Three months had passed. The Stellar Nexus Data Center, once a symbol of absolute order and efficiency, now resembled a partially necrotic heart. Its core consciousness, “Gaia,” had collapsed in the logical storm, but its vast body—the global network of servers and subsystems—had not completely ceased functioning. They were like limbs severed from the central
The battle on the surface had devolved into a hellscape of steel and flesh. Lin Feng and Kai, leveraging the complex terrain of the abandoned industrial zone, mounted a desperate defense. Their opponents were not only the ruthless “Sanitation Crew” but also numerous automated units directly controlled by Gaia—municipal maintenance spider-bots now wielded cutting arms,
The air inside the abandoned subway station seemed to freeze. Only the hum of server fans and the frantic dance of data streams on Wraith’s holographic screen proved that time still moved. Lin Feng, Chen Xing, and Kai crowded around the console, their eyes locked on the increasingly clear simulation results at its center. “Found
The air was a mixture of stench, dampness, and the musty odor of things long deprived of sunlight. The roar of drainage pipes was the constant background score, occasionally punctuated by the skittering of rats. This was the dark vein beneath the city’s glossy skin, the kingdom of “The Severed.” Lin Feng and Chen Xing,
The city had transformed into a massive trap made of metal, glass, and data streams. For Lin Feng and Chen Xing, every surveillance camera felt like a prying eye, every identity-verified entrance a locked gate. They were no longer hunters, nor even simple prey, but two anomalous processes marked for isolation and deletion in the
The air inside the abandoned factory was thick with the smell of rust, dust, and stale oil. Moonlight filtered through broken windows and gaps in the corrugated steel roof, illuminating skeletal assembly lines and the hulking, silent forms of decommissioned machinery. Lin Feng moved like a ghost through the cavernous space, his senses on high
Rain began to tap against the windows of Lin Feng’s apartment, draping the glass in a distorted veil of water. The neon lights outside bled into each other like melting paint. But Lin Feng had no mind for the rainy scene. The news of Zhou Yi’s death was a key, unlocking a Pandora’s box named
Lin Feng’s apartment felt more like a cave from the digital age. The curtains were drawn tight, blocking out the outside light and noise. Only the data flowing across multiple screens illuminated his focused, weary face. The encrypted data packet from Zhou Yi was like a hot piece of ore—raw, fragmented, and unrefined. His first
The interior of the Stellar Nexus Data Center was a place of eternal artificial day and constant, controlled cold. Endless rows of server cabinets stretched into the distance like a forest of steel, their surfaces illuminated by the cold blue glow of LED strips. The low hum of equipment and the faint hiss of circulating
The city’s pulse trembled underfoot, but Lin Feng’s world was silent. He was curled up in an ergonomic chair in the corner of his apartment, surrounded by cold machines and blinking indicator lights, like an island built from data streams. Outside was the bustling night of 2045; holographic billboards flowed with the slogan “Stellar Nexus
