Alex Johnson's heart was in turmoil.
After his mother's death, he had sworn never to cry again, to be a strong man who would support his sister and shoulder the burden of their world.
He couldn't cry.
But the incredibly strange, snow-covered surroundings seemed to mock his ridiculous desire to see his loved ones.
He didn't even know where he was.
He couldn't even find a single shadow.
Even the world was bullying him!
"Damn it, can't you let me see a single shadow?"
Alex's emotions suddenly spiraled out of control.
In less than a second, the colors of the world instantly changed; the surrounding landscape was no longer a uniform white, but transformed into a vibrant, colorful scene.
At that moment, Alex felt his eyes blur for an instant, and then he found himself in a city bathed in neon lights, with people bustling through the streets.
His uncontrolled emotions had indirectly triggered the mysterious ability of Reality Warping.
PS: This ability references Wanda, the Scarlet Witch from the comics. In a fit of emotional instability, she nearly wiped out an entire mutant race with just one sentence. Yes, just one sentence!
Chapter 8
"Hmm..."
The sudden change before him left Alex somewhat stunned.
Less than a second ago, he was in an endless expanse of snow.
The next second, he appeared in a city alleyway illuminated by neon lights.
"Reality Warping..."
He immediately realized that this superpower had caused the environmental change.
In the laboratory, while restrained, his emotions had completely spiraled out of control, leading him to take many lives with just his words.
A single word, 'Scram,' sent all the figures around him flying.
A single word, 'Die,' was enough to make a person's corpse vanish.
This was the power of Reality Warping—mysterious, ethereal, yet possessing terrifying destructive force and an ungraspable, immense power.
In his recent emotional outburst, Alex, because he wanted to see a city with people, had fully triggered the Reality Warping ability.
Suddenly finding himself in a city lit by neon, the oppressive emotions in Alex's heart vanished instantly.
He walked out of the alley, his eyes curiously surveying the tall buildings around him.
Towering skyscrapers rose majestically, and the neon lights on their surfaces completely illuminated the city under the dark night.
Not only had the city changed.
Even the sky had changed.
Thirteen-year-old Alex naturally understood that this was a geographical change, and he quickly figured out why his Reality Warping had brought him to this city.
"This is Manhattan..."
Alex bit his lip, saying with a touch of bitterness.
He recalled the dream he had told his mother by her sickbed: he yearned for a top-tier apartment in Manhattan, driving the best car, becoming a high-society figure, giving his mother the best treatment, and living out the rest of her life happily.
But now, he had suddenly arrived in this city for the first time, alone and solitary.
The bitterness gradually overshadowed the novelty, and Alex now only wanted to find his sister.
She wasn't in this city.
At their parting, the two had said goodbye in a town on the West Coast.
His unfortunate arrest had forced Susan, who possessed the ability of spatial travel, to escape alone.
Susan certainly wouldn't dare return to their old home.
As for those malicious aunts and other relatives, eleven-year-old Susan was already displeased with them and wouldn't seek refuge there.
Upon thinking of the clever Susan's ability to pass through all things, some of the unease in Alex's heart finally subsided slightly.
But how could he get to her side?
Communication? None!
Could he only use the Reality Warping ability to bring her here?
Alex pondered deeply and felt that only this ability he controlled could fulfill his wish.
"It's just that this ability isn't something I can control at will..."
Alex gritted his teeth.
No matter how much he wanted to bring his sister here, or go to where she currently was, he couldn't make this ability work.
The ethereal and intangible Reality Warping ability was extremely difficult to control; his previous actions were merely uncontrolled outbursts. To truly master this ability at will, his current self was clearly not enough.
"I need to focus on this ability."
Alex sighed inwardly.
Beneath his immortal body lay infinite genetic potential for evolution, but the direction of evolution was inherently disordered and uncontrollable; new abilities that suddenly emerged were caused by chaotic genetic mutations.
Without external stimulation, the current Alex could not yet control the direction of his gene evolution in the microscopic world.
As for the system... it wasn't a golden finger from a novel and possessed no abilities. It was merely Alex's imitation of a genius detective constructing a memory palace in his mind, thereby creating a system in his mind to record genetic changes.
"Perhaps only intense emotional outbursts can achieve it?"
Alex was a bit frustrated. He wasn't one of those emotionally volatile women on TV; how could he suddenly lose control of his emotions? And it might not even work.
Grrr... Just then, a more realistic problem arose: his stomach rumbled with hunger.
Looking at the late-night snack stalls on the distant street, his increasingly keen sense of smell caught a very sweet aroma, and Alex felt his taste buds watering.
So hungry... But he was penniless, not even a dime.
Should he steal?
Alex felt a seductive voice emerge in his mind, urging him to steal and rob, saying that the vastness of the world could not stop him.
But looking at the diligent little girl working in the shop, Alex felt his conscience pricked.
"They are all pitiful people..."
Alex shook his head. A girl who was possibly even younger than him had to work all night in the shop; it was truly heartbreaking.
His mother used to teach him to have empathy and to be a good person.
Alex immediately realized that his act of wanton grabbing was not good.
"Hey, kid..."
Just then, a voice came from not far away. A young man in a denim hoodie walked over.
"You're hungry, aren't you? You don't look so good. You clearly look like you've run away from home."
He held a bag of donuts in his hand and directly shoved the bag of food into Alex's arms.
Alex's expression was a bit bewildered. The other person's overly familiar demeanor did make him uncomfortable, but his tattered clothes did make him look like a runaway child.
"This..."
He was a bit unsure how to respond.
"Eat, don't be shy. I also ran away from home a few years ago, so I know how you feel now. Don't worry, there are plenty of these donuts, so you don't have to worry about me not finishing them."
The overly familiar young man acted like an older brother.
At this moment, another voice came from deep within the dark alley.
"Hey, Matthew, what are you dawdling for? Come watch the show."
"I know."
Matthew responded.
Watch the show?
Alex was a bit stunned.
"Kid, you wouldn't not know, would you? The striptease show at the nightclub is only available in secret little shops in various alleys. You can't miss this. Let's go watch it together before you go home."
Matthew directly invited him.