97: Chapter 97 Fate, the screenwriter, sometimes writes scripts even better than I do.

The golden light receded.

Two figures slowly descended from mid-air, their feet touching the stone tiles.

Lin Xiaoman opened her eyes first.

Deep within her pupils, the silver-blue data stream was no longer a waterfall of passively received information, but was actively expanding.

Like an invisible spiderweb, it started from her retina and instantly blanketed the entire base space.

The frequency of the golden light flowing through the gaps in the stone tiles.

The breathing cycle of the ancient tree's bark.

The energy fluctuations of the residual thin threads of holy light on Liu Yuyan's armor.

Everything, absolutely everything, transformed into a silver-blue data stream, surging into her cognition.

She didn't just "see" it anymore.

She could "edit" it.

Lin Xiaoman extended her right hand and splayed her fingers.

A wisp of silver-blue light seeped from her fingertips, outlining a microscopic rune circuit in the air.

The circuit only lasted for two seconds before dissipating.

But in those two seconds, she clearly felt that the extraordinary energy within her was operating in the way she was most familiar with.

Programming.

Programming with energy.

"Three."

She muttered to herself, her voice soft, though the tail end carried irrepressible excitement.

"The current limit for the number of mechanical creations I can control simultaneously is three."

Compared to Senior Lu Yan's one hundred twenty-seven, she was still one hundred twenty-four short.

But that was okay.

Lin Xiaoman clenched her fist.

She was no longer alone either.

On the other side.

Henry Bernstein stood on the altar steps, his hands outstretched.

A pale golden halo radiated outward from his palms, slow and uniform, like ripples spreading across a pond.

Wherever the halo reached, an indescribable scent permeated the air.

It wasn't the smell of medicine, nor disinfectant, but the smell of something more primitive—the scent of life itself.

He could feel it now.

It was no longer the passive reflux of Tier 1, which could only repair himself internally, but a light of healing that could be actively output outward.

The halo covered a radius of five meters.

Within that range, the bleeding wounds on Lin Xiaoman's fingers closed and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The swelling in her knuckles subsided by more than half within three seconds.

Lin Xiaoman was stunned for a moment, looking down at her hand, which was mostly healed.

"Whoa—"

Henry retracted the halo and exhaled.

The consumption wasn't high, but the precision still needed to be polished.

He stared at the lingering golden afterglow on his palms, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Liu Yuyan's question flashed through his mind.

"Would you be willing to trade ten years of your life for a medicine that can cure any disease?"

At the time, he had blurted out, "Yes."

Now, the answer was in the palm of his hand.

But Seraphina's memories had also been poured into his bones—battlefield-wide healing came at the cost of one's own vitality; for every bit used, a bit was taken away.

She eventually collapsed amidst the cheers of thousands, her face so aged that no one could recognize her.

Henry pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose; his broken right leg was still wrapped in that piece of tape.

He had never feared death in his life.

Forty years ago, in a tin shed in the Congo, he had already placed his life on the operating table.

"Worth it."

Two words, his voice raspy, but steady as a rock.

Su Chen leaned against the ancient tree, his mask hanging at his waist.

He had watched the entire awakening process of the two clearly.

He straightened up and walked down the stone steps.

"You can feel it, right?"

Both of them looked up simultaneously, meeting his eyes, which were so calm they lacked any warmth.

Then, the Kindling within them gave a violent jolt.

It wasn't an ordinary heartbeat; it was a violent tremor triggered when a stream of information from a higher dimension crushed across their perception.

The energy field of a Tier 3: Fire-Bearer pressed down like an invisible wall the moment Su Chen stood close.

The silver-blue data stream deep within Lin Xiaoman's pupils scrolled frantically for half a second, and then—it overflowed.

Data overflow.

Her Tier 2 Watcher perception simply couldn't finish reading the energy information on the Chairman.

Henry's life perception also provided feedback at this moment—the vitality within the person in front of him didn't resemble that of a human, but rather a running reactor.

They exchanged a look, the same thing in their eyes: terror.

What level was the Chairman actually standing at?

Su Chen didn't give them too much time to digest this.

"Henry."

"Yes."

"Your direction is the same as Yuyan's: use the minimum amount of force to achieve the maximum result. Battlefield-wide healing consumes an extremely high amount of energy, but precise healing costs almost nothing. Start by practicing single-target precise repair, and spend every ounce of energy where it matters most."

Henry nodded.

This was the first lesson his forty-year surgical career had taught him.

"Xiaoman."

"Here!"

It was a reflex; her voice raised half a pitch, then she shrunk her neck like a startled rabbit.

"Your primary goal right now is to create mechanical creations. A limit of three isn't much, but first, push the performance of these three to the extreme. As for materials—"

"I'll handle it."

Liu Yuyan took over, her voice cold but decisive, "Rare metals, special alloy materials—make a list, and the Liu family's procurement channels will have them ready within forty-eight hours."

Lin Xiaoman's eyes lit up instantly.

A scene had already emerged in her mind:

Three precision mechanical war beasts lurking by her side, their metal skeletons reflecting cold light in the sun. At her command—

"Rise!"

The three war beasts activated simultaneously, rune circuits lighting up all over, their steel bodies roaring as they charged at the herd of exotic beasts—

"Xiaoman."

"Huh?"

The image shattered.

Su Chen's voice dragged her back from her chuunibyou fantasies.

"There's one more thing."

Lin Xiaoman blinked, her excitement dialing back by thirty percent.

"It's not... another invasion, is it?"

Everyone's expression darkened.

Liu Yuyan's hand had already subconsciously rested on her sword hilt.

"Not an invasion."

Su Chen shook his head, "Help me check all active mercenaries around the European Branch."

He paused for a beat.

"The ancient tree has sensed it. Among these people, there are those who can become members of Kindling."

Lin Xiaoman was stunned for half a second, then sat down on the ground with a thud and pulled her laptop out of her backpack.

The moment the screen lit up, the silver-blue data stream deep within her pupils began to run wild.

Before Tier 2, she relied on hand speed and experience to hack systems.

It was different now.

Extraordinary energy transformed into invisible signals, seeping from her fingertips into the keyboard, passing through the circuit board, and shooting into the public network along the base's encrypted communication network.

In the digital world, her range of perception expanded from a single building to the entire planet.

The signal of every connected device was a point of light.

These points of light converged into rivers, and the rivers converged into an ocean, and she stood at the highest point of that ocean, overlooking everything.

The firewall of the European military intelligence database lasted for 0.7 seconds in front of her.

The encryption protocols of the dark web mercenary trading platform were dismantled layer by layer like peeling an onion.

Internal personnel files from six intelligence agencies were retrieved simultaneously and cross-referenced.

"There are three hundred forty-seven active mercenaries on the list."

Lin Xiaoman's fingers flew across the keyboard, her voice returning to that unique calmness she possessed when facing code, "Excluding those with official backgrounds, those with criminal tendencies, and those with too twisted of a worldview... after the initial screening, eighty-two remain."

She looked up at Su Chen.

"I will send you the detailed information in five minutes."

Su Chen nodded.

Liu Yuyan took Henry toward the training ground.

The altar became quiet again.

The ancient tree's golden light expanded and contracted with a slow, rhythmic cadence.

Su Chen took a notebook out of his inner pocket and flipped to a blank page.

"Act 7: Kindling Expansion."

The tip of his pen paused on the paper for two seconds.

"Inventory of existing resources: 10,000 points, 7 E-Tier crystals."

Three newcomers, placed in the European Branch, guarding that newly activated base.

The frequency of invasions was accelerating.

Hangzhou, Santa Monica, the War Zone—the intervals were getting shorter and shorter.

Every minute of secret planning now would pay off as a shield three years later.

Su Chen closed the notebook and leaned back against the ancient tree.

His gaze turned toward the golden vault of heaven.

He was still 800 Reality Points away from upgrading the system to Level 3.

What would Level 3 unlock?

He didn't know, but every upgrade was a qualitative change.

His thoughts circled here, then suddenly veered in an unexpected direction.

Those two college students.

On a fishing boat in the East Sea, grabbing them by the collars and teleporting to the deck of a destroyer.

On the Hangzhou highway, lifting up that bus hanging halfway off the edge of the fissure.

Twice.

It really was fate.

Su Chen raised his right hand.

His palm lit up.

Two bronze pieces condensed from the golden light and fell into his palm.

A dull bronze luster, rough edges, the word "Kindling" carved on the front, and a totem of flames holding up stars on the back.

It was exactly the same as Wang Hao's.

Su Chen tucked the bronze pieces into his pocket.

"Fate, the screenwriter, sometimes writes better scripts than I do."