The Natives of This World Are Fierce

Most of the armored vehicles and Soldiers were behind buildings or in other hidden corners, while one squad, their expressions tense, slowly approached.

They had already tested the Demon several times by dropping heavy objects and strafing it with machine guns, all to no reaction.

Now it was time for an approach on foot.

The closer they got, the slower their steps became.

Concealed in a command vehicle at the rear, Norton watched the Soldiers’ movements via drone footage.

After getting within a certain distance, the leader made a fist and raised his hand, signaling a halt.

They were less than ten meters from the Flame Demon.

The rolling heatwave was relentless. The water on the ground beneath the Flame Demon evaporated, pooled again, and then evaporated once more.

They carefully scanned it with the instruments in their hands.

"Thermal imaging shows its temperature is continuously dropping. It’s currently 500 degrees Celsius, with an estimated core temperature of over a thousand degrees Celsius."

The squad leader gave a hand signal toward the sky and took a few steps back. In the firefighting helicopter circling above, the crew immediately opened the gates and dumped a large volume of cold water.

After several repeated aerial sprayings and close-range inspections, the temperature of the Flame Demon’s corpse was effectively being lowered.

An hour later, a bolder Norton directly ordered the firefighters to connect high-pressure water cannons, using a dozen nozzles to spray the monster and cool it down.

’This time, it must be really dead!’

Everyone shared this relieved thought, feeling as if a great weight had finally been lifted.

Unlike during the battle, when they had wanted nothing more than to tear the Demon to shreds, their primary goal now was to preserve the corpse. That was why they didn’t use highly efficient coolants like liquid nitrogen, which could easily damage the body.

Norton was busy. Department 19 was busy. The thirty-meter-tall behemoth’s corpse was becoming more and more like brittle rock, and all their energy was focused on how to preserve, transport, and study it.

As for the mysterious force that had fought the terrifying Demon and likely played the decisive role in the end, they were filled with both reverence and doubt.

Who were they? Were they benevolent mutations? Was this power native to Earth, or from beyond? Were there humans among them, and if so, how many? Had that beautiful Spirit Body being truly been sacrificed? Were their losses in this incident severe?

If he were to list them all, Norton felt he could write a book of a hundred thousand questions.

Meanwhile, disaster relief efforts in the urban district were already proceeding in an orderly fashion under the responsibility of other departments.

「...」

Su Su and Jenny had followed Qin Xiaoxia’s later instructions and evacuated with the other civilians, but they were extremely worried about their Mentor’s safety.

Since they were constantly watching that direction, they naturally saw the Shadow of the Red Demoness appear in the sky later. They didn’t see the Flame Demon, however, because by then they had been evacuated to an outer district where their view was obstructed.

But most people could see the sky turn fiery red and the subsequent strange phenomenon of the impact.

And the ceaseless roar of artillery fire tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.

For Su Su and Jenny, whatever the US Military was doing was not their focus.

In their Perception, the constant struggle between their Mentor’s powerful Magic Power and another heart-pounding, berserk Magic Power was far more distinct than the sound of guns and cannons.

Especially after that explosive impact in the final stage, they lost their Perception of their Mentor’s Magic Power and that chaotic Magic Power.

A strong sense of foreboding made them unable to sit still. An image uncontrollably materialized in their minds.

’Their Mentor and that powerful Demon had annihilated each other!’

’What the hell is the US Military doing! In this day and age, without the power of Dawn, can they still do nothing but drag everyone down?!’

Jenny and Su Su were furious. The former even regretted notifying the association about what was happening here.

Fortunately, they later received a message from Doudou, which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.

The more heavily affected areas in the city were mostly due to collapsed buildings caused by the impact, debris, a crashed plane, and stray munitions.

A local Saint Louis civilian rescue team, after anxiously waiting, finally received permission to begin rescue operations. This was their city, their home. With disaster striking here, their hearts were heavier than on any previous rescue mission.

Yes, even though the sound of gunfire was impossible to hide, the government’s official story to the public was still that it was a natural disaster, primarily described as an unexpected meteor shower.

For two hours, this rescue team moved back and forth, searching everywhere for afflicted citizens in need of help. Besides them, some civilians had also returned to the disaster area to spontaneously participate in the rescue.

The US Military, on the other hand, was still mainly recovering the wreckage of their combat weaponry. The few who did participate in the rescue were only there for a token show of maintaining order. The real government rescue forces had yet to arrive.

"Oh, thank God, you’re here!"

"Please, save my friend! It was his first day visiting when this terrible misfortune struck!"

Seeing the rescuers, two young ladies rushed frantically toward them. One of them was particularly beautiful, but the team was in no mood to appreciate it today.

"Where are they?"

"Quick, follow me! They’re trapped under a concrete slab!"

The group quickly followed Su Su and Jenny to the side of a collapsed shopping mall.

The faint sound of a child’s crying could be heard from within the ruins.

A car, which had clearly flown in from somewhere, had smashed into the shop and crushed part of it.

One adult and one child, both of East Asian descent, were pinned beneath a concrete slab.

The adult was in very bad shape, his face pale and covered in blood, but he was still touchingly shielding the child with his body. The child, though uninjured, was panicked and distressed.

"Sir, are you okay? Sir, can you speak?"

Qin Xiaoxia shook his head and pushed Doudou forward slightly.

The meaning was clear: save the child first.

Although such scenes were not uncommon in disasters, the rescue team was just as moved as they always were.

"Sir, we’ll get you out right away!"

"Hurry, hurry! Place the lifting jack at the stress point! Get the rubber pads and wedges ready!"

"Clear out all this debris from the doors and windows! We need space!"

"Quick, be careful! His leg might be torn off! Watch his chest, his ribs might be broken too!"

"Get a cardiac stimulant and a painkiller shot ready!"

After a flurry of activity—clearing debris and lifting the slab—they carefully rescued the adult and child from under the propped-up incline.

This civilian rescue team demonstrated sufficient professionalism and an admirable humanitarian spirit.

The ambulance arrived belatedly, only after Qin Xiaoxia had been "rescued."

After a tearful show of gratitude, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou, accompanied by their "friends and family" Su Su and Jenny, got into the ambulance.

Because the extent of the disaster wasn’t too extreme, Saint Louis Central Hospital wasn’t overflowing, but it definitely had the doctors running off their feet.

There are always unlucky people. Excluding Soldiers and police officers, it was estimated that three people in the entire city had died in the disaster, with over eighty injured to varying degrees. More than half of the injuries were from stampedes and traffic accidents during the evacuation.

And just like that, Qin Xiaoxia was brazenly admitted into the hospital’s intensive care unit, using the US hospital’s medical resources to help recover from his injuries.

「...」

A day later, doctors diagnosed that Qin Xiaoxia’s injuries had been brought under control and he was past the critical stage.

Jenny had to go comfort her aunt, so she could only visit occasionally. Su Su and Doudou stayed in the hospital room with him the whole time.

Inside the private hospital room, the news was playing on the television.

"This afternoon, May fourth, Saint Louis local time, a meteor suddenly appeared over the city. The National Guard, which was in the area quarantining a new disease zone, reacted immediately, destroying the main body of the meteor with concentrated firepower and avoiding maximum damage to the city. However, many fragments still caused damage, and local authorities have organized... It is reported that the new type of weapon deployed by the US Military was key to successfully destroying the meteor, producing some unusual optical phenomena..."

"This disaster resulted in over 80 casualties, including local residents, some tourists visiting the United States, and active-duty Soldiers and police officers..."

"Astronomy experts state that this meteor was only spotted a few days ago. Its original trajectory was predicted to skim past Earth, but it’s possible that a slight change in the Earth-moon tidal gravity affected its orbit... This station conducted a special interview with..."

Qin Xiaoxia watched the television program with great interest. Since the sound from the TV wasn’t coming directly from a person, he still needed Su Su to translate the parts he didn’t understand.

There’s a saying: you don’t have to fool everyone, you just have to fool most of them.

Qin Xiaoxia felt it was quite appropriate here.

"Heh, what a load of crap. A meteor!"

In that short time, Doudou had already eaten more than half a box of the fruit in the hospital room, his mouth stuffed with pulp.

"Yeah, yeah! Such a load of crap!"

Then he looked at his Big Bro and silently added a thought: ’Still not as good as you, though.’

"Hm!? Were you just bad-mouthing me?"

Doudou froze in horror. ’How did Big Bro’s intuition get even more terrifying?!’

"Nnnnope~~!"

He sprayed a mouthful of apple bits all over Su Su, who was on the other side of the bed.