The flames were still raging when a figure—barely discernible to the naked eye—suddenly shot out from within. His speed was so fast the fire itself split around him, leaving no time for anyone to react. By the time eyes managed to track him, he had already flashed behind the vehicle, grabbed the leader of the robbers, and lifted him into the air amidst the man's shrill scream.
"Order them to surrender. Now!"The cold electronic voice made the robber leader's skin crawl. But he still tried to act tough, ripping the handgun from his thigh holster and firing desperately at Zhou Yi's helmet.
Watching the bullets twist and deform against the crystalline shield, leaving strange visual distortions, Zhou Yi decided the weapon wasn't worth worrying about. He simply flung the man backward. The unlucky guy flew dozens of feet and embedded into the door of a wrecked car. He twitched a few times like a shrimp before going limp completely.
The sight terrified many people—police, hostages, and especially the robbers.
A robber named Barr immediately threw away his gun, scrambled into the driver's seat, and started the bus, making it lurch wildly. Another robber, Andrew, cursed loudly, grabbed a little girl, tore open his jacket, and revealed the bomb strapped to his chest.
"I say… neither of you is planning to surrender?" Zhou Yi jumped through the rear door, speaking to the two who were still resisting stubbornly.
"Get lost, you monster."Andrew held the girl with one arm, the other hand pressing a detonator as he slowly backed toward the front door. Clearly, he did not want Zhou Yi anywhere near him—being close made him feel anything but safe.
But clearly, even that distance wasn't safe enough.
A flash of white light shot out from Zhou Yi's helmet, sweeping across Andrew's arm. Immediately after, his figure flickered—and just as before, in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Andrew, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him up.
"Put the girl down. And stop the bus!" Zhou Yi ordered.
"Go to hell, you monster!" Andrew struggled. He instinctively pressed the detonator, but his finger didn't move as he expected.
In fact, as he twisted, his forearm simply slid off—cleanly severed without a drop of blood. The stump was charred black, as if the limb had never been his to begin with. A closer look showed the wound had been seared smooth, like it had already undergone high-temperature treatment.
And Andrew felt nothing—not even pain. The superheated beam that severed his arm had simultaneously cauterized the wound and burned out the nerves. So aside from losing part of his arm, Andrew suffered no other sensations. Or at least, that's how he felt.
Ironically, that made the robbers even more terrified.
The already-deranged Barr was slamming the accelerator wildly, completely ignoring the direction of the bus. Andrew, meanwhile, still acted tough—at least he looked like a cornered madman ready to die.
"You damn monster—my hand! Ah!"He roared furiously, raising his remaining arm—then hurled the little girl out of the bus.
Because Barr had lost control long ago, the bus was already scraping along the edge of the bridge. Andrew's throw sent the child straight off the side, plummeting toward the ocean below. From that height, even if she had learned to swim in the womb, the impact alone would kill her instantly.
Zhou Yi, shocked by the robber's cruelty, immediately threw Andrew at Barr. The massive impact knocked both men unconscious and broke several of their bones. Zhou Yi then leapt out of the bus, accelerating downward after the falling girl.
The girl had been screaming midair, but not for long—she suddenly felt her body sink and found herself caught safely in Zhou Yi's arms. He gently pinched her pale cheek, smiling."Little one, everything's fine now."
It was his first time holding a child in this new identity, so he used a bit too much force—her small face was already red from the pinch.
But the girl didn't react at all. Her expression was still frozen in ghost-stricken shock; clearly, she hadn't recovered.
Just then—A deafening metallic crash echoed. Zhou Yi looked up to see a familiar yellow figure charging fearlessly down from the far end of the bridge. From Zhou Yi's side, he could clearly hear the terrified screams of an entire bus full of children.
During the moment Zhou Yi had jumped off the bridge to save the girl, the out-of-control bus had not stopped after hitting the police barricade. Instead, its tires had burst on the spike strips. The sudden deceleration forced the unconscious Barr to jam the accelerator, sending the bus skidding wildly—before finally tipping off the bridge's edge.
No one—not even the police—had anticipated this. Everything had seemed to be heading toward the best possible outcome… until this sudden twist. Many officers felt like they were losing their minds.
A bus full of students, doomed because of police mistakes. One could imagine the pressure and condemnation the NYPD would face. Not only from the media and the public—but from their own conscience.
Watching the tragedy unfold, Captain Stacy covered his eyes in anguish. Everything that had happened today weighed heavily on his heart. As one of the few government officials with integrity, he felt tortured. Many officers and bystanders shared the same sentiment.
But the media—the most chaos-loving creatures on Earth—had arrived early. They were already filming and livestreaming frantically. With topics like gunfights, superhumans, and massive child casualties, they could already predict how explosively the "Brooklyn Bridge Incident" would spread.
Suddenly, another wave of commotion exploded among the reporters.
Captain Stacy snapped irritably,"Damn journalists—can't they shut up for one moment?"
A police officer patted his shoulder."Captain, I think… you should look at this."His voice was filled with unexpected joy.
Captain Stacy looked up.
In the bright afternoon sunlight, a black figure was descending from the sky—holding the entire bus above his head, a little girl in his other arm. He slowly landed on solid ground.
The instant he set the bus down, the flashes of cameras turned the area silver-white.
The situation had completely reversed.
A swarm of officers rushed to rescue hostages—not that they needed to. The frantic parents who had raced to the scene broke through the police line long ago, grabbing their children and sobbing. Police dragged away the unconscious robbers, and of course, not without a bit of "extra force."
A young couple rushed toward Zhou Yi. Understanding their intent, he gently handed the girl over. The woman clutched her child, kissing her frantically, while the man hugged both mother and daughter, eyes red as he trembled.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you for saving my daughter."
"No need to thank me."Zhou Yi gently stroked the little girl's hair."Your child is very precious. Ensuring that such a lovely life continues—that is my duty."
"Thank God… may God bless you, sir," the couple repeated over and over. Zhou Yi waved them off and walked toward the man who had been waiting for him.
"A happy ending, isn't it, Captain Stacy?" Zhou Yi said.
Captain Stacy frowned, staring intently."Who the hell are you? Stark or Osborn's super-machine? Or some shady alien? What's your real agenda?"
"None of the above. Like I said: I'm just a passerby with good intentions—a man who still believes in chivalry. Think of me as the final darkness of night, and the herald of dawn to come. As for my purpose—you've already seen it. Maintaining peace. That's the simplest way to put it."
"You expect me to believe that? And we don't need some masked stranger to maintain order. The police are enough." Stacy waved irritably. He could already imagine what chaos would engulf New York in the future.
"There will always be situations like today—things you can't handle." Zhou Yi shrugged."And there will always be times you need my help, Captain. I won't interfere, and I'm not here to steal your job. Just think of me as a friendly partner."
"A partner would at least tell us his name." Stacy muttered, though doubt had already cracked his certainty.
"That's a secret. Captain, use that brilliant mind of yours—a codename should be enough." Zhou Yi smiled and shot into the air. Before countless eyes, he rose into the sky, tore through the clouds with a booming shockwave, and accelerated until he vanished from sight.
The moment the man who had saved an entire busload of children disappeared, the reporters—already armed with cameras and microphones—charged through the police barricade and swarmed Captain Stacy.
"Captain, what is your relationship with that mysterious figure?""Captain, who is he? A superhuman, mutant, or mechanical warrior?""Captain, in this rescue the police achieved nothing—in fact, they nearly made the situation worse. The mysterious figure did all the real work. Should the public assume the police are wasting taxpayers' money?"
The barrage of accusations sent Captain Stacy's blood pressure skyrocketing. But to hold a position like his, one needed exceptional self-control.
So instead of punching someone—which he very much wanted to—he forced away the microphones being shoved practically into his mouth and put on a serious expression.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the rescue was the result of joint efforts. Therefore, the claim that the police wasted resources is unfounded."
"Captain, when you say 'joint efforts,' do you mean the police and the mysterious figure have a cooperative relationship?"
Captain Stacy coughed once and began fabricating—after all, the mysterious superhuman had implicitly approved this approach.
"You may interpret it that way. The NYPD and the mysterious figure do indeed have a limited cooperative relationship."
"What is the mysterious figure's identity? Does the police intend to reveal it or the details of your cooperation?"
Seeing that the captain was giving them something, the reporters grew even more frenzied.
"Our cooperation does not involve his true identity—that is personal privacy. And the cooperation itself is limited strictly to maintaining public order."Stacy answered while squeezing through the crowd with the help of his officers.
"Then, Captain, what do you call your partner? Flyer, Strongman, Future Soldier?"
Captain Stacy paused, then said solemnly:
"Knight. I call him the Dawn Knight."
With Captain Stacy's words, every reporter began using the name—and as the media spread it rapidly, the codename became official.
For Zhou Yi, it marked the beginning of a brand-new life as a superhero.