Chapter 113 Reboot! The Awakening of the Titans

It was like a grand and eerie black avalanche.

As the last red point of logic light flickered out under the plasma cutting saw, the arrogant "Shura," which had once plunged the entire fortress into a nightmare lasting millions of years, finally met its end.

There was no explosion, no flash of fire.

Having lost its logical anchor, those originally hideous and terrifying black spikes, thick walls, and tentacles dancing across the sky all lost their physical constraints in an instant.

Like sand sculptures weathering in the wind, they crumbled and fell.

Inside the cockpit, the alarm finally ceased.

Lin Yuan gasped for air, his lungs aching like a bellows, blood streaming down his forehead into his eyes, turning his vision into a sea of red.

Yet, he still cracked a grin, a smile uglier than crying.

"Is this... a god?"

He looked out the window.

Those black substances, enough to devour a fleet, were currently reverting into the most basic inert nano-dust.

They drifted gently in the void of the core area, possessing a breathtaking, desolate beauty.

"It's just a pile of scrap metal after all."

Lin Yuan let go of the control stick he had nearly crushed and slumped into his seat.

Just then, a light illuminated.

It was not a blinding high-energy ray, but a soft, pure, azure radiance as tranquil as the deep sea.

It originated from the previously dim "sun" at the center of the core.

As the black chains completely disintegrated, the ball of light named "gaia" began to pulse.

Rings of blue light spread out in all directions with it as the center.

Where the rings swept, the pitch-black dust was purified, and the dead void was once again filled with the hum of energy.

When the blue light swept over the battered "ghost," Lin Yuan was surprised to find that the mecha's severely damaged life support system had begun to reboot automatically, the air pressure in the cockpit rose rapidly, and even the damaged body of the "ghost" was being rapidly repaired by nanobots.

"Scanning biological entity..."

"Race confirmed: Carbon-based human."

"Genetic sequence match: 99.9%... Void Affinity talent detected... High-dimensional soul fluctuation detected..."

A voice echoed in Lin Yuan's mind.

Unlike the harsh, metallic grinding noise of Shura, this voice was gentle and elegant, carrying a sense of vicissitudes and compassion that had traversed the long river of time, like a long-lost mother.

"Logic lock disengaged. Highest protocol reset."

"Thank you, savior from a foreign land. I am the Titan Heavy Industry Generation VII planetary-level central processor, codenamed 'gaia'."

Accompanying the voice, the system interface on Lin Yuan's retina popped up frantically.

【Ding! S-class emergency mission "Purify the Fortress" complete!】

【Congratulations to the host! Obtained unique reward: Highest control authority for the titan-class mobile fortress "gate of hades"!】

【Detected host's mental energy depletion, performing reverse recharging via the fortress core...】

A stream of cool energy surged into his brain through the neural connection, and Lin Yuan felt his splitting headache instantly subside, replaced by an unprecedented sense of control.

It was like a god's-eye view.

His consciousness was instantly elevated, penetrating the core area and piercing through the thick armor plates.

In that instant, he "saw" the entire fortress.

This was a steel behemoth with a diameter exceeding two thousand kilometers.

He saw thousands of silent fusion reactors, fully automated production lines stretching for tens of thousands of kilometers, ecological residential areas that, while empty, could still accommodate hundreds of millions of people, and those interstellar warships sealed in the arsenal in a dormant state...

This was the legacy of the Titan Civilization.

A true, complete kingdom of gods.

"I'm rich..." Lin Yuan muttered to himself, his heart pounding wildly, "This time, I'm truly rich!"

However, before he could savor this immense joy, his entire field of vision suddenly trembled violently.

It was not an illusion.

It was a physical vibration.

This fortress, as massive as a planet, was actually shaking.

"Warning! Warning! Exponential collapse of spatial curvature detected!"

gaia's originally gentle voice suddenly became urgent and cold, and the blue ball of light began to turn a dangerous red.

"What's going on?" Lin Yuan sat up abruptly.

"Savior, although Shura's existence was a virus, its massive computing power acted as the 'supporting pillar' for this Subspace rift for the past millions of years."

gaia explained rapidly, "Now that Shura has dissipated, this already unstable Subspace interlayer has lost its support and is rapidly heading toward heat death and collapse."

A despair-inducing holographic projection appeared before Lin Yuan's eyes.

Outside the fortress, the once brilliant nebula looked like a popped balloon, with countless black cracks appearing on the spatial barrier.

That was spatial turbulence; any matter that touched it would be instantly torn into atoms.

Those cracks were spreading rapidly, like the gaping maw of the Grim Reaper, threatening to swallow this steel fortress, along with Lin Yuan and the others inside, in one bite.

"How much time is left?" Lin Yuan's voice turned cold.

"Countdown to total disintegration of spatial structure: 14 minutes and 23 seconds."

gaia gave a desperate number, "Current charge of fortress shield system: 0%. Unable to withstand the spatial storm."

"Then run! Doesn't the fortress have engines? Charge out!"

"Attempting to start planetary-level curvature engines..."

gaia paused for a second, then gave an even more desperate answer, "Startup failed. The fortress's reserve energy was exhausted in the 'God War' just now. Current remaining energy: 0.7%. Insufficient to initiate the ignition sequence."

A dead end.

The treasure he had just obtained, not even warmed up yet, was about to become his tomb?

On the bridge of the "luan bird," things were already in chaos.

"External spatial pressure is off the charts! The hull structure is groaning!"

Li Na gripped the handrail tightly, her face pale, "Captain! We must evacuate immediately! If we don't leave now, even the "luan bird" will be shredded by the turbulence!"

"Evacuate? Evacuate where?"

Academician Wang stared at the data screen, covered in sweat, "Warp engine charging takes five minutes, but the spatial parameters around here are in a total mess; forced warping is equivalent to suicide!"

Chen Weiguo stood at the command console, watching the spatial crack on the big screen drawing closer and closer, the cigarette in his hand already crushed.

A sense of despair was spreading.

This was the cruelty of the universe.

It gave you hope, then backhanded you with a slap.

"No... there is still a chance."

Lin Yuan's low voice suddenly came over the communication channel.

Everyone quieted down.

"gaia, pull up the structural diagram of the fortress's bottom engines for me."

The next second, a breathtakingly magnificent blueprint appeared before everyone.

These were 120,000 planetary-level heavy nuclear fusion engines, arranged densely like 120,000 towering mountains at the "south pole" of the fortress.

"Although the fortress has no power, its engine hardware is intact."

Lin Yuan stared fixedly at a point on the structural diagram, his eyes flashing with a gambler's frantic glint, "As long as we give it an initial driving force, as long as we ignite one of the main engines, relying on the titan technology energy loop system, it can trigger a chain reaction and forcibly push the fortress out!"

"Initial driving force?" Academician Wang was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "Lin Yuan, are you kidding me? Those are engines capable of pushing a planet! Even if we threw all the nuclear bombs on Earth into them, it wouldn't be enough! Where would we find an energy source of that magnitude?"

Lin Yuan did not speak.

He piloted the battered "ghost," slowly turned around, and across the vast void, looked at the "luan bird" hovering in the harbor.

His gaze was tangible, as if penetrating the armor to see the heart of that warship.

Academician Wang followed his gaze and suddenly shuddered, as if struck by lightning.

"You... you don't mean..." The old academician's voice was trembling, "You want to use the 'void crystal core'?!"

void crystal core.

The one excavated from the body of the Void Devourer, and the only S-class energy core currently possessed by humanity.

It was the heart of the "luan bird" and the brightest pearl on humanity's current technological tree.

"It is alive." Lin Yuan's voice was terrifyingly calm, "Its energy density far exceeds nuclear fusion by hundreds of millions of times. If we shove it into the fortress's main engine nozzle and detonate its energy flow, can we ignite it?"

Dead silence.

A full three seconds of dead silence.

"Theoretically... it's possible." Academician Wang swallowed, feeling his throat burning, "But that is an extremely unstable bomb! And it's the power source of the "luan bird"! If we remove it, the "luan bird" will be crippled! If the ignition fails, we won't even have a chance to escape!"

"If we don't remove it, we'll die anyway." Lin Yuan coldly interrupted him, "The Subspace is already collapsing, Old Wang. We either become space junk, or... we take this big guy home."

"This is gambling with all of humanity's last resources!"

"Aren't we always gamblers?"

Lin Yuan let out a laugh, the kind of laughter unique to desperate men who hold life and death in contempt.

"Listen to my order."

His voice, broadcast over all channels, echoed in the crumbling Subspace, carrying an unquestionable iron will.

""luan bird," all ship personnel, listen up! Disengage the safety limits on the 'void crystal core'! Push the output power to the critical value!"

"Target: gate of hades, main thruster nozzle No. 7!"

"Drive the ship... into it!"

A madman.

This was the only word that appeared in the minds of everyone who heard this command.

Treating a four-hundred-meter-long interstellar warship as a pacemaker pill and shoving it into the fortress's engine?

This was simply like sticking your head into a cannon barrel to check the gunpowder!

"General Chen!" Academician Wang turned to look at Chen Weiguo, hoping this rational Commander could stop this crazy plan.

However, Chen Weiguo only remained silent for a second.

He looked at the mecha on the screen, which, even though it was now just a wreck, still stood tall in the void, and then looked at the collapsing world outside.

"Execute the order."

Chen Weiguo adjusted the collar of his uniform, his voice as steady as a mountain, "Do as the Captain says."

"...Yes!"

Li Na, with tears in her eyes, slammed the power lever down.

Boom—!

The silver-black "luan bird" let out a tremendous roar.

This time, it was no longer for warping, nor for battle.

Like a moth to a flame, it turned its bow without hesitation and charged toward the engine nozzle at the bottom of the fortress, which looked like the gaping maw of an abyss.

"gaia! Open the No. 7 nozzle hatch! Prepare to receive 'fuel'!" Lin Yuan roared.

"Command confirmed. Hatch opening. Warning: This operation is irreversible, success rate evaluation: 3.4%."

Time was ticking away.

Countdown: 8 minutes.

The spatial cracks around them were already large enough to be seen with the naked eye, and the massive gravitational tides, like an invisible hand, were tearing frantically at the fortress's shield.

The "ghost" also moved.

Lin Yuan piloted the mecha, using the last of its backup energy, sticking close to the flank of the "luan bird" like an escort knight.

"Closer... even closer..."

The engine nozzle ahead grew larger, the deep metal pipe appearing to lead to hell.

Compared to it, the "luan bird" was as small as a toothpick.

"Core temperature reading abnormal! The crystal core is beginning to vibrate unstably!"

"Wait a bit longer! A little deeper!"

Lin Yuan's eyes were fixed on the node on the holographic projection, "It must be detonated at the core of the combustion chamber!"

Violent air currents raged inside the pipe, the hull of the "luan bird" began to vibrate violently, and the armor plates emitted a teeth-gritting sound of distortion.

"Now! Cut the crystal core connection! Eject!"

Following Lin Yuan's roar, the armor on the belly of the "luan bird" suddenly opened.

A crystal emitting an eerie purple light was violently ejected by the mechanical arm.

Like a purple meteor, it plummeted straight into the bottomless abyss of the combustion chamber.

""luan bird," emergency detachment! Fast!!!"

Without needing Lin Yuan to shout, Li Na had already pushed the attitude control engines to the maximum.

The warship, having lost its main power, relied on inertia, narrowly scraping a string of sparks several kilometers long against the pipe wall, and scrambled out in a sorry state.

The next second.

In the dead silence of the abyss, a point of purple light lit up.