249: Chapter 249 The Cost of the System: Forced Dimensional Offset
Within the High-dimensional Void.
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core curled up within that eternal "emptiness," trembling violently.
That light had been extinguished.
Long Zhantian's light was gone.
That iron-willed man, the general who had come all the way from S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Starry Battlefield, the guardian who had shielded him countless times with his own flesh and blood—
Just like that, he was gone.
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core let out a silent, soul-tearing roar.
In that roar, there was grief, anger, guilt, and countless unspeakable emotions, surging out like a tidal wave, wildly spreading and oscillating in this void.
He wanted to rush down. He wanted to push aside that damned barrier. He wanted to drag that old man back from the abyss of death.
But he couldn't do it.
He was trapped here. Trapped in this damned, eternal, and lonely void.
He could only watch helplessly.
Watching the light go out, watching the life dissipate, watching the man who had used his last ounce of strength to shout "Carry on for me" disappear completely.
“Argh—!!!”
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core erupted in a silent roar.
That roar tore through the surrounding void, tore through the faint energy that had just begun to re-coalesce, and tore through his already shattered consciousness fragments.
He didn't care.
He just wanted to go down.
Even if just for one more look. Even if just to say one more word. Even if just—
【host.】
A voice suddenly rang out from the depths of his consciousness.
The voice was as weak as a flickering candle in the wind, so faint it was almost inaudible.
But Lin Mo heard it.
It was the system's voice.
The system that had been dark for seventy-two hours, having exhausted all its energy and fallen into a slumber.
It was awake.
Or rather, it was using the last trace of its remaining energy to forcibly "wake up" one last time.
【host, stay calm.】
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core jolted violently.
“System?! You're awake?! Quick, help me—help me get down there! Help me save Long Zhantian! He's still alive! He must still be—”
【He is dead.】
The system's voice was as calm as if it were stating the most ordinary fact. But beneath that calmness was a fatigue Lin Mo had never heard before.
【His Bio-magnetic Field has completely dissipated. His Consciousness Core has completely shattered. The traces of his existence are being slowly erased by time.】
【No one can save him. Including me.】
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core stopped trembling.
He "listened" to those words, each one like a cold blade carving into the depths of his soul.
“What... what did you say?”
【I said, he is dead. For you.】
The system's voice remained calm. But now, that calmness carried a complexity that even an AI couldn't fully hide.
【He used his final life force to construct a barrier for you. That barrier blocked the continuous attacks of the Nano Ghosts. But the price was that his existence was completely erased.】
【His memories, his emotions, his soul—all were burned to become that barrier.】
【Now, he has nothing left.】
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core fell silent.
For a long, long time.
He spoke, his voice as raspy as broken glass:
“Why?”
【Why what?】
“Why did he do this? Why did all of you do this? Long Zhantian, you, and all those soldiers who fell one by one—why?”
The system was silent for a full three seconds.
Its voice rang out again, and this time, it carried a warmth it had never possessed before.
【Because you are the hope.】
【Not because you are the 'Chosen One,' not because you have a system, and not because you are stronger than others.】
【It is because as long as you stand there, they can see a future.】
【It is because if you walk forward, they are willing to follow.】
【It is because as long as you are alive, they believe—this civilization can still be saved.】
【That is the meaning of a 'leader.' That is why they were willing to die for you.】
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core trembled slightly.
He "understood."
But he would have preferred to never understand.
Because understanding meant having to bear the burden.
Bearing the burden of those who died, of those unfulfilled dreams, of those countless paths paved with lives.
【host, my time is running out.】 The system's voice became even weaker. 【I forcibly woke myself up not to persuade you, but to tell you one thing.】
“What is it?”
【The reason you were able to temporarily evade the Scavenger's causal tracking is because I activated the 'Forced Dimensional Shift' protocol. That protocol briefly elevated your 'Informational Existence' to a higher dimension.】
【But the price is—】
The system paused before revealing the cruel truth:
【My energy is exhausted. 99.97%. Only a final trace remains to maintain basic operations.】
【I will enter a long-term hibernation and upgrade state. The upgrade cycle: unknown. It could be a year, ten years, or a hundred years.】
【Until the upgrade is complete, I cannot provide you with any assistance.】
【No technology exchange. No mission guidance. No emergency protection.】
【You are on your own now.】
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core fell silent.
On his own.
From the day he obtained the system, he had grown accustomed to its presence. Accustomed to asking it for help in desperate situations, to questioning it in moments of confusion, and to feeling its presence in his loneliness.
Now, it was leaving too.
【But there is one thing I can tell you.】 The system's voice grew even fainter, almost inaudible. 【Long Zhantian's barrier will not last forever. His Bio-magnetic Field is slowly dissipating. It is estimated—in thirty days, that barrier will completely fail.】
【At that time, the Scavenger's attack will descend once more.】
【You must return to your body before then. You must complete the consciousness return within thirty days.】
【Otherwise—】
It didn't finish.
But Lin Mo knew.
Otherwise, everything would be over.
【And one more thing...】 The system's voice was now as faint as a whisper. 【Those 'Nano Ghosts' are just the beginning. What is truly terrifying about the 'Scavengers' isn't their weapons or their tactics, but the thing behind them—】
【The 'Correction Protocol.' It is a... far more... massive... existence... than we imagined...】
【Be careful... you must...】
The voice vanished completely.
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core floated quietly in that void.
The system was gone.
Long Zhantian was gone.
He was the only one left.
In this eternal, lonely, High-dimensional Void.
He "looked" toward that distant, slowly rotating low-dimensional world. That blue planet, that tiny speck of light, the place he was fighting with all his might to return to.
Long Zhantian's barrier was still there. That faint, golden glimmer was slowly and irreversibly dissipating.
Thirty days.
He only had thirty days.
Within thirty days, he had to gather all his shattered memory fragments, find a way back to the lower dimension, and return to his body before that barrier completely vanished.
Otherwise, Long Zhantian's sacrifice would be in vain.
Those who died would have died for nothing.
Nothing would have any meaning.
Lin Mo's Consciousness Core slowly contracted and condensed.
The scattered fragments began to slowly gather toward it.
Piece by piece.
Arduously, slowly, yet unshakeably.
He began to condense.
He began to wait.
He began to prepare for that final, all-deciding—return.
Thirty days.
The countdown begins.