"An unfamiliar ceiling."
When Lance Blue opened his eyes again, he no longer saw terrifying flames and ruins, but a stark white ceiling.
The scent of disinfectant entered his nostrils. The dull aches throughout his body and the burning pain of the burns on his back clearly reminded him that what had happened before was not a nightmare.
—I’m in a hospital, Lance thought.
He tried moving his fingers, then slowly turned his head.
"You’re awake?"
A familiar, gentle voice sounded beside him.
Elliot was seated in a chair by the bed, a folded newspaper in his hands. His eyes behind his glasses showed obvious fatigue, but at that moment, they were full of relief.
"How do you feel? Is anything hurting?"
Lance opened his mouth, but his throat was as dry as sandpaper scraping together, and only a faint breath of sound came out.
Elliot understood at once. He picked up the cup from the bedside table, inserted a straw, and brought it to Lance’s lips. The warm water moistening his throat made Lance feel slightly better.
"How... long was I asleep?" he asked hoarsely.
"One day and one night." Elliot set down the cup. "The doctor said you mainly suffered from severe physical exhaustion and smoke inhalation. You also have superficial second-degree burns on your back, but they were treated in time and haven’t become infected. You’ll need to rest for a while."
One day and one night.
Wait... then what about them...?
"Mrs. Carter... Chloe... Jake..." he asked anxiously. "How are they?"
"They’re all all right. None of them are in life-threatening condition," Elliot immediately replied, his tone certain.
"Mrs. Carter has a fractured lower leg, multiple abrasions, and inhalation injuries, but the surgery was successful. She’s under observation in the intensive care unit in the neighboring building and is out of danger. Chloe has severe soft-tissue bruising in her left leg and needs time to recover, but the bone wasn’t damaged. Jake has superficial injuries and a mild concussion. He even slipped over to see you this morning, but the nurses sent him back."
Lance’s tense shoulders immediately relaxed, and he let out a long, silent breath.
Thank goodness.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the hospital room door. A nurse pushed it open, followed by two figures.
It was Jake, with gauze taped to his forehead and abrasions on his arms. But he appeared to be in decent spirits.
Beside him was Chloe in a wheelchair. Her left leg was wrapped in a thick cast, and her face was still somewhat pale. But the instant she saw Lance awake, her eyes reddened.
"Lance!" Jake crossed the room in a few strides. He seemed to want to say something, his lips moving, but in the end, he only heavily patted the uninjured side of the bed. "You... you little brat! You scared us to death!"
Chloe had the nurse wheel her up beside the bed. She reached out and gently grasped Lance’s hand that did not have an IV in it. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she choked out, "Thank you... Lance... Thank you for saving me... for saving my mom..." She was sobbing too hard to continue. "My mom regained consciousness just now... the first thing she asked was where you were... The key... she’s still clutching that key."
Lance wanted to say something to comfort her, but it felt as though his throat had closed up again.
He looked at them—these familiar people, all alive, all here.
That was enough.
The nurse gave Lance a basic examination, instructed him to rest quietly, and reminded them that visiting hours should not be too long.
Jake and Chloe stayed for more than ten minutes, briefly telling him about what had happened outside.
The fire had been extinguished that same night after the fire department and subsequent responders arrived, with the assistance of three or four heroes possessing water-control or earth-and-construction-type abilities.
Their street, being close to the central area where the plane fragments had fallen, had suffered the worst damage. But fortunately, since the incident happened during the day, most people had escaped in time. The casualties counted so far were better than expected.
The main wreckage of the plane had fallen in a more remote suburb. Hero Association experts and more heroes were handling it over there.
"It’s just... kind of noisy outside right now."
Jake rubbed his nose, his expression somewhat complicated, and gestured toward the window.
Lance followed his gaze. The blinds were shut, but he could faintly hear a commotion in the distance below that was unlike the usual sounds of the street. It seemed that many people had gathered there.
Elliot rose, walked to the window, parted the blinds slightly to peer outside, then let them fall shut again.
"The media, and some... people who came to see you." He returned to the bedside and looked at Lance.
"Your entire rescue through the fire was filmed by many witnesses on their phones and uploaded to FOMO and other social media platforms. Now, practically all of Union City knows who you are."
Lance looked at the blue number on his wrist...
[2,647,896]
He froze.
"Since yesterday, your Trust Value has been growing explosively, thanks to the enormous attention this incident has received."
"Now people all know that a ten-year-old blue-haired child ran into a sea of fire and saved two people during a disaster caused by a battle between heroes." Elliot’s tone was calm, but his gaze was profound.
"They’re calling you ‘the blue-haired boy in the sea of fire’ and ‘the civilian little hero.’"
"Of course, that was before the Hero Association’s official announcement came out."
"The Hero Association’s announcement?" Lance was beginning to realize.
Elliot picked up the newspaper he had set on his lap, unfolded it, and held it before Lance.
The front-page headline featured a somewhat blurry photograph—one could vaguely make out a burning street and the thin blue-haired figure rushing toward the flames.
Beside it was a striking headline:
"[A Miracle of Trust! Civilian Boy Saves Lives in Fire, Trust Value Breaks One Million, Debuts at Seventh in the Hero Association’s Live Rankings!]"
Lance stared blankly at the words. He recognized every single one, yet when they were put together, his mind went completely blank.
Seventh in the Hero Association rankings?
Him? Overnight?
He abruptly looked at Elliot.
Elliot nodded, confirming what the newspaper said.
"It’s true."
"After you lost consciousness, your Trust Value data was automatically detected by the Hero Association system and incorporated into its ranking calculations. Because it was generated during a disaster, directly born from the attention and prayers of an enormous number of people in an extremely short period, and because the value crossed the threshold, the system automatically completed your provisional hero registration."
He paused. "You are indeed an officially registered Hero Association hero, ranked seventh."
"Congratulations. You’re a hero now."
The hospital room fell silent for several seconds.
Jake and Chloe looked at Lance too. Alongside their gratitude, their eyes now held disbelief and a faint reverence. Seventh in the hero rankings... those were people they had only ever looked up at in the news.
"I... I never meant to..." Lance murmured.
At the time, he had truly only wanted to save people. He had never imagined that this would make him a hero—let alone make him famous overnight.
It would be a lie to say he was not happy, but it all felt unreal, and a complicated emotion rose within him.
"I know."
Elliot cut him off, his voice gentle but firm. "But it has already happened. People from the Hero Association, along with representatives from all the major Hero Offices, are downstairs at the hospital waiting to see you."
"Your rise has been utterly unprecedented," Elliot said with feeling. "Going from unranked to the Hero Association’s top ten in a single day is simply unheard of."
He looked at Lance, suddenly seeming to think of something, and added:
"Before that, though, there are some things you need to think over. For example..."
He pointed to a parenthetical note beside the codename in the newspaper: [Unconfirmed].
"Your hero name. You need to personally confirm or change it. That will determine what the public calls you from now on."
A hero name...?
Lance recalled the cool power that had gathered around him in the final moments of the fire, and the instant that concrete block had inexplicably rolled aside.
At the time, he had said the words move aside, and the stone had truly broken loose.
A miracle...?!
"Also."
Elliot folded up the newspaper, his tone growing slightly more serious. "There’s someone else who wants to see you. He conducted an in-depth investigation at the accident site, and he also witnessed the latter half of your rescue.
"I know him fairly well. He’s an upright man."
"He has some... questions about the accident itself that he wants to discuss with you. I think you should meet him. He is also a senior reporter and investigator for FOCUS NEWS."
"His name is Grant."
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