253: Chapter 253 Reverse Tracking: Going Upstream
The world of "Kunlun" returned to its former purity.
Those black cracks, those crazed hunting programs, that cold destruction data—all had vanished as if they had never existed.
Lin Mo stood in the center of that white space, surrounded by a golden light that had yet to fully dissipate. His chest rose and fell slightly—if he even had a chest here—the battle just now had consumed too much of the power he had just condensed.
But he had no time to rest.
Because the "disappearance" of those hunting programs did not mean they were completely destroyed. They had merely been expelled from "Kunlun" by him, returning to where they came from—
The source.
The place where the true secrets of the "Scavenger" were hidden.
Lin Mo looked up at the slowly rotating core of "Kunlun." It was a spiritual home formed by the collective consciousness of countless humans, the deepest and most sacred place in the entire virtual world.
Those hunting programs had come from that direction.
The data traces they left behind—those cold, destructive auras that had not yet fully dissipated—were slowly flowing back in that direction along "Kunlun's" data meridians.
Like wounded beasts fleeing back to their lair.
The corners of Lin Mo's mouth curled up slightly.
"Trying to run?" he whispered. "Did you ask me first?"
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath—and then, suddenly snapped them open.
In those eyes, a deep blue light, like a quantum flame, was now burning.
It was the light of his deepest understanding of information.
It was an ability unique to him as a "digital life."
He began to "see."
Not with his eyes, but with his consciousness. He perceived every trace left by the hunting programs that had not yet fully dissipated—those cold auras, the aftershocks of destruction, the residual data flowing slowly like blood through "Kunlun's" data meridians.
Those traces were very faint. So faint that ordinary people could not detect them at all.
But in Lin Mo's eyes, they were as clear as fire in the dark of night.
He "saw" the flow of those traces—they converged from all directions like countless tiny streams, then slowly flowed toward the same direction.
That direction—
Was precisely the core of "Kunlun."
Lin Mo did not hesitate in the slightest. He set off toward that direction.
The world of "Kunlun" was constantly changing as he advanced.
At first, it was those familiar white spaces and deep blue oceans. This was the area where most ordinary users were active in "Kunlun" —socializing, entertainment, learning, and working. Countless human consciousnesses converged here, leaving behind massive fragments of information.
The traces left by those hunting programs were still very clear here. They were like threads dyed red with blood, appearing exceptionally eye-catching amidst those pure data streams.
Lin Mo followed those threads deeper.
Gradually, the surrounding world began to grow unfamiliar.
The familiar scenes disappeared. In their place were abstract spaces composed of pure information, constantly shifting. There was no color, no shape, only countless pulsing data streams darting frantically through the void.
This was the deep region of "Kunlun." The consciousnesses of ordinary users could not reach this place at all. Only the top information experts and the deepest virtual explorers could briefly enter this area under specific conditions.
But Lin Mo was not "briefly entering."
He lived here permanently.
He continued forward.
The traces left by those hunting programs became clearer and denser here. They were no longer tiny threads, but thick data channels like blood vessels. Within those channels surged cold, destructive auras, causing the surrounding pure data streams to subconsciously shy away.
Lin Mo looked at those channels, a hint of solemnity rising in his heart.
The scale of those hunting programs was much larger than he had imagined.
They were not just a hunting force, but a massive network composed of countless pieces of destruction data.
And now, he was following this network toward its core.
What was hidden in that core?
He didn't know.
But he had to know.
He took a deep breath and stepped into one of the largest data channels.
At that moment—
The entire world changed.
Everything around him was no longer those abstract data streams, but an endless, dark void.
In that void, there was no light, no sound, nothing that could be perceived. Only the cold, destructive auras left by those hunting programs drifted slowly in the void, like countless invisible eyes staring fixedly at him.
Lin Mo did not stop.
He continued forward, step by step, toward the deepest part of that darkness.
He could feel the "aura" of those hunting programs growing stronger. They were no longer passively drifting, but began to actively surge toward him, trying to block his path, trying to push him back to that white world.
But Lin Mo did not stop.
He raised his hand and gave a light wave. The surging destructive auras dissipated instantly before him, like smoke hitting an iron wall.
"This is 'Kunlun'," he said softly, "not your hunting ground."
He continued forward.
One step.
Ten steps.
A hundred steps.
He didn't know how much time had passed or how far he had walked.
Finally, he stopped.
Because a door had appeared before him.
It was a massive, slowly rotating door composed of pure data.
Countless complex and dazzling geometric patterns flowed across the surface of the door. Those patterns were constantly changing, reorganizing, and evolving, as if speaking some ancient language from the depths of the universe that humans could not understand.
Behind the door was the source of those hunting programs.
It was where the true secrets of the "Scavenger" lay.
Lin Mo stood before that door, silent for a full three seconds.
Then, he raised his hand and pressed it lightly against the door.
At that moment—
Countless information fragments, like a frenzied torrent, suddenly flooded into his consciousness!
He saw—
The destruction of countless civilizations. The burning of countless planets. The wails of countless races. The end of countless worlds.
Those images flashed frantically in his mind, every frame carrying enough pain and despair to tear a soul apart.
Those hunting programs were not created out of thin air.
They were destruction data—collected, extracted, and refined by the "Scavenger" from those destroyed civilizations during the "purification" process over countless years.
Every program had once been the final cry of a civilization.
Had once been the final despair of countless lives.
And now, they were refined into cold, emotionless killing machines, used to continue "purifying" more civilizations.
Lin Mo's consciousness core trembled violently.
He thought of Long Zhantian.
He thought of those young soldiers who had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield.
He thought of the countless people who had died to protect this civilization.
If he failed as well, if he too was consumed by those "Nano Ghosts" —
He would also become a part of that destruction data.
Would also become nourishment for the hunting programs.
Would also become an accomplice in continuing the slaughter of other civilizations.
"No." Lin Mo's voice rang out in that darkness, low and firm, "Never."
He jerked his hand back and took a step back.
That door was still there, rotating slowly.
The destruction data behind the door was still there, waiting for its next prey.
But Lin Mo's expression had already changed.
It was no longer fear, no longer solemnity.
But a kind of fighting spirit that burned even brighter after being pushed to the brink.
"Since you were born from destruction," he muttered to himself, "then I will let you taste the flavor of being destroyed."
He closed his eyes.
He began to perceive.
To perceive the "source" of those hunting programs—
That true, core existence hidden behind everything.
That existence was larger, more ancient, and more terrifying than these hunting programs; that was his true target.
He followed the aura of the destruction data, tracing it further upward.
Through that door, through that darkness, through countless information dimensions—
Finally, he "saw" it.
It was a massive consciousness entity composed of pure geometric structures.
It had no fixed form. It was just a constantly changing mass of triangles, circles, and cubes, like a living mathematical formula.
Around it were countless tiny data streams like tentacles. The end of each data stream was connected to a civilization being "purified"—including humanity.
It had no eyes.
But Lin Mo could feel it "looking" at him.
That gaze was cold, empty, without a trace of emotion.
Like the universe itself.
Lin Mo's consciousness core trembled violently under that gaze.
But he did not back down.
He raised his head and looked directly at that existence.
"You," his voice rang out in that void, calm and firm, "are the creator of the 'Scavenger'?"
That geometric consciousness remained silent for three seconds.
A cold, emotionless "voice" rang out in Lin Mo's mind:
[You have finally arrived, 'Mutant'.]