Wade's consciousness sank into a boundless realm composed of mental thoughts, abruptly manifesting as a spiritual entity standing on an infinitely extending corridor of light and shadow without any doors.
"Kate? Can you hear me?"
He called out twice but found no response.
"Well, looks like I'll have to find a way myself."
Wade carefully restrained his own vast spiritual power to avoid interfering with this memory space.
He glanced at the corridor still slowly extending to the left, knowing this was the end, and stepped to the right: "Tell me, what exactly happened yesterday?"
He reached out and quickly sketched the outline of a door on the wall of light and shadow. The lines of the door shimmered and then slid inward.
Wade looked at the man-sized door and stepped straight inside... As the scenery shifted, Wade stood at the entrance of Godolkin University.
Bustling students were gathered together, preparing to head out for off-campus practice.
Beside the walkway, Kate stood alone, waving goodbye to the four members of the G-Men Investigation Team 1, which included Jordan Li: "Go ahead, I still have to take the new junior who just joined the group."
At that moment, Jill, wearing an exquisite Gothic-style dress, slid over leaving a trail of ice, suddenly appearing beside her and greeting: "Hi, Senior! I'm Jill Damon."
Kate looked over at the sound and nodded politely to the pale-faced girl with twin tails: "Let's go, just call me Kate."
"Kate!" Jill looked up at her and said with a giggle, "You're so tall, so beautiful, and your figure is amazing!"
Kate was stunned for a moment, a slight smile appearing on her face: "Thank you, you're so cute! I also like wearing black clothing."
Jill happily linked arms with her and pulled her toward the parking lot: "Really? My car is over there!"
Kate followed her into the car and asked somewhat stiffly: "Aren't... aren't you afraid I'll read your mind?"
Jill started the car and said with a bright smile: "Wade said Senior Kate is a trustworthy person. I believe him."
An invisible ghost followed closely beside the two to observe: "Everything seems normal, let's keep watching..."
The scene blurred for a moment and began to flow rapidly.
The buildings here were dilapidated, the walls covered in graffiti, and a large number of idle people gathered on the streets. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
Jill and Kate entered a high-risk neighborhood known for gang activity and violence. Assisting police officers in arresting criminals was the practice for these super-powered students.
The task arranged by the police station was simple: the two would disguise themselves as junkies to buy drugs in a sting operation. Kate was responsible for reading minds to gather intelligence, while Jill only needed to protect Kate.
It was effortless for super-powered individuals to deal with ordinary criminals. The two investigated all the way and quickly found the drug dealers' base.
A large number of police officers quickly surrounded the place after receiving the intelligence. Jill attacked openly with her superpowers while others lay in ambush at the exits. Throughout the process, they coordinated flawlessly.
The morning practice soon ended with the cooperation between the narcotics police and the super-powered individuals. Kate and Jill left the police station chatting and laughing with their practice manuals.
The scene shifted to the afternoon.
The two found an hourly room near the police station to rest.
Kate sat on the edge of the bed, putting on slippers, and asked casually: "How did you and Wade meet?"
Jill lay on the bed swinging her legs, opening up: "We've known each other since school started! We even had a few fights, hehe... then we got closer and closer."
She cupped her blushing cheeks, her face full of longing: "I took him to meet my mom, and she was very satisfied... I'm going to make him my boyfriend, then marry him and have many, many babies!"
Kate clenched her fingers, a smile on her face: "That's wonderful, I wish you both the best."
Jill took off her headband and shook her hair: "Let's go window-shopping at the commercial street later. I know a few shops with really cool black clothing."
Kate lay on the bed and nodded readily: "Okay."
Jill leaned over and started taking off Kate's gloves: "Take them off, they're uncomfortable. I have nothing to hide, feel free to look... I'm made of ice, you should be the one not to be afraid of me."
These words seemed to touch Kate. She took the initiative to reach out and gave Jill a gentle hug: "Thank you, Jill."
The two then held hands and snuggled on the bed, falling fast asleep.
Wade's perspective followed them the whole time. He carefully observed every detail, but his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
The friendship between Kate and Jill had warmed up quickly through their cooperation in practice and shared interests. Everything seemed so normal.
"Where on earth is the abnormal consumption of her spiritual power coming from?"
Just as he felt doubtful, the sleeping Kate in the scene suddenly opened her eyes.
She turned her head and looked hesitantly at Jill, who was sleeping soundly beside her with a sweet smile on her lips.
Wade floated in front of her and discovered that the whites of her eyes were rapidly being stained crimson.
He didn't hesitate, transforming into a condensed stream of light and rushing into Kate's mind.
In the second layer of the spiritual world, he saw Kate peeking into Jill's sunny childhood.
It was filled with her parents' meticulous care; then, the scene turned abruptly to the guilt and sadness of her father's accidental death due to her power going out of control; her mother's strict yet caring supervision of her power training... Subsequently, the images accelerated: a carefree adolescence, being isolated by peers at Godolkin University due to her unique abilities, followed by the thrill of causing trouble everywhere with small pranks... Finally, it settled on their meeting. The surprise of their first encounter, the fun of their daily bickering, the unspoken understanding built in battle, the joy of gaining her mother's approval, and the sense of happiness brought by those inadvertent moments of protection and care.
Wade discovered that Kate wasn't doing anything else; she was simply immersing her consciousness completely in it, role-playing with full devotion.
She draped Jill's memory shell over herself, greedily experiencing the sweetness she had never possessed—being unconditionally accepted, being passionately loved, and being full of beautiful longings for the future.
Seeing through the appearance to the essence, in an instant, Wade understood.
Kate was doing all this not out of jealousy or a twisted desire for possession.
She was using Jill's "healthy emotions" and "happy memories" as a potent "spiritual painkiller," using this stolen warmth to numb and suppress the trauma and emotional voids within her own heart.
Only then did Wade realize that his usual routine of spiritual soothing and brain damage repair for Kate was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
It was like trying to wrap a blazing fire in layers of paper—utterly meaningless.
He had to find the source of Kate's spiritual abnormality and go into those painful memories that had shaped the Kate of today.
Wade quietly withdrew from the second layer of the spiritual world and returned to the corridor of light and shadow memories.
He looked at the seemingly endless barrier of light and shadow, then his figure shot out, heading toward that dark area forcibly sealed off by countless golden chains.
To truly save Kate, he had to step into that mental ruin; that was the final battlefield.
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