At the edge of the Dead Zone, the air reeked of a pungent, suffocating mix of machine oil and rotting sweetness. Su Che halted, his silver-gray short hair trembling slightly in the gale. He adjusted his rimless smart glasses, and instantly, waterfalls of deep blue code cascaded across the lenses.
In his visual field, the ruins ahead were not mere debris, but rows of red error logs. The mountains of twisted metal were tagged as "Unformatted Data Blocks," while binary symbols jumping in the crevices resembled festering wounds.
[Current Area Safety Rating: C- (Extreme Danger).]
The voice of the Ghost Protocol echoed within Su Che's neural domain, mechanical and ice-cold, every word precise to two decimal places.
"Cover ahead." The Zero stood half a step to his side, the edges of her silver-haired body rippling with faint digital noise. It was a sense of digital defocus, like a hologram with a poor signal. She frowned slightly, her gaze piercing through the facade of the ruins. "The logic structure there is unstable. The gravitational constant is fluctuating randomly."
Su Che did not turn around. His eyes locked onto the half-collapsed tower ahead. To ordinary eyes, it was an abandoned old-era defense turret; but on his retina, it was a locked-down underlying protocol: `/sys/module/gun_turret/control`, with a permission level of `Root Denied`.
"Logic self-consistent," Su Che said, his voice flat and calm, as if the slaughter about to erupt around him had nothing to do with him. He raised his right hand, his fingertip tapping lightly in the void. A translucent, deep blue semi-transparent operation interface instantly unfurled, hovering between him and the ruins.
"Zero, maintain vigilance. I'm taking control of that turret."
The Zero nodded slightly, her data dagger flickering with a faint glow. "Received. Your Mental Computing Power reserve is below 50%. Forcibly modifying the physical drive carries a risk of Memory Overflow."
"Execute."
Su Che's fingertips danced rapidly in the void, each keystroke sending ripples of data outward. He ignored the approaching growls that were slowly closing in—the whispers of "The Overflowed," the noise generated by system errors.
"Scanning process ID... Locked."
"Target: Old-era Automatic Defense Turret (ID T-774)."
"Current Status: Local Deadlock. Permission key lost."
Su Che's eyes were cold as ice. He didn't need a key; he only needed to rewrite the rules.
"Acquiring local reconstruction authority... Verification passed."
[Mental Computing Power Consumed: 5% | Remaining Available: 95%]
The air around them began to warp, an invisible pressure descending upon them. The noise at the Zero's edges intensified instantly, her once-clear outline blurring into pixels. She gritted her teeth, enduring the stinging sensation of being washed over by data streams.
"Su Che, its underlying firewall is counter-attacking," The Zero said, a trace of barely perceptible tremor in her voice, though it quickly returned to that icy tone. "It is attempting to call system-level cleanup instructions."
"I know." Su Che's fingers paused for a moment before moving faster. He was performing a precise surgery; every movement was flawless. "If I modify its range parameters, I can bypass the firewall."
He took a deep breath, the cold metallic taste in his lungs sharpening his senses. The red error codes in his visual field began to flash frantically, warnings from the system against illegal intrusion.
"Executing command: sudo chmod 777 /sys/module/gun_turret/range_limit."
"Upgrading permissions..."
"Modifying parameters: Range upper limit from 100 meters -> Logical Vision Limit."
[Local Gravitational Constant Anomaly (9.8m/s² -> 10.5m/s²).]
[Illegal process injection detected. Current area 'Dead Zone' is expanding.]
The rusted rotating platform atop the turret suddenly emitted a screeching metal friction sound. It sounded like the wail of some great beast, followed by the snap of grinding gears. To Su Che, this was not a mechanical failure, but code being forcibly overwritten.
"Target locked."
"Reconstructing local variables..."
A burning sensation spread from Su Che's temples. This was the precursor to Mental Computing Power overload. His fingers began to tremble slightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. Black noise began to appear at the edges of his vision—the signal of an impending consciousness collapse.
"Su Che! Your pupils are constricting!" The Zero suddenly reached out, grabbing his wrist. Her fingertips were ice-cold, yet carried a strange sense of comfort, as if a stable data stream was being injected into his nerves. "Stop modifying. If you continue, you will suffer brain damage."
Su Che did not withdraw his hand. His gaze remained fixed on that progress bar, the only logical anchor he could grasp.
"I can't stop," Su Che said, his voice hoarse yet abnormally firm. "If the range isn't opened, we are just lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Logically, this is the optimal solution."
"Optimal does not mean feasible!" The Zero's voice carried emotion for the first time, a touch of human warmth awakening beneath her digital shell. "Your computing power is only at 15%! Once overflow occurs, you will become an empty shell!"
Just then, a tearing sound that grated on the teeth erupted from the ruins ahead. Dozens of "The Overflowed" surged out from the shadows. Their twisted bodies were covered in crystal clusters, with binary symbols jumping frantically beneath their rotting skin. These monsters had no eyes, only hollows formed by constantly reassembling garbled code.
Electronic screeches exploded instantly, the wail of the system's underlying logic being destroyed. A thick smell of ozone and electric arcs hit them, mixed with the rotting sweetness, making one nauseous.
"Detecting hostile targets: 14."
"Threat Level: High."
The Ghost Protocol's alarm rang sharply in Su Che's ear.
A faint, cold smirk curled the corner of Su Che's mouth. He looked at the approaching monsters, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with rows of scrolling code.
"Executing final command."
"Target: T-774 Defense Turret."
"Parameter correction complete."
"Execution range: Global coverage."
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted. The once-rusty turret suddenly burst forth with blinding blue light. The muzzle was no longer cold metal but a pure convergence point of energy. In Su Che's visual field, it was a data link forcibly stretched from 100 meters to the very end of the logical vision.
"Range unlocked. Permission: Root."
[Mental Computing Power Consumed: 65% | Remaining Available: 30%]
A beam of deep blue light instantly pierced the night sky. It was not a laser, but physical laws rewritten by Su Che. Where the beam passed, space seemed torn apart. The "The Overflowed" rushing forward didn't even have time to scream; their bodies disintegrated into countless fragments of garbled code in an instant.
They did not explode. They simply vanished from this dimension like deleted files. Only the lingering scent of ozone and the nauseating sweetness remained in the air.
The Zero stood still, watching the scene before her. The noise at her edges had spread to her shoulders, her silver hair beginning to turn transparent. Yet she did not retreat; she simply watched Su Che's back.
"Done," Su Che said weakly. He slowly lowered his arm, and the deep blue operation interface dissipated. "Logic self-consistent."
The Zero stepped forward and gently supported his shoulder. Her touch sent a slight electric current through Su Che's body, the afterglow of data interaction.
"Your face is pale," The Zero said, looking at Su Che. Those eyes, once devoid of fluctuation, now held a trace of concern. "That last strike nearly drained all your Mental Computing Power."
"Just a temporary overload," Su Che pushed her hand away, his movement stiff, but he quickly regained his composure. "As long as the system restarts, it will recover."
He stumbled slightly, leaning against a piece of metal debris nearby. The cold touch made him a bit more lucid.
[Illegal process detected and cleared.]
[System Stability: +0.00001%]
The Ghost Protocol continued to broadcast those cold data points, as if reminding Su Che that everything was merely a simple variable modification.
"Zero, move forward," Su Che adjusted his deep blue tech-style jacket, his eyes sharpening like blades again. "This is not a safe zone; we only temporarily cleared one variable. A larger logical error lies ahead."
The Zero said nothing, simply nodding silently. She looked at Su Che, a complex emotion surging in her heart. This extremely rational, even cold, man was willing to place himself in such danger for the sake of so-called "logic self-consistency."
"Let's go." The Zero reached out, grabbing Su Che's arm again. "I'm with you."
The two continued deeper into the ruins. Behind them, the turret fell silent once more, only the occasional flash of blue light proving what had just happened. The lingering ozone smell in the air was gradually replaced by the chill of the Dead Zone.
Su Che walked in front, each step remarkably steady. His mind was still calculating furiously, analyzing the data streams of the moment. He could see that even in the remains of the deleted "The Overflowed," faint code still jumped. It was the system's instinctive reaction to self-repair.
"They are attempting to reassemble," Su Che said softly, a trace of imperceptible fatigue in his voice. "As long as the underlying protocol remains, they will be reborn endlessly."
"Then delete them again," The Zero's voice came from behind, cold and firm. "Until the logic completely collapses."
Su Che turned his head slightly to look at The Zero. The noise at her edges had stabilized, but that digital texture remained clearly visible. It was the price she paid to assist Su Che in rewriting the rules.
"Logic self-consistent," Su Che repeated the catchphrase again, but this time, a trace of imperceptible softness lingered in his tone. "Let's continue."
The path ahead was still filled with the unknown and danger. The mountains of metal debris glowed eerily in the darkness, as if countless eyes were peering at them. But in Su Che's eyes, there was only the flow of data, only the code waiting to be corrected.
He raised his hand, opening the operation interface in the void once more. The deep blue light illuminated his cold face, carving his silhouette like a precision machine.
"Scanning next area..."
"Detecting new logical anomaly point."
"Requesting permissions..."
Ignoring the Ghost Protocol's warnings, Su Che's fingers danced rapidly in the void.
"Refuse sleep mode."
"Continue execution of mission."
"Target: Ruins Core."
"Command: Complete reconstruction."
The wind grew stronger, kicking up dust and metal fragments from the ground. Su Che's figure looked somewhat slender in the gale, yet he stood like an unshakable lighthouse, guiding the way through the torrent of data.
The Zero followed behind him, watching his back, silently chanting in her heart: "Living towards death."
This was their logic. In this broken world, only constant reconstruction and evolution could lead to that sole path of survival.
"Su Che," The Zero suddenly spoke.
"Hmm?"
"If your computing power isn't enough next time, what will we do?"
Su Che stopped and turned to look at her. His eyes remained calm, but beneath that icy surface, something seemed to be quietly melting.
"Then use your noise as fuel," Su Che said indifferently. "After all, you are part of the logical error too."
The Zero paused, then a faint smile curled the corner of her mouth. Though the smile still carried the stiffness of data, it was warm enough.
"Okay."
The two continued forward, disappearing into the depths of the Dead Zone. Only a string of rewritten code remained, slowly dissipating in the air.
[System Log Record: Event ID 8092. Operator: Su Che. Result: Success. Cost: Mental Computing Power Overdraft 65%.]