Chapter 136 - 133: The Recovered Fire-breather
The meeting between the two parties involved only brief pleasantries before they drove directly to the Bevo District in Saint Louis.
After a sweep with an anti-eavesdropping detector, a team member signaled that it was all clear.
"Jiutian, that man named Baru... you seem very interested in him?"
As a key figure in the department, some of "Huang Radar’s" actions were often under scrutiny, which was why Tao Xingzhi voiced his question after they got in the car.
"That’s right. I can sense that he’s been through a special transformative incident. His physical fitness is much stronger than a normal person’s."
"Is he an Evolver?"
Tao Xingzhi was very concerned about whether the United States had any information on Evolvers.
Huang Jiutian shook his head.
"Not quite, but in his case, I feel that even an Evolver with a brute-force Ability might not compare to him."
The atmosphere in the car was studious as they reviewed the American reports and data on the Flame Demon incident. Soon, they arrived outside the cordon in the Bevo District.
Both parties got out of their respective cars and crossed the cordon together.
The streets couldn’t possibly be repaired so quickly, and the buildings were even less likely to be restored in such a short time. The scars from the battle with the Flame Demon were still visible.
It was a shocking sight for everyone in the Hua Country delegation.
It was just like a scene from a monster movie from their childhoods.
Huang Jiutian paused when he reached the center of the battlefield, the spot where the World Fragment had first crashed.
Here, the Magic Power within him resonated strongly, beginning to surge.
In turn, the feedback his Magic Power received from the environment became exceptionally clear.
He could even feel the tension and the scorching heat in the air from that time.
Norton was in the middle of explaining the battle situation to Tao Xingzhi, but his account omitted the main "allied force" in the conflict. Just like the beginning and end of the video they’d seen, the story was transformed into a one-on-one battle between the US Military and the mutated monster.
But then he suddenly noticed that everyone from the Hua Country side had stopped. One of them had his head tilted slightly up, eyes closed, doing god-knows-what.
"The aura of fire... it’s right here. There were three parties fighting!"
Tao Xingzhi glanced at Norton, then looked in the direction Huang Jiutian was facing with his eyes closed.
It was mostly areas where the streets and buildings had been severely damaged.
"Can you sense who the third party was? The British?"
Huang Jiutian opened his eyes.
"No. This feeling of mysterious power... it’s very similar to what we’ve experienced before!"
This made Tao Xingzhi’s heart skip a beat.
Norton didn’t understand Chinese and was still wondering what the Hua Country delegation was doing.
’One of them is speaking to his leader with his eyes suspiciously closed. That would be considered rude in any country, wouldn’t it?’
Moreover, their people had stopped his own interpreter from getting close, exuding an air of mystery.
Tao Xingzhi felt that Huang Jiutian’s Ability seemed to have improved again. His Perception was much clearer than before.
"Torrential rain, scorching heat, bitter cold... Such powerful forces..."
Huang Jiutian couldn’t maintain his sensory connection to the Magic Power. He loosened the collar of his shirt, his face already covered in sweat after just a few moments.
’Just the residual auras from the environment’s response are enough to make me tremble. I have no idea how Little Hero and the others dealt with the Flame Demon back then. If my childhood best friend had used even one ten-thousandth of this power back in the day, he probably would have been the ultimate school tyrant.’
After opening his eyes and taking a few breaths, Jiutian finally calmed down.
"The Americans are lying!"
Tao Xingzhi smiled, nodding as he patted him on the shoulder.
"You’ve worked hard. Get some rest."
For this visit to the United States, the Hua Country side had come with considerable sincerity, but the existence of Huang Jiutian and their information on Evolvers was a major bargaining chip.
However, what Huang Jiutian himself didn’t realize was that due to his frequent use of Perception, his body was not only constantly adapting to Qin Xiaoxia’s Magic Power but also undergoing repeated exchanges of information with the environment. It was already beginning to develop in the direction of a true Perception-based evolution.
Qin Xiaoxia, on the other hand, had already sensed this and was prepared to give him a hand when the time came.
As this was an important diplomatic exchange, Norton couldn’t really say anything even if the Huaguo People claimed they just wanted to strike a pose, but it was obvious they weren’t doing something so pointless.
The man, who was now drenched in sweat after just a few moments, drew the attention of Norton and some of the elites from the 19th Division standing nearby.
Tao Xingzhi returned to Norton’s side and spoke before Norton had a chance to ask.
"Secretary Norton, we wish to know about the other party that helped you defeat the mutated monster."
The accompanying interpreter, who was also one of Norton’s subordinates, was startled by the words before meticulously translating them for Norton.
The latter, sensing the issue immediately, looked at the young man in the Hua Country team who was wiping away his sweat.
"That’s right. Just as you’ve seen, that man is the jewel of our Special Security Team, a new type of human, an Evolver with the Ability of Extraordinary Perception."
"I suggest both our sides show sufficient sincerity. Our future close cooperation depends on it!"
The interpreter didn’t dare hesitate, immediately and clearly conveying the words to Norton.
’An Evolver? A new type of human?’
Goosebumps broke out all over Norton’s body. ’How could we have absolutely no intelligence on this!’
’What else does Hua Country know?’
"Excuse me, I need to make a call!"
After saying this, Norton stepped away and dialed a secure line on his phone.
’This is probably going to go beyond the scope of a simple friendly exchange.’
Five minutes later, when Norton returned, the expression on his face was much more serious.
"Leader Tao, we can continue our exchange elsewhere. I believe you’ll be very interested in the Flame Demon’s corpse."
...
The Flame Demon’s corpse was shocking, but the research on it had been less than satisfactory.
After Tao Xingzhi learned about the Americans’ progress, he couldn’t help but feel that they had gotten the short end of the stick in this deal.
Hua Country had not only openly revealed the existence of Evolvers to the Americans but had also provided some necessary recommendations and measures developed from their current "fortification preparation" research, saving the Americans a great deal of time that would have been spent on bickering.
’I can only console myself that this is for the sake of diplomatic strategy and long-term considerations. At the very least, we’re making a contribution to all of humanity.’
At the temporary research base in Saint Louis, besides the Flame Demon’s corpse, there were also the patients with the new type of pneumonia who had yet to be cured.
After learning this from Baru, who had "casually" mentioned it, Huang Jiutian strongly insisted on seeing the patients.
Baru believed that Huang Jiutian—the man whose reputation in the Special Security Team was built on ’Perception’—would be much better than him at seeing what was truly special about those patients.
Norton also thought it was a good suggestion, so the two sides were in immediate agreement and headed for the treatment and observation area.
...
The patients were still on ventilators, their bodies constantly covered in ice packs for physical cooling.
Today, Huang Jiutian was the center of attention for his American hosts. Like a celebrity, he moved from one ward to the next, with the crowd of people not daring to interrupt him.
When they reached the last ward, Dr. Avin was helping the second patient change his ice packs and checking his condition.
Ben’s lungs and respiratory tract burns had already healed, but he still couldn’t be without cooling measures. Who knew if he would ever be able to live a normal life?
Dr. Avin merely looked confused upon seeing such a large group of people, but he didn’t say anything.
A gleam of Magic Power, invisible to the naked eye, flashed in Huang Jiutian’s eyes as he focused all his attention on the patient’s chest cavity.
"Take off his ventilator and ice packs."
Norton’s eyes narrowed. He nodded to the side, and two people immediately went over to carry out the order.
"Wait, what are you doing? This will cause the patient’s condition to spiral out of control!"
Avin couldn’t hold back any longer, seeing that this group was about to do something reckless.
"Doctor, please calm down. We would not trifle with the life of a United States citizen."
But Avin’s protests were useless; he was completely overpowered.
In a flash, the patient named Ben was disconnected from all medical equipment.
Ben was also a little frightened. A crowd this large didn’t seem like they were here to treat him. Once the ventilator was removed, he immediately demanded:
"What the hell are you doing?"
’My throat is starting to itch, and my chest is getting scorching hot!’ This terrified Ben. ’It’s not painful yet, but if I don’t cool down, I’ll be burned to death from the inside!’
"Stay calm, Ben!"
Huang Jiutian’s English was already excellent, so he didn’t need a translator to communicate.
"If your throat feels itchy, why not just vomit it out?"
The words were like a magic spell. After hearing them, Ben felt an uncontrollable urge stirring within him.
And so, after brewing for a few seconds...
"AACK—WHOOSH!" A sudden sound.
A jet of crimson flame suddenly shot out of Ben’s mouth, nearly setting his hospital bed on fire.
Everyone except Huang Jiutian and the unmoving Baru instinctively took half a step back.
"Feeling much better now, aren’t you, Ben!"
Jiutian’s tone carried an "I knew it" sort of feeling.
As for the person in question, Ben, his mouth hung wide open. He was completely stunned, not even noticing the pain from his blistered lips.
PS: Chapter Four. An extra Chapter for Sect Leader Book Friend 160831102609489.