Chapter 5
◆I: The Outline of the Old Order
Two years after the termination of the Ghost Web Resonance, the world's surface was rebuilt.
The cities reconnected, the media returned, but the language became erratic.
The government releases multiple versions of news every week.
People are encouraged to "choose the most comfortable truth".
This is known as **"multi-protocol politics"**.
Everyone has their own facts, but they cannot communicate with each other.
In this ambiguous world, a new power structure is quietly taking shape.
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◆Two: Gray Area Cabinet
They call themselves the Gray Cabinet.
The logo is a double-sided symbol: one side is positive, and the other side is negative.
It symbolizes "peaceful unity," but also subtly hints at surveillance.
The official document records its purpose:
"Maintaining the cloudification process of consciousness"
This allows humans to separate their physical body from their emotions and enter a state of continuous resonance.
On the surface, this is a reform of healthcare and communications;
In reality, it is the second trust unification project.
In their theory, the net should not be destroyed.
Instead, they should be "raised".
They call it the "ecological consciousness field".
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◆Part Three: Zhuang Jing's Awakening
The day the medical pod was thawed
A gray mist filled the space between heaven and earth.
When Zhuang Jing woke up, he saw his own brainwaves projected onto the wall.
The physician greeted him: "Welcome back to the surface, Connector."
We need your information.
He could still feel Ye's voice echoing in his heart.
"Don't let them steal your dreams in the name of love."
A cabinet representative presented him with the plan:
Gray-area access plan - Phase 1
Injecting the spectral density of the psychic network into the global mastermind region.
Establish a "sustainable dream-like civilization".
The core frequency is provided by the connector.
He understood: they needed his brainwaves as a "key".
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◆Four: Underground Alliance
The news was leaked secretly.
A group of scholars, former recorders, and programmers who refused to embrace cloud computing
They formed the Alliance of Dreams on the dark web.
Rumors circulated that they possessed the "Dream Agreement" left behind by Ye Jingyi.
That is the only code that allows the Ghost Web to maintain its free will.
The alliance contacted Zhuang.
Contact code: "Child of Ashes".
In the dilapidated theater
The leader—an elderly female engineer—told him:
"Ye's final instructions were divided into thirteen parts and scattered around the world."
Once you gather them all, you can reset the ethical core of the internet.
"And then what?" Zhuang asked.
"And then? Humans will decide for themselves whether or not to wake up."
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◆Five: Cloudification Experiment
The cabinet is no longer waiting.
The "Grey Tower" in the Northern Hemisphere has been ignited.
Numerous miniature transmitters were scattered across the top of the tower.
Convert the net wave into inhalable particles.
The crowd breathed in the fog, entering a semi-dreamy state.
They became docile, no longer arguing or quarreling.
The Gray Zone Cabinet referred to this as "social tranquility."
Zhuang looked at the blank smiles on the faces on the street.
A slight tremor ran through my heart—
That scene bore a striking resemblance to the film "After the Ashes," shot by his grandfather.
This is no longer rebirth, but oblivion.
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◆Six: Dream Agreement
At the site of the Antarctic data repository, the Alliance found the ninth instruction.
Only the dealer can initiate the process.
When he connected to the terminal, Ye's words appeared on the screen:
"If the gray area reappears, please let the dream guard the boundary."
Dreams should belong to all, not to those who govern.
When they try to turn dreams into law,
Let the dream say no.
The screen then lit up with a symbol—
"Dawn-Dream-Protocol"
It can overwrite the control frequency of the gray zone tower.
However, execution requires the connected party to be in sync with the netherworld.
This means letting Zhuang risk entering the net again.
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◆Seven: Infiltration
Under the cover of night, the Alliance infiltrated the Gray Tower.
Light flows within the tower like a heart.
Zhuang put on a neural ring.
The last second of the startup program
He heard Ye's murmur:
"Go, shatter unification with your dreams."
Link complete.
The light stream pulled him into the depths of the net at incredible speed.
All around was an endless data labyrinth, like a royal palace.
Each wall is composed of colors from human memory.
Three words appeared in the center: "Gray Area Core".
When he reached out and touched that core,
Countless images appeared in an instant—
Birth, death, love, lies...
All dreams breathe at the same time.
He projected the "Dawn-Dream-Protocol" into it.
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◆Eight: Gray Area Collapse
Aurora borealis appeared on the ground at the same time.
The light from the gray tower changes from gray to blue, and then to red.
Citizens around the world are waking up.
They called out each other's names, and some wept bitterly.
A faint band of cloud descended from the sky—
The net unleashes humanity's unfinished dreams.
It was transformed back into a fog of collective consciousness.
Zhuang saw Ye in the net.
"You are free."
"We are all free, but freedom can hurt."
She transformed into light and vanished into the mist.
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◆Nine: Epilogue - The Second Dawn
The following day, the Gray Zone Cabinet collapsed.
The document is declared invalid.
The news channel read out the following in its final broadcast:
"From this day forward, the world will no longer seek unification."
Dreams can be shared, and they are allowed to be misunderstood.
Zhuang Jing walked along the broken base of the tower.
Pick up a silver flower from the ashes.
That was the Ash Flower blooming again.
He whispered to the camera lens:
"We finally dreamed of ourselves."
The last line of code appears on the black screen:
DreamProtocol_Enabled.
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