By the time Feng Ye arrived at the café where he’d agreed to meet Lin Tang, noon was nearly upon them.

After greeting Lin Tang, he spotted Lin Chuan huddled in a corner booth, hiding behind a menu. When Lin Chuan lowered it, a face swollen like a pig’s head greeted Feng Ye.

“Lin Chuan… what happened to your face…?” Feng Ye asked, barely suppressing a grin.

“Don’t ask…” Lin Chuan mumbled thickly, utterly dejected. “Yesterday, when Dad found out I’d sneaked the Divine Artifact out, he gave me the old-fashioned fist of discipline.”

Luckily, while Lin Chuan endured that proletarian pounding, Lin Tang had slipped into the study and stuffed the Beast’s weapon fragment back where it belonged. Otherwise, he might’ve been beaten even worse.

“And now I look like this. Can’t even wear my glasses—anything touching my face hurts like hell.”

“Well,” Lin Tang shot back mercilessly, “your eyes are already squinted shut. Saves you the trouble of narrowing them yourself, right?”

Lin Chuan nearly choked on his rage. “Are you even my sister? Show some sympathy! Half those punches were meant for you!”

Lin Tang smirked. “Even if it was all my fault, Dad would still only hit you. Brothers taking the fall for sisters is only natural. You should be grateful for Dad’s loving fists.”

Feng Ye watched the siblings bicker with quiet resignation.

After a few more jabs, Lin Tang finally remembered their purpose. “Now that Brother Feng Ye’s here, I’ll create our team.”

Once both agreed, she murmured softly: “Overdeity, I wish to form an Awakened team.”

“Team formation requires one Team Contract and a minimum of three members.”

Though Lin Tang spoke to empty air, the Overdeity’s detached voice echoed in all their minds: “Conditions verified. All members confirmed. After deducting a 2,000-point service fee, the team will be established immediately.”

“Once formed, team members may share Overdeity missions, choose team summons, and traverse other worlds.”

“Awakened within the same team are forbidden from killing one another. Violators will suffer immediate contract backlash.”

“Your team will gain the following privileges…”

The Overdeity swiftly imprinted the rules into their minds, then asked Feng Ye for confirmation. Having already decided, Feng Ye accepted without hesitation.

After all confirmed, the Overdeity’s voice returned:

“New Awakened team established. Initial rank: D-grade.”

“To upgrade your team rank, complete Overdeity missions and earn merit.”

“Each rank increase unlocks new privileges.”

“Current members: Lin Tang (Captain), Lin Chuan (Member), Feng Ye (Member).”

“Captain, name your team. Upon confirmation, it will be added to the official rankings.”

Lin Tang’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Any good ideas for the team name?”

“I’ve had the perfect name ready!” Lin Chuan declared through his swollen face. “The Sinbreakers! Or maybe the Three Phantom Gods?”

“I’ll break *your* head,” Lin Tang snapped, shooting him a glare. “All those cringy things you devoured during your chuunibyou phase? Should I dig up your old diary and make it our team relic?”

“What?! I threw that trash away years ago!” Lin Chuan’s face flushed purple, then crimson—like a walking sauce shop. “You’re bluffing, right?!”

Lin Tang clasped her hands piously before her chest, eyes shining with mock reverence: “O Sovereign of the Skies, lend me your gale-force might! Unleash a world-ending tornado upon this—”

Feng Ye!” Lin Chuan clamped a hand over her mouth, face burning with shame. “Alright, alright! I believe you! Just stop reciting that nightmare!” Tears welled in his eyes. *How could she remember that cringefest?!*

“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Lin Tang glared daggers at him, then sank her pearly whites into his hand. Lin Chuan yelped, leaping off his chair as snot bubbled at his nostrils.

Lin Tang wiped her mouth fastidiously with a napkin.

“Are you a rabid puppy?! Who bites that hard?!” Lin Chuan thrust his bleeding hand toward her. “Look! It’s bleeding!”

“You’re blaming *me*?!” Lin Tang wrinkled her nose. “You nearly suffocated me! And ugh—who knows what filth your hand’s touched? I only bit you in self-defense. I might catch some disease!” She shuddered. “Brother Feng Ye, wait here. I need to rinse my mouth.”

She darted off to the restroom, leaving Lin Chuan with a face like he’d swallowed a lemon.

Feng Ye patted his shoulder sympathetically. “My condolences. I have a sister too. I understand.”

“Seriously,” Lin Chuan groaned, “what’s *good* about having a sister?!”

Minutes later, Lin Tang returned—freshly washed after her brother’s “germ-ridden” hand incident. Dewdrops clung to her porcelain cheeks, her lips flushed and dewy. She slid into the seat beside Feng Ye, eyeing her brother like discarded trash.

“Back to business,” she declared after a disdainful pause. “And forget ‘Sinbreakers.’” Lin Chuan deflated, his gray soul visibly leaking from his ears.

“I’ve got no good names,” Feng Ye admitted. “Tangtang, you decide.”

Lin Tang beamed, nestling close to Feng Ye—a stark contrast to her earlier demon-sister act. Lin Chuan clutched his chest, heartbroken. *I’m your brother!*

“Then… Maple Sugar Squad,” she announced. “It has Brother Feng Ye’s name *and* mine.”

Feng Ye considered it—until Lin Chuan’s devastated stare hit him. “It’s a lovely name… but we’re a trio.”

“Tch.”

“HEY! That ‘tch’ was pure contempt, wasn’t it?!” Lin Chuan howled. Her blunt confirmation pierced his heart like arrows. *My own sister… rejects me…*

“Ugh. Wish teams only allowed two members.” Lin Tang sighed. “Fine. How about… Maple Grove Squad?” She shot her brother—who now resembled a deflated whoopee cushion—a withering look. “Happy now?”

...

“D-grade Awakened team ‘Maple Grove Squad,’ correct? Please present your team insignia for registration.”

At an Awakened Association counter, a clerk smiled politely at Lin Tang. She handed over an iron-black medal. The clerk scanned it on a strange device, verified the data, and began processing their registration.

Though the Overdeity had already recognized their team, Association rules required official registration. The perk? Access to merit-earning missions—hunting Beasts, aiding the city, or completing Association contracts. These were far safer than Overdeity missions, mostly confined to the modern world.

While Lin Tang handled paperwork, Feng Ye and Lin Chuan browsed mission boards.

Alongside standard commissions were bounties: no sign-ups needed. Targets included rogue Awakened who abused powers to kill innocents, or rare material collections. Complete the conditions, claim the reward.

Lin Chuan scanned all bounties into his palm-sized light-computer for later review. Feng Ye focused on commissions.

*Bounties require luck as much as strength,* he mused. *You won’t just bump into targets on the street.*

“Why are all these escort or bodyguard gigs?” Feng Ye muttered, scrolling. Too time-consuming—most spanned days. With his strict home schedule, they were impossible.

...