I handed over to another world

He didn't look at Zhou Kerui; his gaze seemed to pierce through the wall, directed towards the distant deep space being devoured by unknown terrors.

“Then,” he spoke again, his voice still steady, but each word as heavy as tempered steel, “we are left with only two directions.”

He raised a finger, the tip seemingly imbued with a will to destroy:
"First, absolute and utter destruction."

"Target: The 'Houtu' and the 'Omega Fragments' it carries within the UDF-7243 gravitational lensing anomaly region, as well as all spaces that have been transformed and contaminated by them."

"Including but not limited to: targeted deployment of 'singularity bombs' to induce controllable local spacetime collapse; or using the gravitational lensing properties of UDF-7243 itself to guide gamma-ray bursts from the galactic center or neighboring galaxies for regional purification; or even... considering the prototype of the 'zeroing' protocol—creating an artificial, hyperdimensional drop to forcibly 'strip' that region from the cosmic bubble structure we perceive."

Chen Lin paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over Zhou Kerui: "The cost: We will forever lose any data that the 'Houtu' might have preserved, causing unpredictable, large-scale spacetime ripples, and we cannot be sure whether this destruction will truly end this 'rule virus,' or merely drive it to other corners of the universe, or even make it mutate into something even more uncontrollable."

He raised his second finger, slightly bent, as if touching an invisible abyss:
"Second, proactive and extremely dangerous 'contact'."

"Goal: To understand it, to understand its operating mechanism, energy source, mode of transmission and... weaknesses, not the kind of careful reverse engineering we did before, but proactive, highly purposeful interaction, even 'stimulation' and 'probing'."

“We can use the residual data anchor points of the ‘Candle Dragon’ core in subspace and the zero-point field pulsation itself as an ‘antenna’ to try to establish an unconventional, non-logical information channel.”

“Dispatch a ‘conceptual task force’—not a traditional rescue team, but a team composed of top memetics, reality topology engineers, and even highly self-sacrificing ‘perceivers’—carrying special equipment, to attempt to simultaneously ‘make contact’ with the transformed space on both physical and mental levels, in order to find its core logical paradox or ‘rule loopholes’ that can be exploited.”

Chen Lin's eyes became unusually deep: "Of course, this is actively embracing the abyss. Those who come into contact with it may be instantly transformed, their logic will collapse, and their consciousness will be annihilated."

"And any of our probing actions could accelerate the spread and adaptation of the 'virus,' and might even lead it directly to the solar system."

"This is a gamble with an unknown success rate and an extremely low survival rate. But the only possible gain is... if we can successfully analyze the pattern of its core rule distortion, even if it is only a part of it, we may be able to find a 'firewall' to coexist with it, or a means to truly 'neutralize' rather than 'destroy' it."

Chen Lin lowered his hands, placed them on the smooth tabletop, and leaned forward slightly. An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire office.

He looked directly at Zhou Kerui, as if looking through her at the entire Red Dragon Association, at the tiny yet tenacious spark of human civilization.

"Dr. Zhou, you are the chief researcher. Tell me, which direction is the one our race should least choose to die on when the abyss is at its doorstep?"

He didn't ask "which is better" or "what is the success rate".

He was asking which direction to take, not to wait to die.

He handed this blood-dripping, heavy double-edged sword to Zhou Kerui and the scientific team she represented.

He was ready to take on the will to make the decision; but the path to the abyss or destruction required wisdom as a guiding torch.

Zhou Kerui's fingertips trembled uncontrollably as she left the president's office.

The emergency lighting in the corridor cast a pulsating red mark on her retina, much like the pulsating, dark purple core in the simulator.

"All members of the restricted area special operations team, Level A encrypted meeting, in five minutes."

As the laboratory door slid open in front of her, a wave of arguments surged forth.

Academician Zhang was slamming the quantum decoherence model against the wall: "...Using a probability cloud to wrap up contacts? This layer of protection is just a piece of paper in the face of rule-based viruses!"

In the corner, Lin Han, a young topology engineer, silently unfolded a set of protective suit design drawings based on the Klein bottle structure.

"Quiet."

Zhou Kerui's voice brought all the arguments to an abrupt halt. She projected the two choices Chen Lin had given her onto the center, with data streams swirling around each option like thorns: "The chairman gave us 120 minutes, and now there are 117 minutes and 28 seconds left."

Meanwhile, Chen Lin's think tank is undergoing an even more severe split.

The military leader slammed his fist on the table: "I think we should just activate the zeroing protocol! Every minute we delay, that thing might mutate into a new way of spreading!"

Chief memologist Bai Ye quickly waved his hand: "General Zhao, this is quite different from the previous things. We must not so simply assume that these things can be destroyed by our human physical weapons..."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"I suggest we use the second option mentioned by Chairman Chen..."

The think tank's meeting room was practically about to have its roof blown off.

General Zhao's roar and Dr. Bai Ye's hurried explanations intertwined into a chaotic noise. Other experts either argued fiercely or remained silent and frowned. The air was filled with the smoke of despair and anxiety.

Every plan was quickly dissected and found to have fatal flaws; every minute that passed was like a hammer blow to the countdown timer of human civilization.

"enough!"

Chen Lin's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a cold iron clamp that choked off all the noise.

He wearily rubbed his temples, his gaze sweeping over this group of top representatives of human wisdom, only to see unprecedented divisions and helplessness.

“Arguing won’t buy us time. I need… a clearer perspective to continue analyzing the feasibility and risk factors of existing solutions.”

Just then, the indicator light on his encrypted communicator flashed rapidly, revealing a code that only he could recognize—from Zhou Kerui.

The message is extremely brief: [Option C, feasible path. Emergency meeting, coordinates: Deep-sea laboratory.]

Chen Lin abruptly stood up, ignoring the instantly silent and suspicious gazes behind him: "You all continue. Dr. Bai Ye, you are responsible for sorting out all the concerns of the opposition to contact and forming a report."

He strode away, leaving the think tank members looking at each other in bewilderment.

On the holographic projection in the deep-sea laboratory, the two options entangled in thorns are no longer displayed, but rather a topological model with an extremely complex structure that shimmers with a deep blue light.

It resembled a Klein bottle that constantly folded and nested itself, or a prison so precise it was down to the molecular level. Zhou Kerui stood before the model, her face pale but her eyes burning like starlight. Her fingertips no longer trembled, but steadily guided the data flow.

"President, 'compromise' is not about compromise, but about integration."

Her voice carried a desperate clarity: "We call it the 'topological isolation contact and directed annihilation' scheme."

She pointed to the core of the model, where a space was simulated to be corrupted by a dark purple light: "The core objective remains the same: to understand the rules and mechanisms of the 'Omega Shard' while ensuring its complete destruction."

"The key to this plan lies in how to 'contact' without being contaminated, and how to 'destroy' without getting out of control."

"Core of the plan: 'Klein Bottle' task force."

She gestured for Lin Han to speak, and the young engineer immediately stepped forward and unfolded the structural diagram of the protective suit he had designed—that was the outer shell of the model.

"Lin's 'Klein bottle' topological protective suit is not a simple physical barrier, but rather uses real-world topological distortion to create a logically closed-loop 'information island' around the contact person. All rule-based viral memes that enter the 'island' are theoretically unable to spread outwards or cause reverse infection; they self-circulate, consume, or... be observed within the closed loop."

Academician Zhang interjected, his voice tinged with suppressed excitement: "Yes! We have combined the latest revised version of the quantum decoherence model to create a powerful information entropy increase barrier at the boundary of the 'island'."

"It's not about blocking, but about instantly 'diluting' and 'invalidating' any rule information that tries to penetrate it, like a drop of ink falling into boiling water. The only cost is that the protective suit itself is extremely unstable, consumes a huge amount of energy, and the wearer's own information structure will also be severely impacted, and their consciousness may be 'isolated,' resulting in irreversible cognitive isolation."

"The second core of the plan: the eye of the 'Candle Dragon' and the tooth of the 'Singularity'."

Zhou Kerui points to a light spot connected to the outside of the model.

“We will use the remaining anchor points of the ‘Candle Dragon’ core in subspace to establish a one-way, hyperdimensional information transmission channel—the ‘Eye of the Candle Dragon’. All data that the task force obtains within the ‘isolated island’ will be transmitted out in real time through this channel, regardless of whether it is contaminated or not.”

"This channel itself is 'read-only,' eliminating the possibility of reverse contamination."

“At the same time,” her finger moved to a rotating black hole singularity representing destruction on the outer edge of the model, “at the critical node of the UDF-7243 gravitational lens, a ‘singularity bomb’—the ‘singularity tooth’—is pre-programmed.”

“The detonation of this bomb was not triggered by an external timer or manually,” she took a deep breath, “but was automatically triggered by a specific critical data stream transmitted back from the ‘Eye of the Candle Dragon’!”

"What are the triggering conditions?"

Chen Lin asked in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the rotating black hole model.

"Two conditions must be met for the explosion to occur."

Zhou Kerui said firmly, "First, the data transmitted back successfully analyzed the core logical paradox or clear weakness of the 'rule virus,' which means we have obtained the key to 'neutralize' it. We should detonate it immediately to completely eliminate the source of pollution and prevent it from using our analysis to counter or mutate."

"Second, the data transmission stream detected a critical signal that the 'island' defenses were about to collapse, or that the consciousness of the task force members was about to be completely transformed and annihilated."

"This means contact has failed and the virus is about to break through. At this point, it should be detonated immediately to carry out the final purification!"

The laboratory was completely silent.

This plan binds the most dangerous contact with the most utter destruction, using the lives of the task force and the information acquired as a double fuse.

"Returns and risks?"

Chen Lin's voice was completely flat.

"The benefit is to obtain crucial information at the same time as the destruction. Even if the task force fails, it can ensure that the destruction occurs in time and may bring back lessons from the failure. As for the risks..."

Zhou Kerui's voice lowered, "The risk of protection failure still exists. Although the risk of the virus breaking through instantly and causing reverse contamination along the 'Eye of the Candle Dragon' is theoretically extremely low, it is not zero. The timing of the 'Fang of the Singularity' detonation depends on data judgment, and there is a possibility of misjudgment or delay."

"The cruelest thing is that from the moment the task force members step into that area, they are destined to live and die with their target. Their mission is either to bring back hope or to become a signal of their own destruction."

"Choose?"

Chen Lin's gaze swept across the faces in the laboratory. At this moment, Lin Han straightened his back, Academician Zhang's lips were tightly pursed, and the eyes of the other members of the restricted area special operations team burned with determination.

"Engineer Lin Han must go; he's the only one who truly understands the structure and limits of the protective suit. We need top-tier sensory personnel... Dr. Bai Ye recommended Ella from his team; she can sense subtle fluctuations at the memetic level. We also need a reality topology engineer to stabilize the 'island,' and... an experienced special operations commander in the restricted area to make tactical decisions and... manually force the activation of the 'Singularity Fang' when necessary."

Zhou Kerui recited several names, each one like a heavy stone.

Chen Lin fell silent. Humanity had no way out, nor any perfect choice.

Zhou Kerui's solution was not the optimal one, but it was an active path with a glimmer of hope, rather than a hopeless abyss of waiting for death.

When he opened his eyes again, Chen Lin's eyes were filled with only unwavering resolve.

He stepped forward, pressing his palm heavily onto the control panel, as if trying to imprint his will into the cold alloy.

"Approval of the 'Topological Isolation Contact and Directed Annihilation' scheme."

His voice, like a drawn blade, cut through all hesitation: "Dr. Zhou, immediately assemble the 'Candlelight' task force. Lin Han, you have 90 minutes to complete the final debugging and combat loading of the protective suits. Academician Zhang, ensure the stability of the 'Entropy Increase Barrier' under extreme conditions. Coordinate the final calibration and access control of the 'Eye of the Candle Dragon' channel and the 'Fang of the Singularity.' I need to ensure the absolute reliability of the fuse!"

His gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping over everyone about to step into the abyss: "You are humanity's tentacles reaching into the unknown and destruction, and also the sparks that ignite hope or end nightmares."

"The priority of this mission is to obtain key information first, and ensure your own existence second... But remember, when existence itself becomes a bridge for the spread of pollution, the 'Singularity Fang' will be your last loyalty and responsibility."

"Human civilization will thank and remember your courage."

The order was given, and the laboratory instantly entered an intense, tense, and boiling state.

Chen Lin turned around and looked again at the holographic projection in the void that symbolized the direction of UDF-7243, feeling momentarily lost. (End of Chapter)