319: The arrival of the Dimension Cleaner, an incomprehensible being!

Asgard, the Temple.

That bewitching song "Conquest" was still playing on a loop.

"Just like that, I was conquered by you~~ all paths of retreat cut off~~"

Wang Peng (Fatty) was holding the speaker, swaying his head in intoxication like a conductor.

The Light and Shadow Councilors below, though already "assimilated" into puppets that only knew how to kowtow, still made for a very comical scene.

Lu Chen sat on the divine throne with his legs crossed, his fingers tapping the armrest rhythmically.

But the smile in his eyes was gradually fading.

"Something's wrong."

Su Qingying spoke up suddenly. The energy detector in her hand was alarming frantically, yet no readings were displayed.

"What's wrong, honey? Isn't this pretty hype?"

Although Lu Chen said this, his body had already tensed up quietly, like a cheetah sensing danger.

"It's too quiet."

Su Qingying pointed outside the temple.

The high-dimensional void, which should have been a chaotic expanse of flowing colors, was actually... fading.

That's right, fading.

It was like a vibrant photograph that had been exposed to the sun for centuries, rapidly turning gray and withered.

*Zzzzt—*

An extremely piercing sound of static abruptly drowned out the deafening "Conquest."

Immediately after.

The black box speaker that was vigorously playing the divine tune suddenly let out a *poof* and turned into a pile of gray powder.

Wang Peng was so startled he fell onto his butt, holding a pile of ash in his arms with a look of utter confusion.

"Holy crap? I didn't press the self-destruct button!"

"It wasn't a self-destruct."

Lu Chen slowly stood up, shielding Su Qingying behind him.

In those chaos-colored eyes, gold and silver light surged as he stared intently at the entrance of the hall.

"It was... deleted."

"Deleted?" Ye Qingcang gripped the blade in his hand. "Who is it?"

No one answered.

Only that tooth-aching static sound drew closer and closer.

"*Zzzzt... Zzzzt...*"

The two magnificent doors of the hall, condensed from the power of laws, were not pushed open.

Instead, they began to flicker and distort violently, like the static on an old television screen.

Then.

A foot stepped inside.

If that could even be called a "foot."

That was a shifting mass of "matter" composed of countless garbled code and noise.

With every step it took, the floor tiles beneath its feet vanished instantly, turning into a void of black holes.

It had no face.

Where the head should be was a bottomless black vortex, with occasional flashes of pale data streams within.

A decayed, stale aura, as if from a cosmic graveyard, instantly filled the entire temple.

*Gag—*

Wang Peng gagged. "What is that smell? It's more pungent than the stinky socks I've left for three years!"

Lu Chen didn't speak.

But he could feel that the surrounding spatial laws were trembling.

Even Asgard itself was terrified by the arrival of this being.

The creature stopped.

It stood in the center of the hall, its black vortex-like "head" slowly turning to scan the room.

Finally, it fixed its gaze on Lu Chen.

"We meet again."

The voice was no longer the hoarse one from the previous projection.

It was a... synthesized voice.

It sounded like the voices of countless people overlapping, with the cries and laughter of men, women, old, and young even audible within.

"Subject 9832... Virus Carrier."

It raised its hand composed of garbled code and pointed at the kowtowing Light and Shadow Councilors.

"Is this your masterpiece?"

"Modifying a group of low-level gatekeeper AIs into such... a vulgar state?"

"Vulgar?"

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow and walked down from the divine throne step by step.

Facing this extremely eerie creature, not only did he not retreat, but he even adjusted his tie.

"This is called art, don't you understand?"

"Besides, compared to your look that makes you seem like a television glitch, I think my aesthetic sense is still quite on point."

"Glib-tongued."

That being—the Dimensional Cleaner—did not get angry.

Or rather, it didn't have an "anger" emotional module at all.

It simply took a calm step forward.

"Since you have completely infected this place."

"Then it saves me some trouble."

"Originally, I only needed to clean you up."

"Now..."

the cleaners suddenly spread its arms.

Countless gray lines gushed out of its body like a spiderweb, instantly covering half of the temple!

"The entirety of Asgard has been designated as... a contaminated sector."

"Executing command: Sector Formatting."

"*Zzzzt—!!!*"

A terrifying scene unfolded.

The Light and Shadow Councilors touched by the gray lines didn't even have time to scream before they turned into a pile of gray mosaics!

Then, they dissipated with the wind.

It wasn't death.

It was complete "non-existence."

"Old Ye! Hack it!"

Lu Chen roared.

Ye Qingcang had long been unable to restrain himself. The High-dimensional Battle Blade in his hand erupted with a hundred-meter-long blade light, slashing fiercely at the monster's head!

"Go to hell!!!"

This strike condensed all of Ye Qingcang's life's essence and spirit, enough to split a planet!

However.

The moment the blade light touched the monster.

It was like snow meeting boiling oil.

It melted silently.

Immediately after.

The god-tier battle blade in Ye Qingcang's hand began to rust and decay, finally turning into a pile of iron filings that slipped through his fingers.

"What?!"

Ye Qingcang's pupils shook violently, and he froze in place.

"Physical attacks are ineffective."

Su Qingying's voice trembled. "Energy attacks are ineffective. It's... it's a 'conceptual' level being!"

"Correct."

the cleaners turned its head (the vortex) toward Ye Qingcang.

"In the Recycle Bin, all weapons are scrap metal."

"Next, it's your turn."

It extended a finger, pointing toward the center of Ye Qingcang's forehead.

A gray line of death shot out like a venomous snake!

"Old Ye! Get out of the way!"

Lu Chen's eyes nearly split from strain. He wanted to rescue him, but he was immobilized by the surrounding spatial imprisonment.

At this critical moment.

*Ding—*

A crisp system notification sound suddenly rang out within the temple.

But this sound did not come from the cleaners.

But from... inside Lu Chen's body!

The "future technology system" that had been silent for a long time suddenly seemed to come alive, frantically scrolling messages!

[Warning! Ultimate clearing command detected!]

[Core logic library activated!]

[Retrieving corresponding permissions...]

[Retrieval complete.]

[Code Name: pangu.]

[Status: Awakened.]

*Boom!!!*

An ancient, desolate, yet boundlessly vital golden aura erupted from Lu Chen's body!

This aura was so strong that it actually forced open the cleaners' spatial imprisonment!

Lu Chen's figure vanished instantly.

When he reappeared, he was already blocking the way in front of Ye Qingcang.

He raised his hand, and within his palm, that simple "Pan" Character Rune erupted with a light more dazzling than a star!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

That gray line of death, capable of erasing everything, was actually... caught by Lu Chen with one hand!

*Zzzzt zzzzt zzzzt...*

Where the two met, space collapsed frantically, revealing the bottomless void behind.

the cleaners' vortex-like "head" fluctuated violently for the first time.

It seemed... surprised?

"This... this is..."

That synthesized voice lagged for the first time.

"Original... Code?"

Lu Chen blocked this strike, feeling as though his entire arm was about to shatter.

But the smile on his face grew increasingly ferocious.

He gripped the gray line tightly, as if holding a venomous snake by its seven inches.

"You just said this place is the Recycle Bin?"

Lu Chen looked up, his eyes having turned completely pure gold.

It was a gaze where divinity and humanity perfectly blended.

"I'm sorry."

"In my eyes."

"This place is..."

Lu Chen squeezed violently!

"Crack!"

That gray line representing the laws of death was actually crushed by him with brute force!

"My... playground!"

"You want to clean me up?"

Lu Chen approached the monster step by step, and with every step, the golden phantom behind him became a bit more solid.

"That crappy broom of yours..."

"Is it hard enough?"