295: A ticket to transcendence, a bet from the gods

Blankness.

It wasn't a stagnation of thought, but a higher-level formatting of the concept of "self."

That speck of extremely brilliant light wasn't an infusion of energy, nor was it a Fusion of memories.

It was a segment of "code."

A segment of erroneous "code" from the previous universal cycle that shouldn't exist.

At this moment, this erroneous "code" was attempting to force itself into Lin Fan's equally erroneous, newborn "program."

An indescribable tearing sensation erupted from the very core of Lin Fan's true spirit spark.

As if a blacksmith were using a red-hot branding iron engraved with unknown rules to sear his Soul, forcibly imprinting the "Indestructible" attribute into it.

Intense pain?

No, this had already transcended the realm of pain.

It was a fundamental shudder originating from "existence" itself, being forcibly tampered with.

Lin Fan's faint spark of consciousness flickered wildly during this terrifying branding process, as if it would be completely extinguished in the next second.

But every time it neared extinction, that speck of "Indestructible" trait, like a low-level defense command, tenaciously pulled his consciousness back from the brink of collapse.

Destruction, then reshaping.

Collapse, then stabilization.

His true spirit spark was undergoing an unheard-of, bizarre tempering.

Finally, as the Soul-tearing burning sensation slowly receded, Lin Fan's consciousness reconsolidated.

He "felt" his own changes.

His true spirit spark was still just a tiny speck, so faint it seemed it could go out at any moment.

But its essence had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

If his previous true spirit was a candle flame in the wind...

...then now, it was an eternally burning candle flame sealed within the sturdiest glass cover.

The wind could no longer blow it out.

The grand information stream of the Ancient Will descended once more, this time carrying a trace of imperceptible fatigue.

“This is my wager.”

“I have grafted this sliver of ‘Indestructible’ trait onto your true spirit. It is still very fragile; any force of erasure exceeding the threshold can still shatter it along with your true spirit.”

“But it is also a seed.”

“A seed... capable of devouring the ‘Heavenly Dao’ and growing strong.”

Lin Fan's consciousness rapidly digested this information.

Devouring the Heavenly Dao?

This old BUG who had lived for countless eons was indeed more thoroughly insane than himself.

“Your ‘BUG’ lies in ‘Conversion.’ The Heavenly Dao's ‘delete’ commands will become your ‘data packets.’”

“And my ‘BUG’ lies in ‘Survival.’ The Heavenly Dao's ‘formatting’ failed to completely clear my ‘Foundation of existence.’”

“Now, these two traits have merged into one.”

For the first time, the Ancient Will's information carried a nearly fanatical ripple of anticipation.

“I am curious, what will a supervirus that can eat antivirus software for breakfast and has its own low-level anti-deletion code eventually... turn this Universe into?”

Lin Fan: “...”

He felt as if he had been forcibly upgraded from a common vulnerability to an epic-tier Trojan horse program.

And it was personally packaged and modified by a hacker mogul from the previous era.

A heavy pressure loomed over his consciousness.

This was no longer a simple matter of seeking death to farm rewards.

Behind this wager was the immense resentment and obsession of this ancient being, spanning an entire universal cycle.

Accepting this “gift” meant shouldering this Karma.

This ran contrary to the “Dao of Survival” he practiced.

The moment he weighed the pros and cons, the magnificent silhouette transmitted another piece of information.

“These Divine Silence Ruins are formed from my remains, and within them still lingers my final strength.”

“Since a wager has been made, some capital must be provided.”

“From now on, until this remnant will of mine completely dissipates, you shall obtain... temporary control authority over the Divine Silence Ruins.”

Boom!

As if a command had unlocked the highest authority.

Lin Fan's consciousness instantly established a mysterious connection with the entire Divine Silence Ruins.

He “saw” every continental fragment floating in that silent starry sky, he “felt” every violent Law turbulence hidden deep within the ruins, and he could even “touch” the shattered Ancient God Rules that composed this space.

The entire Divine Silence Ruins, at this moment, seemed to become his body, his Domain!

Is this what it feels like to be a god?

A sense of absolute control, where words become Law and a single thought can overturn heaven and earth!

“My time is running out.”

The voice of the Ancient Will became somewhat ethereal.

“Before I dissipate, I shall give you one last piece of intelligence.”

A segment of incredibly complex star map coordinates was seared directly into the depths of Lin Fan's consciousness.

“Here is the crash site of another of my major remains. There, perhaps some of my ‘bones’ from back then still linger.”

“Find it, devour it, and it can make your ‘Indestructible’ trait grow rapidly.”

“But, be careful.”

“That place is also a key monitoring area set up by this cycle's ‘Heavenly Dao,’ a trap specifically designed to lure and eliminate ‘anomalies.’”

“Whether it is an Opportunity or a grave depends entirely on you.”

“Alright, little BUG, your ‘trial period’... is over.”

The words had just fallen.

This pure white, absolute backstage space began to vibrate violently, web-like cracks appearing.

An irresistible pulling force from the reality Universe acted upon Lin Fan's true spirit, dragging this “disconnected” player back into the game.

Lin Fan knew he had to respond.

Whether to accept this heavy Karma that might drag him into a bottomless abyss...

...or... in the final instant before his consciousness was dragged out of this space, it condensed into one last thought and sent it toward that magnificent, slowly fading silhouette.

No gratitude, no promises.

Only a single sentence, a pure declaration of trade filled with Lin Fan's personal style.

“I've taken the benefits.”

“As for the Karma... depends on my mood.”

The movement of that magnificent silhouette suffered a microscopic freeze for a trillionth of a second.

It seemed that even He hadn't expected to receive such an utterly rogue-like answer.

Immediately after, a “smile” mixed with astonishment, absurdity, and... a trace of almost imperceptible appreciation flashed through that collapsing pure white space.

The next instant.

Space completely shattered!

Lin Fan's consciousness was violently dragged back to the reality Universe he was both familiar with and feared by an unrivaled force!

...Cold.

Silent.

This was the first sensation Lin Fan had after his consciousness returned.

He “opened” his eyes and found himself in an absolutely dark Void Realm; this was his most secret Resurrection Anchor that he had set up long ago.

His body was reshaping, his Divine Soul was consolidating.

Everything seemed no different from every previous resurrection.

However, at the moment he had just condensed a sliver of Divine Thought and was preparing to inspect his internal changes...

Buzz—!!!!

A familiar interface that had been silent for a long time, as if rebooting after a crash, violently occupied his entire consciousness in an unprecedented, cataclysmic manner!

Countless golden data streams， Like a waterfall bursting its banks， Flashing the screen frantically in front of him！

The System's notification sound was no longer the cold mechanical voice of the past, but carried a nearly cracking, extremely excited shriek!

[Warning! Warning! Detected that the System has encountered a Hyper-dimensional Rule Strike! Emergency self-check in progress... Self-check complete!]

[Warning! Detected an unknown fundamental mutation in the Host's true spirit! Data analysis in progress... Analysis failed! Mutation cannot be parsed!]

[Warning! System low-level logic has received unknown benign contamination... Self-optimization and upgrade in progress... Upgrade complete!]

After a series of ear-piercing warning sounds, the crazily scrolling golden data streams abruptly stopped.

Then, a line of giant characters, formed from the most brilliant, most dazzling light and even carrying a hint of “sacredness,” slowly emerged in the center of Lin Fan's consciousness, nearly bursting his Divine Soul!

[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed an unprecedented “Divine-Grade” death experience!]