Chapter 6: Explosion

In the hall, the awakened wore varied expressions—some furious, some pensive, some blank, some elated, a few even glancing at the officials beside them with hostility.

Watching the inhumane experiment footage on the screen, Yang Yi instinctively straightened her back and looked toward Director Zhou.

Sensing Yang Yi’s gaze, Director Zhou spoke sternly: “Our government has never organized any inhumane human experiments. All research on superpowers within our borders relies entirely on volunteers—you know, even among death-row supercriminals, someone proposed using them for experiments, but it was rejected by higher authorities.”

Feng Liancheng also stopped his flying fingers on the keyboard and said sincerely to Yang Yi: “After my awakening, besides cooperating with researchers on basic blood draws and tests, I suffered no harm whatsoever.”

His awakening granted him a rather useless ability—telescopic vision; perhaps useful in ancient times, but in modern society, any ordinary person with a telescope could achieve the same. He had originally been a senior technical officer in civil service, later transferred to the newly formed Jueguan Bureau, continuing his old line of work: technical support.

Chen Yushu, rarely one to speak, also chimed in: “Me too.”

Yang Yi’s expression relaxed; her mood lifted slightly.

The large screen suddenly switched footage—still a similar lab, but this time the subjects were not awakened individuals, but bizarre alien creatures, some clearly marine species, such as those with octopus-like tentacles or fish-like gills;

others grotesque in form—one had six pale, hook-like claws, its entire head a gaping maw from which a long, arrow-like tongue extended;

a black-red, viscous organism was sealed in a glass chamber, constantly shifting shape as it climbed the walls;

a humanoid creature covered in eyes, each blinking incessantly, sending shivers down the spine…

Some strange plants, appearing like vines, actively attacked animals and humans, secreting corrosive fluids to digest their prey;

inside a sealed glass enclosure, a corpse sprouted magnificent mushrooms, while lab personnel in full-seal biohazard suits stood on high alert…

Wade’s voiceover sounded: “Honestly, I no longer expect humans to hold loyalty or reverence toward the Divine. Look—just as the apocalypse approaches, humanity refuses to repent, daring to steal the Divine’s authority!”

“The Divine opened hell and unleashed punishment upon humanity. Awakening is the Divine’s final ‘Ark’ for mankind.”

“Awakened ones, have you truly ‘awakened’? Why side with these doomed, discarded remnants of old humanity? We are the Divine’s chosen, the new humanity, the future of the world!”

Wade Davies stood at the center of the screen, face grim: “I was once just an ordinary psychologist, listening daily to lost, faithless people pour out their boredom, emptiness, and pain. I thought my life would remain this way forever. But one day, I awakened—and suddenly, I heard the true voices within people: their ugliness, selfishness, greed, hypocrisy, cruelty, envy, arrogance—like maggots burrowing into my mind. If you could hear the true depths of human hearts, you would hate humanity, despise this vile animal.”

“But I didn’t. I tried to use my knowledge, my training, to help them—to guide the lost toward their true choices, to bring peace to the suffering, to help those mired in mud struggle free.”

“But what did I receive? My patients sold my ability’s details to the dark web for a few hundred kyuans. For a year afterward, I was held in a secret biological lab—just like what you saw on screen.”

Wade Davies slowly closed his eyes, his facial muscles twitching violently. When he opened them again, his eyes blazed with fanatic fervor; his voice strained for calmness but trembled uncontrollably: “I should thank the patient who betrayed me. I should thank the secret lab of Regenno Biotech. In their endless experiments pushing limits, my ability surged dramatically. During a near-death experience, I received a divine revelation!”

“I entered the Divine’s realm, where countless alien creatures dwell—all His pets. We, the new humanity, can become His closest subjects and servants! There, the new humanity wields power to move mountains and tread oceans, gains infinite freedom, even immortality bestowed by the Divine!”

He shouted again: “Awakened ones, have you truly awakened?”

“Do you truly understand your mission?”

“Do you truly wish to stand beside these doomed, insignificant ants?”

The hall fell silent. Some with weak wills were already swayed by his words; others were lost in the cruelty of the experiments just shown; some feared the apocalyptic vision he painted; some plotted escape; others pondered his true intent…

The ambient dark matter energy grew even thinner. Yang Yi set down the pen hovering before her.

This skilled manipulator of minds had, in just a few words, plunged most into the atmosphere he crafted. If he were present, unleashing his awakened mental field, the extent and depth of his influence would multiply exponentially.

Why didn’t he do it? Was he afraid? Did he dare not show up? But this was already his home turf—he even had a method to block dark matter energy!

What exactly was he after?

If he wanted to expose the human experiments conducted by various countries on awakened individuals and condemn their hypocrisy and evil, he had already done so. If he wished to recount his personal journey, this was not the appropriate setting. If his goal was to preach “Divine Punishment” and rally the awakened against “old humanity,” thereby dividing humanity—why cut off the UN building’s communication signals and block dark matter energy? That severed every awakened person’s escape route.

Unless he didn’t care about the people here at all. His goal wasn’t to preach—it was to stage a grand “performance,” where every person in the UN building was merely his prop, and the true audience was the entire world.

“Bombs! He planted bombs throughout the entire building!” A red-haired girl in the Canadian delegation collapsed onto her seat, sweat pouring, blood slowly dripping from her nose and mouth.

The hall erupted in chaos.

“What bombs? When did he plant them?”

“Why didn’t the UN staff notice?”

“How do you know?”

“She’s our country’s B-grade field-type mental sensor; she just detected a security guard,” shouted Canadian delegates in panic.

The red-haired girl slumped in her chair, clearly overexerted. She screamed desperately: “All these guards have been hypnotized! He planted countless bombs throughout this building—to sacrifice us all to his god!”

Panic and chaos spread instantly. People rushed toward the exits, but as soon as they rose, fully armed guards opened fire with machine guns—dozens collapsed in the hall.

“Oh, poor lambs. Since you’ve chosen to become the claws of these old humans, you must pay the price.”

Wade Davies’ gaze was cold, yet his face wore a priestly, benevolent smile—a contradiction that sent chills down spines.

“The Divine will soon unleash His punishment. The apocalypse draws near. To show loyalty to the Divine, we require a sacrifice: these sinners who dared steal the Divine’s authority shall be the offering.”

“And now,” Wade Davies lifted his wrist, glancing casually at his watch, then smiled at the crowd as if they were lambs bound for the altar: “The countdown to life has begun. May you repent your sins in the time remaining… 10… 9…”

“No! I’m awakened! I’m one of the Divine’s chosen! You can’t do this to me!” A Australian awakened screamed in panic.

“I’m a B-grade awakened! We’re the same! Let me go!”

“Take out these guards! Break out together! The building’s about to explode!”

“We’re on the 24th floor—too late…”

The hall teetered on despair. Officials from various nations frantically sought escape. A few hidden agents overpowered guards and seized weapons—but the tide had turned. Irreversible. Some awakened fought back; others hurled themselves at doors and windows; still others knelt before Wade, pledging loyalty…

Wade Davies calmly counted: “6… 5…”

Director Zhou and Deputy Director Zheng turned ashen, constantly using portable signal boosters to contact home. They had abandoned their own chances of escape—only wanting to relay this situation to their homeland as quickly as possible…

Feng Liancheng’s sweat turned cold; his fingers blurred across the keyboard, muttering nonstop: “One more minute, just one minute—I’ll break through their defenses…”

Chen Yushu used the last of his strength to drive a pen into a guard’s chest…

Watching the final madness in the hall, Wade Davies smiled faintly: “…3… 2…”

Yang Yi sighed deeply.

If she’d known this would happen, who would’ve come to a UN meeting? If not for the rumor of free travel—and seeing her crush—wouldn’t it have been better to just be a quiet, stable worker?

What she truly longed for was simple, quiet, stable life. She’d never dreamed of such a turbulent, dangerous existence…

Could no one possibly fix this mess?

She just wanted to be a simple bystander…

Amid the final despair and madness, Yang Yi slowly stood, closed her eyes, and spread her arms.

The dark matter energy in the hall had thinned to near imperceptibility—but now, from Yang Yi surged a powerful, pure, dense energy. If ordinary awakened sensed dark matter like smoking, the energy radiating from her now was refined, high-grade Hailao Yin—just a trace could send one soaring to euphoria.

The life signs of the entire building appeared in her mind like red dots on a 3D map. Her telekinesis split into countless threads, radiating outward, searching for those in the building—panicked, confused, unaware…

Wade Davies lowered his wrist, cast one final glance at the hall, and uttered the syllable of death: “…1…”

It was an ordinary day in Xincheng, Aka Country—clear skies, drifting white clouds.

Looking down from above the UN building, the windows of its 39 floors suddenly exploded. Countless shards of glass flew through the air, reflecting cold, merciless light. Behind the glass came countless human figures flung into the sky.

Floor one, two, three… up to thirty-nine—almost every floor spat out people, like a giant seed pod ejecting its seeds from the building.

Zoom in, and you’d see the expressions on those airborne figures: some bewildered, some nearly fainting from shock, others screaming wildly…

“Boom!” The explosion echoed across Xincheng. This peaceful city, untouched for a century, witnessed its second explosion destined to shock the world—the first being the globally shattering Twin Towers terrorist attack that nearly altered the entire international order.

Windows shattered in countless surrounding buildings. Birds fell from the sky. Human eardrums within a five-kilometer radius rang with a deafening buzz.

Flames, black smoke, shattered glass, debris—carried by the shockwave—struck the airborne figures, then bounced off an invisible barrier, sending ripples through the air.

Yang Yi hovered midair, arms outstretched: one hand gently guiding the crowd to earth, the other manipulating an invisible barrier to block the explosion’s aftershock, her expression impassive.

People landed like dumplings dropped into water. They looked up, dazed, at the burning building, at their companions falling from the sky—all faces blank with confusion.

Finally, all eyes fixed on the figure suspended in the air.

The figure stood like a deity, behind her raging flames and rolling black smoke. The setting sun, burning red, gently illuminated her side, staining her with a divine, otherworldly radiance—like a medieval oil painting: the Son of God descending.

At that moment, beyond the building’s range, mobile signals reconnected. Phones across the crowd rang out, shattering the silent awe.

Survivors voiced their turbulent emotions.

“Was it her who saved us?”

“She saved everyone in the building!”

“Alright, I admit her A-grade title is well-deserved…”

“The dark matter energy in the building was blocked—how could she…?”

“Is this really A-grade power?”

“Is she really just A-grade?”

…

When Yang Yi landed, Director Zhou stepped forward, patted her shoulder, and sighed with complex emotion: “I’m glad I brought you to the UN meeting—and regret I did.”

Before Yang Yi could grasp the meaning of his words, Feng Liancheng hurried over with his phone, face grave. He placed the livestream before Yang Yi and the director. On screen, Wade Davies smiled and said:

“Brilliant performance, dear Yang. You are the true Divine-chosen. Why waste yourself as the claw of these old humans? Don’t squander the Divine’s grace. Come—join us, for the true future of humanity…”

Yang Yi glanced around, as if sensing surveillance cameras in the air.

“I’m not interested,” she said toward the livestream.

“If you won’t be a friend, you’ll be an enemy. Is that truly your choice?” Wade’s smile remained gentle, unchanged.

“I stand with my country,” Yang Yi said, glancing at Director Zhou beside her, clearing her throat, straightening her spine, and declaring firmly: “I am a proud civil servant! Serving the people is my duty!”

Watching Yang Yi’s slightly theatrical pose—even in this tense moment—Director Zhou couldn’t help but smile.

Wade said meaningfully: “Then, good luck.”

The livestream went dark.