231: Chapter 231 Something's Wrong

The joy of reunion was like the mellowest wine, intoxicating everyone.

Fatty hugged Zhang Qilin, laughing and crying by turns, like a child who had recovered their most beloved toy. Although Wang Xianzhi remained aloof, her tightly clenched, trembling hand on her scabbard and the glistening tears in her eyes betrayed her inner agitation. Lin Tianyi stepped forward and gave Zhang Qilin a heavy pat on the shoulder; a thousand words were contained in that silence.

Zhang Qilin appeared somewhat at a loss; he seemed to have forgotten many things, and the burning and rebooting of his soul had left him like a blank slate. Yet, he could clearly feel the sincere and fervent emotions radiating from the people before him—a feeling that was strange, yet... very warm.

However, amidst this heartwarming atmosphere of surviving a catastrophe, Song Yiqing's expression slowly grew solemn.

His brows were furrowed, and his sharp gaze swept across the surrounding environment—this island that seemed as beautiful as paradise. The beach was pristine, the coconut groves lush and verdant, the seawater azure and clear... everything was too perfect... it was unreal.

"Something's wrong." He suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's fervent hearts.

"What's wrong?" Fatty let go of Zhang Qilin and looked at him in confusion. "I think it's lovely here, with birds singing and flowers blooming. It's way better than that dump of a base we have. It's the perfect place for Little Brother to take a break."

"It's *too* 'right,' and that is the biggest problem." Song Yiqing's gaze turned toward the area deep within the island covered by dense vegetation. "My 'Qi Sense' tells me that this place... is too 'clean.' It's so clean... like a painting that has just been finished."

He paused, his tone becoming extremely serious: "We repelled the will of the 'Abyss' and forcibly rebooted the core of 'Guixu.' But have you ever thought about the fact that 'Guixu' itself is a massive 'prison' pieced together from countless 'fragments'? Now that we've forcibly rebooted the foundation of the prison, then... what about the 'prisoners' locked inside?"

This sentence made everyone's heart jolt!

They thought of Xiangliu, of Zhulong, and of those terrifying Purifiers... These things had merely been broken down into pure energy to reboot the core. But energy is conserved; where... would they go?

"'Formatting' does not equal 'deleting'; it equals 'reorganizing.'" Song Yiqing's voice seemed to carry a hint of chill. "We disrupted the original order and created an entirely new 'rule.' But until this new rule stabilizes, this space is the most fragile and also the most dangerous place!"

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over each of his companions before finally landing on Lin Tianyi.

"Team Leader Lin, this time... please let me lead the way."

"I can feel that at the center of this island, there is a... chaotic, massive, and... very familiar energy singularity. It's like a whirlpool, drawing all the reorganized 'fragments' toward it."

"That is the true end point of our mission this time." Song Yiqing's voice was resolute. "The danger... has only just begun. Everyone, get ready. We are going to meet a... greater adventure!"

No further words were needed; the instinct for battle had already been re-engraved into everyone's bones.

Lin Tianyi checked the remaining equipment on his body, Fatty hung the totem core back around his neck, and Wang Xianzhi gripped her longsword tightly. Even Zhang Qilin, whose memories were incomplete, felt the murderous atmosphere and instinctively grew vigilant; his body still remembered how to fight.

"Everyone, stay alert! Advance in combat formation!" Lin Tianyi gave the order.

With Song Yiqing leading the way, the five-person team said goodbye to the beautiful beach and stepped into the gloomy jungle deep within the island.

Once they stepped into the jungle, that paradise-like feeling vanished completely.

The trees here grew in grotesque and twisted shapes, with protrusions resembling eyeballs on their trunks, and the veins of their leaves were like tangled blood vessels. A strange, cloying odor of decay began to permeate the air.

"These plants... they are 'watching' us," Wang Xianzhi said in a low voice. Her Sword Intent could keenly perceive the malicious "gazes" all around.

"Ignore them. Follow me!"

Song Yiqing's goal was very clear. He navigated through the rugged forest, following the increasingly intense energy signature.

The further they went, the more bizarre the environment became. They saw that some rocks were actually embedded with metal parts, as if rock and machinery had been "reorganized" into one here. They even saw a stream where the flowing water was actually a glowing liquid resembling coolant.

This was the chaotic world where all the fragments of "Guixu" had been reorganized!

Finally, they passed through an archway formed by tangled bones and vines.

The scene before them suddenly opened up.

It was a... massive circular valley.

In the center of the valley stood a "throne" haphazardly piled together from countless twisted mechanical wrecks, broken ancient buildings, and the bones of some kind of massive creature!

Above the throne, streams of energy in different colors were frantically darting, intertwining, and colliding like electric snakes!

And in the center of that chaotic energy storm, a figure was sitting quietly.

He was wearing a tattered white lab coat stained with machine oil and blood.

One of his arms had been modified into a hideous claw made of bone and living metal.

Half of his face was covered by a constantly shifting mask made of data streams.

And on the other half of his exposed face, there hung a... sickly, fanatical smile, like one seeing a beloved toy!

"Welcome... welcome, everyone, to my... 'New World'!"

He slowly stood up and spread his arms, as if embracing the entire world.

"My 'brothers,' and my most 'outstanding' creations... you have finally arrived!"

This voice, this appearance—everyone present was intimately familiar with it!

"Wang... Wang Ba?!"

Fatty exclaimed, almost unable to believe his eyes.

The mad scientist who should have died at the "Zhulong" base and whom they had buried with their own hands—Wang Ba!

He... was actually here too!

"Surprised, aren't you?" The smile on Wang Ba's face grew increasingly manic. "You thought I was dead? No, no, no. 'Death' is merely another kind of 'beginning' for people like us who pursue the 'Ultimate.'"

"During that great 'formatting,' my residual, unwilling 'data' was luckily swept into the core of the storm! I devoured the fragments of Zhulong, fused with the core code of the Purifiers, and even... tasted a little bit of... the 'Abyss'!"

He extended that hideous mechanical bone claw and greedily clenched his fist, feeling the unprecedented, chaotic, and powerful energy within his body.

"Now, I am the... 'God' of this new world!"

His gaze finally landed on Zhang Qilin—a fervent look mixed with jealousy, greed, and possessiveness.

"And you, my most perfect 'Qilin'... you no longer need to be that boring 'Gatekeeper.'"

"Come here and merge with me!"

"Together, we will become... the final answer to this... universe!"

As his words fell, the entire circular valley began to shake violently!

Those twisted trees opened their "eyes"!

Those rocks embedded with machinery began to squirm, deform, and combine into deformed stone statue guards!

The sky was obscured by dark clouds, and in the clouds, the electric light of a data storm flashed!

Wang Ba had actually... to a certain extent, taken control of this "Guixu" world that had just finished reorganizing!

Lin Tianyi and the others were instantly enveloped by a massive, chaotic pressure mixed with the aura of both technology and mythology!

They had just defeated the "rules."

Now, they had to face a... madman who had stolen the power of the "rules"!

This was undoubtedly a... more desperate battle.

Lin Tianyi slowly drew the dagger at his waist, and together with his companions beside him, stood back-to-back, forming a circle.

His gaze, sharp as an eagle's, stared directly at the arrogant figure on the throne.

"It seems that before we can go home this time..."

"We still have to... clean up first."