Queens in July was like a giant steamer. The asphalt had softened under the blazing sun, and the air carried a strange mixture of tar and ice cream. Lin Mo rode Carlos's discarded old bicycle, a freshly repaired radio in the basket, hurrying toward Elderly Irene's home. The bell went "ding-ding," startling sparrows perched on a fire hydrant into flight.
As he passed the community park, he spotted a familiar figure—Gretchen was sitting on a bench, clutching a prescription slip, her brow wrinkled like a twisted, wrung-out rag. She was seventy-nine this year, unsteady on her feet and reliant on two crutches to walk. Lin Mo had carried her down from the second floor during the last fire, and ever since then, she always called him "a good child sent by the Bodhisattva."
"Gretchen, why are you sitting out here in this heat?" Lin Mo braked, pulled a bottle of chilled lemonade from the basket—it was something Aunt May had stuffed into it that morning—and handed it over. "Have some water."
Gretchen looked up, and her cloudy eyes brightened. She took the bottle but did not drink, only handing him the prescription slip. "Little Lin, take a look for me. The people at the pharmacy said delivery would take two hours, but I've run out of blood pressure medicine. I can't wait that long."
Lin Mo took the slip. The address of the community pharmacy was on it, three blocks away. "Wait here. I'll get it for you." He took the radio from the basket. "Here's your radio. It's fixed now, and you can listen to storytelling programs again."
"Oh, no, you've troubled yourself enough..." Gretchen hurriedly waved her hands. "It's too hot. I should just make my way there slowly."
"It's fine. I'm fast." Lin Mo smiled, set the radio on the bench, and pedaled hard toward the pharmacy. Physical Enhancement made his legs feel like they had motors attached, and the wheels spun furiously. As he passed an ice cream truck, the owner called out with a grin, "Little Lin, want an ice cream cone? It's on me!"
"Next time!" Lin Mo shouted without looking back. The wind howled past his ears, while Dynamic Vision let him effortlessly avoid children and stray cats on the sidewalk. A route that normally took fifteen minutes on foot took him only three minutes by bike.
The pharmacy was packed, its air conditioner broken, and everyone stood in line drenched in sweat. Lin Mo went to the prescription counter, gave Gretchen's name, and watched the pharmacist slowly search for the medicine while grumbling, "This damn weather. They've been fixing the AC for three days and it's still not working."
"Could you hurry? An elderly woman is waiting for her blood pressure medicine." Lin Mo said patiently, lightly tapping his fingers against the counter.
"What's the rush? Everyone's waiting." The pharmacist rolled his eyes, then slowly pulled out a medicine box and began pecking at the computer.
Lin Mo frowned. If this went on, Gretchen would start worrying. He looked around. Everyone was focused on their phones, and no one was paying attention to him. He quietly activated Phasing Ability, sent his arm through the counter, precisely grabbed the medicine box, and pulled it back before the pharmacist looked up. The movement was so fast it seemed like an illusion.
"Is that everything?" He put the money on the counter and ran off before the pharmacist could react. Behind him came the pharmacist's startled cry. "Huh? Where's my medicine?"
On the way back, Lin Mo did not take the main road. He turned into an alley, jumped off his bike, hugged the medicine box, and activated Phasing Ability to pass through a brick wall, landing in Gretchen's backyard. He then phased through the kitchen wall and arrived directly in the living room—where she was pacing in circles with her crutches, muttering, "Why isn't he back yet?"
"Gretchen, your medicine's here." Lin Mo handed it over.
Gretchen jumped, and her crutch clattered to the floor. "Little Lin? You... where did you come from?" She looked at the tightly shut doors and windows, then at the medicine in his hand, her eyes going wide. "Could it be that you can walk through walls?"
"You must be seeing things." Lin Mo smiled and picked up her crutch. "I came in through the back door. It wasn't locked." He poured her a cup of warm water and watched her take the medicine. "If you need medicine in the future, just tell me. You won't have to wait for delivery."
"Good, good, good." Gretchen took his hand, her wrinkled palm warm. "You're even faster than delivery! I'll be relying on you from now on, good child." She took a bag of fruit candies from a drawer and insisted on stuffing it into Lin Mo's pocket. "Take them. Eat them on the way."
After leaving Gretchen's house, Lin Mo checked the time. From picking up the medicine to delivering it, he had taken only five minutes. It suddenly occurred to him that his Physical Enhancement and Phasing Ability were practically made for delivering things—no detours, no waiting for elevators, and traffic jams had nothing to do with him.
The thought excited him. When he returned to the repair shop, he hung a sign outside: [Free Errand Service: Pick Up Medicine, Deliver Documents, Buy Items on Your Behalf (Community Only)]. Beneath it, he drew a simple little figure passing through a wall.
When Ted saw the sign, he laughed so hard he could not straighten up. "Mo, are you becoming a super courier? Want me to design a uniform for you? Red and blue, like Spider-Man."
"Get lost." Lin Mo laughed and kicked him lightly. "Be serious. Some people really need help."
No sooner had he spoken than a young mother ran over, holding a crying child. "Little Lin, could you help me pick up my son's homework notebook from school? He has to turn it in this afternoon, and I really can't get away."
"Address." Lin Mo picked up a pen and wrote it in his notebook.
"Midtown Elementary School, Class Two, Grade Three. It's in the teacher's desk drawer." The young mother pressed five dollars into his hand. "For the trip."
"No charge." Lin Mo pushed the money back, got on his bike, and left. This time, he did not wear his school uniform. He ran to the school with the speed granted by Physical Enhancement, then used Phasing Ability to pass through the locked school building entrance. He returned with the homework notebook in three minutes.
The young mother stared at the notebook in his hand, her eyes wide. "My God, you're faster than a taxi!" She insisted on stuffing homemade cookies into Lin Mo's hands. "You have to take them, or I'll feel terrible."
The news spread through the entire community as if it had grown wings. More and more people came to Lin Mo for errands: office workers who had forgotten their keys asked him to pass the keys through windows; a grocery store owner asked him to deliver an urgent order; even the librarian from the Community Library came looking for him, saying a precious old book had been locked in the storage room and the key could not be found.
Lin Mo never turned anyone down. The repair shop was not busy most of the time anyway. He found that using his abilities to run errands for people gave him a greater sense of accomplishment than simply fixing computers—seeing their smiles when they received what they needed made him happier than repairing a server.
Peter had nothing to do over summer vacation and often came to help at the repair shop. Watching Lin Mo phase through walls to deliver documents one moment and race off to fetch cakes the next, his eyes shone like lightbulbs. "Brother Lin Mo, you're incredibly efficient! Let me design a route map for you. I can use algorithms to calculate the shortest routes and avoid crowded areas."
"Sure." Lin Mo agreed with a smile. Within two days, Peter brought over a hand-drawn map of the community. Different colors marked the best routes, and he had even labeled which walls were easiest to phase through. Beside it, he had drawn a little figure in uniform with the words "Wall-Phasing Express" on its chest.
"That's so professional." Ted snatched the map away and clicked his tongue in amazement. "Mo, we should just start a delivery company! Call it Lightning Phasing Express. It'll definitely be a hit!"
"What company?" Lin Mo stuck the map to the wall. "Helping out for free is fine."
The most outrageous request came when he helped Martha deliver a cake to her sister across the street. She had baked a three-layer chocolate cake for her sister's birthday, but it was too hot, and she was afraid it would melt on the way. "Could you..." Martha rubbed her hands together, slightly embarrassed. "Phase it directly through the walls? That way you won't have to walk on the street or get scorched by the sun."
"No problem." Lin Mo carefully picked up the cake box, activated Phasing Ability, passed through Martha's wall, crossed the alley in between, and finally phased through her sister's kitchen wall, landing directly in front of the dining table. Martha's sister had been chopping vegetables, and when she saw Lin Mo and the cake suddenly appear, the kitchen knife nearly fell from her hand.
"Martha asked me to deliver this." Lin Mo set the cake on the table. It was completely intact, and even the frosting flowers had not collapsed.
"Oh my God!" Martha's sister patted her chest. "Little Lin, your skills are way better than any delivery service! Sit down and have a glass of iced tea. I just brewed some."
Lin Mo politely declined and phased back through the wall to Martha's house. She was standing by the window, watching anxiously. When she saw him return, she smiled. "I knew you could do it." She took a tray of cookies from the oven. "These are your reward. They taste better than Aunt May's."
"No way." Lin Mo grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth. It was just the right amount of sweet, and his heart felt warm.
As the days passed, Lin Mo's reputation as a "volunteer courier" grew louder and louder. Some people gave him banners that read, "Phasing Through Walls to Deliver Warmth, a Volunteer Pioneer"; others knitted him sweaters, saying, "Wear this while running errands to stay warm." Even the chief of the community police station came to him, saying an urgent document had to be delivered to the neighboring district and asking whether he could help.
"Chief, does this count as abusing superpowers?" Lin Mo asked half-jokingly.
"It counts as public service." The chief patted his shoulder. "You've saved us a lot of trouble. Next time we catch a thief, I'll buy you donuts."
Lin Mo agreed with a smile. He realized that he was growing more and more fond of this feeling—using his abilities for small things within his power. He did not have to face S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance or worry about alien threats. All he had to do was move through the community's walls, bringing warmth and convenience to those who needed them.
One evening, after Lin Mo delivered dinner to Gretchen—her daughter had been too busy, so she had asked him to bring it from a restaurant—he was about to return to the repair shop when Ted and Peter blocked him at the entrance to an alley. Ted held a vest printed with "Lightning Phasing Express," while Peter held a homemade helmet with a Spider-Man sticker on it.
"Try it on!" Ted pulled the vest over him. "I made it from old curtains. It's breathable!"
Peter handed over the helmet. "This can protect your head. What if you hit something while phasing through a wall?"
Seeing how excited they were made Lin Mo feel warm inside. He obediently put on the vest and helmet. Ted took out his phone and insisted on taking a picture. "I'm posting it in the community group so everyone can see our super courier!"
Not long after the photo was posted, Lin Mo's phone started ringing nonstop—every notification was a like or a teasing comment from community residents. Aunt May said, "That vest is an ugly color. I'll knit you a new one tomorrow." Carlos said, "Don't let this delay your computer repairs, or I'll dock your pay." Gretchen sent him a red packet with the note, "Buy yourself a popsicle."
Lin Mo smiled and returned the red packet. He looked up at the sunset on the horizon. The setting sun dyed the clouds gold and red, like Martha's burnt cookies. It suddenly struck him that perhaps his abilities had never been meant for fighting and killing. Being a community "courier" like this—using Phasing Ability to pass through walls and Physical Enhancement to run through streets and alleys, delivering warmth and convenience to every corner—was the most meaningful thing he could do.
Ted was still excitedly planning an "expansion of service areas," while Peter recorded "optimization plans" in his notebook. Lin Mo looked at them, then at the vest and helmet he was wearing, and suddenly laughed.
Maybe superheroes did not have to swing between skyscrapers or fight aliens. Sometimes, helping an elderly woman get her medicine, helping a young mother retrieve a homework notebook, or helping an old woman deliver a cake was already enough.
He patted Ted and Peter on the shoulders. "Come on, let's go to Aunt May's for dinner. I'm treating today, with all the 'errand fees' everyone gave me."
"Sure!" they shouted in unison, following Lin Mo toward Aunt May's home. The sunset stretched their shadows long behind them, like three Supermen walking side by side. They had no capes, but they carried a warmth brighter than any cape.
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