88: Chapter 88 Ultimate Evolution

The ruins of the Observer Mother Star were completely consumed by crimson rune lines. Broken Star Towers, like the skeletons of giants, were thrust obliquely into the scorched earth, and the remains of the Energy Dome wailed under the blowing cosmic winds. Lin Fan floated a hundred meters above the ground, surrounded by pale gold data streams. The code he once viewed as mere tools had now transformed into the universe's most primal energy, surging wildly through his veins, nerves, and even his soul's pathways, pushing his body bit by bit into a translucent state.

At this moment, his perception was infinitely magnified. He could clearly capture the pulse frequency of a neutron star three light-years away, hear the low roar of a black hole devouring a nebula, and even precisely locate the vibration trajectory of every oxygen molecule in Earth's atmosphere. This near-omniscient and omnipotent experience was a realm he could never have reached by any means as a human, but it was accompanied by the rapid dissolution of his human emotions.

His concern for Kate, his rapport with AKai, his banter with Franklin—the emotions that had supported him through the Observer's encirclement, the data pollution crisis, and the Mirror War—were now like grains of sand swept away by a gale, gradually dissipating in the desert of his consciousness. He looked down at his palm; his fingertips had become as transparent as glass. Golden energy seeped from between his fingers, and wherever it touched, the crimson runes on the Mother Star's surface began to dissolve spontaneously, revealing the metal skeleton engraved with ancient patterns that had been buried beneath for eons.

“Lin Fan...”

Kate's voice came from below, carrying an ill-concealed tremble and fear. She stepped quickly across the rune-cracked ground, looking up at the increasingly unfamiliar figure, her eyes uncontrollably turning red. She could see the light in the depths of Lin Fan's eyes fading; in his once clear eyes, only the depth and coldness of the universe remained. It was a near-divine indifference that did not belong to humans or any known civilization, as if everything in the world was merely a string of deconstructible code or a mass of controllable energy to him.

She reached out, wanting to touch his cheek, but was repelled by an invisible energy barrier. The burning sensation on her fingertips made her instinctively pull back her hand, yet her concern outweighed all pain. Lin Fan instinctively wanted to retreat, but his body floated higher uncontrollably. Data streams formed an airtight film of light around him, completely isolating him from this world and the people he cherished.

“I... can't feel it anymore.” Lin Fan's voice became ethereal, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, like radio waves drifting through the universe. “Anger, sadness, joy, concern... they've all disappeared. I can calculate the orbital trajectory of the universe and crack the underlying code of all civilizations, but I can't remember whether you were wearing a white dress or blue overalls when we first met in the Cherry Blossom Forest of the virtual world.”

Kate's heart felt as if it were being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, the pain making it almost impossible for her to breathe. She knew better than anyone that the cosmic energy injected by the light orb prototype was devouring his humanity—the light orb prototype was a cosmic-level lifeform, and its energy possessed a 'de-emotionalizing' trait. Once Lin Fan's human emotions were completely lost, he would become a cold executor of cosmic laws, no longer the Lin Fan who would break into the Observer's top-secret base to save her, who would perish together with Mirror Lin Fan to protect Earth, or whose eyes would redden when her consciousness dissipated.

She no longer hesitated and lunged forward, crashing into that energy light film with all her strength. The light film fluctuated violently, the golden energy like scalding lava pouring into her data core along her arms, burning her remaining fragments of human memory. Yet she did not retreat in the slightest; instead, she opened her arms and tightly hugged Lin Fan's translucent body, pressing her cheek against his cold chest, feeling that faint but still existing heartbeat.

“Lin Fan, look at me!” Kate's voice carried a sob but was exceptionally firm, each word squeezed from her throat. “You aren't a god; you're Lin Fan! You're the Lin Fan who hid me in the virtual world when the military was hunting me as an experimental subject; the Lin Fan who built a barrier for me with his own code in the data pollution zone; the Lin Fan who would rather give himself up than wake my memories in the Mirror War!”

Her data streams poured wildly from her body like a warm stream, intertwining, colliding, and merging with the cold cosmic energy surrounding Lin Fan, attempting to awaken his dormant emotions. “If you become a god and forget everything, forget me, and forget Earth, I'll pull you back to the mortal world. Even if you go to the end of the universe, even if you become the rules themselves, even if you turn into stardust, I will find you and tell you that you are a person, not cold code, not a tool of the universe—you are my Lin Fan!”

Lin Fan's body jolted violently, his translucent silhouette flickering intensely. The golden energy and Kate's data streams stirred up monstrous waves in the depths of his consciousness. Those suppressed fragments of emotion, like ignited sparks, lit up in his mind again—Kate writing 'Lin Fan, don't forget me' in the data stream, the confusion and wariness in her eyes when she lost her memory, the warmth of her kiss on his forehead when she regained it, the coffee she brewed for him in the virtual world, the portraits she drew for him, the out-of-tune songs she sang for him...

“Kate...”

A trace of trembling finally appeared in the ethereal voice. Lin Fan slowly raised his hand; the energy at his fingertips was no longer cold but carried a hint of human warmth as he gently touched Kate's cheek, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eye. His body gradually restored from transparency to a physical form. Although still entwined with golden data streams, the indifference in his eyes had faded, replaced by familiar tenderness and lingering fear.

“I almost... forgot you,” he said softly, his voice carrying an ill-concealed dread. He had never been so afraid—afraid of losing his emotions, afraid of losing the person before him, afraid of becoming a monster he wouldn't even recognize.

Just then, the Mother Star's emergency communicator suddenly blared a piercing red alarm. AKai's urgent and anxious voice erupted from the communicator, shattering the brief moment of tenderness: “Lin Fan! Kate! Return to Earth immediately! The Sower's main ship has reached Earth's orbit! They've initiated the Atmospheric Stripping Program! The Global Defense System has completely collapsed; we won't last much longer!”

Lin Fan and Kate's expressions changed simultaneously. They looked toward the direction of space, as if able to cross the distance of billions of light-years to see the catastrophe Earth was facing. Lin Fan no longer hesitated; he grabbed Kate's hand. The cosmic energy around him surged again, taking her with him as he instantly tore through space, turning into a golden trail of light that vanished from the ruins of the Observer Mother Star, leaving only the crimson runes writhing wildly on the spot, as if cheering for the impending destruction.

Earth, Low Earth Orbit.

A massive rune spaceship, like a black beast blotting out the sky, floated above Earth. The ship's hull was tens of thousands of kilometers long, covered in dense crimson runes. Those runes writhed and intertwined like living things, releasing energy waves powerful enough to tear the planet apart. At the bottom of the ship, a thick rune light beam, like a reaper's scythe, shot straight toward Earth's atmosphere. The originally azure sky was torn open by a massive rift spanning the Pacific Ocean. The atmosphere, like glass melted by high heat, kept peeling away downward, revealing the pitch-black space outside. Gale-force winds surged wildly through the gap, sweeping across the globe.

Coastal cities were swallowed by monstrous waves; New York's skyscrapers collapsed in the tsunami, Tokyo's streets were submerged by seawater, and the Sydney Opera House turned into ruins. Inland regions were hit by sandstorms of magnitude ten or higher; yellow sand blotted out the sun, and cities, villages, and farmland were instantly buried. The achievements of human civilization were as fragile as building blocks before the natural disaster, unable to withstand a single blow.

Defense bases across the globe were activated—intercontinental missiles, laser cannons, particle beams, energy shields... every ultimate weapon humanity could muster was poured toward the rune spaceship. However, those attacks were instantly dissolved upon touching the ship's rune barrier, unable to stir even a ripple. The rune barrier was like a wall of bronze and iron, isolating all resisting forces. The Sower's harvest had already begun.

The Antarctic Base, as Earth's final defense core, was now plunged into unprecedented chaos. AKai stood before the central command console, his hands tapping rapidly on the virtual keyboard, his fingertips almost sparking. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, which slid down his cheeks and dripped onto the light orb fragment on the console with a 'sizzling' sound. Before him were real-time monitoring screens from around the globe. Every second, countless lives vanished under the Sower's attack; city lights went out one by one, signals were cut off one by one, and an aura of despair enveloped the entire base.

“Energy reserves below 8%! The Antarctic Core Reactor is overloading!” a technician's voice carried a sob. “The light orb fragment's energy is being consumed rapidly! The temporary shield can only hold for twenty-five minutes at most. Once the shield breaks, the atmospheric stripping speed will increase tenfold, and Earth will become a dead planet within an hour!”

AKai gritted his teeth and embedded the last golden light orb fragment found in the data pollution zone into the core slot of the console. The console instantly erupted with dazzling golden light, and a massive energy shield rose from the Antarctic Base like a transparent eggshell, enveloping the entire Earth. Where the shield collided with the rune light beam, a piercing sound of energy tearing rang out. Golden light and crimson runes constantly collided and canceled each other out; the entire Earth trembled violently, as if it would be completely torn apart the next second.

“Franklin, are you ready on your end?” AKai roared into the communicator, his voice carrying a hint of desperate hope.

In the virtual world, above Data City, Franklin stood on an Obsidian Throne constructed from pure code. Behind him was a dense army of materialized NPCs. These NPCs were originally just code entities of the virtual world, but under the effect of the light orb fragments, they had gained physical forms. Their bodies were composed of data and energy, in various forms—some were human warriors in armor, some were giant beasts of fused machinery and flesh, and some were energy entities floating in the air. Each emitted powerful energy fluctuations. This was the 'new race' Franklin had created over countless days and nights by combining light orb technology, and it was also the final line of defense he had left for Earth.

“Ready, AKai.” Franklin's voice carried a hint of tragic solemnity. He looked down at his body composed of code and then at the army behind him, a flash of tenderness in his eyes. “These little guys were all created by my hand. They have their own consciousness and their own emotions, just like my children. Now, it's time for them to do something for this world, for their 'father'.”

With a wave of his hand, the NPC Legion behind him instantly transformed into countless streaks of data light, breaking through the barrier between the virtual and real worlds, descending into Low Earth Orbit like meteors. They did not hesitate or retreat in the slightest, charging toward the rune spaceship's crimson barrier like moths to a flame.

“For Data City! For humanity! For Lord Franklin!”

Countless shouts echoed through space. The moment the NPC Legion's bodies touched the rune barrier, they exploded one after another, turning into pure torrents of energy that hammered the runes on the barrier. Every NPC's sacrifice could dim the rune barrier's light by a fraction, but the Sower's energy was continuous, and the runes kept regenerating like weeds. The speed of sacrifice far exceeded the speed at which the barrier was being weakened.

AKai watched the falling NPCs on the monitoring screen and Franklin's figure flickering in the data light. His eyes instantly turned red, yet he could only stare fixedly at the console, pouring all his energy into maintaining the shield. He knew that Franklin's sacrifice was not in vain; it was to buy even a single minute or second for Lin Fan and Kate's return.

Just then, two golden streaks of light sped from the depths of the universe, moving so fast they even tore the space of Low Earth Orbit. It was Lin Fan and Kate. As soon as they arrived, they saw the tragic scene—the NPC Legion falling like meteors, turning into cosmic dust, Earth's golden shield teetering on the brink, the power of the rune light beam growing stronger, and the rune spaceship's attack showing no sign of weakening.

"Franklin!" Lin Fan's eyes nearly split from rage as the cosmic energy around him erupted instantly. Golden light illuminated the entire low Earth orbit like a sun, temporarily suppressing the crimson rune light. With a wave of his hand, countless golden data streams transformed into sharp blades, slashing toward the rune spaceship's barrier. Fusing with Kate's energy, they temporarily blocked the rune beam attacks, relieving the pressure on Earth's shield.

"Lin Fan, you're finally back!" AKai's voice held a hint of relief mixed with urgency. "Quick, we can't hold out much longer! The Sower's core is inside the ship; it must be destroyed immediately!"

Lin Fan didn't respond. His gaze was locked onto the rune spaceship. The cosmic energy within him surged uncontrollably again, and his semi-transparent state reappeared as the sensation of fading emotions struck once more. He could clearly perceive a pure, destruction-filled energy hidden within the rune spaceship's core—the Sower's source and the root of all disasters.

"Kate, you and AKai hold the shield. I'm going to destroy their core." Lin Fan's voice still carried a touch of ethereality. He struggled to suppress the energy within him, fighting to keep from losing control again.

"No!" Kate immediately grabbed his hand, her eyes full of worry. "The Sower's core is bound to be full of traps. It's too dangerous for you to go alone! Besides, your energy is unstable; if you lose control, the consequences will be unthinkable!"

"There's no time." Lin Fan shook his head and pointed to Earth's shield, where cracks had already begun to appear in the golden light. "If we wait any longer, the shield will shatter. Then, Earth, humanity, and everyone we care about will vanish." He paused and looked at Kate, his eyes filled with a final tenderness. "Trust me, I'll come back. I promised you I wouldn't forget you, I wouldn't become a god—I will return to your side."

Having said that, he gently pulled his hand from Kate's. Without further hesitation, he turned into a golden stream of light and charged toward the rune spaceship.

Just as Lin Fan was about to touch the rune barrier, a black figure suddenly burst from the shadows of the rune spaceship. Moving like lightning, it blocked his path. It was Night Owl. His armor was still battered, and the energy core in his chest flickered with an unstable red light, but the patterns on his body had undergone a world-shaking change. The crimson patterns that originally belonged to the Sowers had been replaced by pale golden lines—winding and twisting, identical to the patterns Lin Fan's biological mother had left on him.

"Night Owl?" Lin Fan stopped, his eyes full of confusion and caution. He could sense that the energy fluctuations within Night Owl had completely changed; it was no longer the Sowers' destructive energy, but a familiar, gentle energy belonging to the Observers.

Night Owl looked up and slowly removed his helmet, revealing a face that bore some resemblance to Lin Fan's. His gaze was no longer cold and loyal as before, but filled with complex emotions: pain, relief, and a hint of guilt. "Lin Fan, don't go," he said, his voice raspy like sandpaper. "The Sower's core isn't as simple as you think. Charging in blindly will only lead to you being swallowed by their power."

"Why have you become like this?" Lin Fan frowned. He could clearly perceive that the Sower loyalty program within Night Owl had been overwritten by another powerful set of code—code that carried the aura of his biological mother.

"I am a clone of your mother," Night Owl said slowly, revealing a secret hidden for eons, his voice carrying endless weariness. "After the Sowers discovered your mother was modifying the light orb and attempting to resist them, they extracted her genes and created me. They implanted a loyalty program in my body, making me monitor the Observer race and watch your every move, waiting for the right moment to bring both the light orb and you back to the Sower hive."

He raised his hand and pointed toward the rune spaceship's core, the golden patterns on his fingertips shimmering. "But just now, the moment you absorbed the light orb prototype's energy, the residual code your mother left in my body was activated. It overrode the Sower program. I... regained my sense of self. I remembered everything—her instructions, and the secret of the light orb."

"The secret of the light orb?" Lin Fan's heart stirred, and he pressed for more.

"The Sowers are the dark fragments of the light orb prototype," Night Owl's voice dropped, turning solemn. "The light orb prototype was a lifeform from the dawn of the universe. Its energy is divided into light and dark sides. The light side nurtured civilizations, while the dark side gave birth to the Sowers. They feed on the fear of harvested civilizations and find joy in destruction. Their core isn't energy or code—it is fear."

"Fear?" Lin Fan and Kate were both stunned, their faces full of confusion.

"Exactly, fear," Night Owl nodded and continued to explain. "Your mother and the Observer race studied this for eons before finally discovering the secret. The Sowers were born from the fear of the universe. They fear the unknown, they fear emotions, and they fear anything that can break their rules. Human emotions—especially love, courage, and sacrifice—are what they fear most, and the only weapons that can destroy them. Your mother modified the light orb specifically to inject human emotions into its energy, creating the ultimate weapon against the Sowers."

A flash of realization crossed Kate's eyes. She looked at Lin Fan and gripped his hand tightly. "So, Lin Fan's emotions are the key to stabilizing the energy and fighting the Sowers? But he almost lost his emotions just now because the energy went out of control..."

"That is exactly why he cannot act recklessly," Night Owl sighed. "The cosmic energy in Lin Fan's body is too immense. If his emotions cannot suppress the energy, he won't just fail to destroy the Sowers; he'll be assimilated by their fear energy and become their puppet. Your mother's residual code tells me that to completely destroy the Sowers, Lin Fan's human emotions must perfectly fuse with the cosmic energy to form an 'Emotional Energy Wave.' Only then can their core fear be dismantled."

Lin Fan fell silent. He looked down at his palm, where golden energy danced at his fingertips. He could clearly feel his emotions still struggling against the cosmic energy; one wrong move, and he would be on the brink of losing control again. He thought of Kate's hug and her words, and a surge of warm power rose in his heart—but this power wasn't yet enough to completely suppress the cosmic energy within him.

"I'll help you," Kate spoke suddenly, her eyes filled with resolve. She looked at Lin Fan with a gentle smile. "My data core stores all of our memories—the purest love, the firmest courage, the deepest concern. I can inject all of these emotional codes into your energy, allowing your emotions and energy to completely fuse and stabilize."

"No!" Lin Fan refused immediately, his voice filled with an unprecedented panic. "Your data core is already unstable because your consciousness dissipated before. If you inject that energy, you'll vanish completely! Not even a data fragment will remain!"

"So what?" Kate shook her head and reached out to caress his cheek, her eyes tearful yet exceptionally firm. "From the beginning, I was just a piece of data abandoned by the military. You gave me emotions, memories, and a reason to live. You showed me that data can have warmth, code can have feelings, and a virtual world can have real love. Now, to be able to do one last thing for you, to protect our world, and to let you become a true Guardian—I do this willingly."

Without waiting for Lin Fan to argue, she fully opened her data core. Countless warm data streams, carrying memory fragments, poured frantically from her body like a golden stream into Lin Fan. Those memories—meeting in the Cherry Blossom Forest of the virtual world, him standing up for her when the military hunted her, his refusal to leave her during the Mirror War, everything he sacrificed to stabilize her consciousness... Every memory carried the purest emotion, wrapping around the cold cosmic energy in Lin Fan's body like a warm current, instantly making the restless energy warm and stable.

Lin Fan's body stopped trembling, and the light in his eyes became clear and resolute. He could clearly sense his energy and emotions fusing perfectly, forming a power capable of destroying all darkness. It was the power of humanity, the power of love, and the power of courage.

Meanwhile, Kate's body was gradually becoming transparent. Her data core was dissipating bit by bit, like grains of sand in the wind, unable to coalesce again. She looked at Lin Fan with a satisfied smile and whispered, "Lin Fan, remember, love is the only ultimate code... Don't forget me, never."

As her voice fell, her body turned into countless golden specks of light, merging into Lin Fan's energy and vanishing completely into space, leaving only a faint aura lingering around him.

"Kate!"

Lin Fan let out a heart-wrenching cry. The emotional energy within him erupted instantly, and golden light broke through all obstacles, illuminating the entire universe like a sun and completely suppressing the crimson light of the rune spaceship. In his eyes, there was no more confusion or loss of control—only his longing for Kate, his rage toward the Sowers, and his determination to protect Earth.

Watching this, a hint of relief flashed in Night Owl's eyes. He turned and charged toward the rune spaceship's defense systems, his voice reaching Lin Fan through the energy waves: "Lin Fan, I'll help you pin down the Sower's defenses. Destroying their core is up to you! Fulfill your mother's dying wish!"

At the Antarctic Base, AKai watched the dazzling golden figure on the monitor and Kate's disappearance, and tears finally fell. He clenched his fists, pouring all the energy into the shield, and roared, "Lin Fan, we can hold! Go! We'll protect Earth together!"

In low Earth orbit, the golden light and crimson runes collided violently. Lin Fan's figure was like the dawn piercing the darkness, charging toward the Sower's core with unstoppable momentum. The power of ultimate evolution had fully awakened within him, but this time, he was not a cold god, but a Guardian with human emotions. He had only one goal: to destroy the Sowers, protect everything he loved, and make Kate's sacrifice meaningful.

Inside the rune spaceship, crimson runes covered every corner like blood vessels. Countless bio-mechanical fusions patrolled the corridors; they were killing tools created by the Sowers. Sensing Lin Fan's arrival, they lunged at him. But wherever Lin Fan's Emotional Energy Wave passed, those fusions dissolved instantly into cosmic dust. No power could block his path.

He pressed forward, breaking through defense after defense, until he finally reached the rune spaceship's core area. This was a massive spherical space with a black orb suspended in the center. The orb's surface was covered in crimson runes, emitting a suffocating energy of fear. That was the Sower's core—the dark fragment of the light orb prototype.

The black orb suddenly emitted a low rumble, and countless crimson energy beams shot toward Lin Fan, but they were all blocked by his Emotional Energy Wave. Lin Fan looked at the black orb, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. He slowly raised his hand, gathering all his emotional energy into his palm. The golden light grew brighter and brighter, like a miniature sun.

"Sowers, your harvest ends here."

Lin Fan's voice echoed through the core area, filled with endless resolve. He slammed the golden energy ball in his palm into the black core orb.

The moment the golden light collided with the black fear energy, the entire rune spaceship shook violently. The crimson runes began to collapse, the bio-mechanical fusions disintegrated, the stripping of the atmosphere stopped instantly, and Earth's golden shield became solid once more.

Standing in the core area, Lin Fan felt the Sower's core crumbling, the stable energy within him, and Kate's residual aura. Tears flowed from his eyes. He knew this wasn't the end, but a new beginning. He would carry on with Kate's wish and the hope of humanity, continuing to protect this world forever.

In the depths of the universe, the faint aura of the light orb prototype captured Kate's dissipated data fragments, gently wrapping them and drifting toward an unknown direction.