When Lin Yi stepped out of the Corridor of Destiny, the faint scar on the back of his neck still retained a tingling, warm sensation.
He looked up at the blood-red sunset, where the golden starlight words "Destiny is not dead, only because you have not let go" were slowly fading away with the evening breeze, as if deliberately erased by some being.
The communicator vibrated at his waist, the vibration transmitted through the warmth of the Starfall Iron Sword to his palm. As he took out the device, the blade suddenly hummed, and fine lightning patterns appeared on the spine of the sword—a sign that it sensed danger.
“Mr. Lin.” Chu Yao’s voice squeezed out from the communicator, with an unusual tension, “The global soul resonance index of job changers has broken through the critical value. Now, a new awakener is born every three seconds. In addition… I have deciphered Long Wu’s encrypted message, but more importantly—” Her electronic voice suddenly paused for half a second, “The hidden data link of the old server has been activated. I need you to look at this now.”
A holographic projection unfolded before Lin Yi's eyes. Lines of code appeared in the pale blue data stream, but they materialized into a picture the moment they touched his pupils: countless semi-transparent figures stood at the end of the galaxy, their faces shrouded in distorted light mist, and energy flowing from their fingertips in sync with the core of the Destiny System.
Lin Yi's temples throbbed. He had never seen this scene before, yet it was like a tattoo etched deep into his soul—a complete picture pieced together from the fragmented memories in the corridor of fate.
"This is... the site where the Destiny System was created." His voice was deep, his knuckles unconsciously tightening around the hilt of the Starfall Iron Sword. "Chu Yao, who are these people?"
"Analyzing." Chu Yao's projection appeared beside him, her hair shimmering with an unusual silver-blue halo. "Preliminary matching results show that their energy fluctuations are completely different from the interdimensional invaders three years ago, much closer to... the Observers." Her virtual finger traced the data stream. "And more importantly—" The projection switched to a log file encrypted with seventeen layers of encryption, "The Destiny System wasn't developed by humans at all; it's a tool implanted into reality by some kind of 'external consciousness.' It uses the 'Civilization Trial Grounds' as a disguise, but in reality, it's collecting..."
“Collecting Fear”.
A cool, familiar voice came from behind.
Lin Yi quickly turned around, his Starfall Iron Sword already drawn three inches from its sheath—but the newcomer was Xuan Mingzi.
The old man's figure was even fainter than yesterday, like shattered moonlight, even the arc of his fluttering clothes was translucent and blurry.
The penetrating wound in his chest was gone, replaced by particles of light flowing around him, with tiny specks of light drifting into the sky with each word he spoke.
"You're awake?" Lin Yi sheathed his sword, his gaze sweeping over Xuan Mingzi's increasingly transparent fingertips. "But you're dissipating."
"The price of completing the mission." Xuan Mingzi smiled, a smile that seemed to melt into the air. "I was originally the guardian of the Destiny System, responsible for watching over the sealed memories of the first experimental subjects. Just now, while you were repairing your soul, I took the opportunity to read the ultimate log of the system core—" He raised his hand, his fingertip lightly touching Lin Yi's brow, "Those higher-dimensional beings, what they need is not power, but fear. Fear can give birth to the purest 'variables,' and variables... are the nourishment they use to observe civilizations."
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly.
He recalled the old man's words in the corridor of fate: "Fear is not a shackle, but a spark to ignite the fire in the heart." At this moment, he finally understood the profound meaning: when fear is accepted, when variables are no longer manipulated, the observer's experiment will fail.
"They're still watching us." Xuan Mingzi's voice suddenly softened, like a feather about to drift away. "I can feel those gazes... just beyond the star trails, within the time rift. The 'Ragnarok' protocol you triggered earlier has already alerted them." His palm pressed against Lin Yi's chest, particles of light seeping through his clothes and into his skin. "This is a fragment of the first experimental subject's soul, left behind when he used himself as an anchor. Keep it safe; perhaps it can..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuanmingzi's figure suddenly began to disintegrate.
He glanced one last time at the sky, where a dark, ominous cloud had gathered, its edges tinged with an unnatural purple: "Remember... the real enemy is never on the battlefield, but behind the scenes."
As the last ray of light dissipated, a burning pain shot through Lin Yi's heart.
He took out the soul fragment, and the pale golden crystal reflected the face of the first experimental subject—seven parts similar to his own.
The communicator vibrated again, and Chu Yao's voice was more serious than ever before: "Mr. Lin, Ivan's location signal has suddenly become active. He is moving towards the center of the New World, and the energy fluctuations he carries... are an aggregation of soul fragments."
Lin Yi gripped the crystal tightly and looked up at the dark, gloomy cloud.
The Starfall Iron Sword emitted a long dragon's roar from its sheath, and the lightning patterns on its spine had spread to the entire blade.
He knew that the real storm had just begun—but this time, he was no longer a pawn being pushed around by fate.
"Chu Yao, activate the backup passage for the spacetime rift." He turned and walked towards the hovercar parked not far away, the twilight stretching his shadow long. "Notify the core members of the Spacetime Legion to assemble at the Star Dome Base in two hours. Also..." He paused, gazing at the city lights gradually illuminating outside the car window, "Send a message to Ivan, tell him... the New World Center needs a monument to inscribe all the names remembered by fate."
As the hovercar drove into the night, a crack suddenly appeared in the dark cloud in the sky, and starlight leaked down, landing right on the crystal on Lin Yi's chest.
The crystals were slightly warm, as if responding to some kind of call that transcended dimensions.
In the circular plaza of the New World Center, the engine noise of the hovercars was deliberately turned down to silence.
Ivan stood in the center of the square, wrapped in faded combat gear, the black metal box in his arms gleaming coldly in the twilight—it was an aggregate he had collected over three days, traversing seven war zones, from twelve points of resonance of soul fragments.
"Put it here." He gestured with his chin to the two job changers behind him who were helping to move the stones, his knuckles tapping the metal box with a crisp sound.
As the stone fell to the ground, he crouched down, his fingertips tracing the words "Chronicle of Freedom 001" engraved on the box. His Adam's apple bobbed twice. "Among these fragments, there was a boy named A-Jie who died clutching half an energy crystal core, saying he wanted to buy his sister a new dress." He looked up at the crowd that had gathered around him, his eyes reddening. "They shouldn't just live in our memories."
The moment the metal box was opened, gasps of surprise filled the square.
Hundreds of pale golden rays of light drifted out of the box, like dandelions being swept up by the wind, and finally settled on the white stone in the center of the square.
Fine lines began to appear on the surface of the raw stone, each line containing a name—those who died protecting civilians during the interdimensional invasion, and ordinary people who struggled to survive despite being deemed "invalid variables" by the fate system.
“We must remember,” Ivan’s voice suddenly rose, causing the holographic screen above the square to shake slightly. He reached out and pressed down on the gradually forming stone tablet, “It was not fate that chose us, but we who chose fate.” As the last word fell, the light filament at the very top suddenly condensed into the two characters “Lin Xia”—the first little girl Lin Yi had rescued in the beginner village, who had been swept away by spatial turbulence three years ago while covering her teammates.
Suppressed sobs could be heard from the crowd.
Someone reached out with trembling hands, and as soon as their fingertips touched the stone tablet, tiny particles of light fell into their palms, as if transmitting some kind of warmth.
Ivan took a half step back, watching the names constantly being added to the stone tablet. His Adam's apple bobbed, but in the end he just wiped his face hard and turned to walk towards the hovercar at the edge of the square—he knew that the real show was just beginning.
At the same time, in an abandoned industrial area 300 kilometers away.
Long Wu's combat boots crushed half a rusted electronic board, sparks exploding at his feet.
He looked up at the broken sign that read "Future Technology - Core Restricted Area", then drew his Tang sword from his waist and slammed the back of the blade heavily onto the combination lock.
"Click—"
The moment the lock cylinder shattered, the alarm blared piercingly.
Long Wu narrowed his eyes, a golden light flashing deep within his pupils—the true dragon bloodline was issuing a warning.
He dodged the laser net falling from the ceiling, stuck his Tang sword into the ground, and used the momentum to leap up to the second floor.
The moss on the wall was shaken off, revealing a metal nameplate underneath: "Destiny System Prototype Development Base · 2028".
“Found it,” he chuckled softly, his boot heels grinding against the bones on the ground.
The skeleton's right hand was in a clenched position, with half a chip stuck between the finger bones.
Long Wu crouched down and used his Tang sword to pick up the chip. The bloodstains on the surface of the chip had turned black, but the serial number "Ex - 001" was still clearly visible.
He inserted the chip into his personal terminal, and the moment the screen lit up, retinal scanning suddenly started, with red light sweeping across his eye sockets.
"Authentication successful. Dragon Warrior, S-level privileges."
The mechanical voice made Long Wu raise an eyebrow—this was his code name in the Reality Alliance, and no one except the core members knew it.
The terminal began frantically reading data. He stared at the scrolling code until a line of blood-red log popped up: "Experimental objective revised: Screen for entities that can break through dimensional barriers. Fear is the catalyst, and variables are the detection criteria. When the variable value exceeds 99.99%, the experimental subject will be eligible for observation."
“Observation qualification?” Long Wu’s fingers tightened suddenly, the terminal casing creaking in his palm. “So those advanced civilizations don’t want to destroy us, they want to…” His voice suddenly choked up, because the last line of the log read: “First generation experimental subject Lin Yi, variable value 100%”.
The communicator vibrated at that moment.
Long Wu pressed the answer button, and Lin Yi's voice came through with the sound of wind: "Long Wu, the monument at the center of the new world is finished."
“I’m at the research and development base,” Long Wu said, pulling out the chip and carefully putting it away. The sound of his Tang sword being sheathed was crisp. “Guess what I found? The first experimental subject… is you.”
The wind suddenly picked up in the square.
Lin Yi stood before the Monument of Destiny, his fingertips gently tracing the two characters "Lin Xia," while Long Wu's words echoed in his ears.
He recalled the face in the corridor of fate that resembled his own, Xuanmingzi's words that "the observer needs variables," and Chu Yao's analysis that "fear is nourishment"—it turned out that from the very beginning, he was the chosen "observation subject."
"So you want to see if I'm qualified?" He looked up at the sky, where stars twinkled behind the clouds, but his voice was calmer than ever. "Then let's go. This time, I'll set the rules."
Before the words were finished, a faint blue light suddenly streaked across the night sky.
The light didn't resemble a meteor; it was more like some being tearing a rift in a dimension, trailing fine stardust at its tail.
The faint scar on the back of Lin Yi's neck suddenly became hot, a warning unique to the Time and Space Dominator profession.
He stared at the direction where the light had disappeared, his pupils contracting slightly—the entire starry sky was distorting at a visible speed, like the surface of a lake where a pebble had been thrown in, with ripples spreading outwards from the trace of light.
The crowd in the square gasped in surprise.
Someone pointed to the sky and shouted, "The stars are moving!" Someone instinctively stepped back and bumped into the monument of destiny, but was steadily supported by the golden light emanating from the monument.
Lin Yi reached out and pressed his hand against the soul fragment in his heart. He could clearly feel the energy within the crystal resonating, as if responding to some distant call.
The wind whipped his clothes, making them flutter loudly.
He gazed at the distorted starry sky, his Adam's apple bobbing, but in the end he simply gripped the hilt of the Starfall Iron Sword tightly.
The lightning patterns on the sword's spine swirled in the twilight, as if they were about to burst from their sheaths at any moment.
“They’re coming,” he said softly, his voice ripped apart by the wind. “The real guests are coming.”
On the monument of destiny, the two characters "Lin Yi" suddenly lit up, shining brighter than all the other names.
The distortion of the starry sky continues, and some indescribable entity is following that eerie blue light, passing through the dimensional rift, and approaching Earth.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com