The aftershocks of the spatial turbulence were still tearing at the air. Chu Yao's emerald projection swayed in the turbulence before finally stabilizing in the blue light of the temporary refuge node.
Her data stream, which was originally flushed red due to the alarm, was now gently enveloped by a golden line—the permission marker that Lin Yi had forcibly injected before leaving.
"Vital signs have not completely disappeared." Her voice was no longer a mechanical electronic tone; the ending even carried a hint of humanity. "The host was ejected by the backlash energy from the system core. Coordinates unknown, but residual spacetime emblem fluctuations remain."
Long Wu's fist crushed half of the alloy floor with a "crack".
The dragon scales on his neck were tinged with a dark red, a sign of his bloodline going berserk: "I don't care where the coordinates are, I'll smash through space to bring my boss back!" Before he finished speaking, his dragon roar caused the protective shield of the refuge node to ripple.
Xuanmingzi raised his hand and pressed down on Long Wu's shoulder.
The avatar of the original game's mastermind had now shed the star patterns on his Taoist robe, revealing a faint stream of data visible behind his neck—a mark of his shared origins with the Destiny System. "Don't rush," he said in a low, husky voice, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the bronze compass at his waist. "I need ten minutes."
Chu Yao's projection suddenly split into a thin stream, which wrapped around Xuan Mingzi's wrist: "What are you doing?"
"Simulating the fluctuation frequency of the Fate System." Xuan Mingzi closed his eyes, his Daoist robe fluttering without wind, the pointer of the bronze compass beginning to spin wildly. "I was once a branch of it, now... I'm its loophole." His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he had swallowed something sharp. "If Lin Yi's spatial imprint has been distorted by the system's backlash, only its language can decipher it."
Long Wu abruptly pulled Xuan Mingzi's hand away, his dragon scales almost piercing the skin: "You're playing with your life!"
When the system devoured branch mainframes back then, wasn't there always nothing left but ashes?
"So we need your Dragon Roar to anchor the scene." Xuan Mingzi suddenly laughed, a laugh that held a hint of youthful spirit. "You forgot?"
"I am a real person now, with a heartbeat and the ability to feel pain." He touched his chest with his fingertips, where a clear "thump, thump" sound came from—this was the heart he had finally nurtured from data after spending three hundred days with Lin Yi.
Ivan suddenly let out a muffled groan.
The man, who had once been parasitized by the core of the mother nest, clutched his chest, a strange purple light flashing in his pupils.
Beneath his shirt, a dark gold pattern was climbing along his veins—a symbiotic mark of his fusion with the maternal consciousness.
"What's wrong?" Chu Yao's projection instantly switched to Ivan's front, and countless biological monitoring images floated in the data stream: "Abnormal activity in the Mother Nest Core!"
"It's not an anomaly." Ivan gritted his teeth, his fingertips digging deep into his palm. "It's a resonance." When he looked up, the purple light had faded, but his eyes were clearer. "I can feel... the Mother Nest consciousness responding to something."
It's like... a summons from the Land of Origin.
"The Land of Origin?" Long Wu's dragon scales slightly contracted. "You mean that ancient ruin that was sealed away by the system for three hundred years?"
"That holds the secrets of what happened before the game began." Ivan pulled down his collar, revealing an ancient totem faintly visible on his collarbone. "When the Mother Nest invaded Earth, that was the first place they attacked."
Its sudden agitation might be related to Lin Yi's disappearance.
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly surged, unfolding a star map above everyone's heads: "Multiple anomalies detected!"
Xuanmingzi's fluctuation simulation has reached 30%, but it needs a more stable energy source; the spatial barrier of the Origin Land is weakening, and a passable rift is expected to appear in 12 hours; and Long Wu's true dragon bloodline... "Her voice suddenly stopped, "is resonating with the spacetime emblem left behind by Lin Yi."
Long Wu suddenly looked up and saw pale golden patterns rising in his palm—marks left in his bloodline by Lin Yi when he used a spacetime rift to take him through time.
At this moment, those light patterns are pulsating, as if responding to some distant call.
"Damn it." Long Wu's voice was deep and rumbling like thunder. He straightened the alloy floor he had crumpled, his knuckles cracking. "Whether it's simulating fluctuations or venturing into the Origin Land, I'm going with you." He turned to Xuan Mingzi, his dragon scales gleaming coldly in the blue light. "If you're going to gamble with your life, I'll use this dragon's life to cover for you."
Xuanmingzi's bronze compass suddenly emitted a blinding white light.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, yet he smiled more easily than ever: "Prepare your dragon roar." His voice was fragmented by the data stream, "Three...two..."
Chu Yao's projection suddenly turned to Long Wu, a sharp glint flashing in her emerald eyes: "Your bloodline resonance frequency is increasing." Her voice regained some of its composure, "If someone is needed as a spatial anchor point next..."
"Speak." Long Wu interrupted her, the light patterns on his palm already forming a complete spacetime totem.
Chu Yao remained silent.
Her data stream gently wrapped around Long Wu's wrist, leaving a pale golden mark on his palm—a simplified version of Lin Yi's spacetime emblem.
Outside the refuge node, the spatial turbulence suddenly emitted a sharp howl.
As if in response, the light patterns in Long Wu's palm suddenly exploded, forming a silver bridge above everyone's heads.
At the end of the bridge lay an unknown space shrouded in purple mist.
"It's begun." Xuan Mingzi's voice came from within the white light. "Long Wu, hold on."
Long Wu took a deep breath.
He could feel his blood boiling, every drop of dragon blood gushing out along the light patterns, as if it were burning his whole body into a fuse.
But his eyes were more determined than ever—as long as he could find the boss, what did it matter if he burned the dragon's life to ashes?
The white light suddenly surged.
When everyone opened their eyes again, Xuanmingzi was already slumped on the ground, and the pointer of the bronze compass had completely broken.
But his fingertips were holding a half-shard that shimmered with silver light—a fragment of Lin Yi's Time-Space Emblem.
"Coordinates locked." He forced a pale smile. "In...the deepest part of the Origin Land."
Ivan suddenly stood up, the totem on his collarbone glowing brightly: "The Mother Nest consciousness says there's a door there." He looked at Long Wu, his gaze intense, "A door that will lead us to Lin Yi."
Long Wu clenched the light patterns in his palm.
He could feel that silver bridge still pulsating in his veins, as if urging him to set off.
He looked down at his dragon scales—those originally dark red scales were now gleaming with a warm gold, as if they had been reforged by some kind of power.
"Get your gear ready." His voice was unwavering. "We'll set off before dawn."
Chu Yao's projection suddenly activated all its defense systems.
She looked at the light patterns on Long Wu's palm, then at the fragment in Xuan Mingzi's hand, and finally turned her gaze to the totem on Ivan's collarbone.
Data surged in her eyes, finally condensing into a line of golden words:
"All variables are pointing to the same endpoint."
In a corner unseen by the crowd, the silver bridge trembled slightly.
From the other end of the bridge, a faint dragon's roar could be heard—it sounded like a response, or perhaps a summons.
Long Wu's roar still echoed beneath the metal dome of the refuge node. He had already drawn his dragon-patterned battle sword from his waist, the scabbard scraping against the alloy floor with a piercing sound. "Chu Yao, send over the real-time data of the spatial rift." The dragon scales on his neck had faded from their dark red, gleaming with a warm, molten gold-like light—the marks of his bloodline being reforged after resonating with Lin Yi's spacetime emblem.
Chu Yao's data stream instantly filled the entire control screen. In the purple rift distribution map, countless tiny spatial turbulences flickered like the forked tongues of venomous snakes. "Rift stability index 0.37, conventional teleportation equipment would be torn to shreds," her voice held a rare hint of anxiety, "but your bloodline resonance frequency matches the rift fluctuations by a staggering 92%—"
"Enough." Long Wu interrupted her, the spacetime emblem on his palm suddenly becoming scorching hot, causing blood to seep from the base of his thumb.
That was the mark Lin Yi had left before leaving, now crawling into his veins like a living thing. "My life was snatched back from the Mother Nest by the boss." He ripped open his collar, revealing a hideous scar on his chest—a wound torn open three years ago by alien claws while saving him. "Now he's trapped in the turbulent currents. Even if I have to bleed myself dry, I'll carve a path for him."
Xuanmingzi suddenly grabbed Long Wu's wrist.
The fingertips of this avatar of the original game's mastermind were icy cold, and the fragment of the bronze compass gleamed eerily in his palm: "There might be remnants of the Destiny System within the rift." His Adam's apple bobbed. "They will devour anything that tries to locate Lin Yi, including your bloodline."
"Then swallow me too." Long Wu grabbed Xuan Mingzi's hand, his dragon scales brushing against the data stream on the other's wrist. "But you have to promise that once I've cleared the way, you can lead Chu Yao and Ivan in."
Ivan suddenly stepped forward, and the mother nest totem on his collarbone lit up with a dazzling purple light.
His pupils reflected the light patterns on Long Wu's palm, his voice hoarse like sandpaper: "The Mother Nest consciousness says there's a door deep within the rift." He ripped off his shirt, revealing dark gold patterns crawling all over his back. "This body was transformed into a weapon by the Mother Nest back then; now it will be the key."
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly solidified into a physical form, transforming into waist-length emerald-colored hair that cascaded down.
She placed her hand on Long Wu's chest, and data streamed into the scar's lines: "I need to synchronize your five senses in real time." Golden code flickered in her eyes, "Every 0.7 seconds, the rift will have a 0.3-second stabilization period; I will use your bloodline fluctuations to mark these nodes."
Long Wu felt a cool stream of data rush up his spine to the back of his neck, and a pale green countdown appeared at the edge of his vision: "Three, two, one—"
"Go!" he roared, his sword slicing through the air in front of him.
The spatial rift was like a torn rag, revealing the surging purple turbulence inside.
Dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, each scale radiating golden light, as if his body was wrapped in a layer of flowing molten gold.
The turbulent currents rushed up immediately, like countless invisible knives cutting into the dragon's scales.
Long Wu groaned, and blood beads seeped out from the gaps in his scales, but his steps became even faster—each step landed on a stable node marked by Chu Yao, creating a string of silver ripples in spacetime.
"Calm your breathing!" Chu Yao's voice boomed in his mind, "Your heart rate has deviated by 0.2 Hz!"
Long Wu bit his tongue, and the sweet, metallic taste of blood brought him back to his senses.
He could feel the turbulent currents cutting into his body being absorbed by the dragon scales and transformed into power within his bloodline.
The marks left behind when Lin Yi used the space-time rift to take him through time are now burning in his veins, turning every bit of pain into the driving force to move forward.
"I saw it!" Ivan's voice suddenly boomed from behind.
Long Wu turned his head and saw that everyone was following the silver ripples behind him—the fragment of Xuan Mingzi's compass was glowing, like a guiding light; Chu Yao's data stream enveloped Ivan, shielding him from the sharpest turbulence.
The ruins of the origin land emerge at the end of the rift.
The charred stone pillar lay fallen in the purple mist, the remaining runes flickering like undried blood in the fog.
Long Wu's dragon scales suddenly stood up, and he could smell the rusty smell in the air—the smell produced by the friction of spatial fragments when time reversed.
"This is it." Xuanmingzi staggered and grabbed a broken pillar for support. Suddenly, the shards of the compass emitted a buzzing sound.
His fingertips pressed into the runes on the pillar, data seeping into the stone through his fingers. "The anchor point of the Fate System... is still here."
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly surged, creating a pale blue ripple above everyone's heads.
The ripples resembled crumpled silk, covered with fine streaks of light: "This is... the echo of a spacetime ripple." Her voice trembled, "The traces left by Lin Yi through 'self-writing'!"
Long Wu's breathing suddenly became rapid.
He remembered Lin Yi saying that "self-writing" was the most forbidden ability of the Time-Space Dominator—using one's own soul as a pen to carve marks in the river of time. "Where are the coordinates?" He grabbed Chu Yao's wrist, the dragon scales almost piercing her data stream. "Where is he?"
A strand of Chu Yao's data stream separated and wrapped around the emblem on Long Wu's palm.
The ripples suddenly expanded, revealing a set of flashing numbers: "May 17, 2035, 3:14 AM... But this is... three days ago?"
"Impossible." Ivan pressed his forehead, the Hive Totem throbbing violently. "The Hive consciousness says time is disordered here."
His coordinates may have been distorted by the system backlash; his actual location is...
"Shut up, all of you." Xuan Mingzi suddenly squatted down, his fingertips digging deep into the mud of the ruins.
The data stream behind his neck surged wildly, as if fighting against something: "Fragments of the Destiny System... are reassembling." His voice was a painful groan, "They're absorbing the energy of spacetime ripples, someone... is restarting the experimental field!"
The air suddenly froze.
The purple mist above everyone's heads began to swirl, forming a huge vortex.
Countless translucent data fragments fell from the vortex, piecing together in the air to form a line of blood-red text:
"Fate doesn't end; it simply changes hands."
Dragon Five's dragon scales instantly stood on end.
He swung his sword at the line of text, but only managed to shatter a fragment of data. "What does this mean?" He turned to look at Xuan Mingzi, only to find the other staring intently at the spacetime emblem on his palm, his eyes a tangled mess of emotions.
"It is... a more advanced existence." Xuan Mingzi gave a bitter smile. "The advanced civilization's selection mechanism back then may have just been a facade."
Now someone wants to... use Lin Yi's spacetime power as a new sieve.
Chu Yao's data stream suddenly turned into a red alert.
She pointed to the center of the vortex: "Spatial stability has dropped below 0.1!"
We must immediately—
\"boom!\"
A muffled thud exploded from the depths of everyone's consciousness.
Long Wu felt something awakening in his bloodline; it was the emblem left by Lin Yi burning.
He looked toward the center of the vortex and suddenly saw a familiar figure—enveloped in purple turbulence, floating and sinking in the reverse flow of time.
Deep within the consciousness of that figure, Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes.
He felt a cold liquid wash over his eyes; it was water formed from fragments of memory melting as time flowed backward.
Before he was completely plunged into darkness, he heard a faint voice:
"Welcome to...the new examination hall of fate."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com