Chapter 11: Bait

On a supersonic aircraft specially approved by the Awakening Bureau, Yang Yi and several colleagues watched the Fire Demon on the screen with solemn expressions.

The aircraft flew at high altitude, with an endless sea of clouds below; occasionally mountains and rivers could be seen, and human cities were distributed across the plains like ant hills.

This was her first United Nations mission, and it was even a request for aid from Ark, one of the top nations on Earth—truly rare. She had thought that a country like Ark, when facing difficulties, would swallow its teeth and blood for the sake of face, after all, they always claimed to be the world hegemon. It seemed she had underestimated the thickness of their skin.

Besides Yang Yi, those who came this time included Bureau Chief Zhou Jian, Feng Liancheng, Chen Chen Yushu, and Wei Chang'an and Li Li Chengxuan, who had just completed a cleanup of anomalous creatures in the rainforests of Yun Province. Both were Grade B; one controlled air with magnetic fields, the other controlled water with magnetic fields.

"This Fire Demon suddenly appeared in the suburbs of Jin Shan, California. Experts suspect it is a randomly appearing spatial rift—such records have existed before, but never before has a sentient race appeared on Earth. This is the first case."

"Sentient race?" Yang Yi looked at the Fire Demon wreaking havoc in the center of Jin Shan. Although the armor on its body and the massive black blade in its hand were crude, there was no doubt they were the work of a sentient race.

How to distinguish a sentient race—using tools, making tools. The day humans learned to use tools, they separated themselves from animals.

"Has Ark tried to communicate with it?" Yang Yi asked.

"The moment the Fire Demon appeared, Ark tried to communicate with it using dozens of languages and auxiliary means. Unfortunately, the Fire Demon showed no reaction."

"Does it not understand, or does it simply not want to communicate?"

Feng Liancheng's hands flew over the laptop keyboard. Soon, the location where the Fire Demon first appeared and the footage appeared on the large screen.

"The Ark military can't be this useless, can they?" Li Li Chengxuan frowned deeply.

"The Fire Demon can use sound waves to trigger explosions in electrical equipment, and most modern weapons require electricity to operate. Moreover, this is in a densely populated city center. In an era where everyone is a self-media outlet, they dare not even launch hydrogen bombs or nuclear bombs at the city center. This is also the reason the Ark military is tied hand and foot."

Chief Zhou looked solemnly at his subordinates. "You are all elites of our bureau. Upon learning of this, your first thought should be: if such a monster appeared in our city, how should we respond? Why have we come with such a grand display of so many people this time? This is a rare learning opportunity, and also a rehearsal."

Everyone's expressions became solemn.

Who can guarantee that such a monster will not come to wreak havoc in their own country's city next time? How should they respond then?

"Especially you, Yang Yi. You are the main force this time." Chief Zhou looked at her solemnly.

Yang Yi opened her mouth but said nothing.

Seeming to know Yang Yi's concerns, Chief Zhou relaxed his facial expression: "Don't worry. I know you have no experience and have not received relevant training or guidance, but you did very well dealing with the sea monster last time. You have talent. Moreover, you are a precious special talent of our country. If the situation becomes impossible, prioritize your own safety."

He patted Yang Yi's shoulder. "Just treat this as training, to accumulate experience for the possibility that our country may encounter such a situation in the future."

"It is still more than an hour to the destination. Let's formulate a rescue plan."

About an hour later, the supersonic aircraft arrived in Ark.

Ark had received the information. Their supersonic aircraft had a clear path all the way, suffered no interception, and directly reached the airspace of Jin Shan.

—

The building where Jesse Kyle was located was split in half by the Fire Demon. Fortunately, the half where Jesse was located leaned against a nearby skyscraper and luckily did not topple, but the other half was not so lucky. Under the Fire Demon's massive black blade, that half of the building smashed onto the ground like a block of tofu, becoming a tomb for countless people.

Jesse clung tightly to the window railing, half his body dangling out the window, swaying in the air a hundred meters high. His leg had been broken by a table flying out the window; unable to leverage himself, his entire body weight rested on his arms.

He could not hold on much longer.

When the Fire Demon split the building, he personally saw the manager smashed out the window by an office desk, falling to the ground like a meat patty. The 33-year-old obese nerd in the next seat, being too fat, could not support his obese body with his weak hands. Even though he grabbed the window railing like him, he still could not hold on and fell, smashing out an even larger meat patty next to the boss's.

He truly regretted coming to work today. Why hadn't he taken leave and stayed home? Why wasn't he right near an air raid shelter?

Why did monsters suddenly appear in the city? Why was there an invasion of anomalous creatures? Why hadn't he awakened superpowers?

There were too many whys in the world, and today his whys were especially numerous.

His vision had already begun to blur. In his final moments, he did not want to blame heaven or complain about others. He thought of his girlfriend, Emma. Although she had a fiery temper—that broken dishwasher was because she couldn't close the door no matter how she tried when changing the detergent, so she just smashed it—Oh God, why was I thinking about that damn dishwasher right before I die!

His body dropped again, and his hands had gone numb, losing all sensation.

Suddenly, the entire earth trembled. The Fire Demon was besieged by countless missiles. It let out an angry roar as dozens of missiles exploded in the sky all at once, shaking the ground.

The half of the building's wreckage, originally leaning against the nearby skyscraper, slid toward the ground again during this tremor. Countless survivors who had struggled desperately screamed in despair.

"Oh God, save us!"

"No, I don't want to die!"

"Mom, Dad..."

Jesse looked weakly at the ground getting closer. "Finally, freedom," he thought.

Had Emma escaped to a safe place? He truly regretted not buying her a new dishwasher—no, damn dishwasher, he didn't want to be thinking about that thing in his final moments.

Finally, when he thought of the dishwasher for the Nth time in his mind, he seemed to sense something was wrong—why, after so long, had I not fallen to the ground yet?

He opened his eyes and saw his body suspended in mid-air. Countless people falling from the building floated in the air. The half of the building's wreckage, which should have crashed onto the street, now defied the laws of physics and slowly descended toward an empty square.

Then he and countless others, like willow catkins in the air, slowly descended to the ground.

Saved?

Jesse sat on the ground. He struggled to lean against a piece of rubble beside him and looked around, wanting to know what had happened.

"Look, in the sky! She saved us!"

"It's that Grade A Awakener!"

"Yes, it's her! She saved the United Nations last time!"

"Her name is Yang Yi!"

"Oh God, thank God!"

Clearly she had saved everyone, so why thank God? Jesse even had the leisure to think this.

He followed the direction everyone was pointing. In the distant sky, a figure stood. Her shoulder-length hair danced in the air, her arms spread wide, controlling invisible telekinesis to move people near the Fire Demon to safety.

"Oh God, she looks just like a god..."

Jesse turned his head. It was the receptionist from the company downstairs, a pretty girl. She gazed obsessively at that tiny figure in the sky, murmuring to herself.

A god? Jesse asked silently. Indeed, only a deity would possess such mighty power...

————

"The Xia Country rescue team has arrived. Please cooperate with our operations!"

The moment Chief Zhou arrived, he connected to the Ark military's communication channel. Unfortunately, the other side believed the United Nations rescue team should cooperate with Ark's operations, especially since the rescue team was entirely composed of Xia Country people.

Chief Zhou sneered and temporarily cut off the communication channel.

"Yang Yi, it's up to you. Show them how we rescue people."

Then, the scene that Jesse Kyle had witnessed unfolded.

"We have already evacuated the crowd near the target. Next, please coordinate with our attack!" Director Zhou reconnected the communication channel; this time, no one mentioned asking the Xia Nation rescue team to cooperate.

"Begin the baiting operation!"

Yang Yi flew near the Fire Demon. Looking at this giant before her, she felt shock for the first time in her life: her height reached only its forehead; its eyes were half the size of her body. Just its remaining horn was four or five times her length.

But to her own surprise, she felt no fear; the last time she faced the sea monster, she had felt the same calm.

It seemed these terrifying great monsters were merely harmless... ordinary objects, as common as the tables and chairs beside her.

Yet she was certain she had never seen these alien creatures anywhere before.

This inexplicable sense of familiarity made her feel at a loss and... panicked.

This panic even overshadowed the tension and excitement brought by facing a sentient alien creature for the first time.

The Fire Demon seemed to loathe this ant that had hurt it. It reached out to grab this sole flying creature, but quickly, it saw that tiny thing, no longer than its finger, raise both hands; its feet were tripped by invisible ropes, and its body fell involuntarily.

At the same time, armed aircraft circling far around took the opportunity to launch over a dozen missiles.

The Fire Demon braced itself against a building, stabilized its posture, opened its mouth, and prepared to roar again.

"Stop it!"

"Its roar can detonate the bombs prematurely!"

Crude Chinese came through the earpiece, carrying a strange accent typical of Westerners struggling to master Xia Nation speech tones.

Hearing this strange accent, Yang Yi could not help but frown.

"Feng Liancheng, clear the 'noise' from the communication channel!" Director Zhou said through gritted teeth.

The other party had directly "cut into" Yang Yi's communication channel and issued orders to Yang Yi; this was practically slapping Director Zhou in the face!

Yang Yi hid her baseless panic, kept a blank expression, and threw an invisible punch with her hand; the flesh on the Fire Demon's face suddenly caved in, struck by an invisible heavy object carrying the force of a thousand pounds.

This punch drove the unspoken roar back into its throat, and its head involuntarily tilted.

Immediately, over a dozen missiles arrived, exploding on its body with countless sparks and chunks of flesh.

Areas not covered by armor were riddled with wounds; some were deep enough to expose bone. Its blood was red like a human's, yet it radiated a scorching heat like molten lava.

The Fire Demon cried out in pain; this was the first time it had made a sound other than a roar. Its voice was deep, carrying a peculiar rise and fall, like an oath or a curse.

Was this a language of their race?

Accompanied by the curse, the Fire Demon began to roar again. Yang Yi's eardrums stung sharply; she immediately threw the earpiece away. The earpiece, no larger than a fingernail, sparked a few times in the air and went dead.

Yang Yi's mission was to draw hatred, to use herself as "bait," and to lure the giant toward the beach, where traps were being prepared.

When she flew to within ten-plus meters of the giant's face, Yang Yi delivered a barrage of invisible punches to its face from a distance, then turned and flew toward the beach.

The enraged Fire Demon followed closely behind.