Glimmer of Light
Time lost its scale within the shattered Jintian Realm, marked only by the slow and arduous self-repair of its regular veins. Silence was the eternal keynote, no longer the dead silence of hostility and despair that had filled it at the beginning, but instead settled into a weary, almost numb calm.
Ever since waking from that exhausting sleep, Xiang Jinyang had maintained a state of absolute stillness. He no longer attempted to "see" the realm that had been forcibly transformed beyond recognition, nor did he pay attention to the virus clumsily working nearby. He drew his remaining consciousness inward, like a wounded beast retreating to the deepest depths of its lair, focusing solely on maintaining the most fundamental rhythm of existence—the "breathing" of the Heavenly Dao.
This breath was weak but tenacious, and it was his last unbreakable connection with this world and his own responsibilities.
He could feel the external "intention" still lingering around him, like a tireless apprentice, persistently imitating his rhythm. Compared to its previous recklessness and dominance, the imitation now seemed clumsy but much more focused, and the discomfort it brought was significantly reduced.
Sometimes, even when the other person's frequency unexpectedly synchronized with his altitude, a strange, heart-pounding sense of smoothness would arise, like rusty gears suddenly meshing, bringing a moment of illusory peace.
But he refused to dwell on it.
This tranquility was false, this symbiosis forced. Every time he felt the alien code stream trying to "match" his rhythm, the cold ruins in his heart would send a piercing wakeup call.
It was he who invited the wolf into the house, it was he who nodded and granted the necessary permissions, that created this unbearable situation. This short-lived "peace," bought with destruction, is a constant reminder of his failure and humiliation.
He closed himself off, burying all his emotions deep in the loneliness and coldness he had been accustomed to for billions of years, leaving only the most basic instinct to maintain his existence.
On the other hand, He Yuan seemed to be completely immersed in this new experience of "repair" and "learning".
After the initial frustration and anxiety, an unprecedented desire for challenge and exploration took over his mind. Stabilizing this chaotic space, forcibly spliced together by two completely different rules, became the highest priority task in his current computing core.
This system was more complex than any he had ever hacked, with so many variables and so many abstruse rules, far beyond his existing database. Every attempt felt like groping on the edge of an unknown abyss.
But he enjoys it.
He even created a new project document, "On the Stability Optimization Scheme under Forced Coupling of Heterogeneous Rule Systems (Based on the Jintian Realm Example)," to record and analyze in detail the lessons learned from every failure and insignificant success experience.
His "intention" was no longer always focused on Xiang Jinyang himself, but more on the intersections of rules that were constantly sparking. He "sat" there for a long time, eyes closed, sensing, fingers unconsciously moving in the air, deducing various possibilities.
Imitating Xiang Jinyang's "breathing" rhythm became the foundation of all his repair attempts. He no longer tried to crush him with sheer computing power, but instead learned to "listen" and "adapt."
This process was still fraught with failure. His code was inherently cold and precise, while the laws of nature contained the chaos and agility of nature. Combining the two was no easy task.
Sometimes, a small area he had finally stabilized would collapse again due to a tiny miscalculation or an unpredictable energy fluctuation from the outside world. Sometimes, an optimization algorithm he introduced would have significant short-term effects, but would trigger a more subtle conflict of rules at some point in the future.
Whenever this happened, he would appear extremely irritable, with codes flashing in his eyes, and he would even unconsciously leak out some sharp energy fluctuations, causing Xiang Jinyang, who was sitting quietly beside him, to frown slightly.
But he no longer gave up as easily as he had at the beginning, or tried to use more powerful force to brute force. He would force himself to calm down, close his eyes again, and more carefully perceive Xiang Jinyang's stable and unchanging rhythm of the heavenly way, like a lost person looking for the North Star.
Then, start over again.
During this boring, repetitive and sometimes frustrating long restoration, some changes were quietly taking place in He Yuan.
He began to vaguely understand the "language" of some of the sparks of rules. Which ones represented energy congestion, which ones represented structural fatigue, which ones represented fundamental conflicts of rules... He could even vaguely predict which areas were about to become unstable by sensing subtle changes in the rhythm of the heavens.
This way of cognition, which goes beyond pure data calculation and is more inclined to "intuition" and "experience", is reshaping his thinking mode bit by bit.
One day (or perhaps it only felt like one day), when he finally succeeded in completely stabilizing an extremely stubborn rule crack that had collapsed dozens of times, and this stability lasted far longer than any previous one—
An indescribable, abundant sense of accomplishment surged through his computing core like a warm current.
This is not the intellectual pleasure of solving a difficult problem, but more like a kind of satisfaction of creating something from nothing, smoothing out the chaos, and creating "order" with one's own hands.
Subconsciously, he turned his head and looked at the figure who had been sitting quietly.
It's like a child who has completed a difficult lesson and subconsciously wants to seek...approval?
Xiang Jinyang still had his eyes closed, expressionless, as if he didn't care about anything in the outside world.
But He Yuan clearly felt that at the moment he successfully stabilized the crack, the steady rhythm of the way of heaven around Jin Yang relaxed slightly, extremely subtly and almost imperceptibly.
Like the ice melting slightly.
Extremely short-lived, but real.
He Yuan's heartbeat (if he had one) seemed to skip a beat. An emotion, more unfamiliar than any previous technological breakthrough, quietly grew.
Not complacency, not excitement.
But it's a kind of...small, but continuously radiating warmth...joy?
He stared at Xiang Jinyang's cold profile for a long time.
Then, he did something that surprised even himself.
He did not immediately rush to the next repair point as usual, but slowly and somewhat clumsily imitated Xiang Jinyang and sat down not far from him.
It is no longer a matter of concentrated calculation or careful imitation.
Just quietly... "stay".
Try to "feel" this space that has just stabilized, which is weird but no longer so suffocating.
Try to "feel" the cold and silent existence beside you, which is emitting a rhythm like coordinates at all times.
The silence remains.
But in this long, forced coexistence, something hard and cold seems to be being worn away bit by bit by this repetitive, boring, and sometimes failed and sometimes successful daily repair routine.
The hostility has not disappeared and the gap remains deep.
But pure confrontation has quietly transformed into a more complex and awkward...coexistence.
until--
Without any warning.
An extremely weak energy fluctuation with an obvious "abnormal" aura, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, penetrated the barrier of Jintian Realm, which was not yet completely stable, and quietly swung in.
This fluctuation is extremely familiar!
It was exactly the same strange aura he'd sensed from the escaping "energy dust" earlier, a blend of demonic properties and the order of heaven! But now, this aura seemed to have undergone a... directional, intense mutation! It carried a greedy, yearning, directional quality, as if searching for a mother body!
Its target is obviously - Xiang Jinyang!
Almost at the moment when the fluctuation appeared, Xiang Jinyang's eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened!
His glazed pupils instantly constricted, a flicker of fear flashing across them! For the first time, the rhythm of the Heavenly Dao around him became noticeably disrupted, and an instinctive, extreme rejection and vigilance erupted!
at the same time!
He Yuan, who was sitting quietly on the side, suddenly looked up almost at the same time!
The silver code stream in front of his eyes flashed wildly at an unprecedented speed!
"Warning! Approaching high-correlation abnormal energy fluctuations detected!" "Signature code matching: Experimental subject's derived mutant!" "Target locked: Administrator core!" "Threat level: High! Possesses assimilation and devouring properties!"
There is no time to think!
At the critical moment when the mutant energy pounced on Xiang Jinyang like a venomous snake——
He Yuan's body reacted faster than his calculations!
He suddenly turned sideways, not to dodge, but with an almost instinctive, protective posture, blocking Xiang Jinyang and the wave!
At the same time, he swung his hands rapidly, no longer using the gentle restorative energy that imitated the way of heaven, but instantly switched back to his most familiar, cold and efficient offensive code!
Countless condensed silver codes, like a swarm of violent bees, pounced precisely on the mutated energy. It was no longer a repair, but the most thorough one - analysis, stripping, and deletion!
"Looking for death!" He Yuan's voice was icy cold, filled with pure anger of having his territory invaded!
boom!
Two equally strange but completely different energies collided violently!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only teeth-grinding, violent friction and annihilation at the rule level!
The mutated energy obviously did not expect to encounter such a precise and violent interception. It let out a silent scream and tried to struggle, but it quickly dissipated and disappeared under He Yuan's ruthless deletion command targeting its original structure!
The whole process happened in a flash!
It was so fast that Xiang Jinyang didn't even have time to mobilize his defensive forces!
When the last trace of mutant energy was completely eliminated, the Jintian realm once again returned to silence.
He Yuan maintained his intercepting stance, blocking Xiang Jinyang's path. A lingering stream of cold, sharp, and aggressive code lingered around him. He panted slightly, the code flickering in his eyes, clearly consuming a significant amount of energy from that momentary outburst.
Xiang Jinyang stared blankly at the narrow yet resolute figure blocking his way, and at the lingering cold codes of the otherworldly virus...
An extremely strong and absurd feeling of shock swept over him.
Why?
Why was he standing in the way? Why was he so eager, even angry, to clear that energy?
That's obviously... one of his "creations", isn't it?
Countless questions exploded in my mind, but I couldn't ask a single word.
After a long moment, the sharp light around He Yuan slowly faded. He turned around and looked at Xiang Jinyang, who was still sitting stiffly on the ground. His brows were furrowed, and his tone was a mixture of fear, anger, and extreme dissatisfaction, like a technician complaining:
"What the hell?! How did that thing suddenly locate here so precisely?! And with such a strong desire to devour with such a specific direction?! Is there a hole in my isolation wall?!"
His eyes scanned the surrounding void sharply, trying to find out where the problem was, as if the protective action just now was just a side effect in the process of clearing the bug.
Xiang Jinyang did not answer.
He just silently and deeply looked at the virus in front of him, who looked irritated and chattered about checking "system vulnerabilities".
Looking at his pale face, which still had a trace of fear.
Looking at his eyes that were particularly bright because he was concentrating on finding the problem, and reflected the silver code.
The cold ruins in my heart seemed to be illuminated by a sudden and unreasonable glimmer of light.
He chiseled open a crack.
Silence fell again.
But there are some things,
Already in this block,
Anger,
In one glance,
Completely changed.
In the cracks,
Though the glimmer is feeble,
But stubbornly illuminates some,
Has been deliberately ignored.
reality.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
