Chapter 200: Dawn Beyond the Rift

Shen Yan paused at the sound of that single word—”brother.” He didn’t turn around, but his fingers trembled slightly.

Four figures had already rushed to the edge of the Rift. Ye Zhao’s Sword Qi sliced through the final layer of the Data Barrier, Pei Yue’s Silver Needles traced arcs through the air, Luo Li’s Demonic Fire scorched the passageway crimson, and Yu Xiaotang, while running, stuffed Candied Hawthorn into her mouth, sending Talisman Papers flying everywhere.

But Ye Shi’er didn’t move.

He leaned against the crumbling rock wall, his mask gone, leaving only exhaustion and an indescribable emotion on his face.

“Go,” Ye Shi’er said softly. “I can’t leave.”

Shen Yan turned and walked up to him. “Why?”

“I’m the anchor of the Rift,” Ye Shi’er replied with a bitter smile. “Ever since I initiated the ‘Format,’ my existence has been bound to this place. If I force my way out, the entire Three Realms will tremble.”

Shen Yan narrowed his eyes. “Then let’s rewrite the Code together.”

Ye Shi’er was taken aback. “What did you say?”

“Didn’t you want to resurrect her?” Shen Yan took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, and put them back on. “But now you can’t even save yourself, let alone save others. We’re not enemies anymore—we’re brothers. Between brothers, sharing Code isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

Ye Shi’er stared at him, his voice hoarse. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll betray you again?”

“I am,” Shen Yan nodded. “But I’m more afraid of you staying here alone, turning your Obsession into an Infinite Loop, sinking deeper and deeper.”

He extended his hand. “Are you in? Dual-Core operation to clear this Bug.”

Ye Shi’er looked at that hand for a long time before finally raising his own.

The moment their hands clasped, the Source Code Spiritual Root within Shen Yan’s body suddenly glowed brightly. Green Code spread along his Meridians, directly connecting to Ye Shi’er’s body. Both men grunted simultaneously, as if struck by high-voltage electricity.

The Terminal Interface automatically popped up:

【Detected homologous Life Frequency. Establish “Brother Link”?】

Shen Yan tapped “Yes.”

【Link established successfully. Permission Level: Mutual Trust Mode.】

In the next instant, their consciousnesses were pulled into the same Program space—a gray-white background where a massive segment of Infinite Loop Code was frantically running, like an unending vortex.

“This is the core sustaining the Rift,” Shen Yan pointed at the tangled mess of Code. “It’s constantly replicating Memory Segments of ‘Moonlight 07,’ creating the illusion of a false resurrection.”

“I know,” Ye Shi’er gritted his teeth. “But if we delete it, the Rift will collapse instantly, sucking in everyone nearby.”

“Then we don’t delete it,” Shen Yan grinned. “We rewrite it.”

He opened the programming Interface in his mind and began typing Code:

“We’ll turn it into a self-destruct Protocol and set the Trigger Conditions—automatically clearing it when the Rift closes, leaving no loose ends.”

Ye Shi’er frowned. “But the System won’t trust external Commands.”

“That’s why we’ll both issue the Command,” Shen Yan looked at him. “Dual-Core Verification, mutual reverse validation. Your Permission plus my Key—the System has to grant access.”

Ye Shi’er fell silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Let’s do it.”

The two sat side by side, their fingers rapidly tapping in the void. There was no keyboard, no Screen, only an endless stream of Code flowing from their fingertips, weaving into a net in the air.

Ye Zhao and the others had already rushed close but were blocked by an invisible force.

“Don’t come closer!” Shen Yan shouted, “The program hasn’t finished running yet—if you enter, you’ll be formatted!”

Ye Zhao stared at him intently, veins bulging on her sword-holding hand, yet she did not step forward.

Pei Yue quickly set up a heart-protecting formation, silver needles spinning suspended in the air; Luo Li’s demonic fire surged, shielding the three around them; Yu Xiaotang pulled out a talisman paper, biting her fingertip to draw a blood curse.

“They’re still fighting desperately inside, we can’t collapse.” Yu Xiaotang pressed the talisman to her chest, “Sisters, hold on!”

The code was written faster and faster.

The infinite loop was gradually dismantled, reassembled into a self-destruct command.

【Dual-Core Clear Protocol】 compiled.

【Execute?】

Shen Yan and Ye Shi’er exchanged a glance, simultaneously pressing the confirm key.

Boom—!

The entire rift violently trembled, data streams flooding back like torrents. That core code that had persisted for a thousand years began to collapse, peeling away layer by layer, dissolving into points of light.

“Quick, get out!” Shen Yan grabbed Ye Shi’er, “The protocol is activated, the rift will close in three seconds!”

Both sprinted toward the exit.

But just as they were about to cross out, a reverse suction force surged from behind, directly dragging Shen Yan backward.

“Damn!” he growled, “The system is pulling me back!”

Ye Shi’er reacted instantly, pushing him forward forcefully: “You go out! I’ll cover the rear!”

Shen Yan was shoved out of the rift, a blinding flash, and he fell onto the ruins.

As he struggled to look up, he saw Ye Shi’er standing at the rift’s edge, his body already beginning to fade, like a segment of code about to vanish.

“Wait!” Shen Yan reached out, “You promised to write code with me together!”

Ye Shi’er turned back, smiling: “Next time… remember to backup.”

He raised his hand, lightly tapping in the air.

An encrypted memory packet instantly uploaded to the shared channel of the four women.

The next second, the rift closed with a thunderous crash.

Ye Shi’er’s figure completely disappeared, leaving only a faint halo of light slowly circling where the rift had been, like a guardian talisman that never extinguishes.

Shen Yan knelt on the ground, panting like a dehydrated fish.

Ye Zhao rushed forward first, grabbing his shoulder: “Are you insane? Jumping into such a place alone!”

Shen Yan wanted to laugh, but coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Pei Yue immediately dove in to examine him: “There’s data erosion in the brain domain, acupuncture must be applied right away!”

She pulled out silver needles ready to insert, Shen Yan raised his hand to stop her: “Wait… phone…”

His terminal was still hot, the screen flashing wildly, massive unknown data pouring in, the interface half ancient runes, half modern code, mixed together scrolling frantically.

“This is… what thing?” Yu Xiaotang leaned over, eyes wide, “These talisman patterns… seem like the lost ‘Heavenly Mechanism Lure’?”

Luo Li frowned: “Something’s wrong. The rift clearly closed, how is there still signal coming in?”

Shen Yan forced himself to sit upright, using the most basic firewall to isolate dangerous modules, preserving the main frequency band signal. He stared at the screen, suddenly noticing that those codes, while jumping, formed a certain pattern.

Like… calling his name.

“It’s responding to me.” Shen Yan murmured, “The source code spiritual root resonates.”

Ye Zhao pressed his arm: “Can you still hold on?”

“Not dead yet.” Shen Yan wiped the blood from his mouth, “Just feels like ten thousand programmers are running code in my brain simultaneously.”

Pei Yue finally regained control, inserting a needle into his neck: “Don’t speak, let me clear the residual data stream.”

Shen Yan grunted, his body stiffening for a moment, but he didn’t push her away.

Yu Xiaotang suddenly exclaimed, “Look! The runes in the Terminal have changed!”

Everyone lowered their heads.

On the screen, the previously chaotic symbols gradually rearranged themselves into a clear line of text:

“Key has been restored. New Era Initiation Countdown: Ninety-nine.”

Shen Yan’s pupils contracted.

Before he could react, the Terminal vibrated again, automatically opening a hidden Interface—

Against a pitch-black background, seven encrypted folders appeared, their titles all garbled except for the last one, which was marked with three characters:

“Awaiting Your Opening.”

Yu Xiaotang swallowed hard. “Who… who left this?”

Shen Yan didn’t answer.

He looked up at the sky.

The morning light pierced through the clouds, spilling over the ruins and illuminating everyone’s faces.

The wind lifted Ye Zhao’s silver hair, brushing it against Shen Yan’s cheek.

Pei Yue’s Silver Needle still swayed at his neck, Luo Li’s Demonic Fire gradually extinguished, and a drop of syrup from the Candied Hawthorn in Yu Xiaotang’s hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Shen Yan tightened his grip on his phone, his knuckles turning white.

He knew this battle was over.

But another one had just begun.

Yu Xiaotang suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered:

“Did you hear it?”

Shen Yan froze. “What?”

“Just now… that string of Code,” she blinked, “did it say, ‘Welcome back, brother’?”

(End of Chapter)