190: Chapter 190 The Counterattack of Old Lake East: The Restart Plan

At 9 hours and 17 minutes after the Free Trade Zone opened, the first world began formatting.

It wasn't an attack.

It was self-deletion.

In the monitoring footage before Lin Chen's eyes, Dimension E-099, the Garden Dimension—the beautiful world he had previously used as a diversion—suddenly entered a silent state.

Its sky turned pure white, and then the entire world began to dissolve from the edges into flowing code, as if erased by an eraser. Those codes weren't crashing; they were flowing back in an orderly fashion, merging into a black hole deep within the dimensional void.

"President Lin!" Zhang Hao's voice was filled with panic. "The World Consciousness of the Garden Dimension just submitted a 'Voluntary Disconnection Application' and then initiated its self-destruction sequence! We didn't even have time to approve it!"

"It's not self-destruction," Su Qingyu analyzed the data stream. "It's formatting. It's reverting itself to the most primitive world template—all life data, civilization records, and emotional memories are being purged."

In the footage, the last Eternal Golden Maple of the Garden World vanished into points of light.

The entire world became a blank data template.

[E-099 Garden Dimension has disconnected]

[World Status: Formatting Complete]

[Remaining Active Worlds Count Updated: 7,402,330]

On the Countdown Stele in the Epoch Fissure, the number decreased by one.

"It's the Golden Throne!" Mo Shan tracked the operation logs. "Even though that old shareholder was crippled by us, he still has one last bit of authority—he 'soul-bound' himself to the control rights of the Garden Dimension. With just a single thought, the Garden Dimension will format itself along with him!"

"Is it a suicidal retaliation?" Zhang Hao couldn't believe it.

"No," Lin Chen stared at the data stream. "He's making a demonstration."

Just as he finished speaking.

A second world began formatting.

Dimension G-007, the Gold Standard Dimension—the Golden Throne's own core world.

That financial world, which Lin Chen had once collapsed using Antimatter Gold, was now deleting itself. But this time was different: during the formatting process, all wealth data, financial contracts, and economic rules within the world were packaged into a golden data packet and shot into the depths of the dimensional void.

Lin Chen tracked the trajectory of that data packet.

The destination was: the public resource pool of the Administration Bureau.

"I see." His voice was cold. "This isn't retaliation; it's a trade."

"A trade?"

"The old shareholders are formatting the worlds they control and handing the 'pure world templates' over to the Administration Bureau." Lin Chen pulled up a hidden agreement from the backend. "The Administration Bureau previously signed 'World Reclamation Clauses' with them: if a world loses its value due to force majeure, the shareholders can format and return it, and the Administration Bureau will provide compensation based on the template's value—the compensation being part of the control rights for the Epoch Reboot Protocol."

The screen expanded.

That agreement was signed three hundred years ago, hidden in the appendix of the platform's regulations. The clause read:

[When the platform encounters a systemic crisis, shareholders holding 'World Reclamation Rights' may initiate formatting procedures to return the world to the Administration Bureau. For each world returned, they gain 0.0001% of the voting weight for the 'Epoch Reboot Protocol'.]

"They need to gather 51% of the voting weight," Su Qingyu calculated. "That would require formatting... five hundred and ten thousand worlds."

"But the platform only has a total of over seven million worlds," Zhang Hao said. "Are they really going to format a tenth of them?"

"More than that." Lin Chen pulled up the list of worlds currently linked to the old shareholders' control. "The Golden Throne, the Order Defender Alliance, and the remnants of the captured shareholders... they directly control about eighty thousand worlds. But there are many more worlds indirectly bound to them through 'debt agreements', 'resource mortgages', and 'forced contracts'."

The list expanded.

Direct Control: 82,447 worlds

Indirect Control: Approx. 3.1 million worlds (bound through economic means)

"What they want to do is not format the worlds themselves," Lin Chen said. "They are coercing those bound worlds into 'voluntarily' formatting."

As if to prove his words.

The third, fourth, and fifth worlds began formatting simultaneously.

These were all economically bound worlds—they owed massive debts to the old shareholders. If they didn't cooperate with the formatting, the old shareholders would initiate debt liquidation, causing their world economies to collapse instantly.

"They're using an open scheme to force our hand." Zhang Hao grit his teeth. "If we stop the world formatting, it's equivalent to violating the principle of 'World Autonomy'—we just announced that we respect every world's choice. But if we don't stop it..."

"The countdown will accelerate." Lin Chen looked at the numbers on the rift's stele; it had already dropped to 7,402,325.

In ten minutes, six worlds were gone.

At this rate, in less than three months, it would breach a dangerous threshold.

"Have you found a solution?" he asked Mo Shan.

The rules advisory team was silent for a few seconds.

"There is one," Mo Shan said cautiously, "but the risk is high."

"Speak."

"The essence of the Epoch Reboot Protocol is a piece of 'base rule code' written in the deepest layer of the platform. To modify or abolish it, one needs to obtain the super voting rights of 51% of the platform's equity."

"I currently hold 58.2%," Lin Chen said.

"But your equity is based on the 'current platform architecture'." Mo Shan pulled up a complex equity structure diagram. "If the Reboot Protocol is activated, the platform architecture will enter a 'temporary restructuring state', and all equity voting rights will be frozen—until the restructuring is complete."

"In other words, during the reboot process, I can't use my equity to veto it?"

"Correct. But there's a loophole: in the three seconds before the restructuring begins, the system checks 'if any shareholder holds Absolute Veto Power'. This veto power must be purchased separately, and the price is..."

Mo Shan quoted a figure.

One million dimension points.

"That cheap?" Zhang Hao was stunned.

"Because no one has ever bought it," Mo Shan explained. "This veto power can only be used in the 'three seconds before restructuring' and only once. Historically, no shareholder has ever known the specific time of restructuring in advance—but we know it now. When the countdown hits zero, the restructuring begins."

"Buy it." Lin Chen didn't hesitate.

[Purchase of 'Absolute Veto Power' successful]

[You have gained one opportunity: Cast a veto vote in the three seconds before the Epoch Reboot Protocol is activated]

[Note: This vote will consume 99% of your current dimension points reserves]

Lin Chen's account balance instantly plummeted from hundreds of trillions to 1%.

"Money can be earned again." He looked at the account. "But there's only one chance."

"But now there's another problem," Su Qingyu reminded. "Even if you veto the reboot at the last moment, those worlds that have already been formatted... won't come back."

She pulled up detailed data on the formatting process.

"World formatting is irreversible. Life data is purged, civilization records are erased. Even if dimension points are used to forcibly reshape the world's shell, the 'soul' inside is gone. Those worlds... are already dead."

On the screen, the Garden Dimension, the Gold Standard Dimension, and several other worlds currently undergoing formatting had all become blank templates.

No life.

No memory.

Only a void.

"So," Lin Chen said, "what we need to do is not wait until the last moment to veto."

"But before that—"

"Make the old shareholders die first."

He opened the Free Trade Zone's backend and found the list of worlds economically bound by the old shareholders.

Then, he did one thing.

Debt waiver.

[Announcement: The platform's 'World Development Fund' will repay all debts owed by the worlds to the old shareholders on their behalf]

[Total Waiver Amount: Approximately 87 quadrillion dimension points]

[Source of Funds: Pledged loans against the next ten years of tax revenue from the Free Trade Zone]

"President Lin!" Zhang Hao Exclamation, "This is equivalent to gambling the entire platform's future!"

"If we don't gamble it," Lin Chen said calmly, "there will be no future."

The announcement was sent out.

Those worlds coerced by debt were instantly unbound.

The formatting process came to a screeching halt.

The old shareholders went mad.

The remnant soul of the Golden Throne forcibly connected to Lin Chen's communication—it now only had a wisp of consciousness left, parasitic on some data fragment.

"Lin Chen! Do you have any idea what you're doing?! Those debts are legal contracts! The platform has no right to interfere in private debts!"

"The platform has the right to maintain systemic stability." Lin Chen pulled up the new regulations. "According to Article 3-12, when an economic action threatens the survival of more than three worlds, the platform has the right to perform emergency intervention."

"This is a dictatorship!"

"No," Lin Chen smiled, "this is called a market bailout."

He closed the communication.

Then he ordered the team: "Now, clean up the last batch of pests."

"Although those old shareholders have lost their economic bindings, they still hold direct control over more than eighty thousand worlds. We need to—before they get desperate and format everything—"

"Seize the control rights."

"How do we seize them?" Zhang Hao asked.

"With money." Lin Chen opened the Free Trade Zone's trading panel. "Publish an acquisition announcement: For any old shareholder willing to transfer world control rights, the platform will acquire them at 300% of the market price. Cash payment, immediate arrival."

The announcement was issued.

Three seconds later, the first old shareholder surrendered.

It controlled seventeen low-magic worlds and originally didn't want to die with the Golden Throne. Now it could get three times the money, enough for it to live comfortably in other dimensions.

Transaction complete.

Control rights of the seventeen worlds were transferred to the platform's name.

Then came the second, the third...

The Old Shareholder Alliance began to collapse from within.

"No! You traitors!" the Golden Throne roared on the public channel. "After the Epoch Reboot, we can all gain permissions in the new epoch! Following Lin Chen only leads to death—"

Its words stopped abruptly.

Because Lin Chen connected to the official channel of the Epoch Administration Bureau.

"Inspector 117," he looked at the man in gray, "I need to confirm one thing."

"Speak."

"The old shareholders initiating formatting and returning worlds to the Administration Bureau—does this behavior comply with the 'Voluntary Principle'?"

The man in gray was silent for a moment.

"Technically, yes. The World Consciousnesses did indeed submit the applications."

"But what if they were coerced?" Lin Chen pulled up evidence of debt coercion. "If a world is forced to choose formatting because it will be liquidated for unpaid debts—is that still 'voluntary'?"

The man in gray was silent again.

Then he said, "The Administration Bureau only recognizes procedures, not motives."

"Then what if," Lin Chen smiled, "I have all the coerced worlds collectively sue the Administration Bureau?"

"Sue... the Administration Bureau?"

"According to the 'Cross-Dimensional Fair Competition Convention', no organization may use a monopoly position to coerce others. The Administration Bureau accepts formatted worlds while ignoring the underlying facts of coercion—doesn't that make you an accomplice?"

For the first time, the man in gray showed a visible flicker of emotion.

"You are threatening the Administration Bureau."

"No," Lin Chen shook his head, "I'm giving you a way out."

He pulled up the legal document he had just drafted.

"I am now representing 7.3 million worlds in formally applying to the Epoch Arbitration Tribunal: demanding a freeze on all formatting transactions until the investigation into 'coercion or not' is complete."

"Investigations take time," the man in gray said.

"How long?"

"At least three months."

Lin Chen smiled.

"Then freeze it for three months."

"Three months later, when my platform has completed its comprehensive upgrade..."

"We'll see then who still has the power to format whom."

The document was sent.

The channel for receiving formatted worlds in the Administration Bureau's public resource pool was forcibly frozen.

The old shareholders' last bargaining chip became invalid.

The remnant soul of the Golden Throne let out a final hiss and then completely dissipated.

And on the Countdown Stele deep in the rift, the number stopped at 7,402,319.

Temporarily.

Outside the window, the lights of the Free Trade Zone were still brilliant.

But Lin Chen knew—

Three months.

He only had three months.

Three months later, he would either devour the rules and become the new platform itself.

Or, he and all the worlds would be rebooted by the epoch...

And completely formatted.