Gao Wu: I became the minor villain that the protagonist was about to destroy.

Sky Base - Unknown Space.

The Lord, who was sitting on the throne at this moment, was reviewing the events of the past few days, including those that had occurred in China.

"Dragon Phoenix Wood, the Heart of the Earth's Veins, the Core of the Stars... They've already discovered them... The Dragon Clan? Impossible, everything from back then has been destroyed, and everyone who knew about it has been wiped out."

"Could this be the work of the will of this world...?"

"That human really is the variable in everything; he even found the Dragon Phoenix Wood."

From the darkness, a hunched figure silently emerged, kneeling on one knee with head bowed: "My lord, should I take action to retrieve that piece of dragon-phoenix wood?"

The person on the throne did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a long time before slowly shaking his head: "No need. The Dragon Phoenix Wood is just a piece of wood; what's truly important is what they want to do—strengthen the seal."

"Then... what should I do?"

"Isn't the special task force recruiting?" The person on the throne spoke calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter. "Send a few people in. There's no need to be too high-profile, nor is there any need to deliberately probe for core secrets—just make sure they send the news back promptly when they find clues about the Earth's Core and the Star Core."

The hunched figure respectfully replied, "Yes."

"Also—" The person on the throne paused slightly, "pay close attention to that human named Ye Ming. There's something about him that I can't see through."

"Yes, ma'am."

The hunched figure disappeared into the darkness once more, as if it had never existed.

The person on the throne sat alone for a long time, then slowly raised his hand, and a blurry image appeared above his palm—a huge rift that stretched across the heavens and the earth, with endless darkness and surging, indescribable energy on the other side.

He stared at the crack and muttered to himself, "Soon... just ten more years..."

As he finished speaking, he slowly clenched his five fingers, and the image vanished, turning into specks of light that disappeared into the darkness.

Time flies. A month has passed since Ye Ming obtained the Dragon Phoenix Wood. During this time, Ye Ming has been consolidating his strength. More importantly, the members of the special task force have all been selected.

Today is the day they gather.

On the day the special task force assembled, in a psionic-shielded meeting room on the third basement floor of the Imperial Capital Psionic Affairs Bureau.

Nine figures were already seated on either side of the long table. Including Ye Ming, who was standing at the door and had not yet taken a seat, there were exactly ten people.

All nine were top elites selected from various military regions. Each of them exuded a calm and refined aura. The weakest among them had the cultivation level of the sixth level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm, while the strongest had even reached the peak of the ninth level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm, just one step away from the National Earthquake Realm.

Ye Ming glanced at everyone present and got a general idea of ​​what was going on. He stepped into the conference room and sat down in his seat—a seat on the left side of the long table, near the front. There was a label on the back of the chair that read "Special Operations Officer X-001".

The number and label drew the attention of many people present, who lingered on him for a few seconds longer.

A young man seated at the head of the right side of the long table spoke first. He was tall and straight, with a resolute face, short, neat hair, and wore a dark blue military uniform with the Central Military Region insignia embroidered on his shoulder straps: "Northern Military Region, Han Yue, Ninth Rank of Provincial Earthquake Realm. You're X-001?"

Ye Ming nodded: "Ye Ming, fifth level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm."

Han Yue's gaze lingered on him for a moment, without saying anything more, but there was a clear sense of scrutiny in his eyes—obviously, he still had doubts about the value of this "X Sequence." Soldiers admire the strong, and although he had heard of Ye Ming and he was quite famous, much of what was said online was exaggerated.

Sitting opposite Han Yue was a woman in a white military uniform, with long hair tied in a high ponytail, delicate features, and a cool demeanor: "Eastern Military Region, Chu Yunxi, Provincial Earthquake Realm Level 8. Research focus is ancient formations and energy node analysis."

Following that, the other seven people also introduced themselves in turn.

"Southern Military Region, Lei Dong, Provincial Earthquake Realm Level 8," a dark-skinned, burly young man said in a deep voice.

"Western Military Region, Gu Qinglan, seventh level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm." A young man with delicate features and a gentle temperament smiled slightly.

"Central Psionic Research Institute, Shen Yuebai, Provincial Earthquake Realm Level 6." A refined-looking young man wearing thin-rimmed glasses pushed up his glasses.

"Northern Military Region, Baili Tu, seventh level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm." A young man carrying a long, narrow black cloth bundle spoke sparingly.

"Southern section of the Great Wall of Steel, Jiang Yuwei, Level 8 in the Provincial Earthquake Zone." A short-haired, spirited female officer crisply announced her name.

"Northern section of the Great Wall of Steel, Lin Wuji, sixth level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm." A young man with his legs crossed casually raised his hand with a grin.

"Middle section of the Great Wall of Steel, Silent Wind, seventh level of the Provincial Earthquake Realm." A young man with an extremely low profile said in a low voice, then lowered his head again.

After the ten people finished introducing themselves, the conference room door opened, and Long Zhenting strode in. He was wearing a crisp military uniform, the star on his epaulettes gleaming under the lights. His gaze swept over the ten people on either side of the long table, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good, everyone is here." Long Zhenting stood at the head of the table, his hands resting on the table, his gaze sweeping steadily over everyone present. "First of all, congratulations on passing the selection and becoming the first batch of official members of the special task force. You are the elite who have stood out from tens of thousands of candidates across the country, and you are the most outstanding fighting force among the younger generation of China."

"But I must remind you—joining this group does not mean honor and privilege, but rather responsibility and sacrifice."

Long Zhenting's tone became more serious: "What you are about to face is not conventional psionic crime, not border conflict, not exploration of secret realms—but a crisis concerning the survival of all human civilization. I am not saying this to scare you, but to state the facts."

There was a moment of silence in the meeting room.

After a moment, Han Yue spoke first, his tone calm: "General Long, could you tell me exactly what we are facing? The country is making such a big show of this, so what we are facing is definitely not a small matter."

Long Zhenting glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly uttered four words: "Extraterrestrial insectoids."