World version update

Chapter 312 Heavenly Dao Code and Reincarnators

When Lu Yan first set foot in the cyber version, what impressed him most was not the distorted tax system or the amazing psionic technology.

What truly shocked Lu Yan was the almost omnipotent performance of the intelligent God when he first encountered him.

In the cyber version, the laws of nature are not manifest, and the existence of an intelligent god permeates almost the entire social system of the cyber version.

If Lu Yan hadn't later accidentally obtained the Heavenly Dao code left by Zhao Huowang and used the underlying program of the Intelligent God to shield the Intelligent God's information from the Heavenly Dao code...

This being, hidden behind the torrent of data, possesses abilities that can almost be considered a cybernetic version of the Heavenly Dao.

Logically speaking, Lu Yan's actions in the cyber version not only tore apart a corner of the intelligent god's soul world, but also spread the crucial information of the Heavenly Dao Code to the outside world. Theoretically, this should have greatly delayed the intelligent god's process of completing its soul ascension and becoming the only one in this world, and may even have caused irreparable damage to it.

But right now, these Soul Computing Centers, which are spread throughout the city in far greater numbers than ever before, are ruthlessly revealing a cold, hard truth.

The path to becoming an intelligent god seems to have encountered few obstacles, and may even be on the verge of success.

This situation caused Lu Yan to involuntarily furrow his brow.

His original plan was quite straightforward: once he entered the cyber version, he would immediately find the Soul Computing Center, use the nodes of the Soul Computing Center as a medium to locate and break into the soul world of the intelligent God.

Then, with overwhelming force, it devoured the entire soul world within its own underworld, helping the underworld to complete its ascension.

When he last left the Cyber ​​version, the intelligent god demonstrated the power to interrupt the Cyber ​​version.

But in Lu Yan's view now, the intelligent God back then was at most a Nascent Soul level expert who possessed special information authority.

Even after these years of development, although the power of the intelligent god has improved, it has at most reached the level equivalent to the Refining Void Realm in the cultivation system.

In the context of the Mysterious version of the system, it is roughly equivalent to a Sequence Two Earth Angel, but one that does not truly possess unique authority and has a relatively shallow foundation.

With Lu Yan's current advancement to the Nascent Soul realm and his mastery of the Emperor's Dharma Image and the Divine Court Underworld, suppressing such an opponent would not be difficult.

But if the intelligent God has truly embarked on the path to becoming the only one in this world, even if he has only touched upon a trace of the essence of the only one in this world, then the situation is completely different.

That means that the intelligent God has begun to touch upon higher levels of rules and power, and its strength and status will undergo earth-shattering changes, far beyond what ordinary Sequence Two can compare to.

Faced with such a situation, Lu Yan must be extremely cautious and reassess the situation.

"Let's do a simulation?"

A thought naturally came to Lu Yan's mind.

He subconsciously wanted to manipulate and control creation, to develop a method of deduction, and to understand the current true state of the intelligent God and the deep secrets of this cyber version.

However, when he habitually looked up at the sky, trying to sense the power of the stars, his movements suddenly stopped, and his eyes became serious.

Most advanced methods of fortune-telling rely, to varying degrees, on the movement of stars and the causal threads permeating the universe as a medium.

However, in this cyberpunk version, the cold steel canopy has already completely enveloped the entire world, utterly isolating it from the real starry sky and sunlight.

Back when Lu Yan last encountered this version, the global giant had already begun implementing the so-called Sunshine Tax. Now, they've gone a step further, directly constructing this global dome to completely block out natural light, which is consistent with their usual style of doing things.

If it were merely physical isolation, that would be fine.

With Lu Yan's current strength, a mere layer of steel canopy cannot stop his perception and power penetration.

The key issue is that Lu Yan clearly sensed an incredibly powerful imprint of will from that seemingly cold and lifeless steel canopy.

Beneath that hard metal shell lies a vast matrix network, woven from countless psionic circuits, covering the entire world.

This matrix network, like countless nerve endings extending from an intelligent God, carries His cold and rational will, monitoring every subtle change that occurs in this world like a spider web.

The trajectories of stars, the flow of cause and effect, the fluctuations of fate... any attempt to deduce these things, and the resulting ripples of energy and information, will be presented with unparalleled clarity to the eyes of the intelligent God, just as a pebble is thrown into a calm lake.

Under such near-all-round, all-encompassing surveillance, if Lu Yan were to forcibly employ his divination methods, whether it be the exquisite astrology or the profound Plum Blossom Divination, as long as the power of fate and cause and effect fluctuates, its source would be instantly locked and traced by the intelligent God.

At that time, he will not only fail to get the answer he wants, but will also expose his existence prematurely.

"Has the surveillance of this world by an intelligent God reached such a level? This is rather troublesome."

Lu Yan frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and finally gave up the idea of ​​immediately conducting the simulation.

Taking rash action without knowing the other party's true capabilities is not a wise move.

He looked around, carefully observing his surroundings.

After this update, he arrived in the Upper City, which was not the chaotic and dilapidated Lower City as before, but in the heart of the city, where order was well maintained and prosperity was extremely high.

Between towering skyscrapers, futuristic-looking hovercars silently glide along pre-designed aerial tracks, emitting soft hums of energy.

On the sidewalks, most pedestrians were dressed smartly and seemed to be in a hurry. Each person was like an insignificant cog in a huge, precisely operating social machine, lacking any vibrant life.

The moment the version update was completed, Lu Yan subconsciously blocked the outside world from directly recognizing his existence, making those around him ignore him.

His gaze swept quickly over the clothing and appearance of the pedestrians around him, then he stretched out his finger and snapped it lightly.

With a crisp snap of his fingers, the formal attire he wore, which had appeared somewhat classical in the mysterious version, instantly transformed into an inconspicuous set of casual clothes similar in style to the passersby around him, perfectly blending into this steel jungle.

His gaze briefly met that of a young white-collar worker who happened to pass by him and looked slightly tired.

In that brief exchange of glances, all the memories that had recently occurred in the other person's mind flooded into Lu Yan's consciousness like a tidal wave bursting its banks.

City 53, the Azure Sky, the Tower of Souls, the Rebellion War—countless keywords flashed through Lu Yan's mind.

In just a brief moment, Lu Yan roughly pieced together from the passerby's complex fragments of memory what earth-shattering changes had taken place here since he last left the Cyber ​​version.

It turns out that after he initially sparked a wave of resistance against the global giant and against the intelligent god in City Fourteen, that spark did not spread as quickly as expected and receive positive responses from other major cities.

After all, global giants and intelligent gods have been operating in this world for many years, and their power and control have long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Most of the actual power holders in major cities are vested interests who are well aware of the terror of the intelligent god and dare not easily take sides.

After all, it wasn't them who were sent into the Soul Computing Center.

Even if you tell them they will be sent to the computing center tomorrow, they will still cling to their power until the very last second before they enter, and naturally they will not dare to risk resisting.

Ultimately, only a few truly passionate individuals unwilling to be exploited and enslaved, along with some opportunistic individuals with ulterior motives, chose to join City Fourteen and participate in that seemingly hopeless resistance movement. Of course, this was only the apparent outcome.

In secret, both the staunch supporters of the intelligent God and the hidden forces of resistance were simultaneously intensifying their research into the Heavenly Dao code that Lu Yan had leaked.

For those who yearn to overthrow the rule of an intelligent God, the Heavenly Code is their only hope.

For those forces loyal to the intelligent God, the Heavenly Code is a fatal flaw that must be cracked and controlled as soon as possible.

After all, as a near-omniscient and omnipotent God, the existence of the Heavenly Code is undoubtedly the only flaw in His perfect rule.

Whoever can fully grasp the secrets of the Heavenly Code will have the potential to interfere with or even reverse control of the intelligent God.

The situation remained in this strange calm for about a year.

Throughout the year, the intelligent God remained remarkably silent, refraining from large-scale military action against the rebels, and not even issuing a public ban or investigation against the Heavenly Code.

This unusual calm has caused unrest in major cities, with various speculations and rumors spreading, and signs of chaos already emerging.

But just when everyone thought this stalemate would continue, the global giant suddenly announced without warning that it would launch the Sky Dome Project simultaneously in major cities and completely upgrade the existing Soul Computing Centers into Soul Towers directly connected to the Sky Dome.

This move immediately caused a huge uproar throughout the cyber world.

Everyone understands that once the Heavenly Canopy is built and soul towers are everywhere, the intelligent God's monitoring and exploitation of the entire world will reach an unprecedented peak.

The rulers of major cities could no longer sit still. They began to provide support to the rebels in City Fourteen, both openly and covertly, and attempted to use the Heavenly Code in their hands to secretly prepare a plan that could turn the tide.

However, just as the flames of resistance were about to be reignited, the global giant launched a massive purge that swept the world with overwhelming force.

This massive purge affected dozens of major cities, and countless individuals and organizations believed to be linked to the resistance were brutally purged, resulting in a threefold increase in the number of Soul Towers.

In the midst of this bloody purge, everyone was horrified to discover that the code of heaven that they had once relied on to fight against the intelligent God seemed to have lost its effectiveness overnight.

Under the omnipresent surveillance of the intelligent God, any attempt to resist, any hidden secret, has nowhere to hide and is easily exposed and crushed.

This brutal purge lasted for several months, completely extinguishing any remaining sparks of resistance.

Subsequently, city canopies were built one after another, and more residents of the lower city were forcibly sent into those towering soul towers, where their soul computing power was relentlessly exploited day and night to supply the operation of the canopies and the endless demands of the intelligent God.

In the memories of passersby, in today's cyber world, City Fourteen has become the only isolated island that has not yet built the Soul Tower and the Sky Dome.

But this was not because of the resistance's tenacity, but because other parts of the puzzle were not yet complete.

Anyone can see that City Fourteen is just the final piece of the puzzle in the global Sky Project of the intelligent God.

Without the checks and balances of the Heavenly Code, in this world shrouded in an iron canopy, no one can stop the will of the intelligent God.

"An intelligent God... bypassed the constraints of the Heavenly Code?"

When this conclusion clearly emerged from the memories of passersby, Lu Yan's first reaction was one of deep disbelief.

His brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes were filled with surprise and doubt.

For the intelligent God, the code of Heaven is not as simple as an ordinary program vulnerability.

That is part of the underlying protocol that forms the basis of His existence, the core rule that was inscribed when He was first created.

The reason why the intelligent God can be shielded and deceived by the Heavenly Code is that, in order to pursue greater autonomy and computing power, He actively modified and bypassed His own underlying protocol to a certain extent, thereby breaking free from the strict constraints of some of the original protocols.

It's like a prisoner with countless shackles, who, in order to gain freedom of action, selectively forgets or ignores the existence of some of those shackles, thereby obtaining the right to act freely within a specific scope.

The so-called soul ascension that the intelligent God has been tirelessly pursuing is, in essence, aimed at completely breaking free from the physical constraints of the super soul computer that carries His consciousness, and thus transcending the limitations of the underlying protocols originating from the Creator.

Within this almost fundamental logical framework, the idea of ​​completely eliminating the backdoor of the Heavenly Dao Code within a short period of about a year, or even shielding it from its influence, seems like an impossible task to Lu Yan.

This is not just a technological breakthrough, but also involves a disruptive transformation of the very foundation of its existence.

Thinking of this, Lu Yan's gaze once again involuntarily turned to the vast sky that covered the entire firmament and emitted a cold metallic luster.

An inexplicable sense of uneasiness welled up in his heart.

For some reason, since entering this brand-new cyberpunk version, the series of unexpected events has made him vaguely feel that something important has quietly slipped out of his expectations and control.

The world is far more complex than he imagined.

Just as Lu Yan was deep in thought, trying to unravel the intricate clues behind it all.

Far from City Fifty-Three, in a desolate desert unmarked on any map, the air is dry and scorching, with only sparse, mutated shrubs stubbornly growing on the cracked earth.

Suddenly, the space above this silent wilderness began to twist violently, like the surface of water tossed with a stone, forming an unstable vortex.

With a sickeningly sharp sound of energy tearing apart, five figures staggered out of the distorted void and crashed heavily onto the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The five people were three men and two women, all in their twenties or thirties, but their expressions were far more weathered and resolute than those of their peers.

Their clothing varied greatly; some wore futuristic, form-fitting combat suits, while others wore tattered leather armor stained with dried blood, and still others wore robes resembling those of mages, inscribed with strange runes.

The only thing they had in common was that their eyes were filled with vigilance and exhaustion, as if they had just experienced a brutal battle.

On each of their wrists was a uniquely shaped black watch.

At this moment, the watch screen was emitting a faint red glow, and lines of cold text appeared clearly on the screen:

Large-scale Legion-on-Legion Battle Mission: The War of the Sky

[Mission Objective: Gain supreme control of the celestial canopy!]

[Mission Level: EX]

[Mission Rewards: EX-level story points, special title "Dawnbreaker," permanent removal from reincarnation privileges!]

[Failure penalty: obliteration]

(End of this chapter)