132: Chapter 132 The Spark Lights the Fuse, the Entire Server Hears My Name

The moment the blue flame pierced the night sky, Chen Fan's eardrums buzzed.

The mechanical voice of the critical hit system swarmed like a bursting hive, crashing through his sea of consciousness—[Massive soul resonance detected. Infinite Multiplier Critical Hit Protocol—Activated].

He staggered half a step back, his back slamming heavily against the cracked cube.

The triple critical hit energy within him, compressed seventeen times, suddenly loosened, churning in his veins like boiling water.

Every heartbeat felt like a heavy hammer striking his ribs; ethereal blue light patterns surfaced beneath his skin, and even the beads of blood seeping from his fingertips were wrapped in tiny fragments of starlight.

"Chen Fan!" Black Crow's voice cut across from the other side of the drainage ditch.

This System Speaker, who always loved wrapping himself in a tattered trench coat, staggered over now, his pale hand deathly gripping Chen Fan's wrist.

Chen Fan could feel the cold sweat on his palm. "The remnant souls of the entire server are responding to you!

They are calling your name!"

Chen Fan looked up.

The glass curtain wall of the Starlight Tower reflected shattered light across the sky—those remnant souls erased by the system were emerging from the void, circling the pillar of light like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

A Little Girl in a school uniform floated before him, her mouth still stained with uncleaned chocolate smudges; she was "Tangtang," who had been torn apart by bone beasts in the Bronze Dungeon three months ago.

She smiled at him, her finger gently touching the scar on his chest: "Big brother, does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt," Chen Fan's throat felt dry.

He remembered the first time he met Tangtang; the Little Girl had held up a wooden stick to block for him, saying, "I'll protect you."

Now her figure was translucent, but her eyes were bright as stars. "Brother will take you home."

The communicator in his pocket vibrated frantically.

Chen Fan pulled it out; the screen was filled with private messages from unknown players—

"I was farming mobs in the Silver Dungeon when I suddenly heard someone say 'strike its neck,' and I actually got double Mystic Iron!"

"I was being pummeled into the ground by a boss when a voice said 'use Wind Splitting Slash.' I haven't even learned that skill!

But when I slashed out, it insta-killed the monster, and my experience tripled!"

System announcements flashed red repeatedly: [Player triggered unknown resonance, reward: Critical Hit ×5] [Player remnant souls assisting in battle, Experience +300%] [Cross-dungeon energy sharing detected, all-server player Defense +10%]

Chen Fan suddenly thought of Old Cripple.

That guy always called himself a "veteran with half his body buried in the dirt." He should be near the ventilation shaft at the top of the tower right now—

"Cough... Child."

Old Cripple leaned against the concrete wall at the corner of the drainage ditch. His right leg was pitch black from the knee down, like a tree root soaked in ink.

Silent-Faced Child crouched at his feet. His small face, usually covered by a veil, was now pale and tense as he used a cloth strip to tightly bind the artery at the base of Old Cripple's thigh.

"Uncle, I'll carry you out." Silent-Faced Child's voice was as raspy as sandpaper; this was the first time Chen Fan had heard him speak in the three months he'd known him.

Old Cripple smiled, revealing two chipped front teeth.

He raised a blood-stained hand and stuffed a military dog tag into Silent-Faced Child's arms.

The edges of the dog tag were worn shiny, engraved with "Li Huailin, Reconnaissance Company of the 72nd Army Division"—this was the real name he had hidden for twenty years. "Take this child and go." He nodded his chin toward the Little Girl shrinking behind Silent-Faced Child; that was "Little Jujube," only seven years old, whom they had saved in a dungeon three days ago. "Don't let her... become like me."

Silent-Faced Child's fingers dug into the dog tag, his knuckles turning white. "Uncle, I'm taking you with me."

Old Cripple's gaze swept across the blue light filtering in from the ventilation shaft.

In that light were his comrades who had died in battle, his old company commander who had been erased by the system, and Little Jujube's deceased mother—they were all smiling at him from within the pillar of light.

He reached for the last concussion grenade at his waist, its metal casing still warm with his body heat. "My road... ends here.

Yours... has only just begun."

He suddenly pushed Silent-Faced Child away and crawled toward the ventilation shaft, dragging his necrotic right leg.

The concrete ground scraped his elbows, leaving bloodstains like red earthworms.

Silent-Faced Child lunged to pull him back but was pinned against the wall by his hand. "Listen, when the grenade goes off, take Little Jujube and run to the deepest part of the drainage ditch. The hidden compartment left by Shadow Skin can hide you for three days."

Chen Fan's perception suddenly stung.

He whipped his head around; the pillar of light reflected Old Cripple's crawling shadow. "Old Cripple!" he roared, the energy of the Heart Returning Blast surging through the ground toward the top of the tower. "Retreat!"

Old Cripple looked up.

Chen Fan's silhouette was blurred within the pillar of light, but that shout to "retreat" hit his heart like a heavy hammer.

He smiled and raised a blood-covered hand to give an "OK" sign.

Then, he pressed the fuse of the concussion grenade.

Boom—

An orange-red fireball exploded at the top ventilation shaft.

Old Cripple's figure was flung by the blast wave, yet in mid-air, he gave a military salute toward the pillar of light.

As bricks and debris rained down, he heard the laughter of his comrades, saw the silhouette of Little Jujube running away clutching the dog tag, and saw the light in Chen Fan's eyes that seemed ready to burn through heaven and earth.

"He burned his life... into a signal." Black Crow's voice was trembling.

Chen Fan watched the fire explode within the pillar of light. Old Cripple's remnant soul rose from the flames, merging into the circling mist of light.

His fists were clenched until his knuckles turned white. The circulation speed of the Heart Returning Blast within him suddenly tripled, and the critical hit system's prompt finally became clear: [Chained Critical Hit Mode—Pre-loading Complete]

"Old Cripple!" Chen Fan shouted toward the sky.

The wind whipped debris against his face, but he felt no pain.

blue flame condensed into wings of light behind his back, every feather pulsing with the faint glow of remnant souls.

He remembered Old Cripple always saying, "I've lived long enough," remembered the medicine the guy had secretly stuffed into his hands, and remembered the serious look on his face when he taught Little Jujube military boxing—

"I'll clear the path for you." Old Cripple's voice suddenly rang in his ear, mixed with the resonance of ten million remnant souls. "Charge, Chen Fan."

The sound of grinding stones came from deep within the drainage ditch.

Shadow Skin crawled out of the hidden compartment, moss clinging to her hair, still clutching the half-page human skin secret letter in her hand.

The blood-red words on the letter glowed eerily under the blue flame: "The Third Seat of the Purifiers has long desired to eliminate Thousand Faces."

She stared at the letter for three seconds and suddenly laughed.

That laugh was like a blade scraping across glass, bone-chillingly cold.

She stood up and tossed the secret letter into the embers of the tinder.

The paper had just touched the blue flame when black smoke billowed up, but the blood-red words floated in the ashes for three seconds before slowly dissipating.

Outside the Starlight Tower, at the Shadow Pavilion headquarters' tallest tower.

A red-robed man was deducing astral tracks against a crystal ball when he suddenly snapped his head up.

His pupils reflected the distant blue light, and his fingertips crushed half of the crystal: "Chen Fan..." He chuckled low, his voice like a snake's tongue flickering over bone marrow, "What you've ignited is more than just rebellion."

Chen Fan knelt in the ruins, holding Su Shuang in his arms.

Her body temperature was slightly warmer than before, and her eyelashes cast small fan-like shadows under the moonlight.

The blue flame still churned within the pillar of light, stretching their shadows very, very long.

"Shuanger," he called softly, his fingertips brushing the silk flower in her hair.

That flower was one he had picked in a dungeon three months ago, kept fresh by Su Shuang using a secret technique.

The person in his arms suddenly trembled slightly.

Chen Fan's breath hitched.

He saw Su Shuang's eyelashes flutter, like the wings of a butterfly.

In the distance, the blue flame circled above the ruins of the Starlight Tower like a fire that refused to be extinguished.