Chapter 2: The World is Changing

Xincheng, Akka Country, United Nations Headquarters Building, 23rd-floor conference hall.

Seats of various nations are arranged in a fan shape, with the five permanent members each occupying five chairperson seats.

On the central stage sit several big shots commonly seen in political news; whenever any one of them appears on the news, it signifies a stormy international situation, representing that one country is about to cooperate, dispute, or clash with another, requiring negotiation, confrontation, and exchange of interests.

When these big shots from different nations gather together at once, the atmosphere becomes exceptionally solemn.

Under normal circumstances, reporters would surely point their cameras at this scene, frantically snapping shutters and writing the most explosive political news of the year.

However, at this moment, these political figures who turn the world upside down are completely ignored. All gazes focus on a young girl within the Xia Country camp.

She wears a black suit jacket over an oversized white shirt and black suit trousers, yet on her feet are a pair of white canvas shoes. She is somewhat thin, and the suit does not fit well, as if she were hastily stuffed into a suit case and temporarily transported here.

She strives to maintain a poker face, making herself appear less timid, less unfamiliar, and less immature; at first glance, she truly seems somewhat calm and collected, only revealing a hint of confusion when she blinks occasionally.

Facing the flickering lenses and countless burning gazes, she pretends to flip through documents, yet her shoulders slump down, wishing she could slide entirely under the chair.

"I think everyone has read the materials in their hands enough. Therefore, there is no need to waste time."

United Nations Secretary-General Shahid puts down the documents, picks up a remote control, and presses a button; a huge holographic projection appears above the conference hall, finally drawing people's attention.

Yang Yi quietly sighs in relief and presses her back against the chair back.

Feng Liancheng, a colleague she has known for only one day, pats her shoulder comfortingly, and she returns a forced smile.

"The first confirmed incident of alien creature invasion: May 9, 2022, a chicken farm in the suburbs of Guatemala City. Overnight, all the chickens on the farm were eaten, and the farm owner's family of four were gnawed clean, leaving only scattered limbs and feces.

"Subsequent analysis of the feces and suspected saliva components revealed a creature never before seen on Earth. Based on the traces it left, it can be inferred that it has about eight legs and stands approximately four meters tall. Its limbs are very flexible, allowing it to easily climb freely on high-rise buildings. To this day, no one has caught this monster."

"June 2022, Manas City, Brazil, the tropical rainforest strangler vine incident; 351 people have already died..."

Yang Yi, attracted by these strange events, gradually sits upright and focuses all her attention on the holographic projection.

"February 6, 2023, Congo, Africa, the 'Smiling Mushroom Incident' caused 604 deaths. Tourists who returned from a tribe in Africa all died mysteriously. They suddenly died in their sleep with mysterious smiles on their faces. In the following days, beautiful mushrooms grew on the bodies of the deceased, and everyone who saw these mushrooms also died in the same way. Following the tourists' routes, this fungus spread to all parts of the world, with people dying one after another, causing panic in various countries..."

"June 26, 2023, Bri City, Australia, the zombie cannibalism incident..."

"September 18, 2023, Myanmar, Asia, the jade mine supernatural incident..."

"2024, that is, March of this year, the Pacific giant crab ship-attacking incident. The giant crab attacked passing cruise ships and cargo vessels, causing nearly a thousand casualties and direct economic losses exceeding 20 billion Card dollars.

March 27, 2024, Xia Country and Akka Country, under the guise of a joint military exercise, killed the giant crab in the Pacific. In this operation, two submarines, three cruisers, and eight small vessels were lost, leading to rumors that two superpowers were engaging in firefights in the Pacific and that a Third World War was about to break out in full..."

The battle scenes flashing briefly on the holographic screen were shocking enough to rival any sci-fi blockbuster; the giant crab's figure was simply too large for the screen to contain.

Yang Yi watched with a racing heart; if she had encountered this giant crab yesterday, she would probably have only been able to flee in panic.

"According to expert research, the timing of the alien creature invasions coincides roughly with the dark matter eruptions detected by the 'United Nations Dark Matter and Space Astronomy Key Laboratory'.

"The appearance of Awakened Ones occurred slightly later, about a year after the dark matter eruptions. Experts speculate this is because certain cells in the human body require continuous stimulation from dark matter to mutate at a certain critical point, thereby awakening superpowers."

As it concerns herself, Yang Yi holds her breath and listens intently to the speech on stage.

"Starting last year, people with superpowers have appeared one after another around the world; people call them Awakened Ones. Statistical analysis shows that Awakened Ones are roughly divided into two categories: one is physical mutation, where they either have a comprehensive improvement in all aspects of their body or a specific organ undergoes alienation. Currently, the most powerful physical mutator has physical fitness five times that of a top athlete and ten times that of an ordinary person.

"The other type is field mutators, who can control the force field within a certain range around them. Depending on the nature of the force field, there are air, water, fire, metal, electricity, temperature, light, gravity, etc.

"Statistics show that for field mutators, the maximum control range is about 5 meters around the body, with the furthest distance reaching 10-15 meters. The rule is: the closer to oneself, the stronger the control; the farther from one's own range, the weaker the control."

"Awakened Ones are distributed between the ages of 10 and 60, with most falling around 16-25 years old."

"Latest news: May 20, 2024, coastal Haibei City, Yue West Province, Xia Country, a sea monster attacked tourists. According to footage captured by tourists present, this sea monster was about 20 meters tall, resembling an octopus, possessed water-controlling abilities, and could raise huge waves. It was later lured into the sea by Xia Country's telekinetic Awakened One, Yang Yi..."

Under the burning gazes of political dignitaries and reporters from various nations in the United Nations General Assembly Hall, Yang Yi's shoulders slowly slumped down, and her body slid back into the chair again.

Here it comes, here it comes, finally talking about me... What is there to say about this? And why put me alone at the very end? Yang Yi kept complaining in her heart; her left hand pretended to fix her hair, conveniently covering her face, while her body shrank further into the chair.

On the holographic screen, a giant octopus monster emerged from the sea level, waving countless tentacles, crawling toward the crowds on the beach. The panicked crowds, screams, exclamations, and cries drowned out the waves.

Even knowing this was a recording, the realism brought by the holographic screen, along with the ferocious, massive figure of the octopus monster, forced some people to involuntarily step back.

The octopus monster had an oval head, surrounded by a ring of eyes, waving its tentacles in a menacing display.

Several tourists were snatched up by tentacles, about to be thrown into the monster's giant mouth, when an invisible immense force severed the tentacles, transporting the tourists to safety by an unseen power.

Only then did the panicked people see a figure flying rapidly through the sky in the distance.

The octopus monster, injured and extremely furious, waved all its tentacles together, sending a wave over ten meters high crashing onto the beach.

The figure in the air pushed with both arms, and the wave, as if meeting an invisible dam, rolled back into the sea. This almost godlike power of overturning mountains and seas caused a low murmur within the assembly hall.

Yang Yi, who was pretending to read documents, sighed deeply, wishing she could drill her head into the papers.

Afterwards, the figure flew near the sea monster and punched it mid-air; blue blood splattered, and the sea monster's slimy head caved in by more than half.

This punch enraged the sea monster, and countless tentacles curled toward the figure. However, the figure took the opportunity to fly toward the deep sea, luring it away...

"Based on the footage captured by tourists, we calculated that Yang Yi's force field control range extends 100 meters beyond her body, ten times that of other top Awakened Ones, and the impact force of the waves she blocked was about 300 tons, but this should not be her limit.

"It can be said that Yang Yi is the most powerful among the Awakened Ones discovered so far."

The conference hall immediately erupted in an uproar; all gazes focused on her, and people even stood up in the distance to look at her.

If gazes had temperature, Yang Yi felt she could literally burn into a pile of ash right where she stood.