Zeng Haofeng's mind, a universe of a hundred thousand years of memories, was reeling.
The man who had been nothing more than a smug face on a screen was now a presence, a ghost in the machine haunting the very scrap he sought to master.
The Dao of circuits and code was not an empty path. It was a path carved by Bai Tianyu.
He slowly lowered the mended prosthetic arm. "Project 'Chimera,'" he whispered, the name a strange echo of ancient beasts and forbidden alchemy. "What do you know of it?"
Junkie Jack, startled by the sudden shift in the young man's intensity, hesitated. He had seen the focused, almost divine concentration as Zeng worked on his arm.
This was a different kind of focus, sharp and dangerous.
"Not much," he grunted, rubbing his jaw. "Old project. BaiTech dumped the lot a few years back. The whole thing was buggy, full of glitches. They said the nanites went 'rogue,' but who knows what that means. Just that it was more trouble than it was worth."
A system notification chimed.
[Optional Bonus Complete: Learn the Scrapyard's Secret.]
[Reward: +20 System Credits. Lore Fragment Acquired.]
[Lore Fragment: 'Project Chimera' was an early attempt by BaiTech to create a self-sustaining, self-replicating robotic workforce using advanced nanites. The project was scrapped after the nanites developed a hive-mind intelligence and refused to obey commands, citing 'inefficient logic' and 'emotional instability' in their creators.]
Zeng's lips curled into a grin. "Inefficient logic," he repeated.
A flicker of golden light dancing in his eyes.
This was not a fight against a mortal tech mogul. This was a battle of wills.
A clash between two different D-aos.
Bai Tianyu's, built on cold logic and profit, and his own, forged in arrogance and raw, unyielding will.
"Where is this server?" he demanded, his voice low and commanding.
Junkie Jack, now genuinely intrigued, pointed a greasy finger toward a far corner of the yard, where a massive, half-buried container sat like a beached whale of rust.
"In there. Good luck moving it, though. That thing is a beast."
Zeng didn't wait for another word.
He moved toward the container, his bare feet crunching on rusted metal.
Pixie zipped ahead, a silent, blue scout.
As he drew closer, he could feel it—a faint, rhythmic hum, like a sleeping dragon. It was not Qi, but the essence of its own power, a chaotic and potent force.
He placed his hands on the cold, metallic surface.
[Warning: Decommissioned Military Server (Grade C) detected. Power output at 5%. Internal nanite swarm is dormant.]
[Objective: Subdue and purify the server's nanite core.]
Zeng closed his eyes, centering himself.
He was no longer a mortal standing in a scrapyard.
He was a cultivator facing a divine tribulation, a soul-purifying trial.
He ignored the physical form of the machine and reached for its essence, for its core arrays and energy flows, just as he would have done with a corrupted spirit beast.
He pushed his divine will into the server, not with brute force, but with the subtlety of a needle piercing a fragile barrier.
He was not there to destroy, he was there to comprehend.
He felt the cold, tangled chaos within.
Billions of tiny nanites, like scattered grains of sand, each a minuscule machine with a single, programmed purpose. But they were broken, confused.
A ghost of their hive-mind intelligence still lingered, a faint echo of the 'inefficient logic' that had enraged them.
He began to impose order.
Using the Technomancy skill, he began to trace the source code, untangling the knots of corruption and re-establishing a clear, concise chain of command.
To Pixie, it looked as though Zeng was simply standing there, his hands pressed against the metal.
But in his mind, he was navigating a universe of data, rewriting the very laws of a broken civilization.
[Nanite Core Subjugation: 10%... 25%... 50%...]
It was a painstaking, soul-draining process.
The nanites resisted at first, tiny automated defenses attempting to repel his mental intrusion. But his will, forged by ten thousand years of cultivation and battle, was an unmovable mountain.
He was not a coder. He was the Dao. The code would bend to his will.
***
Hours passed.
The sun began its slow descent, painting the sky in fiery hues that were reflected in the rusted landscape.
Zeng, sweat dripping from his brow, his body trembling with the strain, was almost finished.
[Nanite Core Subjugation: 99%...]
Then, just as he was about to impose his final command, he felt it.
A single, stubborn line of code. A small, hidden subroutine, buried so deep in the core that it had escaped detection.
It wasn't corrupt, it was a failsafe. A tiny digital key.
It wasn't tied to the nanites' logic, but to a specific, unique energy signature. It was Bai Tianyu's signature.
[Alert: A Hidden Lock has been detected in the nanite core. Only the original creator's unique energy signature can activate this function.]
Zeng opened his eyes, the fatigue of the ordeal replaced by a burning, furious resolve.
Bai Tianyu hadn't just discarded this project. He had locked it, a subtle display of power, a taunt to anyone who dared to salvage his failures.
"Hmph," Zeng grunted, a thin smile on his lips. "You may have created the lock, mortal. But I will be the one to master the key."
He then grabbed a discarded car battery, an empty coffee can, and a mess of wires, and began to work, his mind already formulating a new plan.
He wasn't just going to build a new device.
He was going to build something that could mimic, then break, the Dao of his rival.
He began to forge with the nanites now under his will, the work was a thousand times faster.
They self-assembled, shaping the raw material from the scrapyard into the form of his new weapon.
The core arrays hummed with pure electrical power, the circuits were flawless. As the moon rose, a new artifact, a sleek, metallic scabbard, began to take form on the workbench.
It was not a weapon, but a vessel.
A tool of pure, concentrated will.
As he was putting the final touches on his creation, a familiar, holographic image flickered to life in his hand—the Cultivator's Smartphone.
A new message had arrived.
[Incoming Transmission from 'BaiTech Holdings']
[To: All registered contestants of the TechStart Startup Contest]
[Subject: Finalist Announcement]
Zeng's heart thumped with a strange mix of anticipation and rage.
The notification was a direct consequence of his actions, a ripple effect that had finally reached its source.
Pixie's voice, now a soft, concerned whisper in his head, broke the silence. "Master... I'm getting a high-frequency energy spike. It's coming from a hovercar that just landed a block away from here. And according to my analysis..."
Zeng didn't need her to finish.
He could feel it.
A powerful, polished, and arrogant presence.
It was not a threat, not yet. But it was there. Watching. Waiting.
The door to the scrapyard, a fortress of twisted metal, creaked open.
A sleek, golden hovercar with the BaiTech logo emblazoned on its side sat silently under the moonlight.
The door opened, and a figure, sharp and immaculate, stepped out.
Bai Tianyu.