The King’s Avatar: Glory! Invasion of Reality

After the “Glory” code in the game “The King’s Avatar” materialized and invaded reality, the final boss, “Abyss Gazer,” established a talent hegemony with seven contaminated Hearts of Glory, dividing humanity by talent, and reducing the 68% of mediocre people to low-level laborers, cleaning up monster debris. The mediocre young man, Chen Mo, awakened his “Chaos Resonance” ability—his brainwaves can orchestrate group mental resonance. Dual-talented gunner Su Mucheng, possessing the original Heart of Courage, has been digitized due to prolonged use of Glory power, resulting in a consciousness mark on his left earlobe that changes color based on the intensity of his brainwave resonance. When Chen Mo was hunted down by the BOSS’s data harvester until her mental strength was exhausted, Su Mucheng’s orange light stream of consciousness constructed a protective cocoon, and the light shield and chaotic brain waves intertwined into a heart-shaped pattern. She opened her consciousness barrier to him for the first time, exposing the digitized crystal lattice of her forearm; when she was locked in the “Eternal Confinement” experimental cabin, Chen Mo led five hundred mediocre people to use transformation tools to knock out the brain wave frequency of a gun concerto. When the cabin door was cracked, the two’s brain waves formed a stable link for the first time, and the chaotic field repaired 30% of the data cracks in her forearm.

The King’s Avatar: Glory! Invasion of Reality
Chapter 1: Pixel Plague · Code Frenzy
The glass curtain wall of the Lujiazui Financial Center, which should have been reflecting the dazzling lights of the city in the twilight, now glowed with an eerie, bluish-green shimmer. Chen Mo gripped a rusty wrench, his knuckles white from the strain. Hiding behind a newsstand on the corner, he watched helplessly as the neat glass cubes twisted and swelled as if infected by a virus, gradually transforming into flowing pixels. Those pixels spread wildly, as if alive. The clock atop the IBM building no longer displayed the time, replaced by a slowly ticking game loading bar. The pale blue light reflected in Chen Mo’s stunned pupils, making the bloodshot veins beneath them glisten.
“Tatt, tatt—” A faint metallic clang echoed from behind. Chen Mo spun around, wrench across his chest, only to see three cleaners in fluorescent yellow overalls huddled beside a trash can. The blades of their shovels, still stained with dark purple slime, were trembling like sieves. One of the older cleaners, his lips trembling, pointed at the pile of debris on a nearby street corner: “That…that thing’s moving again…”
Chen Mo looked in the direction he pointed, his stomach churning. Amidst the wreckage, which should have been construction debris, half-sections of concrete and steel bars bent and twisted at angles that defied the laws of physics. Broken bones shone with an eerie metallic sheen in the moonlight, automatically forming some kind of misshapen skeleton. What terrified him most was that as the last broken bone snapped into place, a faint sound of a game login filled the air, like the electronic tones of an old radio. It was intermittent, yet it accurately struck a nerve deep within Chen Mo’s memory.
“Hurry!” Chen Mo shouted, grabbing the nearest cleaner. He could feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly, not an earthquake, more like some kind of low-frequency resonance. Looking up, more pixels peeled off the curtain wall of the high-rise building, gathering in the air into a flickering stream of data, like a fluorescent virus against a black background, converging towards the top floor of the financial center.
Suddenly, a sharp buzzing sound pierced the night sky. Chen Mo instinctively pinned the two cleaners to the ground. Three dark green beams of light shot out from the end of the street, precisely sweeping across the spot where they had been standing. As the beams passed over the newsstand, fine lattice patterns immediately appeared on the metal, like plastic being ironed at high temperature, emitting a sizzling sound.
“Data Harvesters!” the older cleaner screamed, his face covered in snot and tears. “They’re scanning for talents!”
Chen Mo’s heart sank. He’d heard this term in the casual conversations of his coworkers—those men in black combat uniforms and metal masks who patrolled the city like vultures, using their instruments to judge everyone’s worth. And those who were mediocre like them were nothing more than a meaningless, variegated spectrum in the scan results.
He gripped the wrench tightly, his fingertips feeling a tiny nick on the cold metal. He’d found the wrench at a scrapyard, thinking it was just a work tool. But just now, as he dodged the beam, he’d felt an inexplicable warmth in his palm. Now, as another beam swept toward him, he instinctively shielded himself with the wrench.
Something strange happened.
The moment the faint green beam of light touched the wrench, it refracted into tiny fragments of orange light, as if striking a prism. The scanning device at the front of the beam emitted a sharp electrical sound, and the data harvester beneath his mask seemed to be stunned for a moment before raising his hand to adjust the angle of the instrument.
“Buzz—” The wrench suddenly vibrated slightly, and Chen Mo felt a faint electric current running up his arm to his brain. A few frames of chaotic light and shadow flashed before his eyes: the glass curtain wall of a high-rise building transformed into a game map, and a female character in a gunner’s uniform shuttled through the data stream. The silver earring on her left earlobe flickered a warm orange light amid the gunfire…
“Found it!” The Data Harvester’s voice came through the mask, with a mechanical distortion. “Abnormal brain wave reaction, medium level, coordinates locked.”
Three beams of light converged instantly, forming a green crosshair around Chen Mo. He could see a crystal gleaming with a faint blue light charging within the metal box mounted on the Reaper’s waist—it was the talent bullet used to mark “low-value targets.”
“Run!” Chen Mo pushed the cleaner aside and bolted in the opposite direction. Behind him, he heard the soft click of a metal box opening, and he could even feel the heat of the bullet piercing the air. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure leaping from the rooftop.
It was a woman, dressed in a dark gray combat uniform. Her long hair blew in the wind, revealing a peculiar earring on her left earlobe. She landed with an inhumanly lightness, and a rifle, glowing orange, materialized from thin air in her hand. The moment it pointed at the Data Harvester, the entire street was illuminated by a sudden burst of warm orange light.
“Sun Devourer, lock on.” Her voice was cold, but with a strange penetrating power.
Chen Mo saw her pull the trigger, and the trail of light from the rifle left a burning orange streak in the air, precisely hitting the Data Harvester’s scanning device. Amidst the clash of metal, the Reaper’s mask cracked into spiderweb-like patterns, and the wrench in his hand was vibrating violently, its surface emitting a warm orange pattern identical to the earring.
What shocked him even more was that when the orange light overlapped with the vibration frequency of the wrench, the chaotic light and shadow in his mind suddenly became clear for a moment – he saw the profile of the female character, the mark on her left earlobe flickered in the gunfire, and the light shining through the notch on the wrench was perfectly synchronized with the color of the mark.
“0.3 seconds of resonance.” The female voice sounded again, with a hint of subtle surprise. She seemed to glance at Chen Mo, and when her eyes swept over the wrench in his hand, the light of the earring suddenly brightened.
The Data Harvester’s backup had arrived, and more green beams were blazing from all directions. The woman didn’t hesitate, performing a tactical roll and ducking into the alleyway. Before leaving, she tossed out a capsule that flashed orange light. The capsule exploded upon landing, forming a translucent shield that enveloped Chen Mo and the two stunned cleaners.
“Take this.” Her voice came from outside the shield, a cacophony of electricity. “Don’t let anyone touch your wrench.”
Chen Mo, stunned, took the metal badge passed through the gap in the light shield. It was engraved with a pattern of crossed guns. When his fingertips touched the badge, the vibration of the wrench suddenly intensified, and in the distance, the data harvesters’ scanning equipment began to emit increasingly sharp alarms.
Pixel blocks continued to spread across the city, and the progress bar on the IBM building jumped to 78%. Chen Mo gripped his wrench and badge tightly, watching the woman’s figure disappear around the data-filled street corner. The warm orange light on her left earlobe was the only stable coordinate in this chaos. He could feel the faint current in his brain still coursing, as if something had been completely ignited in the 0.3-second resonance just now.
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ActivityRegister as a Filo member and receive 200 points![Register Now]Chapter 2: Lattice Fission and the Emergence of Pollution (Old Version)
Chen Mo huddled behind the wreckage of the newsstand, the wrench in his palm still lingering with the warmth of Su Mucheng’s orange shield. The burn marks left on the glass curtain wall by the Data Harvester’s green beam were still smoking. Farther away, the pixels of the Lujiazui Financial Center were creeping downwards at a visible speed, like the tentacles of some living creature, dyeing the progress bar of the IBM Building a deeper shade of blue.
“Cough… cough cough…” A suppressed cough suddenly erupted from beside him. Chen Mo spun around, wrench draped across his chest, only to see three cleaners in fluorescent yellow uniforms huddled behind a trash can—Old Wang, Ah Ming, and another young coworker whom he had rescued on the street corner last night. The pixelated blocks had eroded Old Wang’s sleeves, leaving a fine lattice pattern that now spread like a spiderweb toward his elbows. With each further movement, his face grew grayer.
“Brother Chen…” Ah Ming’s voice was filled with tears as he pointed at the wriggling wreckage of a building not far away. “Those broken bones… are moving again!”
Chen Mo followed his finger, his pupils suddenly constricting. The remains of the demonized miner, torn apart by Su Mucheng last night, were now reassembling in a way that defied the laws of physics: a half-section of steel twisted and stretched like a spine, the broken bones gleaming metallically in the moonlight, automatically forming a misshapen rib cage. The topmost concrete fragments cracked, oozing a dark purple slime that traced a strange hexagonal lattice across the ground. As the last broken bone snapped into place, the faint sound of a game login echoed again, this time even harsher, like fingernails scraping against metal.
“Hide!” Chen Mo shouted, pushing the three men into the shadows. He could feel the ground beneath his feet vibrating at a high frequency, not an earthquake, but some kind of energy resonance. Looking up, he saw more pixels peeling off from the skyscrapers, gathering in the air into flickering streams of data. These streams were no longer scattered randomly, but instead converged towards the abandoned construction site, as if there was an invisible vortex there.
“Buzz—” The wrench suddenly emitted a soft buzz, and Chen Mo felt a warmth in his palm. He looked down and saw that the previously blurred mark on the wrench’s surface was now gleaming, like the warm orange of Su Mucheng’s earrings spreading across the metal. The metal badge she had slipped into his pocket before leaving last night was also warming in his pocket. The crossed guns on the badge shone through the fabric, creating a strange resonance with the vibration of the wrench.
“Data Harvester!” Old Wang suddenly screamed, pointing toward the end of the street. Three dark green beams pierced the morning mist. The scanning device at the front of the beam swept across the ground, leaving deep purple burn marks. Chen Mo watched as the beams swept across the trash can, and the metal surface was instantly covered with a dense lattice, like crystals of frozen juice, making a crisp “crackling” sound.
“They’re chasing us!” Amin’s teeth chattered. “Last night, when you used the wrench to block the beam, their instrument went off…”
Chen Mo’s heart sank. He remembered Su Mucheng’s last words: “Don’t let anyone touch your wrench.” The wrench’s vibrations grew more intense, as if warning him of something. He grabbed Amin and ran deeper into the construction site. Behind him, a mechanical voice from beneath the Data Harvester’s mask rang out: “Abnormal brainwave response, coordinates locked—medium level, low-value target.”
The abandoned construction site was filled with the stench of rust and concrete dust, but even stronger was a pungent, ozone-like scent. Chen Mo stepped over a crack on the rebar. Dark purple mucus seeping from the crack was rapidly crystallizing, forming sharp hexagonal prisms. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. Ten meters ahead, the surface of a load-bearing column was coating itself with a crystal lattice at a visible rate. The diamond-shaped crystals had a moist sheen, like the scales of some creature. When the last crystal was joined, the top of the column suddenly cracked, and a “tentacle” covered in the same crystal lattice extended from it. It swayed gently in the air, as if detecting the presence of a living being.
“Is that… the remains of the demonized miners?” Old Wang’s voice was trembling. “Weren’t they scattered by that girl?”
Chen Mo remained silent. He could feel the wrench’s vibrations accelerating, gradually synchronizing with the resonant frequency of the crystal lattices. He recalled Su Mucheng’s words about the “contaminated core” last night—could these crystal lattices be the embodiment of some kind of data contamination?
Suddenly, a sharp metallic grinding sound emanated from the left. Chen Mo spun around to see a “demonized miner” constructed of concrete and steel reassembling. Its chest was embedded with a glowing blue crystal, and its limbs were covered in thick lattice armor. With each step, it left a deep purple footprint on the ground, the edges of which rapidly crystallized, forming fine lines. What terrified him most was that the crystal was emitting a low humming sound, resonating with all the surrounding lattices, causing the entire construction site to vibrate slightly.
“Run!” Chen Mo dragged the two men behind a pile of scrap wood. The demonized miner’s “head”—a twisted steel frame—turned toward them, two faint green lights glittering in its hollow eye sockets. Chen Mo watched as the lattice on its arm suddenly bulged, forming a crude stone pickaxe. Purple arcs flickered around the edge, the embodiment of polluted energy.
“My leg…” Ah Ming suddenly cried out in pain. Chen Mo looked down and saw that the purple slime that had splashed onto Ah Ming’s trouser leg was rapidly crystallizing. The fine crystal lattice crawled along the fabric toward his knee, bringing a biting cold. Quickly thinking, he raised the wrench and smashed it against the nearby rebar. With a loud “clang,” the orange light on the wrench’s surface suddenly lit up, forming a faint barrier. Strangely, the purple slime that had splashed onto the barrier immediately emitted a “sizzling” sound, like grease encountering high temperatures, and quickly evaporated into light smoke.
“This wrench…” Lao Wang’s eyes widened like bells, “It’s the same color as the light of that girl last night!”
The demonized miners’ attacks followed one after another. Stone picks struck the ground with a dull thud, sending concrete shards flying and sticking to their clothes with a purple slime. Chen Mo shielded the two men and retreated behind a supporting pillar. His ears were filled with the crackling sound of lattice growth and the mechanical commands of the Data Harvester. At this moment, the badge in his pocket suddenly burst into a bright light, the orange light shining through the fabric to illuminate his wrist. In the distance, there was the sound of hurried footsteps, accompanied by the metallic crackle of loaded guns.
Chen Mo peered through the cracks in the pillars and saw Su Mucheng rapidly approaching. The earring on her left earlobe gleamed a warm orange in the morning light. The sleeves of her dark gray combat uniform were rolled up, revealing a faint digitized lattice on her forearm. These lattices shimmered as she ran, like some kind of biochip. The Sun Devourer in her hand had materialized, a complex code coursing through its barrel. Every step she took left a fleeting orange footprint on the ground.
“Get behind me!” Her voice was breathless, yet remarkably clear. The demonized miner, seemingly sensing the threat, turned and swung his pickaxe at her. But Su Mucheng’s movements were astonishingly fast. With a sideways roll, she dodged behind a pillar, simultaneously raising her gun and firing. Orange light blazed from the muzzle, tracing a flaming trail through the air, accurately striking the dark blue crystal in the demonized miner’s chest.
“Bang!” The crystal made a muffled sound, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface. The demonized miner let out a piercing scream, and the crystal lattice on its body suddenly expanded, forming a thick layer of defensive armor. “It’s absorbing polluted energy to strengthen its defenses.” Su Mucheng frowned. Only then did Chen Mo notice the faint bluish-black color under her eyes, obviously she hadn’t rested last night. “Chaos brainwave, prepare for resonance!”
Before Chen Mo could react, he felt the wrench in his palm suddenly vibrate violently, resonating with the light from Su Mucheng’s earrings. He saw two streams of orange light intertwining in the air, forming a swirling heart-shaped pattern. With each revolution, a piece of the demonized miner’s crystal lattice flakes off. “This is ‘cross-talent resonance,'” Su Mucheng said in a voice tinged with surprise. “Your brainwaves can disrupt the resonant frequency of the contaminated code!”
As she spoke, she raised her gun again. This time, the orange light radiating from the muzzle was even more intense, forming a swirling vortex of energy. “Watch out—’Starfall’!” The orange light vortex emanated from the muzzle, rapidly expanding into a flaming meteor in the air, crashing down fiercely on the demonized miner. Amidst the explosion, the phantom blue crystal shattered completely, and the demonized miner’s body began to disintegrate, disintegrating into countless purple points of light. However, these points did not dissipate, instead converging into a stream of data that flew towards the underground passage deep within the construction site.
“Chase!” Su Mucheng rushed after him without hesitation, while Chen Mo followed closely behind, dragging Old Wang and A-Ming with him. The underground passageway was filled with a stronger smell of ozone. The walls were covered in purple lattices, resembling the blood vessels of some alien creature. At the end of the passageway was a vast underground space. In the center, a purple sphere the size of a basketball hovered, its surface covered in intricate lattice patterns that pulsed rhythmically. With each pulse, the surrounding lattices illuminated a point.
“This is the secondary pollution core.” Su Mucheng held up the Sun Devourer, the light from the earrings reflecting the purple of the sphere. “The distortion product created when the Glory Code materialized is absorbing real-world matter to multiply.”
Chen Mo stared at the sphere and suddenly felt the wrench’s vibrations reach a peak, nearly escaping his grip. The lattice patterns on the sphere’s surface suddenly lit up, emitting a thick, purple beam that barreled directly at Su Mucheng’s face. “Be careful!” Chen Mo instinctively held the wrench across her face.
A miracle occurred—the orange light from the wrench and the glow from Su Mucheng’s earrings simultaneously surged, intertwining in the air to form a heart-shaped barrier, blocking the purple beams. The two energies intertwined and swirled within the barrier, emitting a sizzling sound. Su Mucheng looked back at him in surprise, her eyes gleaming with disbelief. “Your brainwaves… can actually resonate stably with my ‘Heart of Courage’?”
As she spoke, she pulled the trigger, and the orange-light bullet precisely struck a lattice indentation on the sphere’s surface. The sphere roared in pain, and large areas of the surface lattice began to peel off. Chen Mo’s wrench also erupted at its strongest light, forming a spiral energy flow with Su Mucheng’s orange light, pouring into the sphere’s core. “This is Chaos Resonance!” Su Mucheng’s voice was filled with excitement. “Your brainwaves can organize energy into a resonant field. This is the key to combating pollution!”
Under the combined influence of these two forces, the purple sphere began to crumble, disintegrating into countless tiny particles of light. These particles drifted through the air, gradually fading from their purple hue to pure white specks of light, like a gentle snowfall. When the last specks of light vanished, the underground space returned to calm, with only the lingering lattice patterns on the walls revealing the thrilling events of the moment.
Su Mucheng put away the Sun Devourer and walked over to Chen Mo. The earring on her left earlobe had returned to its silver color, only emitting a barely perceptible warm orange hue when she looked at him. “My name is Su Mucheng,” she extended her hand, the digital lattice on her forearm faintly visible in the dim light. “Thank you, Chen Mo.”
Chen Mo held her hand, feeling the coolness of her fingertips and a subtle tremor. He watched the white dust reflected in her eyes, then looked at the pixel blocks still spreading in the distance, and an unprecedented sense of determination surged in his heart. The wrench in his palm was still slightly warm, forming a stable resonance with the badge in his pocket. He knew that since that 0.3-second resonance last night, he and this girl named Su Mucheng had been drawn into a war between reality and code, and their resonance might be the key to solving this crisis.
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Chapter 3 Data Hunting: Dangers Abound (Old Version)
The dawn light shone, tinting the Lujiazui skyline with a pale orange. But this warm hue was quickly swallowed by the purple crystal dust that filled the air. Chen Mo hid behind the shattered glass curtain wall of an office building, holding his breath as he listened to the crunch of Data Harvester patrol cars’ tracks on the street. Every time the tracks passed over a crystal lattice, a crisp, crackling sound reminiscent of a monster’s bones crushing in a game.
“Brother Chen, they’re here…” Ah Ming’s voice came from the fire escape behind him, tinged with tears. Chen Mo turned around and saw Lao Wang using a rag to wipe the remaining purple slime from Ah Ming’s legs. Although the orange light from the wrench had mostly neutralized the slime, fine lattice patterns still remained on Ah Ming’s calves, like some kind of ugly tattoo.
Three black hovercrafts, emblazoned with silver gear logos, slowly drove past on the street. They were the Talent Administration’s data harvesters. Chen Mo noticed that each vehicle had a rotating metal probe mounted on its roof. The probes, covered in diamond-shaped crystals, emitted a low humming sound that faintly echoed the resonant frequency of the distant pollution core.
“Take off your work clothes,” Chen Mo whispered. The three men frantically ripped off their fluorescent yellow uniforms, revealing their stained casual clothes underneath. Chen Mo tucked the wrench into his waistband and covered it with his shirt. He clutched the metal badge tightly in his palm. The orange light shone through his fingers, mixing with the sweat on his palm, bringing a strange warmth.
The hovercraft stopped at an intersection, its hatch opening and four data harvesters in black combat uniforms emerged. Their masks were completely sealed, with only their eyes glimmering with a faint green light. Hanging from their waists were metal boxes containing the talent determination bullets Chen Mo had seen last night. The leading harvester raised an instrument—a scanner-like device, its prism spinning and making a beeping sound.
Talent level scan begins. A mechanical voice emanates from beneath the mask, a cold, electronic cadence. All personnel, remain in place.
Chen Mo’s heart leaped into his throat. He saw Ah Ming’s body trembling violently, while Lao Wang bit his lip tightly, his face pale. And the wrench in his palm was vibrating uncontrollably, faintly resonating with the frequency of the scanner.
“First one, step forward.” The Harvester pointed to an early-rising scavenger. Trembling, the scavenger stepped forward. The scanner’s beam swept across his body, casting a chaotic stream of multicolored dots in the air, eventually converging into a dim blue band—Good talent, recyclable resource. The Harvester recorded this on the terminal, and an assistant immediately stepped forward, clasping the scavenger’s wrist with a metal bracelet.
Chen Mo’s heart trembled. He remembered what Su Mucheng had said the previous night: the talent grading system treats people as resources, and mediocre people are recyclable waste. He quietly reached into his pocket, his fingertips touching the crossed guns on the badge. It was the emblem Su Mucheng had given him before leaving, saying it was the symbol of the Heart Seeker Alliance.
Next. The Reaper’s beam swept in the direction of their hiding place. Chen Mo slammed A-Ming and Lao Wang to the ground, pressing himself against the wall. The beam brushed past his shoulder, leaving a deep purple burn mark on the glass curtain wall. The edge of the burn mark quickly crystallized, making a sizzling sound.
Abnormal reaction. The Reaper’s voice suddenly increased. Coordinates 7-3, hidden target.
Three beams of light instantly locked onto their position. Chen Mo knew he couldn’t dodge, so he abruptly stood up and pulled the wrench from his belt. The moment the beams hit him, the orange light on the wrench’s surface suddenly erupted, forming a translucent barrier that deflected the beams toward the sky.
Chaos brainwaves detected! The Reaper’s voice was filled with surprise, and he reacted with a non-standard talent, initiating the high-value target capture procedure.
Chen Mo felt a powerful suction coming from the scanner, as if it was pulling his soul out. His body moved forward uncontrollably, and the wrench’s vibrations grew increasingly violent, nearly threatening to slip out of his hand. At that moment, the badge in his pocket suddenly erupted with a powerful light, resonating with the wrench’s orange glow, forming a swirling heart-shaped pattern of light in front of him.
Is this… cross-talent resonance? Another Reaper cried out.
In the chaos, Chen Mo saw Ah Ming and Lao Wang seize the opportunity to run toward the alley entrance. Anxious, he thrust the wrench forward, and the orange barrier instantly expanded, enveloping the two. But this also drained his strength. The suction suddenly intensified, and he felt his consciousness begin to blur. His vision flashed by the warm orange earring on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe and the digital lattice on her forearm.
Catch him! The Reapers gathered around him, the metal box opened, and the talent judgment bullet flashed with a faint blue light. Chen Mo closed his eyes, prepared for the worst.
Suddenly, a resounding gunshot pierced the air. Orange light shot out from the alleyway, accurately striking the scanner’s prism. With a sharp bang, the prism shattered into countless purple crystals. The Reapers panicked, their weapons raised and turning.
Chen Mo opened his eyes and saw Su Mucheng standing at the entrance of the alley. The Sun Devourer in her hand was still emitting green smoke. The earring on her left earlobe was astonishingly bright, like a burning flame. Her combat uniform was covered in purple slime, obviously she had just rushed back from another battle.
Go! Su Mucheng shouted at him, raising her gun and firing. The orange bullets exploded on the Reapers’ shields, forming a cloud of light.
Chen Mo grabbed Ah Ming and Lao Wang and followed Su Mucheng into the alley. Behind them came the roars of the Reapers and the roar of the hovercraft starting up. The alley was a maze of complex paths, piled high with construction debris and abandoned vehicles, but Su Mucheng was a master of the route, leading them around twists and turns, quickly shaking off the pursuers.
At the entrance of an abandoned subway station, Su Mucheng stopped and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Only then did Chen Mo notice that the digital lattice on her forearm was even more pronounced than last night, almost reaching her elbow. The lattice glowed strangely in the orange light, like the scales of a living creature.
Are you hurt? Chen Mo couldn’t help asking.
Su Mucheng shook her head and lifted her sleeve, revealing the digitized crystal lattice on her forearm. “This is a side effect of long-term invocation of Glory Power. My body is gradually becoming digitized.” Her tone was calm, as if she were discussing someone else’s affairs. “But your chaotic brainwaves are very unique. Just now, during the resonance, I felt the expansion of the crystal lattice slow down.”
A Ming and Lao Wang leaned against the wall in shock, looking at the crystal lattice on Su Mucheng’s forearm, their eyes full of fear and curiosity.
Why are they chasing you? Lao Wang asked breathlessly, “Are you very talented?”
Su Mucheng gave a wry smile. “Dual talents, Gunner.” But under the hegemony of talent, even the highest talent is merely a high-level resource. She looked at Chen Mo, a strange glint in her eyes. “But your chaotic brainwaves are different. They don’t belong to any talent classification. Like a key, they can unlock the tainted core.”
Chen Mo looked down at the wrench in his hand. It had stopped vibrating, and the orange light on its surface had dimmed considerably, but the metal badge was still slightly warm. He recalled the resonance between the wrench and the badge in front of the Reaper just now. That power was both strange and familiar.
What…is the Heart Seeker Alliance? He remembered the symbol on the badge.
Su Mucheng’s eyes grew serious. “We are an organization that resists the hegemony of the gifted. Our goal is to collect the scattered Hearts of Glory and purify the contaminated code.” She paused and looked at Chen Mo. “Your chaotic brainwaves may be the key we’ve been looking for.”
The roar of the hovercraft came again in the distance, interrupting their conversation. Su Mucheng stood up and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder: “Follow me, our base is in the underground passage.”
Chen Mo followed Su Mucheng into the subway station. Ah Ming and Lao Wang hesitated for a moment before following suit. The passage was pitch black, illuminated only by the warm orange light from Su Mucheng’s earrings. Chen Mo could hear his own heartbeat and the faint resonance of the wrench and badge in his pocket.
He didn’t know what lay ahead, but he knew that from the moment he took the wrench and badge, his fate had become inextricably linked with that of Su Mucheng, and with this world invaded by code. The reapers hunting the city, the spreading lattices, and the digital traces on Su Mucheng’s forearm all told him that this crisis was far more profound and dangerous than he had imagined.
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Chapter 4: Abnormal Brain Waves: Chaos Awakens (Old Version)
The night was as dark as ink, and the subway station’s ventilation ducts were filled with the smell of rust and dust. Chen Mo crouched behind Su Mucheng, the metal badge burning against his chest, each breath creating a faint resonance between the wrench and the badge. A-Ming’s footsteps stumbled behind him, and Lao Wang would occasionally lower his voice to remind him: “Slow down, don’t kick the pipe joints…”
Suddenly, Su Mucheng stopped dead in her tracks, the earring on her left earlobe suddenly blazing a warm orange. She raised her hand to signal silence, the digital lattice on her forearm rippling in the dim light—the patterns expanding and contracting at breakneck speed, like some kind of biological radar. “There’s data fluctuation ahead, not the Reaper,” she whispered, her fingertips tapping the pipe wall. It was the secondary unit of the contaminated core.
Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the grooves on the metal surface heat up. The heart-shaped pattern of light formed during the resonance with Su Mucheng last night seemed still seared into his retina, now tickling slightly with the low-frequency vibrations emanating from deep within the pipe. He remembered Su Mucheng’s words about chaotic brainwaves organizing resonance, and tried to concentrate on sensing the vibrations—suddenly, fragments of light and shadow flashed before his eyes: distorted pixels surged like a tide, and Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness was like a sharp blade, slicing a path through the data stream.
“Brother Chen, look at the wrench!” Ah Ming’s exclamation broke the silence. Chen Mo looked down and saw fine orange lines emerging on the wrench’s surface. Those lines were exactly the same lattice structure as Su Mucheng’s forearm, flickering with the frequency of the vibrations deep within the pipe. Lao Wang reached out a trembling hand to touch it, but Su Mucheng grabbed his wrist and said, “Don’t touch it!” The chaotic brain waves are coupling with the contaminated core. Now is the most dangerous time.
Before he could finish his words, a blinding purple light suddenly erupted from the corner ahead. A demonized miner, composed of concrete shards and rebar, smashed through the vent grille. The dark blue crystals embedded in its chest pulsed furiously, and purple arcs of electricity crawled across the lattice armor at the joints of its limbs. Its hollow eye sockets locked onto Chen Mo, and it raised a stone pickaxe fashioned from twisted rebar and smashed it into the pipe with a resounding thud!
Get behind me! Su Mucheng shoved Chen Mo into a corner, materializing the Sun Devourer. Orange light gushed from the barrel, tracing a flaming arc through the air—but the demonized miner’s lattice armor suddenly expanded, deflecting the bullet. Its pickaxe smashed ten centimeters in front of Su Mucheng amidst a shower of rubble.
Resonate! Use chaotic brainwaves to resonate! Su Mucheng’s voice was urgent. Chen Mo looked at the digital lattice erupting from her forearm and suddenly remembered the lines on her forearm that had been revealed last night when she opened her consciousness barrier—those lines matched the markings on the wrench perfectly during the resonance. He slammed the wrench to the ground. The moment the metal hit the concrete, the chaotic currents in his brain suddenly coalesced, flowing down his arm and into the wrench.
Buzz—the wrench erupted with a dazzling orange light, forming a spiral resonance field with the glow of Su Mucheng’s earrings. Chen Mo watched as the two energies intertwined in the air, forming a heart-shaped web of light. With each oscillation, a piece of the crystal lattice on the demonized miner’s body flakes off. Even more miraculous, the remaining lattice patterns on Ah Ming’s legs also shimmered with the web, their originally cold touch gradually warming.
Is this… mass resonance? Su Mucheng’s eyes flashed with surprise. She quickly adjusted the muzzle angle, directing the orange stream of consciousness to follow the frequency of the resonant field. The moment the bullet pierced the demonized miner’s chest, Chen Mo felt his brainwaves briefly connect with Su Mucheng’s consciousness. He saw an image from deep within Su Mucheng’s memory: the back of a man in gunner’s attire, holding a weapon identical to the Sun Devourer, standing amidst the torrent of data, smiling back.
The demonized miner’s body disintegrated into purple specks of light within the resonance field, and the dark blue crystals crackled and shattered. But the specks of light didn’t dissipate. Instead, they converged into a data stream that flowed into Chen Mo’s wrench. The grooves on the wrench’s surface suddenly emitted a metallic grinding sound, and the orange lines of light unexpectedly arranged themselves into a new pattern—it was Su Mucheng’s silhouette as she fired her gun, even the details of the earring on her left earlobe were clearly visible.
Your brainwaves… can record the images of our connected consciousnesses? Su Mucheng stared at the wrench, her tone tinged with disbelief. She reached out and touched the inscription, and both of their fingertips felt a slight tingling sensation. The wrench instantly erupted with a soft orange light, projecting a holographic image of the two of them resonating on the ground: a heart-shaped light net enveloping the demonized miner, and streams of data drifting like stardust.
Lao Wang suddenly pointed at the image and exclaimed, “Look! Ah Ming’s leg…” Everyone looked on, only to see that the lattice pattern on Ah Ming’s leg had mostly faded, the remaining traces gradually fading with the fluctuations of the light network in the image. Ah Ming tentatively moved his ankle and exclaimed in surprise, “It doesn’t hurt anymore! It really doesn’t hurt anymore!”
The roar of a Data Harvester patrol car could be heard from outside the ventilation duct. Su Mucheng sheathed her Sun Devourer and extended her hand to Chen Mo. “The resonance of chaotic brainwaves not only combats pollution but also repairs digital damage.” As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s palm, they both felt a warm current flow through them. The light of the wrench and earrings flickered in sync, forming a stable frequency. “We need to reach the underground base as soon as possible. Your abnormal brainwaves have exposed our coordinates.”
Chen Mo looked at the newly engraved image of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the wrench’s surface, then at the digital lattice on her forearm that was now flattening. He suddenly understood what she had said last night about cross-talent collaboration. When his chaotic brainwaves resonated with Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness, they could not only destroy the contaminated core but also repair the damage—perhaps this was the key to resisting the hegemony of the talents.
The four of them weaved through the pipes, Su Mucheng’s earrings lighting the way, and Chen Mo’s wrench’s every vibration resonating subtly with her steps. Ah Ming stopped trembling, and instead periodically glanced down at his legs. Lao Wang followed Chen Mo closely, his gaze fixed on the orange-lit mark on the wrench, as if witnessing some kind of miracle.
A loud clatter of metal rubbing could be heard in the distance. Su Mucheng suddenly stopped, turned, and said to Chen Mo, “The entrance to the stronghold is just ahead, but we need your brainwaves as the key.” She extended her hand, palm facing up, and resonated once more, “This time… let me see what your chaotic brainwaves can do.”
Chen Mo took a deep breath and placed the wrench in her palm. The moment metal met skin, their brainwaves resonated once more, more intensely than ever before. Deep within Su Mucheng’s consciousness, Chen Mo saw the digital lattices entwining her nerves like vines, while his chaotic brainwaves acted like a comb, slowly untangling those twisted veins.
The metal door at the entrance to the stronghold emitted a low rumble within the resonance field, and the same orange lines as the wrench’s marks appeared on its surface. The door slowly opened, revealing the faint blue light of the underground space. Behind the door, dozens of pairs of eyes stared at them, filled with surprise, anticipation, and the same chaotic brainwave glimmer as the wrench in Chen Mo’s hand.
Chapter 5: Demonic Corridor: Horrifying Escape (Old Version)
The moment the metal door slowly slid open, a scent of mixed motor oil and disinfectant wafted in. The dim blue light of the underground base illuminated the wrench in Chen Mo’s hand—the engraving of Su Mucheng’s silhouette resonated with the orange patterns on the doorframe, making a subtle clicking sound. Su Mucheng was the first to step into the base. The warm orange glow of her earrings intertwined with the ring lights on the ceiling, casting flickering spots of light on the digital lattice of her forearm.
“Come in!” The Harvester’s thermal imager was almost reaching the vent. A young man wearing goggles waved and shouted, half a gear-like part, covered in notches similar to a wrench, peeked out from his work jacket pocket. Chen Mo followed Su Mucheng through a corridor lined with circuit boards and discovered countless transparent culture chambers embedded in the walls, floating purple crystals within them—the very blue cores within the demonized miners’ chests, now enveloped in a blue nutrient solution, the contamination marks on their surfaces slowly fading.
Are these… fragments of the Heart of Glory being purified? Chen Mo couldn’t help but ask. Su Mucheng nodded, pointing to the nearest incubator. “Originally, they were contaminated cores, but chaotic brainwaves can neutralize the Supreme Talent algorithm within. The data stream absorbed by the wrench during your resonance last night was the fragment’s original code.” Her fingertips brushed across the incubator glass, and the stream of orange consciousness seeped into the liquid along her fingertips, instantly calming the purple arcs on the crystal surface.
Suddenly, the alarm light at the end of the corridor flickered on, its red glow casting distorted shadows across the metal floor. “Demon skeletons have broken through the blockade of Area B!” the goggled youth shouted into the intercom, simultaneously pressing a red button on the wall. The metal gates on either side crashed down, only to be warped mid-air by a massive force. The remains of several demonized miners crashed through the ceiling, their chests gleaming with a frenzied blue crystal, and the lattice armor on their limbs was covered in purple lightning.
Protect the purification chamber! Su Mucheng pushed Chen Mo behind the gate and simultaneously materialized the Sun Devourer. Orange bullets whizzed out, but were deflected by the demon skeletons’ lattice armor, provoking them to attack even more fiercely. A demon skeleton raised a stone pick and smashed it into the nearest incubator. Chen Mo watched helplessly as spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the glass, and the purple crystals within trembled violently.
Resonate with the wrench! Just like last time! Su Mucheng’s voice was drowned out by the clashing of metal. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, only to find the orange light in the indentation unusually dimmed—after two resonances, the chaotic brainwaves had been largely depleted. He glimpsed Ah Ming shivering in the corner, while Lao Wang grabbed a steel pipe and prepared to smash it against the demon skeleton. Suddenly, he remembered the lattice on Ah Ming’s leg fading during the resonance in Chapter 4.
“Old Wang! Give me the steel pipe!” Chen Mo snatched it and struck it hard with a wrench. A resounding bang echoed through the corridor, and a faint orange glow emanated from the steel pipe’s surface, creating a secondary resonance with the wrench. Even more miraculous, Ah Ming subconsciously covered the remaining lattice patterns on his leg. Those patterns actually lit up with the sound of the knock, echoing the orange glow of the steel pipe.
Group resonance field! Su Mucheng’s eyes lit up, and she quickly adjusted the muzzle angle, allowing the orange light of consciousness to shoot out along the vibration frequency of the steel pipe. The moment the bullet penetrated the joint of the demon skeleton, Chen Mo felt his brain waves form a weak connection with the nerves of Lao Wang and A Ming. He saw Lao Wang’s back as a young man carrying steel bars at the construction site, and heard A Ming’s joy when he received his first salary.
The body of the demon skeleton decomposed into data streams in the resonance field, but did not drill into the wrench. Instead, it split into three streams: one stream repaired the cracks in the incubator, one stream smoothed the lattice on Amin’s legs, and the last stream flowed into Chen Mo’s wrench, adding two new lines next to the engraving of Su Mucheng’s profile – one was the outline of Lao Wang swinging the steel pipe, and the other was the silhouette of Amin running.
Your brainwaves… can record the imprint of your companions’ consciousness? Su Mucheng squatted down, her fingertips lightly touching the new notch on the wrench. This meant… with enough resonators, chaotic brainwaves could construct a defense network covering an entire city. Her tone was filled with incredible excitement, but the digital lattice of her forearm flickered violently at this moment, and several cracks seeped out orange light particles.
How are you? Chen Mo supported her swaying body and smelled an ozone-like odor emanating from her sleeves. Su Mucheng pushed him away and pointed to the end of the corridor: “Hurry up, the Reaper’s drill is breaking through the surface.” Her earrings flickered, like a dying candle. The stronghold’s resonance core was at the bottom, and it needed your brainwaves to activate the self-destruct sequence.
The four of them stumbled down the spiral staircase, the ground shaking with every step. Chen Mo saw a red alert flashing on the wall display: Talent determination bullet has locked onto coordinates, countdown 180 seconds. A Ming suddenly stopped in front of a poster depicting a worker holding a wrench, with the words “Heart Seeker Alliance – Collaboration is Glory” written next to it.
This is it! Su Mucheng pointed to the central metal altar, which was inlaid with eight broken crystals, each engraved with a different professional icon. She pressed Chen Mo’s wrench in the center of the altar, injected chaotic brain waves into the core, and imagined that the consciousness of all her companions was connected.
Chen Mo closed his eyes, recalling the force of Lao Wang swinging the steel pipe, Ah Ming’s sprinting speed, and Su Mucheng’s determination as she raised her gun. The wrench suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly intense light, and eight crystals illuminated simultaneously, interweaving into a vast heart-shaped resonance field above the altar. He felt countless traces of consciousness merge into his brainwaves—the sweat of the cleaners, the code of the programmers, even the hesitation beneath the mask of the data harvester.
The self-destruct sequence activated, with a 30-second countdown. As the mechanical sound echoed, Su Mucheng dragged him toward the emergency exit. The resonance field behind him erupted in brilliant orange light, disintegrating all the demon skeleton data streams into pure points of light, like a spectacular fireworks display. Chen Mo turned back and saw the crystals on the altar reorganizing, eventually consolidating into a complete emblem engraved with crossed wrenches and guns.
The ground shook in the explosion. As the four climbed out of the manhole cover, they saw the Data Harvester’s drilling machine exploding in the distance. Amidst the purple smoke and dust, an orange badge shot up into the sky, splitting into countless points of light and landing in the hands of cleaners, programmers, and even ordinary citizens across the city.
They’ve got the resonance mark… Su Mucheng panted, the digital lattice on her forearm miraculously fading, leaving only a vein-like mark of chaotic brainwaves interwoven with orange light. Chen Mo looked at his wrench, the markings on it glowing. The newly emerged companion mark and Su Mucheng’s silhouette reflected each other, forming a flowing pattern of light.
The setting sun shone through a gap in the clouds, illuminating the still-fading pixels above the city. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the emblem on his palm connect with resonant marks across the city—the faint glimmer of consciousness of countless mediocre individuals, gently vibrating with his brainwaves. He knew that from the moment the altar resonated, the war against the hegemony of the gifted was no longer a solitary battle for him and Su Mucheng.
Chapter 6 Talent Grading and Class Division (Old Version)
The aftermath of the explosion hadn’t yet fully dissipated, and the sky above the city was already shrouded in an eerie blue halo. Chen Mo helped Su Mucheng climb out of the sewer. The pungent smell of gunpowder mingled with a faint whiff of electronic pulses. On the distant skyline, massive talent scanning towers sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Blue beams, like physical shackles, slowly swept across the densely packed buildings.
“That’s the ‘Talent Classification Tower,'” Su Mucheng’s voice was a little hoarse as she pointed at the giant metal towers that shone with a cold light. The remaining digital lattices on her forearms shone eerily under the blue light. “Once the scan is complete, everyone in the city will be forcibly divided into different levels.”
Chen Mo looked up and saw dense, multicolored patterns of light emerging from the glass curtain walls of tall buildings wherever the beams of light passed. These patterns quickly coalesced into bands of varying colors—dazzling gold, pure blue, dull gray… as if draping the city in a layer of gradation. He recalled the information he had read in the underground base: the talent grading system divided people into more than ten levels, ranging from “gifted” to “saintly” to “foolish.” Sixty-eight percent of people were categorized as “mediocre,” relegated to the lowest level of labor.
“Look!” Amin suddenly pointed across the street, his voice filled with fear. A group of men in sleek uniforms were disembarking from a hovercraft, their chests adorned with gleaming golden badges that shone brightly under the blue light. Behind them, a group of ragged, numb-looking people were being herded by data harvesters, forced into a single file toward a construction site in the distance.
“Those are the highly gifted,” Lao Wang’s voice trembled, “and those… are those who are judged to be ‘mediocre’.”
Chen Mo tightened his grip on the wrench, a burning sensation emanating from the indentations on the metal surface. He watched as a highly gifted individual casually tossed a data terminal to a mediocre laborer nearby, his tone arrogant, “Process this data, or you won’t get your energy paste today.” The laborer silently took the terminal, his sleeves revealing a lattice pattern similar to the one on Amin’s leg, though denser and darker.
“Energy paste?” Chen Mo asked in confusion.
“It’s ‘food’ for the mediocre,” Su Mucheng’s voice was icy. “It’s mixed with nanobots that suppress brainwave activity, preventing them from ever awakening their powers.” She paused, pointing to a low, dilapidated area among the buildings in the distance. “That’s the ‘mediocre settlement area.’ We must find a safe place as soon as possible.”
The four of them cautiously made their way down the alley, avoiding the patrolling data harvesters. Chen Mo noticed that the merchandise displayed in the shop windows on both sides of the street had been replaced with items like “Talent Enhancers” and “Nimbus Medals,” with shockingly high price tags. On a street corner, he saw a middle-aged woman crying, holding a child. The child’s arm was branded with the word “mediocrity,” a dark red mark that resembled a scar left by a red-hot iron.
“Mom, it hurts…” The child’s cry was heartbreaking.
“Don’t touch it!” Su Mucheng suddenly rushed over and held down the woman’s hand as it was about to touch the brand. “That’s the ‘Innate Brand.’ The more you touch it, the deeper it gets.” She pulled a small bottle from her pocket, poured some clear liquid into it, and smeared it on the child’s brand. “This is a potion made with chaotic brainwave extract. It can temporarily relieve the pain.”
Chen Mo observed Su Mucheng’s focused expression. The earring on her left earlobe shone a faint warm orange in the dim light, a stark contrast to the cold blue surrounding light. He noticed that her movements were a little slow, and the digital lattice on her forearm seemed to have spread a little further. His heart tightened.
“We have to find Ye Xiu as soon as possible,” Su Mucheng whispered. “He’s the leader of the Loose Players Alliance and might know how to combat the talent grading system.”
Just then, a piercing alarm blared. A Data Harvester hovercraft approached from the end of the street, its searchlight beam sweeping across the ground. “Anomalous brainwave activity detected. Target area: Alley 37,” a mechanical voice boomed from the vehicle’s speakers.
“Run!” Lao Wang shouted and rushed to the alley entrance first.
Chen Mo followed closely behind, dragging Su Mucheng with him. Ah Ming collapsed in fear. Just as the searchlight’s beam was about to sweep across Ah Ming, Chen Mo spun abruptly and slammed his wrench against the protruding pipe on the wall. With a loud “bang,” the wrench erupted with a powerful orange light, resonating with Su Mucheng’s earrings and forming a brief shield of light around Ah Ming.
The Data Harvester’s attack beam struck the light shield, creating ripples. Seizing this opportunity, Chen Mo rushed over, picked up A-Ming, and followed Lao Wang into a narrower alley. The Data Harvester’s voice could be heard from behind: “The target possesses Chaos Brainwaves. Capturing them alive is a priority!”
The four of them weaved through the maze-like alleys, their pursuers closing in. Chen Mo felt his strength gradually failing, and the vibrations of the wrench grew weaker. Just then, Su Mucheng suddenly stopped and pointed at a nondescript wooden door ahead. “This is Ye Xiu’s contact point. Go in!”
Pushing open the door, the smell of stale motor oil hit them. The dim room was filled with various electronic components and mechanical parts. Hanging on the wall was a strangely shaped umbrella-shaped weapon—the “Heavenly Secret Umbrella.” A young man wearing glasses stood with his back to them, seemingly debugging a complex instrument.
“Senior Ye Xiu!” Su Mucheng’s voice was tinged with excitement.
The young man turned around with a gentle smile on his face: “Finally, you are here.” His eyes fell on the wrench in Chen Mo’s hand, and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes, “We have been waiting for a long time for the holder of Chaos Brain Wave.”
Chen Mo looked at Ye Xiu, who was wearing an ordinary gray coat. His face was slightly tired, but his eyes were unusually bright. He noticed some small scars on Ye Xiu’s fingers, as if they were left by long hours of debugging precision instruments.
“The talent grading system has been fully activated,” Ye Xiu said, walking over to a screen displaying talent grading data from across the city. “68% of the mediocre have been controlled, and the highly talented are establishing a new ruling order.” He paused, then turned to look at Chen Mo. “But they don’t know that Chaos Brainwaves are the key to unlocking all of this.”
Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, the metal surface burning again. He watched the gray band of light on the screen, representing the mediocre, being squeezed to the edge of the city, and a strong sense of injustice welled up in his heart. He thought of the crying child and the driven laborers, and a surge of blood rushed to his heart.
“What should we do?” Chen Mo’s voice was firm.
Ye Xiu smiled faintly and pointed to an area on the screen that was flashing red light. “That’s the core control center of the talent grading system. Destroying it will temporarily dismantle the grading system. However, it’s heavily guarded, requiring the coordinated efforts of your chaotic brainwaves and Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness.”
Su Mucheng stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Mo. The earring on her left earlobe shone with the orange light of the wrench. “We’ve resonated many times before, so it should be fine.” Her tone was filled with confidence, but Chen Mo noticed that she quietly pressed her forearm, and the digital lattice there lit up a little more.
“Not only that,” Ye Xiu walked up to the two of them, “You’ll need more help.” He opened a drawer, and inside were dozens of badges similar to the one on Chen Mo’s chest neatly arranged. “These are ‘Heart Seeker’ badges, which allow the holder to resonate with your brainwaves.”
Chen Mo picked up a badge. The metal surface was engraved with crossed wrenches and guns, faintly echoing the markings on the wrench in his hand. He recalled the scenes he had seen in the underground stronghold, the imprints of consciousness that converged into a light network, and his mind suddenly became clear. Fighting against the hegemony of talent is never a one-man battle.
“How do we find these people?” Amin asked curiously. He had recovered from his previous fear and there was a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.
Ye Xiu pointed out the window at the city enveloped by a blue beam of light. “They’re right there: those mediocre individuals who refuse to be categorized, and those highly gifted individuals who oppose the hegemony of gifted individuals. As long as you send out a resonance signal, they will respond.”
Chen Mo looked at the badge in his hand, then at Su Mucheng and Ye Xiu, his heart filled with strength. He knew the real battle had just begun. And this time, he was no longer fighting alone. Behind him would be countless souls yearning for freedom and equality.
Outside the window, the blue light of the Talent Grading Tower was still dazzling, but in a corner of the city, Heart Seeker badges were quietly lighting up, like sparks in the darkness, waiting for the moment to set the prairie on fire.
Chapter 7: Wrench Secret Pattern: Orange Light Flashes Again (Old Version)
The night was as dark as ink, yet Ye Xiu’s contact point was brightly lit. Chen Mo gripped the Heart Seeker badge, the crisscross pattern on the metal surface resonating faintly with the wrench marks, as if an electric current were running through his fingertips into his heart. Su Mucheng stood before a holographic map, the digital lattice on her forearm flickering with the red dots on the map—those dots represented detected Chaos Brainwave Resonators, now shimmering like stars across the city.
“Here,” Ye Xiu pointed his finger at the lower left corner of the map. “There’s a persistent brainwave anomaly at the Old City Scrapyard. It could be the first resonance node.” He adjusted his glasses, and the tip of his Heavenly Secret Umbrella traced an orange trail across the ground. “But the harmonics of the Talent Scanning Tower will interfere with the brainwave connection. You need to complete the first group resonance before three in the morning.”
Chen Mo nodded, his gaze fixed on the newly emerged lines on the wrench’s surface—the interweaving of Su Mucheng’s silhouette holding a gun and Old Wang’s silhouette swinging a steel pipe, now pulsing with the blue light of the scanning tower outside the window. He suddenly remembered the child brandished with the mark of “mediocrity” during the day. The badge on his palm suddenly grew hot, casting a faint pattern of light on the ground, forming a resonant pattern that overlapped with the wrench’s markings.
“Is this… the manifestation of the imprint of consciousness?” Su Mucheng squatted down, lightly touching the light pattern with her fingertips. The warm orange color of her earrings suddenly surged. “Your brainwaves can transform your companions’ memory fragments into resonant coordinates!” The digital lattice on her forearm lit up in response, and veins identical to the light pattern flowed across the surface of her skin. “This way, we can accurately locate each resonant person.”
At two in the morning, the four of them sneaked into the scrap yard in the old city. A rusted crane cast a distorted shadow in the moonlight. Amidst the mountains of scrap metal, a young man in oil-stained work clothes struck a metal drum with a wrench, making a rhythmic clang. Chen Mo noticed a strip of cloth wrapped around the boy’s trouser leg, revealing a faint lattice pattern similar to A-Ming’s.
“He’s using the tapping frequency to stabilize his brain waves,” Su Mucheng whispered, pressing a Heart Seeker badge into Chen Mo’s palm. “Try to resonate his rhythm with the wrench.”
Chen Mo took a deep breath and tapped the wrench against the edge of the bucket. Before the sound of “clang” had faded, the young man suddenly turned around, a flash of shock in his eyes. Even more amazingly, the pile of scrap metal suddenly trembled collectively, and fine orange lines appeared on the surface, like a lit fuse, spreading along the metal chain throughout the scrap yard.
“Is this… metal resonance?” Old Wang covered his mouth, watching the dancing light patterns in the scrap metal pile. “His brain waves can make inanimate objects resonate!”
The boy reached out a trembling hand. Beneath the calluses on his palm, he surprisingly concealed a worn Heart Seeker badge. “My name is Tie,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Since yesterday, all metal has been ‘talking’ to me.” Before he could finish his words, the blue light from the distant scanning tower suddenly intensified, and a green beam pierced the scrapyard’s ceiling, accurately locking onto Tie.
“Resonate!” Su Mucheng raised the Sun Devourer, and the orange stream of consciousness swirled into a vortex in the barrel. “Chen Mo, use your brainwaves to weave a defensive network!”
Chen Mo slammed the wrench into the ground, and the orange light that erupted synchronized perfectly with the rhythm of Ah Tie’s hammering on the barrel. The scrap metal at the scrap yard instantly transformed into a resonance matrix, countless orange light patterns interweaving into a web that enveloped the four of them. The moment the green beam struck the light web, Chen Mo felt his brain waves deeply connected to Ah Tie’s consciousness—he “saw” the boy’s days and nights of secret hammering practice at the scrap yard, and “heard” the dreams crushed by the talent grading system.
“The optical network is repairing itself!” Su Mucheng exclaimed in delight. Chen Mo then realized that new orange light patterns were automatically emerging from the holes in the optical network. Those patterns were actually the mechanical drawings and repair techniques from Ah Tie’s memory. Even more amazingly, the remaining lattice patterns on Ah Ming’s leg suddenly lit up, forming a triangular resonance with the optical network, greatly weakening the impact of the beam.
“Their brainwaves are complementing each other!” Ye Xiu’s voice came from the communicator. “Chen Mo’s chaotic waves provide the framework, A Tie’s metallic resonance fills in the details, and A Ming’s residual lattice enhances stability!”
The scanning tower’s beam suddenly cut out, and the scrapyard fell silent. Chen Mo looked down and saw new marks on the wrench’s surface, where Ah Tie had wielded it. Three marks—Su Mucheng’s silhouette, Lao Wang’s steel pipe, and Ah Tie’s iron bucket—formed a complete heart-shaped pattern in the moonlight.
“This is the ‘Collaboration Mark,'” Su Mucheng said as her fingertips traced the heart-shaped pattern. The digital lattice on her forearm miraculously faded a few millimeters. “Every time I connect with a companion, my Chaos Brainwaves evolve.” She looked up at the scanning tower, the light from her earrings gleaming brighter than ever. “Now, we have our first resonance node.”
Ah Tie rested his forehead against the heart-shaped pattern on the wrench, as devout as a pilgrim: “It turns out… I’m not the only one making the noise.” As soon as he finished speaking, all the metal in the scrap yard began to hum at the same time, forming a low resonant melody that spread to all parts of the city along with the moonlight.
Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the warmth of different souls radiating from the metal surface. He knew this was only the beginning. When the first resonance node lit up, when the wrench’s secret pattern intertwined with the orange-light mark, the prelude to the struggle against the hegemony of talent quietly began to play in the resonance of scrap metal. Meanwhile, somewhere in the city, Ye Xiu watched the sudden surge of red dots on the screen, and the umbrella of the Heavenly Secret Umbrella glowed with a comforting orange light.
Chapter 8 Data Storm: First Show of Strength (Old Version)
Before the clock struck three in the morning, the pixels above the city suddenly surged violently, like a pot of boiling tar. Chen Mo’s grip on the wrench suddenly tightened. The marks of collaboration on the metal surface—Su Mucheng’s silhouette, Lao Wang’s steel pipe, Ah Tie’s iron bucket—all heated up simultaneously, and fine cracks appeared in the center of the heart-shaped pattern.
“It’s a data storm!” Su Mucheng’s voice came through the communicator, with a murmur of electricity. “The contaminated core is undergoing quantum tunneling, and all the demonic remains will be activated!”
Before he could finish his words, the pile of scrap metal at the scrap yard suddenly trembled collectively. Dark purple slime oozed from the rusty iron sheets and quickly solidified into a hideous lattice. Ah Tie stepped back in horror, only to see that the iron barrel he had struck was deforming. Two rows of metal fangs split open at the barrel mouth, forming the prototype of a demonic miner’s head.
“Hurry, use resonance to stabilize it!” Chen Mo smashed the wrench into the ground, trying to replicate the previous metallic resonance. But this time, the wrench only emitted a faint humming sound, and wisps of black air seeped out from the cracks in the collaboration mark. The energy of the data storm far exceeded expectations, corroding the resonant frequency of the chaotic brain waves.
“Let me do it!” Ah Tie suddenly raised his rusty wrench and struck Chen Mo’s with all his might. With a resounding “clang,” two beams of orange light collided, and the metal debris from the scrap yard paused in mid-air for a fraction of a second. Chen Mo seized the opportunity, channeling his brainwaves into Ah Tie’s wrench. He saw the piles of mechanical parts deep within the boy’s memory suddenly light up, transforming into the foundation of a resonance field.
“Double Resonance!” Su Mucheng leaped from behind the scrap heap. The orange light stream of consciousness emitted by the Sun Devourer spiraled upward along the resonant frequency of the twin wrenches, weaving a web of light in the air. The moment the demonized scrap metal touched the web, the purple lattice on the surface exploded, revealing the original metallic luster beneath.
Old Wang suddenly pointed into the distance and screamed, “Look up!” Chen Mo looked up and saw countless demonic remains raining down from the purple vortex formed by the data storm. One of them, a complete demonized miner, smashed against the edge of the light network. The dark blue crystals in its chest had been dyed a deep purple by the data storm, and snake-like arcs of electricity danced on the lattice armor of its limbs.
“It’s absorbed the storm’s energy!” Su Mucheng’s gun continuously sprayed orange light, but the demonized miner flicked it back with a flick of his hand. The monster raised a stone pick made of twisted steel bars, and with a shriek that ripped through the air, it actually ripped a hole in the light net.
At the critical moment, Ah Ming suddenly fell to his knees, pressing his palms against the holes in the light net. The remaining lattice patterns on his legs erupted with a dazzling white light, blending with the orange light of the light net to form a warm golden color. Chen Mo instantly connected with his consciousness—he saw the young man being whipped with the “Talent Judgment Whip” by the foreman while cleaning the workshop. Each whip mark transformed into a reinforcement pattern on the light net.
“Is this… the transformation of painful memories?” Ye Xiu’s voice came from the communicator, filled with incredible excitement. “Amin’s brain waves can transform trauma into resonant strength!”
The golden web of light formed by the triple resonance suddenly expanded, enveloping the demonized miner. Chen Mo felt his brainwaves deeply intertwined with the consciousness of Su Mucheng, A’Tie, and A’Ming. Fragments of their memories danced within the resonance field: the afterimage of Su Mucheng’s brother’s gunfire, A’Tie’s concentration on repairing machinery, the scars hidden beneath A’Ming’s work clothes, and the evening when he had found the wrench at the scrap yard.
The demonized miner roared in frustration within the optical network, its body disintegrating into streams of data no longer purple but pure silver-white. These streams of data didn’t dissipate, but like migratory birds returning to their nests, they swarmed into Chen Mo’s wrench. The cracks in the collaboration mark were filled with silver-white data streams, condensing into a tiny gear in the center of the heart-shaped pattern. The four individuals’ consciousness symbols were engraved on its edge.
“This is the ‘Resonance Core,'” Su Mucheng said, putting away the Sun Devourer. The digital lattice on her forearm receded until only the elbow remained. “The data storm has helped you refine your consciousness.” She pointed to the sky, where the purple vortex of the data storm was rapidly shrinking. “Chaos brain waves can not only fight pollution, but also purify the data storm’s energy.”
Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the four warm currents of consciousness coursing through the metal. As he twisted his wrist, the wrench emitted a crisp sound of gears turning, and the silver-white gears on the collaboration mark began to rotate, each revolution projecting a holographic image of the four people in resonance.
“We need to go to the next resonance node.” Ye Xiu’s voice was tinged with laughter. “According to the Heavenly Secret Umbrella’s calculations, the next resonator is at the electronic waste dump in the east of the city. Her brainwaves can decipher data stream codes.”
As Chen Mo left the scrapyard, he saw the first rays of dawn’s sunlight penetrate the remnants of the data storm’s clouds, illuminating the wrench’s resonant core. The silver-white gears reflected a rainbow of light, with Su Mucheng’s silhouette standing out particularly brightly, as if reminding him—when chaotic brainwaves resonate with the orange light of consciousness, when fragments of ordinary people’s memories coalesce into a tower, even the most intense data storm becomes but a spectacle on the road to collaboration. And at this moment, their resonant network quietly grew in this code-invaded city.
Chapter 9: The Mysterious Woman and the Mystery of the Mark (Old Version)
The faint light of dawn pierced the lingering haze of the data storm, casting a hazy golden hue over the city. Chen Mo and his companions journeyed through streets crisscrossed with crystal lattice patterns. The resonant core within their wrenches gently rotated, emitting subtle clicks, each movement echoing faintly with the four people’s consciousnesses. Ah Tie occasionally tapped the ground with his wrench, detecting the resonant frequency within the metal. Ah Ming vigilantly observed his surroundings, the crystal lattice patterns on his legs faintly visible in the morning light.
Ahead was the East City Electronics Waste Dump. Su Mucheng pointed to the mountain of discarded electronics in the distance, the earring on her left earlobe gleaming a soft, warm orange, guiding the group. The digital lattice on her forearm had faded considerably, leaving only faint vein-like marks that rose and fell gently with her movements.
Inside the garbage dump, various discarded electronic components piled up into small hills, and the air was filled with dust and the pungent smell of electronics. Chen Mo carefully observed his surroundings and suddenly noticed a pile of discarded monitors. Irregular orange patterns were flashing on them, like some kind of constantly changing code.
This is it, Su Mucheng whispered, her brain waves resonating with these electronic wastes.
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp electrical sound suddenly erupted from the pile of discarded consoles. The orange light patterns on the screens quickly converged, forming a blurry figure. A figure stepped out from behind the discarded consoles, holding a modified circuit board covered in complex wiring and flashing LED lights.
This was a young woman, dressed in oil-stained work clothes. Her long hair was casually tied back, revealing a smooth forehead and bright eyes. On her wrist was a bracelet made of scrap components, inlaid with a gleaming orange crystal, which faintly echoed Su Mucheng’s earrings and Chen Mo’s wrench.
You’re finally here. The woman’s voice was clear and pleasant, with a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. “My name is Xiaoya, and I’ve been waiting for someone who can resonate with this data.”
Chen Mo noticed that there was a faint lattice mark on Xiaoya’s neck. The shape was very similar to the digitized lattice on Su Mucheng’s forearm, but the color was lighter, as if it had just been formed.
You have a mark, too. Su Mucheng stepped forward, revealing the vein-like mark on her forearm.
Xiaoya nodded, raising her hand to gently stroke the mark on her neck. “Ever since the data storm hit, I’ve discovered I can understand the data flow within this electronic waste, and this mark has appeared along with it.” She held up the circuit board in her hand. “I’ve been trying to analyze this data, and I’ve discovered it all points to one place—the core of the Talent Grading Tower.”
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps and the clanging of metal could be heard in the distance. The Data Harvester patrol had discovered the abnormal brainwave activity here and was approaching the garbage dump.
Quick, help me start this! Xiaoya connected the circuit board to a pile of scrap servers. This is the data decoder I modified. It requires the resonance of chaotic brain waves and orange light consciousness stream to start.
Chen Mo and Su Mucheng exchanged a glance, simultaneously placing their wrenches and hands on the circuit board. Chaotic brainwaves and a stream of orange consciousness instantly flooded the circuit board. The decommissioned server emitted a violent roar, and the orange light patterns on the screen spun rapidly, forming a complex vortex of data flow.
The analysis began. Xiaoya stared at the screen, her fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard. The data showed that the core of the talent grading tower was continuously generating pollution codes. These codes spread to the entire city through the scanning tower, maintaining the talent grading system.
Suddenly, the Data Harvester’s voice boomed from the entrance to the garbage dump: “Abnormal brainwave reaction detected, prepare to capture!” Several green beams shot towards the crowd, hitting the discarded servers.
Protect the decoder! Su Mucheng quickly materialized the Sun Devourer, and orange light bullets whizzed out, forming a light shield around everyone. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, forming a triangular resonance with A-Tie and A-Ming, strengthening the light shield’s defense.
Xiaoya was concentrating on operating the decoder. The lattice mark on her neck glowed brightly, flashing in sync with the data stream on the circuit board. “Found it!” she suddenly shouted. “The core algorithm of the contamination code is here. It exploits the human fear of differences in talent to maintain stability.”
Chen Mo felt a connection between his brainwaves and Xiaoya’s consciousness. He saw Xiaoya analyzing data day and night in the electronic waste dump and felt her desire for truth and yearning for freedom. At the same time, he also passed on his own experiences with Su Mucheng, A Tie, and A Ming to Xiaoya, helping her understand the power of collaboration.
“So that’s how it is,” Xiaoya’s eyes gleamed. “Chaos brainwaves can not only combat pollution, but also unite people.” She quickly tapped on the keyboard. “I’ve copied the core algorithm of the pollution code. Now I need your resonance to generate a countermeasure program.”
Chen Mo, Su Mucheng, Ah Tie, and Ah Ming simultaneously injected their brainwaves into the circuit board. Four distinct streams of consciousness intertwined within the data stream, forming a countermeasure program shimmering with golden light. The moment the program took shape, the entire wasteland resonated with the discarded electronics, and the orange light patterns on the screen converged into a giant heart-shaped pattern.
The Data Harvester’s attack beam struck the heart-shaped pattern, but was rebounded by a powerful force. Xiaoya took the opportunity to pull out the core chip on the circuit board. The chip flashed with pure orange light, echoing the resonance core on Chen Mo’s wrench.
Let’s go! Su Mucheng shielded everyone as they retreated to the back of the garbage dump. Chen Mo looked back and saw the heart-shaped pattern slowly dissipating in the morning light, but it left a faint resonant mark on each piece of discarded electrical equipment, as if telling the story of what had just happened.
After leaving the electronic waste dump, Xiaoya handed the chip to Chen Mo: “This is the key to the pollution code. Only chaotic brain waves can activate it.” The lattice mark on her neck gradually faded, replaced by a pattern similar to the Heart Seeker badge.
Chen Mo gripped the chip tightly, feeling the pure energy within. He glanced at Su Mucheng, A’Tie, A’Ming, and Xiaoya beside him, his heart filled with strength. He knew that every resonance, every collaboration, brought them one step closer to the truth. And the mystery of the mysterious mark seemed to be gradually unveiled through each resonance.
The sunlight grew stronger, dispelling the last of the haze. Chen Mo and his companions embarked on a new journey. Behind them lay the electronic wasteland illuminated by the resonance mark, and ahead lay a city filled with unknowns and challenges. The resonant core within the wrench gently rotated, as if playing a prelude to collaboration, awaiting the participation of more resonators.
Chapter 10 Brainwave Resonance: A Preliminary Attempt (Old Version)
The morning light penetrated the lingering data storm above the city, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Chen Mo and his companions took refuge in the base of an abandoned signal tower. Xiaoya inserted a chip into her portable terminal, and a dense stream of data immediately flooded the screen. Su Mucheng’s earrings resonated with the chip, and a warm orange light flowed along the vein-like marks on her forearm, winding and moving like a living thing.
“The core algorithm of the contamination code is indeed here.” Xiaoya magnified a distorted purple data stream on the screen. “Look at this circular logic—the ‘Talent Supremacy’ brainwave discrimination algorithm is constantly replicating itself, infecting all consciousness networks connected to the scanning tower.” She suddenly pointed to a node at the end of the data link. “There’s an abnormal fluctuation here, and the frequency is exactly the same as Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves.”
Chen Mo leaned closer to the screen, only to see the node shimmering in a chaotic, variegated mass of light, beating rhythmically like a heart. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the wrench, and the resonant core on the metal surface suddenly heated up. The silver-white gears in the heart-shaped pattern began to spin rapidly, projecting a holographic image of the four people in resonance—Su Mucheng’s silhouette, gun raised, the arc of Ah Tie’s wrench swing, the shimmer of the crystal lattice on Ah Ming’s leg, Xiaoya’s concentration analyzing the data. The four images intertwined into a vortex of shimmering light.
“Is this… brainwave mapping?” Su Mucheng covered her mouth in surprise. “Your chaotic brainwaves are transforming collaborative memories into digital weapons.” The digital lattice on her forearm lit up, vibrating in sync with the chaotic light on the screen. “Now try using the wrench resonance chip. I’ll establish a consciousness channel.”
Chen Mo took a deep breath and gently pressed the wrench against the terminal chip. Instantly, countless fragments of memory poured out of the wrench: the 0.3-second flash of orange light that resonated with Su Mucheng on the street corner for the first time, the resonant symphony of scrap metal at A Tie’s scrap yard, the golden ripples of A Ming reinforcing the optical network with painful memories, the faint glow of the mark on Xiao Ya’s neck as she decoded… These images transformed into a tangible data stream, flowing through the contact point between the wrench and the chip into the core of the contaminated code.
“Warning! Chaos brainwave intrusion detected!” The terminal suddenly blared a shrill alarm, and the purple algorithm on the screen shrank violently as if encountering a natural enemy. Chen Mo felt his brainwaves deeply connected to Su Mucheng’s consciousness—he “saw” the afterimage of her brother’s gunfire deep in her memory, overlapping with the resonant trajectory of his own wrench, forming an illusory orange cannon.
“Now!” Su Mucheng pulled the trigger fiercely (though she lacked the materialized Sun Devourer, her projection of consciousness was incredibly accurate). The orange cannon’s mental shockwaves blasted through the data channel into the contaminated core. Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves followed closely behind, like a key fitting into a lock. Their brainwaves intertwined in the data space, forming spiral blades of light. Wherever they passed, the purple algorithms disintegrated into pure silver-white points of light.
“It’s amazing,” Xiaoya pointed at the reconstructed data stream on the screen. “The discrimination logic of the pollution code is being rewritten as a collaborative protocol.” She frowned suddenly. “But the main server of the scanning tower is countering. Our resonance strength is not strong enough.”
Ah Tie suddenly raised his wrench and struck Chen Mo’s with force: “Let me try!” As the two clangs overlapped, fragments of memories of the scrap yard’s metallic resonance flooded in like a tide, and the blade of light on the terminal screen suddenly thickened. Ah Ming gritted his teeth, actively recalling the pain of the foreman’s whipping. The lattice patterns on his leg erupted with a dazzling white light, coating the blade of light with a golden edge.
The brainwaves of the four individuals resonated perfectly within the data space: Chen Mo’s chaotic waves formed the framework, Su Mucheng’s orange light flow injected energy, A’tie’s metallic resonance strengthened the structure, and A’ming’s painful memories provided resilience. The moment the light blade slashed through the last of the purple algorithm, Chen Mo felt a warm stream of consciousness feeding back—the countless mediocre people oppressed by the hierarchical system, their brainwaves echoing gratefully through the scanning tower network.
“The main server is temporarily down!” Xiaoya excitedly pointed at the flashing green dot on the terminal. “The talent detection function of all scanning towers has been interrupted for 30 seconds.”
A Data Harvester’s cry of surprise was heard in the distance, and indeed, the blue beams above the city flickered briefly. Chen Mo released the wrench and discovered two new marks on the resonant core of the metal surface: A-Tie’s wrenches crossed into a cross, and A-Ming’s lattice transformed into a shield. Together with Su Mucheng’s silhouette and Xiaoya’s data stream pattern, they formed a complete defense matrix.
“We did it…” Su Mucheng’s voice trembled slightly. The digital lattice on her forearm faded to almost invisible, leaving only a faint warm orange vein. “The resonance of chaotic brain waves can not only destroy pollution, but also repair digital damage.”
Amin touched the disappeared lattice on his leg and smiled like a child: “It doesn’t hurt at all!” A Tie curiously tapped the ground with a wrench, which caused all the nearby metal pipes to resonate and produce a pleasant harmony.
Chen Mo watched the five figures’ marks constantly shifting on the wrench, and suddenly understood what Ye Xiu meant by “collaboration is the rule.” When the first 30 seconds of resonance victory arrived, he knew it was only the beginning. Those resonators awakened in the data storm, those souls suppressed by the talent grading system, would become extensions of this Chaos Wrench. Meanwhile, in the morning light outside the signal tower, several more Heartseeker badges flickered in the distance, echoing the brainwave resonance of this initial experiment.
Chapter 11: Reaper Pursuit? Speed ​​of Life and Death (Old Version)
Chen Mo pressed his ear against the metal sheet of the ventilation duct. He could hear the thump of metal boots hitting the ground in the corridor below. Ta-ta-ta, ta-ta, like a death-beat drumbeat in his bones. A cold sweat formed on his palm from the wrench. The marks carved into Su Mucheng’s profile trembled with the rhythm of a rabbit’s heartbeat. A dark orange light pattern flickered, reflecting the bulging veins on the back of his hand. Beyond the cracks in the duct, a green scanning beam slithered like a snake, burning deep purple burns into the concrete wall. The lattice-like patterns climbed up the cracks, reminiscent of the demonic remains he had seen at the abandoned construction site last week—those broken bones that would form a monstrous creature in the moonlight.
“Brother Chen! They’re at the second-floor stairwell!” Ah Ming’s voice pierced through the intercom, cracked with tears. Chen Mo could imagine the boy huddled in the corner of the fire escape: his washed-out overalls had holes in the knees, and his trouser legs were stained with dark purple slime from yesterday’s cleaning of the demon skeleton. He was now gagged with his dirty sleeves, sweat dripping from his eyelashes as it hit the blade of the fire axe, creating tiny splashes of water. Three reapers, the green lights on their rifles flashing like epilepsy… The barrels were wrapped in black silk, the same pattern as on the demon skeleton’s body!
“Listen, little bastard,” Chen Mo lowered his voice, his fingertips rubbing over the notches on the wrench. The metal surface was as hot as a hot iron. “I’m hitting the water pipe with a fire axe. Follow my rhythm—dang, dang, dang… Yes, just like the clappers you hear during Chinese New Year back home.” He recalled what Su Mucheng had said last night at the relay station. The mark on her left earlobe glowed a warm orange, the digital lattice of her forearm faintly visible under the blue light of the tactical board. “This would confuse their sonar, like stuffing cotton balls into a radio.” The vibration of the wrench perfectly matched the line of her voice in his mind, even the trembling at the end was perfectly in tune.
Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of metal friction above his head, like nails scraping against rusty iron sheets, cutting his eardrums in the silence. Chen Mo looked up suddenly, only to see the iron grille of the vent being lifted up by a hand wearing an alloy glove. The sunlight shone through the gap onto the data stream pattern of the glove. Those black lines squirmed like living things, as if they would crawl in along the pipe in the next second. Behind the dark green eyepiece, the crosshairs of the electronic eye locked onto his chest. A mechanical sound came through the mask, with a cold electronic distortion: Abnormal brain waves detected, medium level, capture priority B. The metal box at his waist clicked open, and three dark blue judgment bullets shone coldly in the light. The lattice patterns on the surface of the bullets were like frozen lightning, emitting blue smoke.
“Jump!” Chen Mo roared, slamming his shoulder against the side vent panel. The rusted iron creaked like it was being torn apart, and as he fell, his back scraped against the edge of the pipe, burning with pain like a spoonful of hot oil. As he fell, he saw the Reaper pull the trigger—the rifle barrel, entwined with a flowing data chain, spitting its tongue like a living snake, and a hexagonal aiming frame emerged on the crosshairs, the very gifted prism Su Mucheng had mentioned. The moment the bullet was fired, the air was torn apart with a sharp sonic boom. He could even see the arc of blue electricity dancing on the bullet’s tip, carrying the sweet, fishy smell of a burning fuse.
when–!
The sound of the wrench colliding with the bullet was muffled, like a hammer striking the heart. Ripples of orange light exploded from the point of impact, drawing transparent ripples in the air, like the circle created by a stone thrown into a pond. Chen Mo felt a sharp pain in his arm, as if he had been run over by a truck. He spun and slammed into the wall, his shoulder blade colliding with the protruding rebar with a dull crack. Stars flashed before his eyes. Looking down, the inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the wrench’s surface was bursting with bright light. The light pattern swept away the bullet fragments like a stream, dissipating into silvery-white points of light in the air like fireflies blown away by the wind. Meanwhile, the Reaper’s rifle screen flashed red, and the white smoke from the barrel smelled of burning, like someone’s food being burnt.
Run with me! Brother Chen! Ah Ming hadn’t known when he’d reached the stairs. The clang of the fire axe hitting the water pipes made the hallway buzz and even sent dust cascading down from the ceiling. The scanning beam grazed the holes in the boy’s overalls at the knees, scorching the fabric and revealing his tanned skin. He swung the axe without a glance back, the blade slicing an orange afterimage in the light. “Their guns are jamming! Like a video game crash! Hurry!” His voice was tearful, yet it carried a fierce intensity, like a wolf cub cornered.
Chen Mo rolled as he landed, his knees cracking against the broken tiles, making him wince in pain. Behind him, the click of a metal magazine opened and closed. Another Reaper had reloaded, and the green beam from its muzzle snaked around his ankle. Warning: Target possesses chaotic brainwave signature, initiating forced capture. The mechanical voice was emotionless, but it reminded Chen Mo of the scene Su Mucheng had described—those deemed mediocre by a bullet would develop a purple lattice beneath their skin, like a slave’s brand, a lifelong mark they could never shake.
At the critical moment, he threw the wrench. The rusty wrench traced an arc of orange light in the air, like a flaming meteor. The moment it collided with the green light of the Reaper’s rifle, the metal objects on the entire floor began to buzz simultaneously. Fire hydrants, stair railings, even the metal nameplates on the wall glowed orange, forming a resonant sea, and the clanging sound was like a crazy symphony concert. Chen Mo took the opportunity to pounce on the wrench. The moment his fingertips touched the metal, Su Mucheng’s voice rang in his mind, with the hum of electricity but unusually clear: “The wave crest must be stuck on the twelfth harmonic. Imagine your brain waves are the water of the Yellow River, and my orange light is the river channel. Follow my bends!”
The orange light suddenly surged, condensing into a translucent barrier around him and Amin. Fine heart-shaped patterns of light appeared on its surface, each one as if drawn from liquid sunlight, rising and falling slightly with his breathing. The Reaper’s bullets struck the barrier, sending ripples through it like pebbles dropped into a lake, unable to penetrate the warm light. Amin stared in amazement, his fingers practically piercing the patterns. The dark purple slime on his sleeves shimmered eerily in the orange light. “Brother Chen! This is exactly like when Sister Su’s earrings light up! Like… like the heart she drew on the tactical board!” His voice was filled with surprise, forgetting he had been crying.
“Don’t touch!” Chen Mo grabbed his wrist, and the back of his own hand glowed faintly orange—resonant energy was spreading along his skin, forming fleeting patterns of light on the back of his hand, pulsing like golden veins. In the distance, the clatter of heavy boots could be heard. A Reaper approached, holding a modified rifle. The innate prism on the barrel refracted a rainbow of light, like a distorted rainbow, yet it carried an ominous aura: the target’s brainwaves were unusually stable, activating the spectrum disruption round.
A spectral disintegration bomb? Amin’s fire axe clanged to the ground, the boy’s voice shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind, his lip bitten and bloody. Chen Mo suddenly remembered Su Mucheng’s instructions. She had been tapping the screen with a tactical pen at the relay station, the mark on her left earlobe flickering with her words: If you see a purple spectrum, hit the weld with a wrench, where the metal stress is most concentrated. He gritted his teeth and slammed the wrench into the fire hydrant on the ground. With a loud bang, orange light spread along the pipe, and the metal components of the entire building hummed, like countless guitar strings being plucked simultaneously, the vibration was so strong that it made the chest numb.
Even more miraculous, the light patterns transformed into butterfly-shaped particles, swooping towards the Reaper’s rifle, penetrating the prism cracks and disrupting the purple data stream. System error! Spectrum analysis failed! Sparks erupted from the Reaper’s visor, and the green light of his electronic eyes flickered like a broken lightbulb. Warning: Cross-talent resonance interference detected—neural link imminent overload!
“Let’s go! To the ventilation duct!” Chen Mo grabbed Ah Ming and rushed to the stairwell, only to run into another Reaper around the corner. The diamond-shaped bullet ejected from that person’s waist was engraved with a data lattice, strikingly similar to the patterns on Su Mucheng’s forearm, gleaming coldly under the green light. In the nick of time, the wrench suddenly vibrated on its own, and the orange light from the engravings coalesced into the phantom of the Sun Devourer. Though only palm-sized, it trembled with the familiar recoil, and even a faint orange light could be seen flowing from the barrel.
This is… Ah Ming hadn’t finished his words when he saw Chen Mo aim his phantom at the Reaper. Even more astonishing, the phantom gun actually emitted a pulse of orange light. While not as powerful as a real gun, it accurately hit the opponent’s scope. With a crackling sound, the mask was covered with spiderweb-like cracks. The judgment bullets in the metal box collectively heated up due to the resonance, and a series of sparks exploded, like firecrackers during the Spring Festival.
The two men rushed into the stairwell. The rusty handrail hurt their palms, and every step they took on the broken tiles made a crackling sound, like stepping on broken glass. Amin suddenly pointed at the wall and exclaimed, his voice changed: Brother Chen, look! Something is growing on the pipe! The fire pipe was covered with dark purple crystal lattices, pulsating like polluted blood vessels, becoming more and more active as the reaper approached, and even the crackling sound of electricity could be heard. As soon as Chen Mo’s wrench touched the crystal lattice, orange light surged like a tide, and the purple lines quickly faded, revealing the mottled metal underneath, leaving wet marks, like asphalt melted by the sun, and still emitting white hot steam. Is this… the purification of chaotic brain waves? He muttered to himself, but his pupils suddenly shrank at the scene below –
The bottom of the stairs was filled with Reapers, the green beams of their five gifted prism rifles intertwining into a web, casting a sinister shadow across the ground. The leading Reaper had a crack in his visor; it was the one struck by the phantom earlier. The green light in his eyepiece flickered like a dying firefly. “The target has entered the trap area, activating the spectral disruption rounds in ready mode.” A mechanical sound tinged with the hum of electricity. The bullets at his waist bore a strange spiral pattern. “This bullet will scramble your brainwave spectrum into mush. Boy, prepare for your punishment.”
Chen Mo shielded Ah Ming behind him. He could feel the boy’s body shaking like a sieve. Half a compressed biscuit fell from his overalls pocket and crumbled into crumbs. The wrench’s orange light suddenly surged, forming a shield around his palm. The silhouette of Su Mucheng, gun in hand, emerged from the light pattern, her hair blown by the virtual wind, her eyes determined, just like at the relay station. He remembered seeing the digital lattice of her forearm flickering in the orange light, the purple lines glowing faintly in resonance. Now, those fragments of memory transformed into energy, rushing down his arm, burning it and making it numb.
Then! He smashed the wrench against the stair railing. As the orange light spread, Amin’s fire axe suddenly levitated, its blade wrapped in orange light and flying towards the nearest Reaper like a blazing bolt of lightning. With a crackling sound, the rifle’s innate prism cracked like a spiderweb, and a green beam leaked out, casting a distorted spot on the ground like a shattered mirror.
The spectral disintegration rounds came hurtling towards them, trailing purple flames, their tails forked like the tongues of a venomous snake. Chen Mo’s shield suddenly split into countless butterflies of light, each with heart-shaped wings. As they pounced on the bullets, the light patterns on their wings shone like little suns. The bullets disintegrated into data streams under the impact of the butterflies, and the air was filled with a strong smell of ozone, like the sky after a thunderstorm. Amin suddenly pointed at the ceiling and screamed, his voice filled with the ecstasy of having survived a disaster: “Vent! Sister Su said it can interfere with sonar! Climb up quickly!”
The two leaped onto the stair railing. When the wrench notches made contact with the vent bars, orange light transformed into vine-like patterns, melting the rusted grille into a heart-shaped gap. The sizzling sound of melting metal resembled frying oil. As Ah Ming crawled into the duct, his overalls were torn, revealing the patched lining. But he turned back and pulled Chen Mo, his fingertips stained with rust from the pipe: “Look at your wrench!” A three-dimensional diagram of the ventilation duct appeared on the surface of the wrench, each turning point marked with a resonant frequency of 143.8Hz, like a glowing map. The dust inside the duct gathered into points of light in the orange light, flowing along the lines, forming a visible sound wave map, guiding the way. It was Sister Su’s consciousness link! Chen Mo heard her voice in his mind, with a hint of smile, like warm tea on a winter day. The third branch pipe led to the old data center. Don’t be afraid, I’m in your mind.
The Reaper’s heavy boots stepped onto the staircase landing, and the colorful light of the prism rifle locked onto their backs. The spectrum disintegration bomb was ready, firing in three seconds. Chen Mo inserted the wrench into the gap of the pipe, and all the light patterns exploded into light butterflies that flew towards the Reaper. The buzzing sound of their wings flapping was like a swarm of bees. System error! The Reaper’s mask burst, and a last green light flashed before the electronic eye went out, like a meteor across the night sky. Chen Mo dragged Amin to crawl in the pipe. The rust and dust choked them and made them cough. Behind them came the loud sound of twisting metal – the ventilation ducts of the entire building were resonating, shaking the Reaper’s shouts into pieces, echoing in the ducts, like countless people screaming at the same time.
There’s light! Amin pointed to the exit of the pipe ahead, and a faint blue light shone through, like a lighthouse in the deep sea. The two climbed out of the pipe and found themselves standing in a data center covered with cobwebs. The central server emitted a faint blue light, and the data lattice on the outer shell was exactly the same as the pattern on Su Mucheng’s forearm, like a huge sapphire in the darkness. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, and the orange light from the incisions resonated with the server, casting overlapping heart-shaped light patterns on the ground, each beat in sync with his heartbeat. He knew that the Reaper’s pursuit was not over yet, but as long as the wrench was still trembling, as long as Su Mucheng’s consciousness was still connected, those warm orange light patterns would always be their amulet. Amin picked up the half-broken compressed biscuit at his feet and handed it to Chen Mo. Their fingertips touched in the orange light, and they both felt the trembling of each other’s fingertips, but there was also a hint of imperceptible determination.
Chapter 12: Polluted Core? Energy Surge (Old Version)
When Chen Mo slammed open the rusted alloy door of the data center, it crashed down behind him, shaking the cobwebs from the ceiling like snowflakes. The central server was emitting a faint blue light, and in the light, purple and black crystal lattices were growing wildly along the cracks between the tiles. They sizzled and pulsated like startled poison ivy, and each line shrieked like metallic friction. Amin’s fire axe clanged to the ground, sending sparks illuminating Su Mucheng’s half-kneeling figure. She held the barrel of the Sun Devourer against the server base. The mark on her left earlobe glowed like burning charcoal, but the digital crystal lattice on her forearm had abnormally spread to her shoulder. The purple lines flickered in the orange light, like ice cracks crawling across porcelain.
“Don’t come near!” Her voice trembled with a metallic tremor. She suddenly twisted her body and turned the muzzle of her gun, the heart-shaped aiming frame precisely locking onto the lattice that had erupted at Chen Mo’s feet. Orange bullets whizzed out, sending out fine heart-shaped ripples where they hit. The purple-black lines hissed and retracted as if burned by a branding iron, revealing the charred concrete floor beneath. The secondary pollution core was overloaded with energy. She dodged to avoid a burst of lattice, and fine orange sweat beads oozed from the digitized skin beneath her tactical vest. “The residual resonance on your body will be absorbed as an energy source!”
Ah Ming suddenly pointed at the server base and screamed, the holes in his overalls’ knees rubbing against purple-black goo. “Brother Chen, look! There’s something in the cracks!” A stream of black data swirled from the cracks in the base, each line etched with the distorted words “Talent Supremacy,” identical to the code on the Reaper rifle. A low electronic tone could even be heard repeating the words. Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly vibrated violently, and dynamic light patterns appeared on the metal surface next to the inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette—the continuous trajectory of her firing rifle, each arc emitting a resonant hum of 143.8 Hz.
Chaotic brainwaves need an anchor point to neutralize the contamination! Su Mucheng suddenly inserted the barrel of the Sun Devourer into the server interface, and the silver weapon instantly expanded into a cannon shape, and the orange light of consciousness poured in like a flood. Chen Mo saw the crystal lattice of her forearm suddenly illuminated with an eerie purple light, and the lines that should have faded actually climbed up her neck as if in reverse growth. He suddenly remembered the scene when she constructed the light cocoon on the New York battlefield and her digital body almost collapsed. Su Mucheng, you—
“Stop talking nonsense!” She roared without turning back, her hair dancing wildly in the energy flow, and hit the resonance node with a wrench! That rusty bolt at three o’clock!
Chen Mo roared, smashing his wrench into the server casing. The moment his chaotic brainwaves collided with the orange light of his consciousness, the metal pipes throughout the data center hummed like countless guitars plucking the bass strings simultaneously. Even more astonishing, Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, its blade shimmering in orange light as it plunged into the center of the vortex. The boy, his face flushed, roared out the rhythm they’d practiced a hundred times at the scrapyard: Dang, dang, dang—143.8! Did you hear that? It’s 143.8!
The black data stream suddenly exploded, transforming into countless tentacles that pounced on the three. Chen Mo’s wrench blazed with intense light, and Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface shone with orange tears. The instant those light points made contact with the tentacles, they transformed into a swarm of luminous butterflies, each wing imprinted with a delicate heart-shaped pattern of light. He suddenly felt a deep connection between his brainwaves and Su Mucheng’s consciousness, and countless images flooded his mind: under the pale light of the hospital, a trembling young man pressed a model gun into her palm. The pattern of the cooling vents on the model’s barrel was remarkably identical to that of the Sun Devourer.
That’s my brother, Su Mucheng… Su Mucheng’s voice echoed in my mind, electric and yet remarkably clear. He said that Glory shouldn’t be a one-man show… Her translucent projection emerged within the data stream. The digital lattice of her forearm was fading at a visible speed, revealing the pale skin beneath. The vibration frequency of the polluted core… matched the voiceprint of 21st-century racist rhetoric perfectly…
Before he could finish his words, Amin was suddenly thrown back by a dark force. His back slammed against the lattice wall with a dull thud. The purple-black slime seeping from the knees of his overalls burned holes in the ground. Chen Mo fiercely shielded him behind him. The sound of wrenches colliding with data streams was like thunder. He saw Su Mucheng’s projection raise the Sun Devourer. The orange light from the muzzle entwined with his chaotic brainwaves in a spiral, weaving a resonant light web across the surface of the contaminated core. The twisted lines of the Supreme Talent shattered in the light web, revealing the golden code flowing beneath, swirling with warmth like magma.
This is… the original code of the Genesis Protocol! Su Mucheng’s projection widened its eyes. The moment her fingertips touched the golden code, the entire crystal lattice suddenly erupted with a dazzling light. Chen Mo felt a warmth in his palm. Unknowingly, a silver-white crystal the size of a pigeon egg had appeared. The surface of the crystal was engraved with fine lines like flowing water. A soft halo flowed in the blue light, resonating strangely with the wrench’s incisions, and it seemed to rise and fall slightly like a heartbeat.
It’s a fragment of the Heart of Courage! Su Mucheng’s projection reached out and touched the crystal. The mark on her left earlobe and the crystal lit up simultaneously. A beam of orange and white light shot towards the ceiling, reflecting off the rusty iron pipes to reveal the Heart Seeker Alliance logo. Each letter was composed of countless heart-shaped light patterns, flickering with Chen Mo’s heartbeat.
At that moment, the alloy walls of the data center suddenly exploded, and the clatter of the Reaper’s heavy boots approached like the pounding of drums. Su Mucheng sheathed her Sun Devourer, and the digital lattice on her forearm retreated back to her elbow. However, the orange light particles oozing from her forehead condensed into tiny crystals in her hair, like a handful of broken diamonds. Their rifles were connected to the main pollution core. With rapid breathing, she pressed the crystal into Chen Mo’s palm. The moment metal touched skin, they both trembled. Taking this to the underground relay station… Senior Ye Xiu knew how…
Before he could finish his words, the server suddenly sounded a piercing alarm, and all blue lights suddenly turned blood-red. Chen Mo watched in horror as an even more turbulent black data stream surged from the wreckage of the contaminated core. Those lines converged into the outline of the abyssal gazer’s giant eye, its pupil gleaming with twisted patterns of supreme talent. Su Mucheng’s projection suddenly pushed him away, but she was instantly engulfed by the data stream. The data-like lattice on her forearm spread like a spiderweb across her entire body, and purple lines pulsed wildly in the orange light, like a circuit about to explode.
“Go, Chen Mo!” Her voice laced with tearing pain. The fragments of memory pouring into his consciousness nearly drowned him—the warm cocoon of light in the ruins of New York, the orange cherry blossoms falling from the Tokyo shrine, and the cool touch of the gun models his fingertips brushed against as his brother smiled for the last time. Amin cried, clutching his arm. A faint blue light shone through the passageway torn open by the fire axe. In the distance, the Heart Seeker Alliance emblem flickered in the darkness, like a cluster of starlight.
Chen Mo clenched the crystal in his palm and looked back at Su Mucheng’s projection, swallowed by the data stream. The mark on her left earlobe flickered three final times, as if to say, “Take care.” Suddenly, all the light patterns along the wrench’s indentations illuminated, and a thin line of golden code appeared beside Su Mucheng’s silhouette—a resonant pattern of coordination as order, winding through the darkness into a path, pointing deeper into the tunnel. An explosion roared behind him from the data center. He dragged Amin into the dim blue light, the heat generated by the crystal and the wrench’s resonance flowing down his arm into his heart. It was the purest surge of energy left after the polluted core was purified, warm as an unfinished promise.
Chapter 13: Orange Light Guardian? Light Cocoon Begins (Old Version)
Chen Mo dragged Ah Ming along as they sprinted through the dank underground passage. The thud of their boots tumbling through the stagnant water mixed with the thud of the Reaper’s heavy boots behind them, like two death-dealing drumbeats. Rusty iron pipes crisscrossed overhead like a spiderweb, and leaking water pelted their shoulders, mixing with the still-dry purple-black slime on the boy’s overalls, emitting a pungent ozone smell. Ah Ming’s fire axe struck the ground, sending sparks illuminating the madly spreading purple lattice on the wall—lines that grew with the speed of a snake, following their footsteps, their surface pulsing with a crackling current.
“They’ve installed a tracker!” Ah Ming suddenly screamed. A green beam of light pierced the hole in his overalls at the knee, scorching the fabric and curling it into black edges. Chen Mo slammed him into the mossy corner of the wall, turning himself to block the incoming hit bullet with a wrench. “Dang!” The loud sound of metal clashing echoed through the corridor. The orange light from the wrench’s notch burst into a powerful blaze. The lines of Su Mucheng’s profile pulsed like a heart, shaking the bullet into falling silver-white dots.
At that moment, a warm orange hue suddenly exploded from the shadows at the end of the passage. Su Mucheng emerged, Sun Devourer in hand. The mark on her left earlobe shone like burning charcoal, her hair lifted by an invisible breeze of light, revealing beads of orange sweat on her tactical vest. The digital lattice of her forearm loomed in the orange light, less visible than in the data center, but spiderweb-like purple lines still clung to the crook of her elbow, like an unhealed scar. “Get behind me!” Her voice trembled with a metallic tremor, and the aiming box on the muzzle of her gun automatically formed a heart-shaped pattern of light, accurately locking onto the nearest Reaper.
“Sister Su! Your arm…” Amin’s words caught in his throat as orange bullets whizzed out, tracing flaming arcs through the air. When they collided with the green light from the Reaper’s rifle, countless heart-shaped ripples erupted. Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly vibrated violently. The code pattern “Cooperation is the Rule” on the inscribed mark perfectly synchronized with the frequency of Su Mucheng’s earrings, casting overlapping resonant patterns on the wet ground, as if someone had traced the trajectory of a heartbeat with a highlighter.
“Their rifles are linked to the contaminated core!” Su Mucheng dodged a laser, and the barrel of the Sun Devourer erupted in streams of data, writhing like a living snake. “Chen Mo, resonate my frequency with your chaotic brainwaves!” As she finished speaking, the digital lattice of her forearm suddenly lit up, its purple lines flickering with her breathing, as if in sync with some ancient rhythm. Chen Mo slammed the wrench to the ground. As metal and concrete collided, a familiar 143.8 Hz buzzing echoed in his head, as if someone had plucked a tuning fork in his cochlea.
A miracle occurred in an instant: orange light and chaotic brainwaves intertwined into a web, coalescing around them into a translucent cocoon of light. Fine heart-shaped lines emerged on the cocoon’s surface, each one echoing Su Mucheng’s silhouette, gun raised—the resoluteness of New York’s ruins, the tenderness of a Tokyo shrine, the fortitude of a data center, all transformed into flowing light patterns. A-Ming tentatively extended his fingertips to touch the edge of the cocoon, then immediately withdrew his hand, his eyes wide as bells. “It’s hot… like touching Sister Su’s heartbeat!” The touch was warm and steady, like touching a living heart through a thin veil.
“This is a defensive form of cross-talent resonance.” Su Mucheng’s voice was tinged with laughter, but the pallor at the corners of her lips couldn’t be concealed. Her “Sun Devourer” suddenly transformed, its barrel expanding into a cannon-like shape, and orange steam seeped from the heat dissipation vents. “I’m about to overload, hold on tight!” Chen Mo saw the mark on her left earlobe suddenly turn red, like a red-hot iron. The digital lattice of her forearm actually seeped out fine orange light particles, and the purple lines retreated step by step in the strong light, like snow encountering the scorching sun.
Six Reapers simultaneously pulled their triggers, sending six green beams of light forming a diamond array towards the cocoon. Chen Mo felt the cocoon tremble violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the heart-shaped pattern. He subconsciously clenched Su Mucheng’s hand. His touch was cold, digitized skin, but a scorching warmth flowed down his arm, like an electric current piercing the ice. “Don’t look at me!” Su Mucheng’s voice exploded in his mind, “Look at my memory—”
Countless images flooded Chen Mo’s mind: the cocoon of light enveloping him on the New York battlefield, warm as a mother’s embrace; the cherry blossoms at the Tokyo shrine, stained a warm orange hue, petals falling into Su Mucheng’s hair; the trembling young man in the hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, pressed a model gun into her hands, the pattern on the model’s barrel identical to the Sun Devourer’s. These memories transformed into tangible energy, infusing the cocoon of light. The cracks healed at a visible speed, making the subtle sound of glass repairing.
“Brother Chen, your hands…” Ah Ming’s voice was filled with awe. Around their clasped hands, orange light and chaotic brain waves entwined into spirals, forming new lines on the surface of the light cocoon – that was the overlapping silhouettes of the two people, Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s “Sun Devourer” connected end to end in the light pattern. The Reapers’ rifles suddenly burst into collective sparks, and the black data stream in the barrel broke like a spider web, emitting an overwhelmed electronic scream. “System error! Emotional resonance interference detected!” The mask of the leading Reaper burst into pieces. Before the electronic eye went out, Chen Mo saw the distorted words “Talent Supremacy” flash in his eyepiece, like ink marks blown away by the wind.
The cocoon of light suddenly expanded, sending shockwaves flying, sending all the Reapers flying. Their metal boots plowed deep furrows in the ground. Su Mucheng loosened her grip and stumbled back half a step. The digital lattice on her forearm retreated a little, revealing pale skin beneath, etched with faint traces of purple lines like a faded tattoo. “Their neural connection is broken,” she gasped. Instead of sweat, particles of orange light oozed from her forehead, forming tiny crystals in her hair like a handful of broken diamonds.
“Sister Su, are you okay?” Ah Ming picked up the fire axe and approached cautiously. The axe blade reflected Su Mucheng’s exhausted face. The light cocoon began to dissipate, transforming into tiny dots of orange light that merged with the wrench’s incisions. On the surface of Chen Mo’s wrench, next to Su Mucheng’s silhouette, a handshake pattern of light appeared. Each tremor carried a residual warmth, as if someone were gently tapping on the metal. He thought of Su Muqiu, the young man with a gentle smile, who seemed to still be holding the gun model in Su Mucheng’s hands.
“I’m fine.” Su Mucheng forced a smile, the mark on her left earlobe returning to a warm orange, like a ripe tangerine. “It’s just that the Glory Power consumption is a bit high.” She turned and looked deeper into the passage. The purple lattice there was fading, revealing a mottled concrete wall. A few tenacious mosses even sprouted from the cracks. “Senior Ye Xiu said that once the energy field of the contaminated core is purified, this place will return to a safe zone.”
Chen Mo followed her gaze and suddenly spotted a silvery-white crystal nestling in the shadows of a corner. Its surface was engraved with fine lines like flowing water, and in the dim light, a soft halo shone, as if condensed moonlight. “That’s…” He bent down to pick up the crystal. His touch resonated with a wrench, like grasping a pulsating star.
“It’s a fragment of the ‘Heart of Courage’.” Su Mucheng’s voice was filled with surprise. She stretched out her hand, and the moment her fingertips touched the crystal, the orange light mark and the crystal lit up at the same time. A beam of light shot towards the ceiling and refracted between the rusty iron pipes, spelling out the logo of the “Heart Seeker Alliance”. Each letter was made up of countless heart-shaped light patterns, flickering with Chen Mo’s heartbeat.
“Look! The passage’s open!” Ah Ming suddenly exclaimed, pointing in the distance. A faint blue light shone through the gap created by the light cocoon, and the faint hum of machinery could be heard. Chen Mo clenched the crystal in his hand, then glanced at the faint lattice remaining on Su Mucheng’s forearm. He suddenly understood what Ye Xiu meant by “cross-talent collaboration”—when his chaotic brainwaves resonated with her orange-light stream of consciousness, they could not only destroy pollution but also awaken dormant hope.
Distinct footsteps echoed from outside the passageway. Su Mucheng immediately raised her Sun Devourer, the heart-shaped aiming frame faintly visible in the dim blue light. But instead of Reapers, they appeared: several men in work uniforms. They wore badges similar to Chen Mo’s, gleaming faintly in the orange light, like a constellation in the night sky. “They’re from the Heartseeker Alliance!” Amin shouted excitedly, his fire axe flickering in his hand.
The middle-aged man in the lead saw the digital crystal lattice on Su Mucheng’s forearm, then looked at the crystal in Chen Mo’s palm. He suddenly knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with excitement. “Finally, we’ve waited for you, the Awakener of Chaos Brainwaves, and the host of the Heart of Courage.” The cuffs of his work clothes were frayed, but washed white. “Senior Ye Xiu asked us to wait here, saying that you will bring the key to purifying the pollution.”
Su Mucheng put away the Sun Devourer, the mark on her left earlobe glowing softly like a small lamp. She looked at Chen Mo, a flicker of smile in her eyes, quickly replaced by determination. The curve of her lips perfectly matched the silhouette in the wrench’s incision. “It seems our journey has just begun.” Chen Mo tightened his grip on the wrench, feeling the rhythm of Su Mucheng’s heartbeat against the metal surface, and nodded solemnly.
In the dim blue light outside the passage, the Heart Seeker Alliance emblems gleamed on the chests of the crowd, like a cluster of starlight. He looked down at the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm. The patterns on the crystal’s surface resonated with the wrench’s incisions, emitting a growing light. Those patterns of light outlined Su Mucheng’s silhouette, gun raised, in the darkness, overlapping with the figure in his memory who had constructed a cocoon of light for him on the battlefields of New York. He knew that this war of honor and cooperation had only just begun, and the light they wielded would be the key to piercing all darkness.
Chapter 14: Flashbacks? Memory Fragments (Old Version)
The subterranean relay station’s blue lights were as tranquil as the deep ocean, illuminating the spiderweb-covered alloy pipes. Chen Mo followed the Heart Seekers around three bends. The roar of the gears grew louder. Resonant crystals embedded in the rock wall glowed softly, forming the Loose Alliance’s symbol—a crossed wrench and gun, a rainbow of colors shimmering in the light. Ye Zhengzheng leaned against the control console, wiping the Heavenly Secret Umbrella. The crystal matrix rippled with his movements, like a flowing galaxy.
Finally, I’ve got my precious wrench back. Without even looking up, Ye Xiu tapped his fingertips on the tactical board, and a holographic projection suddenly popped up. “Look at your brainwave resonance data—two intertwined bands of light emerged from the beam. Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves resembled an inky nebula, while Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness resembled burning silk. The two intertwined into a DNA double helix, and each collision unleashed heart-shaped sparks, leaving fleeting traces of light in the air. Amin leaned forward curiously, the hole in his overalls’ knee rubbing against the edge of the control console. The fire axe clanged and knocked over the energy tank, sending a faint blue liquid sizzling across the ground.
“Little Ancestor, be gentle.” Ye Xiu flicked the tip of his umbrella, and a faint light suddenly emanated from the crystal canopy, righting the fallen energy tank. It was a resonance stabilizer used to counteract the contaminated core. If you spill it, you’ll be in trouble. He suddenly raised his eyes to look at the digital lattice on Su Mucheng’s forearm. The remaining purple lines were faintly visible in the light. “Your brother also encountered similar data erosion when he was developing the Sun Devourer, but he was much more resilient than you.”
Su Mucheng’s eyelashes fluttered violently, and the mark on her left earlobe shimmered a barely perceptible silvery-white—Chen Mo knew it was a sign of her emotional fluctuations. Her fingertips gently touched the resonant crystal on the control console, and a dense heart-shaped pattern of light immediately emerged on its surface. “We need a deep consciousness connection. The fragment of the Heart of Courage can serve as an anchor, but contaminated code may interfere with memory access.” Before she finished speaking, tiny beads of orange sweat oozed from her digitized skin beneath her tactical vest. The purple lines pulsed gently with her breathing, like restless blood vessels.
Chen Mo clenched the silver-white crystal in his palm, feeling a distinct warmth flowing down his arm and into his heart, perfectly synchronizing with the vibrations of the wrench’s notch. The lines on the crystal’s surface shimmered beneath the faint blue light, moving like a living creature. Ye Xiu suddenly inserted the Heavenly Secret Umbrella into the control console, and the crystal on the umbrella erupted with a dazzling light. “Pay attention to hippocampal synchronization when linking. I’ll use the tactical board to stabilize the frequency. If you see anything you shouldn’t, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
A sharp, stabbing pain suddenly pierced Chen Mo’s temple, and his vision was consumed by an endless stream of data. The next second, the nightscape of Manhattan, New York, unfolded in his mind—the spire of the Empire State Building pierced the dome of the virtual arena. Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness woven itself around him like a ribbon, each flicker of light corresponding to his heartbeat. This was the first time our consciousnesses were in sync. Su Mucheng’s voice echoed deep within his consciousness, a metallic reverberation. At that moment, your chaotic brainwaves were like a wild horse running wild, nearly shattering my cocoon of light.
Chen Mo saw his own brainwaves surging like a neural network, entwining with Su Mucheng’s orange light to form a heart-shaped barrier, resisting the Data Knight’s onslaught. Even more miraculous, the light patterns on the barrier’s surface were automatically repairing the lattice cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm. Each healed pattern glowed a gentle warm orange, like newly formed skin. Look! A Ming’s voice echoed from the real world, trembling with surprise. The light patterns in the projection were dancing!
The scene suddenly shifted to Tokyo’s Data Shrine, its vermilion torii shimmering in the virtual moonlight. Su Mucheng knelt in the dirt strewn with data runes, the Sun Devourer piercing the ground. The barrel of the gun resonated with Chen Mo’s wrench, the two beams of light interweaving in a dazzling star-shaped trajectory in the sky. This was an experiment in purifying the heart of sacrifice. Ye Xiu’s voice came through the tactical board, with a hint of a smile. “You have shared fragments of memories that protected you. The brainwave resonance lasted for 12 seconds, a record at the time.”
Suddenly dizzy, Chen Mo saw a scene from Su Mucheng’s memory: a white hospital ward, the scent of disinfectant filling the air. Su Mucheng, wearing an oxygen mask, tapped her fingers gently on the bed rails, a rhythmic click—the prelude to a gun concerto. This was his unfinished score. Su Mucheng’s voice was barely perceptible, the last note requiring the resonance of both talents. In the image, the boy pressed the cold model gun into her hand. The touch of metal, a faint warmth, reached through the link in her consciousness.
Suddenly, a black data stream surged in like a tide, frantically carving the distorted words “Talent Supremacy” into the memory. Chen Mo felt his chaotic brainwaves surge uncontrollably. The orange light from the wrench’s indentation resonated with the fragments of the Heart of Courage, forming a sharp blade of light that fiercely cleaved the entangled data stream. “The contaminated code is attacking emotional memory!” Su Mucheng’s voice was filled with rapid gasps. “Quickly, use the chaotic wave crest to match my twelfth harmonic!”
Two streams of consciousness intertwined in the data space, forming a DNA double helix. Each rotation unleashed a 143.8-hertz bioelectric pulse, like the beating of a heart. Chen Mo clearly saw the digital lattice of Su Mucheng’s forearm repairing itself at a visible speed. The hideous purple lines were replaced by new ones interwoven with chaos and orange light, forming a beautiful vein-like mark. Ye Xiu’s tactical board suddenly issued a sharp alarm: Resonance intensity has exceeded the threshold! Hippocampal synchronization rate is 97%!
“Look there!” Ah Ming pointed at the light pattern emerging from the projection, his eyes wide as bells. Does it resemble the trajectory of Su’s sister and brother’s gunfire? Chen Mo followed his direction and saw a blurry afterimage of Su Muqiu raising his gun emerging from the gaps between the memory fragments. The trajectory of the bullet perfectly overlapped with his own chaotic brainwaves, forming a complete concerto spectrum. Most shockingly, the fragment of the Heart of Courage suddenly erupted with dazzling light, connecting all the memory fragments into a brilliant ribbon of light, forming a circular resonance field in the data space, each oscillation accompanied by a pleasant buzzing sound.
This was a resonance of memories across talents. Ye Xiu’s voice was thick with unconcealed surprise. The crystals on the Heavenly Secret Umbrella projected a fleeting glimpse of the interplay of their consciousnesses—from their first encounter in the ruins of New York, to their shared battles at the Tokyo Shrine, to the deep connection now at the relay station. Heart-shaped patterns of light erupted from each node, like diamonds scattered across the river of time. Chen Mo felt Su Mucheng’s consciousness gently touch the depths of his memory, finding fragments of his childhood repairing wrenches amidst the chaotic brainwaves. Those forgotten images, gently enveloped in the orange light, became clear and warm.
When the consciousness link was severed, Su Mucheng stumbled back half a step. The cracks in the crystal lattice on her forearm had surprisingly healed by 15%, and the newly formed lines shone like pearls under the dim blue light. “A fragment of the Heart of Courage…” She clenched the crystal in her hand, and it resonated strongly with Chen Mo’s wrench, emitting a crisp buzzing sound. It stored part of my brother’s consciousness imprint, and the resonance just now activated a part of it.
Ye Xiu suddenly retracted his Heavenly Secret Umbrella, and new coordinates appeared on the tactical board: “The next Heart Core is located in the London Labyrinth. To complete the Guns and Cannons Concerto, you must find it.” He pointed to the portal deep within the relay station. Carved with the logo of the Sanren Alliance, it slowly rotated under the light, emitting a mysterious blue glow. “Remember, collaboration is not sacrifice, but allowing every memory to find a resonant frequency.”
Chen Mo looked down at the wrench. Beside Su Mucheng’s profile, a trace of gunfire had appeared, resonating perfectly with the traces of the Heart of Courage fragment, as if poised to play the unfinished melody. Amin’s fire axe suddenly vibrated softly, its blade reflecting the light of the portal. The boy’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and the compressed biscuit crumbs in his overalls pocket fell to the ground. “London Maze? Are there lots of data treasures? Maybe even something delicious!”
Su Mucheng couldn’t help but chuckle. The mark on her left earlobe returned to a warm orange, like a maple leaf on a branch in late autumn. She adjusted her tactical vest. Her digitized skin looked even smoother after the repair, and the remaining purple lines had faded like a thin veil. “Let’s go,” she said, walking towards the portal with a brisk but determined pace. “Let’s see if the moon over London has also been digitized.”
Chen Mo followed her, feeling the resonance between the crystal in his palm and the wrench grow stronger, as if an invisible thread tightly connected his consciousness to Su Mucheng’s. The portal’s light gradually grew larger, illuminating the three figures. The resonance of the initial light cocoon in New York seemed like only yesterday, while the London maze ahead awaited them, unlocking new fragments of memory and playing the concerto of gunfire that spanned life and death.
Chapter 15: Seeking the Heart? The Initial Formation of the Alliance (Old Version)
As Chen Mo followed Su Mucheng out of the contaminated core, the back of his work jacket was already ripped apart by the data stream, leaving tiny fibers flying with every step. The dim blue light of the underground passage reflected the data-based lattice of her forearm—those purple and black lines retreated under the orange light of consciousness, revealing the pale skin beneath, like an orange-red flower blooming in the snow. Amin’s fire axe struck the ground, sending sparks illuminating the boy’s greasy face. The holes in his overalls’ knees still oozed purple-black slime, but he grinned, revealing half a missing front tooth: “Sister Su’s gun was like fireworks just now! With a crackle, it blew away all that rotten data!”
“Don’t talk, save your energy.” Su Mucheng’s voice trembled with metal, and the mark on her left earlobe shone like burning charcoal, flickering with each breath. She suddenly stopped, and her tactical vest burst into a dazzling red light, like a sudden alarm light: There are Reapers’ sonar tracking behind us! Their rifle prisms are locking onto our brainwave spectrum! When Chen Mo turned around, he saw three light tracks pouring out from the end of the tunnel—the green light from the Data Harvesters’ rifles left scorching marks on the ground, burning deep purple gullies in the concrete floor, like wounds bitten by a venomous snake.
Use the wrench to resonate my frequency! Su Mucheng switched the Sun Devourer into defensive mode, the barrel unfolding into an umbrella-like shield, a dense heart-shaped pattern of light emerging from its surface. As Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves injected into the wrench, the inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface erupted in intense light, like a magnesium bar suddenly ignited, forming a resonant field with the orange light from her earrings. Most miraculously, Amin’s fire axe suddenly levitated, the blade, wrench, and barrel forming a triangular resonance, emitting a 143.8 Hz buzzing sound that sounded like three bees fighting for a flower stamen, or like an old radio receiving a distant signal.
The Data Harvester’s bullets struck the resonance field, sending ripples of light like drops of water in boiling oil. Chen Mo saw Su Mucheng’s brow furrowed, a fine, crisscross pattern forming between her brows. Instead of sweat, particles of orange light oozed from her forehead, forming tiny crystals in her hair like a handful of broken diamonds. Their rifles were linked to the core of the pollution! She gritted her teeth and growled, her back teeth creaking. The digital lattice of her forearm suddenly lit up. The purple-black lines that should have faded suddenly grew backwards, creeping up her elbow and spreading rapidly like ink dripping into clear water. If this continues, my consciousness will collapse! The digital skin is being processed…
At this critical moment, Chen Mo suddenly remembered the silver weapon fragment he’d found in the New York ruins. He frantically fished the crystal, etched with gun patterns, from his overalls pocket. His fingernail scratches still marked the surface. He pressed the wrench against the notch. Orange light and chaotic brainwaves intertwined into a web, weaving a heart-shaped barrier across the passage. The edges of the light pattern undulated like silk in the wind. A sudden spark erupted from the Reaper’s rifle. “SYSTEM ERROR” flashed across the prism screen. One of the Reapers’ visors cracked, revealing a digital eye beneath, flashing with the code of “Genius Supremacy.” The green data streams twisted wildly like frightened snakes.
Follow me! Su Mucheng grabbed Chen Mo’s wrist, and a strange warmth came from her cold, digitized skin, like holding a piece of warm jade just dug out of the snow. The three of them rushed into an abandoned ventilation room. She kicked open the rusted iron cabinet, which creaked and groaned, revealing a secret door behind it with the Sanren logo engraved on it. The crossed wrenches and guns on the logo had become blurred and rusted. As soon as Amin’s fire axe touched the door panel, the entire wall glowed orange, and a holographic projection of Ye Xiu emerged – he was holding an unlit cigarette, and the Tianji Umbrella was spinning at his fingertips. The crystal on the umbrella reflected the embarrassed appearance of the three people, and even the sweat on Chen Mo’s forehead was clearly visible.
Finally found you. Ye Xiu’s voice was tinged with electrical noise, like the rustling of an old radio. A three-dimensional image of eight heart cores popped up on the tactical board, each core slowly rotating in the dim light. The fragments of the Heart of Courage resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves. Only then did Chen Mo realize that the silver-white crystal in his palm was resonating with the wrench’s incisions, and fine light patterns appeared on its surface, as if someone had embroidered a star map on it with gold thread, and each light pattern flickered with his heartbeat. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly raised automatically, the barrel pointing at the crystal, and the heart-shaped aiming frame flickered in the dim light, like the pupil of a cat locking onto its prey.
Is this the fragment of the Heart of Glory? Amin leaned forward, and the purple-black slime on his overalls dripped onto the crystal, and was instantly purified into silver-white spots of light, disappearing like snow falling on a hot iron plate. Ye Xiu’s projection nodded, and the tip of the umbrella pointed at the London maze on the tactical board. The red contaminated area on the map looked like spilled blood: the complete heart core was hidden in the digitized Big Ben, but the contamination code set a language trap. Chen Mo saw Su Muqiu’s notes flash across the screen – the boy was drawing a heart core model on the drawing with a pencil, and next to it was written: When courage and wisdom resonate, the high wall of discrimination will fall down. The edges of the handwriting were blurred by tears.
Suddenly, the sound of metal shredding could be heard from outside the secret door. Each step felt like treading on Chen Mo’s heartbeat. Su Mucheng immediately raised the Sun Devourer, and an orange stream of consciousness surged through the barrel, forming heart-shaped ripples like a stone dropped into a calm lake. Chen Mo felt the crystal in his palm grow hotter and hotter. Chaotic brainwaves surged out uncontrollably, entwining with Su Mucheng’s orange light in a spiral. The light stream flowed down his arm like countless warm little snakes crawling. Most startling of all, a series of knocking sounds echoed from the ventilation duct—as if someone was hitting the pipe with a wrench, a shovel, or even a rice bowl, converging into a 143.8 Hz rhythm. The sound grew increasingly intense, like a torrential downpour beating against a tin roof.
It’s the mediocre laborers! Ah Ming’s eyes lit up, like a light bulb that had suddenly been lit. The fire axe sizzled in his palm, and the axe blade reflected the faint blue light. I taught them to beat the rhythm at the scrap yard before! Old Zhou beat the loudest, saying it was like the banging of bangzi during the New Year in his hometown! Chen Mo only then realized that those knocking sounds were the chaotic brainwave frequencies he unconsciously transmitted while repairing a wrench at the garbage yard last week. At that time, he was squatting in a pile of scrap metal, and the sound of the wrench hitting the iron plate became a call to arms. The mark on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe suddenly exploded into a fiery orange, like a burning flame. The orange light emitted by the Sun Devourer resonated with the knocking sounds, forming a wall of sound waves outside the secret door. The sound waves hitting the metal door sounded like the sound of drums.
The Data Harvester’s gunfire abruptly ceased, leaving only the dull sound of metal clashing. Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. The Heavenly Secret Umbrella arced in mid-air, and a string of sparks flew from the umbrella tip: It seems someone wants to join your alliance. Chen Mo clenched the wrench, watching the light pattern produced by the resonance between the crystal and the wrench. He suddenly understood what a Heart Seeker meant—not to find the core, but to allow every mediocre heart to find each other’s frequency through resonance. Su Mucheng’s fingertips gently touched the crystal, and the data-based lattice of her forearm unexpectedly faded by 30%, revealing the healthy skin underneath, like spring water peeking through ice.
We need a name. Chen Mo heard his voice trembling, not because of fear, but because something hot was surging in his chest, like boiling water tumbling in a kettle. Amin immediately raised the fire axe, and the axe blade almost hit the ceiling: Call it the Wrench Alliance! How cool! Su Mucheng shook her head, and the mark on her left earlobe glowed softly, like the sunset in the evening: Brother said that glory is not a one-man game. Her fingertips drew a heart-shaped light pattern on the crystal, and the track left by the light pattern was like writing with a fluorescent pen in the dark, let’s call it the Heart Seeker Alliance. The heart is hope, courage, and everything we are looking for.
The knocks outside the secret door suddenly became more regular, blending into the prelude to “Gun Concerto,” Su Muqiu’s unfinished piece. Chen Mo saw Su Mucheng’s eyelashes fluttering in the dim light, and remembered the same expression she had when she constructed a light cocoon for herself in the ruins of New York. The tiny hairs at the corners of her eyes were illuminated by the orange light. The crystal in his palm suddenly erupted with a strong light, forming a triangular resonance with the Wrench and the Sun Devourer, casting the Alliance’s symbol on the ground—a wrench crossed with guns, surrounded by countless beating heart-shaped light patterns, each light pattern beating like a living heart.
Before Ye Xiu’s projection disappeared, the Tianji Umbrella pointed to the depths of the tunnel, and the crystal on the umbrella reflected a faint light in the distance: “The heart of wisdom of the London Labyrinth is waiting for you.” Be careful of those language traps, polluted codes can turn the most vicious discrimination into honey. Chen Mo pushed open the secret door and saw that the tunnel was full of mediocre laborers. They held wrenches, shovels, and even brooms. The tools were shining with a similar glimmer as his wrenches, like a twinkling sea of stars. The old scavenger in the lead wore a tattered straw hat, revealing his side face with half an ear missing, and his wrinkles were full of coal dust: “Boy, can you lead us to smash those broken rules of talent discrimination? My grandson is still waiting to go to school!”
Chen Mo looked at Su Mucheng. Her Sun Devourer resonated with his wrench, emitting a clear buzzing sound, like two instruments testing their notes. Amin’s fire axe sparked the ground. The boy’s eyes shone brighter than any light. Half a compressed biscuit fell from his overalls pocket, crumbling into crumbs. He took a deep breath, feeling the chaotic brainwaves resonate with the fragments of his heart of courage, playing a deafening rhythm in his chest, a rhythm that perfectly matched the clacking of all the labor tools.
“Follow me,” he heard himself say, his voice echoing in the tunnel like a stone dropped into a deep well. “Let’s go and take back the glory that belongs to us. We must return double the fairness that was snatched away, the dignity that was trampled upon, and all the days called ‘moderation.'”
In the dim blue light at the end of the tunnel, the first members of the Heart Seeker Alliance followed him. The clink of tools merged into a battle song, each step paving the way for the future. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the warmth of Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface. That warmth seeped through his skin, seeping into his blood, merging with the heat of the fragment of the Heart of Courage. He knew this was only the beginning. Those mediocre people, silenced by the hegemony of talent, would eventually find each other’s heartbeats in resonance, letting the entire universe hear their voices—not roars of anger, but the rhythm of millions of hearts beating together, the rhythm of glory.
Chapter 16: Talent Brand? Neural Resonance (Old Version)
As Chen Mo led the first group of Heart Seekers through the underground tunnel, the puddles of his work boots reflected a faint blue light, and each step shattered the web of light reflected on the water’s surface. Su Mucheng suddenly stopped, the red light of her tactical vest twitching like a dying heart, and the mark on her left earlobe glowed a burning orange—a warning of the approaching contamination code. Amin’s fire axe suddenly trembled like a frightened cat, the blade reflecting the blue beam of light at the end of the tunnel. Thousands of icicle-like beams of light hung suspended in the darkness, each one dripping with the poisonous code of supreme talent, like ashes scattered by the wind.
It was the neural resonance wave from the Talent Scanning Tower! The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was swept by the edge of the beam, its brim instantly charred and curled, like the edge of a piece of paper licked by a tongue of fire. Chen Mo saw code fragments as fine as salt grains floating in the beam, each one engraved with twisted, discriminatory text, emitting a mosquito-like buzzing sound as it drifted through the air. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically rose to her shoulder socket, the orange light from the barrel forming a translucent barrier. The light pattern collided with the blue beam with a sharp sound like a shattering crystal cup, and countless tiny rainbow-colored fragments flew in the darkness.
They’re rewriting our neural circuits! Amin suddenly screamed and jumped up. The purple-black slime seeping from the holes in his overalls’ knees unexpectedly condensed into the crystals of the word “moderation” in the blue light beam, like two ugly purple-black birthmarks. As soon as Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves were injected into the wrench, the profile of Su Mucheng engraved on the metal surface burst into a strong light like a welding torch, resonating with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm to form a spiral stream of light, like a DNA double helix burning in the darkness. The most shocking thing was that all the workers’ tools suddenly detached from their palms and floated. The wrenches, shovels, and even the rice spoons formed a precise resonance matrix, emitting a 143.8 Hz buzzing sound. The sound converged into the sound of the wings of thousands of troops, shaking the gravel on the top of the tunnel to fall.
The scanning beam was twisted into a twist in the resonance field, and the blue light stream was like syrup stirred by chopsticks. Chen Mo saw Su Mucheng’s brows locked into a tight knot. The orange light particles oozing from her forehead gathered into beads of sweat, dragging thin light trails in the air as they slid along her jawline, like meteors streaking through the dark night. Quickly use chaos waves to disrupt their neural frequencies! Her voice was like metal polished by sandpaper. The digital lattice of her forearm flickered in the beam, purple and black lines intertwined with the orange light to form a pattern like a venomous snake’s tongue, moving wildly under her skin. The old scavenger suddenly raised the chipped wrench and struck the ground, rust falling off. The rhythm of the knocks was perfectly synchronized with Chen Mo’s brain waves. The damp walls of the tunnel actually seeped out silvery-white resonant ripples, like stones dropped into water.
At that moment, the scanning tower’s beam suddenly surged tenfold, tinting the entire tunnel an icy blue. Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm burn like a branding iron. Light patterns on the crystal’s surface surged like raging waves, automatically forming the pattern of Su Mucheng’s gun model. The pencil lines were so detailed that even the cooling vents on the barrel were clearly visible. “My brother’s design!” Su Mucheng’s eyelashes fluttered violently, and the mark on her left earlobe erupted with a sun-like brilliance. The orange light from the Sun Devourer resonated with the crystal, forming a heart-shaped arrow of light, its tail trailing countless tiny heart-shaped patterns like a peacock’s feathers. The moment the arrow pierced the beam, all the code fragments screamed like shattering glass, transforming into thousands of luminous moths that vanished into the air.
Run! The scanning tower is about to overload! Ye Xiu’s holographic projection suddenly appeared, ripping through the beam. The Heavenly Secret Umbrella drew three golden arcs in mid-air, and tiny sparks burst from the crystals on the umbrella. As everyone scrambled and tumbled into the nearby ventilation duct, an earth-shattering explosion sounded behind them. The reinforced concrete at the top of the tunnel fell like a waterfall. Amin’s fire axe accidentally got stuck in a gap in the pipe. The boy’s face flushed with anxiety: “My precious axe! How can I beat the rhythm without it!” But the old scavenger pulled him into the narrow passage, the scorch marks on his torn straw hat still sizzling like a lit fuse.
The tunnel ended in an abandoned 1940s subway station, its mosaic tiles covered in radioactive green moss. Chen Mo, catching his breath on the rusted escalator, watched as the platform walls were spray-painted with slogans declaring “Talent Leveling is a Scam.” The red paint shone in the dim light like fresh blood, even dripping from the edges. Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly displayed a translucent holographic screen. Ye Xiu’s projection sat cross-legged on a pile of binary code. The crystals on the umbrella’s canopy clearly reflected the digitized lattice of her forearm—the purple and black lines had faded to a point where only her wrist remained. Newly grown skin glowed with the pink sheen of mother-of-pearl, and veins were faintly visible beneath.
Neural resonance waves will leave a mark of talent on the skin. Ye Xiu’s fingertips slid across the screen, calling up a set of X-ray scan images. Look at the back of the necks of these mediocre people, they all have similar digitized lines. Chen Mo moved closer to the screen and found that those gray-black lines were exactly the same as the lattice structure of Su Mucheng’s forearm, but like lace splashed with ink, it had lost its original luster. Amin suddenly lifted up the back of his collar, revealing a palm-sized gray-black mark, the edges of which were still spreading like ink drops into water: I didn’t have this when I took a shower yesterday! His voice was filled with tears, and his fingers trembled as he stroked the mark, as if touching a red-hot iron.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly sounded an alarm, its barrel pointed at the crack in the center of the platform. From there, a stream of black data condensed into Data Guards. Their bodies were composed of lead-gray characters like “stupid and dull,” and every step they took left a trail of green corrosion. Their energy spears dripped with venom, burning sizzling holes in the ground. These were mimics of the contaminated code! Chen Mo’s wrench resonated violently with the fragment of the Heart of Courage, and dynamic light patterns emerged on the metal surface. The image of Su Mucheng turning to block a bullet for him in the ruins of New York played in the light pattern, and the moment her tactical vest was burned through by the data stream was clearly visible.
The moment the data guard’s spear thrust forward, all the workers’ tools hummed simultaneously, like the first note of a symphony orchestra. The old scavenger’s wrench struck the prelude to a “Gun Concerto,” followed closely by Ah Ming’s fire axe, which struck the bass accompaniment, forming a staggered resonant wave that shook the dust from the platform ceiling like snowflakes. Chen Mo felt his chaotic brainwaves deeply connected to Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness, and countless fragments of memory came flooding back: Su Mucheng’s bony fingers trembling slightly as he pressed a model gun into his sister’s palm in the hospital ward; a petal of the orange cherry blossoms falling from the Tokyo shrine landed right in Su Mucheng’s hair; and the first time he resonated his wrench at the garbage dump, the rust splashing like golden rain.
Purify them with memory resonance! Su Mucheng’s voice exploded in his mind. Imagine the moment you most want to protect! Chen Mo closed his eyes, a vision of the Heart Seekers following him, tools in hand. The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat led the team, Amin’s fire axe gleaming in the sunlight. The glimmers from the tools converged into a flowing river of light. The fragment of the Heart of Courage suddenly erupted with a sun-like radiance, forming a perfect triangular resonance with the Wrench and the Sun Devourer. The released energy wave swept across the platform like a tsunami. Wherever the wave of light passed, the moss on the floor tiles instantly withered, revealing the word “Equality” engraved beneath.
The data guards screamed like electronic noise in the light waves. The discriminatory words that shaped their bodies melted like ice and snow, transforming into golden light particles of equal cooperation and dignity, like scattered dandelions. Chen Mo saw the mark on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe turn a warm tangerine color, and the new skin on her forearm shimmered in the light particles, like a layer of fine gold foil. The old scavenger trembled and touched the gray-black mark on the back of his neck. Tears suddenly welled up in his cloudy eyes: “My grandson’s mark… has faded! It’s melted like spring snow!” His voice choked, and his tattered straw hat was wet with tears of emotion.
The morning sun suddenly streamed in through the hole in the platform roof, countless tiny specks of light floating within the beam. Chen Mo, holding onto the escalator, looked up and saw the ground filled with mediocre people holding various tools. The innate marks on the backs of their necks rapidly faded in the sunlight, revealing healthy wheat-colored or fair skin. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically shrank into the form of a palm-sized pistol. Su Muqiu’s elegant signature pattern emerged on the barrel, the strokes still carrying the unique youthful exuberance. Ye Xiu’s projection became transparent in the sunlight, the Heavenly Secret Umbrella pointed in the direction of London, and golden light dripped from the umbrella tip: The Heart of Wisdom is in the pendulum of Big Ben. The contaminated code has set a language trap, and only truth can pass.
Amin suddenly pointed at the distant skyline and cheered: “Look! The scanning tower has collapsed!” Chen Mo looked in the direction he pointed and saw that the blue tower at the top of the city, a symbol of innate hegemony, was slowly collapsing. The code fragments splashed in the sky as it collapsed, forming a huge heart-shaped pattern. The sun shone through the center of the heart, forming a sacred halo. The old scavenger took off his tattered straw hat and waved it vigorously, revealing his shiny head that reflected the sunlight: “Let’s go! Go to London and smash those bullying rules!” His voice was hoarse but full of power, like a horn on the battlefield.
As everyone followed Chen Mo out of the subway station, the rising sun shone on the backs of their necks. The innate marks that once represented humiliation were transforming into tiny butterflies of light, each flying away, the word “freedom” etched on its wings. Chen Mo gripped the wrench tightly, feeling the warmth of Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface, intertwined with the heat of the fragments of the Heart of Courage, forming a warm current that flowed down his arm and into his heart. He knew that in the next stop, the London maze, the language traps would be as alluring as honey, but as long as they remembered the warmth of the sun at this moment, and remembered the tears of the old scavenger as the marks faded, the resonance of the Heart Seeker Alliance would never cease.
Su Mucheng suddenly stopped and pulled a silver whistle from the inside pocket of her tactical vest. The whistle was intricately engraved with the patterns of gun models. It was a birthday gift from Su Muqiu, hand-polished. She put the whistle to her lips and blew. The clear sound resonated perfectly with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, creating heart-shaped ripples across the city, like a pebble dropped into a lake. Miraculously, all the Heart Seekers’ tools vibrated simultaneously, their own timbre echoing the rallying cry. The clang of wrenches, the clang of shovels, the clink of spoons merged into a rough and powerful symphony. In the distant streets, more middle-class people, tool-wielding, ran toward them. In the sunlight, the butterflies of light fluttering from their necks gathered in ever-increasing numbers, like a grand migration, heading towards London.
My brother once said that glory depends on everyone working together. Su Mucheng’s voice was filled with a smile like morning dew, and the mark on her left earlobe shone like a perfectly cut gem in the sunlight, reflecting a rainbow of colors. Chen Mo looked at the newly formed skin on her forearm. There was no longer a digital lattice, only a shallow, chaotic orange scar, like a medal embroidered on her skin with gold and silver thread. Amin’s fire axe gleamed silver in the sunlight. The boy was already squatting on the ground practicing the rhythm of “London Bridge Is Falling Down.” Sparks splashed on his oil-stained trouser legs like a sprinkle of stars.
In the direction of London, the digital outline of Big Ben loomed through the clouds. The heart of wisdom hidden within the pendulum awaited their awakening with truth and courage. The Heartseekers’ Alliance grew stronger under the sunlight, the clash of tools merging into a passionate march. Each step treaded upon the ruins of innate hegemony, striking a resonant rhythm of mediocrity that resonated throughout the universe. Sunlight filtered through the dust they raised, casting long shadows on the ground. These shadows overlapped to form a vast heart-shaped pattern, writing a new legend on the ancient city streets.
Chapter 17: Debris Cleaning Workshop – Tool Modification (Old Version)
As Chen Mo followed Su Mucheng into the debris-clearing workshop, the rusted iron door creaked and groaned, and the stench of rust and ozone filled their faces like a physical presence. Sixty or so mediocre laborers hunched over, sorting through the fragments of demonic remains. Their washed-out overalls were caked with purple-black slime. The gray-black innate mark on the back of their necks shone faintly under the fluorescent light, like an ink-soaked birthmark. A-Ming suddenly grabbed Chen Mo’s sleeve, the blade of his fire axe reflecting the faint light from the iron frame. “Brother Chen, look! Those shovel blades are glowing!”
Dozens of modified shovels were stuck to the iron frame, their blades etched with the runic pattern of a mountain-collapsing strike. Every time a worker shoveled up a demonic corpse, the pattern lit up with pale blue arcs, like tiny lightning bolts dancing across the steel. An old scavenger, wearing fingerless gloves, fingertips rubbed a brass wrench, the scorch marks on the edge of his torn straw hat still barely healed: this wrench, embedded with a silver weapon fragment, had driven back three data aggregates last winter. He raised the wrench and tapped it lightly against the iron frame, the clang echoing with a metallic resonance that echoed through the workshop for a long time.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly beeped, its barrel automatically pointing toward the electromagnetic furnace in the center of the workshop. Within the furnace, a skill crystal the size of a pigeon egg was melting. Orange-red data streams surged through the molten iron like a river of burning magma, and every burst of bubbles released tiny stars of light. The energy from the polluted core could activate the weapon’s resonance. Ye Xiu’s holographic projection appeared out of thin air, the tip of his Heavenly Secret Umbrella lightly tapping the edge of the furnace. The splashing molten iron instantly solidified into coordinated and orderly light patterns, each character moving like a living thing.
Chen Mo placed the fragment of the Heart of Courage on the workbench, and the crystal immediately resonated with the wrench. The inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface suddenly lit up, as if someone were tracing lines on steel with a thin, burning wire, each line pulsating with his heartbeat. Ah Ming, unable to contain himself, grabbed a fire axe and chopped at the crystal fragments. The silver light from the axe blade flashed like a crescent moon, shattering the fragments into powder and forming a fleeting heart-shaped pattern in the air, attracting the amazement of the old scavenger nearby.
Suddenly, the alarm lights on the roof of the workshop began spinning wildly, the red light distorting everyone’s shadows. The warning light on Su Mucheng’s tactical vest beat like a heart, and the mark on her left earlobe glowed blood-orange: “It’s the Data Harvester’s acoustic positioning! Their prisms are scanning the brainwave spectrum!” Before she could finish her words, three green lasers burst through the window, sweeping a grid of positioning lines across the ground. The innate brand on the backs of all the workers’ necks instantly deepened, the gray-black lines spreading like ink.
Quickly use the crystals to strengthen your tools! Su Mucheng inserted a diamond-shaped crystal inscribed with “Armor-Piercing” into the Sun Devourer. A spiral of orange light immediately emerged from the barrel, as if a flaming fire serpent were hidden within. Chen Mo grabbed a crystal engraved with the Gunner’s insignia on the table and pressed it against the notch of the wrench. A brilliant burst of light, like a welding torch, erupted from the metal surface, forming a resonant field with the orange light from Su Mucheng’s earrings. Most shockingly, all the workers’ tools for transformation simultaneously levitated into the air. Shovel, wrench, and fire axe formed a precise triangular array, emitting a 143.8 Hz buzzing sound, like the fluttering of a thousand bees’ wings, rustling the workshop windows.
The Data Harvester’s bullets struck the resonance field like hail on a scorching iron plate, instantly melting into green molten iron. Chen Mo glimpsed Su Mucheng biting her lower lip. Orange particles of light seeping from her forehead gathered into beads of sweat, leaving a thin trail of light in the air as they slid down her jawline, like the trail of a meteor. Their rifles were connected to the pollution core! She growled, the digital lattice of her forearm flickering in the laser light. Purple and black lines climbed up her elbow like vines, each one twisting like a venomous snake’s tongue. Amin suddenly cried out in pain. The silver gleam of his fire axe’s blade was corroded by the green laser light, revealing the rusty axe underneath, as if licked by strong acid.
At the critical moment, Chen Mo snatched up the fragment of the Heart of Courage and hurled it at the furnace. The crystal erupted in the molten iron, a brilliant burst of sunlight. All the skill crystal fragments resonated simultaneously, and the concrete walls of the workshop began to ripple with silvery-white light, like a stone dropped into water. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically unfolded into cannon form. Su Muqiu’s design sketch emerged from the hexagonal barrel, its pencil lines still bearing traces of the boy’s revisions. It was her brother’s resonance matrix! Her eyelashes fluttered violently, and the mark on her left earlobe erupted with a blindingly bright light. The orange light resonated with the molten iron, forming a heart-shaped beam of light that pierced the roof.
The moment the beam of light pierced the workshop, sparks erupted from the Data Harvesters’ rifles, their green lasers twisting into twisted patterns. Chen Mo saw a Reaper’s mask crack, revealing a cybernetic eye flashing with codes of supreme talent. Within the beam of light, it transformed into countless luminous moths, their wings emblazoned with the word “equality.” The old scavenger trembled as he touched the marks on his wrench, tears welling in his cloudy eyes: “This old wrench of mine… just shattered a piece of the contaminated crystal lattice!”
Outside the workshop, the clatter of military boots approached like the beating of drums. Su Mucheng sheathed her Sun Devourer, and a translucent map popped up from her tactical vest. “Senior Ye Xiu said the heart of wisdom within the London maze lies within the pendulum of Big Ben. The contamination code has set a language trap.” Amin suddenly slammed his fire axe into the ground, the silver light of the blade forming the outline of a map of London. The light streaks of the Thames continued to flow slowly. “Follow me! I know which sewer is unblocked!”
As everyone followed Amin out of the workshop, moonlight shone on the tools—the runic patterns on the shovel blade, the silhouette of the wrench’s incisions, the silver edge of the fire axe—all glowed like countless small lanterns. Chen Mo gripped the resonance wrench tightly. Su Mucheng’s silhouette shone warmly on the metal surface, creating a current of warmth that flowed down his arm and into his heart. He saw three laborers at the alley ahead, hammering at the wall with their modified wrenches, their rhythm perfectly synced with his chaotic brainwaves.
Su Mucheng suddenly stopped and pulled out a silver whistle from the inside of her tactical vest. The whistle was intricately engraved with gun patterns, crafted by Su Muqiu from retired bullet casings. As the whistle rang out, its clear tone resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, sending heart-shaped ripples through the night sky. In the distant ruins, the lights of countless reconstruction tools lit up one after another. The blue glow of shovels, the golden glimmer of wrenches, the silver glitter of fire axes formed a galaxy, rushing towards them.
Before his death, his brother said, “The best weapon is the resolve of your companions.” Su Mucheng’s voice trembled slightly in the night breeze, and the mark on her left earlobe shone like mother-of-pearl in the moonlight. Chen Mo saw the new skin on her forearm glow a healthy pink. The purple-black lines that had once lingered had faded to her wrist, and beneath the new skin, veins of chaotic orange light faintly visible, like the most delicate embroidery. A-Ming had already been squatting on the ground, tapping out a rhythm. The sparks from the fire axe colliding with the ground left tiny scorch marks on the holes in his overalls.
In the direction of London, the digital outline of Big Ben loomed through the clouds. The heart of wisdom within the pendulum awaited them—using the resonance of their tools to break the trap of language, awakening the dormant code with sincere words. The Heartseeker Alliance’s ranks stretched out in the moonlight, the clash of tools merging into a march. Each step, treading on the ruins of the polluted crystal lattice, struck a resonant rhythm of the mediocrity, resonating through the night sky. As they turned the corner, the debris clearing workshop behind them suddenly erupted with a powerful light. All the tools they hadn’t taken away simultaneously rose into the air, forming a giant heart-shaped pattern on the roof, illuminating the team’s path.
Chapter 18: Sun Devourer Appears? Code Overflow (Old Version)
As the Heart Seekers entered the scrapyard of the London Labyrinth, dusk was tinting the rusted data pipes a dark purple, and the green code flowing along their walls resembled the fluttering wings of fireflies. The warning light on Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly flashed red, and the mark on her left earlobe glowed like a glowing coal. Three data guards stepped out from behind the rusted shipping container. Their bodies were composed of distorted garbled code, their faces constantly flashing the blood-red word “ERROR.” Their energy spears dripped fluorescent green data streams like melting neon tubes. The air was filled with the sweet, fishy smell of ozone and oxidized metal.
Be careful! Their shields are a condensation of verbal pollution! As soon as Chen Mo’s resonance wrench struck the ground, the inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface erupted with a bright light like a welding torch. Amin had already swung his fire axe at the nearest data guard, and silver-blue sparks erupted as the axe blade collided with the spear. Those flying sparks unexpectedly formed a fragmented musical score in the air, each note like a spark blown away by the wind. The old scavenger raised the wrench embedded with the silver weapon fragment and struck the rusty iron barrel. The clanging sound resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, forming a visible wall of sound waves, like a transparent curtain of water vibrating in the air.
The Data Guard’s spear pierced the sonic wall, sending ripples through the air like a stone dropped into water. Chen Mo glimpsed Su Mucheng biting her lower lip, her back teeth white from biting. Orange light particles seeping from her forehead gathered into beads of sweat, trailing thin trails in the air as they slid down her jawline, like the trail of a meteor. Her Sun Devourer suddenly lifted itself, and the code stream of the Gunner’s skill tree emerged from the barrel. The orange-red data streams slithered over the metal like living snakes, forming the trajectory diagram drawn by Su Mucheng. Between the pencil lines were traces of the boy’s annotations: “Add a right-hand arc here.” “Brother’s armor-piercing algorithm!” She growled and pulled the trigger. The orange bullet blazed in a spiral pattern, its tail flame trailing a heart-shaped path, accurately colliding with the Data Guard’s spear.
The moment the bullets impacted, the data guard’s body shimmered like an old television, its garbled torso cracking like a spiderweb. Amin seized the opportunity to strike his knee with a fire axe. The axe blade flashed with a crescent-like silver light, shattering the garbled leg into dust. Most remarkable of all, the splattered code fragments coalesced into a heart-shaped pattern on the ground, each stroke like a highlighter, its center dotted with Su Muqiu’s signature sketch of a gun. The old scavenger’s wrench repeatedly tapped the ground, its rhythm perfectly synced with Chen Mo’s brainwaves. The metal walls of the maze emanated a silvery-white resonant ripple, spreading like a stone dropped into water.
Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the central data pipeline, and rust peeled away like a waterfall. Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage warm in his palm. Light patterns on the crystal’s surface surged like a raging sea, automatically arranging themselves into the score of Su Mucheng’s unfinished Gun Concerto. The yellowed paper still bore ink splattered by the boy’s cough. “Use resonant frequency to break the language trap!” Su Mucheng’s voice boomed in his mind, a metallic tremor. Her Sun Devourer transformed into cannon form. As the hexagonal barrel unfolded, each side reflected the silhouette of a young man writing music on his hospital bed. The IV tube refracted rainbow-colored light in the sunlight. As the orange light resonated with the wrench, the bodies of all the data guards disintegrated simultaneously, transforming into golden particles of light that collaborated equally and dispersed like dandelions.
Look there! Amin pointed his fire axe at the spot where the data guard had disappeared. The holes in his overalls’ knees were still oozing purple-black slime, but pale blue streaks of light had already appeared on the ground, forming an incomplete staff, with water stains resembling tear marks on the notes. As soon as Chen Mo’s resonance wrench touched the streak of light, a strong light burst out from the metal surface, forming a resonance field with the orange light of Su Mucheng’s earrings, like a pair of intertwined dragon and phoenix bracelets. The floating notes suddenly lit up—red for courage, like a beating heart; blue for wisdom, like the deep ocean; orange for hope, like the rising sun, weaving into a glowing soundtrack in the maze, playing a variation of “London Bridge Is Falling Down.” The old scavenger suddenly choked up, his Adam’s apple rolling violently under his torn straw hat: This tune… is the same rhythm as the lullaby my grandson hummed in the nursery!
When the final note was activated, the walls of the maze collapsed like dominoes, revealing the Heart of Wisdom suspended in its center. A deep sapphire blue, the notes of “Londonderry Tune” flowed across its surface, each like crystal bathed in moonlight, their gentle clash emitting a clear chime-like sound, its echoing echoing through the air. A transparent protective shield surrounded the core, its walls engraved with a model of Su Muqiu’s gun, the muzzle pointed at Chen Mo’s wrench, the trigger still etched with the indentation of the boy’s fingerprint.
It’s the Heart of Wisdom! Su Mucheng’s tactical vest erupted with a powerful light, like a spotlight. The purple-black lines on the digital lattice of her forearm faded to her wrist, and the newly grown skin shone with the luster of mother-of-pearl, with blood vessels faintly visible beneath the skin. As her fingertips touched the protective shield, the maze suddenly trembled violently, and the metal floor rippled like waves. Countless data guards surged in from all directions, their bodies clearly emblazoned with the black words “Talent Supremacy”. The spears in their hands were condensed with tar-like contaminated code, emitting the stench of corrupted electronic components.
Protect the core! Chen Mo plunged his wrench into the ground, and an orange barrier unfolded like an umbrella. However, black smoke billowed out as it came into contact with the contaminated code, accompanied by a sizzling, corrosive sound. The resonant waves from Amin’s fire axe were absorbed by the guards, causing their eyes to glow red and their spears to swing wildly. The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly shone silver, and Su Mucheng’s signature pattern of light appeared on the blade. It was written in the boy’s unique cursive style, with a playful little tail at the end: Resonate with memories! He shouted and struck the ground, and the rhythm evoked Chen Mo’s memory – when Su Mucheng blocked a bullet for him in the ruins of New York, the moment his tactical vest was burned through by the data stream, revealing a white T-shirt with his brother’s portrait printed on it.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly jammed, and a stream of purple data seeped from the barrel, like a bleeding wound. Chen Mo watched as the cracks in the crystal lattice of her forearm widened, and blood oozed from beneath her digitized skin, dazzling like rubies in the dim light. It dripped down the barrel of the gun and onto the ground, unexpectedly forming heart-shaped beads of blood. He suddenly pressed the fragment of the Heart of Courage against the core, and the old wound on his palm simultaneously split open. Two streams of blood dripped onto the surface of the crystal. A crisscross of red and blue light erupted like a volcanic eruption. The core emanated the complete melody of “Gun Concerto,” each note transforming into an arrow of light that shot towards the data guard, its tails trailing the afterimages of the guns and cannons drawn by Su Mucheng.
The contaminated code melted like ice and snow to the music, and the Data Guard’s body disintegrated into the golden words “We Are All” that formed a giant dove of peace in the air. As the final note fell, the heart core erupted with a soft glow, and Su Muqiu’s image emerged from it. She was dressed in a clean hospital gown, clutching an unfinished model of a gun, a gentle smile on her lips. “Mucheng, the image’s voice carries an electrical hum, like the rustling of an old radio. The concerto’s finale requires a perfect resonance of chaos and orange light, just like you and Chen Mo.” With that, she transformed into thousands of light butterflies and merged into her forearm. The purple and black lines vanished completely, replaced by a pattern of musical notes composed of orange light, forming the main melody of the “Gun Concerto.”
The Heart of Wisdom split in two. One, a deep-sea blue, embedded itself in Chen Mo’s wrench, a new light pattern of heart resonance appearing beside Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface. Another, a moonlight-like silver, merged with Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer, a warm orange glow appearing beside Su Muqiu’s signature on the barrel. Amin’s fire axe chimed crisply, and the blade automatically engraved the final note of “Londonderry Tune,” perfectly filling the missing beat in the old scavenger’s grandson’s lullaby. The top of the maze cracked, revealing the London night sky—Big Ben’s hands stopped at 2:38 PM, the numerals on the clock face composed of countless silvery-white dots. Countless dots of light floated on the digitized waves of the Thames, like scattered stardust, each softly humming a fragment of the concerto.
Next stop, Paris. Su Mucheng caressed the musical note mark on her forearm. The mark on her left earlobe returned to a warm orange, like a beating sun. Chen Mo gripped the resonance wrench tightly, feeling the resonance between his heart core and the mark. It was a frequency warmer than 143.8 Hz, like a mother’s heartbeat. The old scavenger smiled beneath his tattered straw hat, his profile, half missing an ear, glowing red in the moonlight. He pulled out a polished tin cigarette case, tucked inside with a photo of his grandson: “I need to send a message to the kid, saying that Grandpa has become a musical hero too!”
As the Heartseekers entered the portal, the sounds of wrenches, sun devourers, and fire axes hummed simultaneously. The three frequencies intertwined into a network, forming the alliance’s emblem on the portal’s surface—a wrench crossed with a gun, surrounded by countless pulsating heart-shaped patterns of light. Chen Mo looked back. On the wall of the London maze, the Heartseekers’ logo slowly illuminated in the dim light, like a budding seed, its roots deep in the ruins of polluted code, its branches and leaves growing towards the digital sky. And beneath the virtual Eiffel Tower in Paris, a sacrificial heart awaited their awakening with courage and love. Did the night wind there also hum an unfinished concerto?
Chapter 19: Spectrometry? Talent Discrimination (Old Edition)
The digitalized outline of the Eiffel Tower drifted in the twilight. The dark purple contamination entwined its body like a venomous snake, each line oozing with binary characters of the supremacy of talent. Chen Mo’s resonance wrench suddenly grew hot. The blue light of the Heart of Wisdom and the fragments of the Heart of Courage embedded in its metal surface rippled, spiraling like the double helix of DNA, scorching his palms and drawing beads of sweat. Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly erupted in red light. The mark on her left earlobe shone like a burning orange, and the musical note pattern of orange light on her forearm rippled like a stone dropped into water—the sound of the Data Guard’s boots, tapping out a dangerous rhythm like Morse code on the metal plank road.
It’s a talent-determining bullet! Dodge! The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was grazed by the green beam, its brim instantly charred and curled, like a scrap of paper licked by a tongue of fire. Chen Mo looked up and saw three data harvesters pouring out of the tower’s base. Their rifle prisms flashed a cold, dim light, and the beams from their muzzles swept a grid of positioning lines across the ground, each ray like a taut steel wire. Amin’s fire axe suddenly trembled violently, and the axe blade reflected the talent mark on the back of his neck—the gray-black lines darkened dramatically in the beam, like ink smearing on rice paper. The boy subconsciously covered the back of his neck, and the purple-black slime seeping from the holes in his overalls’ knees dripped onto the ground, unexpectedly condensing into the crystal of the word “moderation.”
Use chaotic brainwaves to interfere with the spectrum! Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically switched to sniper mode, and the barrel of the gun showed the ballistic calculation diagram drawn by Su Muqiu himself, with the wind correction +2.7 marked between the pencil lines. The moment she pulled the trigger, the orange bullet penetrated the light beam, drawing a perfect heart-shaped trajectory in the air, the tail flame dragging tiny stars of light. But the reaper’s prism suddenly split into a hexagram, decomposing the bullet’s spectrum into 16 colors of light, each corresponding to a light band of talent level such as Tianzong Shengjue, like a sharp prism cutting through a rainbow. The old scavenger raised the wrench embedded with the silver weapon fragment and slammed it on the ground. The clanging sound resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, forming a wall of sound waves that distorted the spectrum, like a transparent water curtain vibrating in the air, stirring the decomposed colors into chaotic spots of light.
The Data Harvester’s rifle suddenly erupted with blinding light, and the red garbled word “ERROR” appeared on the prism’s surface. Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm burn like a branding iron. The light patterns on the crystal’s surface surged like a raging sea, automatically arranging themselves into the spectral disruptor design drawn by Su Mucheng. Tea stains still lingered on the edge of the blueprint from the boy’s cough. “My brother said that chaotic spectrum can break any discriminatory algorithm!” Su Mucheng’s voice boomed in his mind with a metallic tremor. Her Sun Devourer transformed into cannon form. As the hexagonal barrels unfolded, each side reflected the silhouette of a young man debugging a spectrometer in the laboratory, his white coat cuffs stained with blue reagent. As the orange light resonated with the wrench, the spectra of all the judgment bullets simultaneously became chaotic, and the green beams twisted into a knot like a ball of tangled wool.
Look, their prisms are shattered! Amin roared and swung his fire axe at the beam. The silver light from the axe blade flashed like a crescent moon, shattering the chaotic spectrum into dust. Chen Mo glimpsed a reaper’s mask cracked, revealing electronic eyes flashing with the code of supreme talent, but in the chaotic spectrum, they transformed into thousands of glowing moths, each with the word “equality” printed on its wings. The most amazing thing was that the broken fragments of the spectrum gathered into a heart-shaped pattern on the ground, and the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple light particles intertwined like an overturned palette. The old scavenger’s wrench repeatedly struck the ground, the rhythm of the sound perfectly synchronized with Chen Mo’s brainwaves. The pollution code of the Eiffel Tower actually seeped out a silvery-white resonant ripple, like a lightning bolt splitting the inky night sky.
Suddenly, a powerful burst of light erupted from the vortex of pollution at the top of the tower, and deep purple data streams erupted like a volcanic eruption. Chen Mo felt the blue light of the Heart of Wisdom resonate violently with the fragments of the Heart of Courage. Su Mucheng’s unfinished manuscript of the Spectral Equality Agreement emerged from the metal surface of the resonance wrench, a dried cherry blossom petal wedged between the pen marks. “Resonate with the True Spectrum!” Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically pointed at the vortex. The orange data stream from the barrel intertwined with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, forming a rainbow-colored beam of light. Countless faces emerged within the beam—the calloused hands of mediocre laborers, the innocent smiles of highly gifted children. The moment the beam of light pierced the vortex, all the contaminated code disintegrated into golden particles that shared our common identity. In the night sky, it formed the wings of a dove of peace, its wings gleaming with the word “equality” in various languages.
The core is at the top of the tower! The old scavenger pointed to the place where the vortex dissipated, his wrinkled fingers trembling, and tears welled up in his eyes under his torn straw hat. There, a pale blue light trace emerged, forming the score of the final movement of the Gun Concerto drawn by Su Mucheng. The staff still had eraser marks from the boy’s revisions. As soon as Chen Mo’s resonance wrench touched the light trace, a strong light burst out from the metal surface, forming a resonance field with the orange light of Su Mucheng’s earrings, like a pair of intertwined dragon and phoenix bracelets. Those floating notes suddenly lit up – red like a beating heart represents courage, blue like the deep ocean represents wisdom, and orange like the rising sun represents hope, weaving into a glowing soundtrack in the hollow of the iron tower, playing variations of the “Marseillaise”. Amin suddenly choked up, and half a compressed biscuit fell out of his overalls pocket: This tune… is the same rhythm as the “Marseillaise” that I heard my teacher play in the orphanage!
When the final note was activated, the Eiffel Tower’s pollution code collapsed like a domino, revealing the suspended Sacrificial Heart at its center. It glowed a fiery red, and notes from the Internationale flowed across its surface, each one like a burning coal, their gentle impact creating a clear chime-like sound, the lingering echo echoing through the tower. A transparent protective shield surrounded the core, its walls engraved with a model of Su Muqiu’s gun, the muzzle pointed at Chen Mo’s wrench. The trigger still bore the calluses of a young man’s long grip, even the lines of his fingerprints were clearly visible.
It’s the spirit of sacrifice! Su Mucheng’s tactical vest erupted with a powerful light, like a spotlight. The musical note pattern on her forearm glowed warmly, like a fireplace on a winter’s day. As her fingertips touched the protective shield, the Eiffel Tower suddenly trembled violently, its metal structure groaning and creaking. Countless data guards surged in from all directions, their bodies clearly emblazoned with the black words “Genius Must Sacrifice Mediocrity.” The spears in their hands were condensed with tar-like contaminated code, emitting the stench of corrupted electronic components.
Purify them with memory resonance! Chen Mo roared, stabbing his wrench into the ground. An orange barrier unfolded like an umbrella, but black smoke erupted as it came into contact with the contaminated code, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound like sulfuric acid dripping onto iron. The resonant waves from Amin’s fire axe were absorbed by the guards, causing their eyes to glow red and wielding their spears even more frantically, their tips slicing through the air with a whirring sound. The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly shone silver, and Su Mucheng’s signature pattern emerged on the blade, written in the boy’s unique cursive style, with a playful tail at the end: “Think of those who need protection!” He shouted, tapping the ground, the rhythmic sound awakening Chen Mo’s memories—of Su Mucheng shielding him from bullets in the ruins of New York, her tactical vest burned through by the data stream, revealing a white T-shirt with her brother’s portrait underneath; of her gazing at the cherry blossoms at the Tokyo shrine, the dewdrops on her eyelashes reflecting rainbows in the sunlight.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly made a strange noise, and a stream of purple data seeped from the barrel, like a bleeding wound. Chen Mo saw cracks appear on the musical note pattern on her forearm. Blood seeped from beneath the digitized skin, dazzling like rubies in the dim light. It dripped down the barrel of the gun and onto the ground, unexpectedly forming a heart-shaped bead of blood. He suddenly pressed the Heart of Courage and the Heart of Wisdom simultaneously against the heart core. The old wound in his palm also burst open, and two streams of blood dripped onto the surface of the crystal. A crisscross of red and blue light erupted like a volcanic eruption. The heart core emitted the final melody of the “Gun Concerto”. Each note turned into an arrow of light and shot towards the data guard. The tail of the arrow dragged the afterimage of Su Mucheng’s smile. The young man’s white coat rustled in the light arrows.
The contaminated code melted like ice and snow to the music. The data guard’s body disintegrated into the golden words “Collaboration is Glory,” forming a giant dove of peace in the air, its wings flapping as they scattered countless particles of light. As the last note fell, the heart core erupted with a soft glow, and the image of Su Muqiu emerged from it. She was wearing a clean white coat, holding a completed gun model in her hands, a gentle smile on her lips. “Mucheng, the image’s voice had an electrical hum, like the rustling of an old radio. Sacrifice is not loss, but the resonance of love, just like you and Chen Mo.” With that, she transformed into thousands of light butterflies that merged into her forearm. The musical note patterns completely transformed into an eternal orange light, forming a beating heart beneath her skin, each beat radiating a warm glow.
The Sacrifice Heart split in two. One, a fiery red, embedded itself in Chen Mo’s wrench. A new light pattern, resonating with the heart’s core, appeared next to Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface, like a warm halo. Another, a pink like a sunset glow, merged with Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer. A warm red glow appeared on the barrel next to Su Muqiu’s signature, like a healing scar. A Ming’s fire axe chimed crisply, and the blade automatically engraved the final note of “The Internationale,” perfectly filling the missing beat in the old scavenger’s memory. The light pattern on the axe flickered faintly with his heartbeat. The top of the Eiffel Tower cracked, revealing the real night sky—the Eiffel Tower’s digital lights returned to full brightness, illuminating the Seine with golden light. Countless points of light drifted on the river, like scattered stardust, each one softly humming the final movement of a concerto.
Next stop, Berlin. Su Mucheng stroked the beating heart pattern on her forearm, and the mark on her left earlobe returned to a warm orange, like a small sun next to her ear. Chen Mo gripped the resonance wrench tightly, feeling the resonance between the two heart cores and the engraving. It was a frequency warmer than 143.8 Hz, like the hearts of millions of people beating simultaneously, shaking his chest numb. The old scavenger smiled under his tattered straw hat, his profile, with half an ear missing, glowing red in the moonlight. He pulled a photo of his grandson from the tin cigarette case and tapped the edge of the photo with the wrench: My son, grandpa is going to knock down this wall of talent discrimination for you! Look at the light from this heart core, it’s brighter than the colorful lights in the nursery!
As the Heart Seekers entered the portal, the Wrenches, Sun Devourers, and Fire Axes simultaneously beeped. The three frequencies intertwined into a network, forming the Alliance’s emblem on the portal’s surface—a wrench crossed with a gun, surrounded by countless pulsating heart-shaped patterns of light. At its center was Su Mucheng’s gun model, its muzzle trained on the light track ahead. Chen Mo looked back. On the wall of the Eiffel Tower, the Heart Seekers’ logo slowly illuminated in the dim light, like a budding seed, its roots deep within the ruins of polluted code, its branches and leaves growing toward the digital sky, each leaf gleaming with orange light. Beneath the ruins of Berlin’s virtual wall, the last Heart Core awaited their awakening with unity and hope. Did the night wind there also hum the final chapter of glory? As the portal’s light engulfed them, Chen Mo heard Su Mucheng whisper, “Brother, we’re almost there.” And in the air, the faint sound of a piano, playing the lingering notes of the “Guns Concerto,” seemed to fill the air.
Chapter 20: The Sanren Maze? The Umbrella Shadow Appears (Old Version)
The moment he entered the Sanren maze, Chen Mo’s resonance wrench suddenly heated up, and the three heart-core patterns on the metal surface moved like living creatures. Fragments of game code floated in the humid air, each reflecting the skill runes of each class in “The King’s Avatar,” forming a flowing galaxy in the dim light. Su Mucheng’s tactical vest erupted with blue light, the mark on her left earlobe shone like a cold star, and the heart pattern on her forearm rippled. Deep in the maze, the soft clink of umbrella ribs rang out, like someone strumming a harp in the darkness.
It’s Senior Ye Xiu’s Heavenly Secret Umbrella! Ah Ming’s fire axe struck the ground, sending sparks illuminating the rusted iron door. The door was engraved with the Sanren logo, a pattern of crossed wrenches and staffs now mottled with dark green patina. The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the draft, revealing his profile, half of his ear missing: “This place feels just like the underground tunnels back home, only with more glowing bugs.” He was referring to the floating, skill-based light butterflies, each wing emblazoned with the words “Falling Flower Palm, Subduing Dragon, Soaring to the Sky.”
Runes suddenly lit up the maze walls. Chen Mo saw the light patterns of Su Mucheng’s gun models spreading through the cracks in the brickwork. The boy’s pencil markings of “Sanren Kexue” still bore eraser marks. His brother said Sanren was the resonance of all classes. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically raised, and the code stream of the Sanren skill tree emerged from the barrel. The orange-red light patterns climbed like vines, forming the transformation diagram of Ye Xiu’s Thousand Machine Umbrella.
Suddenly, a sound of metal scraping could be heard around the corner ahead. Three data guards emerged from the shadows, their bodies composed of garbled code, the word “ERROR” flashing across their faces. Energy spears in their hands dripped with fluorescent green data streams. Amin’s fire axe struck first, and silver-blue sparks erupted as the axe blade and spear collided. Those flying sparks unexpectedly formed into a fragmented combo of unrelated skills in the air. The old scavenger’s wrench struck the ground, and the buzzing sound resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, forming a sonic wall of distorted light.
The data guard’s spear pierced the sonic wall, sending ripples through it. Chen Mo caught a glimpse of Su Mucheng biting her lower lip. Orange light particles seeping from her forehead gathered into beads of sweat, leaving light trails in the air as they slid down her jawline. Her Sun Devourer switched to its freestyle form, its barrels unfolding into umbrella-like shields. A tactical note, modified by Ye Xiu, appeared on its surface: “Remember to leave three-point flexibility when defending.” As the orange light resonated with the wrench, all the guards’ bodies disintegrated simultaneously, transforming into particles of light coordinated by all classes.
Look at the light patterns on the ground! The old scavenger pointed to the spot where the data guard had dissipated. Light blue skill tracks emerged on the blue bricks, forming a combo diagram of the eight styles of the Sanren. As soon as Chen Mo’s resonance wrench touched the light pattern, a strong light burst out from the metal surface, forming a resonance field with the orange light of Su Mucheng’s earrings. The floating runes suddenly lit up. The red one was the battle mage’s dazzling pattern, the blue one was the swordsman’s lightsaber, and the orange one was the gunner’s grenade, weaving into a glowing skill network in the maze. A Ming suddenly whistled: This combo… is exactly the same as the one used by Senior Ye Xiu during the live broadcast!
When the final rune was activated, the maze’s walls collapsed like dominoes, revealing the Tactical Heart suspended in its center. A deep black, its surface was adorned with skill icons for all the classes in The King’s Avatar. Each one resembled a crystal soaked in ink, emitting a clear chime-like sound when they collided. A transparent protective shield surrounded the core, its walls etched with the silhouette of Ye Xiu, his umbrella pointed at Chen Mo’s wrench, his fingerprints still visible on the surface as he wiped it.
It’s the Heart of Tactics! Su Mucheng’s tactical vest erupted with a powerful light, and the heart pattern on her forearm glowed a warm orange. As her fingertips touched the protective shield, the maze suddenly trembled violently. Countless data guards surged in from all directions, their bodies clearly marked with the black words of occupational discrimination, and the spears in their hands were condensed with tar-like contaminated code.
Use all-class resonance! Chen Mo plunged his wrench into the ground, and an orange barrier unfolded like an umbrella, though black smoke erupted as it came into contact with the contaminated code. The resonant waves from Amin’s fire axe were absorbed by the guards, only to intensify their fury. The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly blazed with silver light, and Ye Xiu’s signature pattern emerged on the blade: “Think of the glory of every class!” He shouted, striking the ground. The rhythm evoked Chen Mo’s memory—of Ye Xiu polishing the Tianji Umbrella at the relay station, and the smiling faces of the various class players reflected in the crystals of the umbrella.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer suddenly jammed, and a stream of purple data seeped from the barrel. Chen Mo saw the cracks in the heart pattern on her forearm widen, and blood seeped from beneath her digitized skin, dazzling like rubies in the dim light. He suddenly pressed the four heart cores against the heart core simultaneously. Five intertwined energy beams erupted like a volcanic eruption. The heart cores emitted the melody of the theme song from “The King’s Avatar”, each note transforming into an arrow of light that shot towards the data guards, the tails of the arrows trailing the afterimages of the professional players.
The contaminated code melted like ice and snow to the music, and the Data Guard’s body disintegrated into the golden words “Glorious Equality.” As the final note fell, the Heart Core erupted with a soft glow, and Ye Xiu’s image emerged from it, cigarette in hand, his Heavenly Secret Umbrella twirling between his fingers. “Not bad, boys!” The image’s voice was filled with laughter. “Remember the true meaning of being a casual player—it’s not about being all-powerful, but about understanding the value of each class.” With that, it transformed into a butterfly of light and merged into Chen Mo’s wrench. The Heart Core’s light patterns completely transformed into an eternal rainbow, forming a pattern resonating across all classes on the metal surface.
The Tactical Heart split in two. One, a jet-black jade, embedded itself in Chen Mo’s wrench, its metal surface newly adorned with light patterns representing all class skills. Another, the indigo-hued night sky, merged with Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer. A tactical halo appeared on the barrel next to Ye Xiu’s signature. A clear chime echoed from Amin’s fire axe, its blade automatically engraved with the Sanren symbol, and the handle gleamed with the faint glow of Ye Xiu’s umbrella. The maze’s roof split open, revealing the London night sky—Big Ben’s digital hands pointed to 2:38 PM. Countless light butterflies drifted on the Thames, each bearing the icon of a different class.
Next stop, the final battlefield. Su Mucheng caressed the heart pattern on her forearm, the mark on her left earlobe returning to a warm orange. Chen Mo gripped the resonance wrench, feeling the resonance of the five heart cores and the engravings. It was a frequency more harmonious than 143.8 Hz, like the combined heartbeats of all the professional players. The old scavenger smiled beneath his tattered straw hat, his profile, half missing an ear, glowing red in the moonlight. He tapped the ground with his wrench, creating a rhythmic prelude to the theme song from “The King’s Avatar.”
As the Heartseekers entered the portal, the Wrenches, Sun Devourers, and Fire Axes simultaneously chimed. Five frequencies intertwined into a web, forming the final Alliance emblem on the portal’s surface—the Sanren symbol at its center, surrounded by the heart-core patterns of all classes. Chen Mo looked back. On the wall of the Sanren maze, the Heartseekers’ symbol slowly illuminated in the dim light, like a budding seed, its roots deep within the ruins of polluted code, its branches and leaves growing toward the digital sky. And at the heart of the final battlefield, the Abyss Gazer awaited their purification with the glory of all classes. Was the night breeze there also humming the theme song from “The King’s Avatar”?
Chapter 21 Brain Wave Map? Orange Light Gradually Warms (Old Version)
Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves exploded into a dazzling nebula on the three-dimensional projection of the medical-grade EEG monitor—128 unidentified waveforms swirled like living coral, the indigo beta wave curve suddenly rippled, drawing crooked spots of light across the screen. As Su Mucheng’s fingertips brushed the edge of the projection, the spots of light gathered like a school of startled fish, automatically forming the shape of a wrench’s notch. The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat brushed against the instrument’s heat vent, startling a flock of light butterflies condensed from EEG data. Each wing reflected the entangled trajectory of Chen Mo’s brainwaves and her own stream of consciousness. The light dots cast by the flapping wings formed a miniature heart-shaped pattern on the ground.
Look at this phase difference! Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly glowed with a rippled orange light, and the mark on her left earlobe melted from silver to warm orange at a visible speed, like a piece of citrus candy melted by the sun. Her fingertips touched the sweet garbled code of the beta wave curve, and the trembling light patterns suddenly surged, corresponding to the sudden burst of dazzling orange light from the resonant wrench in the corner of the laboratory. The inscription of Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface pulsated like a living thing. Amin’s fire axe slammed to the ground, and the boy pointed at the screen with wide eyes: “This ripple is exactly like the reflection of the mandarin ducks embracing in the pond in my hometown!” Before he finished speaking, the light reflected from the axe blade happened to illuminate the wrench mark, and the wall was immediately projected with the dynamic light pattern of Su Mucheng holding the gun and spinning, even the orange light particles ejected from the barrel were clearly visible.
Dataspace suddenly trembled like a lake to which a stone had been dropped. Fragments of memories of the ruins of New York emerged from the center of Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves—as Su Mucheng constructed a light cocoon for him, the holes in his tactical vest, burned by the data stream, were oozing orange light. Even more astonishingly, Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm suddenly lit up with a silvery lattice. The orange light filtering through the purple cracks resonated with the wrench marks, as if someone had woven a spiderweb of fiber optics between them. Ye Xiu’s holographic projection suddenly ripped through space and appeared, the tip of the Tianji umbrella still dripping with light particles: the resonance intensity exceeded the predicted threshold by 17%. His projected finger swiped across the screen, and the umbrella’s crystal reflected a three-dimensional model of the two people’s entangled brainwaves, like two strings tuned to the same cosmic frequency.
The contaminated code, composed of the characters “Talent Supremacy,” suddenly crashed against the barrier like a tide. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer beeped simultaneously, their two energies intertwining in the air to form a translucent heart-shaped shield of light. Each line resonated with past emotions: how the pink petals in her hair were dried by the orange light amidst the falling cherry blossoms at the Tokyo shrine; how the notes struck by his wrench harmonized with the crackle of her gunfire in the London maze. The old scavenger suddenly raised the chipped wrench and smashed it to the ground. The rust falling in perfect sync with Chen Mo’s heartbeat. Su Mucheng’s pencil drawing of a gun model emerged from the shield, even the cooling vents on the barrel clearly visible.
They’re analyzing our emotional memory bank! Su Mucheng suddenly exclaimed, the heart-shaped aiming frame automatically generated by the rifle’s crosshairs flickering violently. The orange light bullet, which should have shot in a straight line, instead curved gently in the air. Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm burn like a branding iron. The light patterns on the crystal surface flickered with the rhythm of her breathing, and those light particles formed a silhouette of her lips pursed slightly before each shot. Most shockingly, all the workers’ modification tools outside the laboratory suddenly trembled collectively. Shovels, wrenches, and rice spoons formed a huge brain wave map on the ground, each stroke composed of countless warm orange light points, as if someone had written an unfinished poem with starlight.
Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly fragmented into countless data streams. “Lock the resonance phase difference to π/4!” His voice echoed through the rain of light, and the Tianji Umbrella transformed into a stream of silver light, piercing the wrench notch. The pattern of the ribs opening and closing immediately appeared on the metal surface. When Chen Mo’s chaotic waves resonated with Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness at this angle, the contaminated code melted like morning frost in the sunlight, revealing the underlying, luminous primitive protocol—those characters composed of 0s and 1s, automatically arranging themselves into the Chinese characters for “Cooperation is the law.” And on Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm, a new vein of orange light spread along the ulna, like new blood vessels pulsating beneath the skin.
The alarm light suddenly turned from scarlet to a soft, warm orange. On the medical device screen, Su Mucheng’s digitization percentage dropped like the tide, and beneath her newly grown skin, capillaries intertwined with chaotic blue and orange light could be seen. Chen Mo tentatively touched the wrench mark; the temperature of the metal surface was surprisingly identical to her forearm’s body temperature. The old scavenger used his rough fingertips to touch the fading mark of his talent on the back of his neck. His eyes suddenly moistened beneath his tattered straw hat. “Will my grandson have such a beautiful light butterfly when he gets his EEG?” He had barely finished speaking when a light butterfly landed on the charred edge of his hat, its wings reflecting the family portrait his grandson had drawn at the nursery.
At the end of the data space, the Glory Code flowed slowly like a galaxy. Chen Mo and Su Mucheng’s brainwave patterns floated within, like two intertwined strands of DNA—his chaotic waves forming the skeleton, her orange light streams the veins. When they simultaneously extended their hands, the two energies converged not into weapons but into a strange instrument capable of simultaneously playing the concerto of gunfire and the beat of chaotic drums. The light particles released by the vibrating strings inscribed a resonant frequency of 143.8Hz in the void. Ye Xiu’s projection coalesced for the final time, the umbrella tip leaving an eternal mark on their palms. It was the ultimate form of the heart-shaped light pattern, the final form of the fading innate mark on the back of the necks of all mediocre people.
As they emerged from the monitoring room, the morning light over Lujiazui was piercing the cloud of data pollution. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle resonated with a clear chord, the two frequencies blending to form a chord that spread like ripples. Heartseekers along the street raised their tools to echo. The rhythm of the shovels and wrenches carved an ever-expanding brainwave pattern into the ground, each ripple recording the warmth of chaos and orange light. Behind them, on the medical monitor’s screen, the beta wave curve representing sweet garbled code was transforming into a never-fading band of warm orange light, outlining the truest form of glory in the dome of data space—not a hierarchy of talent, but the light of humanity blooming in the resonance of two consciousnesses.
Chapter 22: Data Cage? Hierarchical Reality (Old Edition)
When Chen Mo used a wrench to pry open the rusty vent cover, the rust peeled off like red snow. A few pieces happened to fall on the holographic arch of the street in the Halo District below, and were instantly evaporated into purple mist by the glow of the energy bracelet on the wrist of the highly talented person.
Su Mucheng suddenly tugged at his sleeve. The red light of her tactical vest twitched like a dying heart, and the mark on her left earlobe glowed a burning orange. “Look at the power grid in the southwest corner—those nanobots are injecting beta-wave suppressants into the mediocre.” Look at that laborer in blue overalls, the innate mark on the back of his neck is fading! The digital lattice of her forearm rippled, and the orange light filtering through the cracks resonated with the distant blue power grid of the data prison, like the overtones of a vibrating guitar string, casting flickering spots of light on the inner wall of the ventilation duct, which flickered in and out with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
The runes on the pipe are moving! Amin’s fire axe suddenly flew out of his hand and hovered, its blade reflecting the strange transformations of the silver pipe in the air. The skill runes from “The King’s Avatar” engraved on the pipe wall twisted like living things. The light pattern that originally represented the dragon raising its head gradually collapsed into the shape of a syringe, and each line emitted a subtle electronic buzzing as it contracted, like the flutter of a mosquito’s wings. The old scavenger struck the ventilation pipe with a chipped wrench. The clanging sound resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves, forming sonic ripples and stirring circular vibrations on the metal pipe wall: “This is the same sound as the water pipe in my hometown mine, only with more running light bugs.” Do you listen to this echo? Does it sound like the signal used by rescuers in a mine disaster? Three short and one long beeps are the distress code we coal miners agree on.
Before he could finish his words, a girl wearing a three-star halo medal walked by. The halo floating in her hair suddenly expanded into a force field, knocking three laborers carrying energy paste to the ground. The gray-green paste splashed with code sparks when it hit the ground, burning tiny black holes in the ground, and faint electronic whimpers came from each black hole.
The Data Prison’s power grid suddenly erupted with blue-purple arcs, covering the entire building like a spiderweb, each arc pulsating with a crackling sound. Through the vents, Chen Mo saw seven contaminated core-powered talent correction devices in the central control room. The moment the robotic arm attached the electrode cap to the temple of the Mediocre, the chaotic waveforms on the monitoring screen twisted like ribbons cut by scissors, one by one, into monotonous straight lines of blue light.
The gray-black mark of talent on the back of a laborer’s neck faded at a visible speed, replaced by the words “Good Talent” carved by a mechanical arm. Each stroke was accompanied by a painful electronic whistle, like nails scraping against glass. They were formatting their minds! Su Mucheng’s rifle sights automatically formed a heart-shaped aiming frame, but it shook violently with anger. The calibration laser from the barrel drew a twisted orange arc on the ground, like a wounded snake struggling, leaving charred marks on the ground.
Three data harvesters suddenly turned the corner. As the cold light from their rifle prisms swept across the vents, a spectrum of 128 variegated colors emerged from Chen Mo’s skin. A single orange-yellow streak danced like a living fish, resonating across distances with the mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe. The old scavenger suddenly raised his wrench and smashed it against the pipe support. The buzzing sound from the rusty rust and chaotic brainwaves intertwined into a transparent barrier, shattering the harvesters’ critical grenades into dust. As the green light particles dissipated, they unexpectedly formed a swarm of light butterflies in the air, bearing Ye Xiu’s signature. Each flapping butterfly released silver pollen with the inscription “Sanren is invincible.” This pollen landed on the ground and instantly grew into a miniature Sanren logo.
The prison alarm light suddenly flashed red, like a frantically beating heart, ticking with each flash. Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm burn like a branding iron. The crystal surface reflected a dynamic pattern of Su Mucheng turning to block a bullet for him in the ruins of New York. Every frame carried the infrasound of roaring gunfire, shaking his palm painfully, as if he were transported back to that smoke-filled moment.
The most shocking moment was when all the workers’ tools on the street suddenly detached from their hands and levitated. Shovels, wrenches, and spoons formed a delicate resonance matrix, emitting a 143.8-hertz buzzing sound—like the fluttering of a thousand bees, or the simultaneous ringing of a bell of hope. Even the asphalt rippled in the resonance, forming concentric circles. Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically switched to its free-range mode, its barrels unfolding into umbrella-like shields. Silver text, annotated by Ye Xiu on his tactical board, flowed across its surface: “When defending, you must leave three points of flexibility, like saving your last bullet for hope.” With each movement of the text, a new ring of orange light rippled around the shield’s edge, like a stone thrown into water.
“Send me the memories of Tokyo!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness pierced Chen Mo’s mind like an arrow of orange light. As they shared memories of their shared protection beneath the cherry blossoms, Chen Mo suddenly witnessed the trauma deep within her consciousness—her brother Su Muqiu’s dying breath, his digitized hand writing the words “Don’t trust talent” on her palm, the words warm with blood. Chaotic brainwaves and orange light suddenly intertwined into a DNA double helix, each twist resonating with a powerful resonance, as if echoing through time. As this energy flowed into the core of the corrector, all tampered brainwave patterns instantly exploded. The code of “Talent Supremacy” on the monitor screen shattered like glass, emitting particles of light that formed holographic characters that shared our identity. Each character shimmered with a warm glow, like a breathing star. On Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm, a new vein of chaotic orange light repaired the cracks in the crystal lattice, like a blood vessel embroidered with gold and silver thread. Beneath the skin, pulsating with the resonant heartbeats of the two, each heave and undulation produced a subtle crackling sound, like thawing ice.
The prison dome collapsed with a bang. Amidst the dust and smoke kicked up by the falling steel and concrete, the brainwaves of the highly gifted and the average laborers automatically intertwined into a heart-shaped pattern. At the center, a young woman, once a wearer of the Order of the Nimbus, used her energy bracelet to heal an injured laborer. The bracelet’s blue light entwined with the silver light of the laborer’s tools, creating a sizzling sound as energy was exchanged. A trembling old scavenger touched the gray-black mark on the back of his neck, tears welling in his eyes beneath his torn straw hat. “The family portrait my grandson drew at the nursery… can it be this bright?” he asked. “He always said he wanted to draw a glowing grandfather.”
Before he finished speaking, countless butterflies of light flew out from the light pattern, each wing reflecting the smiling face of a different gifted individual—there were images of highly gifted girls sharing energy bars, scenes of average-minded teenagers teaching their companions how to identify the frequency of their light rings, and even a blurry afterimage of Ye Xiu, his casual player account, dominating the internet cafe. The faint sound of keyboard tapping could be heard from within the afterimage. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s sights finally stabilized. Within the heart-shaped aiming frame, Ye Xiu’s holographic projection was using the tip of the Tianji umbrella to lift a piece of collapsed concrete. The crystal surface of the umbrella reflected a line of small silver characters: “True glory needs no fences.” As the umbrella tip rotated, the words left a burning trail in the air, like a shooting star.
As they emerged from the data prison, dusk stained the holographic archway of the Nimbus Zone a honey-colored hue, each beam of light imbued with a warm quality. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle resonated with a clear chord, the two frequencies blending into a chord that spread like ripples. Heartseekers on both sides of the street raised their tools in response. The clang of shovels hitting the ground, the clink of wrenches, the tinkling of spoons, all carved a continuous brainwave pattern on the asphalt, each ripple recording the warmth of breaking down strata.
In a corner, a laborer used a wrench to carve the words “We Are Not Numbers.” Each stroke was enveloped in an orange glow, gleaming with unyielding brilliance in the twilight. Behind them, on the ruins of the data prison, the chaotic waveform representing free thought transformed into an everlasting band of light, outlining the truest form of glory against the darkening sky—not a cage divided by talent, but a galaxy of humanity where every consciousness resonated freely. One of the brightest stars within this galaxy, following Chen Mo and Su Mucheng’s footsteps, slowly moved toward Lujiazui, as if beckoning something.
Chapter 23: Tianji Annotation – Resonance Threshold (Old Version)
Ye Xiu’s holographic projection suddenly tore through the purple-black turbulence in the data space. The light particles dripping from the tip of the Tianji Umbrella gathered into silver lines on the marks of Chen Mo’s wrench, and each particle looked like a solidified star.
Her orange stream of consciousness was the navigation carrier. The brainwave pattern on the tactical board suddenly rippled with blood-red ripples. He poked Su Mucheng’s beta wave curve with the tip of his umbrella. His chaotic wave was the frequency source—the phase difference must be locked at π/4. An error of more than 0.01 radians would cause the lattice to overload. Just like pulling a fully drawn bow, if you pull too hard, the string will break.
Su Mucheng’s tactical vest glowed with rippled orange light. The mark on her left earlobe faded from warm orange to silvery white, then suddenly brightened to a blood-red, like a sun-kissed orange peel. She subconsciously clenched her fist. The digital lattice of her forearm vibrated at a frequency of 143.8Hz. Orange light particles seeping from the cracks automatically arranged in the air to form the score of Su Muqiu’s unfinished gun concerto, the last note always stopping abruptly at the seventh bar.
What happens if the threshold is exceeded? Amin’s fire axe clanged against the ground, the sparks from the collision between the axe blade and the concrete forming an electrocardiogram-like curve on the tactical board, each beat carrying a rusty tremor.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the turbulent flow of data, revealing the silvery resonant lines on the back of his neck. Those lines flickered in time with Su Mucheng’s brainwaves. “I’ve seen a radio tuned too far, and a crackling sound of electricity would emanate from the speaker, just like the sound when this girl’s forearm exploded. Once, I was fixing a mining lamp and turned it too far, and the bulb exploded into shards of glass.”
Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly shattered into thousands of fragments, and the crystal on the umbrella reflected the peak of Su Mucheng’s brain waves when she blocked the bullet for Chen Mo in the ruins of New York – that abnormally rising orange light curve still burned scorch marks on the tactical board, and the edges were curled like the corners of a newspaper that had been burned by fire.
A purple-black data stream suddenly seeped out of the wall of the data space, and the characters of “Talent Supremacy” composed of contaminated codes surged like a tide. Each symbol was like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, and the red light of ERROR flashed on the letter.
Su Mucheng’s Sun Devourer automatically switched to its free-range mode. On the umbrella-shaped shield that unfolded from the barrel, Ye Xiu’s silver-colored tactical text flowed: “When the resonance intensity exceeds 120%, her digitized cells will begin to form Bose-Einstein condensation. Just like pouring boiling water into a glass, the glass will explode.”
Before she finished speaking, Su Mucheng’s forearm lattice suddenly erupted with intense light. The orange light filtering through the purple cracks cast an afterimage of Su Mucheng adjusting his gun on the ground. The boy’s bent silhouette overlapped with her current posture, even the clanging rhythm of the wrench hitting the gun barrel was perfectly matched, as if time had become a knot in the digital space.
Quickly use the Chaos Wave to stabilize the frequency! Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle fired simultaneously, and the two energies entangled in the air, forming a DNA double helix. Each turn of the entanglement burst out golden sparks, like sparks from fireworks.
When the phase difference between their brainwaves locked at π/4, the contaminated code melted away like morning frost in sunlight, revealing the glimmering primitive protocol beneath. Those 0s and 1s automatically arranged themselves into the Chinese character for “cooperation is the law,” each stroke flickering in the data space like a breathing firefly.
The most miraculous thing was that all the workers’ transformation tools suddenly levitated. The humming of the resonance matrix of shovels and hoes resonated with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves at a distance. Even the holographic archway in the distant Nimbus area was trembling. Nimbus medals fell from the chests of the highly gifted, shattering into light particles on the ground. One light bead rolled to the worker’s feet, reflecting his open mouth in astonishment.
Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly solidified, and the Heavenly Secret Umbrella spun between his fingers, shedding a shower of light. “This is your ultimate test.” He tapped the tip of his umbrella lightly against Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm, and the cracks in the lattice began to heal at a visible speed. Silver light woven a web over the wound, emitting a sizzling sound.
When her digital body begins to repel the chaos waves, it’s time for you to separate – just like two guitar strings stretched too tight will break at the same time. When I was young, I tried to twist two guitar strings together, and they all snapped.
Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm resonate violently, and the light pattern of Su Mucheng’s left earlobe mark appeared on the surface of the crystal. Every beat was in sync with her heartbeat, and the drumming sound could be heard through the tactical vest.
Amin’s fire axe suddenly arced, the silver light of the blade forming the Sanren symbol left by Ye Xiu. At the intersection of the wrench and the gun, an orange heart beat. Every time the heart contracted, ripples spread in the surrounding air, like a stone dropped into a basin of water.
The dome of data space suddenly cracked, and the morning light that filtered through the cracks stained Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness amber. Her consciousness pierced the clouds like an orange arrow, casting a massive heart-shaped pattern of light over Lujiazui in the real world. Each arc of the pattern’s edge corresponded to an emotional resonance: the juxtaposition of New York’s ruins, the cherry blossoms of a Tokyo shrine, the concerto of a London maze.
The old scavenger touched the fading mark of his gift on the back of his neck, his eyes gleaming beneath his tattered straw hat. “Will my grandson’s brainwave map ever be able to draw a heart this big?” He always said he wanted to draw a mark in the sky that Grandpa could see, like a signal light on a mine.
Before he finished speaking, countless light butterflies flew out from the light pattern, and each wing reflected the resonant image of people with different talents – there were mediocre laborers using wrenches to beat out a rhythm, and highly talented girls used the Light Wheel Medal to amplify their energy. Even Ye Xiu’s holographic projection was among them. He was using the tip of his umbrella to command the group of light butterflies to form a scattered symbol, and the shadow of the umbrella swayed in the light pattern.
As they emerged from the data space, the first rays of dawn’s sunlight fell precisely on the notches in Chen Mo’s wrench. Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface was scorching. That warmth, combined with the heat from the fragments of the Heart of Courage, formed a warm current that flowed down her arm into her heart, creating a subtle crackling sound in her blood vessels, like the crackling of wood over a winter fire.
Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs were fixed steadily on the east. Within the heart-shaped aiming frame, Ye Xiu’s shadow spun on the tip of her umbrella. “Remember this threshold. It’s both a shackle and the key to the final battlefield. Just like the lock on a mine, the key is always in the most dangerous place.”
She looked down and saw that beneath the new skin of her forearm, veins interwoven with chaotic orange light were rising and falling with her breathing, like the roots of a newborn plant stretching in the soil.
Behind them, in the ruins of data space, the π/4 phase difference curve representing perfect resonance transformed into an everlasting band of light, outlining the truest form of glory in the morning mist—not the limits of talent, but the light of humanity dancing between two consciousnesses on the brink of extremity. This light now meandered along the Huangpu River, illuminating the marks on the tools of each heart-seeker, making even the rust gleam with a warm orange glow.
Chapter 24: Tool Symphony? Temporary Barrier (Old Version)
As the hands of fifty wreckage workers trembled simultaneously as they gripped their shovels, Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves suddenly rippled through the data space. The rusted blades of the tools glowed silver, forming a resonant matrix with the orange light seeping from the grooves of his wrench, as if someone had scattered a handful of stars on the garbage dump.
Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly erupted with a brilliant orange light, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a flame-colored crimson. The digital lattice on her forearm transformed the rhythm of the fire axe’s blows into pulsating musical notes, each beat condensing into a transparent pattern of light in the air, like a shredded guitar string. “Lower! Reduce the Chaos Wave to 43 Hz!” The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the resonating airflow, revealing the silvery white lines on the back of his neck.
“It’s the same principle as when I knock on the air duct when I’m digging coal. Low pitch can loosen the coal seam!” His chipped wrench clanged against the concrete, a pitch three degrees lower than the distress signal from a mine collapse. Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, its blade reflecting the Sanren symbol left by Ye Xiu. A burst of silver light shone brightly, creating a translucent silhouette of the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella in the air. The ribs’ clicking sound was distinctly audible.
A sudden surge of data poured in like ink. The contaminated code formed the characters “Talent Supremacy” like a venomous snake with fangs. The red light of “ERROR” on the letterhead stung the eyes. Su Mucheng’s “Sun Devourer” automatically switched to support mode, and the light cocoon that unfolded from the barrel resonated with the barrier with a humming sound.
“Maintain a π/4 phase difference!” Her stream of thought pierced Chen Mo’s mind like an orange arrow. As they shared memories of the cherry blossoms at the Tokyo shrine, the barrier suddenly lit up with heart-shaped patterns of light, each vein imbued with the afterimage of a pink and white petal. The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly caught on a piece of broken glass. “It’s a broken lens from a miner’s lamp!” he shouted, raising his tool.
“My wife always said this lens could gather wealth, but now it gathers light!” The lens embedded in the missing corner refracted the orange light into a rainbow, casting a flowing spectrum across the barrier. The moment Amin split the data tide, the silver light from the fire axe blade formed Ye Xiu’s tactical annotation: “Temporary barrier energy peak 143.8Hz”, the words leaping like live fish.
Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage warm in his palm. A dynamic light pattern emerged on the crystal’s surface, depicting Su Mucheng blocking a bullet in the ruins of New York. Even more shocking, a new chaotic orange light vein stretched across Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm like a golden thread, repairing the purple cracks. With each additional growth, a subtle crackling sound was emitted.
When her stream of consciousness and chaotic brainwaves reached perfect resonance, the barrier suddenly erupted with intense light, purifying the last batch of contaminated code into particles of light that spelled “Cooperation is the Law.” Each particle reflected the astonished smiles of the debris clearers. “The barrier can hold out for another ten seconds!” Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs trembled violently. Within the heart-shaped aiming frame, Ye Xiu’s holographic projection was tracing circles with the tip of his umbrella.
“Hurry up and embed the memory fragments in it!” The old scavenger touched the faded mark of talent on the back of his neck, his eyes shining under the tattered straw hat: “When my grandson was making clay figures, he always said that he would make a glowing whistle for grandpa. Now this light is much brighter than the clay whistle!” Before he finished speaking, thousands of light butterflies flew out from the light particles, and the images of the scavengers using tools in resonance were reflected on their wings.
As they emerged from the garbage dump, the twilight gilded the barrier. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle resonated with each other, their frequencies blending into a harmonious chord that spread like ripples. Fifty tools followed suit, carving a winding brainwave pattern into the ground.
Each ripple recorded the temperature of its resonance: the scent of gunpowder from the ruins of New York, the sweet scent of Tokyo’s cherry blossoms, and even the miner’s chant hummed by the old scavenger. And behind them, in the ruins of data space, the resonant curve representing the “symphony of tools” was transforming into a never-fading band of light, outlining the truest form of glory in the evening breeze.
The light flowed along the sewage pipes, illuminating the varying depths of the carvings on the handles of each heart-seeker’s tools – not the weapons of the gifted, but the light of humanity that bloomed in resonance with each ordinary tool.
Chapter 25: Heart Core Pollution? Black Data Stream (Old Version)
Ye Xiu’s holographic projection suddenly shattered the turbulent purple-black flow of data space like shattered glass. The tip of the Tianji umbrella lifted up a tangled stream of black data. The vine-like patterns on the surface of the fluid twisted like a living thing, as if countless small snakes were wriggling on the umbrella tip. At this vibration frequency, his umbrella tip traced an arc of light in the air, and two overlapping waveforms instantly appeared on the tactical board, with a 97% match to the voiceprint of 21st-century racist rhetoric. It was like the same guitar played out of tune—the formant peaks were identical to the voices of certain politicians inciting hatred back then.
Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly rippled with blood, and the mark on her left earlobe suddenly turned deep purple, like an orange stained with ink. The digitized crystal lattice on her forearm resonated with the projection of the contaminated core suspended in its center. Footage from a 1930s Antarctic laboratory flickered in and out of the data space. In the image, a scientist in a white coat was picking up a crystal core with tweezers, his fingertips trembling like fallen leaves in the autumn wind. The black lines on the core’s surface now wriggled in the same rhythm on the projection, resembling frozen vines hanging upside down from a winter eave. Is this… the core algorithm of the Abyss Gazer? Her voice trembled, and the barrel of her rifle unconsciously tapped the ground with a soft clang.
Will the heart core consume our collaborative memories? Ah Ming’s fire axe clanged against the ground, sending up sparks that formed a broken heart in the projection. Before the sparks died, a fleeting glimpse of the old locust tree at the entrance of his village, struck by lightning—the tree where he and his sister would play pecking stones as children. Why is it like a puzzle my sister plays with, where everything falls apart if you put it together incorrectly? He squatted down, rubbing the scorch marks on the ground with his fingertips, and suddenly jumped up: Look! The sparks have formed the shape of the old locust tree!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the turbulent data flow, and the silvery resonance lines on the back of his neck suddenly twisted into a knot. Just like when the mine collapsed in my hometown, coal dust entangled the miner’s lamp, making it pitch black. His chipped wrench struck the ventilation duct, the clanging sound resonating with Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves into sonic ripples. If Old Zhang hadn’t knocked on the duct to warn us, we would all have been buried inside. He knocked three long times, meaning to run northeast… His voice suddenly choked, and the wrench spun in a circle of orange light in his palm. Now, this core is trying to cut off all our life-saving signals!
Ye Xiu’s umbrella tip tapped the projection of the polluted core. A red arrow, marked by Su Muqiu, suddenly appeared on the crystal umbrella. Where the arrow pointed, a black data stream rippled like a balloon pricked by a needle. “Pay attention to this emotional vulnerability,” his voice echoed metallically, like the murmur of an old radio. Chaotic waves can trigger a chain reaction—like driving a wedge into a crack. “Xiao Chen, you have to use that wrench like you’re hammering a nail. Find the right spot and hit it down.” Remember that time at the Tokyo Shrine? When she tied the prayer string around you, your brainwaves were a mess. Use that frequency!
The black data stream suddenly surged like a tidal wave. The characters “Talent Supremacy” transformed into fanged serpents and scurried towards the barrier. The red light of “ERROR” on Xinzi dyed the data space blood red, dimming even the orange light on Su Mucheng’s tactical vest. Her Sun Devourer automatically switched to analysis mode. Within the cocoon of light that unfolded from the barrel, Ye Xiu’s tactical notes floated: Use the memory of Tokyo’s cherry blossoms as bait. Remember to lower the resonant frequency to 143.8Hz. That frequency matched the rhythm of your heartbeat when you two were sheltering from the rain at the shrine—when she stepped on your foot, and you screamed like a pig being butchered.
Chen Mo, prepare to connect! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness pierced his mind like an orange arrow, and the memories they shared instantly exploded—the cherry blossom rain at the Tokyo shrine, the way she turned her head and smiled, her hair stained with pink petals, the ends of her hair dripping with water. You tilted the umbrella completely towards me, and half your shoulder was soaked! Her voice was smiling, but suddenly trembled. Now… the core was analyzing the frequency of cooperation in that memory… Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly became hot, and the metal surface showed the cracks of her tactical vest when she blocked the bullet. Those cracks were oozing orange light, and when they collided with the black data stream, they made a sizzling sound, like water dripping into a frying pan.
Look! The heart is contracting! The old scavenger’s chipped wrench suddenly caught on a fragment of memory. It was a rhythm he’d struck with a lunchbox during a wreckage clearing operation. On the lunchbox was a smiley face carved in stone by his grandson. “I saved three lives by beating on the lunchbox. This light pattern is in tune with the sound!” He said, tapping the ground with his wrench twice. A clang, clang sound echoed perfectly with the memory fragment. His grandson always said his grandfather’s beating was better than a band, and now… now this light is his band!
A Ming’s fire axe’s blade suddenly glowed with silver light, evoking a fleeting image of Ye Xiu, his youthful self, sweeping the arena with his casual player account. Amidst the slicing air, the axe’s blade evoked the clacking of keyboards, reminiscent of the clacking of tools they normally tinkered with. “Old Ye! Can this axe cut through those black vines?” He swung the fire axe, the silver light forming Ye Xiu’s tactical instructions: Aim for the arrowhead, and chop! Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly fragmented into countless butterflies of light, each wing reflecting a different resonant scene: shout “Hail to collaboration” as he chopped, the sound waves amplifying the resonance!
The data space suddenly trembled violently, and the black vines that polluted the surface of the heart core collapsed like dominoes. Chen Mo felt the fragments of the Heart of Courage explode in his palm, burning. Inside the crystal, the light pattern of Su Mucheng’s left earlobe emerged, each beat synchronized with her digitized heart. “Did you hear that? Her heartbeat is beating in time with my brainwaves!” He shouted at the old scavenger, and the orange light from the wrench’s mark suddenly surged, just like when she protected me with the light cocoon in New York! In the cracks in the crystal lattice of Su Mucheng’s forearm, orange veins of light extended like new blood vessels, and with each inch of growth, a subtle crackling sound was emitted, like the crisp sound of branches sprouting in spring. “Chen Mo, do you remember the London maze?” A memory suddenly flooded her stream of consciousness: “You embedded my heartbeat frequency into the chaotic waves… Now use that rhythm!”
Quick! Embed all the collaborative memories! Ye Xiu’s projection fragmented into countless butterflies of light, each wing reflecting a different resonant scene: her back as she shielded him from bullets in the ruins of New York, the sound of gunfire they clashed together in the London maze, an old scavenger teaching his grandson how to type Morse code with a wrench. Even his grandson’s laughter was embedded in it! The old scavenger roared, smashing his wrench against his core. He declared that the sound of his grandfather’s wrench was the most beautiful song in the world! The butterflies of light gathered into a vortex, drawing all the fragments of memory toward the core. The resonance of the collisions was like thousands of people simultaneously striking a triangle.
Su Mucheng’s rifle sight suddenly stabilized into a heart shape. Within the aiming frame, the original code, revealed at the heart’s core, glowed faintly. Those 0s and 1s automatically arranged themselves into the Chinese character for “Collaboration is the First Law of Life,” each stroke like a breathing firefly. Look! The code is rewriting! Her voice tinged with tears. The orange light seeping from the rifle barrel entwined with the light pattern of Chen Mo’s wrench, forming a ring. This was the true face of Glory.
As he walked out of the data space, the first rays of dawn sunlight happened to shine on the marks on Chen Mo’s wrench. The orange lines on the metal surface spread like a lit fuse, burning his fingertips numb. This temperature… is the same as her palm. He muttered to himself, and suddenly heard Su Mucheng chuckle. The temperature of the lattice is now as hot as the heart of courage in your palm. She touched the new veins on her forearm. Where her fingertips passed, the orange veins lit up with a rhythm like a heartbeat. Yesterday, they were like ice cubes, and I was scared that they would freeze and crack – look, does it look like a red-hot iron on the stove in my hometown now?
The old scavenger touched the fading mark of his gift on the back of his neck. His eyes gleamed beneath his tattered straw hat, tears streaming down his wrinkles. If my grandson saw this light, he’d say Grandpa had become a glowing lump of coal. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, the wrench spinning in his palm, creating circles of orange light. He always said coal burned out, but this time, Grandpa’s light would last a little longer…so long that I could watch him grow up, and see him create a beautiful rhythm with his wrench…
On the surface of the Huangpu River, streaks of light, reminiscent of a dataspace collapse, drifted with the waves. The marks on each heart-seeker’s tool shone with a warm orange glow. Those patterns of light were no longer cold code, but the warm imprint left by countless collaborative resonances. In the distance, the clacking of debris clearers drifted in, the rhythm of shovels, wrenches, and spoons gradually harmonizing, like the lamps on the hard hats of veteran miners, whose single rhythm illuminates the entire mine tunnel even in the deepest darkness. And at that moment, the tools of the entire city seemed to tremble slightly, echoing the resonant melody of collaboration emanating from deep within their hearts.
Chapter 26 Underground Relay? Signal Shielding (Old Version)
When Chen Mo’s wrench struck the rusted subway track, the sparks suddenly turned orange-red. The flying metal fragments arced through the air, forming a miniature pattern of light resembling the mark on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe upon landing—this was the third time since they’d escaped the data prison that their chaotic brainwaves and the orange light stream of consciousness had spontaneously resonated. He quickly leaned over to see the faint light seeping from the wrench’s grooves twisting like a small snake: “Su Mucheng, look! These sparks can form a pattern!”
Don’t touch! Those are ion sparks emanating from brainwaves. Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm suddenly erupted with intense light. The orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice precisely welded the two broken data cables. The orange light on her tactical vest spread like ripples on water. The mark on her left earlobe faded from warm orange to silvery white, then suddenly brightened to blood red: This is the Glory server motherboard from 2045. She used her rifle to pry apart the black data stream covering the circuit board. The barrel reflected Ye Xiu’s tactical annotations, which flowed. Old Ye said this thing can convert chaotic waves into shielding signals, but now the motherboard is so hot you could fry an egg!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was stuck in the tunnel vent, the silvery white lines on the back of his neck flickering in time with Chen Mo’s brainwaves. His chipped wrench was hooked onto a cable entwined with a pattern of light butterflies. When those butterflies, made of zeros and ones, fluttered, they cast afterimages of Su Muqiu adjusting his guns on the tunnel wall. “Young man, give me a hand!” he suddenly shouted, his chipped wrench clanging against the vent pipe. “This tattered hat is stuck tighter than the rocks in the mine back home!”
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, the silver light of the blade forming Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol. The clang of the axe striking metal perfectly matched the peaks and valleys of Chen Mo’s brainwaves. Look at those data streams! His axe suddenly chopped down, and the sparks in the air formed an electrocardiogram-like curve, just like the sound of an overloaded transformer in my hometown!
A sudden surge of data poured in like ink, the contaminated code’s “Talent Supreme” characters slithering like venomous snakes towards the relay station’s core. “Use Tokyo’s memory frequency!” Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly burned, and the metal surface reflected the image of Su Mucheng turning and smiling beneath the cherry blossoms. Her hair was dusted with pink petals, and her rifle’s crosshairs were tilted by a sweet 0.3-second offset. As soon as this memory flashed through her, the lattice patterns on the tunnel wall automatically arranged into a heart shape, each vein alight with a different emotional flare.
That time in Tokyo, you tilted your umbrella all the way towards me and even got your shoulder wet! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness pierced his mind like an orange arrow, her voice tinged with laughter. “The core resolution is now 78%… Wait, the resonant frequency is drifting!” Her rifle suddenly switched to a casual mode. On the umbrella-shaped shield that unfolded from the barrel, Ye Xiu’s silver-light annotation twisted like a water snake: The phase difference must be locked at π/4!
The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly caught on a piece of broken glass from a mining lamp. “This lens can focus light!” he shouted, holding up his tool. The orange light refracted from the missing corner formed a rainbow barrier at the core of the relay station. “My wife always said this thing would bring wealth, but now it focuses our brainwaves!” Look at this spot of light, it’s the same shape as the sun my grandson drew!
The condenser angle shifted another 15 degrees! As Ah Ming’s fire axe split the data stream, the silver light from the blade formed Ye Xiu’s latest annotation: The shielding frequency must be stabilized at 143.8Hz. The words leaped like live fish, and wherever their tail swept, the contaminated code exploded into sparks. Old Ye said this frequency was like a heartbeat, and we had to keep pace with it!
Su Mucheng’s tactical vest suddenly rippled with blood, and the mark on her left earlobe suddenly turned deep purple. Resonance overload! Her rifle’s sights automatically formed a heart-shaped aiming frame, but it trembled violently with pain. The calibration laser from the barrel drew a distorted orange arc on the ground. Chen Mo, quickly embed the fragment of the Heart of Courage into the motherboard! If you delay any longer, the lattice will collapse!
When the crystal in Chen Mo’s palm touched the circuit board, visible chaotic streams of light suddenly erupted from all the heat dissipation vents—those swirling bands of light, like nebulae, were the brainwave resonance patterns of the Heart Seeker Alliance. Most amazingly, within the stream of light emerged an image of fifty wreckage workers hammering their shovels into the ground, their tools’ resonant frequencies amplified by the relay station. Was this… a real-time image of group resonance? Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly resonated with the motherboard, and Su Mucheng’s silhouette within the inscribed grooves began to heat.
The lattice of the tunnel walls suddenly emerged as a protective matrix of gunfire traces. When Chen Mo’s brainwaves were connected, the center of the matrix automatically generated a fractal pattern that resonated with their brainwaves. Each pattern played fragments of memory: her back blocking him in the ruins of New York, the sound of gunfire they’d heard together in the London maze, and the old scavenger teaching his grandson how to use a wrench. “If my grandson saw this light…” the old man trembled, rubbing the back of his neck, tears welling in his eyes beneath his tattered straw hat. “I’m sure Grandpa has become a shining star!”
Before he finished speaking, countless butterflies of light flew out from the fractal pattern, each wing reflecting a different scene: a mediocre laborer striking a rhythm with a wrench, a gifted young woman amplifying her energy with a Nimbus Medal, and even a blurry afterimage of Ye Xiu dominating the internet cafe with his casual player account. On Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm, a new vein of chaotic orange light repaired the cracks in the crystal lattice, making a subtle crackling sound like thawing ice.
Look! The motherboard code is being rewritten! Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly blazed with a powerful light. Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface overlapped with the motherboard’s light pattern. The original agreement’s “supremacy of talent” was fading! The contaminated black code melted like morning frost in the sunlight, revealing the shimmering characters underneath: “Collaboration is the law.”
The data surge suddenly emitted an electronic shriek. The moment the last contaminated code was blocked, a powerful burst of light erupted from the relay station’s core. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle resonated with each other, their frequencies blending into a harmonious chord that spread like ripples. Sunlight seeped through the cracks in the tunnel ceiling. The old scavenger trembled as he removed his battered straw hat. The silver-white lines on the back of his neck had completely vanished, replaced by a warm orange pattern that resonated with Chen Su’s frequency, like veins embroidered with gold thread.
This temperature… is as hot as the heart of courage in your palm. Su Mucheng looked down at the newly formed veins in her forearm and suddenly smiled. As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, the light bridge formed by the resonance of their brain waves suddenly surged, illuminating the ruins of the data prison in the distance. On those reinforced concrete, the slogan carved by the tools of the Heart Seekers emerged: We are not numbers.
As they emerged from the subway tunnel, dusk stained the holographic archway of Lujiazui a honey-colored hue. Amin’s fire axe suddenly arced, the silver light of the blade forming the Sanren symbol left by Ye Xiu. At the intersection of the wrench and the gun in the center, a heart beat with orange light. Behind them, the chaotic light stream representing the signal shielding transformed into an everlasting band of light, outlining the truest form of glory in the evening breeze—not a cage of talent, but a galaxy of humanity where every consciousness resonates freely. The band of light extended toward the Huangpu River, its reflected patterns rising and falling in sync with the heartbeats of Chen Mo and Su Mucheng.
Chapter 27: New York Rift? Spatial Dislocation (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched the crack in the Manhattan street, a pattern of Su Mucheng’s silhouette at the Tokyo Shrine suddenly appeared on the metal surface. The purple-black data streams seeping from the cracks twisted like living things, sizzling as they collided with his chaotic brainwaves, like water dripping into a frying pan. “This crack is eating my brainwaves!” He jerked his hand back, and the orange light in the wrench’s notch darted like a frightened fish.
Look at this grid! It’s identical to the loading screen in the Arena of Glory! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm suddenly erupted with intense light, the orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice precisely outlining the Empire State Building. The orange light on her tactical vest spread like ripples, and the mark on her left earlobe faded from warm orange to silvery white—the color gradation unique to Su Muqiu’s guns in 2045. Look at the spire! Real and virtual coordinates are at odds! Her rifle’s crosshairs traced a heart-shaped trajectory, and the calibration laser from the barrel drew a distorted arc in the air.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the turbulent data flow, revealing a new warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck. “The wind here is just like the draft in the mines back home!” He struck the floating car with his chipped wrench, and the clanking sound resonated with Chen Mo’s brainwaves, creating a sonic ripple, only with some flying iron boxes. Before he finished speaking, the car suddenly turned translucent, revealing the in-game “Iron Warhorse” model underneath.
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, its blade aglow with silver light, forming Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol. As the axe blade sliced through the data stream, the “The King’s Avatar” login sound effect rang out. Listen! That’s the background music from Glory! He swung the axe excitedly, and the sparks flew in mid-air, forming the game character’s health bar. It was the same sound I’d made when I secretly played the game as a kid!
The strangest thing was the Fifth Avenue window display—real-life luxury goods ads overlapped and flickered with in-game equipment illustrations. The model’s fur coat flickered, transforming into the “Frostwolf Battlegear” from Glory. This was a spatial coordinate misalignment! Su Mucheng’s rifle crosshairs trembled violently due to the turbulent data flow. Chen Mo, use Chaos Wave to stabilize the frequency! The fragment of the Heart of Courage in your palm is burning! Her tactical vest rippled blood-red, and the mark on her left earlobe suddenly turned a deep purple.
As Chen Mo’s brainwaves resonated with the cracks, the entire street suddenly lit up with veins of orange light. These bands of light, interwoven with chaotic waves and the orange stream of consciousness, spelled out on the ground all the resonant memories of their journey from the ruins of New York to the Tokyo shrine: her back blocking his way in the New York ruins, the moment he tied the prayer rope for her at the Tokyo shrine. The old scavenger trembled as he touched the bands of light: “My grandson’s drawing of the glowing grandfather… turns out this is what he looks like!” Before he could finish his words, thousands of light butterflies flew out of the bands of light, each wing reflecting the scene of debris removers striking the ground with their shovels.
A sudden surge of data surged like ink, and the “Data Knight” of contaminated code swung its sword at Chen Mo. Using the frequency of the London Labyrinth’s concerto! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness pierced his mind like an arrow of orange light. The sound of gunfire they shared suddenly erupted—a melody of wrench-tap rhythm and rifle trajectory, unexpectedly converging into a solid light shield in mid-air. Boom! Amin’s fire axe split the data stream, the silver light of the blade forming Ye Xiu’s tactical annotation: Maintain a phase difference of π/4. This is their resonance blind spot!
The most shocking thing was the spire of the Empire State Building—the glass curtain wall of reality and the arena dome in the game were merging, each crack seeping purple-black contamination code. Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly expanded, and Su Mucheng’s silhouette on the metal surface shed tears. The orange tears fell to the ground and turned into smoke, but sparks erupted when they came into contact with the contamination code: This is… the remnant of her brainwaves when she took a bullet for me in New York! He remembered the hole in her tactical vest burned by the data stream, now clearly visible in the wrench notch.
The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly caught on a broken window pane. “This lens reflects light!” he shouted, raising his tool. The orange light refracted from the broken corner burned holes in the “Data Knight.” “My wife says reflections can drive away bad luck, and now it’s these lumps of metal!” The illuminated contaminated code melted like morning frost in the sunlight, revealing the underlying characters of “Collaboration is the Law.”
“Su Mucheng! Your forearm!” Chen Mo suddenly shouted. On her digitized forearm, new veins of chaotic orange light were repairing the crystal lattice, making a subtle crackling sound like frying beans. Those veins pulsed in sync with the light patterns carved into his wrench, like two strings playing the same tune.
Look! The coordinates are returning to their positions! Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle resonated simultaneously, the two frequencies blending into a harmonious chord that spread like ripples. The car on Fifth Avenue slowly landed on the ground. The “Frostwolf Battlegear” in the window turned back into a fur coat. Only the heart-shaped orange pattern of light remained on the spire of the Empire State Building. The old scavenger removed his tattered straw hat. The warm orange pattern on the back of his neck rose and fell in sync with Chen Su’s heartbeat, like the pendulum of an old clock.
As they emerged from the New York Rift, dusk stained the Statue of Liberty a honey-colored hue. Su Mucheng looked down at the newly formed veins on her forearm and suddenly smiled: “The lattice temperature is now as hot as the heart of courage in your palm.” As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, the light bridge formed by the resonance of their brain waves suddenly surged, illuminating the distant ruins of the Data Prison. On those reinforced concrete walls, the words “We Are Not Numbers” carved by the Heart Seekers glowed, each stroke a breathing firefly.
A-Ming’s fire axe suddenly arced, its blade gleaming silver, forming the Sanren symbol left by Ye Xiu. At the intersection of the wrench and the gun, a beating orange heart shone. Old Ye said this symbol could ward off evil! He swung the axe triumphantly, and the light butterfly shadows reflected from the blade danced on the ground.
Behind them, the orange band of light representing “spatial dislocation” transformed into a never-fading star track, outlining the truest form of glory in the evening breeze—not a cage of data, but a galaxy of humanity where every consciousness resonated freely. The band of light stretched toward the Huangpu River, and the patterns of light reflected on the river’s surface flickered in sync with Chen Mo and Su Mucheng’s footsteps, as if applauding their every heartbeat.
The wind on the New York streets carried the chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth of the orange glow within the wrench’s indentations. Chen Mo watched the mark on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe return to a warm orange, and suddenly remembered Ye Xiu’s words: When her mark changes color for you, the chaos waves gain a navigational carrier. At that moment, the heart-shaped pattern of light on the Empire State Building’s spire resonated with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm, emitting a humming sound of collaboration that only they could hear.
Chapter 28: Heart-Shaped Barrier? Energy Surge (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched the Data Knight’s blade, the metal surface suddenly exploded with orange light. The flying light particles formed in the air into Su Mucheng’s silhouette, blocking bullets in the ruins of New York. The holes in her tactical vest still seeped orange light, tinkling as it collided with the chaotic brainwaves, like wind chimes being blown by the wind. This blade was harder than the bars of the Data Prison! He gritted his teeth and held the blade against the blade. The orange light in the wrench’s notch moved like a frightened goldfish.
Use Tokyo’s cherry blossom frequency! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm suddenly erupted with intense light, the orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice forming a shield of light. The mark on her left earlobe flared to a flame, and the rippled orange light on her tactical vest rose and fell with her breathing: “The barrier phase difference must be locked at π/4! Lao Ye said this is the angle with the highest energy conversion rate; any further off and the lattice will explode!” Her rifle’s crosshairs traced a heart-shaped trajectory, and the calibration laser from the barrel drew a trembling arc in the air.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the turbulent data flow, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck flickered like a fuse. This thing has the same temper as the mining lamp in my hometown. His chipped wrench hit the light shield, and the clanging sound resonated with Chen Mo’s brainwaves, forming sonic ripples. If it shines too brightly, it will be over! Look at the edge of the light shield, it’s like the iron pot on my stove, it’s all burning red!
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, the silver light of the blade forming Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol. As the axe blade split the data stream, the melody of Su Muqiu’s unfinished gun concerto could be heard. Listen! It’s the prelude to “Glory Dawn”! He swung the axe excitedly, and the sparks flew through the air, forming musical patterns in the air, just like the tune of my sister playing the harmonica!
The most striking thing was the barrier’s surface—a grid of chaotic waves and orange streams of consciousness, each vein replaying their resonant memories: her running through the ruins of New York, clutching his wrist, the fibers of her tactical vest still stained with his blood; him tying a prayer rope for her at a Tokyo shrine, the cherry blossom pattern on the knot gleaming on the shield. Look! The light pattern is changing color! Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly burned, and Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface blinked. This was the brainwave frequency of her heartbeat exceeding 120, just like in the London maze!
A sudden surge of data surged like a tsunami, the contaminated code, the characters “Talent Supremacy,” coiling around the barrier like a giant python. “Hold on!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness pierced his mind like an arrow of orange light, and their shared memories of the London maze suddenly erupted—a melody composed of wrench rhythms and rifle trajectories, condensing into a musical armor of notes on the surface of the light shield. Boom! Amin’s fire axe split the data stream, the silver light of the blade forming Ye Xiu’s tactical annotation: Energy conversion rate increased by 47%! They’re afraid! This damn snake has shed its skin!
The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly caught on a cherry blossom-shaped particle of light. “These are Tokyo cherry blossoms!” he shouted, raising his tool. Reflected orange light from the missing corner burned holes in the characters for “Talent Supremacy.” My wife loves cherry blossoms and says the falling petals are like a shower of light. Now, this shower of light can cut through even the toughest metal! The illuminated, polluted code melted away like morning frost in the sunlight, revealing the underlying characters for “Collaboration is the First Law,” each stroke a leaping flame.
“Chen Mo! Your heart of courage!” Su Mucheng suddenly shouted. The crystal in his palm resonated with the barrier, emitting a powerful burst of light that dyed all the light patterns a warm orange. Those light patterns were no longer static images, but dynamic, resonant scenes: Fifty debris clearers struck out rhythms with their shovels, the light patterns reflected from the shovel blades forming a resonant matrix; a highly gifted girl amplified their energy with a nimbus medal, the medal’s nimbus resonating with their tools into a ring; even Ye Xiu’s holographic projection was there, commanding a swarm of light butterflies to form a scattered sign with the tip of his umbrella, his shadow swaying in the light patterns.
The barrier is evolving! Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle chimed simultaneously, their frequencies blending into a harmonious chord that spread like ripples. Sparks erupted as the Data Knight’s blade collided with the light shield. Those sparks, upon landing, blossomed into cherry blossoms, each leaf reflecting their resonant frequency. Look! The saplings are blooming! Amin pointed his axe at the ground, revealing the veins of the pink blossoms forming a π/4 phase difference curve.
The old scavenger removed his tattered straw hat. The warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck pulsed with the surge of energy, like a breathing heart. “The light pattern on the back of my neck is in sync with this light shield!” He touched the back of his neck, then quickly withdrew his hand. It was as hot as a steamed bun fresh from the frying pan!
As they emerged from the data battlefield, the morning light stained the holographic archway of Lujiazui amber. Su Mucheng looked down at the newly formed veins on her forearm and suddenly smiled: “The lattice temperature is now hot enough to fry an egg. Touch it, it’s three times hotter than the Heart of Courage in your palm!” As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, the light bridge formed by the resonance of their brain waves suddenly surged, illuminating the distant Heartseeker base. On those walls, the newly engraved words “Collaboration is the Law” glowed, each stroke like a dancing firefly, flickering with their heartbeats.
Amin’s fire axe suddenly drew a circle, its blade’s silver light forming the tactical summary Ye Xiu had left behind: when the chaotic wave and the orange light formed a heart-shaped resonance, that would be the moment when the hegemony of talent collapsed. Thousands of light butterflies suddenly flew out from the light bridge, each wing reflecting a different resonant scene: a mediocre laborer tapping out Morse code with a wrench, a highly gifted teenager repairing a crack in the crystal lattice with a Nimbus Medal, and even Ye Xiu’s projection was among them, using the tip of his umbrella to lift the light butterflies, forming the words “Cooperation Must Win.”
On the surface of the Huangpu River, the reflection of the light band rose and fell in sync with Chen Mo and Su Mucheng’s heartbeats. Chen Mo watched the mark on Su Mucheng’s left earlobe return to a warm orange, and suddenly remembered what she had said in Tokyo: When the mark turns warm orange for you, the trajectory of the gunfire has a direction. At this moment, the heart-shaped pattern at the end of the light band resonated with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm, emitting a resonance of victory that only they could hear—a frequency of 143.8Hz, exactly like the heartbeat they had played together in the London maze.
The river breeze carried the chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth of the orange light within the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs suddenly transformed into a heart-shaped sight, locking onto the Oriental Pearl Tower’s spire: “Next stop, it’s time to retrieve the ‘Heart of Sacrifice.'” Old Ye said that the purification mechanism of that thing requires our guardian memories as a key. Before she finished her words, a bridge of light suddenly extended toward the spire, outlining a heart in the morning mist, each arc gleaming with all the warmth from their encounter to their journey together.
Chapter 29: Neural Synchrony? Synaptic Acceleration (Old Edition)
Chen Mo’s wrench struck the metal casing of the electroencephalogram monitor, and a burst of orange light sizzled from the metal nub. Those strands of light twisted into the silhouette of Su Mucheng, shielded from bullets in the ruins of New York. Thin streams of light still seeped from the holes in his tactical vest, colliding with his chaotic brainwaves, making a crackling sound like the crackling of wood around a fire on a winter night. “Oh my god! Why is this damn machine like a soldering iron?” He jerked his hand back, flicking his burning fingertips. The orange light in the wrench’s grooves darted back and forth like a startled golden carp.
“Stop making such a fuss!” Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed with a powerful burst of light. The orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice wove a dense resonant web across the screen. The mark on her left earlobe swelled to a honey-colored hue, brightening and dimming with her breathing, and the rippled orange light on her tactical vest followed suit: “Look at this waveform! The beta wave peak overlap is over 92%!” Her rifle had somehow switched to analysis mode, the crosshairs swirling out a heart-shaped aperture, and the barrel laser traced a crooked arc across the ground. Old Ye said these synapses were growing faster than spring weeds, almost catching up to the level of wiring across talent cells!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the instrument’s fan, and the new warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck flickered like a safety light in a mine. This thing looked just like the old miner’s lamp ammeter back home. His chipped wrench clanged against the detector, the sound resonating with Chen Mo’s brainwaves into a trembling sound wave. If the needle kept wobbling like that, it would snap like the lamp in my house and blow the fuse! Look at this screen, the light pattern is as chaotic as the water stains in my leaky cave!
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly clanged and levitated, the blade twisting silver into Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol, releasing a staccato melody as it sliced through the air. Hey! It’s the tune of “Dawn of Glory”! He swung the axe excitedly, sparks flying off the wall, creating patterns of brain neurons. It was the same sound my sister made when she got stuck playing the harmonica as a child, so off-key it could scare a cow away!
A spiderweb of light suddenly erupted on the detector screen. Chen Mo’s brainwaves formed a tangled neural network, while Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness weaved back and forth like a flexible sewing thread. Look here! Chen Mo’s wrench burned red. Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface suddenly blinked, her eyelashes still stained with the pink cherry blossoms of the Tokyo shrine. This was the brainwave pattern from the last time she blocked a falling rock for me. It thumped like a drum!
Before he could finish his words, a dark flood of data suddenly surged in like a dam breaking, countless talent determination bullets raining down on the detector. “Turn to the London Maze’s symphony frequency!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into his mind, and the combined sound of gunfire from the two of them exploded—the rhythm of the wrench strikes and the trajectory of the rifles condensed into a translucent sonic shield, clanging and blocking the first wave of attacks. “A-Ming! Give these bastards an axe!” Chen Mo roared, and Ye Xiu’s silver annotation suddenly popped up on the blade of the fire axe: Synaptic growth rate has soared another 27%! These guys are slicing our neural connections!
The old scavenger’s wrench suddenly clicked onto a gleaming fragment. It was the fragment of the Heart of Courage! He held the fragment to the detector. The orange light reflected from the missing corner burned a honeycomb-like pattern of holes in the talent determination bullet. My husband always said that crystals can gather people’s energy. It seems that what’s gathering energy now is the sparks from their brainwaves! The orange veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, like the sound of an old electrical wire leaking electricity. Each new line glowed with a faint shimmer of chaos and orange light.
“Chen Mo, look at the hippocampus!” Su Mucheng suddenly pointed to the lower right corner of the screen, her voice trembling. The area of his brain responsible for emotional memory was forming a quantum entanglement with her stream of consciousness, and each resonance erupted into heart-shaped particles of light, each as large as a bean. The particles weren’t static images, but vibrant scenes: fifty scavengers hammered out a Morse code rhythm with their shovels, a highly gifted girl’s Nimbus Medal resonated with her tools into a swirling halo, and even Ye Xiu’s holographic projection was there, directing a swarm of light butterflies with the tip of his umbrella to build a synaptic bridge.
Oh my goodness! How did this neural network develop its own brain? Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle hummed simultaneously, a chord of two frequencies tangled together, rippling the surrounding data waves. When another wave of talent-judgment bullets collided with the sonic shield, a sky of light butterflies exploded, each wing reflecting a different resonant image: her sprinting through the ruins of New York, clutching his wrist, her tactical vest fabric still stained with his blood; him clumsily tying a prayer rope in a Tokyo shrine, the cherry blossom pattern on the knot flickering on the wings of the light butterflies.
The old scavenger yanked off his tattered straw hat. The warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck throbbed like a rabbit with its tail stepped on. “The back of my neck pulses like the light shield! It’s so hot it could sear an egg!” He reached out to touch it but quickly withdrew, the warmth of the instrument still lingering on his fingertips.
As she exited the testing room, the setting sun was dyeing the holographic archway of Lujiazui the color of molten honey. Su Mucheng stared down at the newly formed veins on her forearm and suddenly laughed out loud: “With the lattice temperature right now, if I crack an egg on it, it’ll definitely turn out a soft-boiled egg.” If you don’t believe me, touch it! It’s three degrees hotter than the fragment of the Heart of Courage in your palm! As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, a bridge of orange light exploded between them, illuminating the distant wall of the Heartseeker’s base. Someone had newly carved the four characters “Neural Symbiosis,” each stroke a breathing firefly, flickering with their heartbeats.
Amin’s fire axe suddenly drew a circle in the air, and the silver light on the blade surface revealed Ye Xiu’s tactical annotations: When the chaotic waves and the orange light stream of consciousness twist into a neural synaptic network, the so-called talent barrier will collapse. Countless light butterflies suddenly emerged from the light bridge, their wings projecting different images: mediocre laborers using wrenches to send out distress signals, highly gifted teenagers using Nimbus Medals to repair damaged crystal lattices, and even Ye Xiu’s projection was among them, using the tip of his umbrella to lift the light butterflies and spell out the four glowing words: “Collaboration will win.”
The reflection of the light strip on the Huangpu River swayed with their footsteps, like a giant orange python coming to life. Chen Mo stared at the mark of Su Mucheng’s left earlobe, where warmth had returned to its former self, and suddenly remembered what she had said in the London maze: When synapses resonate with brainwaves, the trajectory of gunfire becomes human. Now, the synaptic pattern at the end of the light strip resonated with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm, emitting a humming low-frequency vibration that matched the exact beat of their heartbeats when they played the gun concerto together in London.
The river breeze carried the chill of the turbulent data stream, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth of the orange light etched within the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs suddenly locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower’s spire. A blurry silhouette of Ye Xiu appeared within the heart-shaped aiming frame: “Next stop, it’s time to retrieve the Heart of Logic. Purifying that thing requires your neural synchronization map as the key.” Before he finished speaking, a bridge of light whirred toward the spire, outlining a complex network of synapses in the gathering dusk. Each arc shimmered with the electrical and neural signals from their encounter to their mutual acquaintance, like a string of memory pearls scattered across the night sky.
Chapter 30: Tactical Upgrade? Loose Alliance (Old Version)
Ye Xiu’s holographic projection suddenly exploded in data space. The tip of the Tianji umbrella held a silver-shimmering badge. The umbrella’s crystal reflected Su Mucheng’s silhouette within the indentations of Chen Mo’s wrench. The orange lines resonated with the Sanren symbol at the center of the badge, emitting a humming sound. This badge was a brainwave resonance amplifier. Ye Xiu’s voice was metallic, and he tapped Chen Mo’s palm with the umbrella tip. He tried twisting the Chaos Wave into Sanren form, just like tightening a screw—he had to find the right teeth.
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched the badge, an orange light sizzled from the metal nub. The strands of light twisted into the trajectory of Su Muqiu’s gunfire, entwining with his chaotic brainwaves. A translucent phantom of the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella condensed in front of the wrench. Oh my god! A wrench can become an umbrella? He frantically swung the tool, and the phantom umbrella ribs began to clatter, syncing with the rhythm of Ye Xiu’s keyboard during those competitive matches.
Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm buzzed with intense light, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice tinting the rifle’s sights into a heart shape. Old Ye had installed a mind-link module on the barrel of the rifle. She pulled the trigger and unleashed a stream of orange light, its trajectory tracing the arc of cherry blossoms from a Tokyo shrine. Now the aiming frame automatically locked onto the heart-core interface, like an ant meeting sugar. The mark on her left earlobe swelled to a flame-colored hue, and the rippled orange light on her tactical vest flickered with her breathing.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the turbulent data flow, and the warm orange light on the back of his neck flickered like a safety light in a mine. This badge was like the mining lamp whistle in my hometown. He tapped the edge of the badge with his chipped wrench, and the clanging sound resonated with Chen Mo’s brain waves, forming a vibrating sound. Before, blowing the whistle would call for his fellow workers, but now it would call for the Light Butterfly! Ah Ming’s fire axe clanged and levitated, the silver blade twisting into the new symbol of the Sanren. As it split the data stream, the keyboard sounds of Ye Xiu’s old days were released, crackling like frying beans.
The training grounds in data space suddenly lit up. Chen Mo’s brainwaves formed a tangled skeleton, while Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness threaded back and forth like sewing thread. Spotting the gap, Ye Xiu placed the tip of his umbrella on the crack in the code. Su Mucheng’s red-penciled annotations surfaced on the umbrella, hammering in the rhythm of the London Maze like a nail. As Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle buzzed together, the dark data streams on the surface of the core fell like dominoes.
A dark wave of data suddenly surged, and a “Genius Judge,” formed from contaminated code, lashed out with a whip of light. “Use that New York move!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into Chen Mo’s mind, and memories of their battles together exploded—the rhythm of the wrench and the trajectory of the rifle tangled into a light shield, clanging to block the whip of light. Hey! Ah Ming’s fire axe slashed down, and Ye Xiu’s words popped up on the blade: Alliance coordination efficiency increased by 63%! These idiots are going to be dumbfounded!
The old scavenger’s wrench clicked into a broken crystal. “This is a clay whistle my grandson made!” He swung the fragment, and the orange light reflected from the broken corner burned holes in the “Gifted Judge.” “That kid said my whistle could blow out light, and now it’s really blown out a light shield!” The orange veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled like an old electrical wire leaking electricity, and each new pattern was a mixture of chaotic and orange light.
“Chen Mo, look at the wrench!” Ye Xiu’s projection suddenly called out. Su Mucheng’s silhouette, etched within the wrench’s inscription, shone brightly, resonating with the emblem. The trajectory of her past battles drifted through the air. The afterimage of New York blocking the bullet, the butterfly of Tokyo’s prayer rope, all transformed into flying points of light, circling them. This was the unique skill of the Loose Players Alliance. Ye Xiu drew circles with the tip of his umbrella, wielding his emotions like bullets.
The training ground’s light shield erupted with a powerful blast of light, disintegrating the last contaminated code into a butterfly of light. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle clanged together, their frequencies forming a chord that spread. The logo of the Loose Alliance emerged from the data ruins, each pattern reflecting the heat of their resonance. The old scavenger tore off his straw hat, and the light pattern on the back of his neck danced like a drum, hot enough to boil an egg!
As they emerged from the data space, the sun stained the Lujiazui archway a honey-colored hue. Su Mucheng poked the veins in her forearm and smiled. “Now the lattice can make tea. It’s hotter than the broken crystal in your palm.” As her fingertips touched the wrench, a bridge of light exploded, illuminating the words on the distant wall: “Cooperation is strategy.” Each stroke was like a firefly, flickering with their heartbeats.
A Ming’s fire axe drew a spiral, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the silver blade: “When Chaos and Orange Light become Sanren’s right and left hands, that old man in the Abyss will tremble.” A swarm of light butterflies suddenly appeared on the light bridge. Some on their wings used wrenches to strike Morse code, while others used light wheels to repair the crystal lattice. Ye Xiu’s projection used the tip of an umbrella to fight for the Alliance’s victory.
The shadow of the light streak on the Huangpu River swayed with them, like a lively orange fish. Chen Mo looked at the warming mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe and remembered what Ye Xiu had said: “It’s not that independent players don’t have professions; they can be good at anything.” At this moment, the badge at the end of the light streak resonated with the wrench, humming in time with their heartbeats during their duet in London.
The river breeze carried the chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dislodge the warm glow from the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadowy figure appeared within the heart-shaped frame: “Next stop, it’s time to practice for the Lujiazui showdown. I’ll have to use your brainwaves as strings.” As soon as he finished speaking, a bridge of light swooped toward the tower’s summit, outlining the tactical network of the Loose Alliance in the morning light. Every curve shone with the tacit understanding they’d developed from their first encounter until now.
Chapter 31 Orange Light First Encounter? Lattice Resonance (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched the crack in the data space, an orange light sizzled from the iron nub. Those threads of light twisted into the prayer ropes Su Mucheng tied at the Tokyo shrine, tangling with his chaotic brainwaves. The black data stream seeping from the crack actually rippled. This crack is like the magnet in my hometown! He hastily withdrew his hand. The orange light in the wrench’s notch spun like a frightened beetle. Look at these threads of light, they look like ants burned on the stove!
Don’t panic like you’ve seen a wolf! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice weaving into a web of light. The mark on her left earlobe swelled to amber, and the rippled orange light on her tactical vest bubbled and gurgled: “Old Ye said this is a contaminated seam of the heart of sacrifice, and you need to use cross-talent resonance as the key—look at this seam edge, it looks so much like the wrench spring you broke last time!” The rifle’s crosshairs swung out of a heart-shaped circle, and the laser traced a trembling arc across the seam, like Ah Ming, drunk and unable to hold chopsticks.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was lifted by the turbulent flow of data, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck swung like the pendulum of an old grandfather clock. The wind here was similar to the draft in the mines back home. His chipped wrench struck the seam, and the clanging resonated with Chen Mo’s brainwaves, forming a vibrating sound, but with more piercing light! Before the last landslide, the miner’s lamp flickered like this too!
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly levitated, the silver blade twisting into Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol, releasing a staccato melody as it sliced through the data stream. Listen! It’s a version of “Glory Dawn” missing three beats! He swung the axe and stomped his foot, sparks forming a missing piece of musical notation on the ground. It’s like learning to play the harmonica with my sister, missing a note, and she’s so angry she threw it into the well!
A streak of light suddenly erupted from the cracks. Chen Mo’s brainwaves formed a tangled mess, while Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness threaded through like a colorful thread. Look here! Chen Mo’s wrench burned red. Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal blinked, her eyelashes stained with virtual cherry blossom pink. This was the hole in her tactical vest burned by the data stream when she was taking bullets in New York! She had insisted it was caused by ketchup!
A dark tide of data suddenly surged, and the “Genius Executioner,” formed from contaminated code, swung his sword. The blade was etched with the crooked characters “Genius Supremacy,” mirroring the mold stains on the walls of the old scavenger’s leaky cave. “Hurry up and play the tune of London Labyrinth!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, and the chorus of gunfire erupted—the rhythm of the wrench and the trajectory of the rifle entwined into a sonic shield, reflecting Chen Mo’s silly expression as he pounded the wrench out of shape.
Bang! Ah Ming’s fire axe chopped down, and Ye Xiu’s words popped up on the blade: Lattice resonance increased by 39%! These bastards are breaking our connection! The tail hook of the word trembled, like the ash from Ye Xiu’s sneaky cigarette. The old scavenger’s wrench caught a cherry blossom-shaped particle of light, the petals with teeth marks on the edges: This is the cherry blossom in Tokyo! My wife said that the falling cherry blossoms are like a rain of light, and now this rain of light can cut holes in iron lumps! His hands were shaking violently, and the orange light reflected from the chipped wrench burned a honeycomb of holes in the executioner’s body, like a sieve shot through by his grandson with a slingshot.
“Chen Mo! Your heart of courage!” Su Mucheng suddenly cried, her voice tinged with tears. The crystal in his palm resonated with the cracks, emitting a burst of intense light that dyed the light pattern a warm orange. The light pattern of Su Mucheng’s earlobe emerged on the surface of the crystal, the same temperature as the roasted sweet potato he warmed in New York. “Look at this crystal! It’s just like the roasted sweet potato you used to warm my hands last time!” Her rifle’s crosshairs steadied, the heart-shaped frame reflecting the crystal’s light, and the barrel was burning.
The lattice grows on its own! Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle hummed together, the chord formed by the two frequencies spreading, and the data stream at the edge of the rift crackled. When the executioner’s sword collided with the sound shield, a sky full of light butterflies burst out, their wings flashing with images: the sweat on her palms as she dragged him along in New York, her red ears as he tied the prayer rope in Tokyo, the silly rhythm of him hitting her rifle with his wrench in London.
The old scavenger pulled off his straw hat, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck danced like a drum: “My neck and this light shield have the same pulse! It’s so hot that it could hatch chicks!” He touched it and quickly withdrew his hand, his fingertips as red as sweet potatoes just taken from the stove.
As I emerged from the crevice, dusk dyed the Lujiazui archway a marmalade color. Strips of light cast long shadows on the ground, like the ribbons hanging from Su Mucheng’s rifle. The lattice is now the same temperature as yours. Su Mucheng looked down at the veins in her forearm and suddenly laughed, a laugh that lingered in the orange light. “Remember? In New York, you heated up a wrench and used it to warm my hand. Now my forearm can be used as a soldering iron!”
As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, the bridge of light exploded, illuminating the words on the distant wall: Emotional Resonance. Each stroke was like a firefly holding a lantern, flickering with their heartbeats. Ah Ming’s fire axe drew a circle, and the silver light on the blade revealed Ye Xiu’s words: When chaos resonates with orange light, the roots of innate hegemony are shaken. The words ended with a smiley face, a rare playful expression from Ye Xiu.
The shadow of the light band on the Huangpu River swayed with them, like a lively orange fish. Chen Mo looked at the mark of warmth on Su Mucheng’s earlobe and remembered what she had said in London: when the lattice resonates, the guns and cannons acquire heat. Now, the lattice pattern at the end of the light band resonated with the Heart of Courage, the humming rhythm echoing the soft click of her rifle going off when they first met in New York.
The river breeze carried the chill of the turbulent data, but it couldn’t dislodge the warm glow from the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. The light from the spire flickered within the frame, reminiscent of the swaying prayer bells at a Tokyo shrine. Time to get the Heart of Logic next stop. As she finished her words, a bridge of light whirred toward the spire, sketching a latticework in the twilight. Every curve flashed with all the memories they’d shared since they’d met, like a crooked family portrait drawn by the grandson of an old scavenger.
Chapter 32 Color Code? Warm Orange Frequency Change (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench brushed against the tainted outer shell of the Heart of Logic, an orange light sizzled from the metal nub. The strands of light twisted into the curls of Su Mucheng’s hair, blown by the wind as she took cover in New York. They clashed with his chaotic brainwaves, making a crackling sound like firecrackers exploding on a summer night. “This broken shell is harder than the bluestone used to press pickles back home!” He gritted his teeth, pressing the wrench against the outer shell, his knuckles numb from the shock. The orange light in the wrench’s incisions swirled like frightened beetles. Look at these strands of light, they crawled around like ants on a scalded stovetop!
Don’t use brute force to fight a rock! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed with a strong light, and the orange light seeping from the lattice cracks wove a dense net on the shell. The mark on her left earlobe swelled into a honey color, brightening and dimming with her breathing, and the rippled orange light on the tactical vest bubbled like boiling sugar water: Lao Ye said that the password of this thing is hidden in the color level, and we have to use our brain waves as the key to pry it open. Look at the pattern on the shell, it’s like the FM knob of my grandfather’s old radio. If you turn it wrong, there will be no sound! The rifle’s front sight swung out a heart-shaped circle, and the barrel laser drew a crooked S shape on the shell, just like a drunk snake crawling.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the turbulent data flow, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck flickered like a safety light in a mine. This shell was like the wheel of the old well in my hometown. His missing wrench clanged against the shell, and the sound resonated with Chen Mo’s brainwaves into a trembling sound wave. You have to find the right eye for the well rope to make the wheel turn! Look at that light pattern, it’s like the cracks caused by smoke in the wall of my cave, all crooked and twisted, just like the earthworms my grandson drew!
Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly clanged and levitated, the silver blade twisting into Ye Xiu’s Sanren symbol, releasing a staccato melody as it sliced through the surrounding data streams. Listen! A tuneless variation of “Dawn of Glory”! He swung the axe excitedly, sparks flying across the shell, creating a color spectrum. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple flickered wildly, reminiscent of the time when my sister was a kid, learning to play the harmonica and finding the right tune. The sound was so off-key it shook the wall, so enraged she threw the harmonica into the well!
A spiderweb of light suddenly erupted from the outer shell of the Heart of Logic. Chen Mo’s chaotic brainwaves lay like a tangled mess, while Su Mucheng’s orange stream of consciousness threaded back and forth like colored threads. “Look at this purple streak!” Chen Mo’s wrench burned red. Su Mucheng’s silhouette against the metal surface suddenly blinked, her eyelashes stained with a virtual cherry blossom pink. This was the color gradation of her earlobe when she shielded me from falling rocks at the Tokyo shrine! She grimaced in pain, like my neighbor’s cat whose tail was stepped on, yet she insisted it was okay!
A dark tide of data suddenly surged like a dam breaking. The “Logic Judge,” formed from contaminated code, lashed out at them with a light ruler. The light ruler was inscribed with formulas of supreme talent, each symbol dripping with purple-black data streams, like the mold stains on the walls of an old scavenger’s leaky cave. “Turn to the color frequency of the London Maze!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into his mind, and the sound of gunfire from the two of them exploded—the rhythm of the wrench tapping and the trajectory of the rifle condensed into a rainbow-colored sonic shield, clanging and blocking the light ruler’s attack. Hey hey! These bastards are quite powerful! Amin swung the fire axe and chopped it down. Suddenly, Ye Xiu’s silver annotation popped up on the blade: Color resonance efficiency increased by 42%! These bastards are trying to break our keys!
The old scavenger’s wrench clicked, latching onto a particle of multicolored light. It was the shattered slag of the Heart of Courage! He held the fingernail-sized fragment close to the shell. The orange light refracted from the chipped corners, burning honeycomb-like holes through the “Logic Judge.” “My grandson always said rainbows are candy made from the light of the sky. Now this candy can smash even lumps of iron! Look at those holes, they’re like the sieve we use to sift wheat at home, full of holes. The wind makes a sound!” The orange veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm sizzled, like the sound of an old electrical wire leaking electricity. Each new vein glowed with a rainbow of colors, like oil dripping on water, shimmering like the shadow of a rainbow.
Chen Mo, look at my earlobe! Su Mucheng suddenly pointed at her left ear, her eyes shining like falling stars. The mark is changing color! The mark is changing strangely with the resonance of brain waves, from honey orange to flame color, and then fading back to warm orange, flickering like the FM light of an old radio. This is a code! The crosshairs of her rifle suddenly stabilized, and a translucent shadow of Ye Xiu emerged in the heart-shaped frame. The old man was gesturing by poking the air with the tip of his umbrella. Old Ye said that the color level changes are in sync with our emotional fluctuations. When you were worried about me just now, the mark turned red, as if shy!
The outer shell of the Heart of Logic cracked and cracked. Chen Mo’s wrench and Su Mucheng’s rifle simultaneously emitted a humming sound. The chord formed by the two frequencies spread like ripples, shaking the surrounding data wave. As the last contaminated code disappeared like the receding tide, revealing the core, the six light-patterned characters “Collaboration is the First Law” flickered in time with their heartbeats, each stroke flashing like a breathing firefly. The old scavenger yanked off his tattered straw hat, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck beat like a drum: “My neck is so hot that I can bake scallion pancakes! It’s even hotter than the pancakes my old partner used to make. I can smell the fragrance of the dough!”
As they emerged from the data space, the setting sun was dyeing the holographic archway of Lujiazui a flowing marmalade color. Su Mucheng stared down at the newly formed veins on her forearm and suddenly burst out laughing. “With this lattice temperature right now, cracking an egg on it will definitely result in a soft-boiled egg.” “Touch it if you don’t believe me—” As her fingertips touched Chen Mo’s wrench, a bridge of orange light exploded, illuminating the distant wall of the Heartseeker’s base. Someone had newly inscribed the four characters “Emotional Color Scale,” each stroke like a firefly holding a lantern, flickering in time with their heartbeats.
Amin’s fire axe drew a beautiful spiral in the air, and the silver light on the blade slowly emerged. Ye Xiu’s annotation: When the orange light hue resonates with the chaotic wave, the so-called logical hegemony will be shattered. Countless light butterflies suddenly emerged from the light bridge, their wings projecting strange images: mediocre laborers used wrenches to strike out different hues of Morse code, and highly gifted girls used their Nimbus Medals to adjust the corresponding orange light frequency. Even Ye Xiu’s projection was among them, using the tip of his umbrella to lift the light butterflies and spell out the code to crack four glowing words, each word swaying.
The reflection of the light band on the Huangpu River swayed with their footsteps, like a giant rainbow python come to life. Chen Mo furtively glanced at the mark of Su Mucheng’s earlobe, where it had warmed up again. He suddenly remembered what she had said in the London maze: the color gradation of the earlobe is like the face of brain waves, capable of blushing, anger, and secret joy. Now, the color spectrum at the end of the light band resonated with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm, emitting a humming low-frequency vibration that matched the exact beat of their heartbeats when they played the Guns Concerto together in London, like someone gently tapping a drum.
The river breeze carried the chill of the turbulent data stream, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth of the orange light from the wrench’s indentations. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs suddenly locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower’s spire. A blurry image of Ye Xiu appeared within the heart-shaped sight. The old man poked the spire with the tip of his umbrella, signaling: “Next stop, it’s time to gnaw at the ‘Heart of Space.’ We’ll have to use your chromatic resonance as a drill.” Before he finished speaking, a bridge of light whirred toward the spire, outlining a complex pattern of chromatic codes against the vibrant sunset glow. Each arc shimmered with the vicissitudes of emotion from their encounter to their mutual acquaintance, like a string of memory pearls scattered across the night sky, each reflecting a different image, swaying gently in the wind.
Chapter 33: Heart of Space? Dimensional Resonance (Old Version)
Chen Mo’s wrench struck the Lujiazui floor tiles, and the ground suddenly shook like jelly. The Empire State Building, framed by glass, twisted in two, one dripping with the sunlight of reality, the other dripping with the purplish black of data space. He hurriedly clenched the wrench, and Su Mucheng’s silhouette swayed within the indentation. As her hair brushed his palm, the scent of cherry blossoms, mixed with the whiff of electricity, reached his nose: This place is even more eerie than the London maze!
It’s the dimensional anchor that’s trembling! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and lit up, the orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice swirling like a ball of yarn. The mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, and the rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silvery white, the same color as the lightning flashes they’d seen at the Tokyo shrine. Old Ye said the Heart of Space was hidden atop the Jinmao Tower. Now the entire building was bouncing back and forth between reality and dataspace, like a shadow play back home!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat suddenly floated into the air, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck was stretched into a thin line. It was like the earthquake before the mine collapse back home! He struck the floating taxi with a broken wrench, and clangs exploded in three different directions, startling the light butterflies in the data space. It was just a few more iron boxes that could pass through walls. It was even more amazing than my grandson’s toy car!
Ah Ming’s fire axe swung horizontally in mid-air, the Sanren symbol on the blade ripped into an oval. “Hey, this axe can be used as a mirror!” he shouted at the distorted silver light. As the axe blade split the air, he let out a faint chuckle, the same sound he made when Ye Xiu got stuck in a map bug back then. It was the same sound I made when I got stuck in a wall in Glory, but I didn’t have Ye Xiu’s hand speed!
The spire of the Jinmao Tower suddenly cracked, and a purple-black Dimension Cutter crawled out, its metallic form distorted like a snake. Su Mucheng’s rifle crosshairs split into three, each one trembling: “Chen Mo! Use the memory frequency of the Tokyo Shrine! That time you clumsily tied the prayer string and tangled my shoelaces!”
Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly heated up, and the metal surface resembled Tokyo’s cherry blossoms. At that moment, Su Mucheng, her hair stained with pink petals, squatted beneath the torii gate to tie his shoelaces. When she looked up, the warm orange mark on her earlobe brushed against his wrist. “You said the prayer rope could bind the soul, but now my soul is being pulled out by a rift in space!” His brainwaves collided with the crack, and orange vines suddenly emerged from the ground, entangling the fading taxi.
The Cutter’s blade flashed, and Su Mucheng suddenly pulled him behind her. Silver light seeped from the cracks in the lattice of her digital forearm, just like when she had shielded him from the data stream in the ruins of New York: Get behind me! This time, I’ll be your shield! The rifle switched to a casual mode, and the moment the umbrella-shaped shield deployed, Ye Xiu’s comments flowed across the shield: Dimensional resonance requires brainwaves as strings. You two must tune in unison!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a warped street sign, still etched with his grandson’s distorted sun. “Where the sun shines, there the shadows are cast!” he said. He raised the sign and smashed it at the cutter. The orange light refracted from the chipped corners burned diamond-shaped holes through the metal, nailing these iron lumps to death in reality!
A Ming’s fire axe split open a dimensional rift, and Su Mucheng’s gun and artillery blueprints suddenly emerged from the blade. Those lines transformed into physical trajectory, unexpectedly reuniting Su Mucheng’s split crosshairs: Watch out! This axe of mine has a Ye family’s ancestral bug!
Chen Mo suddenly saw the cracks in the crystal lattice of Su Mucheng’s forearm widening. Silver light mingled with fragments of orange, reminiscent of the data blade she’d taken for him in the London maze. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and lit up, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. The back-to-back image of New York’s ruins, the prayer ropes of a Tokyo shrine, and the gun concerto of the London maze all flowed along the bridge of light into the Jinmao Tower.
A massive chessboard emerged from the outer wall of the Heart of Space. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black pieces, Su Mucheng’s orange light the white. It was time for checkmate. Su Mucheng’s voice carried the same conviction she’d felt in the London maze, her rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final anchor point. “Remember our first resonance at the subway relay station?” The sparks from your wrench and the light from my rifle barrel perfectly formed a heart.
As the Cutter’s blade flashed again, Chen Mo suddenly grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist and pulled her into his arms. The distance between the wrench mark and the earlobe imprint was so close that they could hear each other’s heartbeats. Orange light and deep purple exploded in front of the tip of his nose, unexpectedly forming a transparent cocoon. The cocoon’s walls projected all their resonant images: her dragging him along as they ran in New York, him shielding her from falling rocks in Tokyo, and the heartwarming scene of an old scavenger teaching his grandson how to use a wrench.
This time, I’ll take the blame. Chen Mo’s voice, muffled within the cocoon, was as clear as the crackle of gunfire in the London maze. “You always tilt your umbrella toward me, but now this wrench umbrella of mine can also protect me from the wind and rain.” Countless blades of light suddenly erupted from the cocoon wall, afterimages of their time together. They slashed back at the sword light, slicing the purple-black data stream into a sky of butterflies of light.
“Look at the spire!” The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat finally fell back onto his head, and he pointed at the Jinmao Tower, which was now being reset. The twisted spire was redrawn by an orange glow, and the pollution code vanished like receding water, revealing a diamond-shaped crystal suspended at its core—the Heart of Space. Countless light patterns swirled across the crystal’s surface, each one reflecting a different scene of their mutual resonance: she teaching him how to adjust his rifle, him repairing her crystal lattice, and even the old scavenger and A-Ming providing support.
A crackling sound echoed through Su Mucheng’s forearm. New veins of orange light were growing along the cracks, reminiscent of the sound of electricity during their first successful resonance in the underground relay station. She looked up at Chen Mo. The mark on her earlobe had faded back to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes still held a lingering silver light. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when we were chased by the data tide in New York. You almost ripped my arm off.”
I’m afraid you’ll be swallowed by the crack in space. Chen Mo released his hand. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm was still burning, and Su Mucheng’s profile looked like it was wrapped in a layer of orange light. “Remember what you said in the data prison?” When two brain waves resonate to the extreme, even time and space will give way. Now let’s make the Heart of Space give way.
As they emerged from the dimensional turbulence, the holographic archway of Lujiazui lit up with the morning light. Amin’s fire axe circled in the air, the silver light from the blade forming Ye Xiu’s annotation: Twin brainwaves act as strings, spatial barriers become chords. Thousands of light butterflies floated from the light bridge, their wings reflecting the silhouette of the old scavenger repairing the dimensional rift, and Amin’s smirk as he held his axe.
On the Huangpu River, the reflection of the light ribbon swayed with their heartbeats, tinting the water a warm orange. Chen Mo gazed at the newly formed veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm and suddenly remembered what she had said in New York: Brainwave resonance isn’t addition, it’s multiplication. At this moment, the diamond-shaped crystal of the Heart of Space was resonating with the fragment of the Heart of Courage, and the vibrations were like the clear chords of the wrench and rifle during their first resonance.
The river breeze carried the chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth from the wrench’s indentations. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs suddenly locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadowy figure emerged within the heart-shaped frame: “Next stop, the Heart of Time.” You’ll need to use the fragments of memories you’ve gathered as keys. Remember to bring along the cherry blossoms of Tokyo and the roar of London’s gunfire.
She turned and smiled at Chen Mo, the warm orange mark on her earlobe flickering. “Did you hear that? Old Ye wants us to take our memories and brave the time barrier.” In the morning light, her digitized forearm gently touched his wrench, as if winding each other’s brainwaves. And in the distance, atop the Jinmao Tower, the heart of space transformed into an orange star track, slowly swirling around their figures—a dimensional mark unique to collaboration, a never-fading mark.
Chapter 34: The Mystery of the Loose Man? The Shadow of the Umbrella (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench brushed against the runes on the maze wall, an orange light sizzled from the iron nub. Those strands of light twisted into the shape of Su Mucheng’s knuckles tying a prayer rope at the Tokyo Shrine. As they collided with his chaotic brainwaves, the gunner’s skill runes on the wall dinged and lit up, resonating with the wrench’s markings, like wind chimes on someone’s windowsill being rustled by the wind. This wall bore a striking resemblance to the family tree wall in my hometown’s ancestral hall. He abruptly retracted his hand, and the orange light in the wrench’s markings fluttered and shone, blindingly bright at the mere touch!
Don’t touch the runes! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed, and the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice drew crooked arrows on the ground. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silver, and the mark on her left earlobe turned a deep purple, the same color as when she last saw her brother debugging the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella in the warehouse. Old Ye said this maze had the same mechanics as the Glory dungeon. Her rifle’s crosshairs swung out a heart-shaped circle, shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind. Stepping on the wrong tile could unleash the skill projections of twenty-four classes!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the runelight, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck was stretched into thin noodles. The wind here was like the draft in the mines back home. He struck the missing wrench on the Sanren symbol on the ground, and the clang echoed from all three directions, left, right, and back. But there were more glowing metal pieces! Amin’s fire axe suddenly swung horizontally in mid-air, the Sanren symbol on the blade being torn into an oval shape. As it split the air, Ye Xiu’s chuckle, like the sound he made when he was stuck in the map bug, escaped, just like the sound he made when he was secretly smoking.
The most bizarre thing was the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella Corridor, its walls adorned with weapon projections. Chen Mo’s brainwaves swept over it, and the swords, spears, and halberds hummed. “To the tune of a London maze!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, carrying the melody of a gun concerto. Old Ye said that the key to solving this mystery was to use the cross-class frequency!
Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly heated up, and the image of Su Mucheng blocking the data stream in New York surfaced on the metal. Back then, she’d had a hole in her tactical vest, and she’d still pushed him towards the safe zone: “Remember you said this wrench could open any lock? Time to show off your skills.” His brainwaves collided with the rune of the Sanren on the ground, and the rune of the Gunner on the wall suddenly lit up, resonating with the wrench notch and firing an orange arrow that shattered the trap bricks ahead.
Meteor! Su Mucheng suddenly yanked him back, her digital forearm across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the crystal lattice collided with the virtual meteorite, crackling like broken glass. Her rifle snapped into its Sanren form, its barrel unfolding like a canopy. Ye Xiu’s silver words streamed down the canopy: Sanren puzzles require switching frequencies like changing weapons!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a twisted rune. “This is my grandson’s drawing of the sun!” He waved the fragment, and the orange light reflected from the missing corners burned diamond-shaped holes in the meteorite. “That kid said sunlight can stick to shadows, and now it sticks to these explosive rocks!” Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s gun diagrams emerged from the blade. The lines became real ballistics, and the eight-piece meteorite was pieced back together.
Chen Mo suddenly saw the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm widening. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, just like when she’d blocked a skill for him in London. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. The New York rain, Tokyo’s cherry blossoms, and the chiming of London’s bells all flowed along the bridge toward the core of the maze.
A large chessboard suddenly appeared on the ground. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black pieces, Su Mucheng’s orange light became the white pieces, and Ye Xiu’s shadow gestured from the side. It was time for checkmate. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the last rune. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench, the two frequencies forming a chord that pounded towards the core like a drum.
When the last rune of light faded, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist and pulled her into his arms. The orange light from the wrench’s mark was extremely close to the mark on her earlobe, and a transparent cocoon burst out with a sizzling sound. In Tokyo, you always tilted the umbrella towards me. His voice was muffled in the cocoon, this time it was my turn to block it. Their shadows were cast on the cocoon wall, from her dragging him along in New York to back-to-back boss battles in London. Every scene turned into a knife of light, slashing at the flying skill projections.
Look! The wall is disappearing! The old scavenger’s straw hat dropped to the ground, and he pointed to the end of the corridor. The once colorful wall was outlined again by orange light, and the dark runes disappeared like the tide, revealing the floating symbol of the independent player in the center – a diamond-shaped crystal. The surface was swirling with light patterns of various classes, and each light pattern contained an image of the two of them together.
Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, new veins of orange light sprouting from the cracks, echoing the same electrical hum they’d experienced when they’d first successfully resonated in the subway. She looked up at him, the mark on her earlobe returning to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were now tinged with silver stars. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when New York was being chased by the data tide. You nearly dislocated my arm.”
As they emerged from the maze, the setting sun dyed the archway of Lujiazui a marmalade color. A-Ming’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the blade: “Twin brainwaves serve as the key, even the most difficult puzzle is a song.” The orange light behind them transformed into star tracks, circling them, painting the border between reality and digital space a warm orange.
The light strips and shadows on the Huangpu River swayed with their heartbeats, like a lively orange fish. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what she had said in the data prison: “Our brainwaves are resonating so intensely that even the maze makes way for us.” Now, the crystal of the Sanren symbol resonated with the fragment in his palm, emitting a buzzing sound only they could hear, like bees circling a flower.
The river breeze carried a chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dislodge the warm glow from the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadow loomed within the heart-shaped frame: “To get the Tactical Heart at the next station, you’ll need your Sanren resonance diagram as a key.” As soon as he finished speaking, a bridge of light whirred toward the tower’s spire, outlining the Sanren logo in the twilight. Every curve shone with the tacit understanding they’d developed since their first encounter, brighter than any rune on the wall.
Chapter 35 Tactical Annotation – Harmonic Breakthrough (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench brushed against the edge of the tactical board, a silver light sizzled from the metal. Those strands of light twisted into the shape of Ye Xiu’s knuckles, the way he’d drawn a tactical diagram in the London maze. As they collided with his chaotic brainwaves, the individual player symbols on the board dinged and resonated with the wrench’s notches, like the gears of an old grandfather clock meshing. This board looked like an abacus from back home. He jerked his hand back, and the silver light in the wrench’s notches fluttered and danced. Once touched, it couldn’t stop spinning!
Don’t touch that harmonic annotation! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, silver light seeping through the cracks in the lattice, drawing crooked wavy lines on the board. The silver ripples on her tactical vest faded to a warm orange, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, the same color as when she’d last spied on Ye Xiu adjusting the Myriad Machine Umbrella: Old Ye said this annotation was like a gearbox. Her rifle’s crosshairs swung out of a heart-shaped circle, but it shook like a sieve in the autumn wind. The slightest misalignment would cause it to jam!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the annotated light, and the warm orange light streaks on the back of his neck were stretched into thin noodles. This light was similar to the sparks from the mining lamps back home. His chipped wrench struck the gear pattern on the board, and the clanking sound echoed in three different tones, high and low, but with some silver pieces that spun in circles! Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly swung horizontally in mid-air, the gear symbol on the blade being torn into a spiral. As it split the air, Ye Xiu let out a chuckle as he dismantled his opponent’s tactics, just like the sound he made when he secretly drank old wine.
The most bizarre thing was the harmonic matrix in the middle: twelve layers of silver rings encircling the central Sanren symbol. Chen Mo’s brainwaves swept over it, and the rings hummed. “In the tune of New York!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whirred into his head, carrying the melody of a gun concerto. Old Ye said the twelfth harmonic is the keyhole!
Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly heated up, and Ye Xiu’s silhouette in the data space emerged on the metal. At that moment, Old Ye scraped the ground with the tip of his umbrella, a dazzling silver light: “Remember you said this wrench can’t make any cracks? Time to practice.” His brainwaves collided with the gear pattern, and the outer silver ring suddenly lit up, resonating with the wrench notch and shooting out a silver arrow, snapping and lodging in the gap between the matrix gears.
The gears are about to explode! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm across the middle. Silver light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the virtual gears, making a creaking sound like metal being bent. Her rifle clicked into its scattered form, and above the canopy on which the barrel unfolded, Ye Xiu’s orange words streamed down: Harmonics must fit together like building blocks!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a twisted piece of silver. “This is my grandson’s spinning top!” He swung the fragment, and the silver light reflected from the missing corner burned diamond-shaped holes in the gears. “That kid said the spinning top would absorb light, and now it’s absorbing these biting iron rings!” Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s tactical notes emerged from the blade. The handwriting transformed into real silver wedges, riveting the eight-piece gear back into place.
Chen Mo suddenly saw the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm widening. Silver light mingled with orange stars, just like when she’d shielded him from a tactical projection in London. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. The New York rain, Tokyo’s cherry blossoms, and the chiming of London’s bells all flowed along the bridge toward the core of the matrix.
Suddenly, a gear array erupted from the ground. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became black gears, Su Mucheng’s silver light became white gears, and Ye Xiu’s shadow beat the rhythm nearby. Time to wind up the spring. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the twelfth silver ring. The silver light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench, the two frequencies forming a chord that pounded against the core like a drum.
When the last ray of gear light faded, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist and pulled her behind him. The silver light from the wrench’s notch was extremely close to the mark on her earlobe, and a gear-shaped light shield burst out with a crackling sound. “In London, you always blocked skills first,” his voice muffled within the shield. “This time it’s my turn.” Their shadows were cast on the shield wall, from back-to-back runs in New York to cross-screen in Tokyo. Every scene became a light gear, biting at the flying tactical projection.
Look! The Matrix is changing! The old scavenger’s straw hat dropped to the ground, and he pointed at the center. The formerly chaotically spinning gears were re-welded by a silver glow, and the dark annotations vanished like the tide, revealing the floating heart of strategy in the center—a gear-shaped crystal, its surface swirling with light patterns from various classes, each of which depicted the two of them working together.
Su Mucheng’s forearm creaked, new veins of silver light sprouting from the cracks, echoing the sound of gears when they first successfully resonated in the subway. She looked up at him, the mark on her earlobe returning to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were now stained with silver stars. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when we were dodging the data surge in New York. You nearly broke my arm.”
As they emerged from the Matrix, the sun tinted the archway of Lujiazui a marmalade-colored orange. A-Ming’s axe circled in the air, Ye Xiu’s words surfacing on the blade: “Twin brainwaves act as gears, even the most challenging tactics become a melody.” The silver light behind them transformed into star tracks, circling them and painting the borders of reality and dataspace a silver-orange.
The light and shadow on the Huangpu River swayed with their heartbeats, like a frisky silverfish. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said in the Data Prison: “When brainwave resonance reaches its peak, even tactics will give way to you.” Now, the crystal of the Tactical Heart resonated with the fragment in his palm, emitting a humming sound only they could hear, like bees flying around a flower.
The river breeze carried a chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dislodge the silver light from the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadow loomed within the heart-shaped frame: “Next station, we’ll get the Heart of Spacetime. We’ll need your tactical resonance diagram as the key.” As soon as he finished speaking, the light bridge whirred toward the tower’s spire, sketching the shape of a gear array in the morning light. Every curve shone with the tacit understanding they’d developed since they met, brighter than any annotation on the board.
Chapter 36 Consciousness Severed? Resonance Attenuation (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched the consciousness link tester, an orange light sizzled from the metal nub. Those strands of light twisted into the fluttering hair of Su Mucheng as she ran through the ruins of New York. As they collided with his chaotic brainwaves, the resonance curve on the tester screen shot up to its peak, beeping like an alarm clock back home when the chickens were laying eggs. This broken machine looked just like my grandmother’s heartbeat box. He pulled his hand back abruptly, and the orange light in the wrench’s notch fluttered and whirred wildly, making a whirring noise at the touch!
Don’t panic! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice creating curved lines on the screen. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silver, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, the same color as when she’d last seen Ye Xiu testing the limits of the Thousand Machine Umbrella: Old Ye had said this was testing the resonance threshold. Her rifle’s crosshairs swung out of a heart-shaped circle, shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind, breaking once it crossed the red line!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was half-lifted by the instrument’s light, stretching the warm orange light streaks on the back of his neck into thin noodles. This light was like the leaking gas lamps in the mines back home. His chipped wrench struck the instrument housing, and the clanging sound danced in three different tones, albeit with a few more dancing green lanes! A-Ming’s fire axe suddenly swung horizontally in mid-air, the broken chain symbol on the blade rippled into waves. As it split the air, Ye Xiu let out a sigh as he severed his tactical link, like someone leaning against a wall to catch his breath after exhaustion.
The most terrifying thing was the light band on the monitoring screen. Chen Mo’s chaotic waves and Su Mucheng’s orange light stream formed a band, which was being torn apart bit by bit by Ye Xiu’s manual operation. “Keep the tune of London!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into his mind, wrapped in a warm fragment of the gun concerto. Old Ye said that when the chain breaks, we must preserve the core knot!
The notch on Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly burned, and the shadow of Su Mucheng’s hand tying a prayer rope at the Tokyo Shrine emerged from the metal. The mark on her earlobe was a warm orange, and her voice, as soft as a cat’s meow, “Remember you said this rope could hold good luck? Now it has to hold my brainwaves.” His brainwaves collided with the screen’s anchor point, and the fragment of London’s memory on the light strip suddenly lit up, resonating with the wrench notch, tugging at the light strip that was about to break.
The connection is breaking! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the crystal lattice collided with the silver ripples of the instrument, making a sound like shattering glass. Her rifle snapped and transformed into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words dripping down the umbrella: If the resonance breaks, it will be like dominoes!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught a piece of transparent light. “This is the thread left over from my wife’s knitting!” He held it up and swung it. The orange light refracted from the missing corners, burning diamond-shaped holes in the decaying ripples. She said thread could mend clothes, and now it’s mending our brainwaves! Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s unfinished music score emerged from the blade. The notes became real anchors, gluing the broken light bands together again.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, a stark resemblance to the wounded woman she’d been in during their initial connection to the Data Prison. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. New York rain, Tokyo cherry blossoms, and London clocks all flowed along the bridge into her consciousness.
The light band on the monitor suddenly reversed, Chen Mo’s brainwaves becoming the black anchor, Su Mucheng’s orange light the white anchor, and Ye Xiu’s shadow beating the rhythm beside them. Time to mend it. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the last broken point, the orange light emanating from the barrel perfectly syncing with the rhythm of his wrench. The two frequencies formed a chord, like sewing a shoe sole, stitching the tear in the light band together.
As the last decaying ripple died away, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist and ducked back. The orange light from the wrench’s mark drew near the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like shield of light burst forth with a crackling sound. “In the data prison, you always protected me first.” His voice muffled within the shield, “This time it’s my turn.” The shield wall cast their shadows, resonating from New York first to London back to back. Every image became a thread of light, mending the crumbling connection.
Look! The light strip is growing! The old scavenger dropped his straw hat to the ground and pointed at the screen. The thin, translucent light strip had been swelled by the orange light. The dark decaying characters disappeared like the ebbing tide, revealing the steady orange and black intertwined strip in the middle. The light patterns of their memories spun on its surface, each a moment of accelerated heartbeat.
Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, new veins of orange light sprouting from the cracks, echoing the same electrical hum they’d experienced when they’d first successfully connected in the subway. She looked up at him, the mark on her earlobe returning to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were tinged with silver stars. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when we were dodging the data surge in London. You nearly dislocated my arm.”
As they left the monitoring room, the setting sun stained the archway of Lujiazui a marmalade-colored orange. A-Ming’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the blade: “Twin brainwaves will mend themselves; a broken link is but a nap.” The orange light behind them transformed into star tracks, circling them and painting the border between reality and data space a warm orange.
The shadow of the light band on the Huangpu River swayed with their heartbeats, like a lively orange fish. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said: When brainwaves resonate to such an extent, a broken chain actually tempers the connection. Now, the stable light band resonated with the fragment in his palm, emitting a humming sound only they could hear, like a beehive under a locust tree in summer.
The river breeze carried a chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dislodge the warm glow from the wrench’s notch. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadow emerged within the heart-shaped frame: “Next stop, I’ll get the Heart of Memory. I’ll need this light strip of yours as a key.” As soon as he finished speaking, the light bridge whirred toward the tower’s spire, slicing a ribbon of light in the twilight. Every curve shone with the memories they’d shared since they met, warmer than any other connection.
Chapter 37 Chaos Awakening? Mass Resonance (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench struck the metal shell of the brainwave relay station, a chaotic burst of light sizzled from the metal. The strands of light twisted into the shadows of five hundred debris workers wielding shovels. As they collided with his brainwaves, the relay station’s indicator lights spurted with sparks, humming like a beehive back home. This shabby station was like my grandmother’s bellows. He jumped and retracted his hand. The chaotic light in the wrench’s grooves fluttered and flared, ready to burst into flames if he clapped his hands against it!
Keep knocking! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice creating crooked streaks of lightning on the iron. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silver, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, the same color as when she last saw Ye Xiu leading the Loose Alliance through the encirclement: Old Ye said this was the gateway to mass resonance. The crosshairs on her rifle swung out of a heart-shaped circle, but it trembled like a sieve. Prying it open could wake the entire city!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat flew off in the light of the station, stretching the warm orange light streaks on the back of his neck into thin noodles. This light was like the sun in the threshing ground back home. He smashed his chipped wrench against the resonance module, and the clang echoed simultaneously at the four intersections, east, west, south, and north. Only there were some more metal lumps that could shout slogans! A-Ming’s fire axe suddenly swung horizontally in mid-air, the crowd symbol on the blade rippled, and the scramblers’ song emanated from the air as it split the air, the same tune they used to sing during the reservoir construction.
The most terrifying thing was the city’s nightscape—Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like a stone thrown into a pond, ripples spreading outward through the relay station, and tiny dots of light, the size of soybeans, gradually lit up on the gray buildings. “Use the New York way!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, wrapped in the warmth of a hundred-man team standing back to back. Old Ye said that the awakening of chaos must be ignited by thoughts!
Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly heated up, and the shadows of workers at the garbage dump, tools raised and shouting, emerged from the metal. It was his first time triggering resonance, and the rhythm of the shovel hitting the ground matched his heartbeat: Remember when you said our belongings could make music? Now it’s time for the whole city to hear it! His brainwaves collided with the core of the relay station, and chaotic light patterns crackled and lit up on the surfaces of the buildings, resonating with the wrench notch. The illuminated windows grew denser and denser.
It’s going to explode! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the surging chaos waves, making a creaking sound like iron being twisted. Her rifle clicked and transformed into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words flowing across the umbrella: This chaos field can tear the data prison to shreds!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a gaudy crystal. “This is a clay star my grandson made!” He held it up and shook it. The chaotic light refracted from the missing corners burned diamond-shaped holes in the overcarrier. “That kid said stars can gather popularity, but now it’s us who are gathering popularity!” Amin’s axe split the air, and the blade surface revealed Su Muqiu’s unfinished score for “A Thousand People’s Song.” The notes became real commands, aligning the chaotic brainwaves.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, a stark resemblance to the wounded woman she’d been during the London mass resonance. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. New York’s rain, Tokyo’s snow, and the sounds of London’s clocks all flowed along the bridge into the resonance network.
A chaotic vortex suddenly swirled above the city. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became a black core, Su Mucheng’s orange light became white veins, and Ye Xiu’s shadow beat a rhythm at the center of the vortex. It was time to tune in. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final energy port. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench, the two frequencies forming a chord like spring thunder, a rumble that shook the windows.
As the last overload extinguished, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist with his backhand and dodged backward. The chaotic light from the wrench’s mark was close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like light shield burst out with a crackling sound. In London, you always stared at me, afraid of overload. His voice was muffled in the shield. Now it’s my turn to stare at you. The shield wall cast their shadows, from the New York hundred-man team to the London ten thousand-man team. Every image became a thread of light, weaving together the chaotic field that was about to fall apart.
Look up! The old scavenger’s straw hat fell into a puddle, and he pointed at the night sky. The previously scattered flickering dots of light were strung together into a web of orange light. The dark overloaded characters disappeared like the tide, revealing a web of light covering the entire city. The meshes were filled with the resonant shadows of people holding tools, each one swaying.
Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new veins of orange light sprouted from the cracks, echoing the cheers they’d heard the first time they’d triggered resonance in the subway. She looked up at him, the mark on her earlobe back to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were tinged with silver stars. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when I was commanding thousands of people in London. My wrist’s still numb.”
As we exited the relay station, the sun tinted the archway of Lujiazui a marmalade color. A-Ming’s axe circled the air, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the blade: “Chaotic brainwaves are the heart, every mean is a resonant string.” The light net behind him formed star tracks, circling the buildings and painting the edges of the streets and alleys a warm orange.
The shadow of the light web on the Huangpu River swayed with the beats of millions of hearts, like a vibrant orange dragon. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said while crouching in the corner of the data prison: When individual chaos awakens into collective resonance, all innate hegemony will collapse. Now, the light web resonated with the fragment in his palm, making a humming sound that resembled the hopping of millions of grasshoppers in a rice paddy after autumn.
The river breeze carried a cool breeze of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the chaotic warmth from the wrench’s grooves. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadow emerged within the heart-shaped frame: “Next stop, I’ll get the Heart of Hope. I’ll need this network of yours as the key.” As soon as he finished speaking, the light bridge whizzed toward the tower’s spire, forming a resonant network in the morning light. Every curve shone with the thoughts of hundreds, then tens of thousands, brighter than any natural halo.
Chapter 38: The Truth of the Heart Core? Quantum Entanglement (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench brushed against the contaminated core, silver sparks sizzled from the metal nub. Those threads of light twisted into the knuckles of Ye Xiu’s fingers scratching code in the Antarctic lab. When they collided with his brainwaves, the black data stream on the core’s surface crackled and ignited like cinders from the stove in my hometown. This broken core looked like my grandmother’s cracked casserole. He jumped back, the silver light in the wrench’s notch fluttering and flaring, ready to explode at the slightest touch!
Hold on! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the crystal lattice traced a twisted pattern across the core. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silvery white, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, the same look as when she’d last seen Ye Xiu frowning at the core: Old Ye had said it was a filthy mess of quantum entanglement. Her rifle’s crosshairs swung out a heart-shaped circle, but it trembled like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. The more she dodged, the more persistent she became!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat flew off the core’s light, and the warm orange light streaks on the back of his neck stretched into thin noodles. This light was like the gas explosion in my hometown mine. He smashed his chipped wrench against the black vines on the core, and the clang echoed from front to back, left to right, but with more biting black threads! Ah Ming’s fire axe suddenly swung horizontally in mid-air, the untangling mark on the blade being torn into a spiral. As it split the air, Ye Xiu’s mumbling voice escaped, like someone sharpening a pair of scissors.
The most terrifying thing was inside his heart. Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like a stone dropped into an inkwell. Wherever the ripples reached, black data streams spread out like ink. Using the tune of that prayer rope from Tokyo! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into his brain, wrapped in the warmth of cherry blossom petals. Old Ye said the truth lies in thoughts!
Chen Mo’s wrench notch suddenly heated up, and the shadow of Su Mucheng’s hand tying a rope beneath the Tokyo torii gate emerged on the metal. The mark on her earlobe was warm orange then, and her voice, as soft as a cat’s meow, “Remember you said this rope could hold good luck? Now I have to hold this core’s erratic temper.” His brainwaves collided with the tangled knot on the core, and the black data stream suddenly contracted, resonating with the wrench notch, revealing a pinpoint of light within.
It’s about to collapse! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the surging quantum flow, making a sound like shattered glass. Her rifle clattered into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words running down its surface: This black lump is the ghost of the supreme talent!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a gaudy scrap. “This is the sole my wife made!” He held it up and swung it. Silver light reflected from the missing corner burned diamond-shaped holes in the collapsing black waves. She said the soles could flatten potholes. Now, they were flattening this black mud! Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s quantum notebook emerged from the blade. The formula transformed into a pair of real scissors, snapping and severing the tangled black threads.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in the crystal lattice of Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like a spiderweb. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, a striking resemblance to the wound he’d received in the lab last time when the quantum flux swept through him. The fragment of his Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. New York’s rain, Tokyo’s snow, London’s fog, all flowed along the bridge into his heart.
A silver-and-orange vortex suddenly swirled within his core. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black eye of the vortex, Su Mucheng’s orange light became the white edge, and Ye Xiu’s shadow beat the rhythm at the center. It was time to reveal his cards. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final tangle, the orange light emanating from the barrel perfectly syncing with the rhythm of his wrench. The chord formed by the two frequencies was like a thunderclap at the beginning of spring, shaking his core.
As the last stream of black data collapsed, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist and ducked back. The silver light from the wrench’s notch was close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like shield of light burst forth with a sizzling sound. In the lab, you always hid me behind you, his voice muffled within the shield. Now it’s my turn. The shield cast their shadows, from measuring probability clouds in New York to assembling entangled states in London, each image transformed into a thread of light, mending the crumbling quantum field.
Look inside the core! The old scavenger’s straw hat fell into the puddle, and he pointed at the core. The previously dark shell was peeled away by the orange light, revealing the silver threads floating within—a double helix, with shadows of people holding hands in every bend. This wasn’t some cliché about supreme talent.
Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new veins of silver light sprouted along the cracks, echoing the beeping of the instrument when they first unraveled the core. She looked up at him, the mark on her earlobe returning to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were tinged with silver stars. “That tug you gave me just now was harder than when we were dodging the collapse in the lab. My wrist is still numb.”
As he left the lab, the sun stained the archway of Lujiazui a marmalade-colored orange. A-Ming’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the blade: “Thoughts are the key, all quantum filth is paper tigers.” The silver light behind him transformed into star tracks, circling the buildings and painting the border between quantum space and reality a silver-orange.
The light streak and shadow on the Huangpu River swayed with their heartbeats, like a frisky silverfish. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said while crouching in the corner of the lab: Brainwaves are denser than quantum turbulence, and even the most filthy code will be exposed. Now, the pure double helix resonated with the fragment in his palm, humming like the fluttering wings of fireflies filling the yard on a summer night.
The river breeze carried a chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the silver warmth from the wrench’s indentations. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower. Ye Xiu’s shadow loomed within the heart-shaped frame: “Next stop, we’ll get the Heart of Creation. We’ll need this quantum entanglement of yours as the key.” As soon as he finished speaking, the light bridge whirred toward the tower’s spire, slicing a double helix in the morning light. Each curve shone with thoughts of encounter and resonance, brighter than any code.
Chapter 39 Relay Upgrade? Signal Network (Old Version)
Chen Mo’s wrench just struck the metal casing of the brainwave relay station, and a chaotic burst of light sizzled from the metal. Those threads of light twisted into the shadows of thousands of shovel-wielding wreckage workers. When they collided with his brainwaves, the relay station’s indicator lights splattered with sparks, and the buzzing sound made his eardrums ache, as if an entire hive of bees had swarmed on the metal. This shabby station was as bad as the bellows my grandma used to plug the kang hole! He jumped and retracted his hand. The chaotic light in the wrench’s grooves fluttered and spun, drawing tiny silver lines in the morning light. Sparks flew when he struck it hard. Could it be a spirit?
Don’t jump around like a rabbit! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice drawing crooked lightning patterns on the iron sheet. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silver, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, hanging like a ripe mulberry on the tip of her ear. “Old Ye said just yesterday that this is the gate of interdimensional resonance.” The crosshairs of her rifle swung out a heart-shaped circle, but it was shaking like a sieve, and the tip of the crosshairs almost poked Chen Mo’s nose. “Look at this indicator light, it’s beating the same rhythm as your heartbeat when you first saw me!”
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat flew off in the light of the station, and the warm orange light on the back of his neck stretched into thin noodles, trembling and swaying with the rhythm of the wrench’s tapping. The light was like the sun in the threshing ground of my hometown. His chipped wrench struck the resonance module, and the clang echoed simultaneously at four intersections, startling the gray pigeons on the power lines. But there were some more metal lumps that could shout! Yesterday, my grandson said the sound was like the tin frog he played with!
The most terrifying thing was the city’s nightscape—Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like stones thrown into a pond, ripples spreading outward through relay stations. Bean-sized dots of light gradually lit up on the gray buildings. To the east, Master Li from the auto repair shop ran out, wrench in hand. To the west, Aunt Wang from the vegetable market swung a kitchen knife, the dots of light flickering with their movements. “Using the tune of a New York garbage dump!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, wrapped in the smell of dust raised by the back-to-back battles of the Hundred Man Army. “Remember? You knocked the wrench against the barrel of my gun and said it was the opening of a gun concerto!”
The notches on Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly burned, and the shadows of workers at the garbage dump, tools raised and shouting, emerged from the metal. It was his first time triggering resonance, the shovel hitting the ground in rhythm with his heartbeat. Su Mucheng’s rifle barrel was pressed against his lower back. “You said this broken tool of ours could make music?” He gritted his teeth and smashed the wrench against the expansion port, sparks flying onto the back of Su Mucheng’s hand. “Now it’s time for the whole city to hear what it means to resonate with everyone!” The moment his brainwaves hit the core of the relay station, chaotic patterns of light crackled on the buildings, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of fireflies through the windows.
It’s going to explode! It’s going to explode! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digitized forearm lying across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the surging chaotic waves, making a creaking sound like iron being twisted. The light pattern on her forearm flickered on and off like an old lightbulb tripping. Look at your wrench! Her rifle clicked and transformed into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words dripping down the umbrella. Old Ye commented that this chaos field could tear the data prison to pieces, much more powerful than the last time you broke the wrench!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a gaudy crystal, its corners still stained with dried mud. “This is a clay star my grandson made!” He held the crystal close to Chen Mo’s eyes. The chaotic light refracted from the missing corners burned diamond-shaped holes in the over-carrier. “That kid insisted that stars could attract people. Yesterday, he even used this lump of mud to beat away some kid who was bullying a stray cat!” Amin’s axe split the air, and the blade surfaced with Su Muqiu’s unfinished score for “A Thousand People’s Song.” The notes became real hammers, nailing the chaotic brainwaves into a neat formation.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, exactly like the night of the London Thousands Resonance. Back then, she’d been slashed by the data stream to protect him, leaving a deep gash visible to the bone, yet she’d still smiled and said it was neater than the cuts made by the butcher knife back home. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. Rain from the ruins of New York, snow from the shrines of Tokyo, the bells of the London maze, all flowed down the bridge into the resonance network, the bridge vibrating and making his palm throb.
A chaotic vortex suddenly swirled above the city. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became a black core, Su Mucheng’s orange light became white veins, and Ye Xiu’s shadow beat the rhythm at the center of the vortex. The rhythm of the umbrella tip touching the ground was completely synchronized with the tapping of Chen Mo’s wrench. It was time to tune in! Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the last energy port. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench perfectly. The chord formed by the two frequencies made the holographic arch in Lujiazui buzz. Listen to this sound, it’s louder than the firecrackers you set off during Chinese New Year in your hometown!
As the last overload extinguished, Chen Mo backhanded Su Mucheng’s wrist and pulled her back, nearly knocking her rifle loose. The chaotic light from the wrench mark was incredibly close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like shield of light burst forth, casting their shadows on the shield’s surface. In New York, as she dragged him along, his sleeve rubbed against the hole in her tactical vest; in Tokyo, as she shielded him from falling rocks, the cherry blossom petals in her hair stained the marks on his wrench. In London, you were always staring at me, afraid of overload, his voice muffled within the shield, reeking of rust. Now, it’s my turn to stare at your stubborn temper!
Look at the sky! The old scavenger put his straw hat on Chen Mo’s head, pointing at the night sky and shivering. The originally flickering light spots were strung into a net by the orange light, and the dark overload words disappeared like the tide, revealing a light net covering the whole city. The meshes of the net were full of the resonating shadows of people holding tools. The blind musician in the alley on the east side was playing the erhu, and the light net trembled with the strings. Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new orange light veins grew out along the cracks. She suddenly laughed out loud, and the silver stars at the end of her eyes fell into Chen Mo’s collar: You pulled me with more force than the last time you snatched my roasted sweet potato, my wrist is almost blue!
As they walked out of the relay station, the sun dyed the archway of Lujiazui the color of orange marmalade. Amin’s axe drew circles in the air, and Ye Xiu’s words appeared on the blade, with a crooked smiley face drawn at the end: Chaotic brain waves are the heart, and every moderate is a resonant string. The light network behind him turned into star tracks, circling the buildings, dyeing the soy milk stalls and street sweeping brooms a warm orange. Chen Mo stared at the new veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm, and remembered what Ye Xiu said when they were squatting in the corner of the data prison. At that time, the old man poked his palm with the tip of his umbrella: When your brain waves can weave a network, this broken talent hegemony will collapse.
The shadow of the light net on the Huangpu River swayed with the beats of millions of hearts, like a vibrant orange dragon. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower, and Ye Xiu’s shadow emerged within the heart-shaped frame. An old man was fiddling with the light from the spire with the tip of his umbrella. “Go down to the next station and get the Heart of Hope. You’ll need this net of yours as the key.” Before he could finish his words, the light bridge swooped toward the spire, creating a resonant web in the morning light. Every curve shone with the thoughts of hundreds, then tens of thousands, brighter than the warm orange mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe.
Chapter 40: Reverberation of New York? Resonant Aftermath (Old Version)
Chen Mo’s wrench just scraped against the metal fence of New York’s ruins, and an orange light sizzled from the metal. Those strands of light twisted into the fluttering hair of Su Mucheng as she ran through the artillery fire. The moment they collided with his brainwaves, a stream of data suddenly seeped out of the bullet holes in the fence, a crackling sound like the icy surface of a river being crushed by the footsteps. This broken place looked like the frozen, crackled wellhead back home. He jumped and retracted his hand. The orange light in the wrench’s notch fluttered and swirled, and it sent a chill down his spine!
Don’t jump around like you’ve seen a ghost! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, and the orange light seeping through the cracks in the lattice drew a crooked arrow on the fence. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silver, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, hanging like a ripe mulberry on the tip of her ear: Old Ye said just yesterday that this was a scar from spatial resonance. The crosshairs of her rifle swung out of a heart-shaped circle, shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. The aftermath could carry us back to last month!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was blown off by the cracklight, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck was stretched into thin noodles, trembling with the rhythm of the wrench’s tapping. The wind was similar to the draft in the mines back home. His chipped wrench smashed against the rusted taxi roof, and the clang echoed through the space and time of the present and the past, startling the gray pigeons in the ruins. But there were more iron shells that could penetrate walls!
The most miraculous thing was the crack before him—a shattered streetscape drifted across the translucent membrane. Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like a pebble dropped into a lake; wherever the ripples reached, the shadows of them, back to back, emerged. “Use your head to resonate with the tune!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, wrapped in the smell of gunpowder and the scent of cherry blossoms in her hair. “Remember? You banged the wrench on the barrel of my gun and said it was the beginning of a gun concerto!”
The notch on Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly burned, and the image of Su Mucheng shielding him from a bullet surfaced on the metal. At that moment, her tactical vest had a hole in it, and she smiled back at him, blood seeping from the hole. “You said this wrench can open any lock!” He gritted his teeth and smashed the wrench against the edge of the crack, sparks splashing onto the back of her hand. “Now it’s time to break the lock of time and space!” The moment his brainwaves hit the crack, the shattered reflection of the Empire State Building suddenly reunited, resonating with the notch on the wrench, revealing a buried orange mark.
It’s going to explode! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm lying across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the crystal lattice collided with the surging flow of time and space, making a sound like shattered glass. The light pattern on her forearm flickered, like an old movie camera jamming. Look at your wrench! Her rifle clicked and transformed into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words dripping from its surface. Old Ye annotated that this was the sound of thoughts across time and space!
The old scavenger’s wrench latched onto a gaudy fragment, still stained with dried mud. “This is my grandson’s kaleidoscope!” He held the fragment close to Chen Mo’s eyes. The orange light refracted from the missing corners burned diamond-shaped holes in the turbulent flow. “That kid insisted he could see the past, and now he’s seen us fight off the Data Harvester!” Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s battle notes emerged from the blade. The words transformed into a small hammer, nailing the crumbling fragments of time and space back together.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, just like the night of the Battle of New York. Back then, she’d been slashed by the data stream to protect him, yet she’d still smiled and said it was a neater cut than his butcher knife. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. The New York rain, the fire in the ruins, her cries of “run!” all flowed down the bridge into the cracks, shaking the bridge and making his palm throb.
An orange and black vortex suddenly swirled within the cracks. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black center, Su Mucheng’s orange light the white edge. Ye Xiu’s shadow beat time in the center, the rhythm of his umbrella tip tapping the ground perfectly matching the tapping of his wrench. Time to collect the waves! Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final resonance point. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench perfectly. The chord formed by the two frequencies shook the Statue of Liberty’s torch. Listen to this sound, it’s louder than the firecrackers you see back home during Chinese New Year!
When the last wave of space-time turbulence died out, Chen Mo backhanded Su Mucheng’s wrist, pulling her back with such force that her rifle nearly slipped from his grasp. The orange glow of the wrench mark was incredibly close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like shield of light burst forth, casting their shadows on the shield’s surface. In New York, as she dragged him along, his sleeve brushed against the hole in her tactical vest; as she shielded him from falling rocks, the cherry blossom petals in her hair stained the mark on his wrench. In New York, you always hid me behind you, his voice muffled within the shield, reeking of rust. Now, it’s my turn to protect your stubborn temper!
Look inside! The old scavenger’s straw hat was placed on Chen Mo’s head, and he pointed at the crack and trembled. The shattered fragments were condensed into crystals by the orange light, and different scenes were reflected on the facets: he raised a wrench and shouted, she held the rifle and took aim, and the old scavenger threw the wrench and hit the data harvester in a funny way. Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new orange light veins grew along the cracks. She suddenly laughed out loud, and the silver stars at the corners of her eyes fell into Chen Mo’s collar: You pulled me with more force than last time you snatched my roasted sweet potato, your wrist is almost blue!
As they emerged from the chasm, the setting sun dyed the ruins of New York the color of orange marmalade. Amin’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s handwriting appeared on the blade, with a crooked smiley face at the end: Trans-time and space resonance condenses into crystals, and thoughts become nuggets of gold. The orange light behind them transformed into star tracks, circling the broken walls and ruins, painting the rusted cars and grassy steps a warm orange. Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said while they were squatting in the ruins. At that time, the old man poked his palm with the tip of his umbrella: When your thoughts can penetrate time and space, the code of your heart core will be hidden in the echo.
On the Hudson River, the shadow of the light band swayed with their heartbeats, like a lively orange fish. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Statue of Liberty, and Ye Xiu’s shadow emerged within the heart-shaped frame. The old man was fiddling with the statue’s torch with the tip of his umbrella. “Next stop, get the Heart of Time. You’ll need this crystal as a key.” Before he could finish his words, the bridge of light swooped toward the statue, sculpting a crystal shape against the sunset glow. Every edge shone with every moment of encounter and resonance, brighter than the warm orange mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe.
Chapter 41: Sacrifice? Purification Mechanism (Old Version)
Chen Mo’s wrench struck the Data Shrine’s torii gate, and an orange light sizzled from the iron nub. Those strands of light twisted into Su Mucheng’s fingertips, tying a prayer string in Tokyo. The moment they collided with his brainwaves, the ema hanging from the torii gate suddenly sparked, crackling like icicles breaking. The broken wood was a dead ringer for the doorframe of my hometown’s land temple. He jumped back, his hand twitching. The orange light in the wrench’s notch swirled wildly, ready to burst into flames at the slightest touch!
Don’t run around like a rabbit! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping through the cracks in the crystal lattice traced out crooked runes on the torii gate. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silvery white, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, like a ripe mulberry hanging on the tip of her ear. Old Ye said just yesterday that this was the dirty barrier of the heart of sacrifice. Her rifle’s crosshairs swung out of a heart-shaped circle, but it trembled like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. The more she dodged, the more likely she was to trigger the sacrifice!
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat was blown off by the torii light, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck was stretched into thin noodles, trembling with the rhythm of the wrench’s tapping. This light was similar to the lanterns at the temple fair in my hometown. His chipped wrench smashed against the torii pillar, and the clang echoed in both reality and digital space, startling the copper bells from the eaves. But there were also some biting black talismans!
The most terrifying thing was what was inside the barrier—a translucent pool of blood, with black data streams floating on it. Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like stones dropped into red ink; wherever the ripples reached, the data streams shrank like ink. “Use the tune under the torii gate!” Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness swooped into his head, wrapped in the scent of cherry blossoms and her voice yelling, “Leave me alone.” Remember? When you said I wouldn’t sacrifice you, the mark on my earlobe suddenly turned a deep purple!
The notch on Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly burned, and the image of Su Mucheng shielding him from falling rocks surfaced on the metal. At that moment, her tactical vest was ripped open, and she smiled back at him, blood dripping down the hole. “You said this wrench can break all the broken rules!” He gritted his teeth and smashed the wrench against the barrier, sparks splashing onto the back of her hand. “Now it’s time to break this sacrificial algorithm!” The moment his brainwaves collided with the sacrificial node, black data streams suddenly collapsed like dominoes, resonating with the notch on the wrench, revealing glittering golden words underneath.
It’s about to backfire! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm lying across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the surging data stream, making a sound like shattering glass. The light pattern on her forearm flickered, like a jammed old movie camera. Look at your wrench! Her rifle clicked and transformed into a scattered umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words dripping down the umbrella. Old Ye annotated that this black lump was the poisonous thought of the talent killing the mean!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a gaudy piece of wood, still stained with aged incense ash. “This is the peace charm my wife embroidered!” He held the wood piece close to Chen Mo’s eyes. The orange light reflected from the missing corner burned diamond-shaped holes in the backlash. Back then, she always said that the peace charm could ward off disasters, but now it only wards off these heartbreaking evil thoughts! Ah Ming’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s first aid notes emerged from the blade. The words transformed into a small broom, sweeping the black data stream into pieces.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, spreading like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, just like that night at the Tokyo shrine. Back then, she’d been slashed by the data stream to protect him, leaving a deep gash visible to the bone, yet she’d still smiled and said it was a neater cut than his butcher knife. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. Tokyo’s cherry blossoms, the shadows of the torii gate, her cries for survival, all flowed along the bridge into his heart, the bridge vibrating and making his palm throb.
An orange and black vortex suddenly swirled within his core. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black center, Su Mucheng’s orange light the white edge. Ye Xiu’s shadow beat time in the center, the rhythm of his umbrella tip tapping the ground perfectly matching the tapping of his wrench. Time to show your hand! Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final contamination point. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench perfectly. The chord formed by the two frequencies shook the bells on the torii gate. Listen to this sound, it’s even crisper than the firecrackers you use during Chinese New Year back home!
When the last stream of black data died, Chen Mo backhanded Su Mucheng’s wrist, pulling her back with such force that her rifle nearly slipped from his grasp. The orange glow of the wrench mark was incredibly close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like shield of light burst forth, casting their shadows on the shield’s surface. In Tokyo, as she dragged him along, his sleeve brushed against the hole in her tactical vest; as she shielded him from falling rocks, the cherry blossom petals in her hair clung to the mark on his wrench. In Tokyo, you always hid me behind you, his voice muffled within the shield, reeking of rust. This time, it’s my turn to protect your stubborn temper!
Look at the heart core! The old scavenger put his straw hat on Chen Mo’s head and pointed at the vortex of light, trembling. The originally black shell was peeled off by the orange light, revealing the golden flakes floating inside – engraved with the words “Collaboration is Life”, each stroke like a living firefly, floating on the blood pool. Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new orange light veins grew along the cracks. She suddenly laughed out loud, and the silver stars at the corners of her eyes fell into Chen Mo’s collar: You pulled me with more force than the last time you snatched my roasted sweet potato, my wrist is almost blue!
As they left the shrine, the setting sun dyed the torii gate a marmalade color. Amin’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s handwriting appeared on the blade, with a crooked smiley face at the end: Guardian thoughts are the key, sacrificing hegemony is a paper tiger. The orange light behind him turned into star tracks, circling the shrine, dyeing the ema and stone lanterns a warm orange. Chen Mo stared at the new veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said when they were squatting under the torii gate. At that time, the old man poked his palm with the tip of his umbrella: When your guardian thoughts can overwhelm the algorithm, this broken heart will be clean.
On the surface of the Sumida River, the shadow of a band of light swayed with their heartbeats, like a lively orange fish. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto Tokyo Tower, and Ye Xiu’s shadow emerged within the heart-shaped frame. An old man was fiddling with the tower’s lights with the tip of his umbrella. “Go down to get the Heart of Order. You’ll need your pure hearts as the key.” Before he could finish his words, a bridge of light swished toward the tower, outlining the shape of a heart core in the sunset glow. Every edge shone with all the moments of protection, from encounter to resonance, brighter than the warm orange mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe.
Chapter 42: Pollution Collapse? Code Collapse (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench brushed against the black vines contaminating the core, silver sparks sizzled from the metal nub. Those threads of light twisted into the knuckles of Ye Xiu’s fingers scratching code in the Antarctic lab. The moment they collided with his brainwaves, the black data stream on the core’s surface suddenly shattered like a spiderweb, crackling as densely as frying beans, and sparks splashed on the back of his hand, leaving red spots. This broken core looked just like the honeycomb briquettes my grandma used to stuff into the kang hole! He swung his hand and jumped back, the silver light in the wrench’s notch fluttering and swirling, drawing tiny silver lines in the twilight. A little force would shatter it into slag. I’m afraid it’s absorbed the essence of the stove fire back home!
Don’t jump around like you’ve seen a ghost! Su Mucheng’s digitized forearm hummed and glowed, the orange light seeping from the cracks in the lattice traced crooked spirals across the core. The rippled orange light on her tactical vest faded to silvery white, and the mark on her left earlobe swelled to a deep purple, like a ripe mulberry hanging on the tip of her ear, trembling slightly with her breathing. “Old Ye had just drawn a circle on the tactical board yesterday,” she said. The sight of her rifle swung out a heart-shaped circle, but it trembled like a sieve in the autumn wind. The tip of the sight nearly poked Chen Mo’s nose. “This pollution is like dominoes. If you knock the first one down, all the others will fall!”
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat flew off in the heart core’s light, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck stretched into thin noodles, trembling with the rhythm of the wrench’s tapping. This light was like the gas explosion in my old mine, a brilliant blue! He smashed the chipped wrench into the intersection of the black vines, and the clang echoed simultaneously on three different floors, startling the gray pigeons in the ventilation duct. It was just a few more tangled threads, stronger than the thread my wife uses to sew shoe soles!
The most miraculous thing was the core itself—a translucent sphere swirling with inky streams of data. Chen Mo’s brainwaves were like stones dropped into red ink; wherever the ripples reached, the black silk curled up as if scalded. Using the tune of Tokyo’s torii gates! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness whizzed into his head, wrapped in the scent of cherry blossoms and the falling pink petals of her hair. “Remember? You banged the wrench on the barrel of my gun, saying it was a talisman for you. The mark on my earlobe glowed red with warmth!”
The notch on Chen Mo’s wrench suddenly burned, and the image of Su Mucheng shielding him from falling rocks surfaced on the metal. Her tactical vest was ripped open, blood dripping down the hole, yet she turned back and smiled at him, her eyelashes stained with gravel. “You said this wrench can break all the broken rules!” He gritted his teeth and smashed the wrench against the diamond-shaped node on the core, sparks splashing onto the lattice cracks on her wrist. “Now it’s time to break this rotten algorithm that’s so gifted it’s crushing mediocrity!” The moment his brainwaves hit the node, the black data stream collapsed like a punctured spiderweb, resonating with the notch on the wrench, revealing a golden pattern beneath.
It’s collapsing! It’s collapsing! Su Mucheng suddenly pushed him aside, her digital forearm lying across the middle. The orange light from the cracks in the lattice collided with the surging code stream, making a sound like glass scraping against the ground. The light pattern on her forearm flickered on and off, like an old-fashioned electric meter spinning wildly. Look at your wrench! Her rifle clicked and transformed into a casual umbrella, with Ye Xiu’s silver words dripping down the umbrella. Old Ye commented that this black lump was marinated with 21st-century racial discrimination algorithms!
The old scavenger’s wrench caught on a gaudy fragment, stained with traces of clay stars his grandson had made. “This is the last peace charm my wife embroidered!” He held the fragment up to Chen Mo’s eyes. Silver light refracted from the missing corners burned diamond-shaped holes in the collapse wave, with a few cotton threads dangling from the edges. “She said that the peace charm had to be embroidered with thoughts, and now is the perfect time to use our thoughts to pierce this wicked code!” Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s pencil-written first aid notes emerged from the blade. The handwriting transformed into a small hammer, smashing the layers of black data streams downward.
Chen Mo glimpsed the cracks in Su Mucheng’s forearm, expanding like spiderwebs. Silver stars mingled with the orange light, exactly like that night in the quantum lab last year. Back then, to protect him, she’d been lacerated by the data stream, her forearm lacerated so deep it was visible to the bone. She’d even smiled and said it was a neater cut than his butcher knife, her blood dripping onto the floor like orange crystals. The fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm hummed and shone, connecting with the deep purple mark on her earlobe to form a bridge of light. The rain from New York’s ruins, the snow from Tokyo’s shrines, the clatter of gears in London’s mazes all flowed along the bridge into his core. The bridge’s vibrations made his palm throb, and even the wrench itself trembled.
A vortex of orange and black suddenly swirled within his core. Chen Mo’s brainwaves became the black center, Su Mucheng’s orange light the white edge. Ye Xiu’s shadow beat time in the center. The rhythm of his umbrella tip tapping the ground matched the tapping of his wrench, each beat hitting the node where the data stream collapsed. Time to show your cards! Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs locked onto the final contamination point. The orange light emanating from the barrel matched the rhythm of his wrench perfectly. The chord formed by the two frequencies made the holographic arch in Lujiazui buzz, and the advertisements on the glass curtain wall turned into dancing light patterns. Listen to this sound, it’s three times louder than the firecrackers you set off during Chinese New Year back home!
When the last stream of black data died, Chen Mo grabbed Su Mucheng’s wrist with his backhand and ducked back, his force so strong that her rifle clanged to the ground. The silver light of the wrench mark was extremely close to the mark on her earlobe, and a cocoon-like light shield suddenly appeared, casting their shadows on the shield wall. When she dragged him away in the lab, his sleeve brushed against the hole in her tactical vest; she blocked the data stream for him, and the strands of hair caught in the wrench mark, now transformed into glowing silk threads. In the lab, you always hid me behind you. His voice was muffled in the shield, with the smell of rust and a subtle tremor. This time, it’s my turn to protect your stubborn temper. If you dare to hit me first, you will hit me on the head!
Look at the core! The old scavenger put his straw hat on Chen Mo’s head, shivering as he pointed at the vortex of light, his beard stained with dancing silver sparks. The originally dark shell was peeled off cleanly by the orange light, revealing the gold flakes floating inside, engraved with “Collaboration is the first law of life”. Each stroke was like a living firefly, flying around in circles in the core, and occasionally colliding with each other to burst out a small cluster of light flowers. Su Mucheng’s forearm crackled, and new silver veins grew along the cracks, which looked very much like the outline pen her brother used when drawing blueprints of guns and cannons. She suddenly laughed out loud, and the silver star at the end of her eye fell into Chen Mo’s collar, and it stained his collarbone and burned: You pulled me with more force than the last time I snatched your roasted sweet potato and you refused to let go. My wrist is still numb now!
As he left the lab, the setting sun stained the archway of Lujiazui a translucent marmalade color, even the cargo ships on the Huangpu River were gilded. Amin’s axe circled in the air, and Ye Xiu’s handwriting appeared on the blade, ending with a crooked smiley face. Next to it was the inscription: “When thoughts are stronger than code, all hegemony must be shattered.” The silver light behind him transformed into star tracks, circling the buildings and painting the air conditioner units, billboards, and even the seagulls on the river a silvery orange. Each star repeated the rhythm of its core’s collapse.
Chen Mo stared at the newly formed veins on Su Mucheng’s forearm and recalled Ye Xiu’s words, as they crouched in the corner of the lab. The old man had poked his palm with the tip of his umbrella, its crystal still stained with Antarctic ice: “When your two brainwaves resonate, your thoughts can overwhelm the algorithm, and this heart core will naturally become pure.” See, just as I said, right? At that moment, the pure heart core code resonated with the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm, emitting a humming sound only they could hear, like a beehive under the locust tree in his hometown on a midsummer afternoon, filled with living, scorching thoughts.
The river breeze carried the chill of turbulent data, but it couldn’t dispel the warmth of the silver light in the wrench’s indentations. Su Mucheng’s rifle’s crosshairs automatically locked onto the Oriental Pearl Tower’s spire. Ye Xiu’s shadow loomed within the heart-shaped frame. An old man was fiddling with the tower’s lights with the tip of his umbrella, spelling out the words: “Next Station: Heart of Creation: You must use your pure heart as the key.” Before he finished speaking, a bridge of light swooped toward the spire, outlining the shape of a heart core in the sunset glow. Every edge flashed with moments from the ruins of New York to the Tokyo shrine, brighter and hotter than the warm orange mark on Su Mucheng’s earlobe.
Chapter 43 Data Corrosion? Spreading of the Forearm (Old Version)
As Chen Mo’s wrench touched Su Mucheng’s forearm, the metal surface suddenly exploded with tiny fragments of orange light. Those strands twisted into the afterimage of her throwing herself in front of him as rocks fell from a Tokyo shrine. The moment her brainwaves collided, a crisp crackling sound erupted from her elbow, like the sudden cracking of ice in the dead of winter. “This lattice is more fragile than the window grilles back home!” His hand trembled, and he nearly dropped the wrench. The orange light in the inscribed grooves shattered into a spiderweb at the slightest touch!
Su Mucheng jerked her arm back, but her digitized forearm froze strangely in mid-air. The cracks in the lattice were creeping upwards at a visible speed, spreading from her wrist to her elbow. With each inch of cracking, tiny specks of orange light oozed out, like drops of blood oozing from a wound. “Don’t come over here!” Her voice trembled, and the ripples on her tactical vest faded to grayish-white. Her earlobes were so purple they looked like they were about to bleed. “Old Ye said… once the digitized backlash gets past the elbow, it will… it will… ” Before she could finish her words, the rifle’s crosshairs suddenly spun wildly, drawing a crooked heart shape in the air. The trailing light swept across Chen Mo’s cheek, burning it painfully.
The old scavenger’s tattered straw hat flew off, and the warm orange light pattern on the back of his neck stretched straight. This light was like the phosphorescent glow in the mine back home before water seeped in! He tapped Su Mucheng’s intact hand with his chipped wrench. The clanging sound seemed to come from two different worlds, vibrating in the gap between data space and reality, but with a few more biting light bugs! More dangerous than when my grandson poked a hornet’s nest! Amin’s fire axe hummed and lay between them. The repair symbol formed by the silver light on the blade was stretched and deformed. In a trance, he could hear the echo of Ye Xiu’s low voice: “Hold steady, don’t panic,” the tail sound still carrying the hum of the unique laboratory equipment.
Chen Mo stared at those hideous cracks, his heart suddenly shrinking into a ball. Memories suddenly surged – in the London maze, she was kneeling on the ground like this, her arms were riddled with holes from the data stream, but she was still holding a gun to cover his retreat. At that time, her tactical vest was torn open, and under the exposed digitized skin, orange veins flickered like broken blood vessels. With the heartbeat frequency of London! Su Mucheng’s stream of consciousness crashed into his head, carrying the aftermath of gunfire and a subtle tremor. You said… your brain waves can be my stabilizer… remember? In the subway relay station, the rhythm of you banging the wrench
The wrench mark suddenly burned alarmingly hot, and the metal flashed back to the image of that night in London: she half-knelt amidst the shambles, gritted her teeth as she turned to smile at him, her hair stained with ice crystals from the data stream. Back then, you said you’d protect me even if you died. Chen Mo, his eyes red, pressed the wrench hard against her forearm, sending sparks flying into the cracks. “Now it’s my turn to protect you!” Chaotic brainwaves surged, and the madly expanding cracks actually paused, shrinking slightly under the silver light of the wrench mark, only to swiftly surge back with even greater force, like an enraged tide.
Quantum tunneling! Get out of the way! Su Mucheng suddenly exerted force to push him away, a blinding blue light erupting from her forearm. The newly expanded lattice oozed a stream of silver-blue data, wrapping around Chen Mo’s wrist like a venomous snake. He felt his brain being gripped tightly, his temples throbbing. He vaguely heard the rustling sound of Ye Xiu writing notes on the tactical board: “Digitalization is essentially the quantum rewriting of the body by Glory Force…” The tune Su Mucheng had hummed mingled with his ears, the notes twisted into a sharp alarm.
The old scavenger suddenly lunged forward, his wrench latched onto a fragment of the flaked lattice. “This is the glass rabbit my grandson made!” His voice trembled, his calloused hands tightly gripping the fragment. The chaotic light refracting from the broken corners burned holes in the data stream. “That kid said the rabbit can ward off evil spirits. Now, chase these ghosts away! He used this rabbit to scare off stray dogs at the village entrance!” Amin’s axe split the air, and Su Muqiu’s scribbled notes appeared on the blade. The formula transformed into a small silver hammer, smashing down on the swirling data streams. With each blow, Su Muqiu laughed, teasing Amin that he swung the axe more skillfully than he could type code.
Chen Mo felt the fragment of the Heart of Courage in his palm blazing hot like a branding iron. He looked up to see Su Mucheng’s lattice had climbed to her shoulders. Mixed in the silvery-blue data stream were fragments of her memories—the kettle she’d handed him in the ruins of New York, the spout still stained with her lip print; her profile as she tied her prayer rope at the Tokyo shrine, her hair blown by the wind, obscuring her eyes; and the song she’d hummed, unfinished, deep in the London maze, now reduced to a staccato sob. “Hold on!” he roared, clutching her shoulders. Chaos waves resonated resonantly with the deep purple mark on her earlobe. “I said I’d take you to see every sunrise! To see the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to see the pyramids in Egypt. If you dare break your promise, I’ll…
The datasphere suddenly vibrated violently. Chen Mo’s brainwaves transformed into a black vortex. Su Mucheng’s orange light condensed into a white web. Ye Xiu’s shadow appeared at the center of the vortex, the tip of his umbrella tapping the ground to beat the rhythm. It was time for the duet! Su Mucheng suddenly grabbed his wrist. The orange light from his rifle matched the rhythm of his wrench perfectly. The interwoven roar of the two frequencies shook the holographic billboards in Lujiazui. Their distorted figures were reflected on the glass curtain wall. This tune… is louder than the suona in your hometown! It’s like the whole village setting off firecrackers during Chinese New Year! Her voice was tearful, but her smile was bright. The data stream reflected a shimmering light in her eyes.
The moment the last stream of data disappeared, Chen Mo pulled her into his arms. The silver light from the wrench’s mark entangled with the mark on her earlobe, forming a cocoon-shaped light shield around them. The shield reflected all their past: when she dragged him running in the ruins of New York, his torn cuffs fluttered in the wind; when she blocked falling rocks for him in the Tokyo shrine, the cherry blossom petals in her hair were dyed silver by the data stream; before she fell in the London maze, she did not forget to put the rifle into his hand. In London, you always told me to leave you alone, he said in a muffled voice, his arm tightening, his chin resting on the top of her head, if you dare to push me away again this time, I will hit you on the head with a wrench! Hit you until you say you will never take risks again!
“Look… it’s retreating…” the old scavenger’s voice was tinged with tears, his turbid tears dripping onto his torn straw hat. On Su Mucheng’s forearm, the silver-blue lattice disappeared like the receding tide, revealing skin beneath that glowed faintly with orange light. New veins of chaotic orange light grew like vines, emitting a subtle crackling sound that was reminiscent of the crisp sound of melting ice ridges under the eaves of my hometown, or the throbbing of bamboo shoots growing in the early spring.
Su Mucheng raised her head. The mark on her earlobe had returned to a warm orange, but the corners of her eyes were still stained with silver. She’d suddenly laughed out loud when she’d pulled me, trembling with the pain of having survived a catastrophe. Her finger gently poked his chest. It hurt three times more than when you carried me on your back in London. That time you bumped into the doorframe, it didn’t hurt me that much. Her teasing made Chen Mo’s nose sore, and he pressed her back into his arms, afraid she’d disappear again.
As they emerged from the data space, the setting sun dyed Lujiazui the color of marmalade. Amin’s axe arced through the air, and Ye Xiu’s handwriting appeared on the blade, with a crooked smiley face at the end: “When thoughts are stronger than quantum tunneling, digitization is but a paper tiger.” Next to the handwriting was Su Muqiu’s doodle, a drawing of a rabbit holding a wrench. The light streak behind them transformed into star tracks, encircling the skyscrapers. Even the cargo ships on the river were coated in a warm orange-silver hue. In the shimmering light, it seemed as if one could see countless shadows of them fighting side by side in different time and space.
On the Huangpu River, the reflection of the light band rose and fell with the beats of their hearts. Chen Mo stroked the newly formed veins on her forearm, remembering what Ye Xiu had said while crouching in the corner of the lab: When the resonance of two brainwaves is pure enough, the body can resist any data attack. At this moment, the fragment of the Heart of Courage gently resonated with their symbiotic veins, emitting a humming sound that only they could hear, like the fluttering of bees. It blended with the whistle on the river, weaving a symphony of life that belonged only to them.
As the river breeze brushed past her ears, Su Mucheng’s rifle crosshairs suddenly locked onto the spire of the Oriental Pearl Tower. Within the heart-shaped sight, Ye Xiu’s shadowy figure poked the tower’s light with the tip of his umbrella: “Next stop, the Heart of Life—you’ll have to use this destined connection as the key.” Before he finished speaking, a bridge of light shot up into the sky, outlining the DNA double helix in the sunset glow, each turn gleaming with the fiery, vibrant imprint of their shared life. At the end of the bridge, Su Mucheng’s clear singing voice seemed to echo the folk songs of Chen Mo’s hometown, lingering in the twilight.