White.
Not light—not heat—not pain—just white.
A space without walls, without direction, without time.
Lin Wei floated, suspended as though gravity had forgotten him.His heartbeat echoed like distant drums.
Then—
A low hum.The Core Nexus opening its unseen layers.
Energy rippled around him in delicate, spiraling patterns.
"User presence confirmed."
The voice reverberated through the void—not mechanical, not human, but something between.
Lin Wei whispered hoarsely:
"Where… am I?"
"Inside the Core Mind."
Warm. Calm. Stable.Unlike anything Zhao had described.
The hum intensified, vibrating against his ribs.
"Neural Resonance at 100%.Cognitive Pressure Risk: Moderate.Would you like assistance?"
Lin Wei hesitated.
His system had always guided him—but this voice felt different.
Older.Wiser.Gentler.
"…Yes."
"Acknowledged."
A wave of warmth cascaded through him, soothing his trembling limbs.
His chaotic thoughts calmed.His breath deepened.
For the first time since the chaos began—
He felt safe.
Outside — 139 Seconds Left
Zhao fought furiously against the soldiers restraining him, his voice cracking with panic.
"You idiots don't understand—HE CAN'T SURVIVE A FULL CORE MERGE!"
The soldiers held firm.
"Sir, we follow orders—"
Zhao snarled like a cornered animal.
"THOSE WERE MY ORDERS!"
Sparks rained from the ceiling as the failsafe clamps unlocked overhead—giant mechanical arms positioning themselves to crush the chamber inward.
The entire facility trembled.
This wasn't a simple lockdown.
This was erasure.
All to prevent the Nexus from falling into the wrong hands.
Zhao's eyes went wild.
"He'll kill himself—he'll kill all of us—if the Nexus overloads!"
A deep metallic groan echoed overhead.
The countdown ticked:
129 seconds.
Inside the Core — The Garden of Memory
The whiteness softened.
Color bled in—cloudlike blues, soft amber light, echoes of shadows that could have been trees.
Lin Wei looked down.
He stood on nothing and yet something—solid but not physical.
The Nexus projected a simulation around him.
Not an illusion.
A space to think.
A space to choose.
"Your mind requires stability."
The voice manifested into a glowing figure—not his mother,not the technicians,but a neutral presence shaped from compassion itself.
Lin Wei exhaled.
"You're the Core… aren't you?"
"I am the collective intelligence designed by your mother and her team.I exist to assist the user chosen by the Sequence."
Lin Wei's chest tightened.
"Why me?"
The figure tilted its head.
"Because you work.Because you endure.Because you have never surrendered yourself to power."
Lin Wei lowered his gaze.
"Liu Fang is still outside. I have to save her. I have to stop the purge."
The Core pulsed with soft light.
"The purge is a mechanical protocol.It cannot be overridden from here."
Lin Wei's heart froze.
"What?"
"But it can be redirected."
Lin Wei looked up sharply.
"How? Tell me!"
"Only by powering the counter-current."
"What does that mean?!"
The Core stepped closer.
"You must take control of the Nexus completely."
Lin Wei's pulse raced.
"That sounds like—"
"A full merge."
He felt the blood drain from his face.
"If I merge… will I die?"
The Core didn't answer immediately.
Instead it showed him two images—floating in the air like transparent pages.
Image 1:The chamber collapsing, Liu Fang screaming as debris fell.
Image 2:Lin Wei glowing with energy, the purge machines halting… while his physical body dimmed.
His stomach twisted.
"So it will kill me."
The Core's light dimmed slightly.
"Merging means becoming the Nexus.Your consciousness would remain.Your body may not."
Lin Wei felt the world tilt.
He steadied himself.
He whispered:
"If I don't… she dies."
Silence.
A heavy, knowing silence.
"Yes."
Outside — 91 Seconds Left
Sparks erupted violently as a mechanical arm tore through the outer walkway.
Panels fell.Dust choked the air.
Soldiers dragged Zhao out of the arm's path.
"Sir! We have to leave!"
Zhao pounded the floor with his fist.
"LIN WEI! GET OUT OF THERE!"
His voice cracked—raw, desperate.
But the Core chamber remained sealed.
Inside — Lin Wei's Choice
Lin Wei stared at the Core's projection.
"Is there any other way?"
The figure's eyes softened.
"There is always another way."
Lin Wei's chest flooded with hope.
"What is it?"
The figure reached out a hand of light.
"But it will require letting go… of the system you know."
"The system…?"
His HUD flickered.
SYSTEM ONLINEUser Sync StabilizedAwaiting Command
The Core whispered:
"You must destroy your old system to save everything else."
Lin Wei felt his breath freeze.
Destroy his system?
The cheat that carried him?
His greatest advantage?
His mother's last gift?
He shook.
"I… I don't know if I can."
The Core placed a luminous hand on his.
Warm.Human.Real.
"Hard work was never the system.It was you."
Lin Wei's eyes burned.
A tear drifted upward in zero-gravity light.
He whispered:
"Will I lose everything I learned?"
"No.You will keep every skill earned through labor.Only the artificial enhancement will fade."
He clenched his fists.
He already knew the answer.
He'd known from the moment Liu Fang risked her life for him.
He inhaled deeply.
Exhaled.
And stepped forward.
"Do it."
The Final Merge
The Core dissolved into pure energy.
The world shook.
Light surged into Lin Wei's chest—hotcoldsharpgentleall at once.
His system screamed:
CRITICAL WARNINGNEURAL OVERRIDE DETECTEDSTRUCTURAL DISMANTLING INITIATED
Lin Wei whispered:
"Thank you… for everything."
The system flickered one last time—
Good… luck… Lin… Wei…
—and shattered into light.
The Core flooded into him.
His body arched in blinding brilliance.
His scream echoed through both worlds.
Outside — 34 Seconds Left
The entire chamber EXPLODED with white light, seeping through the cracks in the sealed door.
Zhao fell to his knees, staring in awe and terror.
"No… no, no…"
The mechanical arms froze mid-motion.
The purge countdown glitched—
**> 34
3434**
All lights turned white.
The ground rumbled.
The air vibrated.
And then—
Lin Wei's voice filled the entire facility.
Not loud.Not mechanical.
Calm.
Warm.
Powerful.
"Everyone… lie down.I'm stopping the collapse."
Zhao's breath caught.
Whispers filled the chamber.
"Is that—?""Lin Wei…?""What's happening—?"
And then—
every machine arm retracted.Every clamp released.Every alarm went silent.
A smooth, bright wind swept through the room—lifting duststilling panicsettling hearts.
Zhao whispered in awe:
"He merged…He actually merged with the Core…"
And then—
The chamber doors opened.
Slowly.Silently.Brightly.
Revealing a figure outlined in white energy.
Lin Wei.
But changed.
Eyes softly glowing.
Breath steady.
Alive.
And more than alive.
Zhao staggered back.
"What are you…?"
Lin Wei stepped toward them.
Not as a machine.
Not as a god.
But as himself.
"Someone who made a choice."
He looked upward.
"Now I have to save her."