Off to save the world

Apocalypse countdown: 18 days.

Another early morning.

Before heading out with Hao Jingye, Sheng An made sure to drag Jiang Yu out of bed.

Jiang Yu had dark circles under her eyes and staggered as she walked.

Hao Jingye asked in confusion, "Why do you look half asleep? You should've had six and a half hours to sleep last night, right?"

That was already a fairly long stretch.

Jiang Yu gave him a dead-eyed stare. "Don't you play on your phone when you're in bed?"

Hao Jingye said, "...No."

Jiang Yu said, "???"

She instinctively looked at Sheng An.

Sheng An gave a faint smile, her expression otherwise blank. "No."

None of them had the "phone addiction" so common these days. Their phones were for work, not entertainment. Even their models were different from ordinary phones.

They were all custom military phones with extremely high security.

Jiang Yu said, "..."

They're all monsters!

A moment later, Sheng An handed Jiang Yu over to Academician Zhou and the others, then headed out with Hao Jingye.

Hao Jingye was puzzled. "What have Group Leader Qiu and her people been doing? Why haven't any of them shown up for days?"

Sheng An was reading the reports on her phone. Without looking up, she replied calmly, "They've probably found a very powerful Superpower Person in another region. Maybe even more than one."

Hao Jingye looked conflicted, his face full of concern. "What is Group Leader Qiu trying to do?"

Sheng An said, "She seems gentle, but she's actually very proud. Especially when it comes to me. So yes, you guessed right. She's preparing a big move, hoping to stun us all when she finally shows up."

"Sister Sheng, aren't you worried?" Hao Jingye was already getting anxious.

Sheng An said, "No."

She switched screens, perfectly calm.

Hao Jingye wanted to say more, but after seeing her expression, he swallowed it all back down.

The person in charge was perfectly calm, while her subordinate worried himself sick.

"The preparations are complete, and the SWAT officers have surrounded Fu'an Residential Community. Let's go meet Iron Man Who Believes in the Light." Sheng An put her phone away.

She had issued the assignments last night. Before six that morning, the other departments had already coordinated with the Doomsday Special Affairs Office to make the arrangements.

At seven, the SWAT officers had quietly surrounded Fu'an Residential Community.

Everything was ready.

Hao Jingye immediately straightened and switched into work mode. "Understood, Sister Sheng. I've already arranged for people to assemble the interrogation room for the metal-type Superpower Person. It'll be ready once we bring Li Xin back."

Sheng An nodded and got into the car.

The inconspicuous black car headed toward Fu'an Residential Community.

Before eight, the car stopped at the entrance to the community.

Sheng An met up with the SWAT officers and took the case they had brought.

After seeing what was inside, Hao Jingye's expression turned complicated. "Sister Sheng, Li Xin is our future teammate, and the Song family seems fairly cooperative. Do we... really need to use force to apprehend him?"

Ultimately, he was still worried about damaging their relationship with a future teammate.

Sheng An understood what he meant.

But...

Sheng An smiled faintly. "Do you think a sixteen-year-old who believes in the light and calls himself Iron Man will really listen to his parents and cooperate with us after gaining superpowers?"

In truth, it would have been better if the metal-type ability user had been Song Linwei or Li Xin's father rather than Li Xin.

At least those two were levelheaded and could be reasoned with in terms of risks and benefits.

But Li Xin, a teenager with delusions of grandeur, was the hardest to control and the least predictable.

Who knew what bizarre ideas were running through his head?

If metal-type abilities weren't so useful,

Sheng An would definitely have chosen to "ignore" this Aberrant.

A metal-type ability user who stole a child's Ultraman figurine-the very thought gave her a headache.

Hao Jingye said, "...Understood."

Meanwhile.

At the Song family's home in Fu'an Residential Community.

With Li Xin back, Song Linwei had not returned to Huayu Residential Community. Instead, he stayed at his parents' place, along with Song Linlin and her family.

Careers and jobs all seemed insignificant in the face of the apocalypse.

After calming down and discussing things yesterday,

they gathered again early that morning to continue their discussion.

Mrs. Song asked, "Is Xin still asleep?"

Song Linlin shook her head. "Yes. He always sleeps until eleven when he's off school. Leave him be."

Father Song asked Song Linwei, "When are we going to negotiate terms with the government?"

Song Linwei said, "Let's wait another couple of days and find out more. I'll contact the government people first. That woman named Sheng An should have considerable authority. I kept her assistant's number, so we can-"

Just then,

Bang! The bedroom door suddenly flew open.

Everyone jumped and hurriedly looked over.

The metal door handle had melted, and a young boy ran out, brimming with energy.

The boy was golden from head to toe. Both hands were gleaming mechanical arms, and he wore a metal mask over his face and a metal helmet on his head. He had clearly dressed up deliberately, hiding his features.

At first glance, he even looked like a "metal man."

But the moment he spoke, his voice was unmistakably that of a teenage boy.

"Why contact the government? I'm not letting them study me or control me. The apocalypse is coming, and as the chosen one, I'm going to conquer the world and rule the apocalypse!"

The moment he opened his mouth, he sounded like a teenager lost in superhero fantasies.

The Song family was speechless.

Song Linwei rubbed his aching head and said helplessly,

"Xin, why have you turned yourself into this again? Didn't I tell you not to use your special ability so casually? What if the government finds out?"

"Call me Iron Man!"

Li Xin slapped a palm onto the table. The tabletop instantly shattered, sending dust into everyone's faces.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Caught off guard, Li Xin choked on the dust and coughed a couple of times, looking a little embarrassed.

But he was thick-skinned and quickly recovered. Raising his chin again, he declared proudly, "So what if they find out? The apocalypse is coming anyway. Besides, a superhero has nothing to fear from any government!"

He patted his chest with his mechanical hand, producing a metallic clang, clang.

"I'm no longer the old Li Xin. I'm the superhero Iron Man, Li Xin! I can do anything. Not even bullets can pierce my indestructible diamond body!" Beneath the mask, his face was full of smug satisfaction.

Even without seeing his face, they could picture his expression just from his arrogant voice.

Song Linlin felt her head begin to throb.

Li Huai's hands itched to grab something and hit him.

Li Xin flexed his mechanical arms and declared loudly, "Don't worry. From now on, I'll protect you. But a superhero belongs to all humanity."

With that, he started walking out.

"Li Xin, what are you doing?!" Li Huai finally lost his patience and roared.

Standing beside the window, Li Xin looked back with a show-off's grin.

"Saving the world."

As soon as he said it, the window swung open, and he leaped out.

In fact,

he had wanted to do this for a long time.

On the second day after awakening his ability, he had skipped school to show off to his uncle, stopping by the neighboring child's home along the way.

When his uncle found out, he ordered him back to school. Naturally, Li Xin had refused to listen, but his uncle said they needed to verify whether the meteorites really would bring about the apocalypse.

Li Xin had agreed.

Now it had been verified. They had gotten their answer from the authorities.

The apocalypse really was coming.

Yet the government was still keeping the public in the dark.

Hah. No more hiding. He was going to save the world!