The place where people came to collect food should, logically, have been crowded.
Yet there weren't nearly as many people as expected. From within the crowd, the numbers seemed reasonable, but from a distance, the people gathered there looked surprisingly sparse.
Axel moved through the scattered crowd, pushing aside two men who were blocking his path and heading directly toward his target.
The two men were initially irritated at being shoved aside. However, when they turned around and saw Axel, they inexplicably became hesitant.
It wasn't because they recognized him.
Old Axel was simply dressed far too well, and his imposing presence made the two men instinctively reluctant to cause trouble.
They lowered their heads and quietly stepped aside.
Axel then walked behind the woman and greeted her with a smile.
"Oh, isn't this Aunt May? You're here to have some fun too?"
"Ah?"
Hearing that familiar title, Aunt May froze for a moment.
Very few people in her life actually called her Aunt May.
She turned around in confusion, and when she finally saw who had spoken, her eyes widened.
"Is... is that you?!"
Aunt May glanced left and right in surprise.
The moment she recognized Axel, she immediately felt as though trouble was about to find her again.
After all, she had personally witnessed what Axel was capable of yesterday. He was an extraordinarily powerful superhero, although there were rumors that he wasn't actually an official member of the Avengers and might not even consider himself a hero.
Regardless of those rumors, Axel had saved her and her companions from the Hulk yesterday.
So why had he appeared here?
Aunt May immediately became nervous.
Was the Hulk coming back?
She quickly asked,
"You're... Mr. Tang, right?
"But why are you here? Shouldn't you be saving people all over America?"
"Saving people?"
Axel grinned and casually rubbed his hair.
"Who am I supposed to save? Didn't I already save people yesterday?
"Does this work like eating? Do I have to save a certain number of people every single day?
"What a joke."
Axel patted Aunt May's arm.
"Stop worrying, Aunt May. Saving people can be left to those idiots in the Avengers.
"As for me, well..."
He looked at her expectantly.
"You promised yesterday that you'd let me taste your cooking, didn't you? That's why I came looking for you."
Aunt May pursed her lips, looking somewhat confused.
"Did... did I really say I'd treat you to a meal?"
She genuinely couldn't remember saying that.
Still, Axel had saved her and Peter. Treating him to a meal was hardly unreasonable.
The problem was that Aunt May couldn't help feeling awkward about the situation.
She was a widowed mother with a child, while Axel was a handsome young man. Was it really appropriate to simply invite him back to her home?
After thinking about it, Aunt May gently shook her head.
"All right, I might really have said that, but I don't have many ingredients at home.
"As you can see, I've come here to collect food. Peter and I were trapped in the school yesterday and missed the opportunity to get supplies.
"By the time we finally got out, most of the nearby supermarkets and markets had already been looted. I don't know what those people were thinking. They cleared everything out incredibly quickly.
"There's only a little macaroni available here. I can't exactly take you home and serve you nothing but pasta, can I?
"So how about this Saturday? Once the restaurants reopen, I can treat you to some Mexican food."
"Oh, it's Aunt May! What a coincidence."
A voice suddenly came from the side.
"Since we're neighbors, and I happen to have some cheese and butter, you can have them."
"Ah?"
Aunt May hadn't even finished speaking when an older man appeared beside her, carrying two pieces of beef, a cabbage, three tomatoes, two bottles of salad dressing, and a small pile of vegetables.
He glanced at Axel, clearly displeased.
After taking one look at Axel's face, his expression became even more sour.
Why was this Asian kid so damn handsome?
The old man muttered a couple of curses under his breath before turning toward Aunt May and enthusiastically handing her the food.
"No, no, I can't take this..."
"Just throw it away if you don't want it! Haha, I'm heading home. My son is waiting for me!"
Before Aunt May could properly refuse, the old man hurried away with a satisfied laugh.
Clearly, the fact that Aunt May had accepted his food had made him very happy.
Aunt May looked helplessly at the ingredients now piled in her arms.
After examining them for a moment, she hesitated.
"Now this might actually be enough, but if there were just a few more things..."
"Hi, Aunt May! What a coincidence running into you here!"
Another man approached.
"But that's right, we're neighbors. I happen to have some cheese and butter with me. They're yours."
"Ah?"
The growing weight in Aunt May's arms made her look anxiously at the man handing her even more food.
"I can't take this. I..."
"If you don't want it, just throw it away! Haha, I'm going home. My son is waiting for me."
The man hurried away.
Clearly, he was another neighbor trying to curry favor with Aunt May.
And judging by the situation, there were probably plenty more like him throughout the surrounding blocks.
Aunt May was undeniably attractive, even though she was no longer a young woman.
To younger men, her age of nearly thirty-eight might normally have been considered a disadvantage compared with an eighteen or nineteen-year-old woman.
But among the middle-aged and older men living nearby, her age was hardly a disadvantage at all.
Combined with her figure and mature temperament, Aunt May possessed a completely different kind of appeal.
In fact, to some younger men, that maturity could be an attraction in itself.
Looking at the growing pile of ingredients in her arms, Aunt May finally made up her mind.
"We can't stay here any longer, Mr. Tang.
"Since I promised to treat you to a meal, then... please come with me.
"I don't have much money at home, so it certainly won't compare with what you're used to eating.
"But my cooking is pretty good.
"And Peter really likes you. He kept talking about you before he went to sleep last night."
Aunt May smiled gently at Axel.
Axel immediately nodded.
That smile was quite something.
Suppressing the lively thoughts running through his mind, Axel grinned and casually took the ingredients from Aunt May's hands.
"Your neighbors are surprisingly generous. They practically gave you everything needed for an entire meal.
"There's more than enough here to make a full table of dishes.
"Come on, let's head back. I really want to try your cooking."
"Ah, this..."
Aunt May wasn't quite accustomed to Axel's straightforward manner.
After a brief moment of confusion, however, she smiled brightly.
"Of course. A superhero like you has saved so many people. Compared with that, preparing a meal is hardly anything.
"You definitely won't be disappointed.
"And Peter has been waiting for me at home for a while."
Aunt May didn't dwell on the matter any longer. She simply walked ahead with a cheerful smile, leading Axel toward her home.
Along the way, Aunt May encountered many familiar faces.
Several of the men openly showed their displeasure toward Axel.
The women, however, were much more welcoming.
Aside from one woman who whistled at Axel, most of Aunt May's female neighbors simply looked at her with amused and envious expressions.
Those looks caused Aunt May's face to grow increasingly red as they continued walking.
Eventually, they arrived at her doorstep.
Aunt May nervously smoothed the hair beside her temples before speaking softly.
"This is my home. It's just a small place.
"Queens isn't particularly prosperous, and my apartment is very ordinary. I hope you won't mind."
"Ha. Why would I laugh at that?
"Where's little Peter? Is he home?"
Aunt May opened the door, and Axel walked inside as naturally as though he'd been there before.
Seeing how casually he entered, Aunt May took a breath and quietly corrected him.
"It's Peter."
"Got it. Is little Peter home? Your Uncle Tang is here to see you, kid!"
"Uncle Tang?!"
Peter's surprised shout suddenly came from the bedroom.
A moment later, he rushed out and ran straight toward Axel.
"Uncle Tang, why are you here? Oh my God, I really didn't expect you to come to our house!
"Did Aunt May invite you? Oh my gosh! Can we play games together? Aunt May usually doesn't let me play for too long!"
"Haha."
Axel rubbed Peter's hair with amusement.
"Playing games is fine, but not right now. Uncle came specifically to see you.
"Now that I've seen you, you can go play.
"Here, take this. You can buy some toys later."
Axel casually slipped a few hundred dollars into Peter's hands.
Since Peter was still a child, Axel didn't give him an excessive amount.
Peter's face immediately lit up.
Without waiting for Aunt May's permission, he happily accepted the money.
"That's great, Uncle Tang! I was just about to ask Aunt May for permission to go out.
"That girl we met yesterday, Gwen, just called. She wants to invite our family to visit the Osborn Technology Science Museum!
"I originally thought we didn't have much money at home, so maybe we shouldn't go out.
"But then you came, Uncle, and you're so nice to me!
"Aunt May, can we go out and have some fun together?"
"What?"
Aunt May was surprised.
She frowned slightly.
"How can you go out? New York is still chaotic.
"I mean, you can go out and have fun, but you should wait until things are safer.
"As for the money Uncle Tang gave you... well, since you've already accepted it, just keep it. Auntie will repay him with my cooking.
"But why did Gwen invite you?
"Isn't her father a police officer? He should be extremely busy with everything happening in New York, shouldn't he?"
Aunt May looked sternly at Peter.
Under her gentle questioning, Peter hesitated before nervously lowering his head.
"Well... actually, I secretly invited Gwen while you were out.
"But even though New York was chaotic, things are almost back to normal now, right? The Avengers announced it on television!
"Besides, Osborn Technology sent invitations to a lot of schools. They want to use the museum visit to show everyone that New York is returning to normal or something.
"And Gwen already agreed, so let's go!"
Peter grabbed Aunt May's hand and looked up at her expectantly.
Aunt May became conflicted.
She was genuinely worried about letting Peter go.
Without realizing it, her gaze drifted toward Axel.
For some reason, she instinctively wanted his opinion.
But the moment she looked at him, she suddenly lowered her head, her face becoming even warmer.
She felt ridiculous.
Why was she looking to an outsider for advice?
The situation almost made it seem as though she were asking the man of the household to make the decision.
Before Aunt May could think it through, Axel had already patted Peter on the head.
"It's just a small matter. Go out and have fun.
"I'll have a robot take you and keep an eye on you two little rascals.
"New York has barely settled down, and you two are already thinking about wandering around the streets. You're pretty brave."
As he spoke, Axel waved his hand.
A smart battle suit immediately appeared in front of him.
A scanning light emerged from the suit's mechanical eye sockets.
Axel pointed toward Peter.
"JARVIS, take the child and his companion for a tour around New York."
"Understood."
Axel casually produced two more banknotes and stuffed them into Peter's hand.
He closed Peter's fingers around the money before gently pushing him toward the door.
"All right, little Peter. Go find little Gwen.
"Your Uncle JARVIS will take care of you."
"What about you and Aunt May, Uncle Tang? Aren't you coming with us?"
Peter asked expectantly.
His question made Aunt May freeze.
What exactly was going on?
Should she and Axel accompany the children?
Should they stay home while she cooked?
Or should Axel take the children out while she prepared the meal?
But was any of that appropriate?
Why did Axel somehow seem to be involved in every part of the situation?
Before Aunt May could make sense of her thoughts, Axel had already made the decision for her.
He pushed Peter outside.
"All right, little Peter. You and Gwen go have fun by yourselves.
"Uncle and Auntie have more important things to do!"
With that, Axel closed the door, leaving Peter and JARVIS outside.
Peter stared at the closed door in confusion.
Then he turned toward JARVIS.
"Uncle JARVIS, wasn't Uncle Tang here to see me?
"But... was he really here to see me?"
"That isn't important, child. What matters is that everyone has their own responsibilities.
"Your responsibility is to play with your friend, and mine is to ensure your safety.
"That is our job."
JARVIS responded mechanically before leading Peter away.
Inside the apartment, the moment Axel closed the door, Aunt May's legs suddenly trembled.
She watched nervously as Axel turned around and approached her with a cheerful smile.
"Tsk, tsk. That kid Peter is busy chasing after the girl he likes.
"Kids these days are something else. They're barely old enough to understand anything, yet they're already thinking about girls.
"But either way, he's gone now, so he won't bother us anymore.
"Aunt May, what are you waiting for? Let's begin!"
"Ah? Begin what? Begin what?!"
Aunt May was startled.
She quickly took two steps backward, drawing several nervous breaths.
Seeing how flustered she was, Axel grinned and revealed a mischievous smile.
"Hehe. What else could we begin?
"Cooking, of course.
"Otherwise, Aunt May, what exactly were you thinking?
"Don't tell me you thought we were thinking the same thing?"