Fusion?

"Please, go ahead."

"Until I'm strong enough, I don't want my mother or... my other family members drawn into the other side of this world. They should be able to live ordinary lives."

Hua Yin spoke slowly.

Perhaps this was the last thing he could do for a relationship that had already grown distant.

That was what made Hua Yin so conflicted: he could be ruthless, but never quite ruthless enough.

Approval flickered in Li Siyuan's eyes. "You care deeply without letting sentiment cloud your judgment. You understand how the world works without becoming cynical. Very well. Headquarters will make the necessary arrangements and ensure your family's information receives the highest level of protection from unwanted attention."

Captain Wang nodded. "That's a reasonable request. I'll have someone bring over a revised agreement."

"One more thing." Hua Yin looked at Li Siyuan. "My ability... it seems very 'hungry.' I need to know how to 'feed' it safely, and what it actually is."

Li Siyuan's expression turned grave. "That is one of the main reasons I came. The Pale Bewitching Butterfly... even headquarters' archives contain only scattered references to it, all pointing toward an ancient, closely guarded legend. You aren't ready to learn that secret yet. Someone will tell you in time."

"So far, your ability appears to 'break down' and 'devour' life and energy. It may even reach the level of 'concepts.' Its potential and its danger are both among the highest. Learning to wield it rather than be consumed by it will be the key to your cultivation."

He held out his hand, palm up. A gentle, pale-gold light appeared above it, a quiet contrast to the cold power inside Hua Yin.

"In cultivation, the foundation comes first. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you the Basic Meridian Guidance Method to help you stabilize your Meridian-Opening Realm cultivation and control the flow of spiritual energy."

"As for the 'hunger'... Spirit Stones can ease it, but they won't solve the underlying problem. You must learn what you can devour and what you must not. More importantly, you must understand what this power should be used for."

Hua Yin nodded.

The road ahead was still shrouded in mist, but at least he no longer had to face that endless pallor and hunger alone.

Before long, the revised agreement arrived.

He opened the document again.

Silence filled the observation room.

Beyond the specially treated glass, the city lights were reduced to blurred halos.

Outside lay a life that seemed ordinary and secure. Inside lay the extraordinary world, full of power and resources, but riddled with unknown dangers.

Hua Yin looked up from the revised agreement, met Elder Li's searching gaze, then turned toward the familiar city lights beyond the window. They no longer seemed quite the same.

A great deal ran through his mind.

The phantom pain of the Jade-Bladed Sickle piercing his chest seemed to linger. Power surged soundlessly inside him. He saw Lin Qingqiu squeezing her eyes shut in terror, and his mother's hurried retreat was still vivid in his memory...

The world had changed.

The illusion of safety had been torn apart.

Without power, he could not even decide whether he lived or died. How could he talk about a future, let alone control his fate?

He lowered his head again and read the agreement clause by clause.

After a long while, he picked up the pen beside him and wrote his name firmly and clearly on the signature line—

Hua Yin.

As the final stroke fell, it felt as though an invisible shackle had broken, while a heavier burden had quietly settled on his shoulders.

Captain Wang collected the signed agreement. The faintest hint of a smile touched his face.

"Welcome aboard, Hua Yin. As of today, your file will receive the highest classification. By convention, agents with exceptional talents are given codenames of their own. Yours is—'White Butterfly.'"

The agreement was signed, and his file entered into the system.

From that moment on, the name Hua Yin and the codename White Butterfly had quietly entered the watchlists of Dragon Nation's top figures in the extraordinary world.

Starting next month, ten thousand Spirit Stones would be deposited every month into the newly opened, top-secret Special Affairs Bureau account in his name.

The resources were ready, and a mentor stood at his side.

Hua Yin, a boy who had emerged from the countless ordinary people around him, was about to soar.

Early the next morning, after the Youcheng Special Administration Bureau's internal Hidden Dragon system completed a silent update, every agent who logged in noticed a new account at the top of the internal communications and mission lists. It bore a special star and a codename.

Codename: White Butterfly.

Access level: Provisionally A-Rank (observation period).

Assignment: Ghost City Branch, Special Protective Detail.

There was no real name or job description, only that mysterious codename and an exceptionally high initial access level. Nothing like it had ever happened at the Ghost City Branch.

Codenames were usually reserved for core members with immense potential, unusual abilities, or top-secret assignments. There were only a handful in the entire province, and Youcheng had never had one before.

Speculation spread through the internal communications channel and every little circle of agents.

"White Butterfly? Some new big shot? Did headquarters drop him in?"

"A-Rank access? Right off the bat? Even our branch director only has A-Rank access, doesn't he?"

"He's assigned to the 'Special Protective Detail.' Is he some kid from an influential family sent here to train? Or... one of those 'restricted' geniuses with an especially dangerous ability?"

"I can't find a single mission record or anything from his past. His file's locked down tight."

"Elder Li showed up out of nowhere yesterday, and today we get 'White Butterfly'... Think they're connected?"

The talk continued, but every tentative search struck an unyielding access barrier.

This "White Butterfly" had appeared in the system as mysteriously as his codename suggested, yet no one could get a glimpse of who he really was.

At that very moment, White Butterfly himself was deep underground inside the Special Affairs Bureau, in a soundproof cultivation chamber with walls made of special alloy.

Bare-chested and beaded with sweat, Hua Yin practiced a basic body-tempering fist technique under Li Siyuan's instruction.

His movements were still a little stiff, but every punch and step sent the newly awakened, icy spiritual energy in his body flowing along specific meridian paths. The flow was faint, yet already beginning to take shape.

"Cultivation begins with opening the meridians."

Li Siyuan stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back. His voice was calm, but he went straight to the heart of the matter. "For spiritual energy to enter the body, it needs a path to follow. Hidden meridians exist naturally within the human body. In the Meridian-Opening Realm, you use your own spiritual energy or an external force to open and widen them one by one. That lays the foundation for storing and circulating spiritual energy later. Your spiritual energy is unusual—cold and corrosive. You must control it carefully as it circulates, or you may damage meridians that haven't opened yet."

When he finished the routine, Hua Yin was breathing a little hard, but his eyes were bright.

He could feel that circulating his spiritual energy had eased the ever-present hunger inside him, if only slightly. His control over his body felt a little sharper, too.

"Rest for a moment, then turn your attention to your ability."

"Now that you have a basic grasp of circulating spiritual energy," Li Siyuan said, "try controlling it more precisely."

Hua Yin sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused.

His awareness sank into his body and touched the slowly rotating Pale Core in his lower abdomen.

With a slight shift of thought, he drew out a thread of pale spiritual energy finer than a hair. It traveled through the few meridians he had just opened in his hand and reached his fingertip.

Whoosh—

A pinprick of pale light appeared, quickly stretched, and unfolded into a Lost Butterfly. Frost-crack glimmers played along the edges of its wings as it landed lightly on his index finger.

Compared with the butterfly from his first awakening yesterday, this one looked a little more substantial. Among the frost-crack patterns on its wings ran a new, almost invisible thread of pale green.

"Try controlling it. Practice basic attacks and defense." Li Siyuan pointed to the testing area on one side of the chamber, where targets made of different materials stood, from ordinary wood to special alloy.

Hua Yin focused. The Lost Butterfly fluttered into the air, then flew, hovered, and made sharp turns as easily as if it were part of him.

Next, he sent it toward a wooden target.

The Lost Butterfly settled gently on the target. A faint white light flashed where its mouthparts were.

Hiss—

A tiny hole appeared in the wood, its edges smooth, as though an impossibly fine icicle had pierced it in an instant.

Next came a harder plastic target, then an ordinary steel plate.

The Lost Butterfly had more trouble piercing them, but when Hua Yin increased the flow of spiritual energy, it still left distinct holes. It devoured a minute amount of material and fed a faint trickle of warmth back to him.

Last was a gray metal plate in the testing area labeled "E-Rank Standard Defensive Alloy."

The material was designed to mimic the hardness of an E-Rank beast's carapace.

The Lost Butterfly flew closer and tried to pierce it with its mouthparts, just as it had done before.

A faint, sharp clang rang out.

The Lost Butterfly bounced back a little. Only an almost invisible white dot remained on the alloy plate.

Hua Yin frowned. It bit through yesterday. What's different today? He was about to put more power into another attempt when Li Siyuan spoke.

"Wait. Pay close attention to its wings. Try touching the target with the edge of a wing."

Hua Yin did as he was told. Instead of trying to pierce the plate, he turned the Lost Butterfly sideways like a blade and lightly drew the edge of its wing, glimmering with pale light and a fine green thread, across the alloy.

There was no sound.

Nor was there any noticeable resistance.

A narrow cut appeared soundlessly on the gray-white alloy plate, about half an inch deep and smooth as a mirror!

It was as though a peerless blade had brushed across it.

Hua Yin froze.

A keen light flashed in Li Siyuan's eyes.

"Just as I thought..."

The old man stepped closer and carefully examined the cut, then the barely discernible green thread along the edge of the Lost Butterfly's wing. "Your 'devouring' doesn't merely steal life force and energy. Yesterday, you devoured the Jade-Bladed Mantis's entire essence. Your ability has begun to analyze and incorporate one of its traits—most likely the 'sharpness' of its pair of jade blades."

He looked at Hua Yin, wonder and gravity mingling in his voice. "The Pale Bewitching Butterfly... remarkable indeed."

"This is more than devouring. It is theft and evolution. You need to keep a detailed record of everything you devour and observe which traits each target allows you to incorporate or strengthen."

"But remember: do not devour recklessly. Above all, do not use this ability lightly on intelligent beings. It could turn against you and stain your mind."

Hua Yin looked at the Lost Butterfly hovering around his fingertip and felt the subtle sharpness along its wings, so different from yesterday. Understanding dawned, followed by deeper shock and a trace of wariness.

This ability was far more formidable than he had imagined, and it held risks he knew even less about.

"That's enough training for this morning."

Li Siyuan clapped his hands. "You've gained an initial grasp of circulating spiritual energy and learned something new about your ability. Go back and reflect on it. This afternoon, we'll begin with an introduction to the Meridian-Opening Realm, then draw up a detailed plan for accumulating spiritual energy and developing your ability."

As Hua Yin finished his morning training and began trying to absorb everything he had learned...

At Youcheng No. 3 Middle School, in Class Four of the senior year...

The lunch bell had rung long ago, and everyone had gone to the cafeteria. For what felt like the hundredth time, Lin Qingqiu's gaze drifted toward the seat by the window at the back of the classroom.

It was empty.

Hua Yin had not come.

His desk was spotless, as though he had left after school yesterday and would never return.

Lin Qingqiu's warm little hands curled into fists without her realizing it.

Scenes from last night's alley flashed through her mind against her will—the eerie swarm of pale butterflies, the monster dissolving before her eyes, the unsettling smile on Hua Yin's face, his cool hand covering her eyes, and his low voice saying, "Keep this a secret for me."

He really was...

Different now.

The quiet, somewhat withdrawn boy in plain clothes had stepped overnight into another world, one full of danger and radiance that she could not begin to understand.

It was as though a thick, invisible wall had risen between them.

Just then, their homeroom teacher appeared in the classroom doorway, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Lin Qingqiu, come to my office for a moment."