Freeze the entire population, activate my Superman system?

The Night Demon's corpse lay across the center of the living room, black slime slowly oozing from its shattered skull, pooling on the floor and emitting a smell similar to swampy humus.

Ling Shuang squatted down and reached out to probe the thing's chest cavity.

There was no heartbeat.

He's completely dead.

He stood up and glanced at the young woman huddled in the corner.

The woman was holding a three- or four-year-old boy in her arms. The child's eyes were covered, but his ears were not, and he was sobbing softly.

"It's alright now." Ling Shuang knew that she was covered in blood and wouldn't look very kind.

So I tried to make my voice sound as calm as possible, "Which floor do you live on?"

"6...602." The woman's voice trembled. "My husband is away on a business trip in Hangzhou. It's just me and the child..."

"The management office notified residents on the lower floors to relocate, didn't you know?"

"I know, but the baby is too young, and I was busy packing clothes and the breast pump..."

And I didn't think the sixth floor was considered a low floor...

Ling Shuang slowly got up, her head aching a little.

The countdown to the safe zone really gives ordinary people a huge illusion.

They were made to believe that the end of the world was still far away.

"Take the child and go downstairs. The management office will arrange new accommodations for you." Ling Shuang glanced out the window. "Leave now."

The woman stood up shakily, picked up her child, and staggered towards the door.

As she passed the corpse of the Night Demon, she abruptly turned her face away, quickened her pace, and practically fled the room.

Ling Shuang remained where she was, looking down at her left hand.

The icy energy in his palm underwent a qualitative change after killing the Night Demon.

It's no longer just a feeling of "fullness," but rather like something is flowing under the skin, ready to burst out at any moment.

He raised his left arm and mobilized his energy.

The skin surface began to change abruptly.

A layer of fine, grayish-white scales spread from the back of the hand, covering the entire left forearm like a tide.

The scales are small, each about the size of a fingernail, with sharp edges, layered on top of each other, and gleam with a cold, hard metallic luster under fluorescent light.

Ling Shuang tapped the surface of the scales with her right index finger.

Ding.

A crisp, metallic sound.

He increased the force and scraped it hard with the tip of the alloy rod.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Only a faint white mark remained on the scale, which disappeared on its own after a few seconds.

"This thing... is harder than the bones of mutated animals."

Ling Shuang tried moving her fingers.

The joints covered by scales remain flexible without any sluggishness.

He could even feel the scales opening and closing slightly with the contraction of his muscles, as if they were breathing.

Then he noticed another change.

Between the scales, tiny, pinhead-sized specks of light converged. Like fireflies, but brighter and more densely packed.

Ling Shuang instinctively knew what it was.

Energy poised to be unleashed.

These scales are not just armor; they are also weapons.

He aimed his left arm at the load-bearing wall opposite the living room.

Concentrate your mind.

Three scales rose up from the left arm, and the moment they fell off, they were ejected by an unseen force.

The speed was so fast that Ling Shuang only saw three silver-white afterimages.

Puff puff!

The three muffled thuds almost formed a continuous series.

Three holes, each about the thickness of a thumb, appeared in the load-bearing wall, with edges so neat they looked like they had been drilled with an electric drill.

The hole penetrated the plaster and bricks of the bedroom wall, and only stopped on the other side of the living room wall.

Ling Shuang went over to check.

The deepest scale was embedded nearly five centimeters into the opposite wall, with only a small edge showing. He tried to pry it with his fingernail, but the scale didn't budge, as if it had grown into the wall.

"Scale Armor Burst - Consumable type, requires charging".

The system notification will sound at an appropriate time.

Ling Shuang noticed that after the three scales that had just been launched fell off, three small pits were left on the surface of the scale armor.

However, new scales are slowly "growing" at the bottom of the pit, and at this rate, it will probably take several hours to fully recover.

It's not unlimited ammo.

But it's enough.

He withdrew his attention from his left arm, and the scales receded like the tide, revealing the intact skin underneath.

There were no wounds or discomfort.

Ling Shuang clenched her fists, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Now that's what makes him look like a superman."

---

The area downstairs is in complete chaos.

When Guo Yueshan arrived, the defense team had already evacuated most of the residents of buildings 6 and 8.

The emergency broadcast repeatedly said, "Please close all doors and windows and do not linger outdoors," but no one listened.

Fear makes people flock together.

The central garden was packed with people, some in pajamas and others wrapped in blankets.

A man was squatting by the flower bed smoking, his hands shaking so badly he couldn't even light the lighter.

Many of them witnessed it all.

"Manager Ling!" Guo Yueshan squeezed through the crowd, his face practically radiating exhaustion. "Where's that thing?"

"It's called Night Demon, and it's very strong individually."

It took me all my strength to dispose of it; the body is still in the living room of apartment 602 in building 8.

Guo Kuoshan looked at him with a complicated expression.

"You must have mutated and become stronger, just like those animals."

Ling Shuang nodded.

Seeing Ling Shuang admit it, Guo Yueshan visibly relaxed, but then immediately asked, "Just one?"

"There's only one right now," Ling Shuang said, not giving a definitive answer.

"After I came down, I had Wang Can confirm that there was no other movement in the direction of the artificial lake."

Guo Yueshan remained silent for a few seconds, then made a decision that surprised Ling Shuang.

"I had the body moved down," he said. "To the central garden."

Ling Shuang frowned: "Now? Three in the morning? You want everyone to see this?"

"We just want them to see it."

Guo Yueshan's voice was hoarse but firm: "Four people have died, and the community is still not united. We need to show them that danger is all around us."

These are the people who won't act foolishly.

Ling Shuang thought for a moment and nodded.

His superhuman combat prowess is hard to hide.

Why not just make it clear all at once?

When the Night Demon's body was moved to the central garden, the whole place fell silent.

It is a suffocating, deathly silence, as if gripped by fear.

A man in his forties stared at the black, humanoid corpse, his lips trembling for a long time before finally managing to utter only, "What the hell... what is this thing?"

No one could answer him.

Ling Shuang stood beside the corpse, the alloy rod standing at her side, her left hand hanging naturally at her sides.

The blood on his body hadn't dried completely, and there were several cuts on his T-shirt from the Night Demon's claws, but his skin was intact.

Guo Yueshan raised the megaphone: "Neighbors, quiet! Everyone, quiet!"

His voice echoed in the cold early morning air, with a noticeable tremor.

Last night, we lost two neighbors – Ms. Chen from Building 6 and Ms. Wu from Building 8.

"This is what killed them, it's called a Night Demon!"

He tapped the corpse of the Night Demon with his toe.

"But! Night Demons aren't invincible! They can be killed!"

Guo Yueshan turned to Ling Shuang, "Ling Shuang, the owners of Building 90 cooperated with Wang Can to kill this monster early this morning."

He is also the only one we know of in our community.

A person who gained combat abilities outside of the lord system.

But what's even more admirable is his courage!

All eyes were on Ling Shuang.

The two young men who had fled earlier were now filled with shame.

Ling Shuang took two steps forward and took the megaphone from Guo Yueshan.

"My name is Ling Shuang, and I am the owner of unit 01 in building 90."

Dr. Zhang Mu is my childhood friend and also the lord of my territory.

He paused for a moment, then raised his left hand.

"I don't have a lord system, but Dr. Zhang has bound me to the territory as a warrior."

Therefore, I gained some combat abilities that are stronger than those of ordinary people.

These monsters are not invincible; we must unite.

Guo Kuoshan coldly observed everyone present.

"Among the neighbors present, perhaps some have already awakened to something similar, or to certain buildings that can defend against danger, but for various reasons have not spoken out."

A subtle commotion arose in the garden, with some people exchanging glances.

Guo Kuoshan's voice deepened, "We Chinese people all like to hide our talents."

Revealing your abilities means attracting more attention.

"but."

His gaze swept across every face present.

"Only one Night Demon came tonight. What if two come tomorrow?"

Five more are coming the day after tomorrow?

Manager Ling is just one person. Can he protect the entire community by himself?

What obligation does he have to stand at the front?

"I'm not asking you to stand up right now."

But I want to make it clear,

If we are the last survivors of China, and there is no rescue...

If everyone just minds their own business, then they're all doomed!

Guo Yueshan's tone was very serious, "In my capacity as the director of the Longmaofu Management Office, I formally request—"

He emphasized the word "demand".

"All owners of special abilities, special buildings, or special weapons must report to the management office by today."

Register and compile a list for unified allocation.

If you can guarantee you'll survive alone in this apocalypse, then keep yourself as a grave offering!

That's a very strong statement.

The garden was quiet for a few seconds.

Then someone raised their hand.

The man who raised his hand was in his forties, wearing a faded military green jacket. He had deep wrinkles on his face and rough hands, and he looked like someone who did manual labor.

"Director Guo, my name is Zhao Tiejun, and I live in Building 12, Room 403."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it in a quiet environment.

"I have two crossbows. I use them for hunting, and I usually go to the mountains on weekends to hunt wild boar."

There were about forty arrows, and the crossbow had a range of sixty meters, with an effective kill range of about forty meters.

Guo Yueshan's eyes lit up: "Are you willing to hand it over to the management office for unified allocation?"

Zhao Tiejun shook his head: "I'm not willing."

Guo Yueshan's expression froze for a moment, but he didn't react.

Zhao Tiejun continued, "It's not that I'm uncooperative. I don't trust others to handle things like crossbows."

It's one thing to break or lose it, but what if someone with malicious intent uses it against our own people?

I'm very proficient at it. If the management needs me to do something, they just call me, and I'm at the forefront.

He gave Ling Shuang a thumbs up.

"I saw the commotion just now with my night vision binoculars."

Well done, young man.

As a middle-aged man, I can't just hide behind young people.

Guo Yueshan looked at Ling Shuang, and Ling Shuang nodded slightly.

"Okay," Guo Yueshan said. "You can register and operate it yourself, but you must obey the management office's scheduling arrangements."

"Okay." Zhao Tiejun agreed readily.