Chapter 119: Hou Jue of Essex

Yang Yi struggled to her feet and shouted harshly, "Thomas! There is another monster! Quickly take the two children and leave!"

The bat monster, discovering its nest had been invaded, shrieked and dove fiercely from the sky.

The entire forest was pressed down by the wind pressure it raised, exposing Yang Yi and Thomas.

"Bang-bang-bang—" Three gunshots rang out.

The bat monster's form wavered in the air before it crashed into the forest not far away.

"Go quickly! It's injured!" Three police officers rushed in from outside the forest.

Yang Yi let out a sigh of relief but did not lower her guard, leaning against the large tree behind her to catch her breath.

A moment later, a huge, dark figure flew up in the distance and fled at high speed, dripping blood.

"Who killed that dead bat monster?" A middle-aged police officer stepped forward and asked.

His gaze swept around before settling on Yang Yi, who was covered in blood.

Yang Yi could only nod. "It was me."

"Miss, are you an Awakened?"

"Yes." Yang Yi unconsciously touched her own face, fearing she would be recognized.

"A Body System Awakened? What level?" the middle-aged police officer asked again.

Thomas handed the two children to two other police officers, strode over, and said, "Hey, she is not your prisoner! She saved two children; how can you interrogate a hero like this?"

"Mr., do not be nervous; it is just a routine interrogation." The middle-aged police officer looked at Yang Yi again; perhaps Westerners all looked alike to Easterners, he examined her carefully for a moment. "You look somewhat familiar..."

The middle-aged police officer frowned, thinking hard.

Yang Yi tensed and straightened her back; she did not want to be recognized. At present, she had lost her powerful telekinesis; if she were discovered, what awaited her would not be a glorious and safe return to her country, but some kind of secret human experimentation.

She never hesitated to speculate with the utmost malice about others, especially in a situation where alien creatures were rampant and the world was in a state of panic.

Thomas suddenly grabbed her hand, looked the middle-aged police officer in the eye, and said, "Officer, I am Thomas de Essex; this lady is the bodyguard I hired."

"His Grace, the Hou Jue of Essex?" The middle-aged police officer was startled, his attention shifting to Thomas. "Why are you here?"

"Timms Town is my place of seclusion." Thomas glanced at him arrogantly, as if disdainful of answering his question. "For any questions, please contact the Essex Group Public Relations Department."

Saying this, Thomas half-supported Yang Yi's body and left on his own.

Thomas looked down and asked her, "How are your injuries? I will contact a doctor immediately."

Yang Yi said in a low voice, "No need; I have healing abilities." After a few seconds of silence, she added, "Thank you."

Since killing the black panther, she had discovered that her body seemed to have opened up; the epiphany in the forest last time was a switch, comprehensively enhancing her five senses, physical reflexes, healing ability, speed, and strength.

If it were her before killing the black panther, having the bat monster's five fingers pierce her body would probably have killed her. But this time, she healed even faster.

They walked in silence together for a few minutes before Yang Yi suddenly turned toward the direction of the bat monster's corpse, and Thomas followed.

Thus, he watched with his own eyes as Yang Yi wiped away every trace of blood she had left on the bat monster's corpse; finally, still uneasy, she asked, "Did you bring a lighter?"

Thomas took out a lighter and tossed it to her.

Yang Yi used fire to burn away all her traces until nothing could be found; only then did she feel relieved, and before the police arrived, she and Thomas quickly left.

Back at home, Thomas helped her into the bedroom.

With a cold face, he spoke arrogantly and from a superior position: "So—you now know my identity. If you have anything you wish to help with..."

"No." Yang Yi replied quickly.

Thomas was choked up, turned around, and was about to leave.

"May I ask—" Yang Yi hesitated and called out to stop him.

Thomas immediately stopped in his tracks, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, but they quickly flattened again; when he turned back, he had already resumed his cold demeanor.

He raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

"May I ask, when you hired a doctor for me last time, where did you dispose of the bloodstains left behind?" Yang Yi asked uneasily.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Thomas gritted his teeth. "They should have been uniformly incinerated at the garbage recycling station." He squeezed the words out between his teeth.

"Are you sure?" Yang Yi asked again.

Thomas paused in his speech. "I will have someone investigate secretly." He deliberately stressed the word "secretly."

Yang Yi looked at him with some unease.

"What? Are you doubting me?" Thomas immediately shouted, his brown-green eyes filled with anger. He bitterly sneered, "What? Do you think I would use your DNA for something? You are just an ordinary Body System Awakened; you might not even be rated as Class C. If I wanted to do something, why would I not choose those who are more powerful?"

This attitude actually reassured Yang Yi; she smiled brightly. "True; I was worrying unnecessarily." Looking at Thomas's cold face, she deliberately imitated the middle-aged police officer's tone and said, "Thank you, His Grace, the Hou Jue of Essex."

Thomas swept his sleeve and left.

In fact, Yang Yi asked that question only for peace of mind; even if someone obtained her DNA and, breaking through existing cloning technology, cloned an identical Yang Yi, it would be useless—because her powerful telekinesis came from a fragment of an evil god parasitizing her body.

As for herself, even if awakened, she was nothing more than a waste whose telekinetic level could not reach Class D. Even her current physical abilities were the result of modification by dark matter, the Breeding Race, and the Life Source together.

She let out a cold laugh, not knowing whether she was mocking others or herself.

Locking the door behind her, she prepared to take off her clothes and wash away the blood and filth on her body.

Thinking of the bat monster, her heart grew heavy; she turned around, turned on the television, switched to the international news channel, and wanted to see the situation regarding the harm caused by alien creatures.

"... According to statistics, the number of people who perished in the nuclear explosion and the Sky Altar has reached over five million, and the count is still ongoing..."

"... The British Prince has returned to the country... hastily ascended the throne... strongly condemned Chief of Defence Staff Tony Carter... chaos has erupted in the newly established British cabinet... Chief of Defence Staff Tony Carter has been impeached..."

"... The only Class S Awakened, Yang Yi, has been missing for eight days; current search efforts are still underway..."

"... The world's number one terrorist, Wade, remains at large; the Divine Punishment Organization has gone silent... multiple civilian superpower organizations have made secret contact with the Divine Punishment Organization..."

"... If another Sky Altar incident occurs, can existing national forces protect the people from harm?..."

"... Apart from Class S, do we have no way to stop this kind of nation-destroying disaster?..."

Voices from various countries, various international news channels, various forces, and various political tendencies echoed continuously in the room; the light from the television screen shone on Yang Yi's face, flickering between light and dark.

Recently, she had grown accustomed to these news reports.

She watched silently, casually tossing the blood-stained, filthy clothes aside, then picked up the remote and switched to the Xia Kingdom International Television Channel.

"... We have not yet given up the search for Yang Yi. Five special rescue teams and relevant experts from the domestic side have been dispatched to the capital of the Britannia Kingdom..."

"... The crisis of anomalous creatures within the country remains severe. We call on the broad masses of the people to gather in groups as much as possible and avoid places with few inhabitants..."

"... An A-rank anomalous creature hazard occurred near Luzhou City in Hui Province. Awakened squads: the Fierce Tiger Squad, the Sharp Blade Squad, and the Eagle Squad have arrived in Luzhou..."