Chapter 14: The Taste of Power

On the beach of Jin Shan, the corpse fragments of the Fire Demon were all collected into the cold storage.

Last night, the Xia Country Ministry of Foreign Affairs rushed over overnight to urgently negotiate with the Aka Country regarding the distribution of the corpse fragments. Especially the ownership of that black giant blade sparked huge controversy between Xia Country and the Aka side.

The blade is over 30 meters long, with its widest part exceeding 5 meters, made of unknown material, and immune to high temperatures—the blue-purple flames unleashed during the Fire Demon's final moment of madness reached nearly ten thousand degrees, yet the black giant blade remained undamaged. Moreover, instrument tests revealed the blade contains an unknown, immense energy.

Everyone knows this is a good thing, and no one is willing to let go.

Currently, both sides remain deadlocked.

————

Yang Yi tried to minimize her presence.

She wasted an entire day in her hotel room and snagged two free luxury lunches and dinners.

She did not want to go out because, upon turning on the television or the internet, all news and programs were reporting on yesterday's Fire Demon incident.

The post-disaster Jin Shan City was in ruins; reporters and busybodies stood at yesterday's battle site, their feet on vast stretches of glass spanning several miles—formed by the Fire Demon's scorching heat the day before.

Yang Yi's face appeared in all news footage; one could say that everyone in the world now knew her.

In the internet age, the Earth is a village; whatever happens in one corner of the village, the whole village knows within a day.

The next day, Iris respectfully reminded her that many international brands had called the front desk, asking if they could speak with her.

"What do they want? Do they want me to advertise for them..." Yang Yi held a bowl of ice cream, sitting on the terrace, enjoying the cool breeze.

"They said they are willing to provide you with clothing, jewelry, and a full set of styling design services for tomorrow's banquet free of charge."

The Aka Country is holding a gratitude banquet tomorrow, which will be attended by upper-class figures and celebrities from all sectors of the Aka Country. Somehow news leaked out, and those brand owners, like sharks smelling blood, have set their sights on her—well, thinking about it carefully, she is indeed the biggest "traffic star" right now.

Those people found out she was staying here; unable to reach her by phone, they called the hotel front desk, and the front desk transferred the call to Iris.

Thinking of those beautiful clothes and jewelry, she felt a tiny flutter of desire, but then she thought of her current identity—she is a civil servant now! Refusing extravagance starts with me! She then firmly refused: "No need, thank you."

"Okay."

"Wait, uh—" Yang Yi bit the metal spoon, "Do they have any Xia Country brands?"

Who doesn't love beautiful clothes?

"Yes, Xia Country's haute couture brands LILAN and JX, Weture, and GraceWu are also willing to provide you with haute couture clothing, jewelry, and styling design services."

"Oh, I see." She immediately called Feng Liancheng to talk about this, and finally asked: "Can I wear their clothes? Are there any rules for civil servants prohibiting the wearing of luxury goods?"

Feng Liancheng laughed upon hearing this: "No problem, you're not becoming their spokesperson... Although we advocate refusing extravagance, this is a national-level banquet, so naturally, one must be dignified and presentable. Since they are providing it for free, just wear it if you want."

Yang Yi called Iris again: "Then let's go with LILAN!"

"Okay, I will notify them immediately."

It was not until 2 PM when the phone rang, waking her from a beautiful afternoon nap, that she realized what a high-quality full set of services meant.

"What? They have already arrived?"

"Yes, they chartered a private jet urgently from Xincheng and are now waiting in the lounge for your audience," Iris said respectfully.

Since she had been woken up and couldn't sleep anymore, she might as well start.

When she saw Iris leading a group of people, along with hotel waiters carrying more than ten boxes inside, Yang Yi finally felt that something seemed off.

"Miss Yang..." A capable blonde woman with blue eyes stood before her, suppressing her excitement, seemingly unsure how to address her, "My name is Emily, and I am the branch manager of LILAN in Aka. Ms. Li was extremely excited upon learning you chose our brand, but she is currently in Xia Country and cannot fly over in time, so I am here to conduct this service."

Emily spoke fluent Chinese and had the slender figure appropriate for the fashion industry.

The Ms. Li she mentioned is Li Lan, a famous Xia Country designer renowned globally, who founded the haute couture brand LILAN.

A curly-haired, brown-skinned man also excitedly leaned in, stammering his self-introduction: "I am Roman, your image designer and makeup artist for this occasion..." He spoke the first sentence in broken Xia Country language, but then, unable to suppress his excitement any longer, a string of Aka language poured out: "I saw what you did on the news, it was simply too cool... When dealing with the Fire Demon, you were like a deity..."

Yang Yi's Aka language was average; she simply said thank you and maintained a polite smile.

Fortunately, no one objected to her being taciturn; it seemed as though she was naturally supposed to be aloof.

"Why are there so many things?" Yang Yi finally asked.

"I apologize for the tight schedule; this is only a part of it; we couldn't bring more clothes," Emily explained apologetically to Yang Yi while directing staff to hang nearly a hundred dresses on racks.

Perhaps our understanding of "many" and "few" differs, Yang Yi thought.

Makeup artist Roman brought three huge makeup cases; there were a hundred lipsticks alone.

Everyone was busy, preparing to make a big scene.

Yang Yi didn't know how to explain to them that she just wanted to wear one free, beautiful piece of clothing.

She thought they would at most send her a few pictures, she would choose one, and they would "ship it free" to her, just like Xia Country express delivery.

"Ahem—ahem—" Yang Yi coughed lightly to draw everyone's attention; she looked apologetic: "Thank you all for coming specifically, but I am a bit tired and want more time to rest, so—"

She stopped speaking, though her meaning was not fully expressed.

"Yes, yes. We understand; you saved the entire Jin Shan City almost single-handedly, so you must be very tired. We guarantee the makeup trial will end very quickly!" Emily hurriedly assured.

Even so, the fitting and makeup trial did not end until 8 PM; Yang Yi went from being initially enthusiastic to later bored, like a scumbag who married a beautiful wife and quickly grew tired of her.

She directly selected a simple and dignified blue dress that would never go wrong in any occasion; the stylist paired it with a set of simple sapphire jewelry. Emily and Roman, still unsatisfied, packed up the items with the staff and left.

Finally eating dinner, Yang Yi casually remarked: "There are quite a few people in the Aka Country who speak Xia Country language!"

Liu Liu Siyuan, conducting his routine food inspection, chuckled upon hearing this: "At your current level, anyone wanting to contact you or sent to contact you, knowing Xia Country language is the bare minimum."

Yang Yi was stunned, then couldn't help but laugh.

As long as you stand high enough, everything revolves around you silently, nourishing things without sound; you don't even feel any deliberate flattery; everything is so natural.

At this moment, for the first time in her life, she tasted the byproduct of power—the wonderful taste of rights.

————

The next day, the gratitude banquet was held at the Liston Hotel.

This was a banquet with strong political overtones; besides Aka Country official figures, the guests invited included the president of the Jin Shan City Post-Disaster Reconstruction Foundation and various big shots and celebrities who donated.

"Truly eye-opening, the dress is very beautiful." As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, Feng Liancheng, standing by the elevator, exclaimed, "Indeed, it lives up to LILAN's haute couture."

"The dress is very beautiful, and I am very ordinary, right?" Yang Yi casually made a joke.

Unexpectedly, Yang Yi actually initiated a joke with him; Feng Liancheng felt a surge of joy in his heart—only acquaintances joke with each other, especially someone with Yang Yi's introverted personality. She always treated everyone with a detached attitude; does this mean she considers him a friend?

"Nothing of the sort. The dress is just a foil for you — you're the main character. I daresay the entire banquet came for your sake." Feng Liancheng's expression was sincere, his tone exaggerated.

Yang Yi looked up, and sure enough, the moment her figure appeared, everyone at the banquet looked her way. Countless people in sharp Western suits and dazzling jewelry aimed their gazes at her, and instantly she became the focus of the room.

Yang Yi felt a little awkward inside, but on the surface she was steady as an old dog.

She calmly gave those gazes a faint smile, putting on the grand, generous bearing of someone from Xia Nation, then very naturally turned her head to look at Feng Liancheng: "I'm half regretting coming."

"No, you absolutely won't regret it." Feng Liancheng's words carried a hidden meaning.

A fair-skinned young man stepped forward to introduce himself. "Captain Yang, I'm Zhang Mu, sent by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Just call me Xiao Zhang. Today I'll be serving as your interpreter — it's a great honor to be of service to you."

The young man's attitude was flattered, as if being able to interpret for her were a great glory. This gave Yang Yi a strange feeling. Three days ago, a young elite of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs like him would have been far beyond the reach of a salted fish like her, yet now he stood before her, nervous and reverent.

Yang Yi nodded her thanks and asked Feng Liancheng, "Do I need to do anything today?"

"Nothing at all. Do whatever you want." Feng Liancheng shrugged. "Your arrival alone has given this banquet more than enough face."

Yang Yi immediately understood her purpose here — to declare her stance, and incidentally to put on a show for Xia Nation in the contest for the Fire Demon's legacy; everything else was secondary.

"What about Chen Chen Yushu, Wei Chang'an, and Li Li Chengxuan? Are their injuries still not healed?"

Among the Xia Nation Awakeners who had come along, she was the one least injured, but compared to the Awakeners of Aka Nation, whose casualties had been heavy, the three of them could already be counted as lightly wounded.

"Them? Their physical injuries are fine. The main thing is, compared with you, the blow to their hearts was too great. They flew back this morning on their own to train." Feng Liancheng laughed heartily. "I told them — what are you comparing with her for? It's like ordinary people insisting on comparing themselves with Einstein. Aren't you just asking for misery? Look at me — my Awakened ability is the most useless D-rank Clairvoyance. As long as you keep an even mindset, your mental endurance naturally goes up."

This was a topic Yang Yi couldn't easily pick up, so she could only laugh it off with small talk: "If you're going to compare hacking skills with me, then I'm out of my depth. We just need to shine in the fields we're good at."

"Now that's the spirit!" Feng Liancheng stuck up a thumb.

Through Director Zhou's introductions, Yang Yi met a pile of people she'd forget in the blink of an eye — a certain governor, the mayor of Jin Shan, the vice mayor, the chairman of the Jin Shan Post-Disaster Reconstruction Foundation, this chief, that chief, this CEO, that president — all manner of lofty titles.

Fortunately, all she had to do was keep a smile behind Director Zhou, occasionally lift her champagne for a small sip, and even if she said nothing at all, maintaining a cool, aloof persona, everything was simple.

Mainly, no one deliberately made things hard for her.

When she showed even a hint of interest in some topic, everyone around would make that topic more amusing and witty; if her face showed boredom, someone would immediately steer the conversation elsewhere. And if some reporter trying to make a splash asked aggressive, pointed questions — such annoying people were never in short supply in the West — the moment she showed the slightest displeasure, someone would eagerly step in to hand her a way out, politely deflect, and that sharp questioner would be quietly edged out of the conversational circle.

Everyone spontaneously revolved around her; everything around her was so harmonious, as natural as planets orbiting a star, never causing her the slightest discomfort.

This was paradise for the socially anxious introvert, and she was getting a little giddy.

No wonder everyone loves power — the wonderful taste of it was making her almost dizzy with delight.

"How is it? Getting a little bored?" Director Zhou said, seizing a moment.

"Everyone's been very friendly. Not too hard to endure." Yang Yi took a sip of champagne.

"Ha — how could they not be friendly? A human-shaped nuclear bomb is planted right here."

"True! Ha..." Yang Yi laughed too.

As they laughed, a man walked up to her. He seemed vaguely familiar — she'd just met him. He rattled on in some incomprehensible language, but Yang Yi could barely hear him; her gaze was entirely fixed on the person behind him.

Chris Norton.

The object of her fangirl infatuation.