The Back of the "Wall-Crawler"

The late-autumn wind carried the smell of rust, sweeping yellowed leaves through the streets of Queens. Lin Mo crouched outside the repair shop, patching an old bicycle tire. The smell of glue mingled with Carlos's cigarette smoke, lingering beneath his nose like a familiar scent. The bracelet rested quietly against his wrist. Ever since he had strengthened the invisibility branch, it had rarely popped up on its own, like a well-behaved child that only lit up when his abilities broke through.

"Creak—" The old air conditioner overhead let out a piercing screech, blowing a gust of dusty hot air. Lin Mo looked up at the sky. Lead-gray clouds hung low, like a waterlogged rag draped heavily across the heavens. "It's going to rain." He muttered as he sped up the patch job—Ted needed the bicycle to deliver goods to the logistics company that afternoon.

Just then, a pungent burnt smell drifted over on the wind. It smelled like scorched plastic, with a sickly sweet, fishy undertone. Lin Mo frowned and looked toward the apartment building next door. It was even older than Martha's building, its peeling walls resembling psoriasis. The hallway was piled with abandoned furniture, and it was notorious in the neighborhood as a "fire hazard."

"No way..." Lin Mo's heart suddenly sank. He put down the glue and ran toward the building. As soon as he reached the street corner, he saw thick black smoke billowing from a third-floor window like a black dragon, glaringly conspicuous beneath the lead-gray sky.

"Fire!" someone shouted, panic thick in their voice.

"Call the police!"

"Is anyone still on the third floor?"

"I think there's an old lady! Her legs are bad, and she never goes out!"

Chaotic cries surged in like a tide. Residents rushed into the building carrying buckets and fire extinguishers, only to be forced back by the oncoming blast of heat. Flames had already licked at the fourth-floor windowsills. The wooden frames crackled, while shards of glass rained down below.

Lin Mo's heart began pounding. An old lady? Was it Elderly Irene, the one who always sat outside her door in the sun? He had seen her a few times. She had a head full of silver hair, needed a cane to walk, and always held an old cat named "Snowball II" in her arms. Martha had said she had gotten a cat just because everyone else was doing it.

"How long until the fire trucks get here?" someone shouted into their phone.

"Dispatch says traffic is backed up! Ten more minutes!"

Ten minutes. For a raging fire, ten minutes was enough to reduce the entire building to ashes.

Lin Mo instinctively stepped back, hiding in the shadows at the street corner. Reason told him to wait for the firefighters—his Phasing Ability could let him pass through walls, but this was the first time he had used it in such extreme heat. Who knew whether something might go wrong? Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents might be nearby. The risk of exposing his ability was too great.

"Someone's still inside!" A man in pajamas burst out of the building, a lock of his hair singed and his face covered in soot. "Mrs. Irene refuses to leave! She says she has to wait for her cat!"

"The cat already got out!" someone said, pointing toward the corner of the wall. A black cat was curled up there, trembling in terror. It was Snowball II.

Lin Mo's fingernails dug deeply into his palms. Through Elderly Irene's window, he saw a blurred figure swaying like a dead leaf in the wind. Martha's words suddenly exploded in his ears: "My son said powers aren't for playing around. They're for plugging the hole in front of a gun!"

"Damn it!" Lin Mo cursed under his breath and crushed reason beneath his heel. He circled around to the back of the building, where the fire was relatively weaker. Only a few wisps of black smoke curled out through the cracks in the windows. He drew in a deep breath and activated his Phasing Ability. His body instantly turned translucent, like ink diluted in water.

The instant he entered the wall, the heat wave pierced his skin like countless needles. The crackling of flames, the bursting of timber, and distant cries were magnified countless times in his phased state, making his eardrums buzz. Lin Mo gritted his teeth and charged toward the third-floor bedroom according to the floor plan he remembered.

The thick smoke in the hallway had already become a wall of fire. The scorching air made it hard for him to breathe, and even his phased state began to fluctuate—his translucent body flickered like a faulty lightbulb. Hold on... Lin Mo silently urged himself, using all his strength to maintain the ability as he passed through one burning door after another.

In the bedroom, Elderly Irene was curled up in the corner, clutching a pillow tightly to her chest. She had probably mistaken it for her cat. Tears and soot covered her face, and her trembling lips could not form words. Flames had already climbed to the ceiling, while the wallpaper curled and fell like burning snakes.

"Mrs. Irene!" Lin Mo rushed over, and his phased state instantly disengaged. The searing air made him cough violently.

The old woman looked up. A glimmer of light flashed through her cloudy eyes before quickly fading. "My cat... my cat..."

"The cat is safe!" Lin Mo grabbed her arm, and it felt scorching hot beneath his hand. "I'll get you out!"

"I can't go..." The old woman shook her head and pointed at her leg. "I fell earlier. I can't move."

Lin Mo's heart sank. The firefighters had not arrived yet, and the stairs were already blocked by flames. The only way out was... phasing through the wall.

He took a deep breath and activated his Phasing Ability again. His translucent hand gently supported the old woman's back. "Trust me. We can get out."

The old woman's eyes widened in terror as she stared at Lin Mo's translucent body as if she had seen a ghost. "You... you're..."

"Don't talk. Close your eyes!" Lin Mo hoisted the old woman onto his back. Her body was as light as a feather, yet it felt unimaginably heavy. He closed his eyes, refusing to look at the flames around him or think about what would happen if the phasing failed. There was only one thought in his mind: Get through. Get outside!

The wall pushed against his back, harder than in any of his practice sessions, hot from the fire's scorching heat. Lin Mo could feel the old woman trembling, her rapid breaths wheezing like a bellows. He clenched his teeth and drove his ability to its limit. His translucent body became like a blunt knife, slowly but resolutely cutting through brick and stone.

"Ah—!" The instant they passed through the wall, the old woman let out a short scream. She had probably been terrified by the experience that defied all physical common sense.

Lin Mo staggered forward a few steps before steadying himself. They stood in the open space behind the building, less than five meters from the blaze. The heat still burned against them, but at least they were safe.

"I... how did I come out through the wall?" The old woman looked at her hands in shock, then at the wall behind her, as if trying to confirm that this was not a dream.

Lin Mo did not explain. He merely wiped the soot from his face. Sweat mixed with black ash, carving streak after streak across his skin. He helped the old woman to safety and handed her over to the neighbors rushing over. Just as he turned to leave, the old woman grabbed his wrist.

"Who are you?" Her voice trembled, but it was exceptionally clear.

Lin Mo smiled and pointed toward the approaching fire trucks, their sirens growing louder. "A neighbor." With that, he activated his Phasing Ability. His body turned translucent again, and he passed through the wall before disappearing into the alley.

He did not see the boy with glasses behind a trash can at the mouth of the alley, camera raised as he pressed the shutter. On the camera screen was only a blurred silhouette, half inside the wall and half outside, like an unfinished ink painting.

By the time Lin Mo returned to the repair shop, his back was still burning. Using his Phasing Ability in such high heat had left behind a faint, prickling pain. Carlos was smoking in front of the television, where footage of the fire scene was already playing. The anchor's voice was excited. "...The fire has now been brought under control. An elderly woman trapped inside was rescued by a mysterious individual. Witnesses claim the rescuer appeared capable of passing through walls..."

"Where did you go?" Carlos glanced at him, his gaze probing. "Why is your face covered in ash?"

"I went to watch the excitement." Lin Mo picked up a towel and wiped his face, avoiding Carlos's eyes. He did not want to lie, but he could not tell the truth either—not yet.

That night, Lin Mo could not sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was the fire: burning curtains, exploding glass, Elderly Irene's terrified face... and the piercing agony of passing through the wall, as if his soul were being torn apart. For the first time, he realized that powers brought not only convenience and amusement, but also a crushing responsibility.

Early the next morning, Lin Mo went to the Community Center to deliver repaired computers as part of his side job. The moment he reached the entrance, a group of children surrounded him. Their leader was a little girl with pigtails, holding up a newspaper as she shouted excitedly, "Wall-Crawler! Are you the Wall-Crawler?"

Lin Mo froze for a moment before taking the paper. It was the morning edition of the Queens Post. The front page showed a blurry photo: a silhouette disappearing into a wall. The pixels were too poor to make out anything but the outline, but the headline was especially eye-catching—Mysterious "Wall-Crawler" Rescues People from Fire, Superpowered Hero Appears in Queens.

The article read: "Yesterday afternoon, a fire broke out in an apartment building on 37th Street in Queens, trapping a woman in her seventies. Before firefighters arrived, a mysterious man passed through a wall and rescued the elderly woman before vanishing into an alley. Witnesses claimed the man could phase through solid objects and was suspected to be a Mutant..."

"It wasn't me." Lin Mo returned the newspaper to the little girl, his cheeks slightly warm. Being treated as a hero felt strange. He felt a little pleased, but also a little uneasy.

"It was you!" The little girl pointed at his wrist. "When you helped me get my kite last time, you passed through the tree like that too!"

Lin Mo smiled and did not deny it again. He crouched down and looked into the children's sparkling eyes. "Whoever it was, if someone is in danger and you can help, then you should help, right?"

The children nodded as though they half understood, then crowded around him and chattered away. "Can Wall-Crawler fly?" "Do you know Iron Man?" "Can you get my robot out of the sewer?"

Lin Mo agreed to every request, though something seemed to fill his heart. He remembered Peter's "Superhero Observation Diary," the Spider-Man web-shooter beneath Ted's bed, and the photo of Martha's son. It turned out everyone had a hero living in their heart. They simply expressed it in different ways.

When he went to Aunt May's place for a free meal, Peter held up his camera and leaned in mysteriously. "Brother Lin, look at this photo!" The screen showed the silhouette from the fire scene, identical to the one in the newspaper but slightly clearer. The corner of a repair shop uniform could be seen.

"Nice shot." Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to stay calm as he picked up a roasted potato.

"I took it!" Peter said proudly. "I was nearby at the time, trying to photograph the fire, and I caught this instead! Do you think this Wall-Crawler could be one of the X-Men? Or maybe a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"

Aunt May came out of the kitchen carrying soup and shot Peter a glare. "Don't talk about that nonsense while we're eating." She set a bowl in front of Lin Mo, worry in her eyes. "People outside are saying S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking for this Wall-Crawler. Don't wander around everywhere, or you might get mistaken for a target."

Warmth rose in Lin Mo's heart. Aunt May was always like this. She never said much, but she knew everything. "I know, Aunt May."

That afternoon at the repair shop, Carlos suddenly tossed him an envelope. "Someone sent this to you." There was no signature on the envelope, and the stamp featured Spider-Man.

Lin Mo opened it. Inside was a thank-you card written in Elderly Irene's crooked handwriting. "Thank you, Wall-Crawler. My cat asked me to thank you too, although it was so frightened that it did not eat for three days. P.S.: Homemade cookies, a small token of appreciation."

There was also a note tucked inside the card, written in Peter's handwriting. "The old lady asked everyone in the neighborhood. You're the only one who repairs things and is always helping people. She didn't say it outright, but she knows it was you. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret!"

Lin Mo's eyes grew a little hot. He picked up the cookies on the table—Martha had passed them along, since the old woman's legs had not fully recovered—and took a bite. The buttery fragrance melted across his tongue, carrying a faint bitterness from being slightly overbaked. It tasted exactly like life.

"Carlos," Lin Mo suddenly asked the man working on an engine, "if there was someone who could pass through walls, what do you think he should do?"

Carlos kept a cigarette between his lips without looking up. "What the hell does that have to do with me? As long as he doesn't phase into my repair shop and steal parts." He paused, then blew out a smoke ring. "But... if my girl were ever in danger, I'd hope he would stick his nose in."

Lin Mo smiled. Even a tough guy had a soft spot in his heart.

That evening, Lin Mo went to Martha's house to return her repaired microwave. The old woman had said it always burned her cookies when she heated them. The moment he walked inside, Snowball tripped him. The fat cat rubbed against his pant leg, the Titanium Alloy bell around its neck jingling.

"How does it feel to be treated like a hero?" Martha sat on the sofa smoking. The television was replaying the fire report, paused on that blurry silhouette.

"Not great." Lin Mo opened the microwave and activated his Phasing Ability to inspect the internal wiring. "It's too troublesome. People keep watching me."

"You still have to bear it." Martha flicked ash from her cigarette. "My son said powers are like guns. You can choose to hide them, or you can use them to protect people. But once you've fired one, there's no going back."

Lin Mo's hands paused. He knew what Martha meant. From the moment he had rescued someone from that fire, he could no longer treat his powers as nothing more than a joke or a convenience.

After repairing the microwave, Lin Mo had barely reached the door when he saw Phil Coulson standing in the hallway. He held a copy of the Queens Post, wearing a gentle smile. "Wall-Crawler?" He waved the paper. "That's quite a distinctive nickname."

Lin Mo's heart suddenly sank, and he instinctively wanted to activate his Phasing Ability and flee.

"Don't be nervous." Phil Coulson raised both hands to show that he meant no harm. "I'm not here to arrest you. In fact, someone at the agency suggested recruiting you, but I turned them down."

"Why?" Lin Mo's voice was tight.

"Queens needs you." Phil Coulson's gaze drifted toward the distant Community Square, where children were flying kites and their laughter rang bright and clear. "Not every hero has to stand at the center of the world. Sometimes, protecting one street is more important than saving the world." He paused and handed the newspaper to Lin Mo. "But next time you save someone, remember to change clothes. That repair shop uniform is too conspicuous."

With that, Phil Coulson turned and left as though he had never been there.

Lin Mo watched his retreating back, then looked at the newspaper in his hand and suddenly smiled. He folded it and slipped it into his pocket—perhaps it was the most special "recognition" he had ever received.

Back in the basement, Lin Mo wrote new entries on the last page of his "Ability Practice Schedule": "Practice phasing in high temperatures, phasing while carrying weight (at least one person), rapid consecutive phasing (for emergencies)."

[Detected awakening of host's sense of responsibility. Ability proficiency increased to 70%.]

[New function unlocked: Emergency Phasing (can be activated instantly in dangerous situations, ignores cooldown time, but consumes a large amount of stamina).]

Lin Mo clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing through his body. He knew that from now on, the back of the "Wall-Crawler" would not appear only in newspapers. It would appear in every corner where help was needed—whether it was a burning apartment building, an old locust tree with a kite stuck in it, or even a child's robot that had fallen into a sewer.

Moonlight shone through the small window, falling across the Queens Post on the desk. In the darkness, that blurry silhouette seemed to come alive, walking step by step, resolutely toward the other side of the wall.

Lin Mo knew this was only the beginning. Many challenges lay ahead: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention, Carlos's mysterious client, Peter's coming transformation... But as long as he could keep watch over this shabby apartment building, these noisy neighbors, and the slightly corny title of "Wall-Crawler," there was nothing to fear.

After all, heroes did not need to ask where they came from, and wall-crawling did not need to ask how thick the wall was.