Xander drew a deep breath, visibly holding back his rage. “Fine. Give me twelve more hours. If we don’t have results, I’ll hand the prisoners over to the Corps.”
Leona’s lips curled faintly. “Even if I gave you twelve days, it wouldn’t change anything.”
Just then, Xander’s phone buzzed. He stood abruptly. “Excuse me—I’ll take this outside.”
He stormed from the hall. Gordon, left behind, forced a tight smile, trying to cover the crackling tension. “Heh… harmony is what matters most, after all.”
.....
“Let me see who the hell thinks it’s okay to interrupt me during a meeting!” Xander snapped as he yanked open his phone. But when he saw the caller ID, his anger melted into relief. “Vince. What is it?”
“Captain, the case is closed. We’ve identified the spy in Northern Spiritual Town. It was Jeremiah from the Survey Corps. He also had four human pupae under his control. What are next orders?”
“What?!” Xander nearly crushed the phone in his grip. “You caught him? Is the evidence solid? How the fuck did you pull it off?”
He fired off question after question, his excitement bubbling into incoherence.
“Uh, the evidence is airtight,” Vince replied. “We’ve got Fabian from the Ministry of Agriculture and Mr. Geoffrey from the Ministry of Defense as witnesses. Captain, why don’t we bring everything to Northern Suppression Town and discuss it in detail?”
Xander forced himself to swallow down the manic thrill in his chest. “Alright. Come quickly.”
The moment the call ended, he could no longer contain himself. His whole body shook with laughter, raw and triumphant. “Yes! That’s my man! Hahaha—brilliant!”
......
When Xander returned, he looked like a completely different man—storm clouds gone, walking with a spring in his step. The others blinked at the sudden shift.
“Mr. Xander… good news?” Sethan asked, weary but curious.
Xander smirked and placed his hands on the table, leaning in with deliberate calm. “Mr. Sethan, my Obsidian unit just reported in. They’ve captured a spy in Northern Spiritual Town. The culprit is Jeremiah, a Survey Corps officer stationed there, along with four subordinates he turned into human pupae.”
The entire briefing hall went silent. Disbelief rippled across the room. Northern Spiritual Town hadn’t been a focus of the surveillance operation. How the hell had the Whisper Syndicate uncovered something so crucial there?
“Oh? You actually caught someone in Northern Spiritual Town!” Sethan, who’d looked like a man drowning in his own gloom a moment ago, suddenly sat straighter, eyes lighting up.
“Wait.” Leona’s sharp voice cut in. Her expression was like a drawn blade. “You just said five people? That doesn’t add up.”
“Your people must have misidentified the situation.” Her tone left no room for argument. It was the same line of reasoning Axel had given earlier.
“My subordinates don’t make those kinds of mistakes,” Xander shot back, though his voice carried more steel than volume. “I’ve already called them here. We’ll have answers soon enough. I trust my men.”
Leona looked ready to spit nails, but Sethan raised a tired hand. “Enough. Let’s hear what Team Obsidian has to say when they arrive. Mr. Xander, send someone to escort them in.”
Xander inclined his head. If Obsidian’s intel checked out, this wouldn’t just be another arrest—it would be the first confirmed spy uncovered *after* the fact, by deduction instead of a sting. The value of that would be enormous.
Leona’s sleeve swished as she turned to leave. “Fine. But I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Xander watched her stalk out, the corner of his mouth curling in private satisfaction. Heh. Finally shut the old witch up.
.....
Later, back in Northern Spiritual Town, Vince and the others returned with their grim prize. As they explained the events, the group’s eyes turned toward the ice-bound corpses of Ingrid and the others.
Jeremiah’s death had severed his psychic control, but the four men showed no signs of life. They hadn’t been spies—they’d been comrades, enslaved and murdered.
A heavy silence pressed down on the team.
“Don’t carry it too hard,” Vince said quietly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’ve avenged them.”
When Fabian left, the vine prison unraveled, and Jeremiah’s corpse slumped free. A dark green orb of light pulsed beside him, and Axel’s sharp eyes caught it immediately. Without a word, he tucked the Life Crystal away.
“Not much progress in Northern Suppression Town, but you’ve done a hell of a job, Axel,” Vince said with a rare smile.
Millers and Kaia both grinned, relief spilling through their exhaustion. “Now it’s the higher-ups’ problem.”
After days of grinding tension, their spirits finally lifted. Everyone looked forward to the coming trip to Northern Suppression Town. This mission had been massive, and their findings could end up as the breakthrough the brass desperately needed.
Military merit meant recognition, resources—money to fuel their cultivation.
Axel, was already calculating. He had harvested plenty of Life Crystals this time, and still had leftovers from the Abyss. Jeremiah’s would likely stay untouched.
Axel skimmed the message carved into the crystal—and froze.
> Jeremiah, Level Five Psychic Awakener. Realizing escape was impossible, he detonated his own psychic energy, destroying his brain and committing suicide. His last regret was that he couldn’t rebuild Stormhold himself.
Stormhold? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Rosaline noticed the flicker of unease in his expression. She stepped closer, voice softening. “Axel, are you hurt? Do you need to rest?”
The others gathered around as well. After all, Axel had just taken the brunt of Jeremiah’s psychic assault.
“I’m fine,” Axel said after a pause, though his brow was still furrowed. “It’s just… Captain, what’s Stormhold?”
Vince’s eyes narrowed. “The fallen empire—Stormhold Imperium?”
“I just saw something through my awakening technique,” Axel explained quietly.
“He wanted to rebuild Stormhold Imperium?” Miller’s eyes widened. Around the room, the others traded uneasy looks.
“Your Undead Guide–like ability can know someone’s regrets and goals?”
Vince folded his arms, deep in thought. “Maybe. Axel’s ability might reveal things even a Undead Guide couldn’t see. When we reach Northern Suppression Town, report everything. This might tie back to the organization pulling Jeremiah’s strings.”
Axel nodded. He couldn’t be sure yet—Jeremiah was only one example. But if he could study more Life Crystals in Northern Suppression Town, he might finally piece the pattern together.
That night, the squad returned to the hotel to rest. Axel slipped away to find Annabelle.
“Annabelle,” he said gently, “stay here in Northern Spiritual Town.”
She blinked at him, but before she could object, he pressed a handful of Life Crystals into her palm.
“You’ve gained a lot this time. You’re about to hit a period of rapid growth. Focus on training. I’ll handle what comes next.”
Annabelle’s chest tightened. After fighting Jeremiah alongside him, she was more determined than ever to catch up. Still, she understood his concern. Northern Suppression Town was crawling with dangerous awakened, and Axel didn’t want her attracting the wrong kind of attention.
“Okay,” she murmured, closing her fingers around the crystals.
......
The next morning, the beating thrum of rotor blades split the air. A helicopter descended, kicking up dust.
“Vince, haha! Long time no see. Where’s Rosaline?” a booming voice called. Three men disembarked.
One of them, broad-shouldered with a wolfish grin, strode forward and thumped Vince on the shoulder.
“Wesley,” Vince sighed, rubbing the spot. “Still rude as ever.”
He recognized two of them: Wesley, captain of the Gray Wolf Squad, and Luke, his quiet second. But the third—a younger man with an aloof, icy stare—was unfamiliar.
“Save the small talk. Mr. Vince, Northern Suppression Town needs you urgently,” the young man cut in, his voice clipped and cold.
Vince didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he glanced sidelong at Wesley.
Wesley leaned in and muttered, “That’s Dale. Fresh recruit from last year’s Syndicate expansion. Mid-fifth grade, lightning-type awakened. Strong, little cocky. Already set to form his own squad.”
“Lightning?” Vince muttered. Space, darkness, light, and lightning types were rare—and highly valued.
“Move it,” Dale said. “I’m leading this operation, and I need a clear read on everyone’s strength before we get moving.”