40: Chapter 40 The Destination of Consciousness

The sky over Los Santos had turned completely black.

It wasn't the twilight of a setting sun, but a thick, impenetrable inkiness, as if someone had dipped a giant brush into concentrated black pigment and splashed it violently across the canvas of the sky, allowing not a single glimmer of starlight or moonlight to pierce through.

Vespucci Beach, usually bustling late into the night, was devoid of the screams of surfers; the mansions of Rockford Hills had extinguished their brilliant lights; even on the wilderness roads of Blaine County, not a single speeding sports car could be seen—the entire city seemed to have been pressed on pause, leaving only the rising and falling electronic static circling and echoing through the empty streets.

It was the precursor to data corruption, the mournful cry of a virtual world on the brink of collapse.

Lin Fan leaned against the corner of a half-collapsed office building, his chest wound still oozing blood—a wound left when he was struck by Victor's Digital Soldier legion just moments ago.

The health bar on his system panel was a glaring red, the [Health: 37%] prompt flickering incessantly, while his [Stamina] and [Mental Energy] were plummeting wildly.

His ears were filled with the system's urgent alarms: [Warning! World stability below 15%! code fragment leakage is ongoing! Host, please evacuate the current space immediately!]

He raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, the area his fingertips touched feeling icy cold, and his consciousness began to feel heavy.

The ultimate showdown with Victor in the virtual space was still vivid in his mind; that guy had controlled code fragments filling the sky, turning them into countless blades and artillery fire, desperate to grind him into dust.

If it hadn't been for unlocking the ultimate system skill, [Code Reconstruction], at the very last moment to forcibly tear apart Victor's Core Code, he would likely have already turned into a pile of dissipated data, completely vanished from this virtual world.

But so what if he won?

Victor's destruction hadn't stopped the world's collapse; instead, it was as if the last string maintaining balance had been snapped, and all of Los Santos was disintegrating at a visible speed—the top of the distant City Hall building began to peel away, bricks and stones turning into fine specks of light that drifted away; the road beside him cracked open with huge fissures, from which blue data streams surged like boiling lava; occasionally, a few abandoned police cars would pass by, their bodies shaking just once before turning into strings of garbled code, disappearing completely into thin air.

"Lin Fan! What the hell are you spacing out for! Let's go!"

A rugged roar came from behind.

Michael, carrying an assault rifle, rushed to Lin Fan's side.

His denim jacket was covered in dust and blood, and there was a gruesome scratch below his left eye, left behind while covering Franklin's retreat just moments ago.

He reached out and grabbed Lin Fan's arm, his grip so strong it almost crushed Lin Fan's bones.

"If we dally any longer, we'll both end up dead here! Franklin has already gone to activate the evacuation device; if we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

Lin Fan was yanked off balance, barely managing to steady himself.

He looked up at Michael, only to find that this middle-aged man, who was usually laid-back and full of complaints, now had eyes filled with anxiety and determination.

He knew Michael was never a selfless saint; helping him initially was just for self-preservation, to deal with the Snake Fang Gang.

But along the way, from hiding in the sewers together gnawing on cold bread, to teaming up to take down Victor's drug manufacturing plant, and finally fighting side-by-side against the Digital Soldier legion, they were no longer just simple partners, but brothers who could entrust their backs to each other.

"Leave? Where to?"

Lin Fan's voice was raspy.

He pulled away from Michael's hand and pointed to the crumbling world around them, his tone tinged with confusion.

"Michael, you tell me, where can we go? This is a virtual world. Our so-called evacuation is just returning to the real world. But in reality, I'm just an ordinary person who stays up late playing games, and you... you don't even count as existing. You're just a string of code. If you leave here, where will you go?"

These words were like a needle, piercing Michael deeply.

His movements stiffened abruptly, the anxiety on his face instantly fading, replaced by an indescribable sense of desolation.

He lowered his head, looking at his own hands—hands that could fire guns, fix cars, and hold his daughter Tracy.

But at this moment, his fingertips were flickering slightly, as if they might turn into specks of light and dissipate at any moment.

He was silent for a few seconds.

When he looked up again, the desolation in his eyes had been replaced by determination.

"So what? At least you can survive! Lin Fan, you're different. You came from reality; you have your family, your life. You can't die in this dump! As for me... I was always a person of this world. Born here, die here—it's no big deal!"

"Bullshit!"

Lin Fan roared, raising his fist and smashing it into the nearby wall.

Bricks shattered, and his knuckles began to bleed.

"Back in the sewers, you said you wanted to take back everything that belonged to you, wanted to watch Tracy get into college, wanted to live a good life with Amanda. Last time at the nightclub, you were drunk and said the biggest regret of your life was not getting to say sorry to Brad. Just now, while fighting the Digital Soldier legion, you even said that after this was over, you'd take me to eat steak in Vinewood, and go sunbathe on the beach—have you forgotten all these things?"

Michael's shoulders trembled violently, a flash of pain crossing his eyes.

How could he forget?

Those words, which seemed to be spoken casually, were all desires hidden in the deepest part of his heart.

He wanted to make up for his failures to his family, wanted to make up for his regrets regarding his brothers, wanted to live a few peaceful days.

But these wishes, in this crumbling world, were destined to remain nothing more than extravagant hopes.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and patted Lin Fan's shoulder, his tone heavy.

"Lin Fan, don't be stupid. I'm an NPC, a character in a game; my fate was set from the very beginning. I used to think I could resist, could change my fate, but now I understand—Victor was right. We are all slaves to the code. If this world is gone, we are gone too. But you're different; you're the variable. You can go back alive, and you have to go!"

"I'm not leaving!"

Lin Fan was agitated, the pain from his chest wound coming in waves, forcing him to frown.

"I can't abandon you guys! If you hadn't helped me shake off that three-star wanted level, I would have been caught by the police long ago; if you hadn't taught me how to use a gun, how to survive in Los Santos, I wouldn't have made it this far! Now you want me to leave you and Franklin behind and go by myself? I can't do it!"

"You must!"

Just then, Franklin ran over quickly.

His hair was messy, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and he held a palm-sized black device in his hand.

It was the evacuation device Lin Fan had previously created using system code.

Pressing the red button on it would open a passage between the real world and the virtual world, sending Lin Fan back.

He rushed to Lin Fan and shoved the evacuation device into Lin Fan's hand, his tone urgent.

"Brother Fan, the evacuation device has been activated; the passage can only hold for ten minutes at most! You have to go now! Michael and I have agreed: we'll stay behind, guard the passage, and not let those remaining Digital Soldiers interfere with your evacuation!"

Lin Fan looked down at the evacuation device in his hand, feeling its icy touch.

The red light on the button flickered on and off, as if urging him to make a decision.

He looked up at Franklin, this young black man.

When they first met in the sewers, he was a slightly shy but agile car thief.

Now, he could handle things on his own, not even changing his expression when facing a siege by the Digital Soldier legion.

"Franklin, you're still young. You still have Lester, and your friends. There's no need for you to stay here and die."

Lin Fan shoved the evacuation device back into Franklin's hand.

"If we go, we go together. Otherwise, none of us go!"

"Brother Fan, don't force me!"

Franklin stomped his feet in anxiety, shoving the evacuation device back again.

"I can't leave! I've tried; the evacuation device only works on consciousness from the real world. My consciousness and Michael's are bound to this world; once we leave, we'll dissipate completely! Only you can go back! Have you forgotten? When you taught me how to use hacking skills, taught me how to analyze an enemy's weaknesses, you said that as long as we're alive, there's hope. You have to live on, carrying our hope!"

"Live on, carrying your hope?"

Lin Fan smiled self-deprecatingly, his eyes growing hot.

"I go back, live a nine-to-five life, go to work, come home, eat, and sleep. But the moment I close my eyes, I'll think of the days in Los Santos, think of robbing banks with you guys, running underground races together, fighting the Snake Fang Gang together, think of how you guys protected me, risking everything—how could I forget those days? How could I abandon you guys?"

Just as he finished speaking, a burst of intense gunfire suddenly erupted in the distance, accompanied by the characteristic electronic roar of the Digital Soldier legion.

Michael's expression changed.

He immediately raised his assault rifle, looking warily in the direction of the gunfire.

"Damn it! It's Victor's remnants! They aren't all dead! Franklin, take Lin Fan and go! I'll hold them off!"

"No way! If we're going to hold them off, we do it together!"

Franklin also drew his pistol, gripping it tightly.

"I can't let you stay behind alone!"

"Stop arguing!"

Lin Fan suddenly roared.

He raised his hand to pull up the system panel, his fingertips sliding rapidly across it.

The [Code Reconstruction] skill activated once again, blue data streams swirling around his fingertips.

"I'm not leaving, and I won't let you die! I'm the system holder; I can reconstruct the code of this world. I can save Los Santos, and I can save you!"

"Are you crazy?!"

Michael's eyes widened, looking at Lin Fan in disbelief.

"Just now, while fighting Victor, your mental energy was already almost exhausted! If you force a reconstruction of the world's code now, you'll be consumed by the code! Forget saving us—you'll turn into a pile of garbled code yourself!"

"I'm not crazy!"

Lin Fan's gaze was incredibly firm.

He looked at Michael and Franklin, saying each word clearly.

"When I transmigrated into this world, I started with a five-star wanted level. It was you who gave me hope to survive. From a fugitive with nothing, to being able to establish a foothold in Los Santos, you have always been by my side. Now this world is about to disappear, and you are about to vanish—how can I just watch? Even if it's a gamble, I have to try!"

Just as he finished speaking, the Digital Soldier legion in the distance had already rushed over.

Those soldiers made of code had no physical bodies; their entire bodies flashed with blue light, and the firearms in their hands were also composed of data streams.

When bullets hit the ground, they would explode into strings of garbled code.

Their numbers grew, surging toward the three of them like a tide.

"Damn it! Let's fight them!"

Michael cursed, pulling the trigger.

Bullets whistled out, striking the chest of a Digital Soldier, who instantly turned into a string of garbled code and dissipated.

Franklin was not to be outdone, firing his pistol continuously and forcing back the first few enemies in the charge.

But the number of Digital Soldiers was simply too great; after killing one wave, another came.

There was simply no end to them.

Soon, Michael ran out of bullets.

He simply tossed away his rifle, drew a dagger from his waist, and charged toward the incoming enemies.

The dagger stabbed into an enemy's body, pulling out a stream of blue data.

Franklin's situation was not optimistic either; his arm had been grazed by an enemy bullet, blood was flowing freely, and his movements had slowed down.

Lin Fan watched the scene before him, feeling anxious.

He knew he couldn't hesitate any longer.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated all his mental energy, and activated the [Code Reconstruction] skill.

In an instant, countless blue data streams surged out from his body like a rushing river, spreading out in all directions.

Everything in Los Santos flashed rapidly through his mind—the waves of Vespucci Beach, the sunset over Rockford Hills, the neon lights of Vinewood, as well as Michael's complaints, Franklin's smile, Kate's calmness, the shouts of the awakened NPCs...

These images turned into strings of code, intertwining and restructuring in his mind.

He needed to perform Code Reconstruction on the world's Core Code, repair those broken parts, and restore Los Santos to its original state.

However, the pain of forcibly performing Code Reconstruction was far beyond his imagination; it felt like countless needles were pricking his brain, and like raging fire was scorching his body.

His consciousness began to blur, and the system alarm in his ears grew louder: [Warning! Mental power overload! Code backlash intensifying! Host's vital signs dropping rapidly!]

"Lin Fan!"

Michael De Santa and Franklin saw Lin Fan's condition and were extremely anxious.

They wanted to rush over to protect Lin Fan, but they were tightly entangled by the Digital Soldiers and could not break free at all.

Michael De Santa's eyes turned red, and he roared as he charged toward the enemies like an enraged beast, "You bastards! Get away from him!"

Just then, a sound of rhythmic footsteps suddenly came from afar.

A group of people dressed in various clothes rushed over; there were men and women, old and young; they were the NPCs who had awakened their self-awareness.

Leading them was the convenience store owner Lin Fan had helped before.

He held a shotgun in his hand, his face full of determination, "Mr. Lin, we are here! We will help you hold off these monsters!"

"That's right! Although we are NPCs, we also have our own lives, our own families, and we don't want to disappear!"

"Fight them! Protect Mr. Lin, protect our home!"

The awakened NPCs shouted and charged toward the Digital Soldiers.

Although they didn't have extraordinary abilities or sophisticated weapons, everyone gave it their all.

The convenience store owner shot down one Digital Soldier but was hit by another, his body turning into light particles and dissipating.

The old mechanic who had repaired cars for Lin Fan before smashed a wrench at the enemy, and before he died, he tightly hugged a Digital Soldier, not letting it get close to Lin Fan.

Even the beggar on the roadside picked up stones from the ground and threw them at the enemies...

Watching this scene, Lin Fan's eyes turned completely red.

These NPCs used to be just background elements in the game, existences that could be ignored at will.

But now, they were sacrificing themselves to protect their world and to protect him.

This bond was more sincere than many relationships in the real world.

He gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain, and continued to urge the Code Reconstruction.

More and more code surged out from his body; those broken streets began to repair, the shattered buildings re-condensed, and the dissipated vehicles reappeared.

The Digital Soldiers' offensive grew weaker, and their bodies began to become unstable, as if they would dissipate at any moment.

Finally, through Lin Fan's unremitting efforts, the world's Core Code was successfully reconstructed.

The alarm on the system panel disappeared, and the prompts [World Stability: 90%], [Code Reconstruction Complete], [Los Santos Restored to Normal] popped up one after another.

The ink-black color in the sky gradually faded, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the land of Los Santos, warm and bright.

The Digital Soldiers completely dissipated into the air.

The awakened NPCs stopped fighting and looked at the restored city, their faces full of excitement and joy.

They cheered and embraced, as if celebrating a rebirth.

Michael De Santa and Franklin rushed to Lin Fan's side.

At this moment, Lin Fan had exhausted all his strength, covered in sweat, his face as pale as paper.

He collapsed on the ground, having no strength even to lift his hand.

Michael De Santa squatted down, carefully helped him up, and asked with a trembling voice, "Lin Fan, how are you? Do you feel any better?"

Lin Fan smiled weakly and shook his head, "I'm fine... just a little tired..."

Franklin looked at the restored Los Santos and then at Lin Fan, his eyes reddening, "Brother Fan, thank you... Thank you for saving us, for saving Los Santos."

The awakened NPCs also gathered around.

They expressed their gratitude to Lin Fan one after another, their eyes full of appreciation and respect.

A familiar figure reappeared in the convenience store owner's spot, and he smiled at Lin Fan, "Mr. Lin, next time you come to my shop to buy things, I'll give you a 50% discount!"

The old mechanic also walked over and patted Lin Fan on the shoulder, "Mr. Lin, if your car breaks down in the future, come to me anytime, free repairs!"

Lin Fan looked at the people in front of him, his heart full of warmth.

He knew his choice was not wrong; he had saved Los Santos and saved these people worth protecting.

But just then, the system's prompt sounded again, [Host, please note, the passage between the real world and the virtual world is about to close. Do you choose to return to the real world?]

Lin Fan's movements froze abruptly.

Return to reality? He had never seriously thought about this question before.

Having transmigrated to Los Santos for so long, he had long become accustomed to life here, accustomed to fighting side by side with Michael De Santa and Franklin, accustomed to getting along with the awakened NPCs.

This place had long become his second home.

But in the real world, there were his parents, his friends, and his unfinished life.

On one side were the attachments of the real world, and on the other were the bonds of the virtual world.

How should he choose?

"Lin Fan, the passage is closing, make your decision quickly!" Michael De Santa looked at Lin Fan, his eyes full of reluctance, yet he still urged, "Go back to reality, your family is still waiting for you."

"Brother Fan, go back," Franklin also nodded, "We will be fine, we will guard Los Santos. When you have time... if you can come back, we'll go racing and eat steak together again."

The awakened NPCs also spoke up one after another, "Mr. Lin, go back, we will remember you."

"Yeah, you have your own life, don't delay yourself for our sake."

Lin Fan looked at them, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew Michael De Santa and the others had his best interests at heart, but he really couldn't bear to leave.

He was silent for a long time, and finally, as if having made a decision, he slowly nodded, "Okay, I'll go back."

Hearing his words, Michael De Santa and Franklin showed relieved smiles, but the reluctance in their eyes grew even deeper.

Lin Fan raised his hand and brought up the system panel again.

His fingertips slid rapidly on the panel, extracting all the remaining code in his body, as well as the system's core program, and injecting them into the Core Code of Los Santos.

He wanted to leave this code behind so that Los Santos would not easily collapse again, the awakened NPCs could continue to live, and the consciousnesses of Michael De Santa and Franklin could remain stable forever and not dissipate.

After finishing all this, Lin Fan picked up the evacuator from the ground.

The red button was still flashing; the passage was about to close.

He looked at Michael De Santa and Franklin, hugged them tightly, "Take care of yourselves, take care of Los Santos. Wait for me, I will definitely come back."

"Yeah, we'll wait for you." Michael De Santa patted Lin Fan on the back, his voice somewhat choked with emotion.

Franklin also nodded vigorously, his eyes red, "Brother Fan, you must come back."

Lin Fan took a deep breath, hesitated no longer, and raised his hand to press the red button on the evacuator.

Instantly, a dazzling white light erupted from the evacuator, enveloping his body.

His body began to become transparent, and his consciousness gradually blurred.

At the last moment, he looked at Michael De Santa, Franklin, and all the awakened NPCs, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.

The white light dissipated, and Lin Fan's figure completely disappeared from the streets of Los Santos.

Michael De Santa and Franklin looked at the spot where Lin Fan had disappeared and did not speak for a long time.

After a long while, Franklin spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, "He will come back, right?"

Michael De Santa nodded, his eyes firm, "He will, he will definitely come back."

The awakened NPCs gathered around, looking at the restored, peaceful Los Santos, their faces full of hope.

They knew that as long as Los Santos was still there, and as long as they were still there, Lin Fan would definitely come back.

...

In the real world, in a hospital room in the city center.

The young man on the hospital bed slowly opened his eyes, the glaring white light making him squint involuntarily.

He moved his fingers and felt sore all over, as if he had been run over by a truck.

He looked around: white walls, white sheets, the pungent smell of disinfectant, and the IV bag hanging by the bedside—this was a hospital.

He was back; he had returned to the real world.

"Fanfan! You're awake!"

An excited voice came, and a middle-aged couple rushed to the bedside; it was Lin Fan's parents.

Lin Fan's mother's eyes were red, and she reached out to tightly hold Lin Fan's hand, tears streaming down uncontrollably, "You've been in a coma for three days, you scared me to death! The doctor said you were in a coma because of overwork and the shock from the computer explosion. If anything happened to you, how could Mom live!"

Lin Fan's father stood on the side, his eyes red, and patted Lin Fan on the shoulder, "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake. Don't stay up late playing games anymore, your health is important."

Lin Fan looked at his parents, his heart full of guilt and warmth.

He had been in a coma for three days; his parents must have been worried sick.

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "Dad, Mom, I'm fine, I worried you."

Just then, his fingers touched something in his pocket, hard, like a coin.

He raised his hand to take it out, only to find that it wasn't a coin at all, but a blue crystal emitting a faint glimmer, with countless tiny pieces of code flowing inside—it was the code fragment he had brought back from the virtual world, the mark of Los Santos.

Looking at this crystal, images of Los Santos involuntarily flashed through Lin Fan's mind: Michael De Santa's smile, Franklin's shouts, the faces of the awakened NPCs.

He knew that although he had returned to the real world, a part of his heart would forever remain in that virtual world full of passion and bonds.

"Oh right, Fanfan," Lin Fan's mother seemed to remember something and said, "In the few days you were in a coma, the news has been broadcasting a message that the global Brain-Computer Interface project has been urgently suspended. It seems like something went wrong, and quite a few experimenters are still in a coma, not knowing when they will wake up."

Brain-Computer Interface project?

Lin Fan's heart jolted.

He remembered what Victor had said, and what Kate had mentioned about the connection between the real world and the virtual world.

Could it be that his transmigration to the GTA5 world was not an accident?

Were those comatose experimenters also transmigrated to some virtual world?

He looked down at the code fragment in his hand, a flash of determination in his eyes.

Regardless of what the truth was, he had to investigate it clearly.

Besides, there were still Michael De Santa and Franklin in Los Santos, along with those NPCs waiting for him to return; he had to go back.

At this moment, the door to the hospital room was pushed open, and a woman in a black suit with a capable temperament walked in, an FBI badge pinned to her chest—it was Kate.

Kate walked to the bedside, looked at Lin Fan, and the corners of her mouth lifted in a meaningful smile, "Mr. Lin Fan, congratulations on waking up. I think we have many things that we need to talk about properly."

Lin Fan looked up at Kate, already understanding in his heart that his adventure had not ended.

The story of Los Santos had come to a pause, but the conspiracy in the real world had just begun.

The code fragment in his hand was the key to returning to Los Santos, and also the key to unraveling all the mysteries.

He gripped the code fragment in his hand, his eyes shining with light.

Wait for me, Los Santos; wait for me, Michael De Santa, Franklin; wait for me, my brothers.

It won't be long before I return to continue our legend.

The sunlight from outside the window spilled in, landing on Lin Fan's face, warm and bright.

He knew that no matter how many dangers or challenges lay in the future, he would not back down.

Because he was not just Lin Fan, but the Guardian of Los Santos, the man who rose up under a five-star wanted level and won the war of code.

A new journey was about to begin.