Chapter 10: Fire Demon

"Whatever. The organization sends me anywhere, I go anywhere." Yang Yi shrugged indifferently. "I'm just a brick—wherever it's needed, I'm moved there."

Feng Liancheng couldn't help laughing. "You're a big star now, a real treasure. If we'd known your true strength earlier, the director would never have let you go to the United Nations to lend prestige. Now he's regretting it! He's trying to negotiate a swap with the UN, but they're strongly opposing it—right now they're just bickering, haha—"

In a moment of sudden realization, Yang Yi had the strange illusion that she had become some secret manual or divine weapon from a wuxia novel, with every martial artist in the world vying for her.

"Rest for now," Feng Liancheng smiled. "If you want to buy anything, the supermarket downstairs has everything. Even if they don't have it, just tell the manager—it'll usually arrive by tomorrow. If you want to go out, just call Liu Siyuan—he's your dedicated assistant and driver from now on. For anything else, contact Director Zhou or Deputy Director Zheng directly." He added, "Your level of treatment is unique in the bureau—even those who joined a year earlier and made great contributions don't get this."

Yang Yi rubbed her nose and grinned sheepishly. "How can I possibly accept this?"

"No need to feel awkward. Not even considering your abilities, just for saving the people of Haibei City and achieving major success at the United Nations—if you don't deserve this, no one does."

Feng Liancheng left. Yang Yi stood alone by the living room window, staring blankly at the distant park.

Feeling the room was too quiet, she turned on the TV. It was airing a special report on Awakened Ones. She switched channels. A serious-faced anchor was explaining the dangers of alien biological incursions, urging the public to immediately report any anomalies via the dedicated hotline.

She switched again to a legal program. It reported a man who, after awakening, went on a murderous rampage for personal gain, causing massive social disruption. His final outcome? Legally executed—shot.

She pressed the remote again. This time it was a feel-good story: an Awakened One saved a little girl falling from a high-rise window and received awards from local government and businesses.

The anchor smiled warmly and asked a primary school student, "If you awakened, what would you do?"

The child beamed. "Having superpowers is so cool! If I awakened, I'd use my powers to help everyone!"

She switched again: "Strengthen public security regulations, guide social morals..."

From this series of news reports, Yang Yi sensed the government was trying to normalize the existence of Awakened Ones, making the very act of awakening seem ordinary—consistent with the fundamental policy of "maintaining stability."

Something seemed to have changed. Yet everything still felt the same.

This familiar feeling comforted her. She disliked change. She preferred a steady, quiet life—even if it sometimes felt like stagnant water with no ripples. Following a fixed routine gave her security.

Everything happened in order, everything followed patterns, everything could be handled with logic and reason. She liked this sense of certainty.

Of course, as a young girl, she often had various fantasies.

Sometimes she imagined doing nothing at all—just giving up completely.

She fantasized about renting a mountain deep in the wilderness, raising chickens, ducks, and pigs, growing crops, flowers, and fruit. With her telekinesis, even cultivating thousands of acres or raising tens of thousands of poultry would be easy.

Far from the world, no conflicts, free time to read books and tend flowers—what a perfect life!

Of course, she also dreamed of being the hero who saves the damsel, of princes and princesses living happily ever after.

Occasionally, she indulged in the fantasy of ruling Earth—or the universe—becoming the ultimate protagonist of a web novel. But then she remembered how exhausting and tedious that would be, and quickly abandoned it. She admitted she had no ambition; she couldn't find satisfaction in such things.

Fundamentally, she was still a lazy fish.

After aimlessly daydreaming for a while, she felt hungry and decided to go downstairs to the supermarket for something to eat.

On the way down, she met someone she knew in the elevator—Chen Yushu.

They weren't really acquaintances—just that Chen Yushu had sat beside her during the UN meeting, and they'd exchanged a few words.

Chen Yushu was quiet and reserved. When he saw Yang Yi enter, he raised his eyebrows slightly, then lowered them again without greeting her.

The elevator was too quiet. Yang Yi gathered courage and politely said, "You live in this building too?"

"Mm."

Chen Yushu answered briefly. Silence fell again in the elevator.

Yang Yi felt awkward and forced conversation: "Which floor do you live on?"

"Seventh."

"Where are you going?"

"Training ground."

Yang Yi fell silent. Their exchange wasn't small talk—it felt like an interrogation. It wasn't just her who felt awkward; she was the only one trying to break the ice.

Fortunately, the elevator reached the first floor. She stepped out quickly.

As she walked toward the supermarket, her phone rang—it was Director Zhou. Before she could even say "Hello," he dumped a flood of information on her, leaving her stunned.

————

Jesse Kyle listened to the insults on the other end of the line, silently yawned, shrugged, and hung up as the caller slammed the phone down.

He was a stockbroker. His job every day was calling people browsing stock info online, pitching them his company's recommended stocks.

Honestly, the job was soul-crushing. Most of his time was spent listening to strangers curse at him. He'd long wanted to quit, but the high cost of living in Jinshan City had forced him to endure this awful job for two full years—he'd grown numb to the insults.

These past few days, the UN's release of Awakened One data had excited him. On the day it was published, he went to his usual hiking hill and spent the whole day experimenting—trying to shoot spider webs like Spider-Man, imagining heat vision like Superman, even acting like a madman with a stick pretending to be Harry Potter. By sunset, he realized he probably hadn't awakened any powers at all.

Well, at least the news said everyone had a chance to awaken. Maybe it just hadn't happened yet?

Jesse Kyle lazily stretched his feet onto his desk, hugging the phone. He still had 129 calls left to make today. Last week, because he hadn't made enough calls, his damn manager docked his commission—so he couldn't buy the new dishwasher he wanted. The old one had been broken for a month; his roommate Emma had nagged his ears raw.

Just as he was about to dial the next number, the building shuddered. The ceiling lights flickered and went out. The computer screens went black.

"FXXK! What's going on? I was working on a critical report!"

The manager burst out of his glass-walled office, furious like a bull—but no one paid him any attention.

Everyone rushed to the windows, staring outside. A massive, flaming creature was slowly walking toward the city center. The entire city trembled beneath its footsteps.

"Oh God, what is that?"

"Is this the end of the world?"

"Is that the alien lifeform from the news? How is it so huge? Why is it in the city?"

"Oh God, save your sheep..."

Countless people in Jinshan City crossed themselves, praying for divine salvation—they'd never been so devout.

But God seemed not to hear. Outside, the monster—call it a Fire Giant, a Fire Demon—continued walking toward the city center. To it, the pace seemed slow. To humans, it was as fast as a car.

Jesse Kyle's office was on the 23rd floor. At eye level, he could only see the monster's chest. Only when he craned his neck could he see its full form.

On either side of its head were two enormous horns. Its eyes glowed red, as if not eyes at all, but two pools of swirling magma.

It wore armor made of flowing flame, covering only its chest, back, and groin. Its powerful arms and thighs were bare. In its hand it held a crude, massive black blade.

Five armed helicopters circled it at a distance, firing relentlessly. Machine-gun fire rained down—but not even a scratch marred its skin.

The Fire Demon reached out to swat away these annoying flies. The five helicopters darted away. When it resumed walking toward the bustling city, they circled again and resumed firing.

They'd received orders: their only goal was to delay it until reinforcements arrived.

This cycle repeated two or three times. Finally, the Fire Demon grew impatient. It opened its tooth-filled maw and let out a low, guttural roar. The sound wave stirred some invisible substance in the air—the five helicopters exploded midair. The pilots never had time to eject. Debris rained down, burning and smoking.

The Fire Demon lifted its foot again. Power lines sparked and crackled beneath its steps.

"What kind of monster is this?" Jesse Kyle heard the manager mutter.

"It's heading straight for us!"

With each step the Fire Demon took, the ground shook harder. The building swayed more frequently.

"We have to run!"

"How? The elevator's dead. We're on the 23rd floor—there's no way we can make it down the stairs in time!"

"I need to call my mom. I probably won't be home for dinner tonight..." Jesse turned to see his neighbor Vito—a fat, lazy shut-in who was 33 and still living with his parents.

Jesse wondered whether he should call Emma, to tell her he'd never get that dishwasher she wanted.

At that moment, dozens of "Apache" armed helicopters flew in from afar, carrying short-range missiles. This time they'd learned their lesson: they didn't approach closely, but circled the Fire Demon three kilometers away.

"Hellfire missiles—ready to fire!"

"...5—4—3—2—1—FIRE..."

Dozens of missiles, each 160 centimeters long, spun toward the Fire Demon.

Simultaneously, countless new "Hummingbird" drones surged toward the monster like moths into flame.

People on nearby buildings cheered excitedly. Every phone in Jinshan City received a text alert: "Evacuate all buildings and ground areas immediately. Seek shelter in nearby underground air raid shelters!"

The Fire Demon seemed to possess some intelligence. Seeing the missiles and drones approaching, it sensed these small things carried immense power. Earlier, the sand-like projectiles had brushed its skin, bringing a long-forgotten itch—these stones were bigger.

The Fire Demon grew irritated. It roared, and a ring of flame erupted around it, doubling its size. Everything within its radius burned to ash.

Dozens of missiles and Hummingbird drones exploded within the flames—none completed their missions.

But three slipped through. One struck its chest armor. One hit its arm. One struck its horn.

In the explosions, the Fire Demon clutched its head. Magma-like blood seeped between its fingers. Its arm bore a circular wound.

Looking at its wounds, it couldn't believe it. Its molten eyes grew dull with disbelief.

Seeing the attack had worked, the Apaches launched their next volley—dozens more missiles hurtled toward the monster.

The Fire Demon roared again. An invisible sonic wave surged outward. The wave, like an unseen tidal surge, struck the helicopters three kilometers away. They instantly burst into sparks and smoke.

This time, prepared, the pilots ejected before the planes exploded. Parachutes drifted slowly down.

"Requesting backup! Requesting backup! Target can trigger explosions via sonic waves! Machines cannot approach! Machines cannot approach!"

"Requesting backup! Requesting backup! Target is advancing toward Jinshan City center! Evacuate civilians immediately! Evacuate civilians immediately!"

The Fire Demon, enraged by these ants' behavior, began to run. It needed to vent its fury. In the stone houses ahead—shorter than its height—lived countless ants.

It charged toward the city center. The ground shifted from trembling to violent shaking.

Tall buildings rose around it. The Fire Demon raised its black blade and brought it down hard. A 40-story building split cleanly in half like a block of tofu. Countless ants screamed as they tumbled from the collapsing structure.

The massacre had only just begun.