In the Rehabilitation Therapy Room, various auxiliary equipment stood on either side.
Robert pushed the door open, reached in to turn on the light, but refused to step inside. "This is another crime scene. There were three victims who suddenly fell ill during rehabilitation training. According to forensic examination, all died from neurogenic shock complicated by fatal arrhythmia."
Wade glanced at him and walked straight in. "Isn't this disease too consistent? Don't you find that strange?"
Jill followed behind him, holding her phone. "PTSD can cause soldiers to remain in a state of high sympathetic nerve sensitivity for long periods, which may be accompanied by abnormal fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure daily... When encountering strong stimuli, the body's stress response will be more intense, potentially inducing this disease."
"What kind of trigger could rehabilitation training provide? The intensity isn't even high," Wade said, stepping onto a Gait Trainer and starting to run. "Can you tell me where the deceased served previously? What military branches were they in?"
"It's not a military secret," Robert said, leaning against the door frame with a deep voice. "They were all members of the Navy SEAL Special Forces who retired from the Syrian Battlefield."
Jill turned her head and asked, "Isn't the front line still active? Did they return home due to injury? Or..."
Robert spread his hands, evasively. "That's right, but what exactly they did while alive, or what missions they carried out... I have no idea."
Wade held up the ice hockey puck, letting it hover and circle around the room. 'These retired soldiers might not have fallen ill; they might have been scared to death... A Life-Claiming Ghost is most lethal to disabled soldiers suffering from PTSD and lacking combat faith.'
When he was still at the Red River Institute, he saw the news on TV and remembered that the "A-Train" in his hand was being constantly pursued by Vought.
The cause was a group of rebellious Supe teenagers who collectively escaped a containment facility and committed multiple patricide and matricide cases... Vought Security caught them red-handed during their last crime, and Homelander immediately blasted nine of them with Heat Vision.
According to reports, the deceased criminals included Slow Silver, Speaker Head, Fang Girl, Beast Master, Big Guy, Muscle Tongue, Lava Eggman, Flashback, and Dossier, while Ghost Girl, A-Train, and Storyteller Kid were unaccounted for.
'A-Train is here, so the one doing the scaring must be Ghost Girl... These retired soldiers were simply killed by them! They had no grudges, so what were they after?'
Wade landed back on the ground and looked at Jill, who was equally clueless. "Why do you think the ghost would harbor malice toward people they have no feud with?"
Jill gestured with her fingers and whispered, "Money? Ghosts don't need money... I get it! It must be an Evil Spirit, harvesting fear and absorbing people's life energy! Isn't that how they always portray it in movies?"
Robert, bored, was smoking by the door and choked several times upon hearing this. "Cough, cough... Ahem! You kids don't actually believe in ghosts, do you?"
"Not exactly," Wade said, seemingly realizing something. He took Jill's hand and started walking. "Colonel, are there any other members of the same unit as the deceased here? Can you take me to see them?"
"There is," Robert said, narrowing his eyes and flicking his ash. "But if you're hoping to get information, I'll have to disappoint you... that person is a quadruple amputee and in a vegetative state."
Wade casually closed the therapy room door and raised an eyebrow. "We just want to observe him up close. We'll leave immediately afterward."
Jill held her folder, blinking her large eyes, and said clearly, "We are just cooperating with the FBI investigation. We need to come up with something new for our report. We appreciate your trouble, Colonel."
Robert extinguished his cigarette and beckoned. "Fine, come with me."
Two minutes later, the three arrived at a single patient room.
Lying on the bed was a man whose face was severely burned. The sheet lay flat where his limbs should have been, making him look exactly like a Human Swine.
It was Jill's first time seeing someone in such a tragic state; she clutched the folder to her chest and didn't dare say a word.
Robert stood by the bed, looking at the name on the headboard, deep in thought. "Kenneth Pattinson, 35 years old. Excellent service record. He miraculously survived and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal. We have been taking good care of him here."
Wade ignored his grumbling, his gaze slowly sweeping over the motionless Kenneth, and his pupils contracted.
'As expected, it's residual compound v!'
In his Blood Sight, faint blue spots of light flickered on and off in Kenneth's right liver and kidney areas, distinctly different from the morphology of normal tissue.
Wade recalled that the Department of Defense had privately approached Vought regarding the temporary no. 5 compound project. This bedridden Kenneth must have been one of the users.
He remembered the detailed internal report on temporary no. 5 compound provided by Mena. Besides granting temporary random superpowers after injection, the side effects were extremely severe. Multiple high-frequency injections could lead to rapid tissue and organ deformation, thus it was also known as "Dying No. 5."
Kenneth's current state of being limbless and having mutated internal organs was definitely caused by injecting the agent and engaging in fierce combat with Supes.
Wade scanned his body carefully. When he looked back, he observed that the residue of the agent in the liver and kidney tissues had decreased again. 'No, it's not an illusion... There must be something I haven't noticed.'
Buzz~ Ding-a-ling—
Suddenly, a continuous phone ring and vibration sounded. Robert, Jill, and Wade exchanged glances and each pulled out their phones.
Robert put away his phone, muttering, "Strange, why is it ringing suddenly? I thought I muted it."
Jill, confused, swiped at her phone screen. "Mine too. As soon as I unlock it, nothing happens. Is a hacker playing a trick on us?"
Wade held his phone, looking at the pure white screen displaying a Black girl, and understood everything.
[Abnormal Life Detected...]
[Life Form: Quantum Ghost Entity, retaining consciousness core and energy state; possession will result in loss of phasing ability]
[Survival Method: Relies on self-conscious energy or high-energy stable magnetic fields; requires no breathing, eternally hungry, unable to sleep]
[Limitation: Energy depletion leads to "Dissipative Hibernation," requiring slow recovery by absorbing biological magnetic fields; unable to make physical contact with most solid matter]
On the phone screen, the Black girl with wavy hair silently moved her lips, and a thought was transmitted directly into Wade's mind: 'Put the ice puck in your hand back into the water, or I won't be polite!'
Wade sent back a thought: 'I'll talk to you about that later. If you dare to run, I'll throw A-Train into the sun and dry him out!' He immediately put away his phone.
He put his arm around Jill and nodded to Robert. "Colonel, thank you for your cooperation. We've finished observing... Could we stay in the courtyard outside for a bit longer? We need to write a report."
"You may, as long as you don't disturb anyone else." Robert nodded and followed the two out of the patient room.
Jill was tightly embraced and pushed toward the Back Garden Courtyard. Feeling that Wade was constantly being secretive and definitely hiding something, she asked stealthily, "What did you find? Tell me quickly!"
Wade generated a Soundproof Barrier around them and showed her his phone screen. "Here, the ghost you wanted."
Jill took the phone, looked at the lifelike Black girl, and was about to object, but then heard a voice sound directly in her mind: "Are you two Supes here to catch us for a bounty?"
"Hmph! Trying to fool me with a video?" Jill repeatedly pressed the phone, trying to turn off the screen and power it down, but nothing happened. She cried out in alarm, "A hacker is invading our phones! What should we do? Should we smash it?"
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