376: His legend has become a myth.

Lower District, Block 74.

The former ruins had now transformed into a towering "Temple of Truth."

There was no more acid rain, no more darkness.

Silver "Psionic Streetlamps" illuminated every corner. Children ran through the streets, and mechanical prosthetics were no longer a symbol of status, but simple tools.

Rumble—!!!

The massive vortex in the sky spun faster and faster.

Purple-black thunder, like wildly dancing dragons, tore through the clouds, pressing down toward the ground with a pressure enough to destroy the world.

That was the wrath from The Fifth Layer.

It was the Creator's judgment upon these "prison breakers."

"Ah! The sky is falling!"

"It's divine punishment! Divine punishment is coming!"

The crowd began to stir, panic spreading like a plague.

Countless people knelt on the ground, kowtowing to the sky, begging for forgiveness.

This was the servility carved into their genes for tens of thousands of years.

"Stand up!"

A roar exploded in everyone's ears through the city-wide broadcast system.

Jack stood at the highest point of the temple.

The mechanical arm that Lu Chen had personally "consecrated" was now radiating a dazzling golden light.

He was no longer that submissive little thug; now, he was the "Watcher" of the Lower District.

"Everyone, stand up!"

Jack pointed at the apocalyptic scene overhead, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with fanaticism.

"Teacher said!"

"If your knees soften, your spine breaks!"

"What divine punishment? What Creator?"

"In front of Teacher, those are all..."

Jack took a deep breath, imitating Lu Chen's tone, and roared out that rebellious sentence:

"Those are just pigs waiting to be slaughtered!"

"Look!"

Jack suddenly pointed toward the Xinghe Group headquarters building floating in the clouds.

"Teacher... is watching us!"

The crowd subconsciously looked up.

They saw at the top of that black building.

A figure stood proudly, facing the thunder and storms that filled the sky.

He was very small.

Before the might of heaven and earth, he was like a grain of dust.

But in everyone's retinas, that figure was infinitely magnified at this moment.

He wore a black trench coat and held a sword in one hand.

Facing the vortex that was enough to crush the world, he even... lit a cigarette.

“Phew—”

Lu Chen exhaled a ring of smoke.

The smoke curled upward, actually forming a giant, extremely arrogant "middle finger" gesture at the top of the building.

“Pfft.”

Su Qingying, standing behind him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“Even at a time like this, you don't forget to show off?”

“This isn't called showing off.”

Lu Chen flicked the cigarette ash, looking at the city below shrouded in silver light.

He looked at the people who had stood up again because of his appearance, hope rekindling in their eyes.

“This is called...”

“Giving the believers a little confidence.”

Lu Chen turned around.

Wang Peng (Fatty) was directing hundreds of robots, moving all the core data, rare minerals, and tons upon tons of gold that Xinghe Group had scavenged over the past few months onto the Xuanyuan.

“Fatty, hurry up.”

Lu Chen urged, “Don't dawdle. The Big Boss has already opened the door for us; it would be impolite if we arrive late.”

“Right away! Right away!”

Wang Peng was sweating profusely from exhaustion, but his face was full of the excitement of having "made a fortune."

“Brother Chen, we've really fleeced the Fourth Layer clean this time! If we take these technologies back, our Earth Federation can take off directly!”

“Take them back?”

Lu Chen shook his head.

He walked to Wang Peng's side and casually picked up a crystal engraved with "Metaverse Underlying Logic" from the pile of treasures.

“No need to take it back.”

“Huh?” Wang Peng was stunned.

Lu Chen gave it a casual toss.

That priceless crystal traced a parabola, falling from a height of ten thousand meters.

It fell straight toward the "Temple of Truth" in the Lower District.

“Leave it for them.”

Lu Chen looked down at Jack, who was moved to tears.

“I am just a passing guest.”

“All I can give them is a key to unlock their shackles.”

“As for whether they can turn this world into a paradise...”

Lu Chen smiled, his gaze free and easy.

“That is their business.”

“As for us...”

Lu Chen suddenly looked up at the black vortex that had completely opened.

From there, waves of aura that made the soul tremble were pouring out.

That was the true "Reality."

It was the source of this "brain in a vat" system.

“Fatty, Qingying.”

Lu Chen drew the pangu sword. The blade vibrated, letting out a dragon's roar of longing for battle.

“Our journey is not here.”

“Those so-called 'Gods,' 'Creators,' 'Players'...”

“They have been high and mighty for too long.”

“So long that they've forgotten...”

“The fear of being dominated by a 'virus.'”

“Let's go!”

Lu Chen stepped onto the deck of the Xuanyuan.

The black warship let out a roar, its tail flame spraying ten thousand meters of chaotic fire.

“All forces, attack!”

“Target: The Fifth Layer!”

“Let's go give that old fellow...”

“A funeral!”

“Boom—!!!”

Under the gaze of billions of eyes.

That warship, carrying countless legends, transformed into a sharp sword and plunged fiercely into the vortex representing "destruction"!

Thunder shattered!

The storm rolled back!

At that moment.

The people of the entire Fourth Layer world saw a scene they would never forget in their lives.

That man tore through the firmament.

He did not look back.

But the back he left behind, that back still standing tall as a pine amidst the thunder... was permanently frozen in the river of time.

Years later.

In the history textbooks of this world, regarding this day, there was only one brief yet shocking record:

【On that day, the God left us.】

【But he went to a higher place, to... shield us from the wind and rain.】

...Inside the vortex.

Dimensional passage.

The surroundings were a bizarre scene of distortion.

The flow of time here was extremely chaotic; one second could be ten thousand years.

“Brother Chen...”

Wang Peng gripped the handrail, looking at the images flashing outside the window, his voice trembling slightly.

“Do you think...”

“That 'Fifth Layer'...”

“What kind of place is it exactly?”

“Will there be a bunch of three-headed, six-armed monsters waiting for us?”

Lu Chen sat in the commander's chair, resting with his eyes closed.

Hearing this, he slowly opened his eyes.

In those eyes, there was no tension, only a kind of... dullness after seeing through the riddle.

“Monsters?”

Lu Chen gave a light laugh.

“Fatty.”

“Have you ever played a game?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Then do you think, the final BOSS in the game, and the person sitting in front of the computer playing the game...”

“Who looks more like a monster?”

Wang Peng was stunned.

Lu Chen stood up and walked to the hatch.

At the end of the passage, a sliver of... pale white light had appeared.

That wasn't natural light.

That was... the shadowless lamp of a laboratory.

“We're here.”

Lu Chen straightened his collar and tightened his grip on the sword.

The corner of his mouth curled into a playful arc.

“Get ready.”

“We are about to see...”

“The one behind this group of lab rats...”

“The Breeder.”