Usually, whenever it comes to the messy tangles of consciousness layers or mind invasions, the desk-jockey bureaucrats up in The Nexus eagerly pass the buck to the Diplomatic Team. But this agonizing tumor called The Local Noosphere is a freakish exception this time around. Its scale far exceeds the safety threshold, morphing into a black hole ready to swallow the reputation of anyone who dares to step inside.

  And Takama-ga-hara, that ultimate bureaucratic hellhole where getting a single stamp takes a millennium, actually gives a firm nod this time. Swift. Clean. Not a single bureaucratic hurdle.

  "The only free cheese is in the mousetrap."

  I mutter, scratching my scalp with my claws. This sudden generosity reeks of absolute death. Those old geezers are rolling out the red carpet to the guillotine for us, practically saying: "You guys are so capable, so be our guests. Live or die, it is none of our business."

  They only send a meager handful of personnel from the security and diplomatic teams to monitor the situation inside that subconscious mess. The rest of the core task force is deployed to collaborate with Zhen Shan's Security Squad, guarding the physical shell outside in the real world.

  To put it bluntly: "We guard the door, and you guys crawl into the septic tank to take out the trash."

  I let out a heavy sigh, swiping away the floating tactical hologram. I know I am walking right into a trap, but once you ride the tiger, it is hard to get off. Leaving the office, I slowly head straight for the Cloud-Hopper gate.

  Fifteen minutes later.

  The pure air and the faint scent of incense at the Setagaya branch of the Sensitives' Hub hit my nose, helping to cool down my boiling head.

  I push the door open and step into the West Zen dojo. The moment I slide the door open, the sight of Nanao leaning against the wall with crossed arms and an "I hate Mondays" expression greets my eyes. In the middle of the room, two young men are chattering away like long-lost best friends.

  One is Kaito, my utterly exasperating disciple.

  The other is a fresh face, Miyamoto Yusei. This college freshman looks bright and composed, and according to the files, he is a total greenhorn under Room 1031. The two of them, a high schooler and a college freshman, seem to have found some common ground in this bizarre world, babbling endlessly.

  Seeing me enter, Nanao stands up straight. His calico cat tail lashes sharply to one side.

  "Boss, look at this. That is Zhou Jianran's rookie. How did I suddenly become a reluctant babysitter?"

  I smirk, patting my subordinate's shoulder in consolation.

  "Congratulations on drawing the 'Lose a Turn' card. Mr. Zhou registered for a Sensitive swap at the very last minute and bolted. Did he not tell you?"

  "What?!" Nanao glares, his tail fur puffing up like a porcupine. "That bastard! Not even a single text message! Once this mission is over, I swear I will shave him bald!"

  "Cool your jets," I sneer. "He wants you to take responsibility for guiding the rookie in his place. None of the guys in our department are strangers to that Vice-Captain's habit of passing the buck."

  Zhou Jianran is the Vice-Captain whose life motto is "Never put off until tomorrow what you can make someone else do today." Throwing Yusei over here is definitely his way of ensuring that if anything goes wrong, the ones writing the incident report will be Nanao or me.

  I clap my hands twice, snapping Nanao out of his vengeful thoughts and cutting off the kids' gossip.

  "Alright, quiet down, boys! Gather around."

  Kaito and Yusei jolt in surprise, jogging over to stand at attention in front of me.

  "Now is not the time for making friends." I narrow my eyes, scanning the two green, eagerly waiting faces. They have no idea they are about to dive headfirst into a death trap. "Open your ears and listen closely to the rules and mission objectives. One wrong step, and you do not get a second chance at life."

  My claws click against the stone table, activating the projector.

  A surge of blue light erupts in mid-air, sketching out a three-dimensional structure so convoluted and distorted that just looking at it induces vertigo. The map of The Local Noosphere materializes. It is divided into six layers, with each layer coiling into one another to form bizarre, illogical shapes that defy every law of physics. It looks exactly like a colossal underground cave system, or to put it bluntly, it resembles the guts of a prehistoric monster twisting in the throes of severe stomach cramps.

  "Listen up, you two fresh meat." I cross my arms, jutting my chin toward the map. "Since you are totally green rookies, I am breaking protocol to explain this in excruciating detail just once. This mission is no walk in the park. It is more like a mining expedition. We need to extract information from structures known as Mindscapes."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Kaito squints at the hologram, then blurts out: "A Mindscape... Is it like the tropical beach or the snowy mountain inside your head, Itsuki-sama?"

  I freeze for a beat, shooting the kid a sideways glare. The example is a bit tactless, but... well, it hits the nail on the head.

  "Hmph, you could say that." I click my tongue, glossing over the comparison quickly to reclaim my usual professional demeanor. "Now, let us focus on the technical side."

  "Look at this mess," I say, keeping my arms crossed and gesturing toward the projection. "Each Mindscape possesses a sustaining center called a Core. It is the collective term for the memories and agony that thousands of consciousnesses within this network bear together."

  I zoom in on a section of the map, revealing blinking points of light buried deep within the caverns of consciousness.

  I clench my fist, mimicking a crushing motion.

  "Our objective is to locate the Core of these dreamscapes. Destroying or capturing the Core will cause the Mindscape to collapse instantly. Most importantly, it contains the most invaluable raw data about the mastermind."

  Down below, the two kids start putting their heads together and whispering. I prick up my ears, feigning absentmindedness while stretching my hearing to the absolute limit.

  "Hey," Yusei nudges Kaito's arm, dropping his voice. "How exactly does Itsuki-sama train you? You seem to know a whole lot."

  Kaito shudders. His face goes pale as he recalls the horrific experience.

  "Well... I dive into his head," the kid whispers, his voice dripping with resignation. "I have to endure the mental pressure of a deity crushing down on my consciousness. Wait, how do you train?"

  "Holy crap..." Yusei's eyes go wide, staring at Kaito as if looking at a war crime victim. "How can there be such a barbaric torture method? Uh, as for me... Kujo-sensei just teaches me meditation. Sitting around, breathing, clearing the mind, that sort of thing."

  "Huh?" Kaito is dumbfounded. "Just meditation? Then... does the deer god accompanying you not participate in direct training? No diving into heads, no getting thrown into blizzards?"

  "Oh, him?" Yusei scratches his head and laughs. "Mr. Zhou is being hounded so hard by Itsuki-sama’s deadlines that he is in a constant mad scramble. He doesn’t have a second to train me, so he just pawned me off to sensei for a crash course."

  Kaito freezes. The kid stares at me with eyes full of resentment mixed with absolute bewilderment.

  Sensing the situation going south, I quickly clear my throat loudly to interrupt that treasonous conversation.

  "Ahem! Well, uh..." I adjust my tie, trying my best to maintain a dignified facade. "Everyone has a different constitution and learning curve. The method does not matter as long as it is effective. See, you are much tougher now, are you not?"

  But Nanao, my absolute godforsaken subordinate, would never let me explain myself so easily. He leans against the wall, crossing his arms with a scoff, and delivers a critical hit:

  "Effective my ass. Take Reo back in the day, he learned by gambling his life with the grim reaper. Do you still remember the culprit who sent him the wrong coordinates?"

  I choke on my words, my tail fur standing on end from sheer guilt. That incident of sending Reo the wrong coordinates years ago remains an un-washable stain on my leadership record.

  "I gave a proper apology after that!" I argue back, my neck stiffening and my face burning. "I even took him out to eat and paid for so many rounds! Why the hell did he dare to go around blabbing about this ancient history? What a backstabber, biting the hand that feeds him! I am holding this grudge!"

  After shooting Nanao a skin-burning glare containing the clear message that "you are definitely eating instant noodles for every meal this month," I clear my throat loudly to scrape back some of my fallen dignity.

  "Alright, enough chitchat. Now perk up your ears and listen closely to every single step, because one wrong move and you are dead meat."

  I tap my claws lightly against the air, magnifying the 3D map of The Local Noosphere. The glowing specks representing the Mindscapes float idly, encircling a colossal, pitch-black mass right in the center.

  "The basic combat rule is one-on-one escort. Every Sensitive is paired with a Deity to form a dedicated squad. In total, there are thirteen satellite Mindscapes scattered across the layers of The Local Noosphere, corresponding to the thirteen most crucial leads we have managed to filter out."

  I point at the green glowing dots marked sporadically on the map, looking like tiny oases in a chaotic desert of consciousness.

  "Once you have pried the Core out of your target Mindscape, move to these Safe Havens immediately."

  "These are artificial spatial zones implanted by the Diplomatic team. There, you will find emergency escape devices to return to the real world, along with teleportation portals to leapfrog to other layers if necessary."

  I sweep my gaze across the two rookie faces hanging on my every word.

  "Whichever squad reaches the rendezvous point must report their position right away. I am personally coming over to collect the Cores."

  Pausing for a moment to let the information sink in, I shift my finger toward the massive black block sitting majestically at the center of the sixth layer, where the spiral paths of the upper layers converge.

  "However," I drop my voice, dramatizing the issue, even though it really is deadly serious. "Absolutely, and I repeat, ABSOLUTELY, do not go anywhere near this godforsaken Central Mindscape."

  "It is currently protected by an immensely thick psychic shield. As long as those thirteen satellite Mindscapes remain undestroyed, the entrance to it stays sealed tight."

  Kaito raises his hand, timidly asking for permission to speak. "Itsuki-sama, then... where are all the other teams? Why is it so deserted in here?"

  "Who would cramp everyone into a single place?" I roll my eyes. "They are scattered and gathered at other branches all over Tokyo. It is just our team here."

  At this moment, the college student Yusei finally speaks up. Unlike Kaito, who only knows how to ask naive questions, this kid actually knows how to think thoroughly for the sake of his own life.

  "Sir," Yusei adjusts his glasses. "What if the enemy is already one step ahead? If they infiltrate the Safe Havens prepared by the Diplomatic team, or worse, destroy the escape devices, how are we supposed to manage?"

  "Well..." I raise an eyebrow, nodding slightly in approval. This kid is pretty good. He has quick thinking and knows how to prioritize his own measly life first. This is the exact trait needed to survive, rather than acting like a reckless, pseudo-heroic daredevil like someone else in the room.

  "Good question," I smile reassuringly. "But you guys do not need to worry. Those oases are not abandoned. Zhen Shan's Security Squad has already dispatched their biggest heavy-hitters to guard every single point. If Gakai wants to wreck those places, they will have to bring an entire legion."

  I am acting all tough saying that, but inside, I am nervous as hell. I just have to pray that everything goes smoothly according to this beautiful plan. Even though I know full well that the damn Murphy's Law has never once let me off the hook. Shit will definitely hit the fan. The only question is how big of a mess it will be.