123: Understanding the rules and creating "bugs"

Days in the depths of the wild forest passed slowly, intertwined with tension and tranquility.

The turmoil in the outside world seemed to be isolated by the layers of ancient trees. Wen Youyi devoted most of his energy to the in-depth study of the star core and those ancient "source code."

The Fusion of knowledge with the "Purifiers" was like opening a brand-new door for him. He no longer viewed those "source code" merely as blueprints for building the "ark," but rather as "anatomical charts" for dissecting the underlying rules of the "cradle" world.

He tried to immerse his Mental Energy into that complete, starry-colored star core crystal. Unlike the fragments, the interior of this complete star core seemed to contain a miniature, silent Universe, where stars were born and destroyed, and rules self-evolved, carrying an ancient and pure aura that was incompatible with the "spirit net."

Under the infiltration of this aura, Wen Youyi felt his understanding of those "source code" rapidly improving. Those originally difficult and twisted symbols and energy trajectories gradually became clear in his mind, as if they were telling the foundation of how this world was constructed—how energy gathered, how space stabilized, and how matter transformed...

He vaguely touched upon a feeling: the so-called "spirit net" was not a product of nature, but something "woven" on later, an "application" with a specific purpose covering the original rules. And they, as Cultivators who Cultivate and absorb Spiritual Qi, were essentially operating within the framework of this "application."

The power of the star core, as well as the knowledge recorded in those ancient "source code," was closer to the "original System" of this world or... something at the "hardware level."

"So, the so-called 'disconnection' means bypassing that 'application,' directly calling on 'hardware' resources, or even... creating an independent 'virtual machine'?" Wen Youyi understood it using terms he was familiar with, and his train of thought gradually became clear.

This "virtual machine" was the "world bubble" that Ying spoke of!

The theory seemed to work, but putting it into practice was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Directly calling on "hardware" resources (utilizing the Origin power of the star core) was already extremely difficult, and wanting to create an independent "virtual machine" (a stable Small World) required unimaginable energy and a profound understanding of the rules.

"The road must be walked one step at a time." Wen Youyi did not aim too high, and he set his goal on a more practical place—creating a "rule interference field."

This was like creating a tiny, local "bug" or "lag" in that massive "application" (spirit net). There was no need to fully understand the entire System; one only needed to find a weak point in its operational logic and perform precise interference.

Combining the structural weaknesses of the "spirit net" provided by the "Purifiers" with the "source code" he deciphered regarding energy node resonance and spatial disturbance, he began to conduct extensive deductions and simulations.

Senior Brother Zhang also joined in, responsible for converting Wen Youyi's theoretical concepts into concrete, implementable Formation structures. The two often wrote and drew in the cave, with the ground and stone walls covered in complex Formation diagrams and various strange symbols, which left Zhao Iron Pillar dazzled, so he could only honestly be responsible for security and hunting.

Failure was a common occurrence.

In the first experiment, the energy node resonance went out of control, almost triggering a small-scale Spiritual Qi explosion, leaving the three of them covered in dust and soot.

In the second experiment, the interference field's range was too small, and the duration was a pitiful one breath, not even enough to blink an eye.

In the third experiment, there was an interference effect, but the resulting energy fluctuation was too obvious, like lighting a torch in the dark, fearing that the "Scavenger" wouldn't find them.

...

After every failure, Wen Youyi and Senior Brother Zhang would carefully analyze the reasons, adjust the parameters, and optimize the structure. Zhao Iron Pillar would silently clean up the remnants of the failed experiment and expand the alert range to prevent accidents from attracting unnecessary attention.

Hard work pays off.

After experiencing dozens of failed attempts, they finally made Breakthrough progress!

Using a specially treated "personal node" the size of a fingernail as the core, combined with several cleverly placed micro-runes capable of distorting local energy flow, they successfully activated a "rule interference field" with a radius of about one zhang and a duration of three breaths!

The moment this interference field formed, Wen Youyi clearly felt that the fluctuations of the "spirit net" within the range became extremely chaotic and distorted, like the static on a TV with a bad signal! He tried to release a lowest-level fireball spell, but the fireball twisted and collapsed the moment it formed, unable to stabilize its structure at all!

"Success! We succeeded!" Senior Brother Zhang's voice trembled with excitement.

Although Zhao Iron Pillar didn't quite understand the principle, seeing the twisted and collapsed fireball, he grinned widely: "Hehe, this thing is good! Next time we fight, if we use this, it'll be enough to give those bastards a hard time!"

Wen Youyi let out a long sigh of relief, a tired yet gratified smile appearing on his face. Although this was only the most preliminary result, with a small range and short duration, its significance was immense!

This proved that his train of thought was correct! They indeed had the ability to exert limited interference and destruction on the rules of the "cradle" within a local range!

This was not just a Sharp Weapon for self-preservation or combat, but more importantly, it verified the key premise that "rules can be interfered with," taking a solid first step for them to realize a true "disconnection" in the future!

"Record this technique and name it 'Spirit Disturbance Array' Generation One," Wen Youyi instructed. "Continue to optimize it; we want to make it smaller, more durable, and more concealed!"

Mastering the ability to create "bugs" greatly increased the confidence of the three.

However, they did not know that just as they were buried in research, trying to create "lag" at the bottom layer of the System, that high and mighty "System Administrator" had already directed more "anti-virus resources" toward the area where they were located.

A comprehensive scan against the "virus" was about to begin.

(End of chapter)