As the thunderous sound of the spatial rift exploded in his eardrums, Lin Yi broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat on the back of his neck.
This was the third time he had used the key to open the interdimensional passage, but it was still the first time he had felt the pain of spatial compression while fully conscious—it felt as if countless invisible hands were tearing at his cells, and even his mythical physique couldn't help but curl up his back.
"Hold on!" The shadowy voice, accompanied by the buzzing of an energy shield, crashed into my ears.
The high-level civilized law enforcer gripped Lin Yi's shoulder tightly with his left hand, while his right hand, wielding a dark blue dagger, sliced through the surging purple currents at the edge of the rift.
His combat suit's shoulder armor had a tear, revealing metallic-looking skin underneath. "The interdimensional repulsion law is 37% stronger than expected; Chu Yao's coordinates have shifted!"
"Adjust the parameters!" Lin Yi gritted his teeth and pressed the key to his forehead.
The warmth of the causal core spread along his temples, and he could see green data jumping on his retina—real-time correction commands transmitted by Chu Yao through the neural interface.
The moment the starry patterns on the key's surface overlapped with these data, the feeling of spatial compression suddenly disappeared, replaced by a stench of air filling the nostrils.
"We've arrived." Long Wu's voice carried the clear sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
The warrior, known as "Mad Blade," was kneeling on one knee, his Tang sword stuck in the ground covered in black slime.
As he looked up, the bloodstains on his goggles were blown away by the putrid wind, revealing the reddened corners of his eyes. "This godforsaken place...it's like being soaked in rotting brains."
Lin Yi straightened up and scanned his surroundings.
The so-called "core fortress" was far more distorted than the intelligence described: rusted metal pillars hung from the slippery dome, each pillar embedded with countless twisted human faces—the consciousnesses of job changers devoured by the Night Owl.
In the farthest darkness, a throne made of bones was emitting an eerie green light, and the black sphere floating above the throne was the "central core" that Chu Yao had located.
"47 meters from target." Chu Yao's voice rang in the earpiece, her synthesized voice unusually tense. "The outer defense system has been 73% breached, but... a large amount of mental energy fluctuations have been detected."
The owl may—
"Here it comes." A dark figure suddenly blocked Lin Yi's path.
His energy daggers condensed into two in his palms, their eerie blue light piercing the darkness and illuminating the gray mist surging in from all directions.
Those translucent humanoid figures floating in the mist, some wearing tattered ancient armor, others wrapped in modern combat uniforms, each face etched with venomous cracks.
"Soul Legion." Lin Yi's pupils contracted to slits.
He recognized these as the dead, corrupted by the Night Owl's depraved consciousness, who were all elite members of the resistance in life.
When the nearest gray mist touched Long Wu's blade, the warrior let out a muffled groan, and blue smoke rose from the surface of the Tang sword—the marks of spiritual erosion.
"Old Lin!" Long Wu swung his blade backhand, cleaving through the fog in front of him, but the blade felt like it was cutting into cotton. "These damned things aren't afraid of physical attacks!"
"Use the core of cause and effect." Lin Yi tossed the key into the air.
A golden-purple halo exploded above everyone's heads, forming an inverted dome.
When the souls in the front row touched the light shield, their resentful expressions suddenly froze, and then began to dissipate as if a rewind button had been pressed—that was the unique "memory rewind" of the master of time and space, which directly erased the Night Owl's contamination of these consciousnesses.
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A sinister laugh came from the direction of the throne.
The figure of Night Owl emerged from the pile of bones, his left eye a burning, molten gold, while his right eye was as empty as a black hole.
The once crisp uniform was now stained with dark blood, and the badge on the chest had been transformed into a distorted eye totem. "I thought you were going to pull off some big show with those old remnants."
So... he just came here to die?
"Going to your death?" Long Wu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the blue smoke on his Tang sword suddenly turned crimson. "The blood on my sword is left by idiots who dared to say such things."
The owl's right eye, Black Hole, suddenly contracted.
The moment he raised his hand, all the soul legions simultaneously let out a shriek, and the gray mist wrapped around Long Wu's ankles like living things.
The warrior's pupils constricted sharply, his Tang sword drawing sparks as it scraped the ground: "This ghostly mist... it's draining my life force!"
"It's the assimilation of a corrupted consciousness." The shadowy figure's dagger pierced the fog before him, only to see the cleaved fog instantly reform. "They're dragging your spirit into the abyss!"
Lin Yi's fingertips touched his brow.
The heat of the causal core had spread to his heart, and he could clearly sense the Night Owl's mental fluctuations—a near-manic excitement, like a hunter finally waiting for his prey to fall into his trap. "He's enjoying it," Lin Yi whispered, "enjoying every second of our struggle."
"Then I won't struggle anymore!" Long Wu suddenly roared.
His body was covered in crimson light patterns, the forbidden technique of the "Berserker" class, "Blood Soul Burning".
The Tang sword transformed into a red streak, directly cleaving through the gray mist binding his ankle. "Young Lin!"
Didn't you say you were going to give me a gift when we first met?
I'll pave the way for you!
Where the blood flowed, a passage was torn open for the Soul Legion.
Lin Yi charged forward, stepping on Long Wu's blade, the key spinning in his palm like a galaxy.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the central core, the shadowy figure suddenly pounced and pulled him down—almost at the same moment, a blinding purple light burst forth from the surface of the central core, and a charred hole was burned into the spot where he had just stood.
"Trap!" The shadowy figure's combat suit was burned through on the left shoulder, revealing a bleeding wound underneath. "He's waiting for you to trigger the resonance!"
Once the key connects to the core, he can seize control!
Lin Yi's back was covered in cold sweat.
He looked up at Night Owl, just in time to see him through the black hole to the right. "Reshaping the rules?" Lin Yi suddenly spoke, recalling the fragments of memory he'd captured from the Core of Cause and Effect when Long Wu was being corrupted. "You want to merge the rules of all worlds and become a new god?"
The owl's molten gold left eye trembled violently.
He suddenly burst into laughter, the sound of which made the skeletal throne tremble: "Clever!"
As expected of the master of time and space... but what good does knowing that do?
Once I've squeezed every last drop of potential out of this broken key—
"Then I won't let you squeeze me dry," Lin Yi interrupted him.
The key shone with an even brighter light in his palm, and the power of the core of cause and effect surged forth like a tide.
He could sense that the energy structure of the entire fortress was being disrupted by the "Fate Interference Wave"—a technique he had secretly learned from the image of the white-haired old man when he used the key to rewind last night.
The massive metal pillars began to crack, and the skeletal throne emitted a piercing groan.
Night Owl's expression finally changed. The moment he rushed toward Lin Yi, a silver-white blade of light suddenly slashed out from the void, pinning him to the wall.
That was... Su Qing's sword move!
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly—although it was only for three seconds, it was enough for them to evacuate.
"Go!" The dark figure grabbed Lin Yi, and Long Wu's Tang sword had already cleaved open a new spatial rift.
The moment the three of them leaped into the crevice, Lin Yi glanced back at the collapsing fortress.
The owl's roar, breaking free of the light blade, pierced through space, only to be drowned out by the roar of the closing rift.
"Data synchronized." Chu Yao's voice came through the earpiece. "The energy structure of the central core has been 40% destroyed. The Night Owl fusion plan will be delayed by at least three months."
"That's enough." Lin Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He looked at the key in his palm and noticed that a faint silver mark had appeared in the original flowing starry river pattern—it was exactly the same as the object in the image of the white-haired old man.
"Mr. Lin," Chu Yao's voice suddenly softened, "the key's resonance frequency... is actively approaching the energy tower of the Reality Alliance."
Lin Yi looked down and saw a warm golden light emanating from the surface of the key.
He recalled the morning light outside the window before he set off, and the rusty key he had held in his hand during the torrential rain in the starting village.
It turns out that from the very beginning, the meaning of a "bridge" was never about connecting two worlds, but rather...
"Speed up the return journey." Lin Yi pressed the key to his chest. "Tell the alliance leadership to prepare for the key integration ceremony."
In the light of the spatial rift, he heard his heart pounding like a drum.
This time, he will not let any conspiracy remain hidden in the shadows—whether it be the Night Owl or the "real enemy" the white-haired old man spoke of.
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