Qin Xin had truly begun living her life in society like a hero.

Jiang Yuan opened the news article. The comments at the bottom were filled with praise and gratitude for Qin Xin. The fact that she’d managed to put out such a massive fire in so little time was impossible to ignore.

“I heard that once Qin Xin has better control over her ability, she’ll be called in to take part in some research at the Academy of Sciences. That Metal King, Andrei Ivanov, is training too. He can make alloys with incredible strength.”

“And Dilunsi Olt is studying all kinds of things related to the weather. Yesterday, he stopped a storm from forming.”

Yi Nanye talked about what the other Doomsday Heroes would be doing in the future. Qin Xin’s path ahead had already been laid out for her.

They all had to use their abilities in service of all humanity and raise the overall level of human technology as much as possible over the next two years.

“Are you telling me I won’t have much more time to see her?”

“More or less.”

“What do you think Codename Jiang’s ability is?”

Jiang Yuan looked at Yi Nanye. This question had been bothering him for a long time. The ten Doomsday Heroes were already unbelievably powerful, so just how strong was Codename Jiang—the one who stood above them all and deserved to be called humanity’s strongest?

“Based on all the information provided by people from the future, we can only guess at the nature of his ability. Very few people have ever seen him in action. The only eyewitness account comes from a short video of him driving off Thor.”

“Am I allowed to know a little more?”

“Sorry. I can’t tell you.”

Yi Nanye said it was classified information that Jiang Yuan couldn’t know. If he ever gained an Esper ability, knowing about it in advance would let him prepare. But what she’d already said was shocking enough.

She’d mentioned a name.

Thor, the God of Thunder.

A great deity from Norse mythology had truly descended into the real world.

But the most terrifying part was that this ancient god had been defeated by Codename Jiang.

“A mortal who can stand against a god?”

“It’s hard to believe. I can’t imagine myself ever becoming someone like that, no matter whether he’s a good person or a bad one.”

Jiang Yuan couldn’t see how an ordinary person like him could become that powerful. Even if he really was Codename Jiang and had been born with the power to rival the gods, did that power truly belong to him?

Everything he’d been taught growing up had told him to keep his feet on the ground. Don’t cut corners. Don’t believe you can get something for nothing. Every achievement came from years of steady practice and hard work.

“If we could go back in time and interview an art student who’d failed his exams, do you think he could’ve guessed what his future held?”

“Well…”

Jiang Yuan was at a loss. What kind of sick joke was that?

That man had been one of the worst war criminals of World War II, one of the few great sinners in human history.

“Anyway, the future is impossible to predict. And it’s even harder when you already know what’s coming. The dead will do everything they can to change their fate, while the powerful will fight to hold on to what they have. There’ll probably be plenty happening in these two years before the Cataclysm.”

Yi Nanye lifted her head and gazed at the bright moon. The evening breeze carried the smell of smoke and stirred her hair, a reminder that the everyday life people were trying so hard to hold on to had already begun to fall apart.

Jiang Yuan wasn’t in the mood to admire the moon. He could only feel how quickly everything had changed. The moment the people from the future made their announcement seemed like it had happened just minutes ago. It felt like only yesterday he’d been studying and fooling around with his classmates, then chatting with his girlfriend, Qin Xin, on the way home after school.

They’d talk about which restaurant had the best food, or what new movie was coming out at the cinema tomorrow. Then he’d get home to his parents, with a steaming meal waiting on the table. After dinner, he’d play some games, watch a few videos, and go to bed, ready for the next day.

He’d thought about how boring it was to live the same day over and over. He’d even dreamed of changing things—but not like this. Somehow, he’d become a great villain who’d nearly destroyed the world.

A little while later, the two of them packed up the grill and went downstairs.

Jiang Yuan washed up as usual and got ready for bed. Since Yi Nanye’s routine was so closely tied to his, he went to the living room to remind her it was bedtime. But the lights were already off. Yi Nanye stood with her back against the glass window, staring at her phone with a grave expression.

“Yi Nanye, I’m going to bed.”

“Mm…”

Yi Nanye didn’t even look up. She gave a casual reply, and Jiang Yuan couldn’t help frowning, but he didn’t press her.

Once he was in bed, Jiang Yuan used his phone to search for more information about the fire. Some curious onlookers had recorded it. At first, it looked like a small fire had broken out somewhere on the fifth floor.

Then…

A towering blaze suddenly burst out of the fifth-floor windows and set the entire building on fire. What happened in the video also matched Yi Nanye’s description of a “flashover.”

Under normal circumstances, it would take hours for a small fire to grow into a major one.

Was the entire building full of flammable materials or something?

Jiang Yuan wasn’t the only one curious. The bored netizens were already putting their heads together, coming up with all kinds of theories and trying to prove them.

The business operations at the East Star Building were soon dug up in full.

One answer in particular caught Jiang Yuan’s attention.

[Thanks for the invite. I’m in Britain and just got off a plane. Our company was indeed previously responsible for managing the East Star Building. There are no chemical companies in the building, and it would be impossible for that kind of company to operate out of an office tower.]

[So I believe the fire may have been deliberate. It looks like arson. Based on some details in the videos from the scene, I can only guess that either someone had prepared flammable materials in advance, or the arsonist wasn’t an ordinary person, but an Esper, as they’re called.]

The answer’s argument was well-supported, and the poster had a verified account. He was a company vice president, so he’d surely know the situation at the burning building. Combined with the grave look Yi Nanye had worn while staring at her phone earlier, one answer was already clear.

An Esper crime.

Whether the culprit had caused it by accident or done it on purpose, the casualties from the incident would inevitably make people’s already frayed nerves even more raw, and they’d look at Espers with all kinds of prejudice.

And the fallout from this incident would surely reach him, too.

Jiang Yuan kept scrolling through the comments. Conspiracy theorists were already putting on a show. After all, the East Star Building wasn’t far from where Jiang Yuan lived—just one or two blocks away at most.

Before long, rumors that Jiang Yuan had planned the arson were running rampant.