116: Cooperation and "Breaking the Net" Operation

Ying watched Wen Youyi, who had quickly recovered from the blow, his eyes reignited with fighting spirit. A flash of admiration crossed her eyes. To not collapse in the face of such a cruel truth, but instead to be inspired with even stronger determination—this Heart-Nature was worthy of someone favored by Commander Luochen Guanzhe.

"Clues are scarce, but they exist," Ying replied. "Based on years of research and sacrifice by the Purifiers, we speculate that to construct a completely independent 'world bubble', at least three key conditions are required."

She held up three fingers:

"First, a sufficiently powerful and pure Origin core. In this regard, the star core fragment in your possession, as well as the complete star core you obtained from the black box, are the most suitable candidates known."

Wen Youyi's heart stirred. She even knew they possessed a complete star core? It seemed the intelligence capabilities of the Purifiers were not to be underestimated.

"Second, a rule structure independent of the 'spirit net'. This requires fully understanding and abandoning the inherent energy operation and spatial composition modes of the 'cradle', and redefining them from the very bottom layer. We suspect that the jade pieces scattered everywhere, which record ancient 'source code', might contain fragments of rules from outside the 'cradle'. Deciphering them is key to understanding the rules of the 'outside world'."

This aligned with Wen Youyi's previous efforts, though the goal was completely different—previously, it was about optimizing the System, now it was about completely reinstalling the System!

"Third, and the most difficult point—the massive energy required to support the Formation of a 'world bubble', and an absolutely safe 'initialization' environment." Ying's tone became extremely solemn. "In the first instant of a 'world bubble's' birth, extremely intense energy and rule fluctuations will erupt, which absolutely cannot be hidden from the perception of the 'web weaver'. We must complete the initial stabilization before the fluctuations are detected, otherwise, everything will fall apart."

Three conditions, each more demanding than the last. Especially the third point, which was almost a dead loop—a safe environment is needed to start, but the start itself causes exposure.

"This... this is simply impossible to do!" Senior Brother Zhang blurted out. The difficulty was comparable to an ant building a fortress to shield against the wind and rain in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"It is difficult, but theoretically, it is possible." Ying's gaze swept over Wen Youyi and the other two. "Therefore, before finding a way to achieve 'disconnection', what we need to do more is to survive and weaken the enemy!"

"Weaken the enemy?" Zhao Iron Pillar perked up; he liked the sound of that.

"Exactly." Ying pointed to the 'Heart Demon' nest that had been mostly purified and whose pulsation had become extremely weak. "Destroying these System nodes is weakening the Foundation of the 'cradle', delaying the harvesting process, and also forcing the 'web weaver' to invest more resources into repairs, buying us time."

She looked at Wen Youyi and extended an invitation: "Wen Youyi, and your companions. We, the Purifiers, need your help, especially your unique way of thinking and... technical capabilities. And you, you also need our intelligence and understanding of the 'cradle' System. Cooperation is our best option at the moment."

Wen Youyi barely hesitated. The enemy of an enemy is a friend, not to mention that the 'Purifiers' were pioneers who truly knew the inside story and were on the path of resistance.

"We agree to cooperate!" Wen Youyi said solemnly. "But our companions have broken into small groups and scattered to hide. I need time to contact them."

"Understandable." Ying nodded. "We will provide secure communication channels and necessary cover. Additionally, as a gesture of sincerity for our cooperation and as a first step..."

She took out a Jade Slip emitting a soft white light and handed it to Wen Youyi.

"Inside this is what we have compiled on how to identify and initially block the deep scans of the 'spirit net', as well as techniques for safely using star core energy for short-distance leaps (similar to a low-spec version of teleportation). These techniques are based on the properties of the star core and do not rely on 'cradle' rules; they should be useful to you."

Wen Youyi took the Jade Slip and probed it with his Mental Energy; his heart was shaken. Although the methods recorded inside were crude, the logic was novel, completely bypassing the 'ark' System he had previously studied, pointing directly to the application of the star core itself! This was exactly the life-saving and mobility capability they needed most right now!

"Many thanks!" Wen Youyi thanked her sincerely.

"No need for thanks, we are saving ourselves." Ying smiled slightly, then said seriously, "In addition, we have recently planned a sabotage operation against an important energy hub of the 'cradle', codenamed 'Web Break'. If successful, it can temporarily paralyze the 'spirit net' monitoring and some functions of the 'nests' in the surrounding area of the Qinglan Mountain Range for about twelve hours. This might provide a brief safe window for you to contact and assemble your companions."

"'Web Break' operation..." Wen Youyi pondered for a moment, a flash of light in his eyes. "What do you need us to do?"

"We need someone who is proficient in Formation and can precisely control energy to provide support on the periphery and create chaos to attract attention." Ying's gaze turned to Senior Brother Zhang.

Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his non-existent glasses. Although he was a bit nervous, he still puffed out his chest: "I can try!"

"Good!" Ying nodded. "The detailed plan and meeting location are recorded in the Jade Slip. The time is at the midnight hour three days from now."

The cooperation was thus reached.

Wen Youyi and the other two did not stay long. Carrying the heavy truth and new hope, they quietly left Dragon Fall Abyss.

On the way back, the three of them were silent, digesting this earth-shattering information.

"Boss, do we... can we really succeed?" Zhao Iron Pillar couldn't help but ask, his voice a bit dry. The enemy's strength and the difficulty of the plan were far beyond imagination.

Wen Youyi looked at the Jade Slip in his hand that recorded new knowledge, then touched the star core fragment in his bosom, his gaze passing through layers of dense forest, as if looking into the endlessly distant starry sky.

"I don't know." He answered honestly, then his tone became extremely firm. "But if we don't try, there will never be a possibility."

"Don't forget, we are not fighting alone anymore."

With companions, even if the path ahead is a bottomless abyss, there is the courage to take the leap together.