Chapter 199: Counterattack and the Truth Revealed

The moment Shen Yan pressed the confirm key, his phone screen erupted with a blinding green light. The dark red energy beam, accumulated to its limit and only an inch away from his chest, suddenly halted as if colliding with an invisible data wall.

Immediately, Code Flow wrapped around it like vines, parsing, reversing, and refactoring the entire attack. The energy surged back along its original path, rushing straight toward Ye Shi’er.

His pupils contracted sharply, instinctively raising his scythe to block. But this power came from himself, judged as “legitimate output” by the System Underlayer, causing the Defense Protocol to automatically deactivate. The Blood-Colored Scythe emitted a mournful cry, a fine crack appearing on its blade. Fragments exploded from the edges of his mask, and his entire body was slammed into the rock wall behind him as if struck by a thousand-pound hammer.

Boom!

The data rock structure collapsed, debris scattering everywhere. Ye Shi’er coughed up a mouthful of black blood mixed with flickering Code residue, trickling down the corner of his mouth. He tried to push himself up, but his arms trembled violently, unable to even grip his scythe steadily.

Shen Yan stood in place, breathing heavily. A saw-like, dull pain radiated from his ribs, and his mouth was filled with the taste of blood. He glanced down at his phone—the Terminal Interface was still frantically refreshing error logs, but at least it hadn’t gone black.

【Source Code Refactor · Mirror Image Reflux】 successfully executed.

He had won the first round.

But he knew the real battle was just beginning.

Staggering two steps forward, he approached Ye Shi’er, placed his phone on the ground, and used his Source Code Spiritual Root to access the underlying Protocol of the Rift. Green Code spread like roots, rapidly stabilizing the data structure within a hundred-meter radius. The space no longer shook violently, and the storm temporarily subsided.

A safe zone had formed.

The Terminal popped up a Notice: 【Detected high-dimensional Memory fragment—parse?】

Shen Yan tapped “Yes.”

An Image suddenly materialized in the void: a woman draped in a fiery red gown stood at the end of the Divine War, behind her the collapsing sky. She raised her hand and severed the threads of emotion entwined around her heart, her voice calm yet resolute: “If you persist in clinging, you defy my will.”

In the next moment, her Soul transformed into sparks of starlight, scattering into the Heavenly Dao’s Cycle of Reincarnation.

Shen Yan looked at Ye Shi’er, his voice soft: “What you revived wasn’t her. Every ‘Data Puppet’ you created was a Projection of your own Memory. She chose to end it long ago, and you, using the lives of millions, sacrificed them to an Infinite Loop.”

Ye Shi’er’s eyes trembled violently, a low growl escaping his throat: “Shut up! What do you know! I watched her die a thousand times! Every time, I was too late to save her!”

Before his words faded, emotional fluctuations triggered a local data upheaval. Cracks spread beneath his feet, heading straight for Shen Yan.

But Shen Yan didn’t retreat.

He slowly removed his glasses, revealing dimples identical to Ye Shi’er’s.

“I dreamed of her too,” he said. “Deep within the Source Code. She didn’t want you to pull her back; she wanted you to let yourself go.”

With that, he walked step by step toward Ye Shi’er.

With each step, the Code beneath his feet brightened. It wasn’t an attack but a connection—as if rebuilding a link that had long been severed.

Ye Shi’er gasped for breath, fingers digging fiercely into the ground, nails cracking and oozing blood. He looked up, staring at Shen Yan’s face, truly seeing for the first time how similar it was to his own.

Not an enemy.

A brother.

Torn apart by fate, yet stitched back together by Code—the other half.

His hand began to tremble, the cracks on the scythe multiplying until, with a sharp crack, it shattered completely into data dust.

“…She really… doesn’t want to come back?” His voice was hoarse, as if dredged from the depths of an abyss.

Shen Yan crouched down and extended his hand. “We’re brothers. In this life, let me be the one to pull you up.”

Ye Shi’er stared at that hand, unmoving for a long time.

The wind ceased, the Data Stream stilled, and the entire Rift seemed to fall into a brief, frozen silence.

Just as his fingertips lifted slightly, as if about to touch—

His phone suddenly vibrated.

The Terminal flashed a new Notice: 【Detected external Spiritual Power Fluctuation. Four high-frequency Signals approaching. Estimated to penetrate the Rift barrier within three minutes.】

Shen Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

They were here.

Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi, Pei Yue’s medicinal scent, Luo Li’s Demonic Fire, and Yu Xiaotang’s Rune fluctuations—all were clearly discernible. They hadn’t given up; they had been searching for an entrance all along.

Just as he was about to speak, Ye Shi’er suddenly spoke up. “Don’t let them come in.”

His voice was low, yet unnervingly clear.

“This isn’t a place they should be.”

Shen Yan frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ye Shi’er leaned against the rock wall, his mask completely shattered, revealing his full face. There was no hatred on that face, only exhaustion and a trace of… relief.

“You thought I was just trying to resurrect her?” He gave a bitter smile. “Wrong. I was afraid that if she truly came back and found out I was still alive… it would only cause her more pain.”

Shen Yan was stunned.

“A thousand years ago, she chose to die willingly. And I, unable to accept it, became the master of Shadow Erosion, killed so many people… If she knew all this, do you think she would still want to open her eyes?”

The air fell silent.

Shen Yan opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.

So it wasn’t that the Obsession ran too deep, but that the guilt was too heavy.

He had thought Ye Shi’er was mad, but in truth, he had been lucid all along. He simply preferred to bear the sin rather than let her see his cowardice.

“Then all these years…” Shen Yan’s voice grew slightly hoarse.

“I was waiting for someone,” Ye Shi’er said, gazing into the void. “Someone who could tell her the truth for me. Now, I’ve found that person.”

He looked at Shen Yan, his gaze finally losing its sharp edge.

“You are the Key, and also the bridge. I don’t need her to come back. I only hope… someone can say ‘I’m sorry’ for me.”

Shen Yan’s heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something.

He slowly withdrew his hand and put his glasses back on.

“So, what do you plan to do next?”

Ye Shi’er closed his eyes. “Do as you will. Kill me, imprison me, or… let me stay here, guarding these Memories.”

As soon as the words fell, a deafening roar echoed from the distance.

Space trembled, and the outlines of four figures appeared at the edge of the Rift. Ye Zhao led the way, her sword tip piercing the Data Barrier; Pei Yue’s Silver Needles gleamed, protecting the Meridians of the three; Luo Li’s Demonic Fire surged, burning through the sealing Formation; Yu Xiaotang, munching on Candied Hawthorn while flinging Runes, blasted the passageway into a chaotic clamor.

They were coming in.

Shen Yan glanced back at Ye Shi’er.

He was no longer hiding, merely sitting quietly, like a monument about to sink into the sea.

“You said you didn’t want them to come in,” Shen Yan asked softly. “But they’re already here. Do you still want to run?”

Ye Shi’er opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the four figures, finally resting on Shen Yan’s back.

“I’m not running,” he said. “I’m… finally daring to face it.”

Shen Yan said nothing more.

He turned to face the four figures rushing toward him, his steps resolute.

But just then, Ye Shi’er suddenly called out, “Brother.”

Shen Yan’s footsteps faltered.

This was the first time in his life he had heard that address.

Ye Shi’er looked at him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Next time you write Code… remember to make a Backup.”

(End of Chapter)