Life changed once more. With his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, Lin Ming's abilities had taken a quantum leap.
He spent the next two weeks quietly consolidating his power. He learned to extend and retract his [Spiritual Sense] at will, to manifest his [Dragon's Blood Armor] over different parts of his body, and to control the volatile [Long Tien Cau]. He even discovered that by using the 'healing' aspect of the sphere, he could drastically speed up his mother's recovery from her chronic back pain, a nagging ailment from years of hard labor.
Seeing her move without wincing for the first time in a decade was a reward greater than any amount of Battle Will Points.
His 'other life' was also changing. News of his probationary status in the elite Dragon's Fang program had spread. The school administration treated him with a newfound respect, and even the arrogant young master, Trinh Tuan, actively avoided him, his fear palpable.
One afternoon, Agent Hien summoned him, Quynh Nhu, and Pham Tuan to the Blacklight facility. It wasn't for a mission. It was for a transfer.
"Effective today," Hien announced, her tone as businesslike as ever, "the three of you are being transferred out of the Dragon's Fang Preparatory Program. Your performances have exceeded the curriculum's scope."
Quynh Nhu crossed her arms. "So, we graduated? Are we full members of the Fang now?"
"No," Hien replied, surprising them all. "You are being assigned to a new, experimental unit. Task Force Chimera."
She pulled up a holographic file. "Standard military units and even special forces are struggling against the Madakaros's cultivator-class warriors.
What we need is a team that can counter them on their own terms. A team of our most powerful and promising young Awakened, working outside the normal chain of command. A scalpel, not a sledgehammer."
The file showed three profiles.
Quynh Nhu. Codename: Hawkeye. Role: Long-Range Support, Designated Marksman.
Pham Tuan. Codename: Juggernaut. Role: Frontline Assault, Disruption.
Lin Ming. Codename: Zenith. Role: CQC Specialist, Variable/Intel.
"'Zenith'?" Lin Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Your performance in the test was calm and calculating, reaching the 'zenith' of tactical efficiency. Central Command's psych profile also flagged you as having an unnervingly low heart rate under pressure," Hien explained blandly. "And 'Zen Master' sounded unprofessional."
Quynh Nhu snickered. "They should have called him 'Turtle'. He's a fan of trash can shields."
Hien ignored her. "Task Force Chimera will have its own dedicated barracks, training facility, and support staff. And," she paused for effect, "you will have a fourth team member. Our technical and intelligence specialist."
The fourth profile appeared. It was a picture of a girl with sleepy eyes and a perpetually neutral expression, the same girl Lin Ming knew as the super-hacker, Minh Thu.
Minh Thu. Codename: Minerva. Role: Info-Warfare, Technical Support, Mission Control.
So, the cheeky ghost from his system was now his official teammate. This was going to be complicated.
"Minerva is a high-value, non-combat asset," Hien stated. "Her identity and location are classified above your pay grade. You will only ever communicate with her remotely. Your first duty as a new team is to settle into your barracks. Get to know each other. You'll need to function as a single unit. Dismissed."
The "barracks" turned out to be a self-contained, high-tech apartment complex within the Blacklight facility. It had four private rooms, a communal living area, a state-of-the-art kitchen, and a direct link to a private training simulation room. It was luxurious beyond anything Lin Ming had ever imagined.
The first team meeting was... awkward.
Quynh Nhu immediately claimed the room with the best view and began setting up a snack station. Pham Tuan chose a room and disappeared inside, still clearly intimidated by Lin Ming. This left Lin Ming in the living room, staring at a large comms screen where Minerva's static profile picture was displayed.
A text chat window opened. It was her.
Minerva: Greetings, Team Leader Zenith.
Lin Ming was taken aback. Zenith: I'm not the team leader.
Minerva: You scored the highest on all combat and strategy assessments. You neutralized three Madakaros hostiles, two of them cultivator-class, single-handedly. Your psych profile shows a natural leadership aptitude. According to the data, you are the logical choice. Quynh Nhu is too impulsive, and Pham Tuan lacks confidence.
Her logic was cold, hard, and undeniable. He was, by all metrics, the most qualified.
Before he could argue, Quynh Nhu strolled out of her room, crunching on a chip. "So, what's our first order of business, boss?" she asked casually, pointing her chip at Lin Ming. "World domination? Or ordering pizza? I vote for pizza."
Even she had accepted it. Lin Ming sighed. It seemed he had been promoted, whether he liked it or not.
Zenith: Fine. First order of business: establish team dynamics. Second order: pizza.
Minerva: Affirmative. I have already compiled a list of the highest-rated pizza establishments in Hanoi and cross-referenced them with delivery times and coupon availability. Suggestion: The 'Four Cheese Apocalypse' from 'Pizza Havoc' offers the best cheese-to-crust ratio.
Quynh Nhu's eyes lit up. "I like this girl!"
As this bizarre team-building exercise was taking place, a grim report was being discussed in the highest echelons of ASEAN Command. Agent Hien stood before a council of grim-faced generals.
"The intelligence Minerva salvaged from the warehouse was more disturbing than we initially thought," Hien reported, her voice low. "The Madakaros on Earth aren't just here for oil anymore. The transmissions we decoded speak of the 'Great Offering'."
She displayed a fragmented alien text. "They believe that by sacrificing a large number of 'energetically potent' lifeforms on a planetary scale, they can create a massive surge of death-energy. They hope to use this surge to punch a hole through the dimensional veil and catch the attention of a higher-level entity in the Madakaros hierarchy."
"Their goal is to get off this rock," a general surmised. "They see Earth not just as a gas station, but as a sacrificial altar to buy themselves a promotion."
"Precisely," Hien confirmed. "And their primary target for this 'Great Offering' is a location they've identified as the largest concentration of human life left on the planet: Hanoi."
The room grew cold.
"Worse," Hien continued, "they seem to be aware of our folklore. Their intel mentions 'dormant gods' and 'ancient guardians.' The attack on the Mountain Guardian was not random. It was a test. They are actively hunting our world's natural protectors."
She looked at the assembled generals, her face grim. "They are planning something big. A coordinated, all-out assault on this city. And they plan to use our own myths against us. We don't have much time."
The weight of the world was settling on Hanoi's shoulders. And in the middle of it all, Task Force Chimera, humanity's new scalpel, was busy arguing about pineapple as a pizza topping. The calm before the storm was about to end.