the son of a police chief, as long as he paid a little attention, he still had some idea which areas in Queens saw frequent crimes.

Queens was relatively safer, and there had not been any major incidents. Cases as serious as this bank robbery were rare.

Once, he had overheard his father Hass chatting with a Colleague about public safety throughout New York.

They had said that the area currently ranked highest in crime rate was a slum in Manhattan called Hell's Kitchen. Though it only had eight streets, more crimes happened there every day than in all of New York combined.

However, Jerry was not planning to go there to earn Little Red Stars just yet.

First, it was in the Manhattan District, quite far from where he was, and without suitable transportation, getting there and back would be extremely inconvenient.

Second, he had only started learning magic recently. The spells he knew were mostly support-oriented. Although he could use Superman State, it came with considerable side effects.

Going to a place like Hell's Kitchen was, frankly, quite dangerous.

There was no need to take that risk at this stage. He could go later once he became stronger.

"Oh? That's a great start!"

Not long after Jerry left Lina's Magic Cottage, he noticed that something seemed to be wrong at a twenty-four-hour convenience store by the roadside.

Though it was called a convenience store, Jerry felt that "corner shop" would have been more fitting.

Inside the shop, a Black Youth dressed in an extremely hip-hop style was pointing a handgun at the owner, an Elderly Chinese Woman who looked close to sixty.

"Hurry up, you yellow-skinned freak!"

The elderly woman's face was full of anger, but she did not dare resist. She packed all of the day's earnings from the register into a small bag and placed it on the counter.

The Black Youth was clearly a habitual offender. He was not even wearing a hood, because he knew that as long as his targets were not white people, there usually would not be much trouble.

Especially since he never robbed much at a time. These Chinese shop owners might not even report it, and even if they did, since the amount involved was small, most officers would just go through the motions and would not put much effort into it.

Some people were just like that. They did not dare resist those who harmed them, yet they dared to bully others who had been harmed just like them, and even considered it perfectly justified.

However, just as the Black Youth picked up the bag containing over a thousand USD in loose bills and prepared to leave, a small figure blocked the entrance to the shop.

"You little bastard, move aside, or I'll shove your head up your ass!"

Facing a child obviously playing dress-up in a strange black Wizard Robe and mask, the Black Youth did not hold back as he loudly threatened him.

Unfortunately, the child in the black Wizard Robe did not seem frightened at all. Instead, he calmly replied in a cold voice:

"Please put down the bag in your hand."

"Looks like you want to die!"

The Black Youth did not dare actually shoot and kill someone, causing a fatal incident, but teaching the other party a lesson was certainly no problem.

So he stuffed the money bag in his left hand into his jacket, then raised his hand and shoved forward with all his strength.

He wanted to knock the little brat blocking the door to the ground, then kick him hard a few times so he would understand how cruel society was and learn that kids who had not even grown all their hair yet should not meddle in other people's business.

"Don't hurt the child!"

Seeing this, the elderly woman behind the counter cried out in alarm.

"Heh."

Jerry did not dodge as he watched the Black Youth's hand push toward him. He swiftly raised his hand, accurately grabbed the other man's middle finger, and bent it hard.

"Aah!"

The Black Youth immediately let out a scream of pain. The handgun he had been holding in his right hand instantly rose, ready to fire at Jerry.

"Spongify!"

Jerry had anticipated it. He raised his wand first and cast a Softening Charm.

"What?"

The Black Youth stared at the handgun in his right hand, now as soft as dough, and made an incredulous sound.

"Groin Kick!"

Without Superman State, Jerry was not as strong as his opponent, so naturally, he had to attack a vital area.

The Black Youth, who had not yet reacted because his gun had turned soft, was immediately struck. He dropped the gun, clutched his balls, and fell to his knees.

Letting go of the young man's finger, Jerry quickly grabbed his hair, seized his head, and slammed it violently into the wall beside him, knocking him unconscious.

Superman State consumed Little Red Stars and had side effects afterward, so unless necessary, he felt it was better not to use it.

"Oh, my God!"

Seeing Jerry take down the robbing Black Youth in just a few moves, the elderly woman could not help letting out an exclamation in Chinese Language.

"Grandma, this is your money!"

Jerry pulled the money bag from the Black Youth's jacket and tossed it onto the counter. Then he searched through the Black Youth's pockets and found several dozen USD, which he put into his own pocket.

"This is my reward. Grandma, you can call the police and have this robber taken away!"

"O-okay, little friend, thank you!"

The elderly woman stared blankly for a moment as the strange child in the Wizard Robe turned to leave, then immediately called out her thanks.

But once she came to her senses, she realized that the little boy in the Wizard Robe had spoken to her in remarkably fluent and natural Chinese Language.

Could this little boy be Chinese, just like her?