"Ahhh, doesn't matter. I've hacked it anyway. Xiaoxin's ability has already awakened, and now it's my turn." Lin Yu placed the broom against the wall and spoke to the system in his mind. "Xiao shu, show me the probability information related to my awakened superpower."
"Learn."
A virtual system page, visible only to Lin Yu, appeared before his eyes. It floated for a moment as other items vanished one by one. Only one item remained, drawing his attention. It expanded to the forefront.
[ Host: Lin Yu ]
[ Awaken Superpowers Probability: 100% ]
[ Probability Manipulation: Awakened (Cannot be changed) ]
[ Infinite Ascension: Awakened (Cannot be changed) ]
[ Awakening Fire Element Probability: 2% ]
[ Awakening Water Element Probability: 1% ]
[ Awakening Metal Element Probability: 10% ]
[ Awakening Thunderbolt Ability: 16% ]
[ Awakening Light Core Probability: 32% ]
[ Awakening Dark Core Probability: 9% ]
[ Awakening Mind Power: 24% ]
[ Awakening Overdrive Regeneration: 20% ]
[ Awakening Super Strength Probability: 12% ]
[ Awakening Super Speed Probability: 25% ]
"Let's start with the most practical one." Lin Yu immediately selected the probability for super speed and adjusted it from
[ 25% -> 100% ].
[ Ability Super Speed Awakening Successful! ]
The system's voice confirmed in a timely manner.
"Awakened already?" Lin Yu felt confused. "But I don't feel anything."
[ The host has successfully awakened super speed. However, since there is no reference object at the host's home, the effect cannot be felt. The host may choose to activate super speed and throw an object lightly in any direction. You will see that, due to the relative speed, the object moves faster than expected. ]
The system explained, then added somewhat helplessly, [ Or, perhaps you could open the window and observe the scene on the street outside? ]
"I get it, I sound like an idiot," Lin Yu muttered, walking toward the window.
At that moment, a cockroach scuttled out from under the sofa and, with a flap of its wings, launched toward Lin Yu. As soon as Lin Yu saw it, he shuddered and dashed away at lightning speed.
Just as he avoided the cockroach, he instinctively activated the super speed ability he had just acquired. The cockroach, still airborne, froze in mid-air.
Lin Yu stared at the suspended insect, puzzled. As he examined it more closely, he realized that the cockroach's wings were still flapping, but its movements had slowed drastically. At first, the wing flaps seemed normal, but as Lin Yu's relative speed increased, they grew slower and slower, until they almost came to a standstill.
From his limited understanding, Lin Yu surmised that the faster his relative speed became, the slower the cockroach's wing flaps appeared. Eventually, the flapping nearly stopped entirely, as if time had frozen for the insect.
Intrigued, Lin Yu grabbed his slippers and tossed them toward the cockroach. He was careful not to throw too hard, knowing that with his current speed, the slippers might punch a hole through the house. It would be risky, even though he could stop the flying slipper at a higher velocity.
The moment he released the slipper, it seemed to lose all gravitational pull and drifted slowly toward the suspended cockroach.
"This is incredible—bullet time!" Lin Yu thought as he watched the slipper float through the air, inching toward the cockroach. His mind raced with images from movies like X-Men: Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, where time seemed to slow down during crucial moments. He also thought about The Flash —particularly the scene where Barry Allen saved an entire city in the span of a second during a nuclear explosion. To Lin Yu, this was all too real.
Well, maybe the slippers didn't look as cool as the movie scenes... but the principle was the same!
He moved to the window, threw it open, and looked down at the street below. Sure enough, pedestrians and vehicles were frozen in place, as if someone had pressed "pause" on the world. It was as if everything in motion had been halted, only existing in a state of suspended animation.
Cars, which usually seemed like mundane objects, now appeared to be parked along the road. But the motorcycles, e-bikes, and bicycles—those were more fascinating. To Lin Yu, they appeared to defy gravity, their wheels locked in place as if nailed to the road. A motorcycle that had just turned a corner was now stuck at an impossible angle, as though time itself had frozen in place.
"Alright, time to get to work." Though Lin Yu couldn't resist the urge to explore, he reminded himself to focus. He turned to see that the small part of the kennel he had been cleaning earlier was still a mess. It was best to finish that task first.
Before getting started, Lin Yu glanced back at the slipper that had hit the cockroach. It was slowly floating through the air, still caught in the relative speed effect. He picked up the slipper and, after briefly admiring the scene, positioned himself between the cockroach and the window. Using the slipper as a makeshift racket, he knocked the cockroach out of the window with ease.
What followed was a blur of motion—the cockroach broke the sound barrier in an instant, soaring higher until it ignited from friction with the air, bursting into flames.
Lin Yu, staring at the slipper in his hand—now with a hole in it—said nothing. He simply tossed both slippers into the trash can.
"Let's get cleaning."
Shifting his focus back to normal speed, the apartment became a blur of movement, a whirl of white afterimages filling the space. Lin Yu moved with such speed that the air seemed to shimmer in his wake.
There were moments, however, when he had to slow down briefly to handle tasks that required precision—spraying disinfectant, squeezing toilet cleaner, filling the mop bucket. Even with his enhanced speed, those tasks took time, and Lin Yu adjusted accordingly.
Once the cleaning was done, he stopped for a moment, satisfied with the transformation of his once-messy apartment. It was now neat and fresh, the air crisp from the air freshener he had purchased earlier.
Looking at the clock, Lin Yu realized it had only taken him about two minutes. Of course, he could have finished faster, but he had paused several times to spray insecticide, disinfectant, and air freshener—waiting for the water to fill the mop bucket, making sure everything was done right.
Satisfied with the results, Lin Yu moved to his computer, not to shut it down. He usually started his day by opening Thunder and Baidu Cloud, beginning the long list of download tasks that had been waiting for days. But today, he had been delayed by too many distractions.
Opening the two programs, he initiated the downloads and turned off the screen. With a final glance around his freshly cleaned apartment, Lin Yu walked out.
He ascended to the roof of the building and took a deep breath of the city air, which, for some strange reason, felt much fresher today than usual. Maybe it was just his mood, or perhaps it was the thrill of his new abilities. Whatever the reason, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel as though he wanted to shout his newfound power to the heavens.