The 'White Rabbit' descended through the upper atmosphere of the Yunnan Dead Zone like a ghost. There was no fiery reentry, no sonic boom.
One moment, they were in the cold black of space; the next, they were gliding silently through the perpetual, thick fog that gave the region its notoriety.
Below them, jagged, black mountains clawed at the sky, their peaks hidden in a shroud of gray mist. It was a desolate, ink-wash painting of a landscape, beautiful in its own bleak way.
It was also, according to Minerva, teeming with things that wanted to kill them.
Lin Ming stood in the small cockpit behind Quynh Nhu, who was piloting.
The grime of his breakthrough was gone, washed away in the barracks' sonic shower. He felt clean, sharp, and dangerously potent.
His new Golden Core hummed quietly in his dantian, a tiny, internal sun that suffused his entire body with a calm, steady strength.
His Divine Sense, the upgraded version of his old perception, was a revelation. He could extend it outwards, not just feeling auras, but perceiving the world in a 360-degree sphere of exquisite detail.
He could feel the texture of the rock on the mountains five kilometers below, the slow crawl of a hardy Martian insect on the ship's hull, the nervous flutter of Pham Tuan's heart in the seat behind him.
And he could feel the ever-present malice radiating from their target destination, a psychic stain on the horizon.
It was a constant, low-level hum of psychic wrongness. The lair of Inquisitor Vex.
"We are approaching the insertion point," Minerva's calm voice announced through the ship's internal speakers.
She was the ship now, her consciousness fully integrated with its systems. "It is a plateau concealed by a waterfall, approximately twenty kilometers north of the survivor's fortress, 'Last Bastion'. Satellite imagery is impossible due to the fog, but geological scans suggest a stable cave system behind the waterfall for concealment of the White Rabbit."
"A secret hideout behind a waterfall?" Quynh Nhu remarked without taking her eyes off the controls. "Very dramatic. Our resident psychic bad guy has a flair for the theatrical, I'll give him that." She guided the ship with a newfound grace, her week of simulator-crashes having paid off.
"It's practical," Lin Ming countered quietly, his eyes scanning the terrain below. "The sound and spray of the waterfall would mask the ship's energy signature from any ground patrols."
"See, Tuan?" Quynh Nhu shot over her shoulder. "Practical! Not just for show."
Pham Tuan, strapped into his seat, did not look convinced. "I just hope there aren't any giant, angry fish in the cave," he muttered.
He had developed a deep mistrust of all missions involving large bodies of water after Lin Ming summoned the Great Turtle at Hoan Kiem Lake.
The waterfall came into view. It was a massive curtain of water, plunging hundreds of meters down a sheer cliff face into a churning pool below.
It was an impressive display of nature's power. Quynh Nhu expertly piloted the White Rabbit directly towards it.
For a heart-stopping moment, it seemed like they were going to smash into the rock, but then, just as Minerva had predicted, they passed straight through the water screen and into a vast, cavernous cave behind it.
The landing was perfect. The ship's ramp lowered with a soft hiss, opening onto the damp stone floor of the cave.
The air was cool and smelled of wet rock and ancient, undisturbed earth. It was a perfect natural hangar.
"Phase one complete," Lin Ming announced, stepping onto the ramp. "We're here. We're hidden." He turned to face his team. The time for travel was over. The time for hunting had begun.
"Minerva, give me a status report. On everything."
Minerva: The lights in the cockpit dimmed as a holographic display appeared in front of them. The ship is secure and has entered low-power stealth mode. I am now running on my own internal power source and projecting to your comms. I will remain here and act as your mission control. The celestial alignment, the 'Blood Moon Bloom', is T-minus twenty-eight days. The survivors' fortress, 'Last Bastion', is twenty-two kilometers to the south. Inquisitor Vex's primary ritual site appears to be located in an old mountaintop temple, directly between us and Last Bastion. It is the psychic nexus of the entire region.
A 3D topographical map hovered in the air, showing their position, the fortress, and the temple.
"The temple is the key," Lin Ming deduced. "That's where he'll conduct the ritual. It's the high ground, spiritually and physically."
"So we just walk up and knock on the door?" Pham Tuan asked.
"Something like that," Lin Ming said. "But first, we make contact with the locals. We can't save the survivors if they're shooting at us, thinking we're a new kind of monster. We need to get a message to them, let them know help has arrived."
"How?" Quynh Nhu asked, now slinging her new, terrifyingly sleek sniper rifle over her shoulder.
"They've been cut off for fifty years. Their comms technology will be ancient. We can't just call them up."
"We won't need to," Lin Ming said. "They'll have scouts, perimeter patrols. People watching the mountain passes. They survived this long by being careful.
We find one of their patrols, we make friendly contact, and we get a lay of the land from their perspective. They know this territory better than any map Minerva can provide."
The plan was solid, but the execution was fraught with peril. Every step they took outside this cave was a risk.
Lin Ming turned to Pham Tuan. "Tuan, you and I will handle first contact. Your appearance," he said, gesturing to Tuan's imposing frame, "can be intimidating. But your honest face is reassuring. Let me do the talking. We need to build trust."
Pham Tuan nodded, his expression serious. "Understood, Leader."
"Nhu," Lin Ming said, turning to his sniper. "You have the most important job. You stay here. You are the guardian of our only way home."
Quynh Nhu's face fell. "What? Guard the ship? I don't get to come shoot things?"
"Your role is more critical than that," Lin Ming explained patiently. "This cave is our base. The White Rabbit is our lifeline. If anything happens to it, we're all dead. You are the best defensive asset we have. Your rifle's range can cover all the major approaches to this cave. I need someone here I can trust completely to keep our exit secure. That's you."
He wasn't just giving an order; he was showing his trust.
He knew Quynh Nhu's personality.
She bristled at being benched, but she swelled with pride at being given the most critical responsibility.
She pouted for a second, then her expression hardened with professionalism.
"Fine," she huffed. "But if a single three-eyed rat so much as sneezes on our ugly ghost ship, I'm turning it into modern art. And you'd better bring me back a souvenir."
"Deal," Lin Ming said with a small smile.
With the roles assigned, he and Pham Tuan geared up. They dressed in simple, dark-grey tactical gear, eschewing any obvious ASEAN military markings.
On his back, Lin Ming carried Thuan Thien, still in its unassuming cloth wrap. In their minds, Minerva provided a constant, low-level data stream, updating their maps and highlighting potential patrol routes based on topographical analysis.
As they stood on the ramp, about to step out into the oppressive fog of the Dead Zone, Pham Tuan looked at Lin Ming. "Leader... after you... absorbed the pearl. You feel different. Stronger."
"I am," Lin Ming confirmed.
"Will it be enough? Against Vex?"
Lin Ming thought for a moment. He thought of his new Golden Core, the deep reservoir of power humming within him. He thought of the elemental knowledge now etched into his soul.
He thought of the hatred he held for the creatures who had brought his world to its knees.
"I don't know if it will be enough," he said honestly, stepping out into the mist. "But I can promise you one thing. It's going to be a very unpleasant surprise for him."
The hunt had begun.
Not with a bang, but with two quiet figures melting into the primordial fog, ghosts walking in a land of other ghosts.