270: Chapter 270 Zero's True Identity! He is a wisp of self-doubt from the original author.

The moment the thirteen seeds of the heavenly dao were activated simultaneously, time seemed to stretch.

Lin Chen watched as those seeds, glowing with different lights, blasted toward him, yet his mind was exceptionally clear—there were only twenty-seven seconds left on the Godhood Simulator, and he had to react within that time.

But he didn't move.

Because he was waiting.

Waiting for a calculation to complete.

On the system interface, a progress bar was rapidly advancing: [Calculating suppression rate of Capital Law against seeds of the heavenly dao... 97%... 98%... 99%...]

Just as the first Cultivation version seed was only three centimeters away from his forehead—

The progress bar jumped to 100%.

The calculation result popped up:

[Essence of seed of the heavenly dao: Manifestation of rules against commercial concepts]

[Essence of Capital Law: The ultimate form of commercial concepts]

[Suppression relationship: Capital Law can devour seeds of the heavenly dao, conversion rate is 1:1.3 (For every seed devoured, Capital Law strength increases by 30%)]

[Risk: The devouring process requires a large amount of human emotion as fuel]

Devour.

Not defense, not evasion.

It was to eat them.

Lin Chen smiled.

He opened his mouth—not a physical mouth, but a conceptual absorption interface.

That Cultivation version seed sank directly into his chest.

Instantly, an intense pain struck.

It wasn't physical pain, but a tearing sensation at the level of existence—as if someone were forcibly ripping a piece out of his soul. His memories began to shake, and fragments started to dissipate: the taste of the first meal his mother made in his childhood, the frustration of his first failed startup in college, the temperature of Su Qingyu's gaze when she left...

These emotions were being burned as fuel to devour the seed.

"So that's how it is..." Lin Chen gritted his teeth and endured, "No wonder Number Zero said becoming a god requires giving up humanity... because humanity is the fuel..."

The second Magic version seed followed immediately.

Devour again.

More memories were burned away: the sound of rain on the day his father passed away, the excitement of earning his first million, the inexplicable trust when Arrogant Dragon called him "Boss"...

With every seed devoured, his gaze grew colder.

By the time all thirteen seeds were completely devoured, Lin Chen could no longer feel any emotion.

He looked at Golden Glazed, who was lying unconscious on the ground, knowing she was important to him but not knowing why. It was like looking at a stranger.

He couldn't even remember her name.

"Glazed..." He muttered those two words based on the remaining memory fragments, but his heart felt no ripples.

The strength of the Capital Law increased by 390%.

With a single thought now, he could cause all debt contracts in the entire Oblivion Graveyard to automatically restructure, turn liquid text into tidy business plans, and make collapsing spatial rifts repair themselves into balance sheets.

But he didn't care anymore.

Number Zero re-manifested his form and watched Lin Chen's change, nodding with satisfaction: "Very good. You have taken the first step. Next, you only need to complete the final—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

Lin Chen suddenly raised his hand.

Not to attack Number Zero.

But to attack himself.

Using his Capital Law, he forcibly stripped a golden sphere of light from his body—it was all the power he had just gained after devouring the thirteen seeds.

Then, he injected this sphere of light into the unconscious Golden Glazed.

"Are you crazy?!" Number Zero's expression changed drastically, "That is the foundation of becoming a god! You're actually giving it to someone else?!"

Lin Chen did not answer.

Because his emotions were slowly recovering—as he stripped away the power, the burned humanity began to flow back.

He remembered who Golden Glazed was.

He remembered why he wanted to save her.

He remembered... who he was.

"Lord Number Zero," Lin Chen's voice regained its warmth, "the second mistake you made was—thinking that becoming a god was what I wanted."

He walked to Golden Glazed's side, watching the golden light inside her begin to spread, repairing her damaged meridians and dispelling Morgana's curse mark.

"From the very beginning, what I wanted wasn't to become a god," Lin Chen said. "What I want is freedom. The freedom to protect the people I want to protect, to do what I want to do, and to not be bound by any rules."

"And freedom..." He looked at Number Zero, "needs power to be guarded. So I pursue power. But if I have to sacrifice my humanity for power, then what meaning does that power have?"

Golden Glazed slowly opened her eyes.

Her pupils had turned pale gold, with the faint light of thirteen laws swirling within them.

"Lin Chen..." she whispered, "I saw... Number Zero's true identity..."

"What is it?"

"He is..." Golden Glazed sat up with difficulty, "a wisp of self-doubt generated by the 'Original Author' of the Narrative Layer when creating the first story."

"Self-doubt?"

"Yes." Golden Glazed stared at Number Zero, "When the Original Author was creating the Narrative Layer, he once doubted: was it wrong to add concepts like 'commerce' and 'capital' to the world? Would it make the world vulgar, utilitarian, and lose its pure beauty? This wisp of doubt broke away and transformed into Number Zero. So Number Zero's mission is to constantly purge 'over-commercialized' worlds, attempting to return the Narrative Layer to 'purity'."

Number Zero fell silent.

His silence was an admission.

"So you are not the incarnation of rules," Lin Chen concluded. "You are just a... byproduct of a creative error."

These words were like a knife, piercing into Number Zero's core.

His form began to fluctuate violently.

"I am not... an error..." For the first time, emotion flickered in Number Zero's voice, "I am a necessary... balance... Without me... capital would devour everything... the Narrative Layer would become... a massive exchange... all stories would become... commodities..."

"So what?" Lin Chen countered. "What's wrong with commodities? Readers pay to see stories, Authors live off their creations, and characters gain existence through exciting plots—isn't that a fair trade? Why must there be 'purity'? Can 'purity' put food on the table?"

"You... don't understand..." Number Zero's figure began to twist, "Pure stories... have souls... commercialized stories... only have tropes..."

"Tropes can move people too." Lin Chen pulled up the reader data for dimension shareholder, "Look, my story is commercialized to the extreme, but the readers love it. They cry for the characters, laugh at the plot, and urge for updates—isn't that a soul?"

Number Zero could not refute it.

Because he saw the data—the reader activity, emotional investment, and even the number of fan creations for that book were far higher than those of "pure" literary works.

"So," Lin Chen walked toward Number Zero, "you lost. Not because your power wasn't enough, but because your ideology is outdated."

He held out his hand: "I can give you a chance. Abandon the purge plan and join my commercial system. I'll establish a 'Narrative Aesthetics Oversight Department' for you, specifically responsible for ensuring that commercialized stories don't become trashy—that way, there's both a market and a baseline."

This was an offer of amnesty.

It was also an insult.

Number Zero stared fixedly at Lin Chen's hand, countless complex emotions flashing in his eyes: anger, resentment, confusion, and finally... exhaustion.

Three thousand eons of persistence were completely negated today.

He was tired.

"If I refuse?" Number Zero asked.

"Then I will use the Capital Law to acquire you from the level of rules." Lin Chen pulled out a prepared contract, "I have raised enough funds—using the bonds issued just now, plus my equity in two star regions, the total value exceeds one quadrillion dimension points. It's enough to buy ownership of the 'Inspector' position."

Acquiring a rule.

The idea was so crazy that even Number Zero was stunned.

"You can try to resist," Lin Chen added. "But I must remind you: now the interests of three hundred trillion investors in the entire Narrative Layer are tied to mine. To oppose me is to oppose the entire financial market. Guess how long you, an incarnation of rules maintained by 'recognition,' can last when all living beings begin to question the necessity of the 'Inspector's' existence?"

Checkmate.

Number Zero finally understood why Lin Chen had made such a massive bond issuance—it wasn't just to raise money, but to hijack the public opinion of the entire Narrative Layer.

He wasn't fighting alone now.

Behind him stood three hundred trillion "shareholders."

"You..." Number Zero smiled bitterly, "are truly a terrifying businessman."

"Thank you for the compliment." Lin Chen smiled, "So, what is your choice?"

Number Zero was silent for a long time.

Then, he made a move that was unexpected to everyone—

He split.

Not a clone, but a self-severing.

One half of him took the contract from Lin Chen's hand and signed his name: "I accept the amnesty. From today on, I am the Director of the 'Underworld Group Narrative Aesthetics Oversight Department'."

The other half of him, however, began to burn.

"But my mission... cannot be completely abandoned..." The voice of the burning part of Number Zero grew faint, "So... let me vanish completely... along with the 'obsession of the purge'..."

This part of Number Zero turned into pure white flames and began to incinerate itself.

But before completely vanishing, he looked at Golden Glazed and said one last thing:

"Be careful... of the Original Author..."

"He might... still be alive..."

"And his hatred for commercialization... is ten thousand times deeper... than mine..."

The white flames died out.

Half of Number Zero vanished, forever.

The remaining half became Lin Chen's employee.

The crisis seemed to be resolved.

But Golden Glazed's face turned even paler.

"The Original Author is still alive..." she murmured, "That means..."

Before she could finish.

The entire Oblivion Graveyard suddenly shook violently!

It wasn't caused by Number Zero.

It was a vibration coming from the deepest part of the graveyard.

Then, a voice so low it made the souls of all living beings tremble came from underground:

"Number Zero... you... useless piece of trash..."

"You can't even... deal with a... newly awakened capitalist fledgling..."

"It seems... I still have to... personally... take action..."

The ground exploded!

A giant hand made of pure black text reached out from underground!

The giant hand's target was not Lin Chen.

It was—

The Real World.