Chapter 243 Shock
The violent vibrations inside the mothership never stopped, and metal fragments and dust fell from the dome above from time to time.
The numbers on the countdown screen jumped mercilessly, and the bright red font displayed: [05:00].
Lu Zhao has already set up a simple metal base with six obvious grooves on it.
With sweat all over his forehead, he firmly embedded the purple core given to him by "Ye" into the fourth seat.
The four cores of gold, silver, red and purple each occupy their positions, emitting faint light, but unable to form a stable energy connection.
"No," Lu Zhao looked at the error code scrolling rapidly on the palm computer, his voice full of suppressed impatience, "We are still short of two stabilization cores! Without a complete six, there is no way to form a protective field that can cover the entire world! The energy circuit is disconnected!"
At this moment, the jade bracelet on Su Wanqing's wrist suddenly lit up, and the light was so bright that she couldn't help but raise her hand to cover it.
The air in front of her began to distort like the surface of water, and the system interface was fully activated in an unprecedented forced manner. All options turned gray, with only a huge, flashing red button that read [Ultimate Protocol] on it.
Her consciousness was pulled by an irresistible force, and the scene before her eyes instantly shattered into countless points of light.
In the real world, her body froze in place, her eyes lost focus, and her pupils were filled with pure golden light, like two little suns.
“Wanqing!” Lin Che was the first to notice that something was wrong with her. He reached out to support her, but was blocked by an invisible energy.
He called her name anxiously: "Wanqing! What's wrong with you? Wake up!"
Xiao Ran and Lu Zhao also came over, but they were helpless and could only watch her motionless. Only her golden eyes proved that she was not a statue.
Everyone could only stay by her side and wait for her to wake up on her own.
Su Wanqing's consciousness fell into a pure white virtual space.
A holographic figure composed of countless data streams slowly condensed in front of her. It was the Guardian.
"Time is running out, I must show you the whole truth." Its voice was emotionless, cold and clear.
As soon as he finished speaking, three huge light screens appeared in the pure white space, like a movie clip, and began to play the crucial moment of failure.
On the first light curtain, there was a battlefield strewn with corpses. Su Wanqing led the last human resistance army and launched a desperate charge towards the overwhelming Weaver fleet.
The end result was the total annihilation of the army, without any trace of fire left.
In the second light curtain, a huge interstellar ark broke away from the devastated Earth, but was soon intercepted by the Weaver Vanguard who chased out from the space rift. The ark disintegrated, and the last hope of mankind was annihilated in the deep space of the universe.
The guardian pointed to the third, clearest light curtain: "The first two times were strategic mistakes. One was choosing a head-on confrontation that could not be won, and the other was choosing an escape that could not solve the fundamental problem. But the third time, which was your last reincarnation, is the most critical."
In the picture, Su Wanqing was standing in front of a pedestal that was very similar to the device set up by Lu Zhao in front of her, and there were also four people around her.
But at the last moment, she was in tears, putting her hand on Lin Che's shoulder, and choosing him as her only co-existent.
As a result, the entire energy field became extremely unstable in an instant. The light turned from soft to dazzling, and finally collapsed completely. Everything was swallowed up by the white light and returned to nothingness.
"You failed last time because your emotions interfered with your final judgment," the guardian explained. "The protection field needs an absolutely stable anchor to maintain it. This person must be the most suitable person, not the person you love the most."
Su Wanqing's consciousness trembled slightly. She wanted to open her mouth to refute, but no sound came out.
The guardian waved his hand, and the light curtain disappeared, replaced by a complex hexagram structure diagram.
"Complete records show that the six cores that make up the world barrier represent the six basic forces of the universe: time, space, matter, energy, consciousness, and nothingness. You have found the first four, but you are missing the consciousness core and the nothingness core."
Its eyes made of data stared directly at Su Wanqing: "The core of consciousness must be condensed by a pure and powerful human consciousness under completely voluntary circumstances.
This is the true meaning of "sacrifice" in the agreement. A human soul sacrificed completely voluntarily, its spiritual energy can be instantly sublimated and condensed into the fifth stable core."
Su Wanqing's heart was filled with a huge wave, and she finally managed to speak: "You mean... someone must die?"
"It's not death, it's transformation." The guardian responded calmly, "It's giving up the individual form and becoming part of the eternal consciousness that protects the world.
As for the sixth and most crucial core of nothingness… it comes from the final decision of the perfect anchor point. When the anchor point makes a choice, it abandons all emotional ties and accepts eternal loneliness and responsibility. This decision to transcend the self itself will form a core of nothingness that accommodates everything and is empty. "
The white light faded, and Su Wanqing's consciousness suddenly returned to her body. She gasped violently, and the golden light in her eyes slowly dissipated.
The countdown for the mothership has reached [02:00].
“Wanqing, are you okay?” Lin Che asked with concern.
Su Wanqing shook her head and told everyone the guardian's explanation as quickly as possible.
After these words were spoken, the control room fell into a deathly silence. Everyone understood what this meant - one of the five of them had to voluntarily "convert", while the other had to serve as the anchor, making this cruel choice and bearing all the consequences.
“I’ll do it.” Lin Che was the first to stand up. His expression was firm. “I am half a weaver’s creation. I will be the one to condense the core of consciousness. The energy properties are the most compatible and the success rate is the highest. This is the best destination for me.”
"No!" Xiao Ran immediately shook his head, and he subconsciously protected Xiao Ling behind him, "It should be me.
Xiaoling still needs someone to take care of her, and you, whether it's Lu Zhao's wisdom, your leadership, or Lin Che's ability, are more useful than me. I'm just a warrior."
"From a calculation point of view, my physical fitness is the worst and my energy output is the lowest. As a sacrifice, my impact on the team's combat effectiveness is the smallest."
Lu Zhao pushed his glasses and spoke calmly as if he was analyzing a problem that had nothing to do with him.
Just as the three were arguing, Xiaoling, who had been silent, suddenly laughed.
Her golden eyes were clear and bright as she looked at Su Wanqing: "You know who to choose, right? Last time, you made the wrong choice."
She broke free from Xiao Ran's protection and walked towards the center of the device step by step.
“The person who becomes the anchor should not be the strongest, nor the smartest.”
She raised her head and said in a low voice, but everyone could hear it clearly, "It should be the purest..."
Something in Su Wanqing's mind suddenly became clear. She looked at Xiaoling's small back and murmured to herself: "Xiaoling... have you always known?"
The little girl turned around and nodded to her. "Everyone has their own best position. It's never about sacrifice, but about the right arrangement."
When the argument broke out, Night did not join in. He just slowly walked to the purple core, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked its gleaming surface.
"When Dr. Morris left this core, he told me that one day, I would have to choose between humanity and eternity... I didn't understand it until I saw you."
He withdrew his hand and looked at Su Wanqing, "This is not just a core, it is a part of his soul.
He believed that humans had the right to determine their own destiny, rather than be judged by some external, higher power.”
The purple core in his hand flickered, as if responding to this emotion that transcended time.
The alarm from the mothership became sharp and piercing, and the final countdown announcement resounded throughout the space:
【Selection time remaining: 60 seconds. 】
The countdown entered the last thirty seconds, and Night said at last: “No matter who you choose, remember that true eternity does not lie in the length of time, but in the meaning given to life.
Dr. Morris created me from a fragment of his soul and sent me through this endless cycle of reincarnation in the hope that I would understand this.”
His figure began to become transparent, and the blue energy lines that once flowed through his body reappeared, producing a strong resonance with the purple core.
"Perhaps, this is the meaning of my existence... to help you find the path that truly belongs to mankind."
He smiled at everyone present, and his body turned into a stream of pure purple light, completely merging into the core.
The light of the purple core suddenly surged, becoming brighter and more dazzling than ever before.
Everyone present felt the solemnity and profundity of this moment.
【If you make the wrong choice, everything will be reset to zero. 】
The bright red countdown ticked mercilessly: [00:30].
The debate has heated up.
“It has to be me!” Lin Che’s voice was low, but he did not allow for any arguments. “My energy attribute is closest to the Weaver’s creations, and my success rate in condensing the consciousness core is the highest.”
"No!" Xiao Ran pulled Xiao Ling behind him, "You are all more useful than me, Lu Zhao's brain, Wan Qing's leadership, and your special ability. I'm just a thug, so sacrificing me is the most cost-effective."
Lu Zhao's fingertips quickly slid across the palm computer, muttering, "No, there are too many variables. Xiao Ran's physical fitness is strong, but his consciousness is not pure enough. Lin Che's energy attributes are compatible, but there is a risk of reverse assimilation..."
Su Wanqing did not join the argument. She stood in front of the simple metal base, her palms gently stroking the three gold, silver, and red cores that had been embedded in the grooves, her fingertips could feel the restlessness of their internal energy.
Her heart was surprisingly calm at this moment.
She raised her wrist and looked at the jade bracelet. The system interface was flashing at an unprecedented frequency, and all the gray options disappeared, leaving only a huge, blood-red prompt box. There was no extra explanation on it, only one line of words: [Confirmed to become a time anchor point].
She clicked without hesitation.
"What are you going to do?" Xiaoling's voice suddenly sounded. She raised her head, her golden eyes full of surprise.
Su Wanqing turned around and smiled at her. Her voice was very soft, but everyone present could hear it clearly: "I finally understand... The guardian said that the anchor must be the most suitable person. And I, as the carrier of this system, have been prepared for this moment from the beginning."
The countdown has reached [00:10].
Su Wanqing pressed her palm on the empty groove in the center of the device: "I choose myself."
A series of incomprehensible error codes instantly flashed across the system interface on her wrist, and then the entire light screen burst into a dazzling white light and was fully activated.
"This is not calculated!" Lu Zhao looked up suddenly, his eyes behind the lenses widened.
The three cores on the base broke away from the grooves and floated autonomously into the air, quickly forming a perfect equilateral triangle array with Su Wanqing as the center.
“Wanqing!” Lin Che rushed forward, trying to stop this incomprehensible scene, but was violently bounced back by an invisible energy barrier.
Su Wanqing showed a relieved smile to everyone through the layer of energy fluctuations: "I made the wrong choice last time... because I didn't trust myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three cores began to rotate at high speed, pulling out three light bands of different colors.
The speed of rotation became faster and faster, and finally, at the moment the countdown returned to zero, it suddenly contracted towards the center and became one.
The light dissipated, and a perfect, colorful energy sphere was quietly suspended in front of Su Wanqing's chest.
The entire mothership let out a terrifying roar. The huge crystal chambers on the surrounding walls that stored the time fragments began to disintegrate and shatter in pieces.
The core of unity slowly merged into Su Wanqing's body. Her body was completely wrapped in pure golden energy and floated uncontrollably in the air.
Spider-web-like cracks appeared on the metal floor underfoot, and large chunks of the ceiling above were peeling off.
"The device is out of control!" Lin Che shouted. He didn't have time to think about it. He stretched out his arms and the purple energy field quickly expanded, like a huge cover, covering Lu Zhao, Xiao Ran and Xiao Ling, barely resisting the metal fragments that fell like a rainstorm.
In the center of the mothership's control room, the space seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, and a huge space-time crack appeared out of thin air.
The crack was in the shape of a vortex, emitting a dazzling light that was bright enough to burn the retina.
Su Wanqing's body was slowly pulled towards the crack by an irresistible force.
She was still conscious, but she couldn't feel her limbs and could only watch her friends' figures getting smaller and smaller.
Lin Che rushed towards her with all his might, punching the golden energy field repeatedly with his fists, but he was unable to shake it in the slightest.
"Wanqing! Hold on! We will find you!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
In the storm-like attraction, Su Wanqing used up the last of her strength and said a word. The voice passed through the chaotic space and reached everyone's ears clearly: "Remember... the 30th day..."
The next second, her figure was completely swallowed up by the space-time rift and disappeared from everyone's sight.
Just after Su Wanqing disappeared, the structure of the mothership began to disintegrate completely.
Under the protective shield that Lin Che tried hard to maintain, Lu Zhao suddenly broke free and rushed towards the crumbling center console.
"There's still one last chance!" He inserted a data port into the control system and downloaded information frantically.
On the screen, countless incomprehensible images and formulas flashed by rapidly.
His expression changed from shock to an almost fanatical excitement: “I knew it!
The Weavers are not destroying us, they are replicating the universe! Every reincarnation creates a new parallel universe!"
The moment the download progress bar reached 100%, the ceiling of the entire control room collapsed.
Lin Che grabbed Lu Zhao by the back of his collar and pulled him back. Xiao Ran followed closely behind, holding Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling's third eye looked at the disappeared space-time rift and whispered, "Sister will come back... but not here."
Lu Zhao tightly grasped the data device in his hand and gasped: "According to my calculations, if Su Wanqing really became a time anchor, she would be sent to a key node in the timeline...probably before everything started.
A new cycle is about to begin, but this time, the rules have been rewritten."
…
Su Wanqing felt like she was thrown into an endless tunnel, surrounded by a turbulence of countless lights and images.
She saw countless versions of herself, each struggling to survive in a different apocalyptic scenario.
Some were commanding fortifications in underground shelters, some were hunting in the wilderness full of mutant plants, and one was wearing a white coat, researching vaccines in a simple laboratory... These were not memories, but different versions of her that actually existed in other parallel universes.
Amidst the turbulence, an old and steady voice suddenly sounded:
"For the 187th time... You choose yourself every time, but you never succeed."
The image of a silver-haired old man slowly gathered from the chaotic light and shadow. He was no longer the cold data projection before, but a clear entity.
He extended his hand to Su Wanqing.
"This time, let me help you find the correct coordinates."
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