The Future

[Mission Completed - Capture the culprit who is using his powers to kidnap young girls - Rewards: +150 Exp +1 Strength +Future Knowledge]

Lin Xiao suddenly found himself in the middle of a vast desert, jets roaring above him.

He turned towards the source of a deafening noise and saw a colossal portal opening, from which millions and billions of monsters poured out, some as large as buildings.

The sheer scale of the invasion was overwhelming.

On the other side of the battle, another portal opened.

From it emerged two human-like creatures, one dressed entirely in white and the other in black.

As they stepped through, they transformed into massive cats—Xiao Bai and Lil' Blackie, his own pets, now towering like skyscrapers.

Lin Xiao felt the intense gaze of the white cat. As soon as their eyes met, he was abruptly pulled back to reality, standing next to Li Jing and the subdued man.

His mind reeled from the vision.

What had he just witnessed? The future knowledge promised by the system had shown him something beyond comprehension.

"Lin Xiao, are you alright?" Li Jing asked, noticing his dazed expression.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a bit overwhelmed."

Li Jing nodded, understanding the gravity of their mission and the strain it could put on someone. "Let's get back to the base. We need to debrief and then I will come back here to remove people's memories."

As they drove back, Lin Xiao couldn't stop thinking about the vision.

The monstrous invasion, his pets transformed into giant warriors—it all seemed like a premonition of a cataclysmic event.

The system's reward had given him a glimpse of a possible future, one that he needed to prepare for.

Lin Xiao asked the system if that future was certain, and the system replied soon.

[No, but it is the most probable future that might happen according to the choices you are making]

Lin Xiao was shocked. Am I doing something wrong? he wondered.

Li Jing got him out of his trance and asked, "Did you see anything in the culprit's memories?"

He had been too stressed and full of adrenaline to look through the man's memories, but he remembered the system notification about the kidnapper targeting young girls.

He chose not to share this detail with Li Jing.

Lin Xiao shook his head. "I am sorry, I couldn't see his memories clearly," 

Li Jing sighed and said, "It's okay, Let's just go back to the base,"

...

...

Back at the military base, as they extracted the culprit from the car, Lin Xiao noticed the same man he had seen with Li Jing at the apartment: Wang Yong, the other military officer. Wang Yong approached them, his expression mocking as he addressed Li Jing.

"So, the great Li Jing couldn't handle a small fry like this?" he sneered.

Li Jing, unfazed by his sarcasm, responded calmly. "This small fry exhibited a weird red energy. It wasn't an ordinary fight."

Wang Yong's demeanor changed immediately. He became serious, his eyes narrowing as he processed her words. "Red energy, you say? This needs to be discussed."

He invited them to the debriefing room, and Li Jing insisted that Lin Xiao accompany them. Wang Yong agreed, and they made their way inside.

In the debriefing room, Wang Yong gestured for them to sit. "Tell me everything," he demanded.

Li Jing recounted the events, describing how the man's eyes turned red and how he created a domain that caused everything within it to float.

She explained how Lin Xiao had entered the domain and ultimately subdued the man.

Wang Yong listened intently, then turned to Lin Xiao. "You entered the domain and fought him head-on?"

Lin Xiao was shocked that Li Jing had revealed he had a domain but relieved she hadn't mentioned his dual powers. He nodded. "Yes, I did."

Wang Yong sighed, a hint of concern in his eyes. "This weird red energy is becoming more and more common. Many people think it is the Dream Desire Palace, testing on people and trying to create an army of domain users with this weird red energy."

Lin Xiao's eyes widened. He remembered Li Jing telling him about the Dream Desire Palace, an organization notorious for kidnapping people and experimenting on them to uncover the true origin of superpowers.

The idea of such a group creating an army of domain users was terrifying.

Wang Yong continued, "We've been monitoring their activities, but they're elusive. They operate in the shadows, and their motives are still unclear. What we do know is that whatever they are trying to do is a significant threat."

Wang Yong looked at Lin Xiao. "You are quite talented to awaken a domain at such a young age, although not as talented as those from the capital. Some people there are born with domains. Don't let that demotivate you. Since you are a domain user, that means you are a crucial part of our team now. You can go back home; I need to talk with Li Jing."

Lin Xiao nodded and left the office, his mind swirling with thoughts about the future he had seen.

He remembered his cats transforming into humans and the monstrous creatures that had emerged from the portal. What were they, and what did it all mean?

...

...

As Lin Xiao made his way home, back at the military base briefing room, Wang Yong sat in the chair, and Li Jing stood beside him, both looking at a screen displaying a picture of a strange red crystal.

"Dream Desire Palace is not the only one that can create that weird red energy," Wang Yong began.

Li Jing raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Wang Yong explained, "A month ago, the Supernatural Association found a strange crystal. Some normal human discovered it, and right as he touched it, he awakened superpowers. For a while, he was okay, but soon he turned super violent. That's when we discovered the crystal's powers. I'm sure Dream Desire Palace also found that crystal and now they are able to make someone awaken a domain, which is very dangerous for our city. We have to find them as quickly as possible."

Li Jing's eyes narrowed. "So, You think that Dream Desire Palace knows how to use this crystal?"

"Yes," Wang Yong confirmed. "And if I am true and that Dream Desire Palace has figured out how to use it, they could potentially create an army of domain users. We can't let that happen."

Li Jing nodded. "We'll need to increase our surveillance and gather more intel on their operations. We have to find and neutralize these crystals before they fall into the wrong hands."

"Agreed," Wang Yong said. "I'll coordinate with our intelligence teams,"