Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Top-floor conference room at the headquarters of Shuguang Group.

Li Zhou stood by the window when the conference room door was pushed open, and the secretary led three people in.

The man at the front was in his fifties, with gray hair and sharp eyes—he was Chen Zhengping, director of the Emergency Affairs Office under the National Security Commission.

"Mr. Li, I've heard so much about you."

Chen Zhengping stretched out his hand, revealing an old watch on his wrist.

Li Zhou grasped his hand: "Director Chen, welcome."

"Please sit down."

Chen Zhengping didn't exchange pleasantries; his gaze fell directly on Li Zhou's face.

"Mr. Li, you said on the phone that you had crucial intelligence. Now you can tell me."

Li Zhou leaned forward slightly.

"My team intervened in the unusual events that occurred early this morning and successfully dealt with all the invading creatures. These creatures were not mutated animals, nor were they products of genetic modification—they came from another dimension, which we call 'monsters'."

Chen Zhengping's fingers tightened slightly.

"Another space?"

"Yes."

Li Zhou said with certainty.

"Approximately two days later, the world will experience a spiritual resurgence, and the energy concentration between heaven and earth will rise dramatically. However, at the same time, spatial rifts will open on a large scale, and demonic creatures will flood into our world."

"These are just apprentice-level beings today. In two days, even stronger monsters may appear, which we call 'Tier 1.' Life forms at that level have already begun to grasp extraordinary powers."

How do you know all this?

"Because someone foresaw all of this before we did."

Li Zhou replied, "Our team, our current handling capabilities, and our understanding of these monsters all come from years of accumulated experience."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Chen Zhengping's gaze sharpened. "You could have continued to hide it."

"Because we alone are not enough."

Li Zhou said solemnly.

  

"Two days later, within a few hours of the spiritual energy recovering, the number of fissures is expected to reach thousands."

"We need the strength of the nation—not now, but two days from now, and if the situation gets out of control, we will need your heavy firepower support if necessary."

Chen Zhengping's pupils contracted slightly.

"Thousands of places?"

"right."

"This is just the lower bound given by the prediction model; the actual number may be much higher."

Li Zhou said, "The exact time should be around 2 a.m. two days from now. We have prepared contingency plans, but we need your cooperation."

Chen Zhengping took a deep breath.

"I need evidence."

Li Zhou took out a tablet computer from his briefcase and pulled up the data report compiled by Xiao Cheng—the spiritual energy concentration curve of the past few days, the statistics on the frequency of rift appearances, the analysis of monster levels, and the prediction model for the next two days.

He pushed the tablet in front of Chen Zhengping.

"This is all the data from the past week. You can send someone to verify it; every point in time and the location of every crack is documented."

Chen Zhengping took the tablet and glanced at the charts on the screen. His finger lingered on the data curves for a few seconds before he looked up.

How many cracks can you handle?

"We have enough manpower to cover most of it."

Li Zhou did not give specific figures. "But the country needs to mobilize quickly before the incident, allocate resources, establish quarantine zones, and organize people to evacuate."

Chen Zhengping remained silent for a long time.

"Mr. Li, I will report your words today to my superiors word for word."

He stood up. "Until then, I hope your team will continue to keep a low profile. Do not actively contact the media, and do not expand the scope of your influence."

"clear."

Chen Zhengping walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Li Zhou: "If what you say is true in two days, the country will not forget you and your team."

"unnecessary."

Li Zhou said calmly.

"We do these things not to be remembered."

Chen Zhengping didn't say anything more and left.

Without delay after leaving home, his private plane arrived at Kyoto military airport at 4 p.m.

In the evening, a solemn conference room was filled with people sitting on both sides of a long table.

Chen Zhengping distributed the data report provided by Li Zhou to everyone.

The only sound in the meeting room was the rustling of papers.

"The data was checked by the technical department on my way back."

Chen Zhengping spoke first, "The so-called spiritual energy concentration curve over the past week matches the abnormal data from the weather satellite. It can be confirmed that this intelligence is true."

Why would he help us?

A representative asked.

"Shuguang Group has assets worth tens of billions in Suzhou, Shanghai and other places. If monsters invade on a large scale, its losses will be huge."

Chen Zhengping paused for a moment, then added, "Moreover, his team is indeed handling these matters, even better than our officers. This morning, their team dealt with all seventeen fissures simultaneously."

How many people are on his team?

"He did not disclose specific numbers," Chen Zhengping said, "but based on the available information, the scale is at least several thousand people, and they are well-trained."

Another representative adjusted his glasses.

Is there any basis for his prediction about the timing of the Reiki revival?

Chen Zhengping brought up the prediction model and projected it onto the large screen.

"This is the predictive model they provided, based on the rising Reiki concentration curve over the past week. Our experts have preliminarily verified that the curve fit is over 95%."

"Furthermore, they predict that the number of fissures will surge to over a thousand in two days. While this number is alarming, it is not impossible given the accelerating trend in the frequency of fissure appearance over the past week."

The senior executive sitting in the main seat—an elderly man in his sixties with a composed face—put down the report in his hand and began to speak.

"Director Chen, what's your suggestion?"

"My suggestions are: First, accept them as a civilian cooperative force, do not interfere with their actions, but establish information-sharing channels. Second, before the spiritual energy resurgence, notify local security and emergency response systems in advance and prepare contingency plans. Third, immediately establish a dedicated agency to deal with extraordinary events and coordinate nationwide early warning, response, and follow-up work."

Chen Zhengping paused for a moment, then said, "What they can do is provide emergency relief, but long-term stability can only depend on ourselves."

Another representative put down his report, his brow furrowed.

"I understand the authenticity of the data, but there's a more fundamental question—why should we trust it? We know nothing about the true intentions of a civilian organization that can secretly operate an armed force of thousands right under our noses. Is their intelligence sharing out of goodwill, or is there another motive?"

There was a slight pause in the atmosphere of the meeting room.

Just as Chen Zhengping was about to speak, the senior executive in his sixties sitting in the main seat slowly raised his hand, signaling him to wait a moment.

The old man looked at the representative who had asked the question.

"you mean?"

The representative took a deep breath.

"My suggestion is that we should not only establish an information-sharing mechanism, but also consider incorporating it in a suitable way. Either integrate it into the system or keep it under close surveillance. An unrestrained supernatural force operating within the country poses a potential risk no less than those so-called monsters. We cannot both combat natural disasters and leave behind the hidden dangers of man-made calamities."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhengping remained silent for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head.

"I had considered this direction, but it wouldn't work. Li Zhou of the Dawn Group made it clear in our conversation that they don't seek to be remembered, nor do they accept being incorporated. They provide intelligence and cooperate in operations on the condition that they remain independent. If we try to forcibly incorporate them now, it might push them to the opposite side. Rather than losing a reliable partner, it's better to gradually build mutual trust through cooperation."

The elderly man sitting in the main seat had a calm gaze and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Trust takes time. But for now, we need them. Let's leave this matter at that and proceed according to Director Chen's plan. We'll see about the incorporation later."

The representative did not ask any further questions, and the meeting room fell silent again.

The old man was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"I believe everyone agrees."

"In that case, I hereby announce the formal establishment of the 'Extraordinary Security Bureau,' which will be directly under the leadership."

"Director Chen, you take the lead. Within two days, you need to produce a draft plan and an emergency response plan."

"Yes."

Chen Zhengping's calm voice resounded throughout the conference room.

The old watch on my wrist shimmered slightly under the light.