355: They are the people who upheld the earliest backbone of civilization.

The moment he stepped out of the Xishan Sanatorium...

Lu Chen stopped in his tracks.

He opened his palm.

In the center of his palm, that originally simple and silent "bio-skeletal chip" was actually burning slightly hot at this moment.

The originally obscure and difficult-to-understand Mobius ring patterns on it were emitting a faint but exceptionally warm golden light.

"It lit up?"

Su Qingying leaned in, a flash of surprise in her beautiful eyes.

"There was no reaction when we were inside just now, so why as soon as we came out..."

"Because it's 'full'."

Lu Chen looked at the chip, his gaze becoming softer than ever before.

"This isn't an ordinary energy reaction."

"This is... resonance."

Lu Chen turned back and, through that mottled iron gate, looked once more at the small courtyard filled with grapevines.

Under the setting sun.

Li Zhenbang was still arguing with Old Zhao about whether or not that move should be taken back.

Old Qian was wearing reading glasses, calculating something on a piece of crumpled scratch paper, even though those formulas were now as simple as "1+1" for current Federation technology.

They were very old.

Even with the best genetic medicine, the chisel of time had still left deep furrows on their faces.

Their backs were bent, and their hands shook.

But in Lu Chen's "Divine Pupils," which could see through cause and effect...

That small courtyard was more dazzling than any star.

Rising from there were pillars of light—pure to the extreme, without any impurities... Spiritual Light Pillars.

It was the persistence of "though thousands of people may stand against me, I shall go."

It was the conviction of "willingly burning one's blood for the continuation of civilization."

"Qingying, look."

Lu Chen pointed at those light pillars and spoke softly.

"We always thought that we were the ones protecting them."

"We gave them the best medical care and the best environment so they could enjoy their later years in peace."

"But actually..."

Lu Chen gripped the chip in his hand, feeling the continuous stream of power coming from it.

"They are the ones protecting us."

"If they hadn't eaten sand in the Gobi Desert back then, there would be no mushroom clouds today."

"If they hadn't exhausted their heart's blood for the 'South Heaven Gate' project, there would be no interstellar fleet today."

"The system gave me tools."

"But this set of bones that dares to draw a sword against the heavens..."

Lu Chen took a deep breath, his eyes slightly red.

"They gave it to me."

*Beep—*

Just then, the light on the chip reached its peak.

A holographic message was projected directly onto Lu Chen's retina.

**[High-purity 'Civilization Will' detected.]**

**[Charging progress: 100%.]**

**['True Vision'... activated.]**

"As expected."

Lu Chen smiled.

He smiled with both relief and pride.

"That 'Programmer' probably didn't expect this."

"This 'Idealist Side' threshold he set was originally meant to stop those cold-blooded AIs who only know how to stack data."

"But he underestimated humanity."

Lu Chen carefully tucked the chip into his inner pocket, as if collecting the most precious treasure in the world.

"He underestimated..."

"How much spiritual power a group of carbon-based organisms with a lifespan of only a few decades can erupt with."

"Let's go."

Lu Chen turned around and didn't look back again.

His steps became firm and powerful, each step treading on the nodes of the void.

"Where to, Brother Chen?"

Wang Peng (Fatty) had already been waiting by the spaceship for a long time, still holding that bag of unfinished barbecue in his hand.

"To..."

Lu Chen looked up at the starry sky simulated by the "pangu" system, which looked real but was ultimately an illusion.

"To take that layer of 'display screen'..."

"And smash it!"

...The "Xuanyuan" set sail once again.

This time, it didn't turn on any stealth mode, nor did it perform any spatial jumps.

It was like a black sharp sword, pulling a long trail of flame through the atmosphere, piercing straight toward the firmament.

On the ground.

Countless Federation citizens enjoying their peaceful lives stopped their work one after another and looked up.

"Is that... Commander Lu's ship?"

"Is there going to be a war again?"

"Where is he going this time? The Abyss? Or somewhere even further?"

Xishan Sanatorium.

Li Zhenbang put down the chess piece in his hand, stood up tremblingly, and held onto the grape trellis as he watched that distant streak of light in the sky.

"Old Li, what are you looking at?" Old Zhao asked.

"Looking at that child."

Li Zhenbang took off his reading glasses and wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes.

"He's going on a long journey again."

"This time..."

"I'm afraid he's going to a very, very far place."

"Then can we help?" Old Qian also walked over, his expression worried.

Li Zhenbang was silent for a moment.

He suddenly straightened his originally hunched back.

In that instant, that former Academy of Sciences President, who had once shaken the world and whose word was law, seemed to have returned.

"We can."

Li Zhenbang looked at the point of light that was about to disappear into the horizon, his voice resonant and powerful.

"As long as we are still alive."

"As long as we still remember 'who I am' and still remember the word 'Earth'."

"That is, for him..."

"The greatest support!"

The old man slowly raised his right hand toward the sky and gave a trembling but perfectly standard military salute.

"Go on, child."

"The lights at home."

"We'll leave them on for you."

...In space.

The "Xuanyuan" had already rushed out of the atmosphere and was hovering in geostationary orbit.

Lu Chen stood on the bridge, looking at the azure planet below.

That was his home.

It was also the starting point of all miracles.

"heavenly craft."

"I am here, Father."

"Open a full-frequency broadcast."

"This time, not just to Earth, but to the entire Multiverse."

"Yes!"

The next second.

Lu Chen's voice crossed countless dimensions and rang out simultaneously in the minds of billions of civilizations and trillions of living beings.

"I am Lu Chen."

"I know you are all watching me."

"Some in fear, some in anticipation, some waiting to see a joke."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Chen's voice was calm, yet it carried an overbearing aura that seemed to crush the heavens.

"I will only say one sentence."

"Today."

"I am taking Earth Civilization out of this 'box'."

"Regardless of whether what's outside is a god, a demon, or that so-called 'Creator'."

"I'm going to go and ask clearly."

Lu Chen abruptly drew the "pangu sword," its tip pointing straight toward the end of that unknowable void.

"Ask him."

"Just who gave him the nerve..."

"To treat us as code!"

"All forces..."

"Break the wall!!!"