America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“Joe, I’m fine, nothing’s wrong. I called you back to look for my medicine. My medicine is gone, all of it is gone,” Mrs. Chen said.

"The medicine is gone?"

Joe also helped look for the medicine, but he and Mrs. Chen searched almost the entire house and still couldn't find it.

"Forget it, I'm not looking anymore."

“Go get a new prescription,” Mrs. Chen said.

"Mom...you seem to be feeling much better," Qiao said hesitantly.

"Is that so?"

……

"Dr. Banner, did you erase Mrs. Chen's memories?" Wade asked Dr. Banner.

“I didn’t erase her memory. It’s just that the painkillers she took would affect her consciousness, and Walter’s special medicine would also affect her mental state,” Dr. Banner told Wade.

“She seems to have no memory of us,” Li Qun said.

"Waltwhite has also shown signs of amnesia."

“Losing a few hours of memory is a price not to be underestimated compared to curing cancer,” Dr. Banner said.

"Are you sure you're cured?" Wade asked.

“We can wait for Mrs. Chen’s next medical check-up; the hospital will help provide an answer,” Dr. Banner said.

“Mrs. Chen will be going for a check-up next week,” Li Qun announced the time.

"What should we do with these medicines?" Wade asked Dr. Banner.

"Put it in my medicine box; someone might need it someday," Dr. Banner said.

"The touching family drama has ended, I'm going to change the channel."

Wade picked up the remote, and the TV screen showed Peter, who was swinging on a spider web in Manhattan.

Peter began to act as a vigilante during the day, but his vigilante activities were inefficient; most of the time he was just taking his chances and waiting for crimes to happen to him.

"Next program."

Wade changed the channel again, and the television screen showed a scene from Osborn's secret laboratory.

"Can you make one for me too? I want to be a super soldier too," Wade asked Dr. Banner, pointing at the TV screen.

“Wade, their enhancement serum has very obvious flaws. This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this to you,” Dr. Banner said.

"Is it possible that no matter what method is used to enhance human functions, it will affect a person's mental state?" Li Qun asked.

"The stronger the power that humans acquire, the greater the mental problems that arise?" Wade continued, following Li Qun's train of thought.

“Look at Peter, is he mentally ill?” Dr. Banner asked.

"This idea is unreliable."

“Maybe we haven’t discovered what’s wrong with Peter yet?” Wade said, switching the TV back to Peter’s “channel.”

“I should get a few more television sets,” Dr. Banner said.

“Do we need to turn it into a monitoring room? We should have done that a long time ago,” Wade said.

……

……

Stephanie passed by Little Walter's room. The door was open, and she curiously peeked into the room.

She noticed a bottle of medicine on Little Walter's table. The green pills inside looked familiar, like the same kind of small green pills Harry took.

Stephanie went into Little Walter's room and picked up the medicine bottle to examine it.

What are you doing in my room?

"I'm going out now, brother."

Stephanie quietly put down the medicine bottle and smiled at little Walter when he returned.

"When does your school start summer vacation?" Stephanie asked Walter.

"We'll have a holiday after the exams this week," Walter replied.

"Do you want to go to the weekend food market? Li Qun and Peter are going to participate in a competitive eating contest," Stephanie said.

"A competitive eating contest, Peter and Liqun?"

"There's also a spicy food eating contest."

“I want to go,” Little Walter nodded slowly.

Chapter 328 Not on a Date

Li Qun was sitting on a bench next to the basketball court in the neighborhood, waiting for someone.

Someone invited Li Qun to play basketball, but Li Qun politely declined.

The boys who play street basketball all know Li Qun; more than half of them have patronized their uncle's Chinese restaurant with their families.

Stephanie walked to the bench and sat down next to Li Qun.

Some people on the basketball court whistled when they saw this, but Li Qun and Stephanie ignored them.

“My dad gave little Walter some medicine, the same kind as Harry’s, you see…”

Stephanie opened her backpack, took out a medicine bottle and gave it to Li Qun. There were only two small green pills in the bottle.

“I also brought you a book,” Stephanie said.

"what book?"

“Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” Stephanie took out the book and handed it to Li Qun.

"You've finished reading it? I remember this is the book you bought when we went to the bookstore last time." Li Qun took the book and flipped through a couple of pages.

"I've finished reading it. I think this book was helpful to you."

"I may not have time to finish reading it."

Li Qun returned the book to Stephanie.

“I feel like you’re fighting amongst yourselves, just like I am,” Stephanie said, looking at Li Qun.

“There are some things I don’t know how to handle, so I keep putting them off.” Li Qun turned to look at Stephanie.

"Can you tell me about it?" Stephanie asked.

“It just so happens to be something I can’t tell anyone else,” Li Qun said.

“If we could just talk about it, we wouldn’t have to fight amongst ourselves, right?” Stephanie said.

“Stephanie, you don’t mind if Peter, Gwen, and I sometimes deliberately distance ourselves from you, do you?” Li Qun asked.

"Of course I mind."

"Not just me, Harry too."

“Sometimes I feel like you and Peter are keeping your distance from Gwen, not wanting your relationship to get too close,” Stephanie said.

"What do you think of the relationship between your father and Harry's father?" Li Qun asked Stephanie.

"Both of them have a strong desire for control and want to control everything around them. When they are together, they want to control each other."

“Harry was controlled by his father from a young age, while I was better off than Harry. My father only started showing his controlling nature after he got sick,” Stephanie said.

“Is Little Walter’s mood swings a lot? The side effects of this drug might be the same as Harry’s,” Li Qun said.

“It’s not easy; he’s the most emotionally stable person in our family,” Stephanie said.

"Have you noticed any changes in Little Walter's body after he took the medicine?" Li Qun asked.

"The time was too short to feel it yet."

"Have you ever thought about trying to take a pill yourself?" Li Qun asked again.

Stephanie shook her head.

“Last summer, Peter, Gwen, Harry, and I were all interning at the Osborne Industrial Park, where our job was to take care of lab mice.”

"So this little green pill was only tested on animals last year?"

“When we were taking care of the mice, we didn’t give them any medication, and the four of us didn’t have access to the relevant experiments,” Li Qun said.

“They’re using Harry and Walter for human experiments right now,” Stephanie said, very worried.

"They also experimented on themselves."

“That’s how scientists in the 19th century were; they either experimented on themselves or on their family members,” Li Qun said.

Li Qun suddenly stood up. A dispute had broken out in the basketball court behind the bench. Stephanie also stood up and looked at the basketball court with Li Qun.

What are they saying?

"I don't know either, they were speaking Spanish."

A boy was arguing with a group of boys when the lone boy suddenly pulled a butterfly knife from his pocket and stabbed one of the boys in the opposite group.

This is New York City in America…

Li Qun sighed inwardly.

Stephanie couldn't bear to watch any longer, but at that moment she realized that Li Qun was gone; Li Qun had appeared on the basketball court.

The butterfly knife failed to stab, and Li Qun gripped the boy's wrist tightly.

“Hey, you old man from Aurora, this is none of your business! Let go!!” the boy shouted at Li Qun in English.

“Something’s happened now,” Li Qun said.

The boy stared at the sky, unaware of why he was lying on the ground, and the knife in his hand had vanished.

"And you all..."

"what?"

Liqun spared no one; when the conflict broke out, people from both sides were knocked to the ground by Liqun, and there was a chorus of groans.