A superhero dream shattered

Li Xin's confidence peaked at that moment.

Even the nation's firearms couldn't hurt him. He was this world's superhero, one of its strongest!

Who hadn't dreamed of being a hero?

And he was heaven's own son, the Child of Destiny!

-He could play the hero without restraint and make his dream come true.

"Hahahahaha!!" Li Xin roared with laughter.

Hao Jingye turned to Sheng An and said urgently, "Sheng An!"

Sheng An remained calm. She finished loading the gun in her hand, aimed at Li Xin, and spoke evenly-

"Li Xin, the indestructible diamond body comes from Buddhist scriptures, while Iron Man is a superhero from Western comics. Don't mash cultures together. It only makes you look even more ignorant!"

As her words fell, Sheng An pulled the trigger.

This time, there was no metallic clang.

Instead, a different sound rang out-

"Aaaagh!!"

Li Xin squealed like a pig being slaughtered.

Then, accompanied by that agonized scream, he fell from high above and slammed into the ground.

Bang! A tremendous crash rang out.

Sheng An calmly stepped back.

Li Xin clutched his hand and rolled wildly on the ground. The shot had struck his hand, leaving a large hole in his metal arm. It hissed and sizzled, as though something was continuously eating away at the metal.

Li Xin cried out in pain.

"Aaah, what is this?! What did you do to me?!" His voice was filled with agony.

Sheng An crouched beside him and looked down at him.

Watching him writhe in pain, she slowly broke into a brilliant smile and drawled, "If I were you, I'd deactivate my ability right now and sever the metal on my hand."

At her words, the helmet on Li Xin's head and the mask on his face vanished, and the golden gleam covering his body immediately faded.

A section of the mechanical arm broke off, leaving his own hand behind. Only then did the pain ease.

And his appearance was fully revealed to Sheng An.

He was a fairly good-looking sixteen-year-old boy, his face still youthful but full of defiance. His wide eyes burned with anger, and his slightly overgrown hair partly obscured his brows and eyes. He was wearing-teddy bear pajamas.

Li Xin panted heavily and was just about to speak.

The next moment, a gun was aimed between his eyebrows.

Above him, Sheng An gave him a faint smile.

Li Xin froze, not daring to move.

A moment later, the spot beneath the muzzle turned to metal.

He was about to fight back.

Sheng An's smile didn't change. "If that's skin, this gun might not be able to do anything to you. But if you turn it into metal, then this gun becomes useful..."

Li Xin stiffened.

The next moment, the metal beneath the muzzle disappeared, returning to ordinary flesh and blood.

In the end, he was still afraid of death and pain.

Around them, the special police officers had surrounded them, their guns aimed at Li Xin.

At that moment, whether he turned into a metal man or not, they had him under their control.

Li Xin gritted his teeth. "What the hell kind of gun is that?!"

Why could it hurt me?

That's impossible.

I clearly have an indestructible diamond body that's immune to blades and bullets!

Sheng An said, "A metal-type ability user can control metal and turn metal into his body. You've already become metallic elements. Judging by your color, the metal you produce is mostly copper and gold. Copper is easy to deal with; gold is a little trickier. And your confidence that bullets can't hurt you means your metal contains other elements that increase its hardness."

Li Xin: "?"

What was she talking about?

Sheng An said, "But that's fine. Given your level of education, the metals you produce are probably common elements, and common metallic elements aren't hard to deal with. Inside the bullets is a chemical mixture I made myself: concentrated nitric acid and concentrated hydrochloric acid mixed at a volume ratio of 1:3. Commonly known as aqua regia."

Li Xin: "??"

His eyes lost focus, and his face went blank.

She seemed to be insulting me, but I had no proof...

Sheng An said, "Aqua regia can dissolve most metallic elements. Your metal shell, in particular, consists of the common elements Cu and Au. It couldn't be easier to deal with. If you'd produced some rare elements, that really would have been troublesome. We might even have needed to bring in chemistry experts."

Li Xin: "???"

Sheng An smiled faintly and tapped his forehead with the muzzle. "So, young man, read a few more books before you come out to play superhero."

Li Xin: "..."

-Was this woman mocking me?!

His head buzzed. He was confused, utterly dazed.

He had proclaimed himself the Child of Destiny and believed his superpower was invincible. He had never imagined that Sheng An would defeat him using nothing more than the most basic middle and high school chemistry.

Copper, gold, concentrated nitric acid, concentrated hydrochloric acid... It all sounded so familiar.

Li Xin felt as though he were in a trance.

In front of him, Sheng An crouched with the gun containing those special "bullets" aimed between his eyebrows.

Around them stood the special police officers.

-He could no longer escape.

Li Xin gritted his teeth. "I won't cooperate with you. Kill me if you dare!"

Defeat had left the boy somewhat discouraged, but mostly furious.

His humiliation had turned to anger, and he was making one last attempt to resist.

Sheng An's smile didn't change. "Oh, really? You refuse to cooperate? Then I'll just have to ask your parents and family to cooperate instead."

She looked up toward the building entrance.

Alarmed, Li Xin whipped his gaze over.

The special police officers had already secured the elevator area, but the Song Family members were allowed to come out.

At that moment, they stood at the building entrance, watching the scene before them in terror.

Song Linwei felt as though his head were about to explode.

They had witnessed Li Xin's arrogance and Sheng An's response from start to finish.

If the circumstances hadn't made it inappropriate, he would already have lost control and given Li Xin a savage beating.

Of course, Song Linlin and Li Huai wanted to hit him even more than he did.

"You're threatening me?!" Li Xin's eyes were bloodshot.

If Sheng An had been alone, he would have fought back, perhaps even considered killing this "villain."

But there was also a Special Police Team here, and they could easily take control of his parents.

Sheng An said, "You can see it that way. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm explaining the situation to you."

Li Xin clenched his fists and cursed, "Sheng An, you're shameless!!"

-At that moment, she looked exactly like the archvillain in a story who stood in the hero's way.

Sheng An said, "Yes, I'm shameless."

Her smile didn't change. "And what about you stealing a little kid's Ultraman figurine?"

Li Xin: "..."

For some reason, he felt a little guilty.

Sheng An stood up and turned to the Song Family members, her manner warm:

"You shouldn't spoil children too much. They'll run wild and cause serious trouble. Just now, he was quite literally 'climbing onto the roof to tear off the tiles.'"

Li Xin had come down from the seventeenth floor.

Then, after provoking Sheng An, he had climbed all the way to the eleventh floor in one go. Right there in full public view, he had scrambled around like a gecko while shouting arrogant challenges...

The Song Family had witnessed it all.

Li Huai's breathing grew rapid. Before coming down, he had grabbed a broom.

Now, he finally lost patience. Brandishing the broom, he charged forward. "Li Xin! If I don't beat you today, I'm not your father!!"

"Aaaagh-"

Li Xin screamed, even forgetting to turn into a metal man.

"Dad, why are you hitting me?"

"Ow! They're the ones stopping me from saving the world!"

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Stop hitting me!"

Sheng An calmly put away her gun and stopped watching the display of fatherly affection and filial devotion before her.

She turned to Hao Jingye and instructed, "I'll take him away first. You handle the aftermath."

Hao Jingye nodded silently.

He had already thought up countless plans for handling the aftermath. Today's commotion had been considerable, and cleaning it up wouldn't be simple.

Of course, it was all the fault of this delusional teenager who insisted on scaling walls and leaping across rooftops.

Watching Li Huai thrash Li Xin, Hao Jingye gave a satisfied smile.

-Want to be a superhero?

-Ask your dad first.

After Li Xin took his beating, Sheng An led him away with his head hanging. All the Song Family members followed, with the special police officers escorting them, while Hao Jingye stayed behind with his people to handle the aftermath.

As for the superhero dream of the metal-type ability user, Li Xin...

It shattered before he even left the residential complex.