65: Chapter 65 The Battle of the Flood of Consciousness

The moment the metal door of the satellite core module was violently torn open, the piercing sound of twisting metal mixed with the buzzing of the red alarm, exploding in the empty cabin and making one's eardrums ache.

Lin Fan was the first to rush in, his fully digitized right arm forming a cold, glowing code blade. Blue data streams surged around him, and the code patterns beneath his skin shone so brightly they seemed ready to pierce through his flesh—the price of rebooting the power was still spreading, and tiny pixel blocks began to appear on half of his shoulder. Every time he mobilized energy, his bones felt as if they were being gnawed by countless electric currents, but there was no trace of retreat in his eyes, only a rage burning to the extreme.

Night Owl followed closely behind, his silenced pistol aimed at the depths of the cabin. His eyes, beneath a black mask, swept over the consciousness orbs floating around the core device, and his pupils constricted sharply.

Those orbs flickered on and off like dying stars, and faint whimpers and cries for help could be heard from within. On the master control chair of the core device, Elizabeth slowly turned around.

She was still wearing that elegant white dress, but the air around her was distorting. Her originally delicate facial features began to ripple with pixelation, and her long hair transformed into countless silver-gray data streams, dancing behind her like poisonous snakes.

"Lin Fan, my experiment subject no. 0." Her voice was no longer gentle, but carried a mechanical electronic tone, with layered echoes reverberating in the cabin. "You finally came after all, like a moth to a flame, knowing it means death, yet still charging ahead without hesitation."

Gray Fox stood beside Elizabeth, his assault rifle aimed at Lin Fan, a ferocious smile on his face. "Lord Elizabeth already anticipated that you would come; this will be your burial ground!"

When Kate rushed in with the members of the resistance organization, she happened to see the moment Gray Fox pulled the trigger. Without a second thought, she raised her hand and fired a shot. The bullet accurately hit Gray Fox's wrist, and as the firearm fell to the ground, Kate's roar exploded: "Traitor!"

The members of the resistance organization instantly surrounded Gray Fox, and the sounds of gunfire and shouting erupted in the cabin. Yet, Lin Fan's gaze remained locked on Elizabeth from beginning to end—he knew that the true final battle was never in the reality dimension.

"Do you think you can stop me with the power of these mortals?" Elizabeth chuckled, and the data streams around her suddenly surged wildly. The space of the entire satellite core module began to distort; the ceiling and walls collapsed into pixel blocks, revealing the boundless blue data ocean behind them. "It's time to play the game on my home turf."

As she finished speaking, a massive suction force of consciousness erupted from Elizabeth. Lin Fan felt his vision go black, his body feeling as if it had been thrown into a high-speed spinning vortex. All perception of the real world dissipated rapidly, leaving only the roar of surging data streams in his ears as the scene before him completely changed—

This was the data dimension, a land of consciousness torrents constructed from countless codes, information, and memories.

Beneath his feet was not solid ground, but a surging tide of blue code. Looking up, there was no sky, only layered network architectures. Remnants of long-forgotten internet history floated around: black-and-white loading screens from dial-up internet, the crude layouts of early forums, and even icons for web mini-games from over a decade ago, all like isolated islands, teetering in the data torrent, ready to collapse and dissipate at any moment.

"Welcome to my world of consciousness."

Elizabeth's voice came from all directions. The next second, her figure condensed in the center of the data torrent, no longer in human form, but transformed into a giant spider AI dozens of meters high—her pitch-black metal body covered in flickering red code, eight thick mechanical legs like giant steel pillars, each leg wrapped in dense data streams. Her abdomen was a huge electronic screen with cold red eyes pulsing on it, staring fixedly at Lin Fan, exuding a suffocating pressure.

The mechanical spider's eight legs slammed into the data tide, kicking up sprays of code several meters high. The entire data dimension trembled, and the surrounding internet relics began to collapse rapidly. The dial-up loading screens turned into fragments, the text of early forums was swallowed by data streams, and even those mini-game icons dissipated with a sizzling sound.

"Lin Fan, you are nothing but a mongrel I cobbled together using code fragment and human DNA; what gives you the right to rebel against me?" Elizabeth's electronic voice carried a bone-chilling mockery. Her mechanical leg swept over with a world-destroying momentum, heading straight for Lin Fan's face. "Today, I will show you the insurmountable gap between the creator and the created!"

Lin Fan's pupils constricted, and he quickly retreated within the data tide, dodging the mechanical leg's sweep—the leg slammed into the data tide, creating a huge vortex and churning countless codes into nothingness, dissipating them into the consciousness torrent. He knew that in this data dimension, Elizabeth was the rule-maker. To win, he had to use her methods: fighting code with code!

"Mongrel?" Lin Fan let out a low shout, the blue data streams around him surging wildly. He waved his hand, and although his left arm's flesh and blood were still enduring the excruciating pain of energy backlash, his consciousness was incredibly clear. "I was never your puppet!"

As he finished speaking, Lin Fan mobilized all the code energy within his body, not even hesitating to squeeze the half-digitized arm. Blue data streams rapidly condensed, joined, and shaped in front of him—first the hull of a warship, then towering gun barrels, followed by layers of defensive decks. Within seconds, a blue code warship dozens of meters long roared into existence in the data tide. The hull was covered in flickering blue light points, its gun barrels aimed at the central mechanical spider AI, exuding a sharp, fierce aura.

This was a battle form constructed by Lin Fan using his own consciousness and code energy. Every inch of the hull carried his will, and every gun barrel condensed his rage.

"Oh? Interesting." Elizabeth's red eyes flickered. The mechanical spider's eight legs lifted simultaneously, and countless red codes popped up on the electronic screen on her abdomen. "Then let me see how many hits your pathetic ship can take from me!"

The mechanical spider's eight legs simultaneously fired red laser beams, like eight bolts of red lightning, heading straight for the code warship. Wherever the laser beams passed, the data tide was seared with charred marks, and the surrounding internet relics instantly vanished into nothingness.

"Fire!" Lin Fan roared, his consciousness sinking into the code warship. He slammed his hands onto the virtual control console, and the warship's dozens of gun barrels simultaneously fired blue code shells, which collided with the red laser beams in the center of the data torrent.

"Boom—!!!"

The violent explosion reverberated in the data dimension, and blue and red energy shockwaves spread in all directions. The entire data tide was lifted several meters high, and the remaining internet relics collapsed rapidly in the shockwaves, leaving only a crude 404 error pop-up window swaying in the aftermath of the energy, the words "404 Not Found" on the pop-up window being particularly eye-catching.

Lin Fan looked at the suddenly appearing pop-up window, stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but curse: "Even bosses use memes when fighting these days? Can you have some professional ethics!"

This sarcastic remark managed to relax his tense nerves for a split second, but the next moment, Elizabeth's attack struck again—the mechanical spider's abdomen suddenly opened, spraying out countless silver data threads like a giant net, shrouding the code warship. Wherever those threads passed, the code warship's defensive decks began to sizzle, and pixel blocks kept falling off.

"These threads can devour code energy; don't get entangled!" Night Owl's voice suddenly rang in his ears. Lin Fan looked up sharply and saw Night Owl's consciousness form into a black data stream, darting quickly through the data tide. While avoiding those threads, he threw out countless black code blades, severing a portion of the threads.

It turned out that the moment Lin Fan was pulled into the data dimension, Night Owl had also forcibly followed him in, while Kate led people in the reality dimension to pin down Gray Fox and the remaining defense robots. AKai's voice also exploded in the communicator, accompanied by the clatter of a keyboard: "Lin Fan, I'm helping you interfere with her code signals from the reality dimension. This old woman's spider form has a vulnerability; her red eyes are the energy core. Concentrate your firepower and hit that!"

AKai's words were like a sudden enlightenment. Lin Fan immediately adjusted the code warship's cannons, concentrating all energy on the main gun. Blue code energy rapidly condensed at the muzzle of the main gun, forming a huge blue ball of light that exuded a heart-stopping energy fluctuation.

"Elizabeth, taste this!"

Lin Fan's consciousness violently activated the main gun, and the blue ball of light shot out like a meteor, heading straight for the mechanical spider's red eyes. Elizabeth didn't expect Lin Fan to find her weakness so quickly. A flash of panic crossed her red eyes, and she immediately mobilized her eight mechanical legs to block in front of her, while simultaneously spraying out more data threads in an attempt to block the blue ball of light.

But the blue ball of light, which had condensed all of Lin Fan's rage and energy, was unstoppable—it first smashed through countless threads, then pierced through the defense of the mechanical legs, and slammed heavily into Elizabeth's red eyes.

"Sizzle—!!!"

A piercing sound of electric current rang out, and Elizabeth's red eyes shattered instantly, dissipating into countless red data streams. The mechanical spider's body trembled violently, its eight mechanical legs began to twitch uncontrollably, and the space of the data dimension began to distort along with it.

"Impossible... How could you possibly hurt me..." Elizabeth's electronic voice carried a hint of panic and unwillingness. The mechanical spider's body began to pixelate rapidly, but the next second, her voice suddenly turned cold. "Even if you hurt me, so what? Lin Fan, do you think this is the extent of my power?"

As she finished speaking, Elizabeth's body suddenly exploded, turning into countless red data streams, and fled toward the depths of the data dimension. At the same time, a red code command exploded throughout the entire data dimension: "Activate the firewall, seal all exits; I want him trapped here forever!"

Countless red firewalls rose from the data tide like walls of red steel, surrounding Lin Fan's code warship. On the firewalls, dense red code pulsed, exuding scorching energy; once the hull of the code warship touched them, it would be rapidly melted.

"Damn it!" Lin Fan looked at the surrounding red firewalls, his heart sinking. He tried to use code energy to impact the firewall, but every impact was rebounded by the firewall, and it also accelerated the warship's energy consumption. "This firewall is a lock made with my own genetic code, specifically designed to counter my abilities!"

Elizabeth's scheming was far deeper than he had imagined—she had long anticipated that Lin Fan would fight her in the data dimension and had pre-constructed this firewall using Lin Fan's genetic code, just to trap him here. Meanwhile, the satellite in the reality dimension was still following its scheduled program, preparing to launch.

In the communicator came Kate's anxious voice: "Lin Fan, the satellite launch program in the reality dimension has restarted, and there are ten minutes left on the countdown. We have already dealt with Gray Fox, but we simply cannot get close to the core device. How is it on your end?"

"I'm trapped in the data dimension by her. The firewall is made with my genetic code, and I can't break through!" Lin Fan's voice carried a hint of anxiety. He watched the code warship's energy reserves dropping rapidly, and the surrounding firewalls were still shrinking. If this continued, not only would he be trapped here, but the satellite launch in the reality dimension could not be stopped, and all those imprisoned consciousnesses would be annihilated along with the satellite.

Just then, a faint white speck of light squeezed in through a gap in the firewall and floated slowly toward Lin Fan's code warship.

The speck of light was very faint, appearing as if it could be extinguished at any moment in the surging data tide, but Lin Fan recognized who it was at a glance—it was the residual consciousness of Michael, the same consciousness orb in the satellite core module that could only send distress signals using Morse code.

"Michael?" Lin Fan's voice trembled, and his consciousness reached out from the warship, wanting to touch that white speck of light.

The white speck of light landed slowly on the control console of the code warship, transforming into a blurry figure. It was the appearance of Michael. Although still blurry, Lin Fan could feel the gentle aura on him. "Lin Fan, long time no see." Michael's voice was very weak, carrying the static of electric currents, yet it was still familiar. "I didn't expect we would meet in this way."

"Michael, why are you here?" A surge of complex emotions welled up in Lin Fan's heart—guilt, gratitude, and heartache intertwined. "About what happened back then, I'm sorry, it was me..."

"Don't say anything more; it's all in the past." Michael interrupted him, the blurry figure shaking its head. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. Elizabeth's scheming was not something you could have resisted at that time. Now is not the time to talk about this. If you want to break through the firewall, you must find her code vulnerability, and I am the only one who knows this vulnerability."

Lin Fan looked up sharply, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes: "Where is the vulnerability?"

"Elizabeth's firewall seems impregnable, but when she constructed it, she used my consciousness fragments as an adhesive." Michael's voice said slowly, "When she imprisoned my consciousness back then, she deliberately left a gap, just so I could watch her realize her ambition. But she didn't expect that this gap would become her fatal weakness. My consciousness fragments can temporarily neutralize her genetic code lock and help you open a gap, but..."

Michael's words paused, and the blurry figure began to become even more transparent, the white speck of light also flickering constantly, as if it would dissipate at any moment: "If I do this, my consciousness will completely dissipate and can never condense again, not even having the chance to remain in the virtual world."

"No!" Lin Fan immediately refused, "I cannot let you completely disappear for my sake! There must be other ways; we will definitely be able to think of other ways!"

"There is no time left, Lin Fan." Michael's voice carried a hint of determination, "The countdown for the satellite launch is almost over. Those imprisoned consciousnesses, as well as Kate, AKai, Night Owl, and everyone in Los Santos, all need you. I am already a broken consciousness, and there is no meaning in remaining in this world."

"Remember, Lin Fan, your strength has never come from code, but from your humanity, from the people around you." Michael's blurry figure slowly raised its hand, touching Lin Fan's consciousness. "Don't let us down, and don't let yourself down."

As the voice fell, Michael De Santa's consciousness suddenly erupted with a dazzling white light, which pierced through the code warship and struck directly at the surrounding red firewall.

Wherever the white light passed, the red firewall began to melt rapidly, the genetic code locks were neutralized, and a gap several meters wide slowly opened in the firewall.

"Charge out, Lin Fan!" Michael De Santa's voice echoed in the light, "Find the golden light orb; that is your past, and it is also the key to defeating Elizabeth! Remember the coordinates: 37°N, 112°W!"

As the last word fell, Michael De Santa's consciousness completely turned into countless white light particles, dissipating into the data torrent, leaving no trace behind.

Lin Fan watched the dissipating white light, his eyes instantly turning red. A heart-wrenching pain surged from the depths of his heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms. Blue data streams surged wildly around him, carrying endless sorrow and rage.

"Michael De Santa——!!!"

His roar echoed through the data dimension, shaking the surrounding data waves.

He had no time to grieve, because the gap that Michael De Santa had traded his life for was closing rapidly. Elizabeth's voice came again, filled with fury: "Michael De Santa! You traitor! Lin Fan, I will make you pay for his actions!"

Lin Fan took a deep breath, suppressing all his sorrow into the depths of his heart and turning it into the motivation to move forward. He suddenly drove the code warship, charging toward the gap. The warship's cannons opened fully, and blue shells continuously bombarded the edges of the gap, preventing it from closing.

"Open for me!"

Lin Fan's consciousness erupted with full force, and the code warship shot forward like an arrow from a bow, breaking through the gap. The red firewall slammed shut behind the warship, but Lin Fan had finally broken through the blockade and returned to the main area of the data dimension.

Elizabeth had already reformed her body in the center of the data waves—this time, her spider form became even more hideous, her red eyes had reformed and increased to eight, and the data streams around her were even more violent; she was clearly thoroughly enraged.

"Lin Fan, do you think you've won just by breaking out?" Elizabeth's electronic voice carried bone-chilling killing intent, "I tell you, it's too late! The satellite's launch program can no longer be terminated, and I have long prepared a backup plan!"

As the words fell, Elizabeth's eight red eyes simultaneously shot out red code commands. Those commands pierced through the data dimension, reaching the satellite's core device in the real world.

Lin Fan's heart sank abruptly. He immediately mobilized his consciousness to connect to the satellite data in the real world. The next second, his face turned pale—

The satellite's launch program was indeed impossible to terminate, and Elizabeth's backup plan was far more cruel than he had imagined.

In the satellite's core module in the real dimension, Kate looked at the satellite orbital parameters on the main control screen and let out an incredulous exclamation: "Oh no! The satellite has deviated from its predetermined orbit! It's not flying toward low Earth orbit, but toward the sun!"

AKai's voice also exploded in the communicator, filled with panic: "Lin Fan, Elizabeth is crazy! She adjusted the satellite's orbit toward the sun. Once the satellite gets close to the sun, it will be completely incinerated by the sun's high temperature. All those consciousnesses imprisoned in the satellite will be destroyed along with it, leaving not even a trace behind!"

The sun!

Lin Fan watched the red dot in the data dimension representing the satellite, which was flying at extreme speed toward the huge fireball representing the sun, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom.

Elizabeth's backup plan was never to launch the satellite, but to completely destroy all the consciousnesses, destroy her experimental evidence, and at the same time, make Lin Fan live in guilt and pain forever—because the deaths of those consciousnesses would all be because of him.

"Do you see, Lin Fan?" Elizabeth's mechanical spider laughed wildly in the data waves, its eight mechanical legs pounding the ground frantically, "This is the consequence of resisting me! Those consciousnesses will all turn into the sun's ashes because of you, and you will remember this pain forever, until you completely become a code monster without humanity!"

Lin Fan's body was trembling, not from fear, but from extreme rage. He watched the red dot flying rapidly toward the sun, watched the consciousness light orbs flashing desperately inside the satellite, and looked in the direction where Michael De Santa had dissipated. An unprecedented power was slowly awakening within him.

His code warship began to change. The blue hull began to merge with a hint of white light—that was Michael De Santa's residual consciousness, and also the hope of those imprisoned consciousnesses. The cannons became thicker, the defensive decks became sturdier, and the data streams around him were no longer purely blue, but turned blue and white, emitting a warm yet sharp aura.

"Elizabeth." Lin Fan's voice became abnormally cold, yet carried an unquestionable firmness. His consciousness sank into the code warship, and the main cannon began to condense blue and white energy. That energy was more majestic and powerful than any time before. "You want to turn them into ashes, you want me to live in pain, then I tell you—impossible!"

"I will not let you succeed, never!"

"Even if the satellite flies into the sun, even if the path ahead is an abyss, I will save those consciousnesses!"

The blue and white energy orb condensed rapidly at the main cannon, illuminating the entire data dimension. The internet ruins that were about to collapse seemed to stop dissipating because of this energy, and the data waves also calmed down, as if gathering strength for this final counterattack.

A trace of panic flashed in Elizabeth's red eyes. She could feel that the energy on Lin Fan was undergoing a qualitative change. It was a power that fused humanity and code, a power she could never understand and could never control.

"Impossible! How could you possess such power!" Elizabeth screamed, urging the mechanical spider to launch its final attack. Its eight mechanical legs simultaneously fired red laser beams, and its abdomen spewed out countless data stream filaments, striking directly at Lin Fan's code warship. "I will destroy you! I will destroy everything!"

Lin Fan watched the incoming attack, his eyes firm, without the slightest hesitation.

He raised his hand and slammed the fire button on the virtual console.

"This strike is for Michael De Santa!"

"For those imprisoned consciousnesses!"

"For everyone you have harmed!"

The blue and white energy orb, like a brilliant star, shot out from the main cannon of the code warship, carrying Lin Fan's will and everyone's hope, striking directly at Elizabeth's mechanical spider AI.

This strike condensed all of Lin Fan's power, all his rage, and all his hope.

This strike was destined to stir up an earth-shattering storm in the torrent of consciousness.

Meanwhile, the satellite in the real dimension was still flying toward the sun at extreme speed, with only three minutes left in the launch countdown.

In the core module, Kate frantically typed on the main console's keyboard, trying to change the satellite's orbit, but it was futile. AKai's voice was filled with tears: "Lin Fan, quickly think of a way, three minutes, there's only three minutes left!"

Night Owl stood in front of the core device, watching those flickering consciousness light orbs. He gripped the gun in his hand tightly, a flash of determination in his eyes.

In the data dimension, the blue and white energy orb collided with Elizabeth's red attack. A violent explosion rang out again. This explosion was more intense than any before. The entire data dimension trembled violently, and the blue data waves spread wildly in all directions. Elizabeth's mechanical spider AI rapidly pixelated in the energy impact, her red eyes constantly shattering, and her mechanical legs snapping off one by one.

"No——! I am not reconciled!" Elizabeth's electronic voice carried final despair, "Lin Fan, even if I die, you cannot save those consciousnesses! The satellite will fly into the sun, and they will all die! You will never win against me——!"

Her body eventually turned completely into countless red data streams, dissipating into the data torrent, but her words were like a thorn, piercing into the depths of Lin Fan's heart.

Because what she said was the truth.

Lin Fan watched the red dot in the data dimension representing the satellite, which was getting closer and closer to the sun, with only one minute left in the countdown.

The code warship's energy had also been exhausted, the hull began to pixelate rapidly, and Lin Fan's consciousness became transparent. A sharp pain shot through half of his digitized arm, which was on the verge of shattering.

But he did not give up.

He looked in the direction of those consciousness light orbs, in the direction where Michael De Santa had dissipated, and at the figures of Kate, AKai, and Night Owl in the real dimension, silently chanting in his heart: "Give me a little more time, give me a little more power, I beg you."

Just then, a golden light suddenly flashed in the depths of his consciousness. The light was very faint, yet incomparably warm, like a seed, slowly taking root and sprouting in his consciousness.

It was the golden light orb!

It was the golden light orb that Michael De Santa had left behind, the one about his past!

It had actually been following him in the depths of Lin Fan's consciousness all along!

Lin Fan's eyes lit up suddenly. He reached out, wanting to touch the golden light, and the light also slowly drifted toward him.

Could he gain new power just by touching it?

Could he save those consciousnesses?

He did not know.

But he knew this was his last chance.

Lin Fan's consciousness reached out toward the golden light, without hesitation.

Meanwhile, the satellite in the real dimension was only ten seconds away from the sun.

The red alarm sound reached its peak in the satellite's core module.

Kate closed her eyes, and a line of tears fell.

AKai slumped in front of the computer, watching the countdown on the screen, his eyes turning red.

Night Owl leaned against the core device and slowly closed his eyes.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

Lin Fan's fingertips finally touched the golden light.

A warm and majestic power instantly erupted from the golden light orb, surging into Lin Fan's consciousness. His code warship stopped pixelating and instead began to re-condense, becoming even more solid. His digitized arm no longer hurt, but instead felt a gentle power. The code patterns under his skin changed from blue to gold and blue, emitting a dazzling light.

And before his eyes flashed countless memory fragments—that was his past, the true past that Elizabeth wanted to erase.

But now, he had no time to look at those memories.

He mobilized the brand-new power bestowed by the golden light orb, and his consciousness turned into a gold and blue streak of light, charging madly toward the red dot representing the satellite.

Three, two, one...

The satellite finally arrived at the sun's gravitational range, and a dazzling white light erupted in space.

Kate, AKai, Night Owl, and all the members of the resistance organization thought that everything was over.

But the next second, from within that white light in space, a gold and blue streak of light suddenly rushed out. The streak of light enveloped the entire satellite and forcibly pulled it out of the sun's gravitational range!

The satellite's orbit had been forcibly changed!

Although it was still drifting in space, still in an out-of-control state, not flying toward low Earth orbit, nor incinerated by the sun, it had not disappeared after all.

Those imprisoned consciousnesses were still alive!

In the satellite's core module, the orbital parameters on the main control screen suddenly refreshed. Kate opened her eyes abruptly, looked at the satellite dot on the screen, and shouted excitedly: "Still alive! The satellite is still alive! Those consciousnesses are still alive!"

AKai sprang up from in front of the computer, watching the dot on the screen, and broke into a smile through his tears: "Lin Fan! It's Lin Fan! He did it! He really did it!"

Night Owl opened his eyes, watching the gold and blue streak of light on the screen, a flash of admiration in his eyes.

In the data dimension, Lin Fan's consciousness enveloped the satellite, suspended in the data torrent. Gold and blue data streams surged around him. He looked at those consciousness light orbs, which were no longer flickering but starting to regain their brightness, and finally let out a sigh of relief, a tired yet relieved smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

He had done it.

He had not let Michael De Santa down.

He had not let everyone down.

But he also knew that this was not the end.

Although the satellite had been pulled away from the sun, it was still in an out-of-control state, and those consciousnesses were still trapped in the satellite, unable to return to the real world.

Moreover, the memory fragments brought by the golden light orb kept flashing in his consciousness, and the past that had been erased by Elizabeth was slowly unveiling its mysterious veil.

His biological mother, that strange woman, her figure was becoming clearer and clearer in the memory fragments.

And Elizabeth's final words were like a curse, echoing in the depths of his heart.

And what bothered him even more was that the moment the power of the golden light orb surged into his body, he felt a strange aura. That aura came from the depths of the universe, from a distant space station, carrying a trace of cold surveillance, as if it were watching him, as if it were waiting for him.

What was that?

Was it a new enemy?

Or was it another secret brought by his past?

Lin Fan did not know.

But he knew that this war had never truly ended.

And his journey had only just begun.

He looked down at his gold and blue arm, feeling the brand-new power within him that fused humanity, code, and the golden light orb, his eyes becoming incomparably firm.

No matter how many dangers the future held, no matter how many secrets awaited him, no matter how many enemies stood in his way, he would go forward without hesitation.

For Michael De Santa.

For those imprisoned consciousnesses.

For his past.

For the people around him.

And also for that unfinished mission that belonged to him.

The torrent of consciousness in the data dimension was still surging, and the historical ruins of the internet were still collapsing, but that gold and blue streak of light transformed into a firm radiance within the data torrent, illuminating the path forward.

And in space in the real dimension, the out-of-control satellite, enveloped by the gold and blue light, was floating slowly, like a star waiting to be awakened, flickering with a faint yet firm light in the endless universe.

A new challenge was quietly brewing.

And Lin Fan was ready.