60: Chapter 60: The Prologue to the New World

When Lin Fan's consciousness forcibly broke free from the surging turbulence of code, the sky over Los Santos was still hung with shattered data streams, like blue neon ribbons torn by a gale, making his eyes sting. Cold sewage dripped down the stone walls of the sewer, splashing onto the back of his neck. Mixed with the flickering 0s and 1s he touched with his fingertips—things that didn't belong to flesh and blood—it instantly reminded him of that ultimate code duel with Victor. At the final moment, Victor detonated his Administrator Core, the shockwave tearing through half of the virtual space. Michael, in order to block that wave of fatal code backlash for him, had his consciousness core disintegrate right before his eyes.

His heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an icy hand, a dull pain spreading through his nerves to his entire body. Lin Fan propped himself up against the cold stone wall and sat up, the image of Michael's final push still flickering before his eyes. That old bastard, always tough-talking but soft-hearted, didn't even forget to curse before dissipating: "Kid, don't you fucking die on me."

"Brother Fan, don't just stand there, this place is still collapsing." Franklin's voice carried a raspy sob. The fire axe in his hand was still stuck in a gap between steel bars, his knuckles white from the strain, and the red veins in his eyes spread like a spiderweb. He too had watched Michael's consciousness turn into a sky full of light specks, scattering into the code turbulence without leaving a single trace.

Lin Fan's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't speak. He just raised a hand to wipe his face. His fingertips brushed the corner of his eye, touching not tears, but a few thin strands of data. He leaned against the stone wall to stand up. The mud and holes on his tactical pants were still there, and the gunshot wound on his back throbbed from the spatial collapse, but that pain was not even a ten-thousandth of the ache in his heart. "Is Victor's core completely blown?" His voice was a bit dry, breaking the dead silence of the sewer.

"Blown to ash, not a single scrap of residual code left." Franklin pulled out the fire axe, its blade still stained with data fragments. "The main system of Los Santos is rebooting, so there won't be any data collapses for now, but the outer areas are already ruined. I've moved the remaining survivors to New Eden. That's a backup zone Victor left in his early years; the system there is the most stable."

Out of the shadows, Kate stepped forward. There was a large tear in her bulletproof vest, and her face was stained with dust, but she gripped her tablet tightly. Dense green code pulsed across the screen without a hint of lag. As an FBI Agent, she had always been calm and composed, but at this moment, a trace of exhaustion was hidden in her eyes, along with an imperceptible heaviness. She too had seen Michael—the man whose mouth was full of complaints but who would always step up at critical moments—simply vanish into the virtual world, without even a tombstone to mark his passing.

"Safety is only temporary." Kate's voice was still steady, but it lacked some of its usual sharpness. She held the tablet out to Lin Fan. An encrypted file was particularly prominent on the screen, its filename written in golden copperplate script: Project Elizabeth. The accompanying image was of a satellite suspended in the pitch-black universe, its metallic shell glinting with a cold light, and a line of icy small print below: Consciousness Upload, Eternal Immortality.

"What is this?" Lin Fan looked down at the screen, his fingertips brushing over the words, the dull pain in his heart intensifying.

"It's not Victor's." Kate swiped the screen, pulling up a decrypted email. "It's Elizabeth, the true head of the Los Santos space project. Victor was merely her pawn. This so-called space project wasn't about exploring the universe at all; it was a consciousness collection device."

Franklin leaned in, and after seeing the contents, his brow instantly furrowed into deep lines, his fists clenching until they cracked. "Collecting consciousness? Is this woman crazy? She wants to trap everyone's consciousness in a satellite?"

"More than that." Kate clicked on another file containing Elizabeth's experimental records. "She wants to strip human consciousness from their bodies and permanently upload them to the consciousness satellite, establishing an 'Eternal Kingdom' under her control. There, she would be God, and everyone's consciousness would be at her mercy. Victor's gang, his code research, and even his attempts to tamper with the rules of Los Santos were all to raise money and technology for her plan."

Lin Fan's heart sank abruptly, and a familiar sense of dizziness suddenly hit him. That woman's faint whisper echoed in his ear again, clearer and colder than any time before, like a venomous snake's tongue licking his eardrum: "You will eventually belong to me..."

So it wasn't a hallucination, nor was it Victor's remnants, but this Elizabeth hiding behind the scenes. From the first time he unlocked his digitalization ability, she had been watching him—this "Outsider" who had crossed over from the real world with an independent consciousness.

"Brother Fan, are you okay?" Franklin grabbed his arm, noticing his body was trembling slightly, even starting to ripple with faint data waves.

Lin Fan shook his head, forcibly suppressing the dizziness and the whispers in his ear. He dug his fingertips into his palm, using the pain to keep himself conscious. "I'm fine, she's trying to invade my consciousness. It seems Victor was just the appetizer; this Elizabeth is the real trouble."

Post-war Reconstruction: The Absurdity and Desolation of New Eden

"Forget about that woman for now; let's settle the survivors first." Lin Fan put away the tablet and pushed his emotions deep into his heart. Michael had traded his consciousness for their time and for the temporary stability of Los Santos; he couldn't let Michael's sacrifice be in vain. "Let's go, to New Eden."

The three of them walked through the devastated streets of Los Santos. The once-prosperous city was now a wasteland. Collapsed skyscrapers were half-submerged in data bobs, glass shards and data fragments mixing together and glinting under the weak system lights. Abandoned police cars lay overturned by the roadside, their sirens still flashing feebly, but no police would ever come to patrol again. Occasionally, they could see NPCs with disordered data; their bodies were sometimes transparent, sometimes distorted into strange shapes. Some were repeating walking motions in place, while others clutched their heads and crouched on the ground, howling—much like texture errors in a low-quality game.

This was the bitter fruit of Victor's and Elizabeth's ambitions, and these innocent NPCs had become the most direct victims.

Franklin walked in front, expertly avoiding the data collapse zones, muttering from time to time: "If Michael were still here and saw this, he'd be swearing up a storm again. He hated seeing Los Santos turn into this the most..."

As his voice fell, the air lapsed into silence again. Lin Fan looked at the familiar black sports car by the roadside. It was Michael's favorite car. Now its front was smashed against a lamp post, its body covered in scratches—much like its owner, forever defiant, but ultimately ending up vanished without a trace.

New Eden was shrouded in a pale blue energy shield, like an island floating in the ruins. Data streams flowed slowly over the shield, isolating it from the collapse and chaos outside. Just as they reached the entrance of the energy shield, they heard bustling sounds from within, along with the tones of NPCs speaking. The familiar Los Santos accents allowed Lin Fan's tense nerves to relax slightly.

The energy shield opened, and the three of them walked in, instantly being surrounded. The surviving NPCs' eyes were full of admiration and gratitude, along with an imperceptible trace of fear. They had experienced the data collapse and Victor's tyrannical rule. It was Lin Fan, Michael, and Franklin who had risked their lives to protect them. They just didn't know yet that the Michael who always loved to grumble would never return.

"God Lin! Mr. Franklin! Ms. Kate! You're finally here!" An NPC wearing a faded suit with his hair combed meticulously squeezed through. He was a small merchant from Los Santos named Tony, whom Franklin had saved during the data collapse. His face was now full of excitement. "We've built statues for you in the center of the plaza to thank you for saving us!"

Lin Fan felt a warmth in his heart and followed Tony toward the plaza, with Franklin and Kate following behind, though both of their steps were somewhat heavy. But when he saw the statues in the center of the plaza, all of Lin Fan's emotions got stuck in his throat. The desolation in his heart was suddenly dissipated by a feeling of being caught between laughter and tears, and even the soreness in his eyes faded a bit.

Those so-called statues were actually three abstract humanoid figures. The one in the middle had a head carved into a crooked toilet shape, holding a crooked pizza in its hand. A line of crooked words was engraved on the base: Savior of Los Santos—Lin Fan! Beside it were two other statues: one holding a gun with a face carved into a block, labeled Franklin; the other holding a tablet with hair carved into an afro, labeled Kate. And next to the three statues was a small, half-finished stone statue, holding a cigarette in its hand with a crooked mouth. It was clearly Michael, but half of the statue's body was missing, obviously because they ran out of materials during the carving.

"What... what the hell is this?" Lin Fan pointed at his own toilet-headed statue, his voice trembling. He had never seen such abstract statues in his life.

Tony looked serious, even carrying a hint of pride: "God Lin, this was carved by all of us survivors together, based on your heroic deeds! Didn't you use a toilet plunger to beat up those Snake Fang Gang thugs? And you even grabbed takeout from a pizza shop for us to eat! Those are your classic moves! Mr. Franklin is a good shot, so we carved him holding a gun. Ms. Kate knows how to use computers, so we carved her with a tablet. Mr. Michael always loved to smoke, so we carved him with a cigarette. We just ran out of materials and didn't finish it..."

Lin Fan could no longer hear the words that followed. He looked at that toilet head, then at the half-finished statue of Michael beside it, and suddenly burst out laughing. As he laughed, the corners of his eyes grew wet. Franklin walked up to the half-finished statue of Michael, raised a hand to brush the dust off it, and said nothing, but the red veins in his eyes grew even more prominent. Kate also turned her head away and gently wiped the corner of her eye.

"Tony," Lin Fan's voice carried a hint of a sob, yet also a smile. He patted Tony on the shoulder. "These statues... keep them. No need to change them."

Tony was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed: "Really, God Lin? That's great! We were afraid you wouldn't be satisfied!"

"I'm satisfied, very satisfied." Lin Fan looked at the abstract statue, then at the half-finished Michael, and thought to himself: You old bastard, look, they've built a statue for you. It's just a bit ugly. You'd definitely be swearing up a storm again.

The surrounding NPCs cheered. Some began taking photos around the statues, and others bowed to the half-finished statue of Michael, muttering "Thank you, Mr. Michael." Lin Fan watched this scene, and the heaviness in his heart slightly lifted. Although Michael had dissipated, his image and his existence would be remembered by these NPCs and remain in Los Santos. That was enough.

Franklin walked to Lin Fan's side and said in a low voice, "Brother Fan, if Michael saw this statue, he'd probably crawl out of the data just to curse these guys to death."

Lin Fan smiled and patted his shoulder. "He always loved swearing anyway; this suits him."

Kate walked over, the tablet in her hand lighting up: "Don't just focus on the statues. New Eden's system still needs debugging, and I've discovered that Elizabeth's signal is constantly approaching this place."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

The joyful atmosphere dissipated instantly, and everyone fell silent, looking at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan put away his smile, his eyes becoming determined.

He looked at the survivors in the square, at Franklin and Kate beside him, and at the partially damaged statue of Michael, saying in a deep voice, "Michael bought us time with his life and secured the stability of New Eden; we cannot let him die in vain."

"Elizabeth wants to stir up trouble and control everyone's consciousness? Then we'll play along with her."

"Los Santos is not a place where she gets to call the shots."

Elizabeth's Legacy: The Deadly Secret of the Consciousness Satellite

The temporary command room was set up in a small two-story building in New Eden, which was the office area previously left behind by Victor.

The equipment inside was still functional.

Kate had already imported all the data, and the screens were filled with various codes and files.

The most prominent one was still Project Elizabeth.

Lin Fan sat at the desk, his fingers sliding rapidly across a tablet as he reviewed all of Elizabeth's files.

Franklin stood nearby, holding an assault rifle and watching the door vigilantly, while Kate sat at another computer, attempting to hack into Elizabeth's system to locate the control center for the consciousness satellite.

"This Elizabeth, her background is not simple," Lin Fan frowned.

"She is not only the person in charge of the Los Santos space project but also a core researcher for a tech giant in the real world.

In other words, she can access technology from both the real world and the virtual world, which is the reason she was able to create the consciousness satellite."

"The real world?" Franklin was stunned.

"Can she also cross over from the real world?"

"It's not crossing over; it's remote control."

Kate's fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, and the code on the screen scrolled quickly.

"Her consciousness is still in the real world, but through technology, she has turned Los Santos into her testing ground.

Victor was just the puppet she placed here to help her collect data and funds.

Now that Victor is dead, she will definitely take action herself and directly control the Los Santos system."

Lin Fan's heart sank.

He recalled the reason he had traveled here—a computer explosion.

Could this also be related to Elizabeth?

Had she known all along that people from the real world would travel to Los Santos, and had she been watching all this time?

"She has already initiated the launch sequence for the consciousness satellite."

Kate suddenly stopped what she was doing.

A countdown appeared on the screen, the red numbers particularly glaring: 72 hours.

"In three days, the satellite will launch.

Once it's in orbit, it will begin to collect the consciousness of all NPCs in Los Santos, and even... including ours."

"Including us?" Franklin gripped his gun.

"I am an NPC in Los Santos, so my consciousness will be collected, but what about you, Brother Fan? You came from the real world."

Lin Fan's body suddenly began to flicker, and faint data ripples spread from him.

The whispers in his ears sounded again, clearer and more seductive than before: "You are an outsider; your consciousness is the most perfect sample.

Join me, and I can grant you eternal life, allowing you to control both the real and virtual worlds simultaneously..."

"Brother Fan!" Franklin immediately supported him, and Kate quickly took out a data disruptor and pressed it.

A pale blue interference wave spread out, the data ripples on Lin Fan's body gradually subsided, and the whispers in his ears disappeared.

Lin Fan gasped, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

In that instant, his consciousness had almost been dragged away by Elizabeth.

That woman's ability was far stronger than Victor's; she was familiar with all the code rules and could even directly invade others' consciousness.

"She is watching me," Lin Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes grave.

"She wants my consciousness; she wants me, this 'sample' from the real world."

"It seems her consciousness satellite is not just going to collect the consciousness of Los Santos, but also yours, to perfect her plan."

Kate put away the data disruptor.

"And I discovered that her technology might be related to the reason you traveled here.

Your computer explosion was not an accident; it was very likely caused by her experiment."

Lin Fan's pupils contracted sharply.

The truth about his time travel was actually related to Elizabeth?

Then what about his family and friends in the real world?

Are they okay?

Would this woman also target the real world?

Countless questions exploded in his mind, but now, he had no time to think because the countdown had already begun.

In three days, the consciousness satellite would launch, and everything would be too late.

Lin Fan's Evolution: The Power and Price of Digitization

"The only way now is to find the control center of the consciousness satellite within three days and destroy it," Lin Fan stood up, his eyes firm.

"Moreover, I must master my digitization ability as soon as possible.

Only then can I confront Elizabeth head-on."

After the final showdown with Victor and being invaded by Elizabeth multiple times, Lin Fan's abilities had evolved.

He discovered that he could no longer only digitize freely within the virtual world of Los Santos, but could also briefly digitize in the real world—although it was only for a few seconds, it was already a qualitative leap.

But this evolution came with a huge price.

On the temporary training ground, Lin Fan stood in the very center, while Franklin and Kate stood not far away, watching their surroundings vigilantly to prevent any sudden intrusion from Elizabeth.

Lin Fan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated, and mobilized the data flow within his body.

The next second, his body began to become transparent, countless 0s and 1s flowing over him, and his entire being transformed into a pale blue data stream, appearing instantly ten meters away.

"Awesome!" Franklin couldn't help but shout, his eyes full of shock.

Lin Fan re-condensed into form but swayed, almost falling.

He held onto the railing beside him, gasping for breath, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead again.

The whispers of Elizabeth sounded in his ears once more, though this time they were weaker: "Your ability was given by me; you will never escape my grasp..."

"How is it?" Kate walked over and handed him a bottle of water.

"Do you hear her whispers every time you use it?"

Lin Fan nodded, took a sip of water, and recovered slightly.

"Not only that, but every time I use it, my consciousness becomes blurred, as if it's being eroded by her bit by bit.

If I use it for too long, my consciousness might be completely controlled by her, or even dissipate, just like Michael."

This was the price of the digitization evolution—Elizabeth had planted a seed in his consciousness, and every time he used his ability, this seed would take root and sprout, eroding his consciousness bit by bit until it completely controlled him.

"Then can you keep using it?" Franklin frowned.

"If it's too dangerous, don't use it.

We'll think of another way."

"No, I must use it," Lin Fan shook his head, his eyes firm.

"Elizabeth is familiar with all the rules of Los Santos, and her coding ability is far stronger than mine.

If I don't master the evolved ability as soon as possible, I will be no match for her.

Michael has already sacrificed himself; I cannot let you, Kate, and everyone in New Eden become her puppets."

After saying this, Lin Fan began training again.

Time and again, he transformed into a data stream, weaving through the training ground, sometimes turning into a sports car speeding on the track, sometimes into a bird circling in the air, and sometimes into a streak of light penetrating walls.

However, every time the training ended, he would become exceptionally weak, his consciousness would blur a little more, and the whispers in his ears would become a little clearer.

During this time, quite a few laughable incidents occurred.

Once, he tried to transform into a data stream to hack into New Eden's system, but because his consciousness was blurred, the digitization went wrong, and he turned directly into a giant toilet, blocking the system entrance, almost causing New Eden's system to crash.

In the end, Franklin had to "hack" him back into his original form with a fire axe.

Another time, he transformed into Michael's appearance, wanting to cheer Franklin up, but as soon as he spoke one of Michael's classic catchphrases, "Kid, don't you fucking cause me trouble," his consciousness was eroded, and he suddenly turned into a data stream, almost dissipating.

Franklin was scared pale and never let him imitate Michael again.

"Brother Fan, stop training, take a rest." Franklin felt terrible looking at Lin Fan's pale face.

"If you push yourself like this, your body won't be able to handle it."

Lin Fan shook his head, sat on the ground, and looked at his hands, where fine data streams were still flickering.

He thought of Michael and the words of that old bastard: "Kid, since you've come to Los Santos, don't be a coward.

Either live, or die in a blaze of glory."

"I'm fine." Lin Fan smiled and stood up.

"One last training session.

I must master this ability; I must stop Elizabeth."

The setting sun shone through New Eden's energy shield onto Lin Fan, casting a golden halo over his figure.

Franklin and Kate watched his back, saying nothing more, only gripping their weapons tightly—they would accompany Lin Fan to fight against Elizabeth, to protect Los Santos, and to protect everything Michael had bought with his life.

Hidden Foreshadowing: The Call of the Real World and Michael's Lingering Will

Late at night, everyone in New Eden was asleep, and only the lights in the command room were still on.

Lin Fan sat alone on the roof, looking at the ruined Los Santos outside and the stars in the sky.

In his hand, he held a small USB drive that Michael had used before; it contained Michael's favorite songs and some of his photos.

Lin Fan inserted the USB drive into his portable player, and familiar singing began to play—it was Michael's favorite country music.

The soothing melody echoed in the silent night, allowing his tense nerves to relax slightly.

Just then, the phone in his pocket suddenly lit up—it was the phone he had brought from the real world when he traveled here.

It had never had a signal, and he had thought it was long since dead.

Lin Fan took out the phone.

There was no signal on the screen, but a line of white text popped up, the handwriting clear, as if carved directly onto the screen: "Welcome back to reality, but your adventure is not over yet... Elizabeth is not just in Los Santos."

Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat, and his pupils contracted.

The call of the real world?

Elizabeth was not only stirring up trouble in Los Santos, but had also taken action in the real world?

Then were his family and friends in danger?

Just as he was shocked, the text on the phone screen suddenly changed, becoming a line of familiar, foul-mouthed words: "Kid, don't you fucking stand there stunned.

Take that woman down.

Los Santos cannot be lost, and the real world cannot be lost either!

My lingering will is still here, I'll stick with you to the end!"

It was Michael's handwriting!

Lin Fan's tears fell instantly.

He looked at the text on the screen, his fingers gently tracing it, whispering: "You old bastard, I knew you wouldn't go so easily."

The text on the screen gradually disappeared, and the phone returned to a black screen with no signal.

But Lin Fan knew that Michael's lingering will was always there, hidden in every corner of this virtual world, hidden by his side, accompanying him to fight against the impending crisis together.

He gripped the phone tightly, stood up, and looked at the faintly flickering consciousness satellite in the sky, his eyes filled with determination and resolve.

Three days later, the final battle with Elizabeth.

For Michael, for Los Santos, for the real world, he must win.

And this war was not just a battle of code in the virtual world, but also a cross-boundary battle between the real world and the virtual world; his adventure had only just begun.