Morning sunlight slanted in through the basement window well, casting a long, narrow beam across the floor. Dust floated within it like golden fireflies. Lin Mo sat on a creaking wooden chair, holding a polished circuit board, but his gaze kept drifting toward his wrist—the wristband screen was lit, its pale blue digits clearly displaying [Countdown: 30 Days 0 Hours 0 Minutes 0 Seconds].
"A whole month." He murmured to himself, his fingertips absently tracing circles over the circuit board's solder points. More than three months had passed since he had checked in and obtained Shadowcat's Phasing Ability. During that time, he had gone from a rookie stuck inside walls to an "egg-snatching expert" who could freely slip through crowds at the supermarket. He had even helped Elderly Martha rescue her cat from inside a radiator. (Snowball had been so frightened that she ignored him for three days.)
The wristband suddenly vibrated lightly and displayed a new prompt: [The next check-in phase is about to begin. Current previewable ability pool range (partial): X-Men, Avengers, independent Mutant individuals.]
Lin Mo's heart lurched, and the circuit board nearly fell from his hand. He knew the X-Men well, and he had gotten quite skilled with Shadowcat's ability. The Avengers... Could it be Iron Man's armor technology? Or Captain America's super-soldier physique? He hurriedly opened the detailed list, his eyes widening further and further.
[Wolverine: Healing Factor (Beginner)—Rapidly heals nonfatal injuries. Recovery efficiency against metal piercing damage reduced by 50%.]
[Cyclops: Ocular Energy Projection (Basic)—Can fire red concussive blasts. Requires specially made glasses for control. Each use lasts 10 seconds.]
[Hawkeye: Precision Throwing (Beginner)—Thrown weapon accuracy increased by 80%. Ineffective with firearms.]
[Thor: Lightning Affinity (Weak)—Can sense natural lightning and slightly influence the weather (limited to light rain).]
Lin Mo stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the name "Wolverine" for a long time. A healing factor... This ability had practically been tailor-made for staying alive. The last time he had helped Ted chase down a bag snatcher, a bicycle chain had scraped his arm, leaving a faint scar that remained even now. With a healing ability, such a minor injury would not have been worth mentioning.
"That's the one." He muttered to the wristband, imagining himself like Wolverine—able to go to work at the repair shop perfectly fine the next day even after getting beaten black and blue. But then another thought struck him. Wolverine's Adamantium skeleton had apparently been forcibly infused into him, and the pain had been enough to drive a person insane. He shuddered and quickly pushed the thought aside.
When his gaze moved to "Cyclops," Lin Mo could not help making a shooting gesture at the air. Red concussive blasts sounded incredibly cool and would definitely come in handy against petty thugs. But when he saw "requires specially made glasses," he frowned again. He could not exactly wear sunglasses in the middle of summer, could he? The last time Ted had worn a pair of oversized shades to the supermarket, the aunties had mistaken him for a peeping creep and chased him for three streets. Just thinking about it was embarrassing.
"Forget it." He shook his head and looked at Thor's ability. Lightning Affinity? Sensing lightning? It sounded rather useless unless he planned to switch careers and become a weather forecaster. But the words in parentheses—"can slightly influence the weather"—made his heart stir. Queens had been getting acid rain lately. If he could bring down some clean rain to wash the air, Martha's asthma might improve.
"What a dilemma." Lin Mo tossed the circuit board back into the toolbox and stood before the mirror. It had been picked out of a trash heap, with a chipped corner that distorted his reflection slightly. He threw a punch at the mirror, imagining lightning wrapping around his fist, then found it too embarrassingly childish and burst out laughing.
"Mo, what are you grinning at in the mirror?" Ted suddenly poked his head through the crack in the door. His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, his eyes still red from sleep, and he clutched half a bag of chips. "Practicing your 'walk-through-walls magic trick' again?"
Lin Mo jumped and hurriedly covered the wristband screen with his sleeve. As he turned, he accidentally knocked over the nearby parts box. Screws and nuts scattered across the floor with a clatter. "Nothing," he said, crouching to pick up the parts, his cheeks slightly hot. "I was thinking about where to travel next year."
"Travel?" Ted walked in and plopped down on the bed, scattering chip crumbs all over the sheets. "With your savings, you'd be lucky to make it to Brooklyn." He leaned closer and lowered his voice mysteriously. "Why not come to Las Vegas with me? My cousin's uncle runs a casino there. He can get us a discount!"
Lin Mo smiled but did not reply. He knew Ted's dream of Las Vegas was like his own anticipation for new abilities: both were little flames hidden in their hearts. They knew how hard they would be to realize, yet could not help wanting to add more fuel. He tossed the last screw into the box, then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, how's your 'The Great Turkey Transformation' trick coming along? There are only five days left until the Thanksgiving party."
At the mention of magic, Ted's eyes instantly lit up. He dragged a large box covered in black cloth from beneath the bed and lifted the cover proudly. "Look! I made a new prop!" Inside was a Tin Turkey model. Springs were tied to its wings, and when a button was pressed, it would pop out while its beak made gobbling noises. The sound was actually a recording.
Lin Mo looked at the paint-chipped Tin Turkey and barely held back a laugh. "This is what you call 'The Great Turkey Transformation'?"
"What do you think? Cool, right?" Ted pressed the button. The turkey sprang up with a pop, nearly knocking his nose off. "When the time comes, I'll climb into the box and make this thing appear. Their jaws will hit the floor!"
Lin Mo picked up the Tin Turkey and scanned it with Structural X-Ray. He discovered that the spring was about to snap. "This part needs reinforcement," he said, pointing at the joint. "Otherwise, if it falls apart halfway through the act, it'll become 'Turkey Suicide.'"
"Huh? What do I do?" Ted's face immediately fell like a punctured balloon. "I only have a few days left. Where am I supposed to find a new spring?"
"I'll fix it." Lin Mo took out a length of high-strength steel wire from the toolbox. "This wire has good flexibility and is ten times stronger than your old spring." He activated his Phasing Ability, slipped his fingers through the Tin Turkey's shell, and precisely wound the wire around the rotating shaft. His movements were as quick as a magic trick.
Ted stared with wide eyes, forgetting even to chew his chips. "Mo, it'd be a waste if you didn't become a magician. Seriously, let's team up. You handle the technical side, I handle the performance. We'll definitely make it big!"
Lin Mo smiled and handed him the repaired turkey. "Let's get through the Thanksgiving performance first." Watching Ted excitedly fiddle with the turkey model, he suddenly felt that having a friend who could be crazy with him was not bad. At least the days spent waiting for a new ability would not be so boring.
That afternoon at the repair shop, Carlos tossed him an engine covered in grease. "The customer wants it completely dismantled. Check every part for wear." He glanced at Lin Mo's wrist. "You've been staring at that wristband a lot lately, kid. Get yourself some new toy again?"
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He quickly picked up a wrench. "Nothing. Repayment day's coming up, so I'm a little stressed." He crouched down and began dismantling the engine. Structural X-Ray activated automatically, revealing the gears, pistons, and oil lines at a glance. This was one of Shadowcat's hidden perks. He could repair things at least three times faster than before, and Carlos had raised his pay, calling it an "efficiency bonus."
Halfway through the dismantling, his phone suddenly vibrated. Peter had sent him a message containing only a photo and one line: [Lin, look! New Mexico news—there's a hammer stuck in a rock, and even tanks can't move it!]
The photo showed a stretch of desert. An ancient-looking hammer was embedded in a rock at its center, intricate patterns carved into its head. Several tanks surrounded it, their cannons all aimed at the hammer, yet no one dared touch it. Lin Mo's heartbeat instantly accelerated, and the wristband on his arm grew scorching hot. Its screen automatically displayed a prompt: [Detected Asgardian artifact energy signature. 99% match with "Mjolnir."]
"So it really is." Lin Mo's fingers trembled slightly. He had long ago read related reports in old newspapers at the Community Library. A "thing from beyond the sky" had fallen into a town in New Mexico, and the military had sealed off the entire area. Still, people kept sneaking in to try to pull out the hammer. Every single one had failed. Even the most advanced cranes could not move it.
"What are you looking at?" Carlos's voice suddenly sounded above him, startling Lin Mo so badly that his hand jerked. The wrench fell onto the engine with a loud clang.
"N-Nothing." Lin Mo hurriedly locked his phone, his heart pounding wildly. "Peter sent me a funny picture."
Carlos gave him a suspicious look but did not press further, turning away to greet a customer at the entrance. Lin Mo let out a breath, his back already soaked with cold sweat. He had nearly exposed the wristband's secret in front of Carlos. The man might seem careless most of the time, but his eyes were sharp. The last time, he had spotted Ted's hidden stash of cash inside an engine at a glance.
After work, Lin Mo detoured to the Community Library. In a corner, he dug out newspapers from the past three months, cut out every report about New Mexico, and pasted them into an old notebook. The newest article said that the military had built a temporary base around the hammer and that an agent named Phil Coulson had arrived to coordinate matters. When Lin Mo saw that name, he nearly crushed the notebook in his grip.
Phil Coulson was there too?
He remembered what Coulson had told him after the fire: "Sometimes, protecting one street is more important than saving the world." Now it seemed that this S.H.I.E.L.D. agent himself was busy with the prelude to "saving the world." Lin Mo traced circles over the hammer printed in the newspaper, and the thought in his heart grew clearer and clearer. He wanted to go to New Mexico—not to pull out the hammer. He knew his limits. If even tanks could not move it, his little abilities would be useless. He simply wanted to see what kind of artifact could make S.H.I.E.L.D. take it so seriously.
More importantly, he wanted to know whether the hammer had anything to do with his wristband. Shadowcat's ability had come from checking in, so when the next check-in arrived, could an ability related to Thor appear? For example... the strength to lift the hammer?
"What are you thinking about, Lin?" Peter's voice suddenly sounded behind him, making him jump. The boy held a paper tube containing freshly printed documents. "I checked New Mexico's weather. There'll be a sandstorm next week. If you want to go, you need to bring protective gear."
Lin Mo's heart clenched as he looked into Peter's bright eyes. He suddenly understood—the kid had seen right through him long ago. From the moment Lin Mo repeatedly checked the reports about New Mexico, from the moment he asked whether the hammer could be phased through, Peter had seemed to carry a transparent crystal ball that showed all of Lin Mo's little thoughts clearly.
"I was just looking." Lin Mo closed the notebook, his cheeks burning. Trying to hide his thoughts from a child several years younger than him felt like having his clothes stripped off.
"I know you want to go." Peter handed him the paper tube. Inside was information he had organized: a map of New Mexico, a rough sketch of the temporary base's location, and even the composition of Coulson's team, though most of it was guesswork. "I checked it for you. Taking a bus from Queens will take two days and one night. I have money for the ticket..."
"No, I have money." Lin Mo cut him off, warmth spreading through his heart like a little sun. He ruffled Peter's hair. The boy was always like this. Aunt May still had to take care of him, yet he was always worrying about helping others. "Besides, I might not actually go. It depends on... my work schedule."
Peter blinked slyly. "Isn't the repair shop doing inventory next week? Carlos said he's giving you three days off."
Lin Mo was completely speechless. This kid even knew his work schedule inside and out. He was practically more capable than a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He unfolded the map and placed his finger on the town marked with the hammer. "What's this place called?"
"Pepper Town." Peter leaned over and pointed at the tiny words on the edge of the map. "It used to be a mining town, so there weren't many people. Now it's full of reporters and military personnel." He paused and lowered his voice. "I also found out that a big blond guy keeps wandering around the base, saying the hammer is his. The military's chased him off several times already."
A big blond guy? An image immediately flashed through Lin Mo's mind—Thor, the Asgardian prince exiled to Earth by his father in the comics. So he was already on Earth?
"Interesting." Lin Mo could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. He tapped the map with one finger. "Pepper Town... Sounds like a good place to watch the excitement."
Back in the basement, Lin Mo hid the materials Peter had given him beneath his mattress, together with Elderly Irene's thank-you card and Martha's cookie recipe. Those things were like pieces of a puzzle, slowly piecing together the path of his life in this world—from struggling to survive to actively exploring, from hiding behind walls to wanting to venture farther.
He stood before the mirror. The wristband's countdown had changed to [29 Days 18 Hours 35 Minutes]. Less than a month remained before his new ability arrived. Lin Mo clenched his fist, imagining himself standing in the desert outside Pepper Town when the wristband suddenly lit up and displayed: [Ability Acquired: Power of Thor (Beginner)].
"Wake up. Stop dreaming." He rolled his eyes at his reflection and turned to start packing. Even if he could not make it to New Mexico, he had to prepare in advance. At the very least, he needed to reinforce Ted's "The Great Turkey Transformation" prop again so it would not embarrass itself at the Thanksgiving party.
The next day, when he went to Ted's basement to help rehearse, Lin Mo discovered that the Tin Turkey was even less reliable than he had imagined. After Ted climbed into the box, the spring suddenly jammed. The turkey's neck bent at a ninety-degree angle, and one wing fell off, making Martha, who had come to watch, laugh out loud. "Ted, this isn't The Great Turkey Transformation. It's the Great Turkey Massacre!"
"A mistake, just a mistake!" Ted crawled out of the box, drenched in sweat, with a feather stuck in his hair from who knew where. "One more time. It'll definitely work this time!"
Watching him bustle around, Lin Mo suddenly felt that the "Turkey Massacre" before him was more important than distant New Mexico and its mysterious hammer. He walked over and inspected the mechanisms inside the box with his Phasing Ability. "The latch here is loose. It needs a new one. And the spring's at the wrong angle. That makes it easy to jam."
"You're the reliable one, Mo." Ted patted his shoulder so hard he nearly knocked him apart. "Once I pull off the performance at the party, I'll enter the national magic competition. Then I'll hire you as my assistant!"
"Sure." Lin Mo agreed with a smile. With his Phasing Ability enhancing his movements, the screwdriver in his hand precisely tightened the final screw. "Just remember to give me a raise."
The two burst into laughter while Martha knitted beside them, occasionally chiming in. "You two are almost fifty put together, and you still act like children." Sunlight streamed through the basement window well and fell over them, warm with dust, like a cup of lukewarm milk tea.
Looking at the scene before him, Lin Mo suddenly felt at peace. The thought of going to New Mexico remained, but it was no longer as urgent as before. He realized that no matter what ability he gained at the next check-in, no matter how miraculous that hammer was, what he should treasure most were these chaotic everyday moments—the Tin Turkey with its falling wings, the nagging old woman, the boy who always worried too much, and the endless engines waiting to be repaired at the shop.
These things made him feel more than any miraculous ability ever could that he was truly alive in this world.
That night, lying in bed, Lin Mo opened the wristband's ability preview screen. His finger passed over the icons for "Wolverine," "Cyclops," and "Thor," finally stopping on a gray, unknown icon—[???: Special-Type Ability. Requires specific conditions to unlock.]
"Special type?" He frowned. The wristband offered no explanation, as if it were hiding a mischievous secret.
As he drifted toward sleep, he had a dream. He stood in the desert outside Pepper Town, holding Mjolnir in his left hand while his right hand passed through a tank barrel. Peter followed behind him with a camera, Ted performed "The Great Turkey Transformation" nearby, and Coulson stood in the distance, helplessly shaking his head...
When he woke, it was already daylight. Lin Mo wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and could not help smiling. Maybe this was the best state to be in—his heart held the distant hammer, his hands repaired the parts before him, noisy friends surrounded him, and abilities worth anticipating waited in the future.
He looked at the wristband. The countdown had changed to [29 Days 0 Hours 15 Minutes].
Twenty-nine days remained. Enough time to fix Ted's magic prop, attend Aunt May's Thanksgiving party, save enough bus fare to reach New Mexico, and... secretly rehearse every possible ability in his mind.
Lin Mo got out of bed and pushed open the basement door. Sunlight spilled over his face, warm and comforting. He took a deep breath and headed toward the repair shop, his steps as light as if he were walking on springs.
A new day had begun, bringing him one step closer to the next check-in. And his anticipation, like the numbers on his wristband, continued counting down and slowly heating up.
Before you continue