Night enveloped the city in silence. Under the dim streetlights, Lam Minh moved like a ghost. The well-fitted military uniform allowed him to move with extreme comfort.
The mask concealed all his expressions, revealing only stark white, cold eyes.
In his hand was a black saber, the standard-issue weapon of the Special Reconnaissance Unit.
His Completion-level Wind Walking was now in full effect.
Lam Minh's body glided effortlessly, as if flying. He crossed rooftops and fences without a sound.
This was his first mission.
His heart pounded in his chest, a mix of nervousness and excitement.
"How thrilling," Lam Minh muttered.
The arrow on the card continuously guided him through the city's labyrinthine alleys.
The target was getting closer.
2km.
1km.
500m.
Lam Minh made a quick calculation, slowed down, and moved cautiously.
[Ding! The host has consumed 2000 attribute points to upgrade spirit, successfully transforming from Spirit Origin to True Consciousness Realm.]
With the breakthrough in his spirit, Lam Minh suddenly felt his mind become many times clearer.
The scanning range of his sea of consciousness also expanded. He could now perceive everything within a 100-meter radius.
Quickly, his True Consciousness scanned a figure that was very close.
A black shadow was also moving at high speed.
A figure with no clothes, but a dense black qi emanated from it, enveloping everything.
Its eyes glowed a fiery red.
Seeing this, Lam Minh was suddenly reminded of a character: a werewolf.
But it clearly wasn't a werewolf.
Lam Minh tried to use his True Consciousness to scan the Demon Shadow's appearance more closely, but he still couldn't penetrate it to see its true face.
Lam Minh looked at the black card in his hand. The guiding needle was pointing right at that figure.
"That's him, the Demon Shadow." Lam Minh smiled. It turned out to be easy to find.
At this moment, one black shadow moved ahead.
Another black shadow moved behind.
Both were constantly weaving.
The Demon Shadow didn't want to be discovered by humans.
Lam Minh didn't want to be discovered by the Demon Shadow.
Following the Demon Shadow, Lam Minh sensed the creature's cunning.
Every move the Demon Shadow made seemed to be calculated.
It always sought out hidden corners and deserted streets, avoiding any place with surveillance cameras.
"This one isn't simple," Lam Minh thought to himself.
But that made sense. No Qi Refining realm cultivator would be simple.
Lam Minh always maintained a safe distance, sticking to higher ground than the Demon Shadow, always keeping himself in a position for easy observation.
As Lam Minh saw it, if he just followed this guy, the mission would be easy.
At this moment, the Demon Shadow glided into a deserted, dark alley.
In the alley, there were puddles of water from the previous rain.
And that's where the incident happened: in the puddles, a group of small children, about seven or eight years old, were sitting and playing in the water.
The Demon Shadow's appearance in the deserted alley terrified the children.
Their faces turned pale when they saw a pitch-black figure covered in black smoke.
This figure was so large and frightening that it made them forget to run or scream.
One could faintly see that the crotches of a few children were wet.
The Demon Shadow was also stunned. It couldn't have predicted that there would be children in a deserted alley.
It quickly made a decision: its mission could not be exposed, and it didn't want to cause a commotion.
But being discovered was even more dangerous.
Its crimson eyes flashed with a cruel glint.
Silence them!
The Demon Shadow drew its saber. The sound of metal scraping against the scabbard rang out. The light reflecting off the blade made the children's eyes widen.
One little boy couldn't hold it in any longer.
He took a step back, about to run and scream.
The Demon Shadow gave them no chance.
Its body shot towards the children like an arrow.
A single slash.
Time seemed to slow down.
A few children were starting to run, a few were paralyzed with fear, sitting on the ground.
Their faces were etched with absolute terror.
The blade slowly descended.
Whoosh!
Another black shadow had quickly appeared, blocking the way in front of the children.
It was Lam Minh – Z. He couldn't just stand by and watch. A mission was a mission, but he couldn't bring himself to heartlessly watch children die just to follow orders.
Lam Minh's blade clashed with the Demon Shadow's, a harsh "Keeeng!" ringing out.
The immense force from the blow forced Lam Minh to take a few steps back.
Seeing the uniform and the symbol on it, the Demon Shadow's eyes flashed with surprise.
Its voice was hoarse, making it impossible for Lam Minh to guess its age. "Reconnaissance Unit? Since when have you been following me?"
Lam Minh didn't answer. He didn't want to waste time with talk.
And his superior's orders were that when wearing the uniform, he was not to utter a single word, even if he were cut down and killed.
Lam Minh rushed forward, swinging the black saber in his hand.
His entire body channeled Wind Walking and the Primordial Chaos Sword Art.
Although Lam Minh was holding a saber, it didn't hinder him from executing a sword technique.
Sword intent flowed from his palm into the saber.
An explosive slash, aimed straight at the Demon Shadow. Using sword intent with a saber felt truly awkward.
One was for hacking and slashing, the other for exquisite, dancing swordsmanship.
"I'll have to practice a saber technique when I get back," Lam Minh muttered.
Lam Minh's saber clashed with the Demon Shadow's. He had thought that with his explosive sword intent and strength, he could easily annihilate this guy, but no.
As soon as his sword intent made contact with the Demon Shadow's saber, it was immediately shattered by the creature's spiritual power.
The backlash from the attack made his arm go numb.
"Damn it," Lam Minh cursed under his breath.
He looked back and saw that the children had run away. Only then did he feel truly relieved.
The Demon Shadow rubbed its wrist. Drops of blood dripped from its palm onto the ground, making a "tong tong" sound. "Not bad. But you're not enough to stop me."
The Demon Shadow's spiritual power erupted.
A sense of pressure slammed into Lam Minh.
Fortunately, Lam Minh had the Hong Hoang Dragon God Body. The drop of Dragon Blood circulated throughout his body, helping him withstand most of it.
"Ha, a Body Tempering realm brat dares to appear and fight me," the Demon Shadow sneered.
With that, it immediately charged forward.
Spiritual power surged from its saber like a tide.
As for Lam Minh, he was only at the Body Tempering realm. How could he resist?
Seeing this explosive power, Lam Minh lamented, "Damn it, this guy is at least at the Foundation Establishment realm, not Qi Refining."
The reason Lam Minh was certain the Demon Shadow was at the Foundation Establishment realm was that he felt its power was no less than Quynh Nhu's.
The drop of Hong Hoang Dragon Seed Blood circulated wildly.
Lam Minh secretly guessed that he would be no match for this guy.
He changed his strategy.
Stall for time.
At the same time, he pressed the report button, continuously sending his location through the black card.
After a while, the Demon Shadow's eyes narrowed. It couldn't believe it couldn't finish off this guy in front of it.
This guy was like sticky glue. Whenever it attacked, he would retreat and block.
And when it retreated, this guy would advance and close in.
Seeing that it didn't have much time, the Demon Shadow quickly shot past Lam Minh and ran deeper into the dark alley.
"Trying to run?" Lam Minh touched the black card to his mouth and said, while also giving chase, "Report! Target's cultivation is at least at the Foundation Establishment realm. Requesting immediate backup!"
With that, he turned on his locator and madly pursued the black shadow.
The Demon Shadow moved extremely fast, its figure weaving and changing direction constantly.
It darted through the most complex alleys, hoping to shake Lam Minh.
After a while.
The Demon Shadow stood on a rooftop.
It carefully observed its surroundings.
Only when it was sure it had shaken Lam Minh did it let out a sigh of relief.
"Reconnaissance Unit, hmph, always getting in our way." The Demon Shadow muttered and then dissolved into the night.
It flew towards its original target.
But from another corner, Lam Minh appeared, watching the Demon Shadow's back.
Lam Minh smiled. "Want to run from me? You're still too green. My Wind Walking isn't just for show."
…
Lam Minh quietly followed the Demon Shadow. He was feeling smug, thinking that all he had to do was tail the target, wait for a powerhouse to arrive and slap this Demon Shadow to death, and the mission would be complete.
But no.
When the Demon Shadow stopped on a building, its eyes were fixed in one direction.
Lam Minh, who was hiding nearby, also looked in that direction.
Immediately, his whole body went numb.
In his line of sight, a luxurious but familiar villa appeared.
"It's To Quyen's house! He wants to attack an ASEAN official!" Lam Minh's heart felt like it was stuck in his throat.
Without giving him time to think.
The Demon Shadow suddenly moved.
It moved faster and faster, shooting out from the darkness like a cannonball.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion rang out as the Demon Shadow collided with the extremely sturdy and heavy security gate.
But it couldn't stop it.
The gate shattered, and splinters of wood flew everywhere.
Lam Minh stood in the distance, his whole body cold.
…
Inside the house.
The sparkling golden light made the living room even more luxurious and magnificent.
Mr. To was sitting comfortably on the sofa. In front of him was another official. The two were laughing and talking happily, seemingly discussing some matter within the alliance.
To Quyen and Mrs. To Chien were busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
Around them were guards in black suits, fully armed. Short guns were hidden inside their jackets.
"Ha, Mr. Ahmad. I have information that the spatial gate in the northeast of your country is showing signs of falling. Do you need assistance? You know, if it falls, many lives will be lost. This is not the time to be concerned about face," To Chien said, draining his glass of wine in one gulp.
The bearded face of old Ahmad opposite him turned pale upon hearing this. "Indeed, it's not about face, but two days ago, a group of 11 Nascent Soul realm powerhouses from the Cultivation World suddenly appeared at the spatial gate. They didn't attack, nor did they initiate negotiations. They just appeared and stood there silently."
Old Ahmad paused, his eyes looking meaningfully at Mr. To. "The government has dispatched all our Nascent Soul realm cultivators to defend it. But you know, my country only has 3 Nascent Soul realm cultivators. If you are willing to dispatch all your Nascent Soul cultivators to help, it will further strengthen the friendship between us."
Mr. To hesitated for a moment, but his face remained calm. "It's not that we can't dispatch them, but my country also needs to be defended. If the problem is resolved quickly, it's fine, but if it drags on, I'm afraid we won't be able to bear it either."
Old Ahmad was disappointed. He was one of the leaders of the ASEAN bloc. Damn bastards, out of all the spatial gates, you had to bring 11 of them to my country.
Mr. To poured another glass of wine, swirling it a few times to create shimmering waves. "At most, I can only dispatch 2 of our 6 powerhouses to assist you. As for the rest, you will still have to negotiate with other countries."
Only then did old Ahmad smile. He stood up, his eyes moist, and shook Mr. To's hand. "Thank you, sir! I will go and negotiate further immediately."
Mr. To Chien also smiled, stood up, and shook old Ahmad's hand. "We are all brothers; there's no need for such formalities. I wish you a safe journey."
Just then, a loud BOOM rang out. The door shattered, and splinters of wood flew everywhere.
The shockwave from the impact shook the living room like an earthquake.
Old Ahmad and Mr. To were thrown to the ground. The guards only had time to rush forward and shield the two of them.
To Quyen and her mother also ran out to see what was happening.
Before their eyes, a black shadow enveloped in black qi, its appearance unclear, was floating. Its blood-red eyes bored straight into the souls of everyone present.