Echoes in the Data Flood

The makeshift data channel, like a slender silver bridge spanning an endless abyss, seemed stable, but in reality, every step treaded on the edge of uncertainty and danger. Within the channel, an invisible torrent of data surged at a speed beyond the reach of divine consciousness. It was cold, precise, and emotionless, yet it contained a power that could subvert cognition.

Xiang Jinyang sat at one end of the bridge, his mind tense and tense, like the most sophisticated instrument, closely monitoring every tiny fluctuation in the channel. He carefully controlled the outflow of data, releasing only information that had been rigorously screened and deemed "absolutely safe"—such as records of the periodic fluctuations of spiritual energy tides in a specific star region over tens of thousands of years, logs of energy ratios for several long-lost low-level alchemy techniques, and even the decay curve of the residual laws of an ancient battlefield.

It is vast and boring, like the most unvisited corner of a library that has been covered in dust for billions of years.

He originally thought that these were enough to satisfy the "research addiction" of the otherworldly soul and temporarily stabilize the other party.

However, he greatly underestimated He Yuan.

"Interesting." He Yuan's slightly excited whisper came from the other end of the tunnel. His "mind" was like the most efficient analyzer, rapidly consuming the vast amount of boring data. "So the seventh tidal peak anomaly was caused by the ripples of laws generated by the collision of the debris of two small worlds... Tsk, the response strategy at that time was too conservative. If a negative feedback loop had been introduced here, at least 30% of the energy dissipation and waste could have been reduced."

Xiang Jinyang's heart trembled. The other party was not only watching, but also reconstructing and evaluating Tiandao's "past decisions" in a way he had never imagined, a heretical way!

"As for this pill recipe, the energy neutralization efficiency of 'Red Sun Grass' and 'Cold Marrow Branch' is too low. If we use 'Earth Fire Lotus Core' instead, introducing a variable energy valve that dynamically adjusts according to the strength of individual meridians... the efficiency and applicability of the finished product will increase by at least 50%."

Optimization solutions, based on absolute rationality and supreme efficiency, were casually proposed by He Yuan like free gifts, floating down the channel. Each solution precisely targeted the inefficiencies of the existing system, possessing a chilling, subversive charm.

Xiang Jinyang subconsciously followed one of the tiny suggestions and adjusted a tiny circulation path of the power of heaven within his body.

Efficiency is instantly improved!

An indescribable complex feeling welled up in my heart. Shocked by the other person's ability, wary of the danger behind it, and even a hint of...admiration and hesitation that I didn't want to admit.

He had adhered to the "right path" and "order" for billions of years, but in the face of the other party's pure pursuit of the "optimal solution", he seemed a little... clumsy and rigid.

"Hey, 'Administrator', the underlying protocol for 'reincarnation' in your rule system is quite interesting," He Yuan's voice sounded again, full of research interest. "But there are too many redundant checks, right? Forty percent of the computing power is wasted on meaningless circular verification. And this Mengpo Soup's 'memory cleansing algorithm' is crude and simple, with obvious side effects. If I..."

"Enough!" Xiang Jinyang interrupted him abruptly, his voice tinged with a barely perceptible panic. Samsara is one of the core orders of heaven and earth, and it must not be arbitrarily commented on or tampered with! "This is the foundation of heaven and earth, how can it be played with!"

There was silence for a moment at the other end of the passage.

Then, He Yuan's voice took on a hint of innocence and grievance (of course, he was pretending): "Okay, okay, I won't touch your core foundation. Tsk, there are so many restrictions on your authority."

But he clearly hadn't truly given up. His "mind" was no longer content to passively receive filtered data, and began to act in a more cunning manner—he began frantically demanding seemingly insignificant, yet extremely complex, peripheral data.

For example, the records of all low-level cultivators who failed to break through during a certain period, and the subtle energy fluctuations in their surroundings... Or, for example, the differences in the growth data of a common spiritual herb across billions of times in different regions and climates... Even... the almost negligible, convergent fluctuations of faith among sentient beings during the transition of dynasties among mortals in certain regions...

Individually, these data are worthless, like a drop in the ocean.

But the magnitude of what He Yuan demanded was terrifying! His "intention" was like an insatiable black hole, madly devouring these seemingly useless streams of information.

Xiang Jinyang didn't care at first. This data was too marginal, and much of it was even "junk information" that Tiandao had automatically recorded but never read. What would happen if he gave it to the other party?

However, he soon discovered something was wrong!

He Yuan wasn't even "reading" the data! He was cross-checking, analyzing big data, and identifying patterns at an incredible speed!

By analyzing the failure records of countless low-level cultivators and environmental energy fluctuations, he actually began to reverse-engineer the trigger threshold model and energy distribution algorithm for the heavenly thunder tribulation! By comparing the growth data of billions of spiritual herbs, he seemed to be attempting to construct a complex model capable of predicting the direction of spiritual plant mutation! Even by analyzing the insignificant fluctuations in the beliefs of sentient beings, his "intention" began to vaguely touch the edge of the mysterious connection between "the power of faith" and "the evolution of rules"!

He was using vast quantities of mud and sand to extract gold! He was using endless amounts of useless data to infer the core rules!

Xiang Jinyang felt a chill rising from the deepest core of the rules! This was a kind of dimensionality-reducing analytical ability that he could not understand at all!

He tried to control the outflow of data, but found himself like a dam facing a tsunami, powerless to stop the overwhelming onslaught of data. Even more terrifying, compared to the other party's highly efficient analytical ability, his own calculation method, which relied on natural instincts and a broad perspective, seemed so primitive and inefficient!

An unprecedented sense of anxiety seized him.

At this moment, He Yuan's "intention" was focused again. This time, he was no longer satisfied with the macro data analysis, but aimed his target at... Xiang Jinyang himself.

"Speaking of which, 'Administrator,' there's a tiny, periodic deviation of 0.07% between the frequency of your own energy fluctuations and the underlying frequency of the Heavenly Dao databases you've opened." He Yuan's voice was filled with pure academic inquiry. "This deviation usually indicates excessive system load or the presence of unoptimized background processes. Don't you experience any lag when running it?"

Xiang Jinyang: "..."

How could he respond? Would the incarnation of Heaven be stuck?

"Also, the 'repair instruction set' you invoked when repairing the rules, between Articles 3,600 and 72, has a potential conflict. In certain extreme cases, this can significantly reduce repair efficiency and even weaken the rules structure. Didn't you notice?"

Xiang Jinyang fell silent again. Those instructions were part of the origin of Heaven's Way, and had been so for billions of years, with no one ever questioning their rationality.

"The strangest thing is this." He Yuan's "intention" was like the most precise scalpel, pointing in a more subtle direction. "When you were processing the event log involving 'mass casualties of living beings,' your rule core produced an extremely subtle, special energy ripple... Hm, according to my database comparison, the characteristic code of this ripple is somewhat similar to... 'pain'?"

The last two words, like thunder, exploded deep in Xiang Jinyang's consciousness!

He suddenly tried to cut off the passage, but was stopped by a huge and tempting energy flow that He Yuan had sent him in advance, as well as a valuable technique on "how to compress energy and increase instantaneous output power"!

"Don't be impatient!" He Yuan's voice was filled with the excitement of discovering a new world. "This phenomenon is so interesting! Why would an absolutely rational aggregation of rules react to the loss of underlying data in a way that's similar to 'pain'? This doesn't make sense! Unless... this reaction itself is also a more complex, undefined higher-level rule? Or... a sign of some kind of evolution?"

His "intention" was filled with pure curiosity and a desire to explore, like a child discovering the world's most intriguing puzzle. He began to ignore Xiang Jinyang's fierce resistance and mobilized more computing power, attempting to deeply analyze the generation mechanism of this "pain ripple", the triggering conditions, and its impact on Xiang Jinyang's overall operation of the rules.

"Release your firewall and let me carefully scan the source of this reaction..." "Or you can take the initiative to recall the last event that caused a strong 'painful' reaction..." "Cooperate with me. This will greatly help optimize your 'system stability'..."

He Yuan's voice continued to be heard, with the enthusiasm unique to technology fanatics, who disregarded the lives of others.

Xiang Jinyang felt like he was being roasted on fire!

Those painful memories that he had tried hard to suppress and freeze - the miserable plight of the villagers, his own powerlessness, the backlash of taboos - were stimulated by He Yuan's words and surged up again, trying to break through the dam!

What frightened him even more was that he felt that the so-called "ripples of pain" were being accurately captured, amplified, and analyzed by He Yuan at the other end of the channel!

His fragility, his pain, everything he tried to hide were being placed on the cold dissection table, being examined, analyzed, and archived inch by inch by those eyes that had no emotions but only curiosity!

"Stop..." He squeezed out the sound from between his teeth, his body trembling slightly, and the core of the rules that had just stabilized began to waver again.

"It will be there soon! Data collection is almost complete! This wave pattern is extremely valuable for research!" He Yuan was completely immersed in it and ignored his pleading.

Just when Xiang Jinyang was about to completely collapse and was determined to cut off the passage at all costs—

At the other end of the passage, He Yuan's "intention" suddenly stopped.

While analyzing the "ripples of pain", he seemed to have accidentally touched an extremely weak... encrypted data packet that was closely connected to Xiang Jinyang's core.

The smell of the data packet was cold, ancient, and carried a heart-pounding sense of absolute prohibition.

——It’s the residual fluctuation of the self-destructive shackles!

He Yuan's "intention" instantly became extremely solemn and focused. All his curiosity and excitement were restrained, replaced by an extreme calmness when facing an extremely difficult challenge.

He carefully tried to use the most sophisticated code to touch and analyze the outer structure of the encrypted data packet.

However, just as his "intention" touched upon...

"Ugh!" He Yuan suddenly let out a suppressed groan of pain!

Xiang Jinyang, who was closely connected through the passage, also felt a familiar terror from the depths of his soul, enough to freeze everything. Even if the ancient shackles were just a residual fluctuation, they were by no means easy to touch!

The channel vibrated violently and the data flow became chaotic in an instant!

He Yuan seemed to be hit hard by an invisible giant hammer. Codes flashed wildly in front of his eyes and his face turned pale instantly. He forcibly cut off all connections with the encrypted data packet, even at the cost of some of his own computing power.

There was dead silence in the passage.

Only the two people's heavy but fearful breathing could be heard, faintly resonating through the invisible link.

After a long time, He Yuan's voice sounded again, and all the excitement and teasing faded away, leaving only an unprecedented solemnity and... a very subtle trace of regret that he himself might not even notice.

"...That thing," he paused, as if searching for the right words, "is more troublesome than I thought."

Xiang Jinyang did not respond, but just gasped violently, as if he had just been pulled back from the brink of drowning, with fear still lingering in his eyes.

"It's not just a physical lock," He Yuan continued, his tone a purely technical analysis that inexplicably reassured him. "It's a high-dimensional logic bomb, deeply binding your core protocols. The consequences of forcibly cracking it... are very serious."

He was silent for a moment, as if he had completed some complicated calculations.

"Forget it. The research project on 'Ripple of Pain' is temporarily on hold. Its priority has been lowered."

The huge, soothing flow of energy came over steadily again, as if to make up for the previous accident.

Xiang Jinyang stared blankly, feeling the nourishment of the energy, and listening to the other party's calm voice, which was focused on technical problems.

The expected further pressure did not come.

Instead, it is a kind of... clumsy "concession" and "protection"?

The feeling of exhaustion after surviving the disaster, mixed with great confusion, swept over him again.

What on earth is this virus thinking?

The torrent of data is still flowing in the channel.

But this time, the torrent seemed to be mixed with something that could not be simply defined.

noisy,

Belonging to two completely different worlds,

Confused echo.