The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

A "rescue plan" targeting Shen Ge was thus secretly launched.

Three days later, the plan officially began in the core laboratory at the very bottom of "Iron Heart".

In the center of the laboratory, three enormous life support pods are arranged in a triangular pattern.

Shen Ge, Ling, and the "Hermes" biological core, which pulsates like a living brain, were each placed inside.

Thousands of energy and information transmission channels, resembling blood vessels, extend from the four walls of the laboratory, densely connecting to the three life support chambers, forming a sophisticated "resonance device."

“All parameters are normal.” Ellie’s voice echoed in the empty laboratory: “The biofield is stable and the energy circuit is working properly.”

“Then…” Hephaestus took a deep breath. He stood in front of the control panel, his eyes filled with both the fervor of a scientist and awe for the unknown.

"Plan, begin."

As he pressed the start button, a soft silver light first illuminated the life support pod where Zero was located.

On her sleeping face, silver veins representing the "Pandora Container" linking ability slowly emerged, like a galaxy winding beneath her skin.

This strange power did not leak out, but under the guidance of Hephaestus, it built a stable "spiritual bridge" linking Shen Ge to the life support pod of "Hermes".

Immediately afterwards, the enormous biological core of "Hermes" began to operate at high speed.

It contributed all of its computing power, no longer using it to handle the routine affairs of "Iron Heart," but instead using the vast database left by the pioneers as a basic framework and the power of dream fragments to begin constructing a vast temporary "fictional world."

Finally, when all preparations were complete, a powerful guiding force flowed through the spiritual bridge and into the life support pod where Shen Ge was located.

Shen Ge felt his consciousness suddenly sink, as if he had fallen into an endless abyss. Then, when he activated the power of the dream fragments and regained his "perception", he found himself in a completely different world.

This is a pure white, empty space.

Beneath my feet was a mirror-like ground, above me an endless sky, and all around me was an endless white mist.

The entire world is made up of invisible "structures" and "information," so quiet that you can only hear your own heartbeat.

"Is this... Hermes' computing core?" Shen Ge tried to sense his body, only to find that he was just a phantom "consciousness" made of light and shadow.

Just then, “foreign objects” began to appear in this pure white world.

Above his head, a crimson moon made of shattered bloodstone slowly rose from the white mist. Its surface was covered with jagged cracks and slowly writhing black veins like blood vessels, exuding an evil aura of pollution and chaos that was completely out of place in this pure white world.

This is the embodiment of that tainted fragment of a dream!
At the highest point of that red moon, atop a "piles of corpses" forcibly pieced together from countless rusty gears, twisted flesh and broken bones, a blurry figure stood.

That figure was at the heart of the pollution—

That chaotic will originating from "Omnisiah" and incorporating some of the power of dream fragments is a "weird" that exists by parasitizing.

Shen Ge instinctively tried to unleash his own strange domain, but was horrified to discover that the power link between him and the progenitor's strange cells had been greatly weakened. Here, he could no longer easily tear through space or manipulate time as he could in the outside world.

【grown ups. 】

Just then, Hephaestus's voice came intermittently through the mental bridge built by "Zero".

This world is constructed based on the 'logic' and 'structure' that 'Hermes' can comprehend. Pure, inexplicable power is greatly suppressed here.

[And that 'source of pollution,' through its infiltration of dream fragments, has already gained nearly half of the 'authority' over this fictional world. It can distort and create within its limits here.]

Hephaestus's words confirmed Shen Ge's guess.

Brute force won't work here.

【but……】

Hephaestus's voice rang out again, tinged with excitement, "[You are not without a fighting chance. As 'Strange Sequence 1,' your essence is the 'devouring' and 'analyzing' of all things. And when you advanced to the eighth rank, that ability to control matter and commands was amplified here!]"

In this world, your only, and most powerful, weapon is—tampering!

As if to demonstrate to Shen Ge, Hephaestus briefly borrowed some of his permissions. Suddenly, a sphere of light composed of pure white data streams appeared out of thin air in Shen Ge's "hand."

"tamper?"

Shen Ge's consciousness instantly grasped everything.

Meanwhile, the "strange thing" on the red moon in the sky seemed to have grown tired of the standoff. It slowly raised its hand and pointed at Shen Ge.

On the ground, countless black data streams surged forth like venomous snakes, rapidly coalescing into dozens of grotesque monsters, strikingly similar in form to the mechanical fusion-type monsters previously used in the "Melting Ark." Their empty eye sockets glowed red, and with heavy steps, they charged towards Shen Ge.

Shen Ge did not dodge.

He aimed the white orb of light, representing the authority to "tamper," at the mechanical fusion-type monster charging at the forefront.

In that instant, his consciousness seemed to transform into countless invisible probes, easily bypassing the eerie and rough "shell" and directly touching its deepest layer—the "command" given by the "eerie" that represented "attack."

[Analyzable instruction detected... Initiating processing... Parsing complete.]

[Start altering...]

Shen Ge's will altered that concise instruction. He didn't erase it directly, but simply added a new "definition" after "target of attack".

The next second, the mechanical fusion monster, which had been raising its arms high and was covered with flesh-and-blood blades, suddenly stopped.

The red light in its eyes flashed violently a few times, and then... it slowly turned around, pointed the flesh-and-blood blade in its hand at another companion behind it, and slashed down fiercely!
"boom--!"

The mechanical fusion-type monster had its commands altered by Shen Ge, and then it launched a "civil war".

Shen Ge stood still like a behind-the-scenes manipulator, constantly "tampering" with the strange "friend or foe" commands of the mechanical fusion that rushed towards him, plunging them into a chaotic state of self-destruction.

The "monster" in the sky roared in anger. It never expected that the "soldiers" it created would be so easily "turned" by the enemy.

It began to invoke higher authority, attempting to rewrite the rules of the entire world and erase Shen Ge as a "variable".

In this peculiar clash, Shen Ge gradually becomes familiar with and masters the true power of "alteration." A war for "supreme dominion" over this fictional world has officially begun.

Shen Ge is using the power of "tampering" more and more skillfully. He is no longer satisfied with simply modifying the identification of friend or foe, but has begun to carry out a deeper level of "infiltration".

He planted his will like a seed into the core commands of those turned mechanical fusion monsters.

Thus, an even stranger scene unfolded on the battlefield.

An infected monster, after destroying its companions, did not stop but began to frantically dismantle its own and its companions' "corpses," reassembling the gears and parts into an even more ferocious and powerful killing machine.

He is using the enemy's "bricks" to build his own "fortress"!
Above the sky, the "mysterious" creature on the throne once again unleashed a deafening roar.

The "servants" it created are being "contaminated" and "assimilated" by the outsider in a way it cannot understand. This touches upon its core obsession with "purity" and "order" originating from "Omnesia".

It no longer engages in pointless "creation," but instead mobilizes its highest authority in this world.

The crimson moon that served as the backdrop suddenly erupted with boundless red light. The entire pure white world, like a canvas splattered with blood, began to be rapidly stained and assimilated. The ground transformed into twisted, writhing flesh, and a torrential rain composed of countless tiny gears fell from the sky.

The “weird” is trying to reshape the “rules” of this world from the very bottom up, attempting to erase Shen Ge, this “alien”, along with the space he inhabits!
The entire fictional world, caught in the struggle between two diametrically opposed wills, sometimes transforms into a wasteland engulfed in flames, and at other times into a cold, desolate steel graveyard, teetering on the brink of collapse.

……

Meanwhile, the real world.

In the deep-sea region where "Iron Heart" is located, the end of the world has arrived.

The "infection" of "Omnisiah" emerged from the cracks.

"Warning! The physical constants of the ocean ahead are undergoing drastic changes! The seawater is 'turning into flesh and blood'!"

Kyle and Roca saw a horrific scene on the main screen that they would never forget.

The deep sea water that was originally flowing was as if it were being controlled by an invisible giant hand, and began to solidify and recombine, turning into writhing pieces of flesh and blood, and then melting into a fungal carpet.

A group of strange deep-sea creatures that happened to be swimming in this area were instantly decomposed and collapsed without any resistance upon contact with the gray area, eventually becoming part of the fungal carpet.

"'Resonance Field' at maximum power! All turrets, fire freely! Slow it down! Hold out until the adults come out, no matter what!" Hephaestus shouted.

The "resonance field," powered by all the city's energy sources, envelops the city like a giant blue bubble.

Thousands of gun emplacements unleashed a furious barrage of fire, attempting to blast a path through the grayish-white "fungus carpet sea."

However, everything is in vain.

The phantom energy projectiles were assimilated and dissolved the moment they hit the grayish-white fungal carpet, while the physical projectiles passed right through it, as if they had only hit a phantom.

The grayish-white sea of ​​fungal carpet ignored all resistance and slowly rolled up.

"boom--!"

The moment the force field came into contact with that distorted reality, the entire "Iron Heart" trembled violently, and everyone felt as if they had been hit hard by a moving continent.

"Force field energy output... is being 'neutralized'! It can't hold up any longer!"

Kyle led a team of "Raiders" in an attempt to approach the edge of the area. However, the instant their mechs touched the grayish-white creep, alarms blared across the communication channels.

"Warning! The activity of the body's living alloy is being forcibly suppressed! The outer armor is undergoing... 'rusting' and 'deterioration'!"

The flesh-and-blood alloy, representing the perfect combination of life and technology, began to "rot" in front of the fungal carpet, just like real flesh and blood!
The "Iron Heart" is about to fall!

……

Within a fictional prison world.

Sensing the impending doom befell the "Iron Heart" and the calls from Hephaestus and others through the spiritual bridge, Shen Ge knew he couldn't delay any longer.

He was no longer satisfied with "tampering" with the "weird" permissions, but instead took the devouring of "Sequence 1" to the extreme!

His "consciousness" composed of light and shadow instantly transformed into an invisible dark vortex that devoured everything, actively heading towards the red moon that was also composed of chaos and pollution!
He wanted to take a bite and "eat" it!

In a daze, Shen Ge suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu about his current "dark vortex" form.

But he didn't have time to think about it now; devouring the Red Moon was his primary objective!
The "weird" let out a horrified roar.

It never expected that the essence of this "foreign object" would have a strange resemblance to its magnificent "■■■■"!
Two wills, both driven by the same underlying theme of "devouring," clashed ultimately in a fatal confrontation at the highest point of the fictional world.

The fictional world has collapsed.

In reality, inside the core laboratory, Shen Ge suddenly opened his eyes!
That contaminated dream fragment, all the pollution originating from "Omnisiah," was completely eliminated and devoured by him in a "fight fire with fire" manner!
And the power of the dream fragments, which was enough to distort reality, merged perfectly with his will at this moment!
Shen Ge has truly grasped this fragment of the dream!

He didn't even have time to feel this new power before his figure disappeared from the life support pod and appeared directly above the "Iron Heart," hovering in front of the collapsing force field.

Faced with the ever-spreading, grayish-white fungal carpet that was about to engulf everything, Shen Ge simply raised one of his hands.

The realm of mystery unfolds!

An invisible barrier of strange energy, infused with the power of dreams, instantly spread out, blocking the gray-white sea of ​​fungal carpet from entering the "Heart of Iron".

Then, Shen Ge raised his other hand and simultaneously clenched both hands in the air—

The spatial rift ahead was like two curtains being pulled together by two unseen giant hands.

The spatial rift was "closed" so easily.

Shen Ge fell from the sky and stood on the lightning-absorbing device at the highest point of the "Iron Heart". This time, the absorption of dream power exceeded his expectations!

143 points!
He can now open the passage "home"! (End of Chapter)