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

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and a brief silence fell over the meeting room.

Han Yue broke the silence first, his brows furrowing slightly, his tone tinged with confusion: "General Long, if I may be so bold—if the extraterrestrial insectoids are truly, as you say, a threat to the very survival of human civilization, then with our current strength, barely reaching the provincial or even national level, how much of a role can we possibly play in this crisis?"

His words represented the sentiments of most people present. Nine pairs of eyes simultaneously fell on Long Zhenting, awaiting his answer.

Long Zhenting didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly scanned the ten people present and then said something that stunned everyone: "Do you think I chose you to come in because of your current strength?"

He paused, then continued, "In the eyes of ordinary people, those at the Provincial Earthquake Realm are already top-tier experts, but in the face of this impending crisis, they are indeed insufficient. Even experts at the National Xun Realm or even the Continental Gen Realm would not dare to say that they are absolutely confident in dealing with it."

"But I chose you not because of your current level, but because of your potential, your resilience, and the unique qualities you have demonstrated in your respective fields."

Long Zhenting's gaze lingered on each person's face for a moment: "Han Yue, in the Northern Military Region Grand Competition, you fought seventeen consecutive matches without a single defeat, relying not on overwhelming your cultivation level, but on your accurate judgment of the battle situation and the ultimate utilization of your own power; Chu Yunxi, your attainments in the study of ancient formations have surpassed most of the senior researchers in your research institute; Lei Dong, the record for challenging opponents of higher levels that you set in the Southern Military Region remains unbroken to this day..."

He pointed out the characteristics and achievements of the nine people present one by one, and finally his gaze fell on Ye Ming. He paused for a moment and then said, "As for Ye Ming—the youngest among you, but what he has accomplished is something that none of you here may be able to do."

Long Zhenting withdrew his gaze, his tone becoming calm and serious again: "Therefore, you must understand—the mission of the special task force is not to confront the extraterrestrial insectoids head-on today or tomorrow. Your task is to: within the next ten years, improve your strength as quickly as possible, collect key materials, gather intelligence, and prepare for the final battle."

"Ten years is enough time for most of you to break through to the National Xun Realm, or even higher. By then, you will become the backbone of humanity's fight against the extraterrestrial insectoids."

After he finished speaking, the meeting room fell silent again. But this silence was different from before—everyone's eyes held a hint of solemnity and understanding.

Han Yue was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "I understand."

Chu Yunxi nodded slightly, a thoughtful glint in her eyes: "In other words, our primary task now is not fighting, but growth and accumulation, as well as intelligence gathering."

"That's right." Long Zhenting nodded. "Of course, necessary combat experience will also be indispensable. Real combat is always the fastest way to improve strength."

He then turned his gaze to Ye Ming: "Also, regarding those three materials, we may need your full cooperation later. Ye Ming will explain the specifics to everyone later."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ming nodded slightly without saying anything more.

"Of course, the selection of you is not to have each of you form your own teams. Each of you ten will need to lead a team of five. The team members have already been selected for you; they are all outstanding graduates selected from various universities. As for which one will become your team member, that is something you will have to choose for yourselves."

At this moment, Han Yue said with some doubt, "There are 10 of us in total, 45 people doesn't seem like enough."

"I don't need it, I have my own team." Everyone's eyes turned to Ye Ming, who had spoken.

Of course they knew about Ye Ming and his subordinates. Recently, Black Dragon Company has become a household name online. Of course, some people have dug up some details. It would have been better if they hadn't looked. Once they did, they were shocked. None of them were weak.

Long Zhenting's gaze swept across the room, and seeing that no one raised any further objections, he nodded: "In that case, let's proceed with this plan. Each of the nine captains will lead a five-person team, and Ye Ming will operate independently, reporting directly to me."

He paused, then added, "The team roster and files will be sent to you later. You'll have three days to select and familiarize yourself with the team. The first joint training session will officially begin three days later. The training content will be determined by each team leader, but there is one strict requirement—each team must achieve basic combat capability within one month."

"Yes!" the nine people replied in unison.

Long Zhenting nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Ye Ming: "Come with me for a moment, I have something to discuss with you privately."

Ye Ming nodded slightly, stood up, and followed Long Zhenting out of the conference room.

The two walked down the corridor to a quiet office. Long Zhenting closed the door, gestured for Ye Ming to sit down, then sat down behind the desk himself and asked bluntly, "Where do you plan to begin your investigation of the Earth Vein Heart and the Star Core?"

"The Heart of the Earth Vein is the location of the spiritual veins of a region. However, not every spiritual vein will generate a Heart of the Earth Vein. At least in our country, the concentration of spiritual energy is simply not enough, so there is no possibility of a Heart of the Earth Vein existing in any spiritual vein on Earth."

After a moment's thought, Ye Ming asked, "So, Grandpa means we should search for the Heart of the Earth's Veins within the secret realm?"

Long Zhenting nodded. "For now, this is the only option. However, it's possible that the spiritual veins in various provinces of China might still exist. But if we remove the heart of the earth vein, all the lands protected by the heart of the earth vein will lose their spirituality in an instant and become wastelands. This would be too damaging to China, so this is the worst possible choice."

"A month later, after they have all become familiar with their respective teams, the first task will be to investigate whether there are any spiritual veins or earth vein hearts within our Chinese territory."

Ye Ming asked疑惑地, "Then what about me? What mission have I been assigned?"

Long Zhenting nodded and said, "I need you to go to the Mountain and Sea Realm and inform the Dragon Emperor about this. We need a powerful ally, we need that history, and more importantly, we don't even know where the sealed place is now."

Ye Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Three days later. I'll settle things here first, explain the Dragon Phoenix Wood and the follow-up plans to the others, and then leave."

"It's alright. Although we're pressed for time now, a few more days won't make a difference. We can meet together after they've all chosen their desired members, assign tasks, and then set off."

Ye Ming stood up: "Then I'll go back and prepare."