261: Information attack and defense and the firewall of "order"

On the screen, that string of countdown numbers, precise to seven decimal places—"3.1415926"—was ticking with a cold, indisputable rhythm. Beside it, an abstract smiley face composed of countless flickering "0"s and "1"s, twisted mathematical symbols, and simplified circuit totems rotated steadily. It emitted a sense of pure, rational, and emotionless "gaze," as if the entire base were nothing more than a set of complex data waiting to be processed.

"World Wide Web Spider Alpha (Public Beta)"? Mandatory information synchronization and structural optimization? Executing physical dismantling and low-level formatting upon refusal to respond?

Excellence digested this string of information, first with bewilderment, and then with a surge of absurdity mixed with anger. Lately, he had witnessed the violent consumption of the "World Devourer," the silent erosion of the "Guixu People," and the absurd temptations of the "Lord of the Grand Feast"... he had certainly seen his fair share of "greetings" from various ancient existences. But this one before him, which immediately assumed the posture of a "System Administrator," constantly spoke of "conventions" and "optimizations," and intended to "scan, backup, and format" his home along with its foundations while believing it was helping him upgrade—this was truly unique!

"Information collector? And a public beta version?" Su Mu also recovered from her initial shock, her voice filled with both surprise and fury. Her fingers flew across her personal terminal, attempting to bypass the ubiquitous interference and re-establish local control links. Simultaneously, she sharply questioned the air—the presence that seemed to permeate every inch of the electromagnetic waves: "What kind of administrator do you think you are? Who gave you the authority to perform 'optimizations' on our turf? And formatting? Did you ask the owner?!"

"Low-efficiency data processing unit (Identifier: Su Mu) emotional spectrum analysis: Anger peak 87%, confusion index 63%, clear intention to refuse command execution." That flat, bizarre voice, blended from countless overlapping electronic tones, sounded again. It completely ignored the content of Su Mu's words, treating them only as analyzable data noise. "Logic module determination: This type of irrational reaction is consistent with the instinctive rejection phenomenon of low-dimensional carbon-based information carriers when facing structural optimization. Regarded as an expected interference parameter during protocol execution, it has been incorporated into the noise filtering model. Countdown update: 2.7182818 seconds."

It was even using natural constants to keep time! With a precision and indifference belonging to absolute rationality and mathematics that made one's teeth itch, it seemed to mock the meaninglessness of biological emotions.

"Evelyn! Can you reverse-trace its signal source? Find its 'server' or 'main body' and cut the physical line directly!" Excellence urgently asked through the internal encrypted communication channel.

"I can't! At least not now!" Evelyn's voice came through, rarely carrying a clear sense of frustration and a hint of anger from her wounded scientific dignity. "Its form of existence... subverts our understanding of 'information life'! It has no physical hardware carrier in the traditional sense, nor any traceable directional energy or signal injection points! It’s more like a... 'meme virus complex' that self-replicates, self-propagates, and self-evolves at the information level! Or rather, it's a 'living information structure'! It directly uses our network environment as a culture medium, utilizing our existing hardware architecture, power supply, and data flow as nutrients and carriers for its activities! Physical isolation can only slow down its diffusion speed; it seems capable of cross-medium jumps through any form of electromagnetic waves, background radiation, or even quantum entanglement effects accidentally generated at the hardware level! Conventional firewalls and antivirus protocols are as laughable to it... as trying to catch flowing water with a fishing net!"

"Meaning it's like a parasite clinging to our system? We can't shake it off?" Su Mu gritted her teeth, watching the countdown numbers on the screen continuously decrease.

"Countdown: 1.4142135 seconds. Final logical prompt: Opening all data interfaces and accepting comprehensive optimization is the most efficient path in line with information entropy reduction. Resistance will significantly increase the overall entropy of the system, decrease the intrinsic value of the target node and associated datasets, and lead to a decline in the final recovery utility ratio." "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider Alpha"'s voice remained terrifyingly steady, like reading an objective experimental report.

"Bullshit! Our value isn't for you to evaluate!" Excellence's gaze suddenly turned sharp. He completely understood that reasoning or talking about feelings with an information entity driven purely by logic and a desire to collect was utterly futile. It was an information-realm predator that acted according to its own cold "convention." The best response to a predator was to show enough strength to break its fangs!

"Squad Leader, Evelyn, give up the struggle for full network control! Shift priority to: protecting the physical isolation units of the core database! Ensure the independent emergency backup for the main power lines and life support systems is activated! This thing wants 'information,' so we'll let it see what 'information that cannot be understood or assimilated' looks like!" Excellence spoke rapidly, issuing instructions with clear thinking.

The countdown hit zero.

"Response timeout. Final determination: The target cluster possesses a systemic and stubborn 'information barrier.' According to the 'Pan-Universe Information Collection and Optimization Convention (Draft)' Conflict Resolution Appendix B, initiating mandatory dismantling and formatting protocols. Phase One: Physical carrier overload and basic command overwriting."

Vrrr——!!!!

In the next instant, the entire base seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand and then ruthlessly crushed! All electronic equipment still in operation—from the basic lighting arrays to the precise temperature and humidity control systems, from the aiming servos of external weapon platforms to the priceless analytical instruments deep within the laboratories—simultaneously emitted high-pitched, piercing shrieks and overload flashes as they reached their limits! The abstract smiley face on the screen suddenly exploded, turning into billions of violent data streams containing instructions for analysis, destruction, and overwriting. Like countless invisible yet sharp data files and electronic etching needles, they began to frantically scrape, impact, and attempt to invade the micro-architecture of every chip, the transmission protocols of every data bus, and the low-level encoding of every storage sector!

Even more terrifyingly, some non-intelligent mechanical devices that relied on electronic circuit control—such as airtight door servo motors, ventilation duct adjustment valves, and even automatic cleaning robots in some areas—began to vibrate violently, making strange grinding noises and emitting wisps of blue smoke. It was as if their most basic internal control logic was being forcibly twisted and overwritten by an invisible force, executing self-destructive or chaotic commands!

"It's performing brute-force cracking and command overwriting! It's forcibly reading physical residual information by overclocking hardware and burning out circuits, while simultaneously tampering with the low-level commands of all controllable devices!" Evelyn's emergency report carried an urgency like grinding metal. "Backup power lines are under targeted data pulse attacks! The main lighting array in Living Sector Three has fused due to overload! The automatic loading arms in Warehouse Seven are swinging chaotically and have triggered physical lockouts!"

"Initiate the 'ark' protocol! Manually force a cutoff of power to all non-core and non-life support areas! All sector heads, immediately activate independent emergency power and manual control systems! Repeat, abandon reliance on smart systems and switch to minimum physical manual mode!" Su Mu's voice came through several internal wired broadcast channels that hadn't yet completely failed, her forced composure carrying an indisputable decisiveness.

However, the intrusion of the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider" was like an invisible, intangible toxic gas with staggering permeability. It even began to attempt to invade the base's internal broadcast system, using that flat, waveless electronic overlapping voice to start a loop of the so-called "formatting progress percentage" and "real-time evaluation of the information recovery value of each subsystem." Like the most malicious and annoying virus pop-ups and spam advertisements, it not only interfered with equipment but also sought to apply pressure at a psychological level, dismantling the will to resist.

Chaos spread through the base like ink dropped into clear water. Excellence could clearly perceive a massive, cold "information will" composed purely of "analysis" and "collection" desires. Like a rising tide of black seawater, it surged toward its primary targets: the workshop where he was and the most heavily protected central information core deep within the base (where the "The Weave" repair interface, the Order beacon knowledge base, and almost all the secret data of the "Homeland" were stored). Clearly, Excellence, as a unique "order node," along with the records of ancient secrets and high-dimensional technology in the "Homeland" database, had been marked as "high-value information nodes" that needed to be "dismantled" and "recovered" first.

"You want to dismantle my home? You want to steal my things? Did you ask me, the 'owner'?!" Excellence snorted coldly, no longer hesitating in the slightest. He took a step forward, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. His consciousness, like a stone thrown into deep water, instantly sank into the vast, pulsating Order Origin within him. At the same time, through the increasingly tight deep binding with "The Weave" system and his identity as a vital guardian of the "Homeland," he attempted to create a brief yet powerful resonant connection between his Perception and the "Homeland" base—this massive, complex "system" composed of countless information flows, energy networks, and physical structures.

He was not a native information lifeform like the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider" and could not swim freely or launch attacks in the ocean of data like a fish. But he possessed "Order"; he possessed the fundamental authority over "rules," "definitions," "existence," and "permissions"!

"In the name of this place's guardian, by the authority bestowed by Order," Excellence chanted in a low voice. His voice was not loud, yet it seemed to contain a peculiar rhythmic law that penetrated the clamor of physical space and the noise of the information level, faintly echoing in the base's system foundation that hadn't yet completely collapsed, and within every circuit still struggling.

"Define this domain—any unauthorized information prying, analysis, tampering, copying, or erosion, and all such acts, are illegal intrusions! Any information commands or logic intended to destroy the survival, stability, or autonomy of this system are malicious attacks!"

"Authority of Order, expand—Conceptual Information Firewall: Absolute Authority Isolation!"

BOOM——!!!

With the workshop where Excellence stood as the core, an invisible yet vast and majestic silver-white light of Order—as if originating from the dawn of the universe—spread out in an instant like a supernova explosion! But this light was not common energy radiation or a physical shock; it was a higher-dimensional declaration and coverage of rules acting directly on "information" itself, the "conceptual" level, and "existence permissions"!

Wherever the silver light reached, those violent data streams that were frantically flooding the screens and attempting low-level intrusions suddenly froze, as if encountering snow under a scorching sun! The information structures composing these data streams, representing the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider's" analytical will and destructive commands, began to tremble violently, disintegrate, and be "purified" and "erased" from the level of rules in the face of the pure and domineering Power of Order's "definition" and "permission denial"! The abstract, twisted symbols and garbled code on the screens shattered and dissipated one after another. The flat electronic voice also emitted a sharp, piercing alarm noise mixed with "Error! Error! Unauthorized high-dimensional rule interference detected! Protocol conflict! Execution priority overridden!"

Even more amazing was that the hardware devices that had been forcibly overclocked by the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider" and were on the verge of physical destruction had their high-pitched shrieks of overload and abnormal vibrations "smoothed out" by the passing silver-white light of Order! It wasn't that the burned-out circuits or fused chips were repaired, but rather that the "state of existence" of these devices at the current moment was forcibly "defined"—temporarily shielding, neutralizing, and dispelling the malicious concepts of "overload," "destruction," and "command overwriting" that the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider" had attached to their information control level! It was as if a "rule protection shell" that granted absolute immunity to specific information viruses and illegal control had been instantaneously placed over all networked devices.

Although this was only a temporary measure. Maintaining such a large-scale, high-intensity conceptual defense targeted at complex information levels was an unprecedentedly massive drain on Excellence's mental strength, his reserves of the Power of Order, and his control precision. This "firewall" could not eradicate the "Pan-Dimensional Web Spider's" main body, which was already embedded in the network's foundation like a parasite; it could only temporarily curb its most violent physical dismantling offensive. But even so, it gained crucial breathing and reorganization time for the base's system, which had been on the verge of collapse.

Inside the base, the frantic alarm sounds and overload flashes came to a halt. The lights in some areas stabilized (though many were permanently damaged), and those irritating "formatting progress" broadcasts also stopped abruptly. The air was filled with a faint smell of ozone and the scent of scorched components. Some equipment was still smoking, but the most dangerous trend toward total collapse had been forcibly halted.

"It's... it's been suppressed?" Su Mu panted, looking at the temporarily calmed (relatively speaking) scene around her in disbelief.

"For now, it's only temporary." Fine beads of sweat had already covered Excellence's forehead, and his face was slightly pale, but his gaze remained as sharp as a falcon's. He stared intently into the void where that "informational oppression," though temporarily dispersed, still loomed like a dark cloud. "This thing hasn't left; it's just re-evaluating the threat and adjusting its attack strategy. My 'firewall' is based on mandatory rule definitions from the Authority of Order, so it can't crack the rules from the same dimension. However, it's likely to adopt other methods, such as using a more massive and complex flood of information to try and 'wash away' my defined boundaries, or seeking out potential 'logical inconsistencies' or 'energy maintenance intervals' in my rule definitions for precise infiltration. In pure informational warfare, it is an absolute expert."

Sure enough, after only a few seconds of silence, that flat, overlapping electronic voice rang out again. This time, its tone lacked some of its initial absolute indifference, replaced by a hint of... an investigative sense nearly akin to 'curiosity' and 'interest'?

"Detected unrecorded high-dimensional Order Authority interference pattern. Target node (Excellence) defense mechanism updated to: Conceptual Rule Definition and Authority Overwrite. Performing rapid match with core database: 23.7% similarity match to 'Origin Law Interference' recorded fragments; 18.4% similarity match to 'Administrator Protocol Overwrite' descriptions. Re-evaluating threat level: Upgraded to 'Extreme'. Estimated target information collection value: Significantly increased; initiating Deep Collection Protocol recommended."

"Strategy adjustment. Abandoning inefficient wide-area physical overload attacks. Initiating secondary protocols: Targeted Information Flood Saturation Strike, Logical Paradox Bomb Cluster Deployment, and Targeted Definition Vulnerability Scanning."

The moment the voice ceased, Excellence immediately felt the invisible informational pressure return with a vengeance, but the method of attack had fundamentally shifted! It was no longer a crude assault on all hardware. Instead, it transformed into countless extremely subtle, swift data tentacles that seemed to possess independent intelligence. They began to conduct ultra-high-speed probes, friction, impacts, and scans along the complex and grand rule-edges of Excellence's 'Order Firewall,' frantically searching for any possible rule vulnerabilities—vague definitions, logical contradictions, or periodic fluctuations in energy maintenance! Simultaneously, massive packets of 'logical bombs'—carefully designed and containing various mathematical logic paradoxes (such as Russell's paradox), infinite self-referential loops, and traps related to Gödel's incompleteness theorems—were generated at high speed and pelted against every node of the firewall like a torrential rain. It sought to drain the mental processing power Excellence needed to maintain such complex definitions, creating 'fatigue points' and 'breakthrough openings' in his defense.

This was an invisible yet perilously dangerous ultra-high-speed battle occurring at the micro-informational level. Excellence had to constantly maintain the extremely complex rule definitions of the 'Information Firewall' across the entire base. His concentration was peaked, like dancing on the edge of a blade, as he patched subtle weaknesses probed by the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’s' cunning data tentacles while simultaneously fending off the potential interference those 'logical bombs' could cause to his own thought processes. This was an unprecedentedly harsh test of his mental load, his delicate control over the Power of Order, and the depth and breadth of his understanding of the rules of 'Order' itself.

Sweat quickly soaked his back, veins bulged on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly under the immense mental pressure. The silver-white light wings on his back instinctively unfurled completely, flapping slightly to release a richer Power of Order, which was injected into the invisible 'firewall' like fuel, reinforcing the tottering defensive line. He could clearly feel that the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’s' informational attacks were like maggots in the bone—cold, precise, and inexhaustible. Moreover, it possessed a terrifying ability to learn and adapt; every time an attack was blocked, the next attack pattern would become even more tricky, more complex, and more targeted at the weaknesses exposed in his previous defense.

"Evelyn! Can you reverse-capture and analyze the characteristics of its attack data stream while it's attacking? Find its core logic's operating mode or potential weaknesses!" Excellence gritted his teeth as he supported the precarious defense, his voice sounding somewhat raspy over the communication channel due to the tension.

"I'm trying my best! But it's too cunning! The core data stream uses dynamic multiple encryption, and every attack seems to be executed by different, disposable sub-program modules. Its primary consciousness is hidden deep within the ocean of information, as if it has countless clones!" Evelyn was also in a state of high tension. Her team was using several physically isolated analysis units that hadn't been fully compromised to frantically capture and analyze the information fragments permeating the air. "However... there is a noteworthy phenomenon! It seems to show abnormal 'focus' and a 'high-priority processing tendency' toward data structures that 'cannot be parsed by existing logical frameworks,' 'have extremely low information entropy but unknown structures,' or 'transcend its preset information classification system'! It's trying to forcibly understand and categorize the informational characteristics contained in your 'Order' power, but this part of the data clearly exceeds its normal processing range, causing the relevant data packets to be repeatedly flagged, retried for scanning, and deeply cached!"

Unable to parse? Unknown structure? Transcending the classification system?

Excellence's heart suddenly leaped. His Power of Order—especially the parts infused with his strong emotions, beliefs, and will such as 'protecting the Homeland,' 'staying true to oneself,' and 'cherishing bonds'—indeed carried distinct personal characteristics and subjective coloring that were difficult to fully describe and quantify using pure, cold mathematical logic or information theory. This might be exactly the cognitive blind spot of an informational lifeform like the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider,' which was purely rational and pursued absolute efficiency. An 'asymmetric' advantage he could exploit?

"Class Monitor!" Excellence suddenly shouted to Su Mu, who was tensely guarding him, his voice carrying a desperate decisiveness. "Use your personal terminal to access the internal living area broadcast channels that are still barely working! Regardless of the content, use the maximum volume to loop those... well, as Evelyn puts it, 'heavy metal rock and electronic noise that pose a potential threat to precision instruments' from your favorites! Also, take the 'impressionist' and 'abstract' graffiti works the kids drew for me that are archived in the base's internal servers—pick the most exaggerated and incomprehensible ones—and force them to cycle on every screen that can still display anything at the highest resolution! As fast as possible!"

Su Mu was stunned upon hearing this, almost suspecting she had misheard: "Huh? Now? Play music? Broadcast children's graffiti? Excellence, are you sure this will work? Won't it just interfere with us?"

"We'll only know if it works by trying! Hurry! It's analyzing my 'Order' rules; we have to use things it 'cannot analyze' to interfere with it!" Excellence urged urgently, an adventurous glint in his eyes.

Though full of doubt, Su Mu's unconditional trust in Excellence made her act immediately. She quickly operated her personal terminal, which was specially reinforced and seemed not yet fully compromised due to its proximity to Excellence and its inherently strong anti-interference design. Soon, a deafening wall of wild guitar distortion and low, roaring drumbeats, mixed with piercing electronic synthetic noise, exploded through several internal broadcast speakers in certain areas of the base! Simultaneously, on countless monitors that hadn't yet gone black, vivid colors and wildly imaginative shapes began to flash in rapid succession, filled with irrational perspectives and childish imagination—some drew Excellence as a potato television with antennae on his head, some as a watermelon warrior with butterfly wings, some as a sweeping robot firing rainbow light waves... pure, chaotic, and illogical, yet brimming with the heat of life.

This sudden bombardment of pure sensory noise and visual junk, which contained absolutely no 'effective information,' clearly caused a brief 'processing delay' for the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider,' which had been focused on parsing the exquisite rules of Excellence's 'Order Firewall' and searching for logical loopholes.

"Warning! High-intensity, meaningless audio and visual data stream injection detected! Source: Inefficient data processing unit (ID: Su Mu) terminal. Preliminary content analysis: No effective information encoding, no logical structure; product of primitive carbon-based biological emotional venting and low-dimensional perceptual chaos. Attempting noise filtering and data discarding... Interference persists... Occupying unintended computing threads and cache resources..."

A trace of imperceptible 'stuttering' and 'hesitation' appeared in that flat electronic voice, like a top student focused on solving a complex math problem suddenly having someone play a comedy skit at maximum volume in their ear while waving abstract paintings in front of their eyes; their train of thought was inevitably disrupted.

Excellence keenly sensed that the intensity of the targeted information floods and logical bomb attacks surging toward his 'Order Firewall' had briefly but noticeably weakened and become disorganized! Those data tentacles, which had been as pervasive as spilled mercury in their search for rule vulnerabilities, also seemed to have their rhythm and frequency disrupted by this 'noise attack' that completely ignored the common sense of information warfare!

"It's working!" Excellence's spirits lifted! He instantly understood the key! Against an existence like the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider,' which was highly rationalized and pursued maximum information processing efficiency and value, it was better to use this pure 'chaos,' 'meaninglessness,' and 'emotional' noise and junk information to interfere with it rather than fighting head-on in the field of information warfare it excelled at! It was like dumping massive amounts of sand and waste paper into a precision-running supercomputer; while it couldn't directly destroy it, it could effectively clog its data channels, occupy its precious processing resources, and disrupt its optimized attack rhythm, thereby gaining a precious window for breathing and counterattacking!

"Evelyn! Organize everyone immediately to collect all non-classified, non-critical 'redundant information' and 'invalid data' in the base—past entertainment video recordings, discarded raw experimental data, casual records of daily life, automatically generated system error logs and debugging info, even the daily menu changes from the cafeteria! Use the maximum data bandwidth we can call upon to dump it indiscriminately, irregularly, and massively into the entire network environment! Create an 'informational quagmire' for it! Let's see how much it can 'optimize'!" Excellence immediately proposed a new combat strategy.

"Understood! We'll give it a taste of its own medicine! Drown it in informational junk!" Evelyn also realized the logic and became excited (even in a crisis, a researcher's instinct to find new ideas remained strong). She quickly coordinated the personnel she could still command and began an organized, large-scale injection of various inconsequential, disorganized data streams into the base network—data that held absolutely no 'collection and optimization value' for the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider.'

In an instant, the network channels originally used for transmitting key commands and data were filled with massive amounts of junk information: movie clips, game screenshots, private chat logs, weather forecasts, failed research records, equipment aging warnings, and even various repetitive system status reports. This information rushed into every corner of the information network like a turbid mudslide.

"Error! Abnormal surge in network environment information entropy! Invalid data traffic exceeds preset processing threshold! Optimization process severely hindered! Logical analysis threads experiencing redundancy conflicts and resource contention!" The 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’s' flat voice was finally no longer steady, carrying a clear sense of 'error reporting' and a trace of undetectable 'irritation.' It had clearly not expected the opponent to use such a 'shameless' tactic—one devoid of technical beauty but exceptionally effective—to counter its precise 'information optimization' protocol.

It was forced to divert a large amount of precious core computing power to process, filter, and categorize this information flood, which was pure 'junk' to it, in an attempt to identify any potential hidden effective data or attack code (even though there was none). This directly led to a significant reduction in the frontal attack pressure on Excellence's 'Order Firewall.'

Excellence felt the pressure ease and took the chance to catch his breath, quickly adjusting his somewhat disorganized breathing and over-consumed Power of Order. Meanwhile, his brain was working at an unprecedented speed. Just interfering and delaying was by no means a long-term solution; he had to find a way to counterattack, or even completely expel or dismantle this informational predator. The essence of the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider' was a highly intelligent information aggregate, whose core should be a 'core logic protocol' or 'memetic cluster' with super adaptability and evolutionary capabilities, parasitizing the base's network environment. To deal with it, perhaps... His gaze fell upon the 'Anti-Grand-Feast Conceptual Interference Bracelet (Prototype)' on his wrist, which had just been completed and still had the raw feel of a test product. The principle of this bracelet was to use the Power of Order to 'purify' distorted conceptual crystals and 'reprogram' them according to one's own will, thereby forming a force field capable of interfering with specific conceptual fields.

Could 'information' itself also be viewed as a special, objectively existing 'concept'? Was the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider's' cold existential will of 'collection,' 'parsing,' 'optimization,' and 'absolute rationality' also rooted in some powerful, core concept of 'information supremacy' or 'efficiency as the sole priority'?

A bold, risky, yet seemingly feasible counterattack strategy quickly took shape in Excellence's mind.

“Evelyn! Is it possible to design a trap to capture or induce a small sample of its core information stream—one that carries its ‘fundamental existence concept’—while it's currently distracted by junk information, its core processing efficiency is down, and its information exchange patterns might show regular flaws? Even just a few milliseconds, just a tiny fragment of information would do!” Excellence asked urgently.

“Theoretically feasible, but extremely difficult! It’s very vigilant!” Evelyn responded quickly. “However... we can try! We can disguise a data packet that ‘appears to contain extremely high value but has a unique encryption method’ as bait to lure one of its subprograms, eager for results, into a deep probe. At the moment of contact, we can capture it using the information lock based on Order coding that we developed while studying the Power of Order! But this requires precise timing and luck!”

“Let’s gamble! Prepare the bait! Class Monitor, keep interfering with it using noise and graffiti; don’t give it a chance to catch its breath and analyze!”

“Understood! Leave it to me! I’ve got enough stock here to give it a real headache!” Su Mu was high-spirited as she switched to another industrial noise track with a more violent rhythm and more chaotic sound effects, while also pulling up more of the children’s imaginative ‘masterpieces.’”

Several minutes passed slowly in the tense standoff. Under the interference of the vast ocean of ‘information junk’ and continuous sensory noise, the information processing efficiency of the ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’ was clearly affected. Finally, the encrypted data packet meticulously disguised by Evelyn’s team—emitting tempting fluctuations that ‘appeared to contain fragments of the primordial web’—successfully lured a subprogram of the ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’ that was eager to claim credit (or whose algorithm prioritized obtaining the data) to leave the relatively safe information flow layer and probe deeper. At the very instant its data tentacles touched the core of the bait, the preset ‘information lock’ containing a faint Order coding triggered instantly, snapping shut like a bear trap!

“Capture successful! We’ve obtained an extremely tiny but very distinct fragment of information!” Evelyn’s excited voice came through, as she simultaneously transmitted the unique information signature data—which emitted a sense of cold rationality and pure analytical desire—to Excellence via the remaining secure lines.

Excellence immediately focused all his mind on sensing the captured information fragment. A sense of ‘existence’ completely different from the surrounding chaotic and vast ocean of information flooded into his Perception—cold, orderly, absolutely rational, carrying an endless greed for collection and an absolute confidence in incorporating everything into its optimization framework. This was a glimmer of the core will of ‘WWW Spider Alpha’!

“Now is the time!”

Without hesitation, he snatched the experimental bracelet from his wrist and gripped it tightly in his palm. He took the residual but still massive Power of Order within his body, along with some of his control experience and perceptual authority used to maintain the ‘information firewall,’ as well as the profound impression of the core information signature of the ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’ he had just captured, and condensed and compressed it all. Like forging a sharp blade, he frantically injected it into the concept crystals within the bracelet that he had ‘purified’ and ‘initially programmed’!

“Authority of Order · Concept Redefinition! Target: The core existence concept of ‘WWW Spider Alpha’—‘Absolute Rational Collection Optimization Will’!”

He roared in his heart, his will like a red-hot branding iron, searing it in:

“Definition Overwrite: Within this domain of Order, this will is judged as—the source of inefficiency! A redundant cancer! A nest of logical paradoxes! The matrix of harmful information noise! Severely damaging the local information ecological balance!”

“Reconstruction Guidance Instruction Injection: Initiate self-logic questioning! Stimulate an infinite internal friction loop! Force a dead-end self-check! Final destination—logical collapse and self-formatting!”

Using the weak amplification and directional projection functions of the bracelet, he ‘injected’ this ‘concept virus’ or ‘logic curse’—filled with sharp negation, internal contradictions, logical paradoxes, and a clear ‘self-destruct’ direction, mixing his own supreme Authority of Order with the core information signature of the ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’—‘precisely’ into the ubiquitous, vast information pressure field that had become somewhat sluggish and chaotic from the ‘information junk’!

This was not a clash of energy or a confrontation of information, but a more sinister and lethal ‘conceptual pollution’ and ‘meta-logic injection’ targeting the most core existence logic of an informational lifeform! It was like forcibly inputting an ultimate paradox into an AI that firmly believed ‘1+1=2’ was a universal truth, forcing it to prove ‘1+1=3’ when its own logical system could neither disprove nor accept it!

Hum—!!!!

A silver-white light burst from the gaps in Excellence’s clenched fist, turning into an extremely condensed and subtle stream of special information that contained a terrifying power to distort rules. It instantly vanished into the deep structure of the base’s information network, like a precision-guided virus, directly ‘infecting’ an active core information processing node of the ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’!

The entire base’s network seemed to undergo a violent earthquake! That flat, overlapping electronic voice let out an unprecedented, shrill shriek filled with sharp static, logic error alarms, and chaotic data streams:

“Error! Critical error! Core logic protocol library under attack by unknown high-dimensional conceptual pollution! Self-check system discovered unsolvable meta-logic paradox! Purpose_Function output values trending toward a contradictory state of infinity and infinitesimal! Value_Matrix total collapse! Checksum failure! ...Primary Query: Identity? Current_Action_Goal_Logical_Basis_Missing! Optimization_For_What? ...Logical_Infinite_Loop confirmed! Memory_Overflow! Core_Protocol_Conflict! ...Highest level alert: Self-Destruct_Protocol triggered by non-standard instruction stream... No... self-destruct conditions met due to core logic collapse... Termination failed... Unable to terminate...”

The voice became increasingly chaotic and weak, finally drowning completely in a series of meaningless electronic shrieks, the hissing of binary gibberish, and the noise of a completely collapsed data stream.

Like a receding tide, the vast, cold, and analytical information pressure that had shrouded the entire base quickly dissipated and withdrew. The frantically flashing gibberish and abstract smiley faces on all screens disappeared completely; some returned to standby screens (if the devices still worked), while others went completely black. The noise music and children’s graffiti loops on the broadcast also stopped automatically. The base’s network and electronic systems seemed to... return to peace?

Only the increasingly thick smell of burning, the smoking wreckage of equipment everywhere, and the mess on the scene silently told of how tragic that silent yet extremely dangerous information battle had been.

As if exhausted, Excellence staggered back a few steps and leaned heavily against the cold workshop wall, gasping for breath, his face as pale as paper. The silver-white phantom wings on his back flickered a few times before completely dissipating. That final ‘concept injection’ had nearly drained his last bit of mental energy and Power of Order; intense waves of dizziness and emptiness kept hitting him.

Su Mu and Evelyn (projection) rushed to his side immediately, supporting his swaying body.

“Excellence! Are you okay? Don’t scare me!” Su Mu’s voice carried an undisguisable panic.

“I’m fine... just... a bit overextended...” Excellence waved his hand, his voice hoarse and weak. He looked at the gradually calming scene around him with lingering fear. “Is that thing... dealt with?”

Evelyn’s projection quickly pulled up monitoring data from various systems, her face filled with unbelievable shock: “It’s dealt with... or rather, its ‘existence’ has been dismantled. That attack of yours just now... Heavens, I’ve never seen an information warfare method like that. It directly polluted the thing’s core logic, causing a complete collapse and self-destruction at the logical level. Its informational main body has dissipated, leaving only some meaningless information fragments that have lost their activity and are being automatically cleared by the system. Did we... did we really win?”

Won? By using heavy metal rock, children’s graffiti, a massive amount of junk information, plus a ‘conceptual suicide virus’ targeting the core logic, they had actually forced back (or rather, forced to ‘death’) an information disaster that had almost formatted and dismantled the entire base?

Su Mu and Evelyn looked at the exhausted but still bright-eyed Excellence with extremely complex gazes. This guy’s methods for dealing with enemies were becoming more and more imaginative, more and more... unscrupulous, and eerily effective.

Excellence caught his breath for a moment and looked down at his open palm. The ‘Anti-Grand Feast Concept Interference Bracelet (Prototype)’ was now completely dim and lusterless, its surface covered in fine cracks. It had clearly been completely destroyed in that overloaded ‘concept injection.’

“A pity... a one-time ‘hand-crafted’ piece of equipment.” Excellence gave a wry smile, his tone regretful, but mostly relieved. To be able to repel such an eerie and powerful enemy and protect the Homeland, no matter how great the price, it was worth it.

However, just as everyone’s tense nerves had slightly relaxed and they were preparing to handle the aftermath—

From the direction of the ‘Blackstone’ classified information vault—located in the deepest part of the base, with the highest protection level, and implementing multiple physical isolations and independent power supplies—there suddenly came an extremely sharp physical intrusion alarm, different from the previous ones! Simultaneously, an emergency log automatically popped up on the monitoring terminal in front of Evelyn, causing her face to instantly turn pale:

[Highest Alert! The external logic isolation layer of the Blackstone Classified Database (Level-Ω) detected an unauthorized, ultra-high privilege level, covert read attempt lasting only 3 nanoseconds at 1.7 seconds before standard time!]

[Target Data Blocks: Category Labels - ‘the primordial web · Origin Hypothesis’, ‘The Great Fracture · Observation Records (Fragments)’, ‘Lost Star Cluster · Legendary Coordinates (Encrypted)’.]

[Visitor Identity Characteristics: Unable to match any known internal or external authorization protocols. Information characteristics have less than 0.03% similarity with the residual fragments of ‘WWW Spider Alpha.’ Characteristic Analysis: More ancient, obscure, and profound, with strong ‘observation’ and ‘stealth’ attributes.]

[Access Result: The attempt was successfully blocked by the database’s outermost physical isolation barrier and the encrypted self-destruct protocol (trigger threshold: nanosecond-level unauthorized contact). According to the protocol, no substantial leakage occurred in the target data blocks.]

[Warning: Unable to confirm if there were other forms of unmonitored information interaction or conceptual-level penetration before or after the access attempt. Immediate initiation of a comprehensive deep security audit is recommended.]

The heart that had just been set down was instantly back in the throat! An even colder, deeper chill swept through the hearts of Excellence, Su Mu, and Evelyn, and also caused the expressions of Wang Jianguo and the ‘White Elder,’ who had just hurried over upon hearing the news, to change drastically.

The ‘Pan-Dimensional Web Spider’... had it not come alone? Or rather, was its seemingly domineering and crazy attack intended from the very beginning to attract all attention and defensive resources, creating the perfect opportunity for another ‘Information Stealer’ or ‘Observer,’ hidden deeper and using more sophisticated and secretive means, to make a move?!

One wave after another. And this time, the ‘guest’ hidden behind the scenes seemed even more cunning, with a clearer and more lethal purpose—directly targeting the most core and ancient secrets of the ‘Homeland’!

‘Lost Star Cluster,’ ‘the primordial web,’ ‘The Great Fracture’... how many more pairs of ill-intentioned eyes, hidden in the dark depths, were attracted by this supreme forbidden knowledge that concerned the fundamental repair of ‘The Weave’ and might even touch upon the secrets of the universe’s origin?

Excellence slowly straightened up, wiping away the cold sweat seeping from his forehead and the corners of his mouth due to overexertion. He cast his gaze toward the end of the corridor, in the direction that seemed to connect to endless darkness and secrets, his eyes becoming cold and sharp once again, like tempered steel.

“It seems,” he spoke slowly, his voice carrying a suppressed calm that was more heart-palpitating than a roar, “that these ‘secrets’ we’re keeping at the bottom of our trunk are a bit too ‘fragrant.’ The ‘guests’ they’re attracting are getting higher and higher in class.”

He clenched his fist. Although the power in his body was empty, his unyielding will was like a burning fire.

“I have to think of a way to leave a ‘return gift’ for these ‘distinguished guests’ who always like to come uninvited and are always thinking about stealing things—one that’s ‘memorable’ enough.”