Lâm Minh didn't return to his Sector 7 apartment immediately.
The alleyways behind the Broken Mug were a maze, and he used them to put considerable distance between himself and the gang war now raging.
He moved with the silence and efficiency of a seasoned operative, his Qi Refining cultivation allowing him to scale walls and leap across gaps that would challenge an ordinary person.
He needed a secure location to contact Yan.
He found it in the shell of a bombed-out library, a place he'd scouted previously for its seclusion and multiple escape routes.
Crouching amidst overturned shelves and decaying books, he activated the discreet, single-use communicator Old Feng had provided for urgent, non-emergency contact with Yan.
It was a simple audio-only device, heavily encrypted.
"Yan, it's Minh. Situation at the Broken Mug escalated. The Skulls launched a full-scale attack on Viper's operation. I managed to exfiltrate with a sample of Viper's current batch of Crimson Dream. It appears significantly more potent than street-level samples."
There was a brief pause on the other end, then Yan's calm, measured voice came through.
"Your timing is… eventful, Minh. Commander Trinh will be interested in this development. The Skulls are ambitious, but a direct assault on a well-established distributor like Viper is bold, even for them. It suggests they either have new backing, or they're desperate."
"Viper was testing me when the attack began," Lâm Minh reported.
"He wanted me to sample the product on the spot. The raid provided a convenient exit."
"Fortuitous," Yan commented, though Lâm Minh detected no surprise in his tone.
Yan always seemed to anticipate contingencies.
"The sample you acquired is valuable. Do not attempt to analyze it yourself. Bring it to me at the usual location. Use caution; the Skulls will be flooding the area, and Viper's surviving crew will be looking for scapegoats or opportunities."
"Understood. I also observed the effects of Crimson Dream are more pronounced than initial reports suggested. The energy signatures of users are highly agitated, almost volatile."
"That aligns with Trinh's concerns," Yan said.
"The Madakaros bio-compound traces are not inert. They seem to actively destabilize human bioenergetics. This drug is more than just a narcotic; it's a potential weapon, or at the very least, a dangerously unpredictable mutagen."
A weapon.
The word sent a chill down Lâm Minh's spine.
If the Madakaros, or someone using their technology, was deliberately trying to turn humans into crazed, super-powered berserkers… the implications were horrifying.
"What's Trinh's assessment of the Maka Legion activity?" Lâm Minh asked, shifting the topic slightly.
It was a constant worry at the back of his mind.
"Still monitoring," Yan replied.
"The unusual energy signatures persist, but they are sporadic and difficult to pinpoint. No confirmed visual contact. High Command remains… skeptical. Trinh's department is operating on limited resources and a great deal of conjecture. Your intelligence from the ground, especially concerning anything that might be a Madakaros tool or proxy, is therefore crucial."
Lâm Minh understood.
He was a tiny cog in a vast, shadowy machine, but his input could be critical.
"I'll bring the sample to you within the hour," Lâm Minh said.
"Exercise extreme caution."
"Always, Minh. Yan out." The communicator went dead.
Lâm Minh crushed the device under his heel.
He took a moment to center himself, his mind processing the new information.
The gang war, the potency of Crimson Dream, the ever-present shadow of the Maka Legion.
The situation was far more complex and dangerous than a simple drug investigation.
He navigated his way back towards the Sleeping Dragon's den, using his Qi Sense to avoid patrols and any lingering hotspots from the gang fight.
The Rust Market was even more on edge than usual, the air thick with tension.
Yan was waiting for him, his expression as unreadable as ever.
Lâm Minh handed over the sealed vial of Crimson Dream.
Yan examined it carefully, holding it up to the light of a single oil lamp.
The crimson liquid within seemed to possess a life of its own, swirling and pulsing.
"Remarkable," Yan murmured, his scholarly curiosity piqued.
"The energy signature is… chaotic, yet undeniably potent. Even through the vial, I can feel its disruptive influence."
He placed the vial in a heavily padded, lead-lined box.
"Commander Trinh has facilities for analyzing this safely. We should have preliminary results within twenty-four hours."
"What about Viper?" Lâm Minh asked.
"And the Skulls?"
"The Skulls appear to have overrun the Broken Mug," Yan said, consulting a small, discreet datapad.
"Viper's fate is unknown, presumed either dead or in hiding. The Skulls are already trying to assert control over his territory. This will destabilize the local power balance significantly. There will be more bloodshed before a new equilibrium is found."
"Does this help or hinder our investigation?"
Yan considered for a moment.
"Both. It disrupts Viper's network, which we were beginning to penetrate. But it also creates chaos, and in chaos, information often surfaces. The Skulls, in their arrogance, might become careless. And those displaced by their aggression will be looking for new alliances, new employers."
He looked at Lâm Minh.
"Your next task will be to monitor the Skulls. Identify their new leadership, their methods of distributing Crimson Dream – if they choose to continue Viper's trade – and any connections they might have to its original source. This will be dangerous. The Skulls are more brutal and less predictable than Viper's crew."
"I understand," Lâm Minh said.
He was already formulating plans.
"Commander Trinh also authorized an increase in your operational fund," Yan added, sliding a pouch of credits and a small bag of Spirit Stones across the counter.
"And these." He produced three small, metallic darts, each tipped with a needle-fine point that glowed faintly with a bluish light.
"
Tranquilizer darts," Yan explained.
"Specially formulated. Potent enough to incapacitate an average human for several hours. They might be useful if you need to subdue rather than eliminate. Use them sparingly; they are not easily replaceable."
Lâm Minh examined the darts.
Another tool in his arsenal.
He was grateful for Trinh's foresight, or perhaps Yan's suggestion.
"One more thing, Minh," Yan said, his voice dropping slightly.
"The energy signature from the deep space arrays… it spiked again a few hours ago. Significantly. And this time, it was closer. Within the outer orbital perimeter of Earth."
Lâm Minh felt a cold dread. "Maka Legion?"
"Highly probable," Yan confirmed, his usual composure showing a rare crack of concern.
"A single vessel, attempting stealthy insertion. Our long-range defenses engaged. The vessel… self-destructed. Or so it seemed."
"Seemed?"
"The energy signature of the explosion was… unusual. Not typical for a Madakaros ship of that size. Trinh suspects it might have been a decoy, or a vessel deploying something smaller, something designed to slip past our net during the chaos of the explosion."
Lâm Minh's mind raced.
A smaller deployment.
What could that be?
A probe?
An assassin?
A saboteur?
"What does Trinh think it deployed?"
"Unknown. It could be anything. Or nothing. But the timing, coinciding with the escalating Crimson Dream situation and the increasing instability in the city… it's too coincidental for her liking." Yan met Lâm Minh's gaze.
"The urgency of your mission has just increased tenfold, Minh. Whatever is happening, Crimson Dream is a part of it. And the Madakaros are no longer just a distant threat on the horizon. They are, potentially, already among us."
The weight of Yan's words settled heavily on Lâm Minh.
This wasn't just about gangs and drugs anymore.
This was about the forefront of an alien invasion, a silent, insidious infiltration that could precede a much larger, more devastating assault.
His Qi Refining cultivation, his growing strength, suddenly felt woefully inadequate.
But fear was a luxury he couldn't afford.
He had knowledge from his past life, a System guiding him, and a burning resolve to protect this world, this timeline.
"I'll find out what the Skulls know," Lâm Minh said, his voice hard with determination.
"And if Crimson Dream is a Madakaros tool, I'll trace it back to its source, no matter how deep it runs."
Yan nodded slowly.
"Be careful, Minh. You are becoming an increasingly valuable asset. We cannot afford to lose you."
Lâm Minh left the Sleeping Dragon's den with a new sense of urgency burning in his chest.
The game had changed.
The shadows were deepening, and the monsters were no longer just human.