Chapter 176: Undercurrents in the Wake of Shattered Stars

The golden light faded, Shen Yan’s hand still suspended in mid-air, his phone screen glowing. The interface was no longer the pink background of the dating app; it had automatically switched back to the terminal mode with black background and green text, as if the System had just completed a forced update.

He glanced down at the Talisman Pattern on the inner side of his wrist—the thing resembling a signal icon was still faintly warm.

“Vault of Heaven” had been established, linking the lifeblood of the five individuals. But before he could even catch his breath, his phone suddenly vibrated.

【Warning: High-intensity external Signal intrusion Detected】

【Source: Unknown】

【Threat Level: Red】

A line of text popped up directly in the center of his vision. Shen Yan’s pupils contracted, and he immediately tapped twice in the air, dragging the warning box into the Background Isolation Zone.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Zhao straightened up, her sword hilt already gripped in hand.

“Something’s coming for us,” Shen Yan lowered his voice. “It’s not an attack—it’s an information flow. Automatically triggered.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Terminal Image flickered, and a video began to play.

The Image showed a dimly lit hall, its walls carved with Runes. Over a dozen people lay on the floor, their eyes glowing blue, with Data Streams faintly flickering beneath their skin. Several figures in black robes were inserting metal tubes into their spines. One of them looked up, wearing a Bronze Mask identical to Ye Shi’er’s.

“Is this… the Shadow Erosion headquarters?” Yu Xiaotang leaned in, crunching on her Candied Hawthorn stick.

“No,” Shen Yan stared at the emblem in the corner. “This wasn’t filmed now—it’s pre-recorded. And this video was hidden in the Code Bottom Layer left by Ye Shi’er, only just activated.”

“He left it on purpose?” Pei Yue frowned.

“Not on purpose—it’s a ‘timed release,’” Shen Yan quickly scrolled through the Log. “He set a Countdown Program before his death, set to automatically push this intelligence the moment ‘Vault of Heaven’ was Initiated.”

Luo Li’s tail swayed gently. “Do you think it’s a trap?”

“I don’t know,” Shen Yan shook his head. “But one thing is certain—they’ve known all along that we’d reach this point. This experiment wasn’t to create Puppets; it was to find ‘carriers.’ And right now, we are the most suitable targets.”

The air grew heavy in an instant.

Ye Zhao sneered coldly. “Then let’s not keep them waiting. I’ll go tear that place apart.”

“No,” Luo Li stopped her. “Didn’t you see clearly? Those people have already been transformed into semi-mechanical beings. Spiritual Power is useless against them. Charging in would be suicide.”

“But we can’t just watch them keep harming people!” Yu Xiaotang stood up abruptly. “Brother, don’t we have the System? Let’s just locate it and blow it up!”

“Can’t locate it,” Shen Yan pulled up the map Interface. “The other side is using Spatial Folding technology; the Signal is blocked. Right now, we can’t even determine which Dimension they’re in.”

The four fell silent.

Shen Yan closed his eyes, his Source Code Spiritual Root beginning to operate. He rewound the video, analyzing frame by frame the arrangement of Runes in the background, the direction of cracks on the ground, even the trajectory of dust particles floating in the air.

Three minutes later, he opened his eyes.

“I’ve found something,” he said. “There’s a Hash fragment in the lower right corner of the video—a remnant of spatial coordinates. Though incomplete, we can reverse-engineer the approximate area.”

“How approximate?” Pei Yue asked.

“Three possible locations.” Shen Yan circled red dots on the map, “All within abandoned town zones—no inhabitants on the outskirts, and all internal signals are completely severed. Consistent with Shadow Erosion’s activity patterns.”

“Then we’ll check them one by one.” Ye Zhao drew her sword an inch from its sheath, a cold glint flashing, “Starting with the nearest.”

“Wait.” Shen Yan raised a hand, “‘The Firmament’ has just been established, and the System is still unstable. If we all enter a High-Risk Zone together and trigger defense mechanisms, it could cause Spiritual Consciousness resonance collapse.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Yu Xiaotang tilted her head, “Have us take turns scouting?”

“No need.” Shen Yan suddenly smiled, “We can divide the tasks.”

He opened a shared Interface, breaking the mission into four parts.

“Yu Xiaotang, you’re responsible for matching the database with terrain Talisman Arrays to simulate possible paths; Luo Li, send out a bit of your demonic awareness to follow traces of Demonic Energy residue in the wind for clues; Pei Yue, prepare Clear Spirit Pills to prevent anyone from suffering mental contamination; Ye Zhao… you protect everyone, don’t let any external forces interrupt this process.”

“And you?” Ye Zhao stared at him.

“I’m writing a new Program.” Shen Yan raised his phone, “Called ‘Puppet Identifier.’ As long as we get close to the experimental site, it will automatically alert us.”

“Sounds like a joke.” Yu Xiaotang pouted.

“Last time you said my Fireball Spell Script would explode, and it was your hair that got blasted.” Shen Yan glanced at her, “Believe it or not this time.”

Yu Xiaotang snorted, pulling out cinnabar and yellow paper from her Cosmic Bag to begin drawing talismans.

Luo Li closed her eyes, her purplish-red hair floating slightly as an extremely fine thread of demonic awareness extended like silk, trembling gently in the air.

Pei Yue took out her Medicine Pouch, the tips of her fingers glowing with a soft green light as several transparent pills took shape in her palm.

Ye Zhao stood on the outermost edge, her sword still sheathed, but her entire body taut like a drawn bow.

Shen Yan sat cross-legged, fingers flying across his phone Screen. Lines of Code scrolled by, occasionally showing a few misaligned characters that he swiftly corrected.

Ten minutes passed.

“Got it!” Yu Xiaotang suddenly slapped the table, “Talisman Array match successful! Among the three locations, one has terrain features that perfectly match the crack patterns in the video!”

“I sensed it too.” Luo Li opened her eyes, “Southeast direction, thirty miles out, there’s faint Demonic Energy backflow, as if deliberately concealed.”

“Coordinate cross-verification complete.” Shen Yan put away his phone, “That’s the place.”

“Let’s go?” Ye Zhao looked at him.

“Not yet.” Shen Yan stood up, pulling five silver-gray protective coats from his backpack, “Wear these. I modified them last night—Firewall materialization devices that can block seventy percent of Data infiltration.”

“You’re quite thoughtful.” Pei Yue took the coat, saying softly.

“I don’t trust you all to be safe.” Shen Yan paused, “Especially you, always trying to handle things alone.”

Pei Yue glanced up at him, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, but she said nothing.

The five changed into their gear, ready to depart.

Shen Yan walked at the front, his phone pressed against his chest, the screen continuously flashing with monitoring Data. His Source Code Spiritual Root remained on standby, ready to respond to any sudden situations at any moment.

Across the wilderness, gray mist drifted.

In the distance, the Outline of an abandoned town loomed faintly, like a crouching giant beast.

“Remember,” Shen Yan said quietly, “We’re only scouting, not engaging. Retreat if we see Puppets, rescue if we find survivors—survival takes priority above all else.”

“Got it.” Yu Xiaotang chewed on her candied hawthorn. “But Brother, why do you think Ye Shi’er gave us this lead?”

“Because what he called out in the end was ‘Brother’,” Shen Yan said softly. “Not enemy, not opponent, but brother. Even after everything he did, in that moment, he truly wanted to help me.”

“So you believe him?” Ye Zhao asked.

“I don’t trust him,” Shen Yan stopped walking and turned to look at them. “But I trust myself. This path is the one I chose. No matter what lies ahead, I have to keep going.”

The four of them watched him quietly.

The wind lifted the edges of their clothes, and the reflective strips on their protective suits shimmered faintly.

Shen Yan turned around and continued forward.

His footsteps crunched softly on the gravel.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

【Weak signal detected】

【Direction: Straight ahead】

【Content: Half a line from a children’s rhyme—”The moon rises, bright and clear…”】

Shen Yan froze.

He knew this song.

It was the lullaby his mother often hummed when he was a child.

It was also the last thing Ye Shi’er whispered before he died.

(End of Chapter)