138: Chapter 138 The so-called "big filter" is nothing more than a firewall that hasn't paid for internet access.

Starry Sky Ancient Road, the forward edge of the core shipping lane in the fourth quadrant—the 'Wall of Sighs'.

This was a famous dead zone in the Universe, a 'Great Filter' that lay across the path of advancement for countless civilizations. Gazing out, the starry sky ahead was utterly severed by a vast, multi-hued nebula spanning billions of light-years, boundless in all directions. The nebula appeared beautiful and resplendent, like a curtain of aurora woven by the Creator, emanating a mesmerizing halo. In reality, however, it was composed of countless fragments of chaotic Laws, storms of high-dimensional energy, and residues of Karma entanglement. Any matter attempting to traverse it, whether tangible warships or intangible Mental Energy, would be instantly decomposed into the most fundamental particles upon contact, returning to the Void Realm.

At that moment, anchored on the periphery of the nebula were tens of thousands of various spacecraft. Most were from wandering civilizations, exploration teams, or merchant guilds of various star Systems. Now, they resembled schools of fish blocked before a dam, anxiously and despairingly circling, yet not daring to cross the forbidden line. Countless wrecks before them had proven the fate of those who tried to force their way through.

'Look! What is that thing?!' Inside a streamlined ship shaped like a water droplet with a mirror-smooth surface, a three-eyed alien observer pointed at the radar screen behind them and exclaimed in shock.

There, in the pitch-black Void Realm, a massive, atmosphere-wrapped blue planet was rumbling forward with an extremely arrogant, traffic-rule-defying attitude, trailing a hundred pink 'tails'. Not only was it enormous, but it was also moving at incredible speed, accompanied by intense gravitational wave oscillations, showing absolutely no intention of slowing down.

'Warning! Collision warning! Super-massive unidentified flying object approaching!' 'Evade! Evade quickly! That thing looks like a lunatic!' The surrounding smaller ships scattered in panic, thrusters at full power, clearing a wide passageway like a flock of startled birds.

pangu-003 (the Cultivation World) was like a heavyweight sumo wrestler barging into a kindergarten. With an Aura of 'those who stand in the way shall die', it swaggered to a stop right at the forefront of the 'Wall of Sighs', a mere step away from the multi-hued nebula.

Tianhe Peak command room.

'So this is the 'Wall of Sighs'? Looks a bit like a scrambled screen when a computer crashes.' Li Mo stood before the holographic screen, arms crossed, observing the seemingly endless multi-colored barrier ahead. 【Eye of Truth · Deep Analysis in progress...】 【Target: Universe fourth quadrant · Civilization Screening Barrier (commonly known as the Great Filter).】 【Composition Essence: High-dimensional firewall + logic lock + Karma entanglement state.】 【Passage Conditions: 1. Possess an S-level key certified by the 'Star Alliance' (paying player); 2. Possess an energy level exceeding that of a stellar System (brute force cracking).】 【Note: This System has been operational for three hundred million years, containing numerous System vulnerabilities and backdoors.】

'Just as I thought.' Li Mo adjusted his glasses, a cold, knowing smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth. 'The so-called Great Filter, the so-called Wall of Sighs.' 'To put it bluntly, it's just a 'gameplay restriction System' or a 'paywall firewall'.' 'Only VIP players who've paid up (obtained the key), or cheaters with overwhelming combat power who can grind the Administrator into the dirt can pass through.' 'As for ordinary players... they can only stare helplessly from the outside, or wait to be harvested.'

At that moment, the newly hired Star Spirit Navigator, Lumi, rushed in hurriedly, still clutching her unfinished milk tea cup. 'Captain! We can't go any further! Really, we can't!' She pointed at the nebula, her face pale as paper, her voice trembling. 'That's a storm of Laws! I can sense it; the spatial coordinates inside are completely scrambled! Up is down, Karma is reversed!' 'Even a 'God King-class' warship from the Titan God Clan would lose its bearings instantly upon entering, eventually assimilated into a pile of scrap by the chaotic Laws!' 'We must go to the nearby **'Star Alliance office'** to apply and queue for an assessment, get a pass before we can...'

'Queue?' Li Mo cut her off, a trace of disdain in his eyes. He glanced at the radar, which displayed a 'office' queue stretching tens of thousands of kilometers. 'I hate queues the most. Especially queues for pretentious institutions like this.' 'Besides, my ship is too big, and that office's door is too small. I'm afraid I'd break the door and have to pay for it.'

'Then... then what do we do?' Lumi was on the verge of tears. 'Forcing our way through is truly a dead end! Even if you don't think of yourself, think of all the barbecue stalls on this ship!'

'Who said anything about forcing our way?' Li Mo pulled out the **spring and autumn brush** from his robes, along with the **Administrator's little notebook** that struck fear into the hearts of countless abyssal creatures. 'Since it's a firewall, there must be a backdoor. It's a programmer's common flaw.' 'If there's no backdoor, then I'll just make a window. That's called physical hacking.'

Li Mo turned to look at Director Lei. 'Director Lei, is the main cannon ready?'

'Always ready!' Director Lei excitedly rubbed his hands together, static electricity crackling in his hair. 'It's been fully charged for a while now! Are we going to blast this wall open? I've disliked this wall for ages; it blocks too much light!'

'No, no live ammunition this time.' Li Mo shook his head. 'Use **'signal flares'.** 'Engrave my 'instructions' into the energy frequency of the projectile and fire it in.' 'This is called... 'throwing a stone to inquire about the way'.''

Li Mo raised his brush and wrote a line of shimmering golden code (or rather, a rule) in the little notebook. With each stroke of his brush, ripples formed in the surrounding space. 【Rule Modification:】 【Target: Wall of Sighs (Region ID: 404).】 【Operation: Add System whitelist.】 【Whitelist Content: pangu-003 and all its attached accessories (including those hundred pink ships, and every skewer on the ships).】 【Permission Authentication: Root (Administrator).】 【Note: One of us, don't friendly fire.】

'Go.' Li Mo tore off the page and tossed it casually. The seemingly weightless page instantly transformed into a stream of light, traversing space and flying into the core of Tianhe Peak's main cannon.

'Fire!'

*Humm——!!!* This time, the main cannon did not unleash its world-shattering roar, nor did it fire a beam of utter destruction. Instead, it shot forth a gentle, golden ripple. This ripple, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, silently merged into the chaotic, multi-hued nebula.

Utter silence fell over the scene. The surrounding alien civilizations watching from the sidelines were waiting to see a joke. 'Has that primitive civilization gone mad? They dare to attack the Wall of Sighs?' 'They're finished! They'll be instantly annihilated by the Law backlash! I bet fifty cents they won't last three seconds!'

However. The anticipated backlash did not occur. On the contrary, the originally chaotic, all-devouring multi-hued nebula, upon contact with the golden ripple, suddenly... fell silent. It was as if boiling water had been paused, or a raging beast had heard its master's whistle.

Immediately after. Under the utterly horrified, eye-popping gazes of all the civilizations present. That nebula barrier spanning billions of light-years, which had blocked countless civilizations, actually began to slowly part to both sides. It was like Moses parting the sea, or a great door swinging open. A wide, flat, safe-green-light-flashing exclusive passageway materialized before the ship. The nebula on either side of the passage not only refrained from attacking the ship, but seemed to be lining up in welcome, automatically coalescing into massive arrows pointing forward.

【System Notification: Whitelist verification passed.】 【Welcome, Your Excellency Administrator.】 **【VIP exclusive passageway opened. We wish you a pleasant journey. Please note, there is interstellar turbulence ahead after turning left.】