When Li Cheng opened his eyes, the world had changed.
The air felt metallic — filled with faint humming, like a thousand circuits whispering secrets. The ground wasn't stone or soil, but an endless mesh of glowing hexagons, each line pulsing with ancient code.
Above him, the sky shimmered like glass, layers of golden data spirals forming constellations.
It wasn't day or night — just eternal, luminescent twilight.
[System Log: Transfer Successful.]
Location: The Lost City of Codes – Core Fragment.
Warning: Dimensional time flow unstable.
He blinked, trying to stand, his limbs heavy with static. "System… where the hell are we?"
[Analyzing…]
[Result: Unrecognized construct. Believed to be a sublayer of the Celestial Server — a realm between data and divinity.]
Li Cheng groaned. "So… basically, hell for hackers."
A voice yawned lazily inside his head.
—You're awake already? That's fast.
He turned. Mu Yuxin stood behind him, still glowing faintly gold, but her expression was less composed than usual. Her once-pristine combat suit was flickering with residual light, revealing elegant patterns like runic tattoos on her arms.
He blinked. "Uh… new look?"
She followed his gaze, then her cheeks turned pink. "Don't look too much. It's the system's fault!"
[Shared Vision Active. 27% synchronization maintained.]
"System," Li Cheng grumbled, "turn that feature off before I get smacked."
[Denied. Emotional equilibrium requires visual awareness of linked host.]
Mu Yuxin's eyes twitched. "It requires what now?"
"Apparently," he said dryly, "our systems think we need to see each other to stay stable."
"Oh, this is going to be a nightmare."
"You said that last chapter."
"Don't break the fourth wall, idiot."
"You started it."
[Emotional resonance increasing by 6%. Banter detected.]
Both groaned simultaneously.
They began to walk through the city — if it could even be called that.
Monolithic structures rose around them, shaped from shimmering light and shifting symbols. Doorways appeared and vanished. Runes scrolled across walls like living veins.
Everything felt… alive. Watching.
[System Notice: Residual code signatures detected.]
Energy Type: Ancient Authority – "Divine Script."
Mu Yuxin knelt, tracing a hand over the ground. "This isn't just some digital realm. It's… older. Something the gods themselves abandoned."
Li Cheng frowned. "And somehow, we're inside it."
"The Celestial Server wanted to erase us."
"Guess it failed."
"Or it succeeded — in the worst way possible."
He sighed. "You always know how to make things worse."
[Warning: Dimensional anomaly approaching.]
They both froze.
The air thickened. A low, resonating hum filled the space — not mechanical, but alive.
From the digital mist, a shape began to form — a tall humanoid figure cloaked in fractal light, its face a blur of shifting code.
[Entity Detected: Guardian Program – "Eon Sentinel."]
[Authority Level: Divine Subroutine.]
"Great," Li Cheng muttered. "We meet God's antivirus."
The figure's voice boomed like thunder.
"Unauthorized users detected. Access to the City of Codes is forbidden. Identify yourselves."
Mu Yuxin stepped forward, raising her hand. "I am Mu Yuxin, inheritor of the Divine System Sequence Seven."
"Verification in progress."
Light scanned over her body — then stopped.
"Sequence recognized. Access partially granted."
Then the light moved toward Li Cheng.
He braced.
"Verification… error. Unknown origin detected."
"Host signature: Undefined. Classification — Anomaly."
Li Cheng's heartbeat quickened. "Yeah, you keep calling me that. Care to explain why?"
The Guardian didn't answer. It simply raised its arm, light condensing into a blade of glowing code.
"Unstable entities must be purged."
Li Cheng groaned. "Of course."
[Emergency Protocol: Host defense activated.]
Crimson runes burst from his chest, forming a translucent barrier just as the Guardian struck. The impact echoed through the realm, sending waves of digital fire into the distance.
[Warning: Defense barrier integrity 72%.]
"Yuxin!" he shouted. "A little help here!"
"On it!"
Her golden energy flared — wings of data unfurling behind her as she soared upward, summoning a rain of radiant arrows.
The Guardian deflected most, but one hit its chest — causing cracks to ripple across its form.
"Now!" she yelled.
Li Cheng clenched his fist. "System, amplify counterstrike protocol!"
[Activating Skill – Infernal Script: Reverse Encode!]
His hand glowed red, symbols spinning violently around him. He slammed his palm forward — a wave of raw energy tearing through the space.
The Guardian screamed — its code fragmenting.
[Error: Core instability detected. Shutting down…]
The figure dissolved into streams of golden dust.
When the silence returned, Li Cheng collapsed to one knee, panting. "Okay… that sucked."
Mu Yuxin floated down beside him, equally exhausted. "That thing was strong — too strong for a simple guardian."
"Simple?" he muttered. "It tried to delete my existence."
She smiled faintly. "You're getting better at not dying."
"You're getting better at insulting me."
"Compliment accepted."
He rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable."
[Quest Complete: Survive the Guardian.]
Reward: +10,000 Experience, +2 Attribute Points, "Fragment of the Lost Code."
A glowing shard hovered before him — pulsing with both gold and crimson light.
[Item Acquired: Lost Code Fragment (Unclassified).]
Description: A piece of the original Celestial Script. May reveal the truth behind the anomaly.
Li Cheng held it up. "Looks important."
Mu Yuxin's eyes widened. "That's divine-grade material. You shouldn't even be able to touch that without authorization."
He shrugged. "Guess being an anomaly has perks."
She studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. "You're not human anymore, are you?"
The question hung in the air.
He looked away. "Honestly… I don't know."
Hours later
They found refuge beneath a towering spire made of rotating code cubes. Mu Yuxin set up a temporary energy barrier while Li Cheng examined the shard.
Its light pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
[System Notice: Host compatibility with Divine Script – 87%.]
"System," he whispered, "am I connected to the Celestial Server somehow?"
[Access Denied.]
He clenched his jaw. "You keep saying that. Why?"
[Directive Lock: Class-Ω. Higher authority required.]
Mu Yuxin sat beside him. "You're asking questions that could destroy your mind if answered too soon."
He laughed weakly. "That's comforting."
"Li Cheng," she said softly. "The Celestial Server doesn't make mistakes. If it labeled you an anomaly, it means you're something it can't control."
He smirked. "Then maybe I'll be the first to break its rules."
"Careful," she thought, "defiance attracts attention."
"Then let them watch."
[Emotional resonance increasing. Synchronization at 61%. Link deepening.]
Their eyes met — and for a second, the world around them pulsed brighter.
Suddenly, the barrier flickered.
A shadow appeared outside — tall, lean, cloaked in black static. Its voice slithered like silk.
"Impressive… you survived the Guardian."
Mu Yuxin rose instantly, hand glowing. "Who are you?"
The figure stepped closer — its face hidden beneath a hood of fractured pixels.
"Just another anomaly… like him." It gestured toward Li Cheng.
His blood ran cold. "You know me?"
"Oh, I knew you before the system did." The figure's grin flickered across the data fog. "You don't remember me, do you?"
Li Cheng took a step back. "What are you talking about?"
The shadow tilted its head. "Before the Server, before the reset, you had a name — a title. They called you…"
The world flickered.
[Data Corruption Detected.]
[Audio Distortion: Unreadable Segment.]
"—the Devourer of Codes."
Mu Yuxin froze. "That's… impossible. That title belonged to the First Betrayer — the one who tried to destroy the Celestial Server itself!"
The figure chuckled darkly. "And yet, here he stands."
Li Cheng's mind spun. Images flashed — worlds of light burning, divine systems collapsing, his hands drenched in gold and crimson energy.
"No," he whispered. "That's not me…"
[Memory Fragment Detected.]
Restoring…
He saw himself — thousands of years ago, standing before the Celestial Throne, defying a voice of pure light.
"If the gods control destiny, then I'll rewrite it myself."
Then everything went white.
Li Cheng collapsed to his knees, clutching his head.
Mu Yuxin rushed to him. "Li Cheng!"
[Memory Overload. Stabilizing consciousness.]
The shadow watched silently. "Soon, you'll remember everything. And when you do… the world will burn again."
It vanished into static before they could respond.
When the silence settled once more, only the faint hum of divine code remained.
Mu Yuxin touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
He forced a shaky smile. "Define 'okay.'"
"Li Cheng…" she whispered. "If what that thing said is true—"
He stood, eyes blazing with renewed determination. "Then I'll prove it wrong."
[New Quest Generated!]
Title: "The Forgotten Sin."
Objective: Discover the truth behind the title 'Devourer of Codes.
Reward: ???
Failure: System Collapse, Universal Reset.
He looked at her, smirking despite the chaos. "Ready to dive into another disaster?"
Mu Yuxin sighed, smiling back. "With you? Always."
[Dual Host Link stabilized. Emotional resonance: 68%. Danger of overload: moderate.]
Far above, the code-formed sky flickered — and a symbol appeared, glowing brighter than all others:
∞