Heart Abyss Key
The dead silence within Jintian Realm was no longer the cold, empty stillness of its initial beginnings. Instead, it held the viscosity and heaviness of too many unspoken words and unreleased forces. Silver snow continued to fall, covering the overlapping scars of old and new, attempting to whitewash the situation but only exacerbating the devastation.
Xiang Jinyang sat cross-legged, his eyes closed. His long lashes cast a faint shadow on his pale, almost transparent face. He focused all his energy on directing the pure and gentle energy within him, repairing his nearly shattered essence. The pain subsided slightly, the tearing sensation slowly healed, and strength gradually returned.
But his heart was more confused than ever.
The mutually destructive conflict just now, the thrill of being forcibly spied on and then invaded in reverse, and especially the awkward "repair" and "gift" by He Yuan at the end, were like a rusty key, prying open a tiny crack in the deepest part of his frozen heart.
Countless chaotic emotional fragments surged out, impacting the barrier of his absolute rationality.
The anger lingered, the humiliation still lingering—an instinctive reaction to having one's bottom line violated. He remained vigilant, wary of the unpredictable nature of that otherworldly soul, daring not to let down his guard even a little. But... confusion and an unprecedented sense of bewilderment took over.
Why did he stop? Why did he repair? Why did he give that... obviously tempered, easily absorbed energy?
Each question pointed to an answer that couldn't be explained by billions of years of cognition. The virus, which prioritized "fun" and "efficiency," had instead engaged in a series of actions that were "inefficient," "not necessarily fun," and even "profitable."
The logical chain breaks here, and the calculation result returns a blank noise.
What made him even more uneasy was that at the moment of the reverse invasion, he also captured a fragment of He Yuan's consciousness - it was not the completely cold and calculating one he had expected, but instead revealed a kind of... pure excitement when focusing on solving a difficult problem, and a little surprise and... perhaps it could be called "respect" for his fierce resistance?
And finally, when the other person turned his face away, there was that imperceptible... awkwardness?
These fragmented perceptions were in sharp conflict with his solidified label of "dangerous virus".
He couldn't understand.
Just as Xiang Jinyang's heart was pounding, He Yuan across from him seemed to have recovered from his brief breath. He opened his eyes, and the code flow beneath his eyes had returned to its usual smooth and calm state, with only the occasional, imperceptible pause, as if some unusual process in the background had not yet been completed.
His gaze fell on Xiang Jinyang again, no longer with the same kind of complete scrutiny and curiosity as before, but with a deeper, almost anatomical desire for exploration.
Although both sides suffered losses in the close combat at the consciousness level just now, he also gained a large amount of unprecedented first-hand "data".
Especially what was exposed behind Xiang Jinyang's fierce resistance...the operating mode of the core defense mechanism, and the intensity and characteristics of the surging "emotional noise" that could not be explained by logic.
This is much more interesting than any martial arts or formations he had studied before!
A huge, new research topic took shape in his mind - "On the influence and mechanism analysis of the "emotion" variable on the decision-making model of high-intelligence systems (specifically: the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, Xiang Jinyang)."
To delve deeper into this topic, conventional observation and energy stimulation are clearly not enough. He needs more sophisticated "stimulus-response" experiments and more direct "data" interaction.
His eyes became focused, with a strange light that was a mixture of passion and calmness, like a scientist facing a precious experimental specimen.
"Hey, 'Administrator,'" he suddenly said, breaking the suffocating silence. His tone had returned to his usual lazy, yet hidden edge. "Let me discuss something."
Xiang Jinyang suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him warily.
"Although both sides were hurt in the fight just now, it also proves one thing," He Yuan spread his hands, looking matter-of-fact. "Forced reading is inefficient and extremely risky, and it doesn't conform to the principle of maximizing benefits."
Xiang Jinyang sneered and did not respond.
"So, I have a proposal." He Yuan leaned forward, a seductive (or perhaps dangerous) glint in his eyes. "Look, you need energy repair, and I need... uh, 'research data'. This inefficient confrontation and energy transmission between us results in too much loss."
He paused and revealed his true purpose: "How about we establish a more efficient temporary data exchange channel?"
Xiang Jinyang's pupils shrank slightly.
"It's not forced access," He Yuan explained, as if he understood his concerns. "It's more like... a shared database. You can set access permissions and decide which 'data' is open to me for research. In return, I will not only provide stable and efficient energy support, but also help you optimize the repair process of the Jintian Realm. I can even... share some of my 'research results,' such as how to invoke rules more efficiently and how to deal with that 'taboo backlash.'"
The conditions he offered were extremely tempting. Energy, repair, and even the possibility of forbidden knowledge... all of which Xiang Jinyang desperately desired at the moment.
But this is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger!
Would you actively open up your core information to this virus? Even if it was only part of it?
"Wishful thinking." Xiang Jinyang's voice was cold and he refused without hesitation.
"Don't be so quick to deny it." He Yuan wasn't discouraged. Instead, he smiled, a smile that resembled the snake tempting Eve. "You could start by opening up the most insignificant, superficial data. For example... some historical records of spiritual energy fluctuations? Or the operation logs of some low-level techniques?"
"Think about it," he said, his voice low and full of allure. "With my computing power, I can definitely help you build a more accurate disaster prediction model, or optimize a few basic exercises that can double the efficiency of low-level disciples. Wouldn't that be of great benefit to you in maintaining order in heaven and earth?"
He accurately grasped Xiang Jinyang's weakness - responsibility and order.
Xiang Jinyang fell silent. Reason told him this was extremely dangerous, but the "benefits" the other party described certainly hit the mark. Especially when the other party mentioned the "forbidden backlash," the unforgettable pain and fear resurfaced.
Maybe... maybe we can find a way to fight against those shackles?
This idea grew quietly like a poisonous weed.
"Just the most superficial data?" He heard his own voice sound dry and a little hesitant.
"Of course! Initially, it'll be read-only access with minimal permissions," He Yuan promised quickly, a glint of triumph in his eyes. As long as the channel is established, permissions and the like... there's always a way to "negotiate" them.
There was a long silence.
Silver snow falls silently.
Xiang Jinyang was experiencing an unprecedented struggle between his conscience and his desires. Risk and reward, duty and temptation, fear and desire... all tore at him like crazy.
Ultimately, duty to order and a faint hope of breaking free from the self-destructive shackles overwhelmed extreme vigilance.
He nodded very slowly and heavily.
"It's limited to the most insignificant data. And the channel is under my control and can be interrupted at any time."
"Deal!" He Yuan smiled brightly, as if he had won a great victory.
He immediately took action, and silver codes that were more complex and sophisticated than before flowed from his fingertips. It was no longer a brutal invasion, but like weaving a dense and dangerous net, slowly constructing a temporary, two-way data exchange protocol.
Xiang Jinyang tensed his nerves, mobilized the strength he had just recovered, and cautiously stamped his own Heavenly Dao mark on the agreement, setting up layers of restrictions and firewalls.
The channel was quietly established.
In an instant, an extremely subtle yet profound sense of connection emerged between the two of them. It wasn't a fusion of power, but a deeper connection, a connection at the information level.
Xiang Jinyang immediately felt a steady and powerful surge of energy flowing through the channel, far more efficiently than ever before. At the same time, He Yuan also passed on some extremely sophisticated optimization plans for repairing the rules of the Jintian Realm as a gesture of sincerity.
Indeed... efficient.
But before he could fully appreciate this "benefit", a cold and curious "thought" had already followed the channel and began to carefully and tentatively "browse" the most marginal and insignificant "data" that he had voluntarily opened up.
It was an extremely strange feeling, as if a pair of invisible eyes with absolute rationality were calmly flipping through the outermost public books in the library of his consciousness that no one cared about.
Xiang Jinyang's whole body stiffened, and he forced himself to adapt to the feeling of being "watched".
He Yuan was completely immersed in the novel fun of research.
"Oh? So the abnormal decline in spiritual energy in the southeastern region three hundred years ago was caused by interference from a meteorite fragment carrying a foreign energy? The record is quite detailed." "Hmm... the seventeenth revision of this low-level Water Condensation Technique is actually designed to accommodate certain water root mutations? That's quite... thoughtful."
As he browsed, he made casual comments, his tone purely technical.
Xiang Jinyang's tense nerves relaxed a little. It seemed... it was really just some insignificant things.
However, He Yuan's "browsing" speed was extremely fast, and he quickly scanned the surface data. His "gaze" began to wander beyond the layers of firewalls, with an undisguised curiosity about the deeper data.
"Speaking of which..." he began casually, his voice carrying a subtle hint of inquiry through the passage. "Your reaction to the villagers' deaths exceeded my model's predictions. According to calculations, that level of 'data loss' shouldn't have caused such a violent system shock. What is the 'core variable' driving this out-of-specification reaction?"
His "intentions" were like the most delicate probes, trying to bypass the firewall and touch the core areas of "emotions" and "values" that were guarded by Xiang Jinyang.
Xiang Jinyang was shocked violently, instantly cutting off part of the energy transmission, and the channel began to fluctuate violently!
"You've crossed the line!" he warned sternly, his voice filled with shock and anger.
"Okay, okay, I won't ask." He Yuan immediately withdrew, his tone relaxed, as if it was just a harmless joke, but Xiang Jinyang clearly felt that at that moment, an extremely obscure test code had slipped in through the channel, trying to detect the response mode and strength of his firewall!
This liar! He has no good intentions at all!
Xiang Jinyang's heart was filled with alarm and he immediately wanted to close the passage completely.
"Don't worry!" He Yuan said hurriedly, transmitting a stream of even purer energy and a valuable snippet of techniques on how to stabilize the core and avoid the backlash of taboos. "Mistake! Purely an operational error! Energy compensation! Plus a copy of the 'Beginner's Guide to Core Stability Optimization' as compensation!"
That technical piece went straight to his greatest pain and desire, it was so exquisite that it instantly captured his full attention.
The action of closing the channel hesitated again.
He Yuan's "thoughts" calmed down and no longer tried to cross the line. He just calmly accepted the energy and "read" the data that was allowed to be read.
But an invisible game has already begun in this newly established channel.
One cautiously explores, greedily absorbing all the unknowns and constantly trying to break through the boundaries. The other defends tightly, struggling to balance risks and benefits, walking on thin ice between temptation and vigilance.
Jintian Realm is still silent.
But the invisible torrent of data was flowing silently between the two of them.
A dangerous key called "trust" and "curiosity" has been inserted into the keyhole.
Turn it, and perhaps what opens up is a path to mutual understanding and rebirth.
Or maybe...
The entrance to a deeper hell.
But at this moment, they can no longer turn back.
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