Chapter 37

Arriving in Akka, Yang Yi was in good spirits before entering the United Nations meeting.

Because just now, Chris said he had already arrived in Xincheng by private jet.

Why would he, on vacation at home, go out of his way to Xincheng? Clearly, it was for her—to see her.

The feeling of being remembered was wonderful; a tiny anticipation, like a sprout, quietly took root in her heart. She kept pulling out her phone to check his messages, and her mood remained pleasant until the meeting began.

After the United Nations was bombed, they were urgently constructing a new UN building. The meeting was now being held at the Condra International Hotel, which the United Nations had booked entirely; learning from past mistakes, police now guarded every inch of the hotel’s interior and exterior.

“Yang Yi!” Helen Baker waved from afar. Before Yang Yi could approach, she stepped forward several paces. “It’s so good to see you again. When we parted so hastily last time, we never asked how you got out.”

Yang Yi’s cheer vanished instantly; the heavy, decaying air of the Misty Town’s otherworldly space seemed to cling to her nostrils. “You have stepped onto a path inevitable,” a distant, ancient voice seemed to whisper.

How did she get out? Her thoughts returned to that day—it was simple. After absorbing the Life Source, she gained some control over that otherworldly space. The unfamiliar place suddenly felt familiar, as if she had seen it before. She even easily caught the fluctuation of the space rift, forcibly reopening it and returning to Earth.

“The space rift hadn’t fully closed. I forced my way back—almost died.” Yang Yi offered a polite, courteous smile.

Helen sighed with envy. “When we crossed over, the rift was nearly sealed. You still managed to force it open…” She turned and called out, “Daniel, come over! Yang Yi’s here!”

Daniel Davies walked through the crowd. His height was striking—nearly 190 centimeters. When he heard Helen’s call, his gaze immediately locked onto Yang Yi, and his usually expressionless face slowly broke into a smile.

“Hey—” He stepped up to Yang Yi, concerned. “Are you feeling better?”

“What?” Yang Yi was puzzled by his greeting.

Seeing her reaction, Daniel looked flustered. “I mean… last time, in the otherworldly space, you looked terrible…” He still remembered how her hands had clamped onto him like iron pincers, nearly crushing him. Her furious, hoarse screams, as if suppressing something, had twisted her delicate features.

He still remembered! Why did he remember these things? Had he discovered something?

A sudden chill ran down Yang Yi’s spine; an uncontrollable panic seized her.

What is his purpose in asking me? Testing me? Can he see the Life Source? Before I was thrown out of the rift, did he see it merge into my body?

No! No! No! He can’t see it—if he could, they wouldn’t have acted that way before. She strained to recall how they had behaved when first entering the otherworldly space, how they had struggled desperately before the altar. Maybe he was just asking out of casual concern, not testing at all?

“I told you before—kill them and eliminate the threat forever. You’d have no such troubles! But you’re indecisive, weak! Coward!” It screeched in frustration.

Yang Yi ignored it. She fixed her gaze on Daniel, trying to read his true intent from his face.

Daniel grew uneasy under her stare. He straightened his posture, squared his shoulders, even checked whether his attire was proper. “What’s wrong… did I do something wrong?” He cleared his throat, whispering softly.

Yang Yi detected no threat from him. Daniel’s nervousness eased her taut nerves. She regretted her earlier overreaction.

“Nothing.” Yang Yi forced her muscles into a smile. “Why didn’t you leave me behind? The rift was about to close—you could’ve been stranded on Earth forever.”

Daniel shrugged. “Before I awakened, I was a firefighter. We never abandon a teammate.”

This answer satisfied Yang Yi, dispelling her doubts—and stirred a quiet admiration in her. After all, not abandoning a companion at the brink of death was a quality she wasn’t sure she possessed.

She often admired those who could do what she could not.

Helen watched their exchange, thoughtful.

At the center of the conference hall was a massive holographic projection. Delegations from various nations sat around it; the five permanent members naturally occupied the front rows. Reporters stood in designated zones, and as soon as Yang Yi entered, a cascade of camera flashes erupted.

Even after experiencing this before, Yang Yi still struggled to adapt to such intense public attention. She hurried to her assigned seat, sat down, lowered her head as if studying documents, and used it to shield her face.

The meeting’s content held nothing new—nearly identical to what she had heard in Xia Country: investigating whether the various planetary apocalypses they’d witnessed were real, and if so, how to respond. Was Earth’s end caused by dark matter descent or alien invasion? And how should governments remain vigilant against anti-human organizations like Veed, and against growing hostility between ordinary humans and awakened individuals?

“Last night, we received word: the International Awakened Alliance’s Mobile Unit, Eagle Team, discovered a space rift in the Water Bull City of Cape Province, Rainbow Nation, Africa—and inside, a new altar,” said Jefferson Weber, Chairman of the International Awakened Alliance. The hall fell silent. All eyes turned to the central hologram.

The footage was clearly rushed—the camera shook constantly, the flashlight beam flickered—but Yang Yi instantly recognized the familiar patterns on the altar.

Coldness spread from her tailbone up her spine. Since the Fire Demon incident, an invisible blade had hung above her head—and today, it had dropped a little lower. The blade’s icy chill made her hairs stand on end.

She stared intently at the altar in the projection, searching for the ancient stone chair—but it was empty. Perhaps the chair was invisible through the lens. She calmed herself: this altar looked exactly like the one Daniel and the others had seen in Misty Town.

“Eagle Team ventured inside and found numerous corpses—all local missing civilians. Preliminary count: over seven thousand,” Jefferson Weber said, pausing. “Their condition matches those in Misty Town, Brazil: all dried out completely.”

The camera swept over the piled, layered corpses. They lay face-down around the altar, heads oriented toward it, like petals surrounding a flower’s center.

Yang Yi clenched her fists. The image of the boy in the red T-shirt surfaced in her mind—aside from that nightmare right after returning, she had deliberately buried this memory.

“Quick! Quick! Get out! The rift’s destabilizing…” A voice shouted in the footage. Then the camera lurched, plunging into darkness.

Daniel and Helen exchanged glances, then turned simultaneously to look at Yang Yi. Jane York of Canada and Hamid Ansari of India also exchanged glances—their eyes filled with dread.

“…They’ve found us…”

“Who found us?” Yang Yi snapped irritably—then immediately realized it wasn’t “it” speaking, but “Him.”

The moment she realized this, an overwhelming hunger surged through her body, nearly buckling her to the ground.