Wade stood before a giant wall interwoven with countless golden chains. Chunks of cold, viscous black smoke seeped out from the gaps, accompanied by fragmented whispers full of resentment.
He reached out and pressed against it, and the chains immediately split open a small gap.
This was the memory seal he had personally set using his psychic power. With a thought, a pitch-black door condensed onto the wall.
Wade reached for the doorknob and pulled hard.
It didn't budge. A massive opposing force radiated from inside the door, and a feminine voice, alternating between childish and hoarse, came through: "Go away! I don't need you to manage me."
"Kate, what are you doing?" Wade pulled the door open a crack and said gravely, "I'm here to help you. Let me in."
No matter how earnestly he pleaded, the inside of the door remained silently resistant, and he couldn't even pull the gap open further.
"It's like this again. You're forcing my hand..." Wade's eyes narrowed. He materialized a long whip burning with golden flames in his hand and raised it to strike.
Snap—!
The whip struck the wooden door, producing a deafening explosion that shook the entire mental space.
"Xiao Jinmao." Wade shouted sternly, the whip shadows falling like a fierce storm, "Open the door immediately, do you hear me!"
Whoosh—Crack!!
Under the assault, the black door became covered in golden burn marks, shaking violently and groaning before slowly cracking open.
"This dark side truly needs a whipping." Wade swiftly transformed into a streak of light and instantly rushed through the door... The scene shifted, and Wade found himself next to a house by a forest, looking around.
Not far away, young Little Kate was alone on the lawn in the yard, playing house with a Barbie Doll and small toy figures.
A little boy suddenly ran over, laughing as he joined the game and snatched the doll.
"Stop bothering me, Kyle!" Little Kate grabbed her brother's hand and screamed hysterically, "Why don't you just die? If you want to play, go into the woods and never come back."
The frightened Kyle froze for a moment, then ran into the woods crying.
Wade walked over to Little Kate, who was still playing house, picked her up, and pinched her chubby cheek: "You really can't be blamed for this. You were just angry for a moment. Who could have known?"
Little Kate pointed toward the woods, wiping her tears: "Ugh—I didn't mean it. How was I supposed to know he really wouldn't come back."
"Then let's go take a look." Wade looked toward the forest, following the direction Kyle had run, and pursued him.
"Kyle—my little darling! Where are you?"
A middle-aged woman with long, golden, wavy hair ran past Wade, shouting hysterically into the woods, followed closely by several police officers.
Little Kate also chased after them, her face covered in tears: "Mom! I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
Wade felt his arm lighten, realizing that Little Kate, whom he had been holding, had suddenly vanished: "Can't they exist simultaneously?"
The blonde middle-aged woman saw her daughter and recoiled a few steps in horror, pointing at her and screaming: "Stay away! How could I raise a monster like you? How could you be so cruel to your own little brother!"
A police officer ran up and gently comforted her: "Little one, come with Uncle. Be careful not to get too close."
Little Kai, tears and snot streaming down her face, looked at her scolding mother, about to follow the police officer away.
Wade stepped forward and blocked her path.
He crouched down, ignoring the harsh warnings from the police officer and the middle-aged woman, and took Little Kate's cold hand: "This is not your fault."
"The Compound V manufactured by Vought Corporation is the real culprit. They secretly injected the drug into you when you were little... You are not a monster, just a child who suddenly awakened superpowers."
Little Kate stared blankly at him, and the accumulated grievances, fear, and overwhelming guilt finally found an outlet.
"Waaah... Thank you!" She hugged Wade tightly, her figure gradually turning into white specks of light.
Wade stroked the dissipating light specks and saw a hole displaying a scene suddenly appear in the bushes ahead.
Inside the hole, a specially modified bedroom was visible. Little Kate ate, drank, slept, and relieved herself in it, year after year, growing older.
"It's not over yet?" He pushed aside the bushes and plunged headfirst into the hole... Wade tumbled onto a soft bed and stood up, looking around.
Sitting in front of the computer desk was a bloated, chubby figure—it was Kate, still in her adolescence.
Chubby Kate was watching an Erotic Action Film on the screen, holding a large bag of chips and watching with great relish.
"Locked up in the house all day, she turned sorrow and indignation into appetite?" Wade jumped off the bed, intending to go over and talk.
"Oh, the main character is here?" A mocking voice sounded nearby, pulling him back to the bedside.
Wade snapped his head around and saw a bearded Soldier Boy wearing a dark green military uniform standing beside him, having appeared unnoticed.
Soldier Boy grabbed his shoulder and pointed at Kate with a rogue look: "Look at her. She can only find fun in a fantasy world. Do you know whose face she imagines when she watches that stuff?"
"It used to be mine, but now... it's that sanctimonious face of yours."
"If you really cared about her as much as you pretend, you would have satisfied her long ago instead of letting her... comfort herself here."
Wade slapped his hand away and said coldly, "Shut your filthy mouth and scram!"
"Pretend! Keep pretending!" Soldier Boy spat, "You fucking enjoy this feeling of being depended on, don't you?"
"You keep her like a pet, giving her cheap concern so she's devoted to you! Hypocrite! If you had acted like a real man and carried her up here... she wouldn't be suffering this much!"
Wade pushed him away with disgust: "I have nothing to say to an animal like you who only thinks with his lower body."
He ignored the false phantom and walked toward the chubby girl immersed in the movie world.
Shetty appeared next to Kate, grasping her hands and earnestly advising her: "Your ability isn't a curse, it's a gift from heaven... Take these pills, and you won't hear those voices in your head anymore."
Wade stepped forward and slapped the pill bottle away: "You won't need these, Shetty."
Before Shetty could retort, he punched the Memory Construct, shattering it into black light specks.
Wade pressed Kate's shoulder and said gravely: "You don't need this. Numbing yourself is useless. Only by controlling your ability can you completely eliminate those voices."
Kate nodded, slightly distracted by the continuous sounds of arguments and curses coming from downstairs.
Wade cupped her face and spoke seriously: "Your parents just don't understand superpowers, but they love you. Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept you hidden here, providing you with good food and drink."
"Your future is not in this room. You should use your ability to do what you want, something meaningful... If you feel tired, just stop for a while."
"As long as you don't lose heart, and you need me, I will help you. That is my promise to you, Wade Thompson."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Kate dropped the snacks in her hand, tears gushed out like a flood, and she nodded hard while sobbing.
Clap, clap, clap—
Soldier Boy clapped vigorously nearby, then theatrically wiped away fake tears: "Fuck! That's so moving! Oscar owes you a Little Gold Man!"
"Alright, Casanova, stop standing there once the show is over. Come on, get to first base! Let her taste what 'real comfort' is. Just talking won't..."
Wade coldly gave him the middle finger: "You pathetic, horny bastard, just die!"
Before he finished speaking, a highly compressed air bullet shot out with a bang, slamming Soldier Boy directly into the pitch-black wall behind him.
Kate wiped away her tears and sighed in relief: "I hate that disgusting old relic... Thank you for... driving him away!"
"Thank you!" She left a soft kiss on Wade's cheek, and her figure immediately transformed into countless white light specks, dissipating into the air.
The scene in the bedroom did not change again, nor did any unusual movement occur.
Wade pulled over a chair, lay down on it, and breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's it, right?"
Just as he was about to get up and leave, he noticed the surrounding furniture was rapidly growing larger.
No, he was shrinking.
At this moment, a voice full of curses and complaints came from the human-shaped hole in the wall: "Your mouth game is pretty good! You actually managed to persuade my Kate."
Soldier Boy crawled out of the wall, his physique unchanged, the malice in his eyes solidifying: "That's all the ability you have, you coward, you don't even dare to get intimate... It looks like you can't save her. You deserve to rot here and be tormented by me!"
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