Saturday, June 2020.
8:12 AM.
On the rooftop of their apartment building, Lin Yu and Ye Xin stood side by side, the morning wind brushing lightly through their hair. The city stretched far below them, bathed in soft golden sunlight.
"It's time for me to leave too," Lin Yu said, eyes locked on the bustling streets below. "Are you really not coming with me?"
Ye Xin shook her head gently. "No, Brother Lin Yu. My family is still here on Earth. I want to be with them. Though… I do wish I could see other worlds with you."
She smiled faintly, the sunlight catching in her eyes.
In the year since they met, Ye Xin had graduated university—and under Lin Yu's guidance, mastered the full breadth of her thunder and lightning abilities. Together, they had fought crime, dismantled cartels, and saved lives. The world had come to know her as the superhero Goddess of Thunder.
And somewhere along the way, Lin Yu had confessed. He'd asked her to come with him—to step beyond Earth and see the stars.
She had declined, gently but firmly.
Lin Yu had anticipated this. He had already made peace with it.
"Remember what I told you before I go," Lin Yu said, turning to face her fully. "I'm going to evolve all of humanity. Some people might go astray with their new powers. The world may fall into chaos for a while… but you can stop it."
Ye Xin nodded, her voice unwavering. "Don't worry, Brother Lin Yu. I'll make every scumbag who tries to abuse their powers regret it."
Even Lin Yu hadn't expected it—how deeply Ye Xin had fallen in love with the idea of justice. Of being a superhero. It had become her calling.
"I believe in you," Lin Yu said, eyes full of trust. "You'll be the strongest among them. If someone pisses you off—don't hold back. Just hit 'em."
Ye Xin frowned slightly. "Really? That makes me sound like a hothead."
"I'm just speaking the truth," Lin Yu chuckled.
Then he rose slowly into the air, levitating above the rooftop. Looking down at her, he said with a grin, "I'm going to start."
He raised one hand to the sky, power already gathering around his fingers.
"First, take care of all the unstable elements in one go," Lin Yu thought.
With that, he activated the six abilities granted by the Infinity Gauntlet. His form shimmered like a cosmic tyrant, and then—
"Evil people, disappear for me!"
Snap!
A burst of radiant energy exploded from his fingertips, washing over the Earth in a blinding wave.
[ System: Global Judgment Executed ]
In an instant, every human that Lin Yu considered to be truly, irredeemably evil disintegrated into dust—wiped cleanly from the world like echoes on the wind.
There could be no evolution for them. No second chances.
They were gone.
Of course, there would still be new villains—drunk on power, lost in madness—but the old ones, the monsters, had been erased. And Ye Xin… she would be more than enough to handle what came next.
Lin Yu clenched his fist, summoned the universal energy once more, and raised his right hand high.
"Then—let's evolve, humanity!"
Snap!
A second pulse of energy surged across the Earth, invisible but undeniable. This time, it touched every human soul.
[ System: Global Genome Evolution Activated ]
[ Probability Statistics: ]
[ Awaken Super Strength: 18.3% ]
[ Awaken Flight Capability: 14.2% ]
[ Awaken Fire Attribute: 6.9% ]
[ Awaken Space Essence: 3.3% ]
[ Reach Superman Physique (Base Level): 100% in 20 years ]
[ Mutation to Above-Superman Physique: 0.2% ]
The moment it happened, every human on Earth felt it.
The sunlight… felt different.
Warmer. More nourishing. People with keen senses could feel a subtle current, a soft stream of heat threading into their bodies through their sunlit skin.
What's the most abundant, omnipresent energy in the universe?
Water?
No. It's starlight.
And that's exactly what Lin Yu had unlocked.
He had altered the human genome—empowering all of humanity to absorb stellar radiation, to store and harness that power like living reactors.
Like Superman.
They would no longer be bound by the frail flow of spiritual energy—aura. Wherever there were stars, humans would thrive. Fight. Survive.
There were more than two hundred billion stars in the Milky Way alone.
Even Trisolaris, only 42 light years away, held three suns.
Let other galactic races watch in horror.
Let them kneel before a new order.
This wasn't just a gift. It was a statement.
And there were no weaknesses—no kryptonite. Red stars? Blue? Didn't matter.
As long as it was a star, humans could feed on it.
The evolution wouldn't fully bloom overnight. Lin Yu had planned it over decades to minimize chaos.
In 20 years, all of humanity would achieve a base DC New 52 Superman-level physique. Some would go further.
Of course, Lin Yu made one small tweak.
A selfish one.
For the people of Huaxia—his people—the rate of stellar absorption would be 15 times faster.
And Ye Xin?
She would be unmatched.
Her potential had no ceiling.
She would reach the level of Silver Age Superman in less than twenty years.
Ye Xin blinked as Lin Yu landed beside her again.
"Xiao Xin, how do you feel?"
"I feel… power. So much power rushing into me. Is this… superhuman?"
The light trembled around her, dancing on her skin. Her lightning cracked softly in the air around her shoulders.
"Yep. Bask in the sun more often. Not that you'll need to—you're already built different."
He smiled, eyes softening. "Alright, Xiao Xin… time for me to go."
Ye Xin looked away, swallowing the tightness in her chest. "Come back to visit, okay?"
"I will. This place… is my home too."
With one final smile, Lin Yu waved—and then disappeared into the sky, vanishing into the deep velvet of space.
Ye Xin stared for a long time.
"Goodbye, Brother Lin Yu…"
Memories of the past year flooded her mind, but she clenched her fists, steadying her breath.
"I won't let you down. Humanity… I'll protect you."