96: Chapter 96 The Eye of Truth

The convoy stopped at the foot of the snow-capped mountain.

Chen Mo pushed open the door and stood in the snow.

Those golden lines seeped out from the ground, standing out starkly against the backdrop of the white snow.

The entire mountain was glowing—not with physical light, but with the light of rules.

Those lines surged from deep within the mountain, extending in all directions and connecting to the sky of the entire Europa Zone.

The Knight walked over. "It is inside. It hasn't moved for three days."

Chen Mo nodded. He activated Time Perception; everything within a fifty-meter radius was normal.

But that point deep within the mountain was brighter than it had been three days ago. The Agent was gathering strength.

"You wait outside," Chen Mo said.

The Knight was stunned for a moment. "You're going in alone?"

"Alone."

The Knight was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "We will wait outside for backup."

Chen Mo turned and walked toward the foot of the mountain. There was an opening there, three meters high and two meters wide, pitch black inside.

Those golden lines surged out from the opening, floating in the air as if they had a life of their own.

He walked inside.

Darkness swallowed him instantly.

But with the Pupil of the Sequence, the flow of those lines was clearly visible—they surged from deep within, extended upward along the cave walls, and finally pierced through the mountain, disappearing into the sky.

The source of these lines was the Agent.

Chen Mo walked down the passage. The slope was steep, and the ground was black rock, as smooth as if it had been polished.

The cave walls on both sides were carved with patterns that flowed slowly, identical to those on the door of the Source of the Sequence.

After walking for about ten minutes, the passage suddenly widened. He stood in a huge cave, at least half the size of a football field.

In the center of the cave stood a person.

Three meters tall, wearing a black robe, with a face that couldn't be seen clearly.

Those golden lines surged from its body, extending into the surrounding rock walls like blood vessels.

The entire mountain was under its control.

The Agent.

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver.

In his twenty-second Prediction, its movements were a blank slate—not because he couldn't see, but because it simply wasn't moving.

It was just standing there, looking at him.

Chen Mo took a step forward. The Agent moved.

It raised its hand, and those golden lines instantly retracted, all pointing at Chen Mo.

【S-rank pressure detected】

【All attributes suppressed: 50%】

【Prediction failed】

【Time Perception failed】

【Sequence Manipulation failed】

【Rule Creation failed】

【Recommendation: Retreat immediately】

Chen Mo stood still. His abilities were suppressed by half; Prediction was gone, Time Perception was gone, and Sequence Manipulation and Rule Creation were all gone.

But he still had one thing—the Pupil of the Sequence.

Those rule lines appeared in his mind. Not Prediction, not perception, but pure "seeing."

He saw those lines surging from the Agent's body, saw them extending along the cave walls, and saw their source—in the Agent's chest, there was a heart. A human one.

Just like the Night Prowler Zhang Weiguo.

The Agent spoke. The voice came from all directions, as if countless people were speaking at the same time.

"You have come."

Chen Mo did not speak. He stared at that heart.

Those lines surged from the heart, passed through the Agent's body, and then spread outward. The heart was the core, and also the weakness.

"You know who I am," the Agent said.

Chen Mo looked at it. "You are the Agent."

"I am," the Agent took a step forward, "I am also Zhang Yuan."

Chen Mo was stunned. Zhang Yuan. The old man he had seen in the Depths of the Strange Realm, that Chosen One from thirty years ago.

"Aren't you dead?"

The Agent was silent for a few seconds. "Dead. And yet not dead."

It raised its hand and pointed to its chest, "This heart is Zhang Yuan's. The body was created by the will of the ghost realm. I am a hybrid of it and a human."

It lowered its hand. "I am the Agent. And I am also Zhang Yuan."

Chen Mo stared at it. In the Pupil of the Sequence, the beating of that heart was clearly visible—very slow, each beat as if it had exhausted all its strength.

Those lines surged from the heart, passed through the Agent's body, and then spread outward.

If that heart were destroyed, the Agent would die. But the heart was protected by countless rule lines, which were harder than any armor.

"You want to kill me," the Agent said.

Chen Mo did not speak.

The Agent took a step forward. "Do you know what killing me means?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

"It means you will become the new Agent," the Agent said. "The will of the ghost realm will not give up on controlling the real world. Kill me, and it will find you. You will become me."

Chen Mo's hand tightened on the cleaver. To become the new Agent. To become Zhang Yuan. To lose himself.

The Agent looked at him. "Do you still want to kill me?"

Chen Mo was silent for a long time. Then he spoke. "You are not Zhang Yuan."

The Agent was stunned for a moment. "What?"

"Zhang Yuan is dead," Chen Mo said. "You are just his heart. You are not him."

He took a step forward. "Zhang Yuan would want me to kill him. Because he doesn't want to be a tool."

The Agent was silent. Those lines began to vibrate violently. Its body was trembling.

"How... do you know?"

Chen Mo did not speak. He just looked at the heart.

In the Pupil of the Sequence, the flow of those lines began to become chaotic. They were hesitating, wavering, doubting.

The Agent lowered its head and looked at its chest. "Perhaps you are right."

Its voice changed; it was no longer the chorus of countless people, but the voice of one person. Old, weary, but very clear.

"I am not Zhang Yuan. I am just his heart."

It raised its head and looked at Chen Mo. "Kill me."

Chen Mo looked at it. He looked for a long time. Then he raised the cleaver.

He swung the blade down. He cut into those rule lines, cut into the heart.

The Agent's body began to disintegrate; those lines snapped, and those rules collapsed. The entire mountain was shaking.

The Agent looked at him one last time. In those eyes, there was no pain, no fear, only something indescribable.

"Thank you."

It vanished. The heart shattered into countless fragments, scattering all over the ground.

【Agent killed】

【Obtained: Agent Core × 1】

【Obtained: Rule Fragment × 100】

【Current fragments: S-rank × 472, ordinary fragments approx. 1030】

【S-rank promotion condition updated: 2/3 complete】

Chen Mo stood still, looking at those fragments. Serialization progress: 3.0%. It had increased by 0.8%. But it was worth it. Because Zhang Yuan was finally free.

He turned and walked out of the cave. Outside, the sky was already bright. The Knight was waiting for him at the entrance.

"Is it over?"

Chen Mo nodded.

The Knight looked at him. "Are you injured?"

Chen Mo looked down at his hands. Those golden lines were surging beneath his skin, brighter than before. It wasn't an injury; it was Serialization.

"No," he said.

He walked toward the pickup truck. He sat in the driver's seat and started the engine. Lin Wei got into the passenger seat.

The pickup truck drove back the way they came. In the rearview mirror, the snow-capped mountain grew more and more distant.

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

The Agent was dead. Zhang Yuan was free. Only one condition remained—to control 50% of the sequence rules.

He pressed the accelerator. Go back, and begin.

Chapter 96

End