The Kentron Industrial Sector was a sprawling wasteland of rusted gantries, crumbling factories, and polluted canals on the blighted western edge of Hanoi.
Unlike the more frequently scavenged Sumitomo, Kentron was largely shunned, rumored to be saturated with unstable pre-invasion chemical and radiological hazards.
According to Rat-tail's information, deep beneath this desolation lay the "Sanctum of Whispers," the supposed meeting place of Silas "Scrapetooth" and the enigmatic "Silent Master" or his "Echoes."
Lâm Minh relayed this new intelligence to Yan immediately.
The name "Silent Master" and the description of his void-like nature caused considerable alarm.
"This 'Silent Master' persona," Yan analyzed during their secure communication, "it fits the profile of the entity from Sumitomo.
The modus operandi is similar: utilizing a local gang as a proxy, distributing a mind-altering, strength-enhancing substance, and operating from a hidden, fortified location.
The 'Echoes' sound like a new iteration of the bio-mechanical servitors, perhaps more discreet, more adaptable for urban operations."
Commander Trinh, when briefed, was both grim and resolute.
"If this Sanctum of Whispers is indeed their new hub, we cannot afford another Sumitomo-style frontal assault. We don't have the element of surprise, and if this entity is truly touching Primordial Chaos Realm realm capabilities, even our best experimental ordnance would be a gnat biting a dragon."
Her voice was relayed through Yan's secure comms.
"Operative Minh, your unique abilities make you our only viable option for infiltration and close reconnaissance. The objective remains the same: identify the full extent of the 'Silent Master's' operations. Confirm its identity – if it is indeed the same entity from Sumitomo. Determine the nature of this new drug, 'Ghost Dust,' and its connection to Crimson Dream. And if a clear opportunity presents itself, and the risk is calculated to be manageable – I stress, manageable – neutralize the target or its key local assets."
Lâm Minh understood the barely veiled desperation in Trinh's orders.
"Manageable risk" against such a foe was a near impossibility. This was another potential suicide mission.
"The Kentron Sector is a hazardous zone, Commander," Lâm Minh pointed out.
"Even before considering the target. Conventional support will be difficult."
"We are aware," Trinh's voice came back, taut.
"We are currently trying to acquire more detailed, albeit likely outdated, schematics of the Kentron subterranean data archive. We will also deploy long-range sensor drones to monitor the sector's periphery, but they cannot penetrate the deeper interference caused by the industrial wreckage and potential energy shielding. Hạnh's crew can establish a forward observation post on the edge of Kentron, providing logistical support and an emergency extraction fallback, but they are not to enter the primary hazardous zone. This mission, Minh, will fall almost entirely on you."
Over the next few days, while Trinh's intelligence apparatus scoured for information on Kentron, Lâm Minh focused on his cultivation and preparing his crew.
He pushed Hạnh, Cường, and Tuấn hard, guiding them through the finer points of Qi Refining, helping them solidify their foundations.
With access to better Spirit Stones from Trinh's department and Lâm Minh's expert guidance, their progress was notable.
Tuấn, with his natural talent, had reached Late Phase Qi Refining, his movements becoming incredibly swift and silent, his Qi Sense sharpening considerably.
Cường, his brute strength now augmented and somewhat refined by Qi, had reached Middle Phase Qi Refining, his punches carrying a surprising concussive force.
Hạnh, through sheer grit, had also reached Middle Phase, her control over her internal Qi becoming more precise, her senses more acute.
They were still leagues behind Lâm Minh, but they were no longer helpless.
They were becoming a capable support unit.
Lâm Minh also spent time meditating on his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
He felt the vast well of power within him, but he knew he was only scratching the surface of its potential.
The unsealing of Stage 2 of his Heaven Tier Spiritual Root was still at 95%.
He sensed that the "Silent Master" might be the catalyst he needed for that final push, or perhaps for an even greater understanding of his Foundation Establishment abilities.
The thought was both exciting and terrifying.
Finally, Yan contacted him.
"We have acquired partial schematics for the Kentron Data Archive. They are heavily fragmented, dating back to the earliest days of the ASEAN bloc's formation. The 'Sanctum of Whispers,' if Rat-tail's information is accurate, is likely located in the deepest, most secure server vault – Vault Zero. It was supposedly designed to withstand a direct nuclear strike."
A nuclear-proof vault.
An ideal lair for an entity that valued secrecy and security.
"The schematics show multiple potential access routes," Yan continued, transmitting the data to Lâm Minh's secure datapad.
"Ventilation shafts, emergency escape tunnels, old pneumatic tube networks. All likely sealed, trapped, or collapsed. And the entire lower sector is flooded with a mix of toxic chemicals and radioactive isotopes from pre-invasion industrial accidents and subsequent Madakaros bombardment. Your stealth suit's environmental protection will be pushed to its limits."
Lâm Minh studied the new schematics.
They were even more daunting than Sumitomo's. Kentron was a deathtrap.
"There's more," Yan said, his voice grim.
"Recent long-range sensor sweeps of Kentron have detected intermittent, highly localized energy spikes emanating from the coordinates approximating Vault Zero. The signatures are… unusual. They share some characteristics with the Crimson Dream manufacturing process, but also elements of advanced Madakaros psionic amplification technology."
"Psionic amplification?" Lâm Minh felt a chill.
The entity's mental attacks had been devastating enough.
If it was now amplifying those abilities…
"Commander Trinh believes the 'Silent Master' might be using this 'Sanctum' not just as a base, but as a device," Yan explained. "Perhaps to enhance its own mental powers, or to broadcast a wider, more subtle, psychoactive influence over the city – a 'whisper' that seeds despair, paranoia, and susceptibility to its drugs. This new 'Ghost Dust' might be a more refined vector for this."
The stakes were rising with every revelation.
This "Silent Master" wasn't just a supplier; it was a psychological warfare operative on a terrifying scale.
"The infiltration plan remains the same," Lâm Minh said, his voice firm.
"I go in alone. Hạnh's crew provides support from the perimeter."
"Correct," Yan affirmed. "They are already en route to establish a secure observation post on the edge of Kentron, equipped with long-range comms and emergency medical supplies.
They are under strict orders not to engage unless you call for an emergency evac, and even then, only to secure a pre-designated rally point."
He paused. "Minh, Commander Trinh has authorized… a contingency. A high-yield tactical plasma device. It's experimental, volatile, and its use would render a significant portion of Kentron uninhabitable for decades, perhaps centuries. It is currently being positioned by a covert drone squadron at a safe distance, targeting the geological strata beneath Vault Zero."
Lâm Minh's blood ran cold. A plasma device.
That was beyond Scorched Earth. That was localized annihilation.
"If you confirm the entity's presence and determine it cannot be neutralized by other means," Yan continued, his voice devoid of emotion, "or if you are compromised and capture is imminent, you have the authorization to trigger that device via a coded burst from your communicator. It's a last resort, Minh. A scorched-earth failsafe to prevent whatever this 'Silent Master' is from continuing its work, or worse, from falling into Madakaros occupation forces' hands if the wider situation deteriorates."
Lâm Minh was silent for a long moment, the weight of that authorization pressing down on him.
He was being handed the trigger to a small sun, a weapon of unthinkable destruction.
It was a measure of how desperate Commander Trinh had become, how grave she perceived this threat to be.
"Understood, Yan," he finally said.
The taste in his mouth was like ash.
He spent one last evening refining his plan, studying the Kentron schematics until he had memorized every known corridor, every potential hazard.
He meditated, circulating his Foundation Establishment Qi, focusing his mind, preparing for what could very well be his final mission.
He thought of his parents, their faces a mixture of pride and worry.
He thought of Tố Quyên, her innocent determination to help, a small, bright flame in the overwhelming darkness.
He thought of Hạnh, Cường, and Tuấn, his crew, now nascent cultivators trusting him to lead them, to protect them.
He was fighting for all of them.
The next night, under a sky stained orange by the distant, perpetual fires of the war, Lâm Minh, clad in his advanced stealth suit, stood at the threshold of the Kentron Industrial Sector.
The air was acrid, burning his nostrils even through his suit's filters.
The silence was profound, broken only by the creaking of rusted metal and the distant, mournful howl of the wind.
This was not just a descent into a ruin.
It was a descent into the heart of a terrifying mystery, a confrontation with an entity that threatened to unravel the very fabric of human sanity.
Armed with his cultivation, his wits, and a weapon of last resort that could scar the Earth itself, Lâm Minh took his first step into the irradiated wasteland of Kentron.
The Sanctum of Whispers, and the Silent Master, awaited.