324: You are merely the enforcer of the rules, while I am the one who creates them!

"We've arrived."

Gao Jianjun's voice trembled, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Through the cracked portholes of the Xuanyuan, everyone caught sight of the so-called Myriad Realms Slaughterhouse.

It was a... terrifying megastructure that defied description.

It floated within a dark red nebula, shaped like a colossal, slowly rotating meat grinder.

Countless shattered planets, wreckage of warships, and even the unrecognizable corpses of giant beasts were being pulled by an invisible force, slowly sliding toward that bottomless maw.

Above the maw, rings of resplendent, golden cities floated in suspension.

It was a place of decadence and bizarre wonders.

Above was heaven; below was hell.

This was the true portrait of the Higher Dimensions.

"Truly... magnificent."

Wang Peng (Fatty) pressed against the glass, his face squashed into a lump. "If this could be turned into a tourist attraction, I'd dare to charge a hundred million for a ticket."

"Tourism?"

Gao Jianjun gave a bitter laugh. "Fatty, look at those floating 'trash.' How many of them are carbon-based lifeforms like you and me?"

Wang Peng looked closely, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and he recoiled while dry-heaving.

"Halt!"

Just as the Xuanyuan was about to approach the outer perimeter.

A grand, cold warning, like the sound of grinding metal, instantly locked onto the entire warship.

Voom—!

The void trembled.

A colossal mechanical statue, ten thousand meters tall, blocked their flight path without warning.

Its entire body was crafted from an unknown black metal, and it held a long halberd radiating a ghostly red light.

That was—the gatekeeper.

"Unregistered low-dimensional vehicle detected."

"Race: Carbon-based monkeys."

"Civilization level: ...Unmeasurable (trash)."

The gatekeeper's enormous electronic eyes shot out two beams of red light, directly enveloping the Xuanyuan.

"According to Article 7 of the Slaughterhouse Management Regulations."

"Low-dimensional trash is not permitted to enter."

"Unless..."

The gatekeeper's voice carried a hint of mocking superiority.

"Pay the toll."

"Price: Half the living souls on the warship."

"Half?!"

Ye Qingcang was furious. "This is freaking robbery! Gao Jianjun, is there no law in this place?"

Gao Jianjun was already so terrified he knelt on the floor. "Give it! Give it to it! General Ye, this *is* the law! If we don't pay, the 'Rule Halberd' in its hand will instantly turn us into 2D images!"

"Give it my ass."

Lu Chen stood up from the command chair.

He smoothed out his slightly wrinkled trench coat, still holding his thermos.

"Fatty, open the airlock."

"Huh? Brother Chen, what are you doing?"

"Going out for some fresh air."

Lu Chen walked to the airlock, turning back to glance at the shivering Gao Jianjun.

"Old Gao, watch closely."

"On Earth, we call this kind of highway robbery..."

"A death wish."

...

In the void.

Lu Chen's figure, before that ten-thousand-meter-tall mechanical statue, was so tiny it didn't even count as a speck of dust.

Yet he stood there, hands in his pockets, his spine straight as a rod.

Like a nail, firmly driven into the map of this Higher Dimensions universe.

"Oh? A bug that dares to step out of its vehicle?"

The gatekeeper let out a rumbling laugh that made the surrounding space crumble away.

"Since you refuse to pay the toll."

"Then stay here forever."

"Execute: [Soul Stripping]."

Boom!

The gatekeeper swung the halberd down fiercely!

There was no energy fluctuation, no physical impact.

Only a pitch-black line of rules, representing the concept of "stripping," shot toward Lu Chen's forehead like a viper!

This was a rule-based attack.

Once touched, the physical body would remain unscathed, but the soul would be instantly extracted to become fodder for the Slaughterhouse.

"It's over..." Gao Jianjun closed his eyes, not daring to watch the tragic scene that followed.

However.

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

The expected scream did not come.

Gao Jianjun opened his eyes tremblingly, and then he saw the most incredible scene of his life.

Lu Chen was still standing there.

That black rule-line, capable of stripping the soul of a god, was currently stopped three inches in front of him.

It could not advance an inch.

Because Lu Chen had extended a finger.

At the tip of his finger, a speck of chaotic light was flickering.

"Is this your rule?"

Lu Chen looked up at the colossal mechanical statue, his eyes filled with profound disappointment.

"Too crude."

"It's like painting an oil painting with crayons, full of... a cheap feel."

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

The gatekeeper roared, "I am the gatekeeper of the Slaughterhouse! I represent the order here! You dare to despise the rules?!"

"Order? Rules?"

Lu Chen laughed.

His laugh was incredibly arrogant.

"In my hometown, there is a saying."

Lu Chen's finger gently traced a line in the void.

"My rules are the only rules."

"pangu! Change it for me!"

Voom—!!!

An indescribable fluctuation instantly erupted, centered on Lu Chen!

That was not energy; that was—[Base Logic Rewrite].

Under everyone's gaze.

That black rule-line representing "Soul Stripping" suddenly began to twist and change color violently, as if infected by a virus.

Finally, it actually turned into... a pink ribbon?

And it even tied itself into a bow in the air?

"This... what is this?!"

The gatekeeper was stunned; its logic core was throwing errors frantically.

[Warning! Rule attribute tampered with!]

[Current attribute: ...Holiday Celebration?]

"You are merely an executor of rules."

Lu Chen took a step out, his figure instantly expanding!

It was a holographic projection, and also a materialization of his spirit.

In the blink of an eye, his phantom became even larger than that mechanical statue!

He looked down at the gatekeeper from above, his chaotic divine eyes reflecting the birth and death of the entire universe.

"While I."

Lu Chen reached out a large hand and grabbed the gatekeeper's head.

"Am the one who creates the rules."

"Kneel... for me!"

Rumble—!!!

Accompanied by Lu Chen's roar.

That mechanical statue, representing the majesty of the Slaughterhouse, actually uncontrollably buckled at the knees!

Those thousands of tons of metal knees slammed heavily into the void, creating two massive spatial rifts!

It knelt!

It knelt before a human from a low-dimensional universe!

The entire scene was dead silent.

Gao Jianjun's jaw had dislocated.

The potato chips in Wang Peng's hands scattered all over the floor.

Ye Qingcang's hand holding his blade was trembling—from excitement.

"heavenly craft."

Lu Chen returned to his normal size and landed back on top of the gatekeeper's head.

He stomped his feet casually, as if stepping on a stepping stone.

"Seize control of this big guy for me."

"Such a big hunk of iron, it should be quite prestigious to take it back as a door guardian."

"Yes! Father!"

heavenly craft's cheerful voice came through.

Lu Chen turned around and looked toward the bizarre, resplendent ring city in the distance.

There, countless powerful divine senses were scanning over in shock and suspicion.

Lu Chen adjusted his collar and, facing the void, revealed his signature, harmless smile.

"Good evening, bosses."

"I'm here to talk business."

"However..."

Lu Chen pointed at the gatekeeper kneeling beneath his feet.

"I see your security guard isn't very sensible, so I took the liberty of... disciplining it for you."

"I trust you all won't mind, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

From deep within the Slaughterhouse, an ancient, cold, yet infinitely greedy voice slowly drifted over.

"Young man."

"To beat a dog, one must consider its master."

"You damaged my dog..."

"And you will have to pay for it with your life."