Elliot Hayes paced the length of his Chicago penthouse, the city lights a distant, unheeded glimmer. He was on a secure, encrypted call with Ji-Yeon Park, her face a mask of determined concentration on the holographic display before him.
"The plan is simple, Ji-Yeon," Elliot said, his voice a low, urgent hum. "You get into the press conference. I've already had VARIA create a flawless press credential for you from a legitimate, albeit obscure, news outlet. You get close enough to ask a question. But you don't ask about policy or economics. You look him right in the eye and you say, 'You look different, Prime Minister. Very different.'"
Ji-Yeon nodded, her dark eyes sharp. "It's a psychic probe. A statement designed to bypass his mental defenses and plant a seed of doubt. If he has been turned, as my appraisal suggests, his master will be alerted. He will want to know who I am, how I know. He will bring me to his master."
"Exactly," Elliot confirmed. "It's a lure. We flush the real power out into the open." His brow furrowed as a news alert flashed across one of his secondary monitors. It was a live feed from a Brazilian news network, showing military helicopters taking off from a jungle airfield. The headline was stark: "ARMED FORCES MOBILIZE IN RESPONSE TO UNCONFIRMED THREAT IN AMAZON."
"What the hell is going on down there, Mihai?" Elliot muttered under his breath. He turned back to Ji-Yeon. "Something's happening in Brazil. The army is mobilizing near the area where that kid, Charlie Finch, is streaming."
Ji-Yeon's expression flickered with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. "Charlie Finch… the new System user. And now this. Ugh, Mihai is probably behind it. Too much brain, not enough action," she said, her voice dripping with a disdain she made no effort to hide. Her distrust of the vampire king was a deep-seated conviction, a scar from a future she was desperate to prevent.
"VARIA," Elliot commanded, "give me a tactical summary of the situation in Brazil. What is Mihai doing?"
VARIA's voice, calm and omniscient, filled the room. "Sir Mihai Cantacuzino is currently en route to the region. He has detected a Tier-2 demonic entity, a Gore-Kragg Behemoth, engaging in combat with Mr. Finch. Sir Mihai has alerted the local authorities and is deploying assets to assist."
Elliot's jaw dropped. "A Tier-2 demon? The kid is fighting a behemoth by himself?" He looked at Ji-Yeon. "They need help."
"No, Elliot," she replied, her tone surprisingly firm. "Let's see what Mihai does. He has a new, powerful piece on his side of the board now. A System user won't die that easily. We need to focus on our own mission. This System user in China… I can feel his power, even from here. It's immense. I just need to get close enough for my Appraisal System to get a clean read. That line you suggested… it will force him to lower his guard."
Elliot sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was torn, but she was right. They couldn't fight every fire at once. "Okay. Okay, VARIA, continue to monitor the situation in Brazil. Report to me with any significant developments. And if you detect that Charlie Finch's life is in imminent, unrecoverable danger, you are to deploy the Aegis Mark I to his location. Understood?"
"Understood, Master," VARIA confirmed.
Ji-Yeon's eyes widened. "You finished the mecha already?"
"It's a power armor, not a mecha," Elliot corrected, a hint of pride in his voice. "And yes. Now listen, Ji-Yeon. We wait. We let Mihai handle his theater of operations. Like it or not, we are allies in this, and we need to trust him to do his part. Okay?"
Ji-Yeon let out a long, slow breath, her frustration giving way to a grudging acceptance. "Fine," she said. "I'm going to enjoy a vacation in China. I always wanted to do some tourism, anyway."
"Good," Elliot said. "And Ji-Yeon… be careful. If you find yourself in danger, you press '1' on your phone's speed dial. I've programmed it to send a distress signal directly to me. The Aegis armor will be on its way. But you will need to stall for twenty minutes for it to reach your location. Don't lose your phone."
"I'll try," she said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. "I'll figure something out."
---
In a lavish, fortified palace hidden in the heart of Beijing, Huoi Zhao Feng, the Monarch of Dragons, was enjoying the spoils of his new existence. He sat on a throne carved from a single, massive piece of jade, surrounded by the highest echelons of Chinese power. Generals, politicians, and billionaires vied for his favor, offering him priceless artifacts, gourmet delicacies, and the company of the most beautiful women in the country. He had recently granted the prime minister the ability to transform into a Lesser Lightning Dragon, a dazzling display of power that had solidified his godlike status among the elite.
His System was powerful, but its demands were exorbitant. Every spell, every transformation, every scrap of power, came at a steep cost in points. He had been completing missions—subtly influencing global politics, averting minor disasters—to build his reserves, but it was a slow, tedious process.
He preferred to rely on his most potent and passive perk: Ancient Dragon Wisdom. It gave him glimpses of the future, a 90% accurate foresight that allowed him to see the threads of fate. He had seen Mihai's broadcast, recognizing him instantly as a fellow monarch. He had also, more recently, sensed the foul, chaotic energy of the demon System. A problematic one, he had thought, but distant.
But today, a new thread had appeared in his foresight, a new ripple in the pond of destiny. A new system user was coming. Here. To China. No. He is already here.
He closed his golden, slitted eyes, a lazy, predatory smile spreading across his chiseled face. "Hmmmm, I see," he murmured, his voice a low, rumbling thunder that made the crystal goblets on the table tremble. "Someone is coming to visit."
He focused his immense will, peering through the mists of time. "Let's see who our guest is, shall we?" The future solidified, a clear, sharp image appearing in his mind's eye: a young man... or woman?, eyes sharp and determined, standing before the Prime Minister, lips forming the words, "You look... different."
Huoi Zhao Feng's smile widened. "Prime Minister, in the press conference, if someone says to you, 'You look different,' you must bring that person to me".
The Prime Minister nodded. "Yes, milord..."