286: Tide of Variables

Billions of specks of light, like a galaxy suppressed for ten thousand years, burst forth from the shattered cage.

They were no longer numb fuel, but seeds wrapped in infinite "possibilities."

Li Dong stood at the center of the storm, hands in his pockets, feeling good.

He had just taught a guy who called himself "God" a vivid lesson in computer basics.

I told you to Return to Zero, and you're here performing a Recycle Bin emptying for me?

You really are a fish that slipped through the net of nine-year compulsory education.

These "world seeds" did not pause for a moment; they turned into a silent and brilliant meteor shower, rushing out of the high tower and sprinkling onto the dead, silent Twilight City.

A speck of light landed gently on the shoulder of a man who had stood like a statue for three hundred years.

The man's rigid body shuddered violently, and something shattered within his eyes, which were so clouded they could barely move.

Without warning, he crouched down, clutched his head, and wailed: "Wangcai! My dog! You died so miserably!"

Another speck of light drifted into a dust-covered workshop.

A woman was mechanically polishing a gear, an action she had repeated for a century.

The speck of light merged into the center of her brows, and the tool in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."

She stared blankly at her gray, lifeless hands, then suddenly rushed to a corner like a madwoman, digging out a few shriveled red berries from the roots of a long-dead plant.

She ran to the wall and, using all her strength, smeared the berries on it, drawing a crooked but blindingly red sun.

Laughter.

A child's laughter, crisp and sharp, like a knife, cut through the eternal silence of this world.

Following that, a second, then a third.

Crying, shouting, singing, arguing.

The entire city, this huge specimen museum soaked in formalin, boiled over.

A frenzy called "Variable" swept through every street and every eave.

People were no longer just walking corpses; they began to question, to remember, and to feel anger.

"Why is the sky gray?"

"I remember... I think I really liked to dance."

"This 'equilibrium'... it's a lie, isn't it?"

"--Warning! Variable overflow! Order collapsing!--"

Inside the high tower, the silver humanoid "Lord of Equilibrium" consciousness flickered violently like a TV screen with poor reception, ripples spreading across its smooth surface.

That preset, majestic, and grand System prompt tone had now turned into a sharp, distorted roar.

"Hiss--Impurities! Pests! You are destroying eternity!"

That broke your defense? Your mental fortitude is lacking, buddy.

Li Dong even wanted to pick his ears.

All over the city, hundreds of silver-armored "Law Enforcers" poured out from the shadows, rushing toward the high tower like a tide, attempting to suppress this unprecedented "riot."

"Execute 'Absolute Stasis'!" a Law Enforcers captain roared at a man who was trying to hug his wife.

A silver light shot out.

Not only was the man not frozen, but his limbs twitched, and he immediately broke into an incredibly clumsy, aesthetically lacking, but energetic breakdance on the spot.

The Law Enforcers captain's head tilted; its logic processor was clearly overloaded.

Another Law Enforcer tried to "format" a woman who was doodling on the wall.

Its instruction stream had a fatal error.

"Execute... 'Absolute... Cuteness'!"

A silver light flashed on the woman, and a pair of fluffy pink cat ears "popped" out on her head.

She was stunned for a moment, then sweetly "meowed" at the Law Enforcer.

All the Law Enforcers froze.

Their Law was built on the fragile concept of "deletion."

But the true "Return to Zero" that Li Dong injected was "restoration" and "creation," contaminating their virus database from the underlying logic.

Kneeling on the ground, Mo Chen watched this absurd and magnificent scene, tear tracks still wet on his face, yet he laughed out loud.

A frantic, hearty, wild laughter.

He saw it; he saw the sea of fire he had only dared to draw in his dreams.

The rhythm of the [Song of Creation], guided by Li Dong, brushed over his Divine Soul like a spring breeze.

Mo Chen grabbed the charcoal from the ground; this time, his brush was no longer despair, but a conductor's baton.

He drew a flower, and thousands of "world seeds" in the city resonated with it, projecting an illusory garden of brilliant colors over a barren square.

He drew a bird soaring into the sky, and a joyful cry, woven from countless Soul memories, resounded throughout the city, encouraging more people to lift their heads and gaze at that fake sky.

His painting became the banner of this revolution.

He was no longer the painter whose colors had been stolen, but the first wandering poet this world had seen in a thousand years.

Kid, you've got a future.

I'll organize a solo exhibition for you later, the Universe tour kind.

Li Dong gave him a mental thumbs-up.

After dealing with the "minor scene" outside, Li Dong turned his attention back to the main subject in front of him.

The "Lord of Equilibrium" consciousness had stabilized, its rage compressed into cold killing intent.

It was no longer an isolated projection; the walls, floor, and ceiling of the entire high tower had become part of its body.

"You, unforgivable Variable."

Its voice came from all directions, carrying a metallic texture, "You have pushed this world into the abyss of destruction."

"Don't slander me, friend."

Li Dong cracked his knuckles, making a series of crisp sounds, "This is called throwing a party and stimulating the economy.

Your way is what you call a collective graveyard.

What's the matter, addicted to being a graveyard manager?"

"I am Order! I am Eternity!"

The walls of the high tower suddenly lit up, and countless intricate silver runes flowed out like liquid metal, weaving together in the air, instantly knitting into an airtight three-dimensional cage, trapping Li Dong inside.

This was not a physical attack, but a pure conceptual blockade, intending to completely "balance" the existence of "Li Dong" out of the world's definition, causing him to return to nothingness.

"Conceptual erasure? This again?"

Li Dong sighed, "Can you off-field players come up with something new?

Any DLC downloaded from the Creative Workshop has more variety than this."

He couldn't even be bothered to dodge, simply activating [Anti-Devour].

The conceptual cage made of absolute Law, the moment it touched Li Dong, seemed to encounter its natural enemy.

It didn't collapse or explode; instead, like a marshmallow thrown into hot water, it dissolved and collapsed silently, turning into a stream of pure energy that was absorbed into Li Dong's body.

Tastes okay, a bit like peppermint candy.

"Burp."

Li Dong burped unceremoniously.

The "Lord of Equilibrium" operation core clearly crashed for a moment.

Taking this opportunity, Li Dong's [Blade of Judgment] was already in hand.

He didn't slash at the silver humanoid, but backhanded his blade, stabbing it fiercely into the metal floor beneath his feet.

Hum--!

A muffled, loud noise.

He didn't cut through metal, but the energy link between this high tower and the entire world's ley lines, just like pulling the power cord of a mainframe.

"I'll disconnect your internet; calm down for a bit."

The entire high tower shook violently, and the light of the runes flowing on the walls instantly dimmed.

In this momentary weakness, Li Dong's Divine Thought, like the sharpest needle, pierced through layers of disguise and touched the secret at the deepest part of the high tower.

That was no energy core.

It was a heart.

A withered, decaying, cracked heart of the universe's Origin that was still beating weakly.

It was pierced by countless Law pipes, like a drained blood bag.

The playfulness on Li Dong's face finally turned completely cold.

Oh, so it turns out you're not a graveyard manager, but a bloodsucking parasite.

With its Foundation touched, the "Lord of Equilibrium" erupted with true, instinctual fear.

"--Final Protocol! Initiate!--"

It was sacrificing everything.

The Law Enforcers in the city whose Systems had crashed let out shrill, miserable screams, their bodies turning into the purest silver energy, flowing back into the high tower.

"--Sacrifice all Order! Execute... Ultimate Return to Zero!--"

The silver humanoid also began to melt, pouring its own existence completely into this last-ditch effort to die together.

It wanted to compress the entire high tower core, including Li Dong, into a data singularity that would be completely deleted.

True annihilation of body and Soul.

Li Dong looked at this earth-shattering light, but his eyes revealed a trace of pity.

Wow, again?

Did you pay the tuition fee before daring to use my ultimate move?

Little brother, what you're doing is called forced deletion, the kind where even the Recycle Bin gets wiped.

But what I do is called System reinstallation.

Do you understand what underlying logic is?

He couldn't even be bothered to resist.

He closed his eyes, his Divine Thought sinking into a deeper dimension, connecting to the [heart of the universe] that had given him a new life.

He didn't borrow its power; instead, he used it as a super loudspeaker.

His will was amplified billions of times, gently touching the imprisoned, dying heart of the world.

He didn't give an order, just transmitted the simplest thought.

"Wake up."

"Someone is tearing down your house."

The world will, which had slept for ten thousand years, was awakened at this moment.

It trembled gently.

Thump.

A heartbeat.

The entire high tower, the entire body of the "Lord of Equilibrium," stiffened suddenly, as if struck by lightning.

Thump! Thump!

The second heartbeat was even more powerful.

Crack--!

Real, tangible cracks spread across the silver walls of the high tower.

The "Lord of Equilibrium"'s earth-shattering "Ultimate Return to Zero" ritual's energy flow instantly became chaotic, beginning to frantically backfire on itself.

The Origin of the world was awakening, resisting, and expelling the parasite within its body!

The half-melted silver humanoid re-formed a face twisted in terror.

"You... what did you... do?!"

Li Dong opened his eyes, that lazy smile returning to his face.

He raised his hand and waved cheerfully at the false god that was falling apart.

"Nothing much, just helped you call your mom to wake up."