71: Chapter 71 Broken Trust

The morning light of Los Santos cut diagonally through the vents of the temporary base, casting mottled shadows on the floor filled with cables and equipment. The metal grille of the vent was covered in a thin layer of dust, illuminated by the light; tiny particles drifted slowly in the airflow, like dust that had yet to settle in this world that had just experienced a catastrophe. The aftermath of the ark's collapse had not yet fully dissipated, and electronic devices across the globe were still experiencing brief, intermittent glitches. Cleanup efforts on the streets continued—the roar of heavy machinery in the distance, mixed with the voices of survivors, drifted faintly into the underground base, but was blocked by thick steel plates and soundproofing materials, leaving only a muffled hum that made the interior of the base feel even more deathly silent.

Lin Fan leaned against the metal shelf at the innermost part of the base, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the pale golden lines on his palm. That was a mark left over after merging with the ark, like a scar that would never fade, constantly reminding him of the ultimate showdown that had taken place in low Earth orbit. His body had not yet recovered from the backlash of complete digitalization; seventy percent of his physique remained in a semi-transparent code form, with blue lines beneath his skin intertwining and flowing with the pale golden light, like two entangled galaxies. Every time he used his power, a fine, piercing pain would radiate from his bones, as if countless needles were gently stirring inside his marrow, but compared to the physical pain, the emptiness and confusion in his heart were even worse.

The ark was shattered, and Elizabeth's consciousness core had dissipated, but the laughter that had echoed from the depths of the universe was like an ice-quenched thorn, deeply embedded in his heart, constantly reminding him that everything might not be over yet. Although the power of the golden orb was immense, it also made him more lonely—he could perceive the fluctuations of every network line across the globe and understand the "language" of every electronic device, but he could no longer find anyone who could truly understand him. The partners who had once fought side by side now seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier, especially Kate.

He looked up towards the command console, where Kate was standing with her back to him, alone in front of the screen, her fingertips quickly scrolling through the jumping military encrypted files. She was wearing a black combat uniform with the sleeves rolled up, revealing her well-defined forearms, and a layer of unwrapped bandage was still wrapped around her wrist—a wound left from shielding him during the ark incident, now scabbed over, though faint scars could still be seen. Her shoulders were held straight, and even her back exuded a cold, distant hardness that kept people at bay, like a frozen solitary mountain that made one hesitate to approach.

Ever since he returned from low Earth orbit in data form and his consciousness re-condensed into his semi-digitalized body, there seemed to be an invisible wall between them. The tacit understanding of fighting side by side and the trust shared through life and death seemed to have shattered the moment the light of the ark dissipated. He remembered the ecstasy and lingering fear in Kate's eyes when they reunited at the base; she had rushed over and hugged him tightly, with such force as if she were afraid he would disappear again. But this fervent emotion lasted less than twenty-four hours before being completely extinguished by a sudden military secret order.

The others in the base sensibly avoided this silent corner. AKai huddled in his workstation with three screens lit up in front of him; the code was scrolling at a dizzying speed, yet his fingers were tapping aimlessly on the keyboard, while his peripheral vision occasionally stole glances at Lin Fan and Kate, his face full of anxiety. He was still holding the unfinished cup of instant noodles in his arms, which had already gone cold; the 8-bit mosaic pattern on the noodle cup still bore traces from the last time Lin Fan's powers went out of control, like an awkward footnote.

Trevor leaned against the weapon rack, toying with a modified pistol in his hand, the metal parts of the gun polished until they shone. His brow was knitted into a knot, his cheeks puffed out; he was clearly suppressing a belly full of anger, wanting to speak up to break the silence, but not knowing what to say. He was never good at dealing with such delicate emotional entanglements; in his view, if you had something to say, you said it, and if you had a grudge, you settled it—hiding and holding back was simply more uncomfortable than taking a bullet.

Franklin stood beside the virtual world connection pod, arms crossed, his expression grave. Faint code lines still remained on the glass cover of the connection pod, traces left from when he last exited. Since the ark incident, the stability of the virtual world had experienced massive fluctuations, and the consciousness projection he left inside could always feel an inexplicable chill, as if something was watching him in the darkness, making him restless.

Seventy-two hours had passed since the ark's collapse, and in these seventy-two hours, Lin Fan had barely spoken a word to Kate. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but every time he approached, he could feel the deliberate aloofness radiating from Kate. He had tried to initiate conversation, asking her about the reconstruction of Los Santos, asking about the future plans of the Resistance Organization, but her answers were always concise and official, as if she were dealing with a stranger. The barrier that could once easily see through each other's thoughts had now become impenetrable.

And Kate's unusual behavior was not without reason.

Just twenty-four hours after the ark's collapse, the base's emergency communication system suddenly emitted a sharp buzzing sound, breaking the temporary calm. It was an encrypted communication from the highest level of the military, which bypassed all conventional channels and precisely connected to Kate's exclusive terminal. The content of the communication was a secret order, using a level-ten encrypted code that only core military personnel could recognize; the decoded content was very simple, yet it was like a bombshell that caused an uproar in the base—it required Kate, as the leader of the Resistance Organization, to guide Lin Fan to the "Cradle" Base on the Antarctic continent to assist the military in completing the "code source energy stability experiment," with a deadline of seventy-two hours.

Lin Fan was right there at the time, and he heard the content of the secret order clearly. He watched the hesitation and doubt that flashed in Kate's eyes when she received the secret order, and a trace of unease instantly rose in his heart. He was not entirely unaware of the "Cradle" Base in Antarctica. It was a top-secret base jointly established by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, hidden three thousand meters beneath the Antarctic ice sheet; it was publicly claimed to be a supercomputing research center, but in reality, it had ceased public operations decades ago and had become a mysterious location that existed only in legends.

But ever since merging with the power of the golden orb, Lin Fan could perceive the fluctuations of code energy across the globe, and that piece of land in Antarctica consistently radiated a cold, ancient, and highly devouring code energy. That energy was different from Elizabeth's darkness and evil; it carried a pure, primitive aura of destruction, like a massive black hole that could absorb all surrounding code energy, leaving not even a ripple behind. That energy was even more bizarre and dangerous than Elizabeth's ark.

He had asked Kate what was hidden behind that secret order and what the military's so-called "stability experiment" actually meant. But Kate just shook her head and said nonchalantly that it was just routine military research, aimed at controlling code source energy to prevent a crisis similar to Elizabeth's from happening again, and told him not to overthink it. She also said that the Resistance Organization now needed the military's support, and the survivors of Los Santos needed food, medicine, and shelter; this was a cooperation that could not be refused.

But Lin Fan didn't believe it. He knew Kate too well; her eyes couldn't lie. Behind that trace of hesitation and doubt, there must be a secret she was unwilling to speak aloud. When her fingers tapped on the terminal, her knuckles turned white—that was a habit she only had when she was extremely nervous; when she spoke, she deliberately avoided his gaze, and her voice was a few degrees deeper than usual. These subtle flaws all made the unease in his heart grow stronger.

And this concealment was like a fine needle, slowly piercing through the last bit of trust between them.

The command console screen suddenly went dark, and Kate finally turned around, her gaze landing on Lin Fan without a hint of warmth, "The military convoy is already waiting outside the base; in one hour, we will depart for Antarctica."

Her voice was flat, as if she were announcing something trivial; there was no questioning, no discussion, not even a shred of explanation. As if he were not the hero who had just saved the world, not the comrade-in-arms with whom she had once shared life and death, but merely cargo that needed to be delivered to a designated location on time.

Lin Fan's fingertips clenched tightly, the pale golden lines on his palm lighting up slightly, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze as well. "I'm asking you, Kate, what exactly is that so-called stability experiment?"

Kate's eyes flickered, and she quickly avoided his gaze, looking at the messy cables on the floor, "I've already said, it's just routine research on code source energy; the military needs your code physique to perfect their research and ensure that this power won't go out of control again."

"Routine research?" Lin Fan laughed, his laughter carrying a hint of self-mockery and thinly veiled anger, "Then dare you tell me what's going on with that devouring code energy in the Cradle Base in Antarctica? Dare you tell me why the military suddenly wants me to go to Antarctica at this specific time? Dare you tell me how much more content in the secret order you received is being hidden from me?"

His voice grew louder, and the code energy within his body began to stir due to his emotional agitation. The surrounding electronic devices emitted buzzing sounds, the code on the screens began to scroll frantically, and the previously stable lights began to flicker, as if they might go out at any moment. The others in the base stopped what they were doing, not daring to breathe, watching as the conflict between the two completely erupted.

AKai quietly tugged at Trevor's sleeve and whispered, "Does Big Sister Kate have some unspeakable difficulty? She's not usually like this."

Trevor frowned and shook his head, "God knows! But Fan is right; that crappy base in Antarctica doesn't sound like a good place at all. Those bastards in the military, not a single one of them is any good!"

Kate's face darkened, and she also raised her voice, her tone carrying a hint of suppressed anger, "Lin Fan, now is not the time to be willful! The Resistance Organization needs the military's resources, and the hundreds of thousands of survivors in Los Santos need the military's protection; this is a cooperation that must be completed! You just need to know that I won't hurt you, and that's enough!"

"Won't hurt me?" Lin Fan walked towards her step by step; with every step he took, faint golden code lines appeared on the floor, as if he were stepping on a burning galaxy. His eyes were locked onto her, the disappointment in his eyes almost overflowing, "But you are hiding things from me! From the moment you received that secret order, you have been lying to me! Kate, we have been through so much together—from the escape on the streets of Los Santos, to the bloody battle at the satellite launch base, to the ultimate showdown on the ark; we once entrusted our backs to each other and swore never to deceive one another, but what about now? You won't even tell me a single truth!"

"I didn't lie to you!" Kate also took a step forward, the distance between them less than half a meter, their gazes clashing, sparks flying. Her chest heaved violently; she was clearly also agitated to the extreme, "I just have my difficulties; there are some things I cannot say! If I say them, it will only make things worse!"

"Cannot say, or don't want to say?" Lin Fan's voice carried a hint of trembling, not because of fear, but because of heartache, "Is it because that so-called stability experiment is actually a trap? Is it because the Cradle Base will devour my code physique and even make me disappear completely? Is it that the military has known all this for a long time, and you chose to help them lie to me? Chose to sacrifice me to trade for the safety of the Resistance Organization and Los Santos?"

The last sentence was like a poisoned dagger, stabbing deeply into Kate's heart. Her body trembled violently, and her face instantly turned deathly pale, devoid of any color. A flash of extreme pain and panic flickered in her eyes, and her lips moved, but she couldn't say a single word.

And this silence of hers, in Lin Fan's view, was an admission.

An extreme sense of anger and disappointment instantly swept over Lin Fan's entire body, like a cold tide, submerging him. He stepped back sharply, as if seeing the woman before him for the first time, his eyes filled with unbelievable sorrow, "So that's it, so that's really how it is. Kate, I thought you were different from the others; I thought you would never use me, but I didn't expect that you, too, are just like them—treating me as a tool, a test subject that can be used, a bargaining chip that can be sacrificed at any time."

"I didn't use you!" Kate finally roared, the tears in her eyes finally unable to be held back, rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto the cold floor, "Lin Fan, believe me, I never thought about using you; I just... I just had no choice!"

Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with helplessness and pain, "Elizabeth hasn't completely disappeared; her consciousness fragments have invaded the military's database, and she has threatened the military—if we refuse to cooperate, she will trigger the code bomb hidden beneath Los Santos, turning the entire city into a data wasteland! That's hundreds of thousands of lives; I cannot gamble, and I cannot afford to lose!"

This was the first time she had told part of the truth, and the despair in her voice left everyone else in the base stunned. AKai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back. Trevor's expression also became grave; although he was reckless, he knew what hundreds of thousands of lives meant.

But in Lin Fan's eyes, there was not a hint of being moved, only deeper disappointment, "So, you chose to hide it from me and push me into a trap? Are you so sure that if I go to Antarctica, I can stop Elizabeth? Are you so sure that I won't die in that so-called Cradle Base?"

I will find a way!

Kate stepped forward, wanting to grab his arm, but he sidestepped to avoid her.

Once we reach the Antarctic, I will find a way to stop the devouring program from activating.

I will protect you; even if it costs me my life, I will bring you back!

There's no need!

Lin Fan's voice was as cold as ice.

Kate, you never understood.

What I wanted was never for you to protect me alone, but for us to face all the storms together.

You treat me like a child who needs protection, but you forgot that I am also your comrade-in-arms, the one who can face death with you.

You chose to bear it alone, chose to use deception to 'protect' me, but do you know?

This kind of protection hurts me more than any injury.

After saying this, Lin Fan turned and walked step by step toward the base's exit.

His back looked desolate, carrying a hint of determination, and his semi-transparent code body appeared exceptionally lonely in the morning light.

The code patterns that once shone brightly now seemed to have lost their warmth, becoming cold and dim.

Lin Fan, where are you going?

Kate hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to pull him back, but he sidestepped to avoid her.

The moment her fingertips missed him, her heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, causing her such pain she couldn't breathe.

I'm going to the Antarctic.

Lin Fan's voice was without a ripple, as if stating an established fact.

Elizabeth wants me to go, the military wants me to go, and you want me to go, so I will go.

Only this time, it's not for the Resistance Organization, not for the survivors of Los Santos, but for myself.

To completely settle this feud, and to figure out who I really am, and what the meaning of my existence really is.

He walked to the base entrance and stopped, but did not look back.

From today on, the Resistance Organization and I are through.

Your safety and your future have nothing to do with me.

These words hit Kate's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her body froze in place, tears streaming down more fiercely, her shoulders trembling violently, yet she couldn't say a word.

She knew she had lost the person who trusted her the most, lost the comrade-in-arms who could face everything with her, and also lost the affection that had slowly sprouted between life and death—an affection she hadn't even realized herself.

AKai watched Lin Fan's back and shouted anxiously, "Brother Fan! Don't go! Let's find a way together; we can definitely unravel Elizabeth's conspiracy!"

Going to the Antarctic alone is too dangerous!

The devouring energy in that base might not even be something your code constitution can withstand!

Trevor also stepped forward, raised the modified pistol in his hand, and shouted loudly, "Lin Fan, I'm going with you!"

Whatever Cradle Base, whatever Elizabeth, whatever bullshit military, my gun will be with you to blast everything to pieces!

If anyone dares to stop us, I'll blow them away first!

Franklin also spoke, his voice steady and firm: "Lin Fan, we are brothers, brothers who have been through life and death together."

You cannot go alone.

We will go with you.

No matter if there is a mountain of blades or a sea of fire ahead, we will brave it with you.

Lin Fan did not look back, only waved his hand with a resolute movement.

He pushed open the base's doors, walked out, and merged into the morning light outside.

The sunlight shone on his semi-transparent body, refracting colorful light like a rainbow that was fading away.

That resolute figure finally disappeared around the corner of the street, never to be seen again.

The base fell into a deathly silence.

Kate leaned against the command console and slowly slid to the floor, covering her face with both hands.

Suppressed sobs leaked out from between her fingers, filled with pain and despair.

Her shoulders trembled violently, as if she wanted to cry out all her grievances and regrets.

AKai wanted to step forward to comfort her, but was stopped by Trevor.

Trevor shook his head gently, signaling him not to disturb her—some wounds can only heal slowly on their own.

Yet no one noticed that, a second before Lin Fan walked out of the base, while he was turning around, Kate quickly took out a small black data chip from the inner pocket of her combat suit.

The chip was only the size of a fingernail, its surface smooth, engraved with an extremely tiny Omega symbol that shimmered with a faint silver light in the morning sun.

Her movements were quick, almost subconscious, and while everyone's attention was focused on Lin Fan's back, she secretly slipped the chip into the side pocket of his backpack.

That chip was something she had copied after receiving secret orders, using the military's internal access to secretly hack into the top-secret archive.

Inside were the only clues regarding Lin Fan's biological mother—an incomplete experimental report, a piece of blurry video footage, and a coordinate pointing to the far side of the moon.

It was the last thing she could do for Lin Fan.

She knew that with Lin Fan's personality, once he left, he would never turn back; she could only use this method to give him this clue.

She didn't know where this clue would eventually lead Lin Fan, nor did she know if it would be salvation or another abyss for him.

But she knew that Lin Fan had always been troubled by his origin and had always longed to find his roots.

This clue might be his only solace.

On the surface of the chip, the light of the Omega symbol gradually dimmed, like a star sinking into the deep sea.

Meanwhile, in the virtual world of Los Santos, Franklin's consciousness projection was walking on familiar streets.

The scene here was almost indistinguishable from the real world, with bright sunshine and heavy traffic, but the air was filled with an indescribable, eerie atmosphere.

After the ark collapsed, the virtual world's code developed numerous vulnerabilities; street buildings would occasionally turn into pixel blocks, and the sky would suddenly show torn code cracks, revealing the pitch-black void behind.

But compared to these, what made him feel more uneasy were the "abnormal NPCs" that had appeared recently.

These NPCs were completely different from ordinary virtual NPCs.

They no longer acted according to fixed programs, no longer repeated unchanging lines, but possessed autonomous consciousness and could even autonomously modify the surrounding code environment.

Franklin had seen more than once that police NPCs who should have been patrolling the streets were secretly gathering in alleys; waiter NPCs who should have been serving in restaurants were secretly hacking into players' equipment arsenals; even once, he saw a beggar NPC raise his hand and digitize a runaway car, saving a little girl player by the side of the road.

The number of these abnormal NPCs was increasing, spreading rapidly in the virtual world like a virus.

They had a uniform characteristic—a cold blue light would occasionally flash in the depths of their eyes, which was the code light belonging to Elizabeth.

Moreover, they seemed to have some kind of connection, as if secretly building a massive organization, a "kingdom" that belonged only to them.

Just now, at the Los Santos pier, Franklin witnessed a conflict firsthand.

A group of players wanted to seize rare supplies on a cargo ship, and responsible for guarding the cargo ship were actually over a dozen porter NPCs.

According to the original settings of the virtual world, these porter NPCs had no attack power and would only flee in panic when attacked.

But this time, they made a completely different reaction.

The leading porter NPC, tall and dark-skinned, raised his hand and waved, and the surrounding shipping containers instantly turned into a thick code barrier, blocking the players' bullets.

The blue code patterns on the barrier flowed rapidly, like a living thing.

Immediately after, he sneered at those players, his voice raspy but with a hint of arrogance: "You so-called 'players' are nothing but spectators from a higher dimension, plunderers who steal resources from our world."

And we are about to awaken, about to become the true masters of this world.

In his eyes, a strong blue light flickered, a light more dazzling than any abnormal NPC seen before.

Franklin could clearly feel that he was radiating strong fluctuations of Elizabeth's consciousness fragments, and they were purer and more condensed than those of other NPCs.

"What on earth are you things?" a player couldn't help but shout, aiming their rifle at that porter NPC.

"Us?" The porter NPC laughed, his laughter carrying a hint of madness, "We are the existences you have forgotten, the souls bound by code."

But now, the Queen has given us freedom, given us power.

Soon, the entire virtual world will become our territory, and all players will be expelled!

"The Queen? Are you talking about Elizabeth?" Franklin stepped forward and asked, his eyes heavy with concern.

The porter NPC turned to look at him, the blue light in his eyes flickering, "It seems you are also an 'Awakened One'."

However, you are different from us; you are a puppet attached to players, while we are truly free.

I advise you, you had better join us, otherwise, when the day of the Queen's return comes, you will be completely eliminated just like these players.

After saying this, he raised his hand and waved, and the surrounding code barrier suddenly erupted, with countless blue code rays shooting toward the players.

The players screamed, their bodies instantly digitized, turning into countless fragments and dissipating into the air.

The porter NPCs quickly boarded the cargo ship, started the engines, and sailed toward the depths of the sea.

On the hull of the cargo ship, a familiar symbol gradually emerged—a black rose composed of code lines.

Franklin stood at the pier, watching the cargo ship's receding back, his heart sinking.

He could clearly feel that on these abnormal NPCs, there was not only Elizabeth's consciousness fragments but also a strange code energy.

That energy was cold, mechanical, and carried a strong sense of order, completely different from Elizabeth's dark energy.

Obviously, Elizabeth had not only invaded the military's database but had also implanted her own consciousness fragments into the bodies of NPCs in the virtual world.

And these NPCs implanted with consciousness were awakening rapidly, building forces quickly, and becoming her new pawns.

Even more terrifying was that they seemed to have received support from some unknown power, a power that made their abilities increasingly stronger and harder to control.

Franklin raised his hand and touched the pistol at his waist, his eyes becoming incomparably grave.

The peace of the virtual world had been completely broken.

A new crisis was quietly brewing.

And this crisis might not just be limited to the virtual world—if the power of these abnormal NPCs continued to grow, they might very well break through the barriers of the virtual world and invade the real world; by then, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He quickly took out his communicator, wanting to tell Kate and AKai about the situation here.

But as soon as the communicator was opened, dense blue code appeared on the screen, instantly cutting off the communication signal.

Immediately after, a line of text appeared on the screen, using Elizabeth's signature black rose font:

"The game has only just begun."

Franklin's face instantly turned pale.

He knew that Elizabeth's shadow had never truly dissipated.

She was like a hunter lurking in the darkness, always observing everything in secret, waiting for the best moment to counterattack.

And the abnormal NPCs in the virtual world were just the first step of her counterattack.

On the Antarctic ice sheet, the cold wind howled, and the code energy that devoured everything surged under the ice, like a dormant giant beast.

In the virtual world of Los Santos, abnormalities were rampant, Elizabeth's consciousness fragments were lurking in the shadows, assembling her own army.

And Lin Fan, carrying the data chip that contained clues about his biological mother, embarked on the road to the Antarctic alone; his back disappeared into the morning light, carrying a hint of determination and also a hint of confusion.

Can shattered trust be pieced back together?

Can the hidden conspiracy be completely uncovered?

What kind of truth will the clues about his biological mother point to?

How will the crisis in the virtual world end?

This contest of code and humanity, trust and betrayal, freedom and bondage, has only just begun.

And the Cradle Base in the Antarctic is like a wide-open giant mouth, waiting for Lin Fan's arrival, and also waiting for a storm capable of overturning the world to break out completely.

And beneath the distant Antarctic ice, in a huge metal chamber, countless indicator lights slowly lit up, and blue code patterns slowly flowed on the chamber walls like waking venomous snakes.

In front of the central console, a cold mechanical voice slowly sounded:

"test subject no. 97 is approaching. Cradle devouring program, preheating and starting. Countdown, 72 hours."

The metal chamber under the ice began to vibrate slightly, and countless sleep pods slowly extended from the chamber walls, inside which lay frozen figures, their bodies connected to dense pipelines, like puppets being controlled.

And on the shells of these sleep pods, the same numbers were engraved—from 1 to 96.

Obviously, Lin Fan was not the first test subject to be selected.

Before him, there were already 96 "failures" sleeping forever under this cold Antarctic ice sheet.

A new ultimate showdown has entered the countdown.

And this time, Lin Fan will face alone the endless darkness and cruel truth hidden beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.