Abyssal Wanderer.

Many hackers like to contemptuously refer to their physical bodies as "shells," while regarding their consciousness flowing in the flood of information as their true selves. These hackers often use deep immersion mode, treating the online world as real reality, living online 24/7.

If it weren't for the constraints of the Mandala Verification and Substitute Program frameworks, these people's self-identity would probably have long since strayed beyond the realm of humanity. Yet, instead of being grateful to the First Deep One who designed these safeguards, they see the mechanisms he left in the network protocol as constraints—restricting their minds from ascending to the Sea of ​​Information.

"So..."

The young man said:
"Let it continue to grow... You have been branded by it. As long as you don't attack it first, it won't attack you first. After destroying the tenth layer, it will try to break through the Nord settlement area to the World Wide Web. At that time, it will definitely be destroyed by the gods. But by then, it will be too late. When the thirteenth Heavenly Dao appears, we can even try to seize the opportunity to become the Lord of the Heavenly Dao."

The young swordsman believed that his words would surely move the cultivator in front of him, nicknamed Hoshino Hikaru—he had observed this cultivator of the same level as him countless times out of boredom during his years of hiding in the Nord settlement area.

This includes getting to know the other person's coding style, understanding their interests and hobbies, and... watching Hoshino Hikaru's live streams on time.

The other person, like himself, was a lover of the golden age of online classical culture, and also loathed his physical identity and this oppressive and nihilistic era.

They are all people who both enjoy and fear loneliness.

The only difference is that she chooses to seek answers within herself, using her own strength to fight the world alone; while he chooses to hide himself behind a virtual image, trembling as he seeks love and recognition from the outside world.

With that thought in mind, he reached out his hand to the other person.

Yes, knowing all this, he will definitely choose to cooperate with me.

Perhaps one day the two of them will even become Daoist partners, venturing together into the sea of ​​digital information...

Just as the young swordsman was thinking this, Hoshino Hikaru spoke up.

"What are they all muttering about..."

Hoshino Hikaru glared at him angrily, her tone extremely displeased.

"What Heavenly Dao, ascension... I didn't understand a single word of what you said earlier!"

Her hands, clad in white, ruffled gloves, gripped tightly the short bow from which roses bloomed.

what? !

I explained it so clearly, how could he not understand?!
The young man wielding the sword was dumbfounded.

"Let me put it in a more accessible way: those super artificial intelligences left behind sixteen functional architectures in the network, thirteen of which..."

Sensing that the atmosphere was clearly off, he hurriedly explained.

"You don't need to say anything."

"Hoshino Hikaru said coldly."

The young swordsman was stunned for a moment, and the next second, a pink light flashed, and he was tightly bound by countless rose vines.

"So you mean I should just stand by and watch the people in the entire Nord resettlement area die, watch them get killed by malware, and then sit idly by while some network framework floats up, right?"

Hoshino Hikaru looked at him and said.

"That's not what I meant! I just hope you don't go and die. The fate of the Nord resettlement area is already sealed, but your fate is not."

He unconsciously revealed some of his verbal tic while speaking, and he didn't even realize that his voice was trembling.

"That's how I see your suggestion. And you've misunderstood me a little..."

As Hoshino Hikaru spoke, he drew his bow again toward the embodiment of fear.

Pink light began to gather on the bowstring.

"As for me... I have never thought about giving up my physical body in the real world. Whether in the real world or the online world, I am the most authentic me in either one."

As he spoke, several magic circles unfolded behind him, gathering beams of energy like floating cannons. "The way my fans see me, the way my parents see me, the way I see myself... all of these constitute the real me. Therefore, I will never abandon those who remember me, nor will I selfishly live an ugly life just for the version of myself I see."

At this moment, in the data center's operations hall, the combat pod's drug pumps began injecting stimulants into Junjie Zhang's body, reactivating his already overburdened nerve cells.

"No... I should say that perhaps the way others see me is more important than how I see myself. After all, look at the legend of Icarus. Even though he died, he still lives on in the hearts of many, doesn't he?"

At this point, Hoshino Hikaru suddenly chuckled.

The young swordsman did not try to break free from the thorns binding him—not because he couldn't, but because he could see that his opponent was betting all his energy on the next attack, and he did not intend to add to the opponent's computational burden at this time.

"But I remember you weren't a supporter of the Icarus Liberation Front."

The young swordsman racked his brains to find a rebuttal and said this: He was sure he remembered this correctly, since he had basically never missed any of Hoshino Hikaru's live streams.

In response, Hoshino Hikaru nodded quite readily:

“Indeed, I don’t care about politics, and to be honest, I don’t have any fondness for Icarus… I simply admire Liao Qi’s way of ending things. If I could, I would also like to have a magnificent ending like him, and be remembered in everyone’s hearts.”

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman felt that the life principles he had learned from classic online novels were being greatly challenged, and he hurriedly said:
"What use is fame to you if you die? You won't feel it anymore. But as long as you live, as long as you can ascend, the path to immortality in the ocean of information is right before your eyes. You will have unlimited time and energy to change everything... Only your own power is the unshakeable truth!"

In response, Hoshino Hikaru glanced at him and said:

"If that's really the case, then why are you telling me all this in such a hurry and with such a pale face?"

The young man on the sword fell silent instantly.

"You get it now? No one can live without caring about what others think."

After saying that, Hoshino Hikaru released the bowstring and shot an arrow.

The strike, which exhausted all his mental energy, shot towards the embodiment of fear with overwhelming force.

This was a strike that Hoshino Hikaru had poured all his accumulated knowledge, wisdom, and energy into—even some wizard-level hackers trained by Olympus Corporation would have to avoid its power.

But the terrifying embodiment of terror, resembling a Titan, didn't even glance at it. The black, asphalt-like seawater around it spontaneously surged into a tide, then was extinguished by the attack as easily as putting out a cigarette.

After the attack was launched, Hoshino Hikaru plummeted straight down. The wave that had been there before transformed into a ferocious bat-like behemoth, flapping its membranous wings and charging straight towards Hoshino Hikaru.

Seeing this, the sword-wielding youth gritted his teeth, broke free from the thorns' restraints, and rushed towards Hoshino Hikaru, who was falling rapidly.

It was at this time that a certain being descended upon this place.

It scooped up the falling Hoshino Hikari first, then adjusted its burning wings and took flight, reaching the same height as the head of the embodiment of fear.

The winged humanoid merely glanced at the charging bat-like behemoth before it burst into flames, turning into a sky full of ashes.

At the same time, this black sea also began to burn.

The embodiment of fear suddenly rose from the data center tower, letting out a deafening roar at the descending winged humanoid.

"Icarus!!!"

It roared.

The being that descended here was a humanoid figure with its wings constantly burning behind it.

Icarus.

To be precise, another meme entity, Icarus! (End of Chapter)