The London sky was as overcast as ever.
Wool's Orphanage
Room 201
Thud!
The heavy wardrobe drifted down from midair and settled on the floor.
Experiment #358 on power manipulation complete. This fully confirms one thing: the stronger my will and the more focused my mind, the greater and more precise the force I can control… Could this power be some form of idealistic force?
Li Wade glanced at the small notebook filled with Chinese characters in his hand, then picked up a worn pencil stub and added another line:
Despite repeated experiments, I still cannot determine the origin or scientific principles behind this power. Moreover, I remain unaware if others possess similar abilities.
He closed the notebook and tucked it, along with the half-pencil, into his pocket.
"Alright, this is as far as the manipulation experiments can go for now. Time to begin the second phase: repair experiments…" He pulled a chair riddled with cracks toward him from beside the bed.
Li Wade patted the chair lightly, and it immediately shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor as if held together by nothing but cheap glue—utterly fragile.
He stared at the fragments, then solemnly extended his right hand. His mind sharpened to a razor's edge once more.
"Repair!"
As soon as he spoke, the shards began to stir. Like a video rewinding, they slowly reassembled themselves back into a chair—though the cracks remained. At a glance, it was clear there were slightly fewer than before.
Li Wade took out a piece of string and measured the longest crack. A faint smile of relief touched his lips.
Compared to the last repair attempt, the crack had shortened! He pulled out the notebook again to record:
…As expected, this power can indeed repair objects. The incomplete restoration is simply because I haven't fully mastered it yet. As my control steadily improves, so do the results!
After a brief moment of triumph, Li Wade studied his palm. His youthful face carried a pensiveness unbefitting his age. As wondrous and limitless as this power was… if given the choice, he'd rather have stayed in his own era.
Yes, Li Wade was a time traveler. A week ago, during a critical moment in an experiment at his lab, everything went dark. He awoke here, his body inexplicably regressed to that of an eleven-year-old boy. Most baffling of all, he discovered he possessed a strange ability to manipulate objects effortlessly.
It was only after being sent here, as a ward of the orphanage, that he fully accepted this absurd reality and dedicated himself to understanding it.
It was Britain in the 1930s—specifically, London in 1938.
1938 was no peaceful year. A certain failed art student would soon plunge the world into war, and London would be bombed into ruins.
With crisis looming, Li Wade sensed this bizarre power might become his lifeline. And, frankly, he'd been intensely curious about it from the start.
So, he plunged into practice and experimentation. Progress thus far had been remarkably smooth.
Li Wade lost himself in his work, spending his first week in this era quietly.
After a short rest, he dismantled the chair again, preparing for the next planned experiment. Time was running out before the war arrived.
BANG!
Suddenly, the door was kicked open violently, slamming against the wall with a deafening crash.
Li Wade frowned and looked up. Standing in the doorway was a boy about his age.
The boy had jet-black hair and strikingly handsome features that might easily win favor… were it not for his unnaturally pale skin and eyes sharp with malice.
"So, you're the new Oriental," the boy said, surveying Li Wade. His voice was soft yet laced with unmistakable arrogance. "Nothing special… How did you get that old hag to give you the best room? Was it because of that pretty face of yours?"
Li Wade regarded him calmly. "Your method of knocking is… quite unique."
Li Wade's English was flawless—thanks to his former profession, communication posed no issue.
"You seem displeased? A week ago, another idiot felt the same way," the intruder replied, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "But that very night, I strung his pet rabbit from the rafters."
"Oh?" Li Wade noted the boy's disturbingly vacant expression. "And did that bring you… pleasure?"
"Pleasure? No. I did it to make them fear me," the boy said, stepping slowly into the room. "Fear is the only way to make others obey. And I never tolerate defiance."
"I see… So, what does the young gentleman who craves fear wish from me?" Li Wade asked, genuinely intrigued.
He'd initially assumed the boy was just another troubled orphan with a cruel streak—common enough here. But now, he sensed something darker.
Seeing Li Wade's apparent willingness to yield, the boy's smile widened with satisfaction.
"I've begged Mrs. Cole for this room countless times… yet she keeps me rotting in that damp, dark basement…" The boy's gaze locked onto Li Wade's eyes.
Li Wade nodded. "Ah. You want to swap rooms."
"You're far sharper than those fools." The boy's tone was pleased—Li Wade had grasped his intent so quickly. "Honestly, if that old hag hadn't locked me in the cupboard for a week over a rabbit, I'd have come for you sooner."
Li Wade nodded again. "I understand completely. No one wants to live in a damp, dark basement."
"So… you agree?"
"No. I refuse."