57: Chapter 57 The Final Connection

At the central plaza of Star Dream Amusement Park, the smoke had not yet fully dissipated. The scorched smell after the explosion mixed with the rotting stench of the park's wild grass, drifting in the night breeze. The black vortex at the base of the Ferris wheel was still slowly rotating, with blue light wrapping around fine code fragments that occasionally spilled from the vortex's edge, turning into fleeting spots of light as they hit the ground. The FBI Agents brought by Kate had already secured the entire plaza. The injured Elizabeth lay handcuffed by a discarded flower bed, her metallic severed arm's interface still fizzing with electrical sparks. Her crimson electronic eyes were fixed on the vortex, a faint, ambiguous sneer hanging on her lips as if she were waiting to watch a good show.

AKai was squatting on the open ground near the vortex, busily assembling a piece of equipment that looked cobbled together—a laptop connected to several data cables wrapped in electrical tape. One end was plugged into Lin Fan's code fragment, while the other was linked to an electrode plate clipped onto a metal helmet. Several crooked electronic components were welded onto the helmet, swaying whenever the wind blew, looking very much like junk salvaged from a scrap yard. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and the hand holding the screwdriver was shaking. It wasn't because of fear, but because the fault tolerance of this makeshift Brain-Computer Interface was nearly zero. One small mistake, and the person connected would have their consciousness permanently trapped in virtual space, while their physical body would become a senseless vegetable.

Lin Fan leaned against the metal support of the Ferris wheel, looking down as he tended to the wound on his shoulder. The five bloody holes left by Elizabeth's alloy fingers were still seeping blood. He had haphazardly wrapped the first-aid kit Kate handed him around the wound a few times, and the gauze was already soaked through. He watched AKai bustle about with a relaxed smile still on his face, occasionally reaching out to fiddle with the precarious metal helmet, which made AKai jump in frustration.

“Brother Fan! Don't touch that! This thing is precious!” AKai slapped Lin Fan's hand away, his voice bordering on tears. “I took apart my top-of-the-line gaming laptop and cobbled this together with military chips stolen from the military base. Even so, it can only achieve one-way consciousness transmission. Your physical body will stay here while your consciousness enters New Eden. If the collapse speed of the space over there exceeds the code stabilization speed on my end, your consciousness will be torn to shreds by the Data Turbulence. At best, you'll become a vegetable; at worst, you'll suffer direct brain death!”

As he spoke, he pointed to the red warning codes jumping on the laptop screen. The string of code was scrolling at a speed visible to the naked eye. A notification box popped up that couldn't be closed: [Spatial stability continues to decline. Current value: 37%. Estimated total collapse in ten minutes.] “New Eden's Code Walls are already shattered. That old geezer Victor must have done something over there. Entering now is no different from seeking death!”

Lin Fan bent down and picked up the metal helmet, weighing it. The cold metallic sensation pressed against his palm. He looked up at AKai, the smile on his face undiminished, and even raised an eyebrow to tease him: “What’s the panic? It’s just becoming a vegetable, right? If that really happens, I can form a 'Vegetable Squad' with Michael over there. He can be the Peashooter, and I’ll be the Sunflower, specifically taking down Victor's digital zombies. How exciting would that be?”

“You're still joking at a time like this!” AKai stamped his feet in frustration, his eyes turning red. “Michael and Franklin are tough; maybe they can hold out a bit longer. Can't we think of another way?”

“There’s no time.” Lin Fan’s smile faded slightly as his gaze shifted toward the black vortex. Through the blue light of the vortex, he seemed to see the distorted sky of New Eden and hear Franklin's loud cursing and Michael’s suppressed coughing. The system's notification sound rang in his mind: [Detected weak consciousness signal from host's companion Michael; currently undergoing forced code extraction. Franklin's consciousness signal is fluctuating violently, under high-intensity data impact.] Every word felt like a heavy hammer striking his heart.

He knew better than anyone that New Eden wouldn't last ten minutes. He also knew Victor's purpose for capturing Michael—Michael was the core NPC of the original GTA5 world line, and his consciousness held the most primitive code sequences of this world. Victor wanted to extract these codes to strengthen his Digital Legion and even completely rewrite the world rules of Los Santos. Once Michael's consciousness was fully extracted, forget about saving them—all of Los Santos would become Victor's digital cage.

Lin Fan reached out and patted AKai's shoulder, his tone unusually serious yet still carrying a hint of certainty: “Trust me, and trust your technology. You focus on stabilizing the connection channel here, and I'll go in to save them. Ten minutes is enough.”

AKai looked at the determination in Lin Fan's eyes. He opened his mouth but ultimately didn't say anything to argue. He simply nodded, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and quickly typed a string of code into the laptop: “Fine! Brother Fan, I'll risk my life to keep the channel stable for you! Once you're in, the code fragment will synchronize with your consciousness. It can help you resist some of the Data Turbulence. If you encounter danger, just crush it—oh, wait, this thing is the only connection point. If you crush it, you won't be able to come back!”

“I know, you talk too much.” Lin Fan cursed with a smile, reaching out to take the metal helmet AKai handed him and slowly putting it on. The electrode plates pressed against his temples, bringing a slight tingling sensation like small ants crawling. He looked at Kate, who was standing not far away with her arms crossed, her face expressionless, but Lin Fan could see the concern deep in her eyes.

“I’m leaving this place to you.” Lin Fan tilted his chin toward Kate. “Keep an eye on Elizabeth; don't let her pull any stunts. Also, if I don't come out in ten minutes, smash this equipment. Don't let my consciousness rot inside.”

Kate nodded and said only two words: “Be careful.” Two simple words, yet they carried a heavy weight.

Lin Fan said no more and gave AKai a “start” gesture.

AKai took a deep breath and slammed his finger down on the Enter key.

Instantly, a strong electrical current surged from his temples straight into his mind. Lin Fan felt as if he had been struck hard by a high-voltage cattle prod. His vision instantly turned white, his ears buzzed, and his body swayed uncontrollably, caught by a nearby FBI Agent. His vision began to blur, and the images of the real world faded away bit by bit. The Ferris wheel, the plaza, and the figures of Kate and AKai all turned into distorted spots of light, while the blue light of the black vortex grew brighter and brighter, like a giant magnet pulling his consciousness in with brute force.

[Consciousness transmission beginning. Synchronizing code fragment. Current sync rate: 89%... 95%... 100%. Transmission successful!]

The moment the system's notification sound exploded in his mind, Lin Fan's consciousness completely detached from his physical body, and his surroundings were instantly turned upside down.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already standing on the soil of New Eden.

This place was completely different from the Los Santos of the real world. There were no neons, no skyscrapers. As far as the eye could see was a city silhouette composed of pale blue code. Streets, buildings, and streetlights were all semi-transparent, like ghostly images pieced together from pixels. And the sky overhead had already split open with countless hideous cracks, within which churned pitch-black data streams like boiling ink. Occasionally, large chunks of code fragments would fall from the sky, turning into a sky full of light spots and dissipating into the air upon hitting the ground.

The ground beneath his feet was also shaking constantly, as if he were standing on a tightrope during an earthquake. With every step, the ground would ripple with circles of code waves. In the distance, the sound of rumbling could be heard—the sound of buildings collapsing. All of New Eden was heading toward destruction at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The air was thick with the heavy smell of digital scorching; even taking a breath made his throat feel dry and astringent. Lin Fan raised a hand to rub his temples. Just as he steadied himself, he heard a familiar string of curses coming from the street ahead. The voice was exasperated and tinged with hoarseness; besides Franklin, no one could curse with such character.

“Shit! Why did this piece of junk fall off again? Can you stupid NPCs put some effort into it? If we don't fix this loophole, we're all going to be buried here!”

Lin Fan's eyes lit up, and he immediately ran toward the direction of the voice.

At the intersection ahead, a massive code rift split from the sky down to the ground, at least a dozen meters wide. The black Data Turbulence churning within the rift was constantly swallowing the surrounding buildings. Under the impact of the turbulence, the pale blue Code Walls were melting away bit by bit, like snow being doused with hot water. Franklin was standing by the rift, gripping a piece of rebar made of code with both hands and desperately trying to shove it into the crack. His clothes were even more tattered than in the video, with several flickering code fragments stuck to him. His hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and his face was covered in sweat and black soot. He looked even more pathetic than if he had been chased through ten blocks by the police in the real world.

Beside him stood a dozen or so NPCs who looked somewhat dazed—some were vagrants from the streets of Los Santos, some were convenience store clerks, and others were street thugs. They were all ordinary NPCs who had been swept into New Eden by the Data Turbulence. Their bodies were slightly semi-transparent, and their eyes held a hint of confusion, yet they were still following Franklin's commands, hauling code blocks to fill the rift. However, their movements were stiff, and they would occasionally drop the code blocks on the ground, causing Franklin to explode in a fit of rage.

“Franklin!” Lin Fan shouted and quickly ran over.

Hearing the familiar voice, Franklin whipped his head around. The moment he saw Lin Fan, his eyes widened into circles, the rebar in his hands fell to the ground, and the anger on his face instantly turned into disbelief, followed by an explosion of wild joy. He even forgot to curse: “Lin Fan? You fucking actually came! I thought you were going to stay outside enjoying your life and forget about us brothers in this shithole!”

He rushed over in a few steps and slammed a hand onto Lin Fan's shoulder with such force that he almost knocked him over. “You finally came! One step later and I would’ve been swallowed by this damn rift. Then you wouldn’t even be able to find my bone shards!”

Lin Fan's shoulder stung from the impact, and he pushed Franklin's hand away while grimacing. “Cut the crap. If I hadn't come, you’d already be shattered into code along with this dump. Where’s Michael? Wasn’t he with you in the video?”

At the mention of Michael, the smile on Franklin's face vanished instantly, and his expression darkened. He pointed toward a code building that was about to collapse not far away, his voice lowering with a mix of guilt and anger: “Michael was captured by that bitch Elizabeth. Not long after you received the signal, she stormed in with a squad of Digital Soldiers. We were going to fight her to the death, but it turns out her target wasn't me at all—it was Michael. She hit Michael with a strange Code Ray, directly ripping his consciousness from his body and taking him to Victor's Core Laboratory. She said they’re going to use Michael's consciousness for some original code sequence extraction experiment.”

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

As he spoke, he kicked the code fragment next to him hard, and it instantly shattered into points of light. "I wanted to chase them, but this damn place suddenly started collapsing. There are cracks everywhere, and the Digital Soldiers kept pestering me. I had to take these NPCs to patch the vulnerabilities first. If the cracks expand any further, the consciousness of the entire New Eden will be torn to shreds by the Data Turbulence. By then, forget about saving Michael, we won't even be able to preserve our own consciousness."

Original Code Extraction Experiment.

Lin Fan's eyes instantly turned cold; it was exactly as he had thought. As the core NPC of the original timeline, Michael's consciousness was composed of the original code that existed when Los Santos was born. This code was the foundation of the entire world. Victor was extracting this code to gain the ability to rewrite the rules of the world. Once he succeeded, Los Santos would become his to command, and he might even be able to infiltrate the real world through code connections.

He looked up at the building Franklin had pointed out. The top half of the building had already been swallowed by Data Turbulence, and the structure was covered in cracks. Yet, dozens of Digital Soldiers could still be seen guarding the outside. These soldiers were different from the mechanical soldiers in the real world; their bodies were composed entirely of black code. They had no physical form, only pairs of scarlet electronic eyes, and they patrolled around the building with energy guns made of code, guarding it tightly.

The system's prompt sounded in his mind, [Detected source of Michael's consciousness signal, located in the laboratory on the third basement level of the target building. Current consciousness extraction progress is 23%. Extraction is expected to be completed in 8 minutes. After extraction is complete, Michael's consciousness will completely dissipate.]

8 minutes.

Two minutes less than the ten minutes AKai had mentioned.

Lin Fan's heart rate accelerated instantly. He quickly scanned the surrounding environment, his gaze falling on the huge code crack, then looked at the flustered NPCs. A plan instantly formed in his mind.

"Franklin, you keep leading the NPCs to patch the cracks. You must stabilize this main crack. As long as the main crack doesn't collapse, New Eden will still have some buffer time." Lin Fan said quickly, his fingers rubbing the code fragment in his palm. The fragment immediately emitted a pale blue light, temporarily stabilizing the smaller cracks around them. "I'm going to save Michael. Leave the laboratory guards to me. You try your best to delay time here and don't let the cracks expand."

"You're going alone?" Franklin frowned. "There are at least dozens of Digital Soldiers in that building, not to mention that woman Elizabeth. It's too dangerous for you to go alone! How about I go with you? Let these NPCs patch it themselves for now."

"No." Lin Fan immediately refused. "These NPCs have no independent consciousness. Without your command, they can't even move code blocks properly. If you leave, this main crack will completely explode in less than a minute. By then, even if I save Michael, we won't be able to get out. You stay here; this is your mission. Saving Michael is my mission. The division of labor is clear, so don't talk nonsense."

As he spoke, he pulled out a dagger condensed from code fragments from his pocket—this was a weapon the system had conjured based on the code fragments after his consciousness entered New Eden, capable of inflicting fatal damage on digital creatures. "Don't worry, I didn't come empty-handed. Victor's Digital Soldiers are not a threat."

Franklin looked at the code dagger in Lin Fan's hand, then at his firm gaze. Knowing he couldn't dissuade him, he could only nod and slapped his arm hard: "Alright! Then be careful. That woman Elizabeth's abilities have been amplified in the virtual space. She can manipulate Data Turbulence, so make sure you don't get tricked by her. If you can't beat them, call me! Even if I have to risk not patching this crack, I'll rush over to save you!"

"Got it, stop being such a nag." Lin Fan smiled, turned around, and ran towards the code building. Before leaving, he didn't forget to shout, "Oh, right! If I come back and see that this crack is bigger than it is now, I'll throw away all your treasured limited-edition burgers!"

"You dare!" Franklin's roar came from behind. A smile tugged at the corners of Lin Fan's mouth, but his pace grew faster and faster, his figure soon blending into the surrounding code phantoms.

The streets of New Eden were empty, with only the sound of occasionally falling code fragments hitting the ground. Lin Fan lowered his body, moving quickly against the wall, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly. The scarlet electronic eyes of the Digital Soldiers flickered in the distance. Their patrol routes were very regular, in groups of three, circling the building. Moreover, their vision had blind spots—those shadows shrouded by Data Turbulence were places where their code could not detect.

Lin Fan took advantage of this, shuttling quickly through the shadows like an agile cheetah. His consciousness was exceptionally light in the virtual space, moving almost silently. Occasionally, when he encountered a lone Digital Soldier, he would grip his code dagger tightly, dash out from the shadows, and slash the soldier's electronic eye—that was where the Digital Soldier's Core Code was located. Once destroyed, the entire soldier would instantly shatter into points of light.

A Digital Soldier had just turned around and, before it could react, was stabbed through the electronic eye by Lin Fan. The scarlet light instantly extinguished, and the soldier's body turned into black light particles filling the sky, dissipating into the air without making a sound. Lin Fan quickly hid back in the shadows, brushed the code fragments off his hands, and continued to look towards the entrance of the building.

The main entrance of the building was sealed by two iron gates made of code, and six Digital Soldiers were guarding the door, standing in pairs, heavily guarded. It was almost impossible to enter through the main entrance. Lin Fan's gaze swept across the side of the building and he saw a blown-out window—this must have been left behind when Franklin and Michael had clashed with the Digital Soldiers earlier. The window was pitch black, making it the perfect breakthrough point to enter the building.

Lin Fan went around to the side of the building and looked up at the height of the window, which was about three meters. He took a few steps back, dashed forward, kicked off the ground with force, and his body instantly soared into the air. He grabbed the edge of the window with both hands, flipped lightly, and climbed into the building.

The situation inside the building was even worse than outside. The ceiling was covered in cracks, and black data streams seeped down from them, dripping onto the ground with a sizzling sound. The code on the walls was dissolving bit by bit, revealing pitch-black voids inside. The corridor was pitch black, with only emergency lights flickering occasionally, emitting a faint red light that made the entire corridor look eerie, like a haunted house.

After landing, Lin Fan immediately crouched on the ground, listening to the movements around him. There was only the sound of mechanical operation from afar, and the faint humming of the code extractor—that sound must have been coming from the laboratory on the third basement level. He walked slowly along the corridor, his footsteps extremely light, with the code dagger held in his hand, ready to deal with any sudden situations.

After walking only a few steps, he heard a familiar, cold female voice coming from the corner of the corridor; it was Elizabeth.

"Lord Victor, the progress of Michael's consciousness extraction has reached 25% and is expected to be completed in 7 minutes. Lin Fan's consciousness signal has already appeared in New Eden and is currently moving towards the building; he must be here to save Michael."

Elizabeth's voice carried a mechanical coldness, clearly communicating with Victor via code. "I have already set a data trap in the corridor. As long as he dares to enter, he will be trapped by the Data Turbulence. By then, we can extract his consciousness as well. Lin Fan's consciousness contains code sequences from the real world, and combined with Michael's Original Code, you will be able to completely master the connection channel between the two worlds."

"Well done." A low, hoarse voice came from the communicator; it was Victor. "Do not disappoint me, Elizabeth. Lin Fan's system is very special, and his code fragments can resist Data Turbulence. You go and deal with him yourself; you must capture his consciousness."

"Yes, Lord Victor."

As soon as Elizabeth finished speaking, Lin Fan heard footsteps approaching, along with the sizzling sound of mechanical arms operating. He immediately hid in an abandoned room nearby, which was piled with broken code equipment, just enough to hide his figure.

The footsteps got closer and closer, and Elizabeth's figure appeared in the corridor. Her body had turned into a completely digital form in the virtual space; her golden long hair was composed of pale golden code, her mechanical arms had turned into black code claws, and her scarlet electronic eyes flickered in the darkness, scanning every corner as if searching for Lin Fan's trail.

She walked to the door of the room where Lin Fan was hiding and stopped. Her electronic eyes stared into the room, and a cold smile curled on her lips: "Lin Fan, stop hiding. I know you're in there; your consciousness signal was exposed long ago."

Lin Fan was shocked, not expecting his consciousness signal to be detected by her. He gripped his code dagger tightly, ready for battle.

Just then, Elizabeth's electronic eyes suddenly looked towards the other end of the corridor, as if she had heard some movement. She frowned, turned around, and walked towards that side. Before leaving, she left behind a sentence: "Consider yourself lucky, but you won't be able to run. Every inch of New Eden is under my control; sooner or later, you will fall into my hands."

Hearing Elizabeth's footsteps gradually fade away, Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He poked his head out, watching Elizabeth's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, his heart filled with doubt—she had clearly been lured away by something. Who was it? Could it be Franklin?

There was no time to think too much. The system's prompt sounded again, [Michael's consciousness extraction progress is 28%, expected to be completed in 6 minutes.]

There wasn't much time left.

Lin Fan immediately came out of the room and ran towards the depths of the corridor. According to the system's positioning, the laboratory on the third basement level was at the elevator entrance at the end of the corridor. He quickly ran to the elevator entrance and pressed the elevator button. The elevator door opened slowly; it was empty inside, with only the code on the walls flickering.

Lin Fan stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the third basement level. The elevator door closed slowly, and it began to descend rapidly. The lights in the elevator flickered on and off, and there were more and more cracks on the walls. Data streams seeped in from the cracks, dripping onto the elevator floor with a sizzling sound. Lin Fan leaned against the elevator wall, gripping his code dagger tightly, his gaze fixed on the elevator door. He knew that the moment the elevator door opened, a fierce battle awaited him.

The elevator's descent speed increased, and the sound of rushing wind came to his ears. After about a dozen seconds, the elevator stopped abruptly with a loud bang, and the elevator door opened slowly.

What appeared before Lin Fan's eyes was a huge laboratory.

The ceiling of the laboratory was made of transparent code, through which the collapsing buildings above could be seen, with black data streams surging overhead.

The laboratory was filled with various code equipment, and screens displayed dense, flickering green code.

In the very center sat a massive glass container filled with pale blue code liquid.

Michael De Santa's consciousness was floating in the liquid—he had his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and a look of pain on his face.

Countless tiny code pipelines were inserted into his consciousness, continuously extracting pale blue raw code from him and feeding it into a massive code extractor nearby.

The extractor's screen displayed the extraction progress: 29%.

Standing beside the glass container were four Digital Guards.

They were taller than the Digital Soldiers outside, covered in black alloy code armor, and held two-meter-long code giant axes in their hands.

Their scarlet electronic eyes were fixed tightly on the container, maintaining strict vigilance.

In the corner of the laboratory, a code jammer was also running with a buzzing sound, clearly intended to prevent Michael De Santa's consciousness from escaping.

Lin Fan swept his gaze across the entire laboratory, quickly calculating a strategy in his mind—the four Digital Guards were formidable, and fighting them head-on was definitely not an option.

Furthermore, the glass container could not be damaged, or Michael De Santa's consciousness would instantly dissipate.

His eyes landed on a huge code pipe on the laboratory ceiling.

That pipe was connected to the extractor, and cracks had already appeared on the pipe wall, with data streams seeping out from them.

As long as a little external force was applied, the pipe would burst.

Then, the extractor would temporarily short-circuit, and the guards would definitely go to repair it; this was his chance.

Lin Fan quietly emerged from the elevator, lowered his body, and moved slowly along the laboratory wall, creeping toward the code pipe.

The Digital Guards' attention was entirely on the glass container, so they did not notice his presence.

He quickly ran underneath the pipe, looked up at the crack on the pipe, gripped his code dagger, jumped up violently, and slashed hard at the crack with one stroke.

"Snap—"

A crisp sound rang out, and the crack on the pipe instantly widened.

Black data streams surged out from the crack like a flood, splashing onto the floor and making a sizzling sound.

The extractor instantly emitted a piercing alarm sound, the extraction progress on the screen stopped instantly at 29%, and red warning code began to flood the screen, [Extractor short-circuited, code transmission interrupted, emergency repair in progress].

The four Digital Guards were instantly alarmed.

They turned their heads violently, saw the surging data streams, immediately abandoned the glass container, and rushed toward the pipe, trying to block the crack.

Now is the time!

Lin Fan seized this opportunity, rushed out from under the pipe, and ran toward the glass container.

His speed was extremely fast.

In the blink of an eye, he rushed to the side of the container, grabbed the code pipeline inserted into Michael De Santa's consciousness, and yanked it out hard.

"Sizzle—"

The moment the pipeline was pulled out, Michael De Santa's consciousness trembled violently.

His brows gradually smoothed out, and his eyes slowly opened.

The instant he saw Lin Fan, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, followed by an expression of disbelief: "Lin Fan? How are you here?"

"Don't speak yet, I'm getting you out of here!" Lin Fan said, reaching out to push the lid of the glass container, only to find that the lid was locked by a code lock, and the screen displayed [Insufficient permissions, unable to open].

Just then, a cold laugh came from the entrance of the laboratory: "Lin Fan, do you think you can escape?"

Lin Fan turned his head sharply and saw Elizabeth standing at the entrance of the laboratory, her scarlet electronic eyes fixed tightly on him, followed by a dozen Digital Soldiers, blocking the laboratory exit completely.

Her code claws shimmered with cold light under the lights, and a mocking smile hung on the corner of her mouth: "Do you think you can save Michael De Santa just by luring me away? Too naive. All of this was intentional, just to lure you here and capture you all at once."

Lin Fan's face darkened.

He gripped his code dagger, shielded Michael De Santa's glass container behind him, and looked coldly at Elizabeth: "Do you think this few people can keep me here?"

"It's not just these people, it's the entire New Eden." Elizabeth's cruel smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

She waved her hand, and the code crack on the laboratory ceiling instantly widened, with black data streams pouring down like a waterfall.

"Lord Victor has already ordered to abandon New Eden and let the entire space collapse completely. As long as the space collapses, your consciousness will be torn into fragments by the Data Turbulence and trapped here forever."

As soon as she finished speaking, the entire laboratory began to shake violently.

code fragments kept falling from the ceiling, the ground cracked open with hideous fissures, and the extractor emitted a piercing explosion, turning into spots of light filling the sky.

The system prompt sounded frantically in Lin Fan's mind, [New Eden space stability is continuously decreasing, current value 10%, expected to collapse completely in 3 minutes].

3 minutes.

Lin Fan's gaze swept across his surroundings.

The exit was blocked, the glass container could not be opened, and the space was still collapsing.

It seemed he was at a dead end.

But there was not a trace of panic in his eyes; instead, a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hand to touch the code fragment in his palm.

The fragment emitted a dazzling blue light, shielding him and Michael De Santa's glass container within it, blocking the falling code fragments.

"Elizabeth, do you really think I don't have a backup plan?"

Lin Fan's voice carried a hint of playfulness.

He looked up at Elizabeth, a flash of cunning in his eyes, "You forgot, I have one more reliable teammate. His skills are much better than Victor's code."

Elizabeth's expression changed abruptly, as if she had thought of something.

Just as she was about to speak, the laboratory's broadcast suddenly sounded with AKai's exasperated voice, which echoed through the code waves throughout the laboratory: "Brother Fan! What the hell are you still dawdling in there for! I've turned the code stabilizer to the max on my end, it can hold for three minutes! You hurry up and get Michael De Santa out, one step later and the three of us will all turn into code scraps! Also, I've hacked Elizabeth's code backend, her Digital Soldiers are now under my command!"

As soon as the words fell, the dozen Digital Soldiers in the laboratory suddenly turned around, their scarlet electronic eyes aimed at Elizabeth, and the energy guns in their hands were ready to fire.

Elizabeth's face instantly turned pale.

She looked at those Digital Soldiers in disbelief and roared: "Impossible! My code permissions are higher than yours! You can't possibly hack my backend!"

"Do you think my skills are just for show?" AKai's voice sounded again, with a hint of smugness, "Did that old fart Victor teach you this crappy code? I've already figured out his code vulnerabilities. Let alone hacking your backend, I could even modify Victor's Core Code for you!"

Elizabeth was completely panicked.

She wanted to control the Digital Soldiers, but found that her code commands couldn't be transmitted at all, and the muzzles of those Digital Soldiers were already aimed at her head.

Lin Fan watched Elizabeth scrambling in confusion, the smile on his face growing wider.

He raised his hand and pressed a button on the glass container—this was the hidden permission button he had seen in the blue light of the code fragment just now, and AKai had already unlocked the permissions for him through the code backend.

"Snap—"

The lid of the glass container slowly opened, and Lin Fan reached out to help Michael De Santa's consciousness out.

As soon as Michael De Santa's consciousness left the liquid, it returned to normal.

He looked at everything before him, was stunned for a moment, and then raised his middle finger at Elizabeth: "Elizabeth, you wench, you're finally getting yours today!"

"Let's go!" Lin Fan pulled Michael De Santa and ran toward another exit of the laboratory—that was an emergency passage he had discovered while observing the laboratory earlier.

Although it was sealed off by code, AKai could definitely help him open it.

"Stop them! Quickly stop them!" Elizabeth roared, wanting to rush up herself, but was forced back by the energy guns of the Digital Soldiers, and could only watch helplessly as Lin Fan and Michael De Santa ran toward the emergency passage.

At the entrance of the emergency passage, a pale blue code door blocked the way.

Lin Fan raised his hand and pressed the code fragment against the door, and AKai's voice immediately sounded: "Brother Fan, the door is open! I'm waiting for you in the connection passage outside. There's only one minute left, hurry!"

The code door slowly opened, and Lin Fan pulled Michael De Santa out.

The emergency passage was in chaos, code fragments kept falling, and the two ran forward with all their might.

Behind them came Elizabeth's roars and the gunfire of the Digital Soldiers, but they could never catch up to their pace.

Finally, they rushed to the end of the emergency passage, where there was a door flickering with blue light, which was the consciousness connection passage built by AKai.

On the other side of the door, one could see AKai's anxious face, as well as the figures of Kate and Franklin Clinton.

"Brother Fan! Michael De Santa! Hurry in!" AKai shouted, desperately stabilizing the blue light of the passage.

Lin Fan pulled Michael De Santa, leaped, and rushed into the blue light door.

The moment they rushed into the passage, New Eden behind them collapsed completely.

Black data streams surged like a tsunami, instantly swallowing the entire emergency passage, and Elizabeth's screams were drowned in the Data Turbulence, dissipating completely.

[Consciousness transmission started, returning to the real world, current synchronization rate 99%... 100%!]

The system prompt exploded in his mind.

Lin Fan felt a flash of white light before his eyes, and when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the central square of Star Dream Amusement Park.

The metal helmet was still on his head, the tingling sensation of the electrode pads was still there, and he was surrounded by people.

AKai was slumped over the computer, panting heavily, his face covered in sweat.

Seeing Lin Fan open his eyes, he instantly burst into tears: "Brother Fan! You finally came back! One second later, and the passage would have collapsed!"

Franklin Clinton snatched the helmet off Lin Fan, gave him a fierce hug, and then hugged Michael De Santa, who had just regained consciousness, beside him.

His eyes were red: "You two finally came back, I almost thought I was going to say goodbye to you two forever!"

Michael De Santa patted Franklin Clinton's back and nodded at Lin Fan.

Although he didn't speak, the gratitude in his eyes was self-evident.

Lin Fan looked at the people before him, a relaxed smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He looked up at the sky; the morning sun of Los Santos was slowly rising, golden sunlight spilling onto the Ferris wheel, dispelling the haze of the night.

Just then, in Lin Fan's pocket, that code fragment suddenly emitted a faint red light, and the system prompt sounded in his mind, with a tone of unprecedented solemnity: [Unknown high-level code signal detected, from the core area of Los Santos. The code characteristics are highly consistent with Victor. The opponent has mastered cross-spatial code transmission technology. The real world is about to be invaded.]

Lin Fan's smile instantly faded.

He gripped the code fragment in his hand, looked toward the direction of downtown Los Santos, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

He knew that all of this was not over yet.

Victor's true conspiracy had only just begun.

And the war in Los Santos was also about to spread from the virtual world to reality.