Lin Ming stared at the smiley face in his system's message log for a full minute, his mind racing faster than it had in the warehouse.
She hacked my system.
The thought was both terrifying and absurd. This system was linked to his very soul, a product of his rebirth, a power that defied all known laws of physics. It shouldn't be accessible. It shouldn't have an inbox. And it most certainly shouldn't be receiving private messages from cheeky super-hackers.
"System," he demanded in his mind, his voice laced with urgency. "Explain. Now. How did she get in here?"
[...Analyzing... The System's core architecture is impenetrable. She did not 'hack' the core functions.]
"Then how did she send a message?!"
[Analysis complete. The Host's brain and the System Interface are... intertwined. The hacker known as 'Minerva' did not penetrate the System. She appears to have... uh... piggybacked on the Host's neural link when you were connected to the team's comms network. It seems she identified your unique bio-signature and... well... slid a message into your DMs, so to speak.]
[System Conclusion: She didn't hack the System. She hacked your brain. The System is mildly impressed and suggests the Host improve his personal firewall.]
Lin Ming felt a headache coming on. His brain had been hacked. He wasn't sure if that was better or worse. It meant his cultivation secrets were probably safe, but his own thoughts were potentially an open book to this mysterious "M."
He looked at the message again. What are you?
This was a dangerous question. He had three options:
Ignore it. This would likely only make her more curious and determined. A hacker scorned was a dangerous thing.
Lie. But what lie could possibly cover his situation?
Deflect with a partial truth. The most promising, but also the riskiest path.
He decided on option three. He focused on the message window, mentally composing a reply. He had to be vague but intriguing, turning her question back on her.
What is any of us? Just a collection of secrets. You have yours, I have mine. :)
He added his own smiley face at the end, a small act of defiance. Two could play this game. He hit 'send.'
The reply was instantaneous.
:) A good answer. Your secret seems more... energetic than most. Be careful who you share that energy with. Not everyone who notices will be as polite as me.
And with that, the message icon vanished. The connection was cut. Minh Thu had made her point: she saw him, she was curious, but for now, she was content to watch from the digital shadows. She had extended a warning, not a threat.
Lin Ming let out a long, slow breath. The immediate crisis was averted, but he now had a new, unpredictable variable in his life. On top of a snippy loli sniper and a rapidly expanding fan club of defeated rivals, he now had a reclusive super-hacker keeping an eye on his 'biometrics.' His life was becoming increasingly complicated.
Shaking off the mental intrusion, he focused on the positive. He was now at High-Stage Qi Refining.
[Name: Lin Ming]
[Age: 16]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Refining - High Stage]
[Next Milestone: Foundation Establishment. Requirement: 10,000 Battle Will Points and a "Foundation Pill".]
"Foundation Pill?" he asked the system. "What's that?"
A new entry appeared in the System Store.
[Item: Foundation Pill Recipe]
[Description: A detailed recipe for a pill required to stabilize the body and spirit during the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. A necessary component to ensure the 'foundation' you are building is not made of sand.]
[Ingredients: 3x Spirit-Grass Stalks, 1x Iron-Bone Lizard's Gallbladder, 500g of Purified Stellar Iron, 1x tear from a crying cyclops...]
The list of bizarre and likely non-existent ingredients went on.
[Price: 2000 Battle Will Points.]
OR
[Item: Pre-made Foundation Pill]
[Description: One pill, system-guaranteed quality. No fuss, no muss, just pure foundational goodness.]
[Price: 8000 Battle Will Points.]
Lin Ming's eye twitched. The prices were outrageous. He was back to being a poor cultivator. Beating up some street thugs wouldn't cut it anymore. He needed high-stakes missions, high-level opponents. He needed a consistent income of Battle Will Points. The Dragon's Fang program was looking more and more appealing.
The next few days were a blur of activity. His family, using the merits he had earned, applied for and were granted housing in a much safer sector closer to the city center. Their small slum apartment was replaced by a clean, spacious two-bedroom unit in a fortified residential block. His mother cried with joy. His sister, Lin An, was ecstatic about her new, larger room. His father looked at him with a silent, profound pride. Seeing his family safe and happy reinforced Lin Ming's resolve. This was why he fought.
The news of the successful warehouse raid made him a minor celebrity within the Dragon's Fang program. When he showed up for the mandatory weekly training, the other candidates looked at him with awe and respect. He was no longer just the kid who won the school tournament; he was a real, combat-proven soldier.
He found himself frequently paired with Quynh Nhu for training exercises. Their dynamic was an odd but effective one. She would snipe from a distance, yelling sarcastic advice at him, while he would methodically dismantle the opposition up close.
"To your left, Scrawny! The big training dummy wants a hug! Don't be rude!"
"Heads up! That one has a 'surprise' stun-mine inside. You should probably deal with that... or not. It might be funny."
Beneath her snarky commentary, however, was a sharp tactical mind. Her callouts were always perfectly timed, and her cover fire was flawless. They formed an unlikely, deadly rhythm.
During one break, she tossed him a bottle of water. "So," she started, trying to sound casual, "that family heirloom of yours. Does it... you know... have a name?"
Lin Ming paused, then decided a little truth couldn't hurt. "Thuan Thien," he said softly.
Quynh Nhu's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Heaven's Will... You named your 'antique stick' Heaven's Will? That's... dramatic. Even for you."
She didn't make the connection to the legend. To the modern world, it was just a poetic name. But Lin Ming could see the seed of curiosity she was trying so hard to hide.
His quiet life was over. Between a mysterious hacker watching his every move, a growing legend within the military, and a loli sniper trying to figure out his secrets, his path forward was going to be anything but simple. But as he looked towards the massive training grounds, a grin touched his lips.
All of these things meant one thing: more opportunities for Battle Will Points.