Emotion

For the next week, Sean devoted himself to studying the power of the Mind Stone. Hydra’s secret base was completely undefended before him, existing in name only. Whether it was its true master, Baron Strucker, or Dr. Stoke, who was responsible for its management, all of them were immersed in illusions.

Once the Mind Stone’s effects wore off, they would only feel an emptiness in their hearts and a blankness in their minds, as though someone had taken something away. They would remember nothing else.

This medical center in Sokovia had now become Sean’s private kingdom. Every staff member firmly believed in his fabricated identity: Dr. Sipes, holder of dual degrees in neurobiology and psychology.

As for Pietro and Wanda, who were participating in the experiments, they were still foolishly kept in the dark. They believed this was some sort of clinical drug trial and happily enjoyed plentiful food and generous stipends.

In the simple, brightly lit examination room, Sean sat neatly suited in a chair. Across from him sat a burly bald man. He was a test subject Hydra had found in a psychiatric hospital, a patient suffering from both thought and emotional disorders—his thinking was slower and more limited than that of ordinary people, and his reactions to emotions most people could feel, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, were also much more sluggish.

The reason Sean used psychiatric patients as test subjects was that, if he wanted to gain a deeper grasp of the Mind Stone’s power, he had to understand the minds and emotions of every living creature. The consciousness of psychiatric patients was completely different from that of normal people. This was the conclusion he had reached after a week of "psychological treatment."

A normal person’s logical thinking was like a complex network of overpasses. It looked chaotic, but it was actually well organized. Different thoughts traveled through different lines of reasoning and immediately gave rise to vastly different emotions. Seeing a friend or relative weep bitterly would make one feel sad, while encountering something worth celebrating would bring laughter. That was normal behavior.

But psychiatric patients were different. Their thoughts were disordered and fragmented, like a maze with neither beginning nor end. Once trapped inside, it was difficult to get out, because there was no such thing as an entrance or an exit.

Their experience of emotions could be dull and indifferent, or abnormally sensitive. Their minds were filled with all sorts of meaningless abstract symbols. Their consciousness was like an article produced by an illiterate person randomly pounding on a typewriter: there was no coherence between sentences or context, every sentence was incomplete and disconnected, chaotic and shattered. Ordinary people simply could not understand its content or ideas.

That was precisely why Sean found them even more interesting. Psychiatric patients often could not distinguish illusion from reality. To others, they were no different from madmen, but in his eyes, their minds were purer, their emotions simpler, and their consciousness more complex. They were suitable subjects for researching the Mind Stone.

A faint yellow glow lit up as a hidden fluctuation invaded the bald man’s mind. Sean’s thoughts seemed to turn into a gentle sun, illuminating the other man’s consciousness with perfect clarity. Fragmented, scattered images gradually connected into one—

A little boy sat alone on the grass. Because of his emotional disorder, he could neither laugh nor cry. His father treated him like a freak. He had no friends at school and was mocked as a "wooden man." After getting drunk, his father would beat his wife, while his mother, suffering domestic abuse, vented all her resentment on him.

Everyone saw him as a senseless fool. Until one day, anger arose in his sluggish brain. He picked up an axe from outside the yard and hacked at his parents, who were arguing inside the house. The intense, blinding spray of blood, his father’s furious roars, and his mother’s wails caused him no disturbance at all. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung down again and again with all his strength!

He was an idiot.

Sean’s gaze flickered. After observing the other man’s twisted and bloody childhood memories, the Mind Stone returned a crimson glow—the color of extreme rage.

"Red."

He marked it down in his report. Every living creature’s emotions had their own colors. They were like a vast spectrum, interweaving and merging to form the ocean of souls shared by all living beings.

This reminded Sean of another world, where there was a special group that used willpower as strength. Those people understood how to forge the spirit and wield emotions, turning them into their own power. They could condense imagination into reality.

"Forget those things from the past… Imagine yourself drifting in a warm ocean, your body rising and falling with the waves. Blue skies, white clouds, seagulls, beaches—everything is peaceful… Forget your mistakes. Forget your anger."

Sean’s eyes shifted slightly. The yellow light projected by the Mind Stone rolled like a tide, guiding the bald man’s thoughts. Amid the dazzling illusions, brand-new memories were woven.

Hydra’s researchers led the bald man away, astonished beyond measure. He had personally witnessed something incredible. This psychiatric patient had always been gloomy and would occasionally become extremely agitated, but before Dr. Sipes, he was as obedient and well-behaved as a child.

Wanda, standing nearby, had a gleam in her eyes. This astonishing change seemed like a miracle. It was as though Sean radiated some wonderful power that made people feel peaceful and at ease.

"How did you do that?" she asked curiously, blinking.

"The power of the mind." Sean shrugged, looking rather mysterious. "How has Pietro been lately?"

"He’s doing well. He’s full of energy every day, like he has endless strength. He runs on the playground downstairs all day… He said he likes the feeling of running."

Wanda had noticed obvious changes in her brother Pietro. She herself also seemed different from before. Every night, she fell into all kinds of strange dreams, and when she woke up, her mind was especially sensitive.

She did not know that this was the Mind Stone’s corrupting effect. As for Pietro, Sean had not directly modified him to awaken his innate abilities. Instead, he was gradually enhancing his physical strength and dynamic vision, adjusting him into his optimal state in preparation for eventually becoming "Quicksilver."

"Pietro thinks he can become the fastest person in the world." Wanda covered her mouth and laughed.

"He’s still far from that, unless he can surpass the speed of light and turn back time." A faint smile curved Sean’s lips.

The title of the fastest person in the world did not belong to Pietro. It belonged to a speedster from another world.

"The day has gone by so quickly. Would you like to have dinner together later?"

The young man extended the invitation sincerely, wearing a gentle smile.

Wanda was a natural psychic. Her perception was exceptionally keen, making her especially suited to the Mind Stone’s transformation process.

Sean intended to shape this girl into a more perfect Scarlet Witch. He was also curious about what kind of remarkable abilities the Mind Stone could grant her.

Mind Control? Probability manipulation? Or perhaps a form of chaos power akin to magic?

"Sure." Wanda nodded and gladly accepted.

At that moment, pink and purple emotional halos blossomed in the girl’s mind, exceptionally bright.