273: Chapter 273 Refuse the Sacrifice! I Need Fuel

The key stopped 0.1 millimeters in front of Lin Chen's fingertips.

If he reached out just one more millimeter, he could grasp that golden Epoch Guide authority and launch the Evolution Plan he had been plotting for so long.

But he didn't.

He withdrew his hand.

"Number 117," Lin Chen looked calmly at the face that had returned from the dead, "what did you just say? Say it again."

Number 117's smile froze for a moment, then spread again: "I said, the first step of the Evolution Plan requires sacrificing half of the living beings within the star system under your jurisdiction as fuel for 'Conceptual Evolution.' This is determined by the underlying rules—new things cannot be born unless old things perish. You should understand."

"I understand," Lin Chen nodded, "so I refuse."

Dead silence filled the room.

Morgana looked at him in shock.

Alpha's data stream fluctuated violently.

The livestream comment section exploded:

"He refused?!"

"Doesn't that mean he won for nothing?!"

"If he doesn't sacrifice them, his star system will be Zeroed anyway!"

Number 117 put away the key, the smile on his face vanishing completely.

"Lin Chen," his voice turned cold, "do you know the consequences of refusing? In 24 hours, if the evolution program cannot be started, the Narrative Layer will automatically execute a forced reboot. At that time, it won't be half of your star system that dies, but all of it."

"I know," Lin Chen said, "but I don't accept a choice between two evils."

He walked toward Number 117 and looked him straight in the eyes:

"You set this trap from the very beginning to test whether I would sacrifice a minority for the sake of the big picture. Now I'm telling you—I won't. No matter how noble the reason, a business decision that treats life as 'fuel' is essentially murder. And murder isn't business; it's a crime."

Number 117 fell silent.

The livestream room was quiet for a few seconds.

Then, the tide in the comment section began to turn:

"Well said!"

"Treating life as fuel—what's the difference between that and Zeroing!"

"Boss Lin, I'm backing you this time!"

Number 117 took a deep breath: "Then how do you want to solve it? Rules are rules. Evolution requires energy, and energy must have a source. Without fuel, everything is just empty talk."

Lin Chen didn't answer immediately.

He pulled up the system interface and quickly reviewed the underlying code of the Narrative Layer Basic Laws.

Three minutes later, he found it.

"The rules say 'energy' is needed, but they don't say the energy must be 'life'." Lin Chen pointed to a line of terms on the screen, "It says here: the startup energy for the evolution program can be 'any entity possessing high-density narrative value'."

"What do you mean?" Number 117 frowned.

"It means—" Lin Chen pulled up the financial backend, "life isn't the only entity with high-density narrative value."

He created a new financial product:

[Product Name: Epoch Evolution Energy Futures]

[Underlying Asset: Narrative Layer 'High-Density Value Assets']

[Exchangable Energy Types:]

1. Debt Contracts (Every 1 trillion dimension points of debt = 0.3 units of energy)

2. Story Copyrights (Every 100,000 active readers = 1 unit of energy)

3. Character Popularity (Every super-popular supporting character = 0.5 units of energy)

4. Business Credit Rating (Every AA+ grade = 2 units of energy)

5. Trademarks and Brand Premiums (Every 10 billion in valuation = 0.1 units of energy)

[Target Collection: 1,000 units of energy (equivalent to sacrificing 500 million living beings)]

"I am redefining the concept of 'fuel'," Lin Chen explained to Number 117, "from the 'death of life' to the 'securitization of assets'."

He clicked publish.

The futures went live.

The first transaction came from the Universe Bank—Golden Abacus sent a message via private communication: "I see you still remember the bank. I'll invest 200 units, exchanging it for a 300 trillion non-performing asset package held by the bank."

The second came from Morgana. She was silent for a long time, then whispered: "I have no assets, only the frozen core. Can it be exchanged?"

"Yes." Lin Chen pulled up the valuation, "The frozen core is a 'Rule-Grade Artifact,' valued at 100 units of energy. But you must think carefully—if you exchange it, your star system will lose its protection."

Morgana closed her eyes: "Exchange it. Freezing can no longer save my people, but the Evolution Plan can."

The third came from Alpha. It said nothing, simply sending its core algorithm library as a package, valued at 80 units.

The fourth, the fifth...

More and more investors, star system managers, and even ordinary readers began to list the "high-density narrative assets" they owned on the futures market.

Someone exchanged a limited-edition character figure they had cherished for three hundred epochs for 0.01 units of energy.

Someone mortgaged the film and television adaptation rights of their work for 3 units.

And an anonymous user sold all their memories of their first love—valued at 0.5 units, with a note: "She forgot me anyway, might as well trade them for something useful."

Three hours later.

Energy collection progress: 1,003 units.

Goal reached.

Lin Chen condensed those 1,003 units of energy into a golden orb of light and handed it to Number 117.

"Is it enough?"

Number 117 stared at the orb, his expression as complex as a spilled palette of colors.

"...It's enough." He took the orb, his voice strained. "You won. The rules recognize this plan—life was not sacrificed, yet the evolution program still starts."

He paused and smiled bitterly:

"Lin Chen, do you know? What you just did is more terrifying than becoming a god."

"What do you mean?"

"You've even securitized 'death'." Number 117 shook his head, "Is there anything in this world you can't trade?"

He turned and walked toward the portal.

Before disappearing, he turned back and said one last thing:

"I'm still going to give you the key to the Epoch Guide authority. Not because you won the test, but because... you've made me realize something."

"We 'Inspectors' have guarded the rules for thirty thousand epochs, yet we forgot that the rules are meant to serve life."

"And you, a businessman, actually remembered."

He let go.

The golden key floated toward Lin Chen.

This time, Lin Chen grasped it.

In an instant, a massive stream of data flooded his consciousness—the underlying code of the entire Narrative Layer, the detailed blueprint for the evolution program, and a list of all resources left behind by the Epoch Administration Bureau.

He saw the Administration Bureau's true legacy.

Not money, not weapons.

It was 127 million Spark Archives of failed civilizations.

Each archive was a complete record of a once-glorious, ultimately perished civilization—their culture, technology, art, philosophy, and even the diaries and love letters of ordinary people.

"The Administration Bureau spent three hundred epochs collecting these," Number 117's voice drifted from the portal, "just so the civilizations of the new epoch wouldn't have to start from scratch."

"Lin Chen, these Sparks belong to you now."

The portal closed.

Number 117 vanished completely—this time, he was likely truly dead.

Lin Chen looked at those over one hundred million archives and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he said one thing to the entire Narrative Layer livestream:

"The first step of the Evolution Plan isn't creating a new civilization."

"It's resurrecting the old ones."

He pulled up the first page of the archive.

It was a civilization named 'Eden,' destroyed in the first Zeroing Storm three million epochs ago. The archive recorded their final words:

"If one day, a successor reads these words—please remember, we existed. We loved, we hated, we created, we failed. We have no regrets."

Lin Chen projected those words onto every screen in the Narrative Layer.

Then, he wrote a reply beneath the text:

"Read."

"Will resurrect."

"Wait for me."

The comment section instantly exploded.

Countless readers began spamming the screen:

"I'm crying!"

"Boss Lin, pay me back for my tears!"

"This is true evolution!"

But at this deeply moving moment—

Lin Chen's personal terminal suddenly received an encrypted message.

Sender: Original Author (Moved away from the Origin of Creation).

The content was just one line:

"You want to resurrect the old civilizations?"

"Then do you know... why the first Zeroing Storm happened?"

"Because those civilizations were all abandoned by me personally."

Lin Chen's pupils constricted.

The message continued to pop up:

"They didn't die from natural disasters; they died because my inspiration ran dry."

"At the time, I had just written a few dozen stories. The reader feedback was poor, so I cut them all."

"When I cut them, I thought, no one's reading them anyway, might as well format and start over."

"I didn't expect..." The Original Author paused, "that they actually existed."

Silence.

A long silence.

Then the Original Author sent one last sentence:

"Lin Chen, I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness."

"But if you really do resurrect them..."

"Please don't tell them that I was the one who killed them."

After this message, there was no more response.

Lin Chen stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the reply box.

He wanted to type, "You're a fucking bastard."

He wanted to type, "Do you know they've been waiting for three million epochs?"

He wanted to type so much.

But in the end, he deleted all the text and only sent two words:

"Received."

He closed the communication and turned to look at the over one hundred million Spark Archives.

Then, he opened a new folder.

Title: [Resurrection Plan · First Batch List · Eden Civilization]

The cursor blinked in the filename input box.

He typed the first line:

[Eden Civilization Resurrection Approval Form]

[Number of People Applying for Resurrection: 3.17 Billion]

[Resurrection Method: Commercial System Integration (Initial jobs provided by the Underworld Group)]

[Estimated Cost: 90 Quadrillion dimension points]

[Source of Funds: Issuing "Civilization Resurrection Bonds," annual interest rate 3%]

[Note: This transaction is interest-free, as payment for the interest of three million epochs.]

He signed his name.

Then, he pressed "Approval Granted."

Vroom—

The system began to operate.