The entire Sac Forest trembled as if struck by an earthquake. The heat from the explosion radiated for hundreds of meters, and the surrounding trees burst into flames. Quynh Nhu and the two remaining team members, despite having found cover in time, were still thrown by the shockwave, their heads ringing.
They looked towards the center of the explosion, which was now just a gaping, black crater, with thick smoke billowing upwards.
Lam Minh... and the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment creature... had been annihilated, turned to dust.
"Lam... Minh..." Quynh Nhu stammered, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. She tried to get up, wanting to rush towards the crater, but a teammate held her back.
"Don't! It's too dangerous! He... he's gone."
"No! It can't be!" Quynh Nhu screamed, her voice breaking. She couldn't accept the fact that the kid who always teased her, the one she always called her "punching bag," had departed in such a heroic and tragic way. He had used himself as bait, used his own body as a targeting beacon to destroy the enemy.
This sacrifice was too great, too heavy.
Reinforcement teams quickly arrived, extinguishing the fires and securing the scene. General Khang also came in person. Looking at the deep crater, even his iron-like face couldn't hide his pain.
"Report!" an officer ran over. "We've found some remains of the Madakaros, confirming the target has been eliminated. But... we haven't found any trace of Lam Minh."
"No trace?" General Khang frowned. It was understandable. Under such a horrific blast, how could a human body leave any trace?
"It's all my fault," Quynh Nhu collapsed, sobbing. "If I were stronger... if I could have bought more time... he wouldn't have had to do that."
General Khang placed a hand on her shoulder. "This is no one's fault, soldier. He is a hero. His sacrifice saved all of us and protected this entire city. We will posthumously award him the highest Medal of Heroism."
A sorrowful atmosphere descended upon the forest. The news of "Student Hero" Lam Minh's sacrifice was kept confidential within the military, but an invisible sadness still shrouded all who knew.
In a hidden corner of the forest, a few hundred meters from the explosion site...
[Host has revived.]
[Death in the real world. Annihilated by allied heavy firepower along with a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment enemy. An extremely spectacular and iconic death. Recorded as 'Martyrdom'. Received a colossal reward: 15,000 Immortality Points.]
[[INVULNERABILITY] STATE ACTIVATED. TIME REMAINING: 29:59]
Lam Minh slowly materialized, brushing invisible dust off his body. He looked towards the bomb crater, heard Quynh Nhu's cries, and felt a little... guilty.
"Sorry, loli, for making you cry. But... 15,000 points! I'm rich this time!" he grinned from ear to ear.
He immediately checked his status panel.
[Name: Lam Minh]
[Cultivation: Peak Qi Refining]
[Immortality Points: 18,250/20,000] (2950 old + 300 from Quynh Nhu's beatings + 15000 new)
"God dammit! Still not enough! I'm still short over a thousand points!" he cursed. "I thought this one would get me straight to Foundation Establishment! This damn system!"
[System Note: The Host needs to work harder. Great rewards always come with great challenges.]
"Challenge my ass! I was almost really gone for good!"
He knew he couldn't appear right now. It would be impossible to explain. He needed a perfect script.
He used his 30 minutes of [Invulnerability] to quickly leave the dangerous area, finding a safer, more secluded spot to hide. He had to wait. Wait until everything had settled down.
Three days later.
A search team was still working at the explosion site, trying to find even a fragment of the hero's remains.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted. "Over here! There's someone!"
Everyone rushed towards a bush not far away. They found a young man lying unconscious, his clothes tattered, his body covered in wounds and burns, looking incredibly pathetic.
It was Lam Minh.
The news that "Lam Minh is alive" caused a seismic shock even greater than the news of his sacrifice. He was immediately taken to the best military hospital, under the care of top specialists.
General Khang, Quynh Nhu, To Quyen, and his entire family rushed to the hospital.
When Lam Minh "slowly" regained consciousness in his hospital bed, the first question General Khang asked, the same question everyone wanted to know, was:
"Lam Minh, how... how did you survive?"
Lam Minh looked at everyone, his face showing a "weak" and "confused" expression, and he began to tell the story he had prepared.
"I... I don't know either, sir," he said, his voice hoarse. "At that moment, I knew I couldn't beat that monster. I had only one thought: I had to take it down with me. I yelled out the coordinates..."
He coughed a few times, feigning great pain. "But just before the missiles hit, I felt an incredibly strong push from behind that sent me flying. I only managed to see a tall figure in a black cloak appear between me and the monster. After that... I passed out. When I woke up, I was already lying in the bushes."
A figure in a black cloak?
Lam Minh's story stunned everyone.
"Did you get a clear look at their face?" General Khang pressed.
"No, sir," Lam Minh shook his head. "Everything happened too fast. I just felt that person... was very strong, unimaginably strong. Many times stronger than that Foundation Establishment creature."
This explanation, though it sounded fantastical, was the only one that made sense of his survival. A mysterious master had coincidentally passed by, saw an injustice, lent a hand, saved the hero, and quietly left.
It explained why Lam Minh was thrown far from the epicenter of the blast.
It explained why his body was injured but not annihilated.
And it also indirectly enhanced Lam Minh's image: his courage had moved even a reclusive master.
After hearing the story, Quynh Nhu let out a sigh of relief, tears streaming down her face again, but this time, they were tears of happiness.
General Khang was pensive. He knew there were many mysteries in this world that the military had yet to uncover. The existence of such a "master" was not impossible.
"Alright," General Khang said. "You just rest and recover. This matter will be classified as top secret. You are still our hero."
The performance was a perfect success. Lam Minh had hidden his secret and, at the same time, created a "mysterious master" to serve as a shield for his future extraordinary actions.
Lying in his hospital bed, being cared for by To Quyen and a still-shy Quynh Nhu, Lam Minh smiled inwardly.
"Just over 1000 points to go. Foundation Establishment Realm, here I come!"