102: Chapter 102 Lao Tzu's words are not for you to delete.

Chen Fan's fingers lightly brushed over the fragments of the book of fate, the charred edges of the paper stinging his palm. The ink for the name 'Xiao Ma' was still wet; he had written it on the back of a cigarette pack with a broken pencil lead in the Bronze Dungeon. Half of 'Blue Ash's' name had been burned away; that was a mooncake wrapper the kid had shoved at him in the Silver Dungeon, saying they would share half once they got out alive.

"They won't even let them keep their names." Su Shuang's breath brushed against the back of his neck as her fingertip rested on a fragment—the name 'Chen Fan' was written crookedly on it, carved into a dirt wall with a branch back in the Newbie Village, only to be wiped clean by the system later.

A faint tremor came from the wall as the afterimage of the Heart Cocoon Wielder seeped out from the shattered light cocoon, so transparent it almost merged with the background.

Chen Fan remembered that when they first met, this person always wrapped himself in a dusty cloak, but now even his silhouette had faded into a mere shadow. "Behind the door are three lines of code." His voice sounded like a leaking bellows, every word carrying the crackle of an electric current. "The first line is the clearing protocol, the second line is the sealing consciousness, the third line..."

The afterimage's finger pointed vaguely at the Bronze Door; the door's patterns suddenly rippled, revealing a flowing river of light within.

Chen Fan saw countless points of light struggling in the river of light like fish caught in a net—those were consciousnesses erased by the system, even the evidence of their existence being ground to dust.

"The third line is for the new god's name." The Heart Cocoon Wielder's gaze pierced through Chen Fan's chest. "It's the temptation they offer the savior: fill in your own name, and you can become the master of this wretched system."

Chen Fan's Adam's apple bobbed.

He remembered Xiao Ma carrying cement bags in the downpour of the Bronze Dungeon, saying, "Wait until I save enough money to build a brick house for my mom." He remembered Blue Ash squatting by the campfire sharing mooncakes, saying, "My mom said people whose names are remembered won't die." He remembered the fire hidden in Su Shuang's eyes when she first lifted the curtain of the Teahouse—what they wanted was never a god, but the right to live, the warmth of having their names spoken aloud.

"The people I save don't need a god." He suddenly laughed, revealing white teeth. "What I'm going to write is 'No deleting names'."

Before he finished speaking, the Fate-breaking mark on his palm suddenly grew hot.

It was carved for him by Su Shuang using a Fox Clan Blood Pact, specifically designed to tear through the system's vital points.

Chen Fan raised his hand and pressed it against the door. The bronze chill crawled up his skin and into his veins. The river of light inside the door suddenly surged, forcing him to stumble back half a step.

"I'll change the first line." The Heart Cocoon Wielder's voice suddenly became clear, as if he were a different person—perhaps this was his original voice, sounding one last time before being crushed by the system. "I'll trade my life for a single 'Forbidden'."

The afterimage began to disintegrate, from the toes upward, every inch turning into golden light particles.

Chen Fan tried to grab them, but his hand only met nothingness.

Those light particles crashed into the river of light, and the top line of code suddenly exploded with blinding white light.

Chen Fan heard the system notification explode in his head like a shattered copper basin: "Warning!

Core command tampered with, permission tracing in progress—"

"To hell with your tracing!" Chen Fan roared. His right fist ignited with Crimson Nightmare's Flame Essence Fire, while his left fist was wrapped in the Armor-piercing Blade forged in the Bronze Dungeon.

The critical hit system roared in his sea of consciousness, and the golden patterns of Root Critical Hit spread from his arms to cover his entire body.

He threw a punch straight at the second line of code!

The river of light surged violently, and the second line of code, 'Sealing Consciousness · Running', was smashed to pieces.

Countless points of light gushed out from the door like a punctured jar of stars.

Chen Fan saw Xiao Ma waving in the light, Blue Ash smiling while holding half a mooncake, and even Foreman Old Zhang, who always scolded him for being lazy in the Bronze Dungeon, was there with tears in his eyes—it turned out that when the system erased them, it didn't even leave them their tears.

"The third line... is still flashing." Su Shuang's voice was soft, yet it felt like a needle piercing Chen Fan's heart.

He followed her gaze; the bottom line of code was a dark vortex, emitting a buzzing summons like the abyss gasping for air.

Chen Fan's temples throbbed.

He remembered the Construction Site Boss slamming the table and saying, "I make the rules." He remembered Crimson Nightmare shouting "My name is Li Tiezhu" before being transformed into a pillar of fire. He remembered Mo Jiu's cold sneer as he stood on the high platform tearing up players' books of fate—they always loved to treat names like scrap paper, crumpling them up and throwing them away.

"To hell with the new god." He tore a piece of fabric from his back and used the Flame Essence Fire to burn crooked characters onto it. 'Xiao Ma', 'Blue Ash', 'Lin Qi', 'Heart Cocoon Wielder'... every name carried the smell of char, yet they were hotter than any god's name.

He pressed the cloth onto the third line of code, and the critical hit system suddenly roared, sounding like thousands of people shouting "Good!" at once.

The river of code instantly boiled, and new characters automatically emerged in the third line: 'Managers shall be rotated among the Awakened, with a term of seven days'.

Looking at those words, Chen Fan suddenly felt his eyes sting—it turned out that rules weren't only meant to be dictated from above; even those trampled in the mud could rewrite the rules.

The entire Star-Whisper Corridor began to shake violently, golden light seeping from the scratches on the walls.

Chen Fan looked up and saw countless names emerging from the cracks in the walls like spring sprouts. 'Auntie Zhou', 'Ah Qiang', 'Chun Tao'... every name emitted a warm yellow light, forming a breathing wall of names.

Monk Shen Zhong's bell rang one last time, as melodious as a temple in the morning mist.

Chen Fan picked up Su Shuang on his back. Her body heat seeped through his coarse work clothes, feeling more real than any system notification.

What lay outside the door was no longer an oppressive seabed, but a river of stars with seven high towers floating within. At the top of the brightest tower, The Fate Official wearing a bronze mask was looking up in terror.

"They've realized..." Su Shuang's voice was muffled against the crook of his neck, "that the rules are no longer written by them."

Chen Fan grinned, the twin flames on his fists burning even brighter.

He looked toward the Starlight Tower, remembering what the Heart Cocoon Wielder had said about "killing with remembrance"—now he had an even sharper weapon: those remembered names and all the souls that refused to be erased.

"I don't worship gods, and I won't be one," he said softly to the void, his voice sounding like a thunderclap splitting the clouds. "But if anyone dares to delete a name again..."

He threw a punch, the golden light of the Root Critical Hit tearing through the starry river and blasting a transparent hole in the Starlight Tower.

A crisp snapping sound came from inside the tower. Chen Fan didn't need to look to know that the vermilion brush in The Fate Official's hand had snapped into three pieces.

The sound of the Star-Whisper Corridor collapsing came from behind, and Chen Fan quickened his pace.

Su Shuang trembled slightly on his back, and he could feel her heartbeat weakening—he had to find a place to hide until her Star-Whisper Perception recovered.

An abandoned Data Alley loomed at the end of the starry river, its walls covered in expired system announcements.

Chen Fan looked down at the person in his arms; her eyelashes were still dusted with stardust, like a butterfly touched by dew.

He touched the Fate-breaking mark at his waist, where the warmth of the Heart Cocoon Wielder's final light still remained.

The wind of the Seventh Night blew in from the alley entrance, swirling a few fragments of the book of fate.

Chen Fan found a spot under a leaking eave and crouched down, wrapping Su Shuang in his work clothes.

The hum of system repairs came from the distance, but he only laughed more freely—they could fix the code and change the rules, but those names carved on walls and remembered in hearts...

They cannot be deleted.