Chapter 201: Rift Aftermath: Ripples in Spacetime

Shen Yan knelt on the ground, the taste of iron filling his throat. He raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, his fingertips stained with blood.

His phone was still hot, the “99” on the screen flashing like a heartbeat. He wanted to catch his breath, but his chest felt heavy, as if a hundred thousand lines of code were being compiled in his mind all at once.

Ye Zhao grabbed his shoulder to steady him. “Can you still hold on?”

“Not dead yet,” he grinned, his voice hoarse. “It just feels like… my body is becoming an open-source project, anyone can submit bugs into it.”

Pei Yue frowned, a silver needle already pinched between her fingers. “Don’t speak. The data erosion hasn’t been fully cleared yet.”

Luo Li stared at the sky and suddenly spoke. “The clouds are wrong.”

Everyone looked up. The morning light that had been dispersing was now sliced apart by a layer of ring-shaped cracks. The patterns were arranged neatly, pulsing like some kind of encoding.

Yu Xiaotang, chewing on her candied hawthorn, mumbled, “This isn’t scientific… Didn’t we close the rift? Why is there still a loading bar for a dungeon?”

Shen Yan’s pupils contracted. He abruptly raised his hand and tapped a few times on a virtual keyboard in the air. A line of text popped up on the terminal:

【Detected residual data stream. Refactoring spacetime coordinates.】

“Damn it,” he muttered. “We never truly got out. The rift’s aftermath is rewriting the spatial parameters, trying to drag us into another dimension.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the ground began to tremble. The rubble beneath their feet rose piece by piece, as if lifted by an invisible hand. Gravity fluctuated wildly, becoming strong one moment and weak the next. Yu Xiaotang lost her balance and stumbled forward.

Shen Yan reached out and pulled her into his arms. They collided, and the candied hawthorn rolled far away.

“Thanks, bro,” Yu Xiaotang blinked, her face slightly flushed. “But next time, could you not hug so tightly? You’re crushing my talisman papers.”

“Shut up,” Shen Yan released her, his face pale. “Right now, I need to conserve performance even for breathing.”

He sat cross-legged, his hands rapidly tapping in the empty air. Green code overflowed from his fingertips, forming a translucent interface in front of him.

【Writing: Existence Anchoring Program v1.0】

“We need to bind our life frequencies together. Otherwise, the system will delete us as redundant processes.”

Ye Zhao stepped in front of him, the tip of her sword touching the ground. “I can feel it. There’s a pulling force in the air, like it wants to suck people away.”

Pei Yue quickly took out her medicine pouch and scattered a handful of pale green powder. The powder floated in the air, actually condensing into a glimmering array diagram.

“I’m using qi-blood resonance to stabilize our meridians,” she said. “But I can’t hold it for long.”

Luo Li pressed her palms together. A purple-red demonic flame soared into the air, forming a rotating ring of fire above everyone’s heads. The edges of the flames shimmered with patterns resembling data streams, propping up the surrounding space.

“This fire isn’t burning spiritual energy now,” she sneered. “It’s burning bugs.”

At that moment, a low whisper came from deep within the void.

“Don’t resist… let it pull you in… the truth isn’t in the present… but in the past.”

The voice was both familiar and distant.

Shen Yan jerked his head up. “Ye Shi’er!”

Within the ring of light, a blurry figure flashed past. Black-gold combat attire, half his face hidden in shadow—it was unmistakably Ye Shi’er’s outline. His lips moved, but no more sound came out, and then he dissipated.

“He’s still alive?” Yu Xiaotang’s eyes widened. “Was that just an illusion?”

“No.” Shen Yan stared at the terminal. “He left a memory packet that requires dual-core verification to open. That means his consciousness is still running deep within the system.”

“So he deliberately left himself behind as a backdoor?” Ye Zhao gripped her sword tighter.

“Yes.” Shen Yan nodded. “He knew we would encounter trouble, so he planted this clue beforehand.”

【Program compilation complete. Initiate?】

He clicked confirm.

Six streams of energy instantly connected. The Source Code Spiritual Root transformed into a server core, packaging the five individuals’ life frequencies into an inseparable data packet.

“We are not mere passersby!” Shen Yan roared. “We are variables! We are the main function! We are not garbage threads that can be casually recycled!”

Green light exploded.

The chaotic currents were briefly suppressed. Floating rocks halted mid-air, and distorted light rays regained momentary stability.

But the circular cracks overhead deepened further. The clouds tore open, revealing a dark vortex. A powerful suction force descended from above, as if the entire universe were vacuuming itself.

Pei Yue’s silver needles snapped one by one. She grunted, blood seeping from her lips.

“The barrier can’t hold!” she shouted.

Ye Zhao stood in front with her sword held horizontally. Sword Qi transformed into a shield, yet it was slowly crushed by the suction force.

“Shen Yan!” she turned back. “If we don’t find a way soon, we’ll all be sucked in!”

“I’m waiting for the right moment!” he stared at the terminal. “This force is targeting the ‘key.’ It wants me, not you. If I voluntarily break the link—”

“You dare!” Luo Li angrily shouted. “Who allowed you to shoulder this alone?”

Yu Xiaotang grabbed his wrist: “If you dare to self-destruct the program, I’ll use talismans to weld you right here!”

Shen Yan froze.

Four pairs of eyes stared intently at him—no retreat, no hesitation.

He suddenly smiled.

“Alright.” He lowered his head, modifying a few lines of code on the interface. “Then let’s go crazy together.”

【Protocol upgrade: Collaborative Defense Mode】

【Bound objects: Ye Zhao, Pei Yue, Luo Li, Yu Xiaotang】

【Warning: Mental power consumption will be evenly distributed】

He pressed enter.

Instantly, the four women trembled simultaneously. Their faces instantly paled, as if part of their vitality had been drained away.

“It hurts so much!” Yu Xiaotang grimaced. “This is worse than talisman backlash!”

“Bear it.” Shen Yan gritted his teeth. “Now we are one entity. If you collapse, I won’t survive either.”

The vortex drew closer. The suction grew strong enough to tear souls apart.

Suddenly, a new notice popped up on the terminal:

【Historical coordinates detected】

【Source: Divine War battlefield a thousand years ago】

【Jump?】

Shen Yan stared at those words, his finger hovering over the confirm button.

“The place we’re going to… is the past?” Pei Yue’s voice trembled.

“And the most dangerous time point.” Luo Li narrowed her eyes. “The beginning of the War of Gods and Demons.”

Ye Zhao suddenly stepped forward, grasping his hand: “In any lifetime, I stand beside you.”

Yu Xiaotang also placed her hand on top: “Count me in! I’ve always wanted to see what ancient battlefields look like anyway!”

Pei Yue sighed softly, placing the final hand: “Don’t leave me behind.”

Five hands stacked together.

Shen Yan looked at them and finally pressed confirm.

Green light surged violently.

The next second, the sky collapsed thunderously. The vortex opened its massive maw, completely swallowing the six individuals.

At the final moment, Shen Yan heard the terminal emit a mechanical voice:

【Jumping… Please fasten your seatbelt】

His vision was drowned in a Data Torrent, his body feeling as if it had been torn apart and reassembled.

Yu Xiaotang’s scream echoed in his ears: “I haven’t finished my candied hawthorn yet—!”

Ye Zhao’s sword flew from her hand, tracing an arc through the air.

Pei Yue’s Silver Needles transformed into a meteor shower, scattering in all directions.

Luo Li’s Demonic Fire burned into a fiery dragon in the void, coiling tightly around Shen Yan’s wrist.

They were falling.

Through a rift in time, plummeting toward the heart of the war from a thousand years ago.

The last Image Shen Yan saw was a new message flashing on the Terminal:

【Welcome to the Divine War Era】

(End of Chapter)