Saturday morning, Godolkin University, at the school gate.
Over a hundred people were gathered in small groups, waiting for the teachers to distribute their respective community service internship locations.
Wade gnawed on a muffin and nodded to the side. "Lee, what did your team name yourselves?"
Jordan Li put down his boxed milk and licked the milk stain from the corner of his mouth. "We went with 'Justice Agents.' Sounds good, right?"
"G-Justice Agents? That really is a good name." Wade's eyebrows twitched as he teased, "I actually thought you guys would pick something like 'G-Men'!"
Andre turned his head and chimed in, "That title is way too big. We can't represent the school like that. It would be a miracle if that got approved!"
"Hahaha... If we picked such an eye-catching name, the whole school would laugh at us." Luke walked over, pulling a sleepy-eyed Sam along, and laughed. "What's your team called?"
"Nothing special, just 'Paradox'." Wade gestured toward Sam with his chin. "Is he coming too?"
"Of course. We signed joint liability and non-disclosure agreements... I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Sam at school all by himself." Luke put away the internship manual he had received and suddenly waved goodbye. "Our team is all here, so we should head out. See you tonight."
Seeing the lingering fear in their expressions, Wade didn't need to turn around to know who had arrived.
Cate looked in the direction they had left with a lonely expression, then stretched out her arms and affectionately embraced him. "Let's go. The internship location I drew is the... Customs and Border Protection Freeport station."
Wade saw she was wearing fingerless leather gloves today and immediately levitated away. "Senior, don't do that. I'm thin-skinned!"
Ignoring the surrounding gazes, Cate stomped her foot on the ground and pouted coquettishly. "Aren't you supposed to fly me there? I can't fly—aren't you going to hold me?"
Wade narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing Cate was just taking advantage of the crowded school grounds, assuming he wouldn't dare do anything to her, and was constantly pushing her luck.
He raised his hand and made a grabbing motion. "Not necessary!"
Cate felt her waist, limbs, and neck simultaneously bound by invisible tentacles, pulling her into mid-air.
The two flew side-by-side, with a wide gap between them, speeding toward the port area.
Cate couldn't move a muscle. The intense sensation of weightlessness and the blurred scenery rushing by below made her dizzy, her stomach churning violently.
She squeezed her eyes shut and let out broken whimpers. "Uh... ah... too fast... slow, slow down!"
The wind howled past, and Wade's voice precisely reached her ears. "Little Golden, don't be afraid. You'll get used to it."
Before he even finished speaking, Cate felt the airflow around her neck suddenly tighten, bringing a strong sense of oppression.
The surrounding high-altitude airflow turned into ice needles, piercing through her thin clothing and bringing a bone-chilling cold.
"I... I'm so cold... I can't breathe..." Cate's small face turned from rosy to deathly pale, and she said intermittently, "Master... I was wrong... please... spare me..."
Wade leisurely enjoyed her current disheveled state, brushing a hand through her messy blonde hair from a distance. "Know how to beg for mercy now? When you were playing tricks on me earlier, didn't you think this might happen?"
Cate shook her head desperately. "No... I won't... I'll never dare to again..."
Wade sensed her vital signs; it looked like she had truly reached her limit, so he finally stopped.
The next moment, Cate felt herself pulled into an invisible bubble.
The howling wind and bone-chilling cold from the outside world vanished instantly, replaced by a stable, warm space where she could breathe normally.
Only the scenery rushing by beneath her feet reminded her that they were still flying at high speed.
This sudden comfort created a heaven-and-hell contrast. Immediately after, a warm hand pressed onto the top of her head. "If you had been this obedient earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer, right?"
Cate's body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously responded, "Th-thank you..."
Hatred, fear, humiliation, along with the relief and pleasure born from the cessation of pain, as well as a complex dependence on this short-lived "shelter"—all these emotions intertwined in her heart.
Cate clearly realized that no matter how much she struggled, the power of life and death remained firmly in this man's hands.
He could throw her into the abyss, or casually provide her with a safe haven. And all of this was entirely up to his whim.
Wade looked at the finally quiet Cate and withdrew his gaze. 'Behaving yourself now, aren't you?'
He maintained the barrier and, carrying the temporarily tamed "golden retriever," accelerated toward their destination.
New York, Staten Island.
Wade and Cate landed together at the entrance of a modern pier, where a large sign read "Freeport Customs Inspection Yard."
The yard was stacked with layers upon layers of large shipping containers, with various loading equipment and transport vehicles operating back and forth.
The two made their way to the second floor of a red brick building, which was the branch office of the Customs and Border Protection.
After a strict identity verification and a short wait, a middle-aged woman in uniform with an out-of-shape figure received them.
"From Godolkin U? Follow me." After checking their internship manuals, the person in charge, Morris, led them into the warehouse area where containers were inspected.
"Let me emphasize the rules one more time," Morris said without turning her head. "The rules are simple: Follow, watch, record. Without my permission, you are not allowed to use your abilities, and you are not allowed to take any independent action. Understand?"
Wade and Cate nodded.
"Today's task isn't complicated," Morris said while leading them through a dimly lit corridor. "Last night, a smuggling container was intercepted. The people inside just finished their initial medical examinations and disinfection."
"Your job is to assist my team in registering basic information and conducting preliminary questioning for them, and keep an eye out for any anomalies. Remember, these people might be dangerous, and they might carry diseases, so keep your distance."
They were taken to a spacious room, the air filled with the pungent smell of a mixture of disinfectant and sweat.
Dozens of ragged, gaunt-looking people were huddled on the ground or leaning against the walls, their eyes filled with numbness, fear, or confusion.
Staff members in protective suits began to step forward, asking questions in English or broken Spanish, while Wade and Cate held clipboards to register them.
Most of the stowaways just shook their heads mechanically or muttered to themselves in an unintelligible language.
Wade observed calmly, his psychic power silently spreading from him as the center, sensing the fleeting thoughts in everyone's minds.
"What do I do? I don't want to be deported."
"Hehe... Just need to act up and cause trouble, this money is so easy to earn."
"...The bunch that hid in the container actually got through. Is there any justice?"
'Acting? What's this about?' As Wade was pondering this, just as he was about to find the owner of those thoughts...
At that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted in the corner of the room.
Two sturdy-looking Mexican youths suddenly broke free from their restraints, knocking aside several staff members who were recording information.
The two, like startled leopards, charged straight toward the only exit.
"Stop them!" Morris roared.
A team of large guards immediately lunged forward, attempting to subdue them.
The two youths' movements were astonishingly fast; they easily slipped out of the grapples and, with a backhand push, sent several guards who far outweighed them flying.
Bang—zzzt!
The probes of a taser hit the two youths in the back; their bodies twitched violently for a moment, and they fell heavily to the ground.
They were then dragged away by the guards who were acting as if they were facing a great enemy.
Morris rested her arms on the railing and explained calmly, "These people will do anything to enter the country. You'll get used to it."
Wade nodded, but he noticed that while the chaos had been distracting everyone, two containers had been cleared for release. 'Hmm? Something fishy is going on! Is Morris the problem, or... are those cargo inspectors the problem?'
After the small interlude, the screening work continued.
Wade's gaze swept across the room as if unintentionally, landing on Morris, who was supervising from the side.
Invisible psychic tentacles extended toward her. 'Another troublesome affair. It would be better if this ended sooner... That batch of cargo should have been released by now, hope nothing goes wrong.'
A few fragmented, irritable thoughts were captured by Wade, confirming his suspicions.
He walked over to Cate's side, grabbed her arm, and transmitted a message: 'Go contact the inspectors who were responsible for releasing those containers just now. Read the information of the containers they just released.'
Cate glanced at Wade, nodded silently, and then walked toward the few cargo inspectors resting not far away.
She forced a slightly curious smile onto her face and asked softly, "Gentlemen, that scene earlier was really scary... do you have to face this kind of danger every day?"
Seeing it was a pretty female student, the inspectors' guard let down quite a bit, and they all started chatting.
"Haha, you get used to it! Compared to this, the paperwork is a bigger headache..."
"Ain't that the truth, especially some of the procedures; recording them is even more troublesome..."
Cate's psychic power quietly seeped into their minds.
Fragments of images flooded in:
A blurry figure in a suit talking in hushed tones with their supervisor.
"Just doing a favor... if you don't want any trouble, just do it..."
A sticky note with several container numbers written on it, along with the instruction: "No in-depth inspection required, prioritize for release."
A stack of non-sequential cash being stuffed into the supervisor's drawer.
Cate maintained the smile on her face, chatted for a few more sentences, and then found an excuse to retreat.
'Master,' she said, back-to-back with Wade, conveying the message, 'I found out. External personnel bribed the inspection supervisor, designating a batch of containers for release without inspection. The numbers are...'
Wade silently noted down the numbers, his suspicions deepening: 'Vought went to such great lengths just to transport a few stowaways? This cost is way too high. Unless... unless this cargo isn't transporting ordinary people.'
He frowned slightly, feeling that everything was too smooth—unnaturally smooth.
Godolkin University is an institution under Vought for training Supe students. When they come out for internships... Vought is perfectly clear about the abilities of the students in each group.
The subsequent registration work went without a hitch, and the two successfully completed their morning internship task.
After getting the stamp on their internship manuals, Wade and Cate left the port and strolled along the street.
'The afternoon is for other groups' internships, otherwise I'd really want to investigate further.' Wade looked toward the layers of shipping containers in the distance. "It's too crowded during the day; we'll have to wait until night to act."
"Yes, Mas..." Cate responded subconsciously, then immediately froze, a look of mixed humiliation and panic flashing across her face.
Hearing this, Wade turned his head with a playful look and reached out to pinch her chin. "Mas what? We're in public, watch your behavior, Senior."
Cate's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head to avoid his gaze. "Okay, Wade."
Wade didn't commit one way or the other, pulling her into a nearby café. "Let's sit here for a while to kill time."
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