The sunset in Aethelgard did not bring gentle hues of purple or orange; instead, it was a deep
crimson, like blood diluted in water. This land, supposedly the sacred domain of divinities, was
instead steeped in a gloomy, crushing pressure. The creatures inhabiting this realm were
savage and bloodthirsty. The trees everywhere stood barren and desolate, stripped of every
green leaf. The sky resembled a giant screen suffering a technical glitch, as brilliant golden
beams from the Tower of the God of Light swept continuously across the clouds, emitting a low,
rhythmic hum that throbbed painfully against the eardrums.
"System, what is that?" Lin Wu asked, glancing up at the sky while sprinting toward the hiding
place designated by the system.
"It is the signal for the end of an energy cycle."
"System, time remaining?" Lin Wu pressed, his footsteps crunching loudly on the dry grass. He
had no time to worry about his tattered suit or the scratches blooming across his face.
[Warning: 15 minutes 42 seconds before the 'Soul Harvest' protocol commences.]
Grrr...!
A low growl erupted from directly behind him, severing Lin Wu's train of thought. Even without
using his God-Eye, he knew what it was. The disappearance of the Level 1 One-Eyed Wolf pack
he had harvested had attracted a higher-tier predator.
[High-threat entity detected. Subject: Iron-Armored Tiger (Level 2). Speed advantage:
150%.]
Lin Wu glanced back. A massive tiger, its body encased in scales of shimmering black metal
and its face twisted into a hideous distortion, was closing in with terrifying speed. Its eyes
glowed a piercing green, burning with hunger. It roared as it pursued him, revealing massive,
razor-sharp fangs stained a fresh crimson, as if it had just finished a raw feast. Every stride it
took shook the very foundations of the plain.
"Dammit! Does this monster have no bugs?" Lin Wu spat through gritted teeth.
[God-Eye Insight: The Level 2 Iron-Armored Tiger possesses a more complete data
structure. A 0.01% vulnerability exists in the hind leg joint, but the hit probability is below
5% given your current physical state.]
Since falling into Aethelgard, Lin Wu hadn't enjoyed a single moment of rest. Although he had
grown bored with his life on Earth and craved the thrill of adventure, the difficulty level here was
reaching an extreme. He had barely touched down before he was forced to learn system skills,
fight three wolves, and now run for his life to escape the gods' so-called "Soul Harvest" while
being hunted by this monstrosity. Lin Wu felt a wave of exhaustion. Fortunately, he had
integrated data from the three One-Eyed Wolves to enhance his physical strength by one tier;
otherwise, his original human body would have been devoured long ago.
The tiger unhinged its jaws, accumulating Metal-attribute energy to unleash a volley of metallic
blades. Lin Wu knew he couldn't win a head-on confrontation. He was a piece of malware, not a
knight.
"I need an obstacle... System, scan the terrain ahead!"
[Scanning... 300m Northwest: Natural stone pillar field detected. Composition: Decaying
sedimentary rock.]
Lin Wu pivoted sharply, lunging toward the stone pillars. The tiger fired a beam of Metal energy
that grazed his previous position, obliterating a boulder into dust. He began weaving through the
jagged pillars. The tiger followed, its oversized frame colliding with the stones. Utilizing his
God-Eye, Lin Wu could see the durability of each pillar, intentionally pathing through the weakest ones.
"Causality Simulation: Collision Trajectory!" Lin Wu leaped, kicking off a rotting stone pillar and
causing it to collapse directly in the path of the charging beast.
BOOM!
The tiger couldn't brake in time and slammed into the rubble. Seizing the moment the beast was
dazed, Lin Wu sprinted out of the pillar field with every ounce of strength he had left. But the
pressure of time was mounting.
[Warning: 5 minutes. The 'Harvest' laws are beginning to affect the environment.
Recommendation: Current movement speed is insufficient. Suggestion: Activate 'Muscle
Overclock' mode.]
Lin Wu felt the air thinning; an invisible suction from the sky was tugging at his body.
"What's the price?" Lin Wu asked rapidly, long accustomed to the fact that everything came with
a cost.
[Consequence: Entire muscular system will suffer thermal overload for 24 hours. The
memory of your 'First Love's Name' will be deleted to free up processing capacity for
high-intensity movement.]
Lin Wu paused for a fraction of a second, then his lips curled into a mocking smirk. "I can barely
remember the taste of this morning's coffee. What does a name from ten years ago matter?
Execute command!"
VROOOM!
Beneath Lin Wu's skin, ripples of pale blue code erupted brilliantly. He felt his muscles surge as
if injected with high-grade adrenaline. With every stride, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
This speed far exceeded human limits, but in his mind, the name of a girl began to disintegrate
into void dust.
As time ticked away, he saw faint blue sparks—the souls of small creatures—beginning to drift
upward.
"Where are the... Ruins of Wisdom?" Lin Wu panted, racing against the divine pressure.
A navigation arrow appeared before him. In the middle of the desolate plain stood a complex of
crumbling architecture with massive, fractured marble columns. That was the goal.
"There!" Lin Wu lunged into the heart of the ruins, toward a statue of a faceless god holding a
stone book.
[Scanning area code... Logic vulnerability detected at coordinates 44.12. The 'Dense
Matter' law is leaking here. This is a data void.]
Lin Wu stared at the stone wall behind the statue. To a normal eye, it was a solid wall, but
through his God-Eye Insight, the wall flickered incessantly like a corrupted video file. It did not
exist stably. He reached out; it didn't feel like stone, but like a cold membrane of water. He
stepped completely through the wall into a space of absolute silence and darkness.
The moment he entered, an eerie bell tolled from the Tower of the God of Light. A massive pillar
of golden light swept across the continent. Yet, when it hit the glitched wall, it slid off as if
encountering a non-existent object. It wasn't a warming light; it was a giant scythe.
Lin Wu looked back. From the cracks in the earth and distant villages, pale blue sparks—the
souls of unprotected beings—were being sucked into the sky like silk threads being pulled from
a cocoon. The agonizing screams of tens of thousands echoed, only to be drowned out by the
divine bell.
"So this is the Harvest..." Lin Wu watched coldly. "They view living beings as mere backup
batteries."
He exhaled in relief and slumped to the ground. The searing pain in his muscles began to set in,
accompanied by physical exhaustion and a light dizziness from overtaxing his brain.
"Safe at last." Lin Wu peered into the darkness.
Rumble... His stomach growled.
"System, you gave me skills and power, but don't let me die of hunger while I'm hiding from
monsters and gods."
"Rest assured. The system will use your Earth currency to exchange for Earth goods. Once you
acquire local currency, you can exchange it for items from this world," the mechanical voice
vibrated in his head.
"Then can I exchange my fortune for heavy weaponry? Atomic bombs, guns, tanks?" Lin Wu
asked, surprised.
"Common items are possible, but what you ask for is not. Earth also has rules that cannot be
violated. Because that world is peaceful and lacks the interference of gods, the sole deity there
is extremely powerful. I managed to pull you through using the file you decrypted as a bridge to
temporarily deceive that god, but it cost a vast amount of my energy. My exchange service is
essentially no different from you ordering things online."
"Fine, just get me some food and water," Lin Wu said, his voice tinged with disappointment.
After eating and resting to recover, Lin Wu spent his time in the safety of the void mastering his
skills and training his body. Once he felt steady, he issued a new command. "Scan the
surroundings. I want to know more about this God of Wisdom's dwelling."
[Synchronization: 7%.]
[You have successfully infiltrated the dark zone of Aethelgard. Detected a data file left
behind by the predecessor God of Wisdom.]
[File Name: 'Project Rebellion - Draft 0.1'. Do you wish to open?]
Lin Wu's eyes sparked in the dark. A hacker could never refuse a hidden, classified file.
"Open it. It's time to see what the old 'administrator' left behind in this trash bin."