262: Tracking the Shadows and the "Fishing" Plan

News that the classified database had been covertly pried into by an unknown entity spread like a depth charge, suddenly detonating and instantly extinguishing the brief, post-disaster sense of relief that had just arisen in everyone's hearts from repelling the 'Pan-Dimensional Web Spider.' The air seemed to freeze, and a heavier, colder chill than before permeated the surroundings.

Core decision-makers like Wang Jianguo, Excellence, Su Mu, Evelyn (via remote projection), and the White Elder immediately terminated all post-incident discussions and moved at top speed to the top-secret meeting room codenamed 'Silence Core' in the deepest part of the base. This room was located in the rock strata several kilometers beneath the main structure of the base, wrapped in meters-thick composite alloy and energy-absorbing materials, achieving an extreme level of physical isolation. At this moment, the inner walls of the room were being sketched in mid-air by the White Elder using his finger as a pen, creating layers of shimmering ancient runes that formed a formation barrier isolating all internal and external information and energy exchange. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, as if even the air had become viscous, requiring extra effort for every breath.

'The opponent's objective is exceptionally clear and disturbingly precise.' The White Elder was the first to break the silence. His voice, bolstered by the formation, sounded particularly deep and piercing. His aged fingers unconsciously slid along invisible energy tracks on the table, as if replaying that thrilling moment. 'Hypotheses on the nature of the primordial web, observation records of the fragments from The Great Fracture, legendary coordinate clues for the Lost Star Cluster... these are the core archives at the bottom of Homeland's chest, touching upon the deepest scars and secrets of this universe. This Shadow not only knows of the existence of these archives but was also able to seize the moment when the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider was rampaging—when internal and external defensive attention was highly concentrated and the system was at its most chaotic—to launch a nearly perfectly invisible reading attempt, timed precisely to the millisecond. This is no accident, nor is it the work of an ordinary individual. Their depth of understanding of our internal workings and their mastery of information network infiltration technology, especially that eerie method of bypassing conventional logical defenses, is likely far beyond that of that spider.'

'Is it another, more cunning branch of the Law Stealers? Or a new trick played by that lunatic, the Lord of the Grand Feast? Or... is it some ancient existence we have yet to encounter directly but which has always been peering from the shadows?' Su Mu's brow furrowed, her fingers subconsciously tapping the table in a rhythmic pattern, trying to dispel the discomfort of being watched by an invisible eye.

Evelyn's projection displayed the residual image data captured by the monitoring array at the time of the incident—enhanced and filtered through multiple algorithms—along with several heart-pounding lines from the encrypted system logs, as a 3D projection in the center of the conference table. The imagery showed that at the very instant the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider's information entity collapsed, triggering the most violent tremors and data turbulence in the base's network, a thin 'data tentacle'—grayish-white in color, illusory in texture, and almost perfectly blended with the background electromagnetic noise and collapsing data streams—oozed out of the gap between reality and information like a deep-sea hagfish with a life of its own. It did not trigger any alarms based on conventional physical connections or energy injections; instead, it seemed to cut in directly from the 'concept' or 'information potential layer,' exquisitely bypassing the final logical weakness of all remaining dynamic firewalls and physical isolation barriers to gently stick to the conceptual encryption membrane on the outermost layer of the classified database.

The timescale of the contact was breathtakingly short—less than a thousandth of a second. At the moment contact occurred, the database's preset ultimate physical fuse mechanism and encryption self-destruct protocol, triggered by nanosecond-level unauthorized contact, were activated, forcibly severing the connection and annihilating the data in the affected area. However, in the final instant before the grayish-white tentacle dissipated, it still seemed to scrape away a tiny amount of 'information dust'—perhaps just file index tags or content keywords—from the surface of the encryption membrane through some incomprehensible information adsorption effect.

'The amount of data read is theoretically minimal, likely equivalent to only a few key terms or classification identifiers.' Evelyn's voice carried the characteristic calmness of a technical expert mixed with a hint of offended anger as she pointed to the dissipating grayish-white trace in the projection. 'But it is already enough for the opponent to confirm that these archives are not a bluff and that the content direction is highly relevant to the secrets they crave. The informational characteristics left by the attack... are completely different from any enemy we have encountered before. It doesn't possess the cold, expansive analytical desire of the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider, nor the predatory energy signatures of the Law Stealers, and it is certainly different from the twisted sense of revelry of the Lord of the Grand Feast. It is more... hidden, more ancient, more irrational. It feels to me... like a fluid formed by the unconscious murmurs of countless sleepers at the edge of a dream—blurry and chaotic, yet exhibiting terrifying precision and persistence when chasing specific information. No existing technical classification system can properly categorize it.'

'Dream murmurs? Blurry yet precise?' Excellence keenly caught the key contradiction in Evelyn's description and turned his gaze toward the White Elder with an inquiring look.

The White Elder's expression became more solemn than ever. He nodded slowly, his eyes deep as an ancient well beneath his snow-white eyebrows. 'Director Evelyn's words are true. These characteristics remind me of a nearly legendary title mentioned only in passing within the scrolls of extremely ancient star-sea wanderers and lost civilizations—the Dream Weaver, also recorded as the Whispering Secret Society or Undercurrent Secret Stealers. They are not twisted entities born after The Great Fracture, but rather seem to be... conceptual echoes or collective subconscious ghosts produced after the collapse of the foundations of some ancient civilization or intelligent form that relied on stable information networks or collective consciousness fields to survive during that catastrophe.'

He paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his words to describe this indefinable existence. 'They have no fixed physical form, nor are they pure energy or information lifeforms. Their state of existence is more akin to conceptual aggregates wandering in the collective subconscious ocean of the universe, at the edges of the dreams of intelligent beings, and within the rifts of stable information fields. They feed on knowledge, memories, secrets, and unspoken history, maintaining their existence and evolution by stealing, weaving, and twisting these intangible things. They usually do not directly invade the depths of a living being's consciousness, as that would leave too obvious a trace and could easily lead to dangerous entanglements with vivid and complex individual consciousness. They prefer to read directly from relatively static or semi-open information carriers—ancient stone carvings, artifacts imbued with obsession, encrypted databases, or even certain naturally occurring cosmic background radiation ripples that record past information. That method of whispered secret-reading just now, silent and as if taking something from a dream, indeed bears some resemblance to the legendary descriptions. I just did not expect them to have such uncanny means of infiltrating modern physical encryption systems and data defense logic.'

'A sleepwalking thief specifically for peeking at other people's diaries and classified files? And a conceptual ghost version at that?' Su Mu tried to understand, but it only made her feel more uncomfortable. 'Then aren't we in great danger when we sleep or think? Will they dive into our dreams to peek?'

'Generally speaking, there is no need to worry excessively about individual dreams,' the White Elder explained, shaking his head. 'For the Dream Weaver, while the dreams of vivid individuals may have high information density, they are too chaotic, subjective, and full of defense mechanisms (the subconscious). The reading efficiency is low and the risk is high, so they are not preferred targets. They prefer records that have been organized, settled, and possess a certain degree of objectivity. However, once they confirm the existence of a high-value secret treasury somewhere, they will act like a colony of ants smelling honey, showing incredible patience and persistence, constantly trying and circuitously infiltrating until they succeed. More troublingly, there are signs that certain Dream Weaver individuals or groups engage in trading or sharing the precious information they obtain with other entities.'

'In other words, a group of conceptual thieves who specifically covet other people's bottom-drawer secrets has set their sights on our home?' Excellence summarized, his tone cold. 'And they sneaked in while we were fully occupied with that crazy spider, trying to peek at our most important top-secret diaries, and very likely have already caught a glimpse of the titles and table of contents?'

'That metaphor is quite apt,' Evelyn confirmed with a nod. 'And there is a very high probability that they have already obtained some surface-level information, at least confirming that we possess core research materials regarding the primordial web, The Great Fracture, and the Lost Star Cluster. This is more targeted and potentially more harmful than the indiscriminate formatting of the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider. Once this information is acquired and potentially disseminated by them, it is impossible to estimate how many more dangerous and greedy eyes it will attract.'

'We absolutely cannot let them succeed! Not even a single bit!' Wang Jianguo slammed a fist onto the heavy alloy table with a dull thud, speaking with absolute determination. 'These secrets are fundamental to the repair of The Weave and may even touch upon certain core rules of the universe; they represent the highest interests of Homeland and indeed all civilizations that rely on Order to survive. Passive defense can never stop the most skillful thief. Evelyn, besides further strengthening physical and encryption defenses, we must take the initiative! At the very least, we must figure out the origin and purpose of these Dream Weavers, and... chop off the claws they've extended. Let them know that our things are not so easily touched!'

'Take the initiative... you mean, set a trap? Counter-tracking?' Su Mu's eyes lit up as she caught the key point in Wang Jianguo's words.

'Exactly. Set a trap, go fishing.' Excellence took over the conversation, his eyes shining with a cold and sharp light, as if he could already see the outline of the plan. 'Aren't they obsessed with stealing secrets? Don't they like to strike when others are negligent? Then we will meticulously prepare a... seemingly irresistible but actually treacherous bait for them. A gift they cannot refuse, but which will make them pay a heavy price the moment they touch it.'

'Do you already have a specific strategy?' The White Elder looked at Excellence, his aged eyes filled with scrutiny and expectation.

Excellence stood up and paced slowly in the small but sturdy meeting room, his mind working at high speed to connect scattered ideas into a complete plan. 'They've read a bit of information and know we have key data regarding the primordial web and such. We can use this point to set a trap for them in return. Sister Evelyn, with your skills, can you forge a... half-true, half-false, but seemingly priceless top-secret file in an absolutely isolated environment that ensures nothing can go wrong? The content must be extremely impactful—for example, the latest calculated coordinates for the core stability fragments of the primordial web, analysis of specific rule-distortion phenomena observed during The Great Fracture event, quantum resonance key hypotheses for the possible entrance to the Lost Star Cluster, and so on. But all the key data, coordinates, and keys must either be carefully designed false information that is logically self-consistent but actually leads to wrong or dangerous areas, or directly embedded with our preset tracking viruses, logic traps, or even... conceptual-level markers or curses.'

Evelyn immediately understood and began her technical deduction: "Using fake intelligence as bait while embedding multiple layers of countermeasures! It's technically feasible, but it requires extreme precision. The 'authenticity' of the archive needs to be constructed by mixing in a large amount of real background information and theoretical frameworks we've obtained from the beacon, Senior White Elder, and the repair process of The Weave. We only tamper with the most core 'answer.' The encryption must be complex, yet leave 'cracks' that seem like shortcuts to exploit, fitting their habit of 'Muttering Theft.' Tracking marks must be extremely well-hidden, ideally integrated into the information structure of the archive itself. Logical traps need to be designed specifically for their irrational cracking methods that bypass conventional logic. Concept markers... these will require the strength of you, Excellence, and Senior White Elder."

"Leave the Order Branding and Conceptual Counterattack to me," Excellence affirmed. "I can try to set up a 'Permission Verification' based on the Authority of Order within the core encryption layer of the fake archive. On the surface, it will look like a complex encryption lock, but in essence, it will be a 'Thought Filter.' Only beings harboring pure intentions of research, seeking knowledge, or benevolent exchange will be able to pass safely, perhaps even receiving some harmless, real peripheral information as a 'gift.' As for those with greed, malice, or intent to steal, once triggered, the Power of Order will directly perform a definition denial and causal counterattack against the 'act of theft' itself—not seeking physical destruction, but acting like a branding iron to leave a clear, indelible 'Thief's Mark' on their information body or conceptual level, accompanied by an intense mental shock of 'failure,' 'being fooled,' and 'touching the forbidden.' Simultaneously, this mark will become our brightest beacon for reverse-tracking their source."

White Elder stroked his beard in contemplation, his eyes flashing with brilliance. "This plan aligns well with the art of war's way of deception and reality. However, the Dream Weaver is naturally cunning and suspicious; ordinary bait and traps might not easily lure them. The bait itself must be perfect in 'color, fragrance, and taste,' and the 'location' and 'timing' of its placement are even more critical. We need to create an illusion of an accidental, unintentional 'leak,' and this 'leak point' should ideally be situated right on the path of the 'information undercurrents' they habitually peer into, without being too obvious as a human setup."

"How about using that candle fragment?" Su Mu had a sudden flash of inspiration, pointing to the small pink crystal-like candle section Evelyn had brought, sealed in a special force field. "Doesn't this thing still have the twisted dimensional anchoring fluctuations of the Lord of the Grand Feast and a sliver of the distorted concept of 'Pleasure'? Can we use technical means to simulate a faint but similar trace of 'high-dimensional information leakage'? Then, we can disguise the 'leak' of our fake archive as forbidden knowledge fragments of the primordial web that 'accidentally' seeped or 'refracted' into our network from the level of the Court of Revelry. For guys like the Dream Weaver who specialize in digging up ancient secrets, wouldn't the allure of 'leaked knowledge' from another ancient being's domain increase geometrically? Moreover, if they really follow these fluctuations to spy on the Lord of the Grand Feast or provoke that madman because of it, wouldn't we be killing two birds with one stone? We catch the fish and divert the trouble elsewhere!"

This bold and highly imaginative proposal invigorated everyone present! Killing two birds with one stone! It would greatly increase the allure and credibility of the bait while potentially creating trouble and suspicion among potential enemies!

"Brilliant!" Evelyn couldn't help but praise, her mind instantly activated. "Simulating high-dimensional information leakage fluctuations is a challenge, but with this candle fragment as a 'seed' and 'template,' combined with Senior White Elder's understanding of high-dimensional energy signatures, we can try to construct an extremely brief and faint but distinct 'leakage echo.' By 'entangling' or 'associating' this echo with our forged archive at the information level, we can make it look—from a specific angle, like the Dream Weaver's muttering perception—as if the archive content was 'washed' or 'saturated' by that high-dimensional wave, thus carrying the hidden mark of the Court of Revelry. This requires fine micro-manipulation, but it's worth a try!"

"The plan is feasible!" Wang Jianguo gave the final word. "Operation Name: 'Operation Dream-Catch.' Evelyn, you have full responsibility for compiling the fake archive, setting the encryption traps, and simulating the high-dimensional fluctuations. Excellence, you will personally complete the Order Branding and counterattack programs. Su Mu, you are in charge of the 'stage'—we need the base to present a reasonable state of 'post-war recovery with occasional slips' for the coming period. Without compromising true core security, create some logical 'defense weak points' and 'monitoring blind spots' around the preset 'leak points.' Senior White Elder, please set up sensing and interference arrays against dreams, undercurrents, and unconventional information infiltration on the base's periphery and at key information nodes. This will assist us in capturing traces of the Dream Weaver and ensure that no other 'fish' or 'fishermen' sneak in during the process."

"Acting is my specialty!" Su Mu said with confidence. "It's just making the base look like it's 'making mistakes in the rush' and 'attending to one thing while losing another'! Leave the scheduling to me! I'll guarantee those peeping toms hiding in the dark feel it's their own 'superior technique' and 'burst of luck' that allowed them to seize a rare 'defense gap' after our system's oscillation. They'll never suspect this is a stage set to lure them in!"

The detailed and thorough plan for "Operation Dream Catcher" quickly took shape, and everyone immediately set off to perform their tasks.

Evelyn led her most trusted team into a deeper, isolated workspace within the Silent Ark laboratory. Using the candle fragment as a blueprint and employing the most precise energy simulation and information weaving equipment, they began to construct a convincing "Forbidden Archive: On the primordial web's Stability Scars and Possible 'Key' Fragment Mapping (Based on Court of Revelry Peripheral Information Disturbance Speculation/Top Secret)." The archive was vast and complex, citing numerous real anomaly data from The Weave repair logs, ancient cosmic constant shift records recounted by White Elder, and profound theories regarding dimensional structures from the beacon to build a solid and credible background framework. However, the core "Scar Coordinate Mapping Algorithm" and "Key Fragment Quantum Signatures" were mathematical models meticulously designed by Evelyn—logically self-consistent but actually pointing to a desolate void or a dangerous trap. The archive was layered with encryption; the outermost layer was a complex algorithm fitting a conventional defense system, while the inner layers began to introduce "shortcuts" and "cracks" that seemed exploitable through "non-logical jumps" or "conceptual associations," specifically targeting the habits of the Dream Weaver. At the very core, space was reserved for Excellence to inject the Order Branding.

Su Mu transformed into a highly skilled "stage director." She cleverly arranged a "necessary" energy line maintenance in a non-core area, causing a planned, brief switching fluctuation in the backup power of that area's monitoring system and dynamic firewall. She directed the security department to conduct a high-profile, deep-network scan to investigate residual information contamination from the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider, concentrating the main monitoring forces and the computing power of the defense algorithms on the true core databases and several backbone networks. As for the "leak point" selected for the plan, located in a peripheral research data cache, she "just happened" to maintain only basic-level static protection and routine monitoring because the area was "lightly damaged," "the data value was relatively low," and the "repair priority was lower." Furthermore, "due to a slight delay during the monitoring system switch," the dynamic behavior analysis module in that area would experience a "data caching and calibration period" of about fifteen minutes. Everything appeared so reasonable and natural, as if it were the unavoidable chaos and oversight following a major battle.

Excellence remained in a quiet room next to the Silence Core conference room, sitting cross-legged and focusing all his efforts on recovering his heavily depleted Power of Order. Meanwhile, most of his mind was immersed in designing the core encryption layer of the nearly completed fake archive. The Order Branding he had to conceive needed to be extremely exquisite: it had to act like the most sensitive nerve, capable of clearly perceiving and recording the 'thought colors' (greed, curiosity, malice, inquiry, etc.) of anyone who touched it, while also being able to launch a precise and powerful counterattack when triggered by malice—not a destructive energy burst, but a rule-level 'denial' and 'marking' of the act of 'information theft' itself, which would then be 'returned' to the thief's own existential concept through causal connection. This required his understanding of the Power of Order to reach a new level, with a deeper grasp of the associations between 'causality,' 'information,' and 'concepts.'

White Elder was not idle either. He wandered around the base's periphery and several key information exchange nodes, using his profound cultivation and ancient knowledge to set up a composite array called the "Great Void Clear Dream Array." This array did not show killing intent; its primary functions were 'imaging' and 'tracking'—greatly enhancing the sensitivity of perceiving unconventional information flows, muttering dream fluctuations, and conceptual undercurrent infiltrations. It could also interfere with a target's withdrawal path to some extent when they were exposed, slowing their escape and creating opportunities for tracking.

The intense and orderly preparations lasted for nearly twenty hours. When that "Forbidden Archive"—exuding the fragrance of enticing knowledge (to certain beings) and entangled with a faint but uniquely characterized simulated "Court of Revelry dimensional disturbance" information stream—was quietly "placed" into the seemingly "overlooked" data cache, the stage for "Operation Dream Catcher" was silently set. All the actors were in position, holding their breath and focusing, waiting for the arrival of the first "guest."

Inside the base, everything seemed to be progressing smoothly according to the "post-war recovery" script. But in the invisible ocean of information and at the conceptual level, countless eyes and sensory tentacles were already firmly locked onto that inconspicuous corner.

Time passed slowly in the silent wait. During the first hour, all was calm. In the third hour, several faint data ripples—like the instinctive squirming of residual information fragments after the collapse of the Pan-Dimensional Web Spider—passed through the area but failed to touch the core. In the sixth hour, a more obscure sensory fluctuation carrying a cold sense of 'Return to the Void,' like a deep-sea undercurrent, probed from a distance; it seemed uninterested in matters related to 'Revelry' and quickly withdrew without a sound.

Just as everyone began to doubt if the Dream Weaver was being too cautious or had temporarily moved away due to the previous disturbance, at nine hours and seventeen minutes after the "bait" was placed, an anomaly finally appeared!

Deep within the base, the core sensing runes of the "Great Void Clear Dream Array" and several high-sensitivity "Conceptual Ripple Detectors" Evelyn had placed in the nearby information layers captured the anomaly almost simultaneously. It was not an energy surge in the physical sense, nor was it a conventional data stream; rather, it was an extremely faint, non-linear 'wrinkle' and 'relaxation' produced by the spatial structure itself, as if the 'membrane' of reality had been gently lifted at a microscopic scale, revealing the bizarre and grotesque 'inner layer' behind it.

Immediately following, an "information undercurrents"—difficult to describe accurately in words, seemingly a mixture of the unconscious murmurs of billions of sleeping beings, fragmented dream snippets, dust of forgotten memories, and ancient informational entropy, appearing grayish-white and as ethereal as smoke or mist—quietly "flowed" out from that spatial fold. It did not follow any known physical or network path; instead, in a manner transcending three-dimensional Perception, it "diffused" directly toward the data cache containing the "bait," like mercury seeping through sand!

"Target appeared! Feature match is extremely high!" Evelyn whispered in the monitoring center, suppressing her excitement. Everyone involved in the operation instantly entered a state of high concentration.

That grayish-white information undercurrents displayed astonishing caution and patience. It did not rashly touch the "bait"; instead, like the gentlest mist, it slowly "enveloped" the entire cache and its surrounding environment to conduct a full-spectrum Perception and probe. Invisible feelers swept across the logical boundaries of every defense protocol, sensing the subtle rhythms of energy flow and assessing the activity level of the monitoring system. Simultaneously, it greedily "sucked" in the "Breath of Knowledge" emanating from the "Forbidden Archive," which was interwoven with high-dimensional "Grand Feast" fluctuations. The entire process was silent and triggered no conventional alarms; had there not been targeted preparations, it would have been impossible to detect.

"Confirmed! The informational feature waveform matches the residual records of previous unauthorized reading attempts by over 99.8%! It's it! A 'Dream Weaver' individual or one of its tentacles!" Evelyn performed a rapid data comparison, her voice filled with certainty.

The grayish-white undercurrent circled and probed the surroundings for a full ten minutes before it finally seemed to confirm it was "safe"—there indeed existed a brief, logical "defensive weak period" caused by system repairs, and the archive emitting tempting fluctuations appeared to be an accidental "information leak" of immense value. It began to act, like a water droplet seeking gaps between grains of sand, slowly and extremely carefully "infiltrating" the surface protection of the data cache—the defense layers Su Mu had intentionally set to be "seemingly tight but actually containing logical gaps." Its method of infiltration was eerily mysterious, not involving brute force or logical decryption, but rather utilizing its characteristic of "dream murmurs" to cause certain logical judgments of the defense protocols to experience brief "cognitive blurring" or "self-contradiction" at a microscopic level, allowing it to "slide" past.

Finally, its "tentacle" touched the outermost encrypted shell of the "Forbidden Archive."

Within a billionth of a second of contact, the "Order Induction Micro-print" Excellence had set on the outermost surface of the shell, disguised as an ordinary data verification sequence, was triggered! An extremely faint "confirmation signal," yet one carrying a unique resonance frequency of Order, was like a Firefly suddenly lighting up in the dark. It instantly traced back along the path the grayish-white undercurrent had come from, not only clearly locking onto its source—that slightly fluctuating spatial fold still existing in the gap between reality and illusion—but also feeding back the "Thief's intent characteristics" captured at the moment of contact: a cold, greedy intent, as persistent as a deep-sea worm in devouring knowledge, yet possessing zero reverence for the source of that knowledge, a purely utilitarian intent!

"Source locked! Intent characteristics captured! Greedy, utilitarian, and indifferent—malicious intent to steal confirmed!" Evelyn reported quickly, a hint of disgust in her voice.

Meanwhile, the grayish-white undercurrent seemed unaware it had been marked; it was fully focused on cracking the archive's encryption. Its method of "cracking" once again sent chills down the spines of the observing Evelyn and the White Elder. It used no algorithms or keys; instead, it seemed to transform its grayish-white, ethereal "dream-murmur matter" into countless distorted "Virtual Keys" that could act directly on the "conceptual meaning" of information rather than its "encoded form." These keys simultaneously attempted to insert into every "semantic gap," "logical fault," and "metaphorical interface" of the encryption structure, forcibly "dissolving" or "bypassing" the encryption logic in a nearly "unreasonable" manner.

The first layer of complex algorithmic encryption, under its pervasive "conceptual dissolution," held out for three minutes before being declared "lost."

The second layer, a logical maze disguised as a chaotic data stream, seemed to make it "lose its way" for a moment, but it quickly found an eerie path resembling "reverse-narrative interpretation" or "mirror reflection," taking five minutes to "infiltrate" through.

The third layer, a defense layer set with logical paradox traps, clearly caused stronger "hesitation" and "disturbance" upon contact. The grayish-white undercurrent experienced brief chaos, but immediately after, it split into several thinner branches, cutting in simultaneously from several "flanks" that completely defied common sense. Like mercury seeping into cracks, it took eight minutes to forcefully "squeeze" in from the "non-logical edges" of the trap.

Its "lock-picking" skill completely overturned traditional concepts of information security, demonstrating an understanding and application of information rules based on higher dimensions or deeper levels. Had this not been a trap, its data-theft capabilities would be terrifying.

Finally, it reached the core encryption layer personally constructed by Excellence, which contained the Authority of Order and counterattack commands! There were no complex algorithms here, only a calm and profound "Conceptual Lake" composed purely of silver-white light of Order.

Just as the grayish-white undercurrent's "dream-murmur tentacle" attempted to "dissolve" this lake of light in the same way to steal the "ultimate secret" hidden beneath—

The calm surface of the lake suddenly boiled!

It wasn't an explosion of energy, but a roar of concepts! A massive, majestic, and unquestionable intent of Order, like the awakening of a slumbering ancient god, surged violently back through the connection of the dream-murmur tentacle into the grayish-white, ethereal essence of the Dream Weaver's existence:

"Definition: To touch the private without permission is—Theft!"

"Judgment: Acts of theft, within this domain of Order, are judged invalid! All gains are vanity!"

"Marking: In the name of Order, for this 'cause' of theft, brand the 'effect' of warning and tracking!"

"Punishment: Return—the stolen 'concept' is false; the thief shall bear the consequences of being 'marked' and 'fooled'!"

The silver-white light of Order was no longer a gentle defense; it transformed into blazing Chains of Law carrying absolute "definition" and "causal" authority! These chains did not attack the spatial fold or the grayish-white undercurrent itself, but instead tightly coiled around the clear "causal link" formed by the "act of theft" and the "counterattack of Order"!

"Screee—chaaa—!!!"

A sharp, distorted screech, filled with extreme pain, horror, rage, and disbelief—one that could not be simulated by any biological vocal organ—suddenly erupted from that spatial fold! The sound acted directly on the level of information and concepts, causing everyone who perceived it to feel a burst of soul-level stinging and dizziness!

The grayish-white information undercurrents was like an octopus tentacle splashed with boiling oil, convulsing and coiling violently, desperately trying to withdraw! The spatial fold began to twist and compress intensely, attempting to close the channel and escape this place at maximum speed!

"The fish didn't just bite the hook; the hook has pierced right through its mouth!" Su Mu whispered excitedly in front of the monitor.

"Locking onto the Order mark! It wants to close the channel and flee!" Evelyn stared intently at the screen, where a silver-white "Thief" rune mark, like a burn scar, clearly surfaced on the spatial fold.

"You want to run now? Too late!" Excellence, who had been prepared for a long time, had eyes as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice. His figure instantly vanished from the quiet room, and in the next moment, he appeared in the deep void outside the base. Behind him, the wings of order, which had solidified significantly and had the light of broken laws flowing along their edges, unfurled with a roar, their silver-white light piercing the surrounding darkness like swords. He precisely locked onto the rapidly shrinking spatial fold branded with the prominent silver-white rune.

Gripping the air as if seizing invisible threads of causality, Excellence poured out his mostly recovered Power of Order without reservation, transforming it into countless thicker and more condensed silver-white chains of Order. He did not try to forcibly pull the closing spatial channel (which could lead to unpredictable dimensional disasters) but instead, like the most astute hunter, followed the invisible "connection" formed by the "Thief Mark" and the "causal counterattack," and "nailed" them firmly into the grayish-white, ethereal essence of the Dream Weaver!

"Order Authority: Causal Anchoring! Information Traceback! Since you've come, leave a 'souvenir' before you go!"

He intended to use the causal link established by the Dream Weaver's own act of theft, along with the deep mark left by the Order counterattack, to forcibly "tear" away a portion of its core "Information Essence" or "Conceptual Fragments" from its fleeing existence! This was more dangerous and more precise than a direct attack, aimed straight at the root of the opponent's existence.

"Roar—!!!"

The roar from the spatial fold turned into a desperate wail and violent struggle. A powerful and chaotic grayish-white shockwave, mixed with countless fragmented dream images, erupted from within, attempting to shatter or pollute the chains of Order tracing back along the causal lines. The entire spatial fold twisted violently, its closing speed accelerating, and unstable spatial cracks even began to appear at its edges.

But Excellence's chains of Order, anchored by causality and guided by the mark, were incredibly resilient. The silver-white light and the grayish-white dream power clashed intensely, producing a piercing sound like the friction of laws that made souls tremble. The chains entangled relentlessly, like maggots on a bone, forcibly dragging out a small clump of grayish, shimmering, and strange "matter" from the spatial fold just before it completely vanished into nothingness. The matter was constantly changing shape and seemed to be composed of countless shattered dream prisms, distorted memory images, meaningless ancient characters, and chaotic information streams!

The moment this clump of "matter" was pulled out, the spatial fold made a crisp sound like glass breaking, completely collapsing and vanishing, leaving only a rapidly smoothing spatial ripple in its place.

Excellence panted, his face turning pale again, but his eyes were bright. Controlling the chains of Order, he carefully guided the clump of grayish-white halo—which was still struggling, shifting, and emitting a chaotic and ancient aura—into a pre-prepared transparent imprisonment sphere composed of highly condensed Power of Order. Inside the light sphere, the clump of "matter" was like an insect trapped in amber, futilely crashing against the walls of the sphere, unable to escape.

Carrying this strange trophy, Excellence flapped his wings and returned to the base.

"Operation Dream Catcher" was a complete success! Not only did they successfully repel the encroaching Dream Weaver and inflict a memorable "Conceptual Trauma" and "Thief Mark" upon it, but they also successfully stripped a small, precious "sample" from the essence of its existence!

The next task was to conduct an in-depth study of this trophy, which the White Elder had temporarily named the "Nightmare Essence Fragment" or "Dream Weaver Information Nucleoplasm." Analyzing it might lift a corner of the veil covering the mysterious existence known as the Dream Weaver, allowing them to understand their mode of operation and purpose. It might even be possible to unearth some "profile records" regarding The Great Fracture from the level of dreams and the collective unconscious—information that even the Lost Star Cluster might not fully possess.

Excellence's "fishing" skills had once again passed a rigorous test, and the harvest was bountiful.

However, one wonders how that Dream Weaver—who tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice, who not only took a severe beating but also had a piece of its "original tissue" forcibly "plucked" away, and was even branded with a prominent "Thief" mark—would "report" this painful experience to its own kind or possible superiors after fleeing back to its hiding place?

Presumably, the wording of that "report" would be quite "splendid."