In the crowd, yumiel stays close to Kai.
« Avoid doing anything like screaming or trying to run away, because I assure you that two seconds later you'll be reunited with your friends. »
Following Kai, they eventually head down into the subway, all surprised by the fact that he was still walking. They follow him very closely, almost pressed against him. Every breath he heard and every puff of air brushing his neck brought him a little closer to terror.
Getting on the subway, he sits down; yumiel and Jack sit across from him and Alan sits beside him, slipping an arm around his shoulders.
« Calm down, we'll get noticed if you're this stressed. Haven't you ever seen what's going on in the world? »
Turning his head slightly to look at Alan.
« Yes, but I didn't think it would reach this place. »
While he was talking, Alan pulled his phone out of his pocket. Kai had seen it but didn't dare say anything.
« Well, tell yourself that it did reach here. So if you want to live, just do what they ask you to do. »
« But… I don't understand, are you with them or not? »
Kai's question was relevant. Alan didn't feel like he belonged to their group, but the reason he had followed them was because he wanted one last adventure—something incredible, but at the same time different from war.
« A bit of both. Let's say it's the whim of an old retired army guy. »
Kai says nothing more, waiting for the right subway stop. Once the exit is announced, he stands up and leaves. They follow him and exit the subway.
At the exit, they all find themselves amazed, landing in a new place. The buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, the shops were even more numerous, and the streets even more alive.
Jack grabs Kai and asks him.
« Where are we? »
Kai looks at him with wide eyes; fear could be felt leaking from his gaze.
« We… well, I mean, this is downtown. »
Shocked by what Kai said, he asks.
« But how many people live in this city? »
« About ten million. »
All slightly stunned by this, Yumiel is the first to speak.
« Ten fucking million, that's more than London, the capital. »
Kai doesn't know what to say, simply shrugging. Then he starts walking again toward the address Alan had shown him.
They're all intrigued by these countless buildings and this city full of life. On the way to the address Alan showed, they pass several police patrols, far more numerous than where they had been before.
Yumiel, still glued to Kai, asks him.
« Why are there so many police patrols? »
He jumps slightly when he hears yumiel's voice behind him.
« I… I don't know, it's always been like this. Maybe there are a few more now, but I couldn't really say. »
She lightly taps his shoulder, still following him closely. The walk goes smoothly. About ten minutes later, they find themselves in front of a building slightly taller than the others.
In front of it, several women dressed in skimpy outfits are handing out cards. On the sides, men in suits—clearly guards. The building is very well located, with crowds of people passing in front of it.
« There you go, you've arrived, I'll leave you here. Goodbye. »
Kai tries to leave, but yumiel grabs the collar of his hoodie.
« Where do you think you're going, huh? I still need my translator, come on, let's go. »
Entering the building, Alan takes the opportunity to grab a few flyers handed out by the girls while eyeing them up a bit. Near the entrance, the three wait while Alan finishes ogling the girls and trying to chat with them.
« Hey, you old pervert, they're twenty years younger than you, so stop staring and get over here. »
« I'm coming, I'm coming. »
They enter the building and head toward the reception, where a few men in suits watch them approach. Once they're close enough, one of them says something in Chinese.
« Go on, my translator, it's your moment—say we have an appointment or something like that. »
« 晚上好,我們和老闆有個約會. »
« 你旁邊那個人是新來的妓女嗎?我要告訴老闆. »
After their exchange, the man types on his computer.
« So? »
Kai doesn't know what to say, looking at yumiel and smiling stupidly. « Yes, yes, it's fine. »
They sit down on the available couches, waiting a few minutes. The elevator opens and a man steps out wearing a costume. The outfit resembles what the women outside were wearing, but with less fabric. The man approaches and hands the outfit to yumiel.
« Kai. Can you explain to me what the hell this is?! »
Jack and Alan are dying of laughter.
« Puaaahaha. Come on, yumiel, you who like "BDSM" stuff, you should be thrilled, right? »
« Hahahah, I'd almost pay to see that. »
She grabs the man in front of her, then plunges a dagger into his throat while saying, « You know what, we're going to do this another way. »
Blood sprays everywhere. She draws out a drop of her blood, mixing it with the blood spreading across the floor, creating eight daggers, which she sends to hunt down every person in the lobby. Kai tries to take advantage of the chaos to flee, but Jack gives him a look, freezing him in place.
The lobby is cleared in a few dozen seconds, in panic and confusion. There's nothing easier.
After the carnage, Yumiel calmly rips out the hearts and heads toward the elevator. Jack eats the brains and joins her, holding Kai by the collar and dragging him to the elevator, while Alan waits with yumiel.
Once they're all inside, yumiel looks at the many floors, then smiles and presses floor 1; the elevator doors close.
« But what are you? » Kai asks, terrified.
The elevator doors open on the first floor and yumiel's daggers shoot into the room, killing everyone present.
« Isn't it obvious? We're what you call monsters! »
Once floor 1 is partially cleared and the hearts ripped out, she moves on to the next and continues up to the top, though from the 5th floor onward almost everyone had already evacuated via the emergency exits.
Alan waits in the elevator with Kai. On the seventh floor, there's no one. yumiel presses the 48th floor, going straight to the top floor to get the helicopter.
« Seriously, even here it's not even fun—they run awkwardly, can't even dodge, trip over each other, it's really pathetic. »
Alan looks at yumiel, who exhales; you can feel that mass killing isn't her favorite thing, but she does it anyway in order to grow stronger.
« They're pure civilians, yumiel. They've known neither war nor a global catastrophe like in London or the rest of the world. These people haven't lived through anything except their simple lives. »
Jack, leaning against the elevator railing, chuckles softly.
« Makes you wonder how they managed to live cut off from the world with an attitude like that. »
yumiel speaks right after Jack, as if to complete his sentence.
« In London, there are thousands—if not more—monsters roaming everywhere. Here, it only takes two to set the city on fire and drown it in blood. »
Kai, at the back of the elevator, rebels slightly, looking yumiel in the eyes for the first time.
« You're bragging, but wait until the Seraphs arrive! We'll see if you're still bragging then. »
Suddenly, the three burst out laughing. But the one who answers him is Alan.
« Haha, kid. We're not questioning the power of the Seraphs, but the country's inability to act against an unknown threat. It's already been more than a day since we arrived, yet apparently no force has been deployed. And I assure you, they must already know that monsters are involved! »
Kai's eyes widen as he mutters while looking at Alan.
« You mean they're letting the people get slaughtered? »
« I didn't say that… but the real reason is deeper, kid. Can you imagine if they told the media that monsters are roaming the city of Harbin? The population would panic, and they'd lose their image as a "perfect" country where almost no monsters live and where order reigns. »
« But… »
Kai wants to say something, but the elevator doors open at the same moment, revealing several armed men waiting for them.
The men don't hesitate, firing into the elevator. Yumiel opens her senses, turning five daggers into walls in front of her and sending the remaining three to kill the people in the room. They fall one by one until the last.
Eating quickly, she turns her wall back into five daggers and advances toward the door at the end of the corridor. Opening it, they find an empty office behind it and a door most certainly leading to the roof. They take it and climb up.
In front of them, they see the rich Chinese man heading toward the helicopter. yumiel throws her daggers, killing the men around him and chasing the building's owner. But just as the daggers are about to stab him, yumiel's daggers shatter and a woman appears in front of them.
She takes a fighting stance.
« Finally, an awakened one. It's time to have some fun. »
Jack steps in front of yumiel.
« Leave her to me and go stop the helicopter. »
You can see yumiel's face pout slightly. Still, she doesn't protest, recreating her daggers from what was destroyed and sending them at the helicopter's pilot, killing him before he can take off.
The woman tries to stop her, but Jack intercepts her, punching her in the face. She defends herself, raising her arms; the impact sends her flying several meters. In a flash, she moves extremely fast, almost teleporting in front of Jack.
Then some kind of energy condenses in her hand before releasing a shockwave that slams into Jack, sending him flying about ten meters, ending his trajectory against the stairs. Jack gets back up with a smile and charges at her.
« Alan, go to the helicopter and take the translator with you, I'm going to help Jack. »
Listening to yumiel, they run to the helicopter, forcing Kai inside before closing the door. Then Alan removes the corpse from the cockpit, climbs in, and locks the rear doors.
yumiel sends her eight daggers at the woman, but Jack stops her.
« Yumiel, no! This is my fight, leave her to me. »
Surprised by Jack's words, she hesitates for a moment, but when she sees Jack with a slight smile, she positions her daggers in the air and waits, watching the fight.