371: Let them solve it; that's how we pass on our traditions.

"Rumble—"

As the heavy metal door leading to the "Fourth Layer" slowly opened...

A rich, bitter aroma wafted toward him.

That was... the smell of **freshly ground coffee**.

Behind the door was an office so bright it was somewhat blinding.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, there was no longer an empty darkness, but a bustling, high-rise-filled... **modern metropolis**.

Flying cars shuttled through the air, and giant holographic billboards flickered amidst the clouds.

Standing before the window was a middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt, his hair somewhat thinning.

Holding a cup of coffee, he stood with his back to Lu Chen, looking at the scenery outside as if waiting for an old friend.

"You're here?"

The man turned around and pushed up the thick black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his tone as casual as if he were greeting a neighbor.

"You made quite a commotion."

"To open this door, you must have burned through the 'battery' of your entire universe, right?"

Lu Chen said nothing.

He simply held Su Qingying's hand tightly, feeling the slight tremor emanating from her fingertips.

Behind him, Wang Peng (Fatty) stood with his mouth wide open, staring at the world outside that was almost too "normal," unable to tell for a moment if this was heaven or hell.

"So what if it's burned dry?"

Lu Chen let go of her hand and strode into the office.

He unceremoniously pulled out an expensive-looking ergonomic chair, plopped down, and crossed his legs.

"Out with the old, in with the new."

"If I don't burn away those old, rotten things, how can I make room for the new era?"

"A new era?"

The middle-aged man smiled—a smile unique to programmers, tinged with a bit of self-deprecation.

"You certainly are open-minded."

"But have you ever considered that without energy, without the light of the stars, your so-called 'home'..."

The man pointed to the void behind Lu Chen.

"...has probably been picked clean into a skeleton by those 'Void Whales' that came sniffing around by now, right?"

Lu Chen's movements paused slightly.

But the expression on his face did not change in the slightest.

He even picked up a sugar cube from the desk, tossed it into his mouth, and crunched it loudly.

"Picked clean into a skeleton?"

Lu Chen looked up, and in his eyes, which had returned to their black color, there flickered a light called "trust."

"Old man, you underestimate my kind too much."

"My son, Lu Chen's son."

"Never needs me to wipe his ass for him."

"A small scene like this..."

Lu Chen pointed to his own chest.

"Leaving it to him."

"That is what you call... **inheritance**."

...Meanwhile.

The first layer world, the Pangu Continent.

Just as the programmer had said.

With all the stars extinguished, the entire universe fell into an unprecedented darkness and extreme cold.

Defense shields collapsed, and gravitational defense lines failed.

Billions of "Void Whales" let out greedy roars, like a black tsunami, breaking through the final line of defense and charging straight for the Lingxiao Heavenly Court!

"It's over... it's all over..."

A staff officer slumped to the ground, looking despairingly at the dense red dots on the screen.

"There's no energy! All weapon systems are offline! What are we going to fight with? Our lives?!"

Panic spread through the hall like a plague.

Even Ye Qingcang was holding his broken blade, his eyes filled with tears.

He wasn't afraid of death.

He was afraid of failing to protect the foundation Commander Lu had entrusted to him!

"Shut up, all of you!"

A childish yet majestic shout instantly suppressed all the noise.

Lu Star River stood on the throne.

The child, only three years old, stood like a towering mountain at this moment.

There was no fear on his small face, only a near-cold calmness.

"Who says there's no energy?"

Lu Star River stretched out his small hand, pointing at the pitch-black starry sky.

Pointing at the corpses of stars that had already extinguished and were collapsing into black holes.

"Daddy taught me."

"Trash is just resources in the wrong place."

"Those dead stars might not shine anymore."

"But their 'mass' is still there, and their 'gravity' is still there!"

Lu Star River suddenly tightened his grip on the golden authority flame in his hand.

In that moment, the light in his eyes was more dazzling than the sun!

"Sister heavenly craft!"

"Present! Young Master!"

heavenly craft's voice was weak but still firm.

"Initiate—**[Star Tomb Project]**!"

"Detonate the 'Schwarzschild radius' of all collapsing stars!"

"Turn the entire defense zone..."

Lu Star River's small hand pressed down hard, making a grasping motion.

"...into a giant..."

**Gravitational Grinding Wheel**!"

"Yes!!!"

Rumble—!!!

In the darkness, a sudden change occurred.

Those star corpses, which were originally silent, suddenly began to vibrate violently.

They didn't glow; instead, they... **collapsed**.

Hundreds of billions of micro black holes formed simultaneously!

The once flat void instantly became a rugged "gravitational abyss."

The Void Whales that were charging frantically were like rotten meat entering a meat grinder.

"Roar—!!!"

Shrill screams echoed through the universe.

Even void monsters that could devour rules appeared so fragile when faced with such pure, violent crushing of physical laws.

Their bodies were torn, stretched, and crushed by gravity.

Finally, they turned into the most primitive streams of particles and were sucked into those black holes.

"This... this is..."

Ye Qingcang watched the spectacular scene on the screen, his jaw nearly dropping in shock.

"Using the gravitational collapse of dying stars as a weapon?"

"This... this is too crazy!"

"It's not over yet."

Lu Star River clapped his small hands, a mischievous smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

That expression was exactly the same as Lu Chen's.

"What goes in must come out, right?"

"Sister heavenly craft."

"Reverse the gravity wells!"

"Take the energy from those monsters' corpses..."

"...and **spray** it back at them!"

"Understood!"

Buzz—!

Hundreds of billions of black holes reversed simultaneously.

The flesh and blood energy that had just been devoured was compressed and purified by gravity, turning into black-red beams of destruction that erupted outward!

It was a... **cosmic-scale shotgun volley**!

Boom boom boom—!!!

A huge swath of the beast tide at the edge of the black holes was instantly cleared.

Those Void Whales that hadn't had time to rush in were directly blown to bits by the corpses of their companions.

The crisis was averted.

In the most violent, hardcore, and "Lu Chen-esque" way.

The hall was deathly silent.

Then, deafening cheers erupted.

"Long live the Young Master!!!"

"Long live the Earth Federation!!!"

Lu Star River stood on the throne, listening to the mountain-shaking, ocean-roaring cheers.

He did not smile.

Instead, he slowly looked up at the void above, which was still dark but no longer terrifying.

He knew.

Daddy was watching him.

"Daddy."

Lu Star River said silently in his heart.

"Go ahead and venture forth without worry."

"Although the lights at home have gone out."

"I..."

Lu Star River clenched his fists, his small body emitting an aura called "Leader."

"I will turn myself..."

"...into the new sun!"

...In the office of the Fourth Layer world.

Lu Chen held a cup of coffee that had gone a bit cold, a gratified smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He sensed it.

That resonance from the bloodline, that sense of security from having a successor.

"It seems you won your bet."

The middle-aged man looked at Lu Chen's expression and pushed up his glasses.

"It wasn't a bet."

Lu Chen put down the coffee and stood up.

He walked up to the man and extended his hand.

"It was trust."

"My children have grown up."

"They no longer need me to protect them like a mother hen."

"Now."

Lu Chen's gaze became sharp, sweeping across the "modern" office before landing on the ID badge on the man's chest.

It read: **[Architect: Li Wei]**.

"The matters at home are settled."

"Shouldn't we talk about..."

Lu Chen pointed at the incredibly real-looking world outside the window.

"...what kind of hellhole this so-called 'Fourth Layer' actually is?"

"And also..."

Lu Chen leaned in close to the man named Li Wei, his voice low but carrying an unquestionable pressure.

"The electricity bill you owe me..."

"When do you plan to settle it?"