87: The Abyss of Fuses, Crystal Devouring, and Choice

The atmosphere in the core laboratory of the logic anchor was as heavy as the dead calm before a storm. In front of Lin Mo, the “Resonance Detonator - Alpha”, which had taken immense effort to compile, floated in a regulated force field. Outwardly, it resembled an ordinary “silent cornerstone” seed, but internally, it encapsulated a highly condensed “Declaration of Existence” derived from life and will.

The target was another “gap” — the “Whispering Corridor” — sufficiently distant from the logic anchor, and repeatedly evaluated as the most stable and least likely to trigger “Ultimate Formatting” of the current “Endogenous Paradox”. This was an area with a relatively loose rule structure, where internal paradoxes primarily manifested as continuous low-intensity self-questioning.

The test plan underwent countless simulations and was designed with the strictest safety measures. A specially modified phantom probe, equipped with an ultra-high-speed rule disconnection device, would perform the delivery mission. Once the delivery was complete, or if sensors detected any signs of Crystal Devourer activation, the probe would instantly sever all connections to external rules, enter a state of absolute silence, and even initiate a self-destruct sequence to ensure no tracking clues were left behind.

“All systems final check complete,” Wu Yong’s voice rang out in the communication channel, with a metallic tension, “’Phantom - 07’ is ready.”

“Remote monitoring array is at maximum power, locking onto the Whispering Corridor and rule changes within three astronomical units around it,” Li reported.

Ling Shuang stood beside Lin Mo, her psionic energy like the keenest string, resting on the edge of Lin Mo’s consciousness, ready to respond to any potential mental backlash. Dr. Einstein’s data stream, meanwhile, was like a surging torrent poised to capture and analyze every subtle data fluctuation that might occur during the test.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, his consciousness deeply bound to the Genesis Blueprint, as if he had merged with the detonator.

“Execution approved. ‘Phantom - 07’, launch.”

The order was given.

In a distant starfield, the ‘Phantom - 07’ probe, disguised as interstellar dust, launched the detonator, carrying both hope and destruction, towards the invisible rule boundary of the Whispering Corridor.

Time seemed to stretch.

The detonator silently integrated into the rule background of the Whispering Corridor, its perfect silent cornerstone casing allowing it to pass through any potential primary detection by the Order Fortress network.

One second, two seconds... On the main control screen, the rule fluctuation spectrum of the Whispering Corridor still maintained its original slow, chaotic self-questioning mode.

Just as everyone thought the detonator might not have worked, or was directly ignored —

A change occurred.

It wasn’t a violent explosion, nor was it rapid Crystal Devourer. The rule whispers, which had been like chaotic noise, suddenly began to... accelerate! Countless logical chains of self-questioning unfolded, collided, and evolved at an unprecedented speed! The previously vague “whispers” became clear, sharp, as if countless voices were fiercely debating and arguing on the rule level!

“The detonator is working!” Dr. Einstein reported urgently, “It’s amplifying the internal logical conflicts! Paradox activity is rising exponentially!”

On the spectrum, the curve representing the internal rule chaos of the Whispering Corridor sharply spiked, but its structure did not shift towards the absolute order of Crystal Devourer; instead, it presented an extremely unstable, boiling state of “chaos”!

“It’s… ‘thinking’!” Ling Shuang exclaimed, her psionic energy detecting a massive and chaotic “stream of consciousness” forming in that area, “It’s processing that paradox about the ‘meaning of existence’ at an unprecedented speed!”

Success? Had they successfully triggered “self-doubt” and “logic overload” instead of “formatting”?

However, before the joy could last three seconds, a jarring alarm suddenly blared!

“Warning! High-priority rule response detected! Source… multiple Order Fortress nodes!” Li’s voice changed pitch.

On the star map, the three Order Fortress light points surrounding the Whispering Corridor simultaneously lit up with dazzling red light! Their previously stable, suppressive rule fields began to fluctuate violently, and… synchronously!

As if startled by the sudden eruption of logical chaos within the Whispering Corridor, these three fortresses were no longer independent defensive units; their rule power began to converge and superimpose towards the Whispering Corridor along the hidden “supercausal correlation”Veins!

“They are not initiating ‘Ultimate Formatting’,” Dr. Einstein’s data stream flickered frantically, analyzing this unprecedented phenomenon, “They are… attempting ‘logic suppression’! Trying to forcibly quell the paradox storm within the Whispering Corridor with a more powerful, unified order rule field!”

This was a more active intervention, falling between isolated observation and ultimate eradication! Clearly, the chaos triggered by the Resonance Detonator had activated a higher-level defense mechanism of the network!

Three powerful order rule fields, like three invisible giant hands, violently gripped the Whispering Corridor! The boiling rule chaos within that area, under this external high pressure, began to be forcibly suppressed and smoothed… but things didn’t end there.

Inside the Whispering Corridor, the “Declaration of Existence” ignited by the detonator, originating from life and will, was not annihilated under the powerful pressure of the external order field. Instead, it acted like a catalyst thrown into a furnace, triggering an even more violent and unexpected change!

The logical conflict, compressed to its extreme, coupled disastrously with the incoming external order suppression force!

A new phenomenon, neither pure chaos nor absolute order, erupted at the core of the Whispering Corridor—

Rule Crystal Devourer!

In the monitoring screen (through rule imaging technology), the core area of the Whispering Corridor did not descend into the stillness of Crystal Devourer, nor did it remain chaotic. Instead, it began to spontaneously and greedily “devour” the three suppressive energies from the Order Fortresses! And, in the process of devouring, its own rule structure began to undergo a peculiar “mutation”!

It was no longer passively accepting formatting; instead, it actively decomposed and absorbed the external order energy, transforming it into a… quasi-order structure with a chaotic undertone, possessing aggressive properties! This nascent structure, like a cancerous cell of rules, had both the partial stability of order and retained the unpredictability and… expansiveness of chaos!

“It’s… reverse-eroding the network energy of the Order Fortresses?!” Wu Yong was dumbfounded.

“No… not just erosion…” Dr. Einstein’s voice carried an unprecedented horror, “It’s using the absorbed energy to… self-replicate and… grow!”

The mutated rule structure of the Whispering Corridor began to spread like a virus, reversing along the three ruleVeins connected to the Order Fortresses! Wherever it passed, the network’s rule structure was twisted and assimilated, transforming into this new, unstable hybrid!

One Order Fortress’s rule field was breached first; its light point on the star map flickered violently a few times, and then… extinguished! It wasn’t formatted, but completely “infected” and “transformed,” becoming part of that mutated rule structure!

Then came the second!

The last image transmitted by ‘Phantom - 07’ was that of the mutated rule, like a silver tide adorned with eerie geometric patterns, surging towards the third Order Fortress, and further out, more fortress light points, startled by this chain reaction, began to light up!

“Disconnect! Initiate self-destruct!” Lin Mo ordered sharply.

The signal from ‘Phantom - 07’ vanished instantly.

Inside the main control center, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned by this catastrophic outcome, far exceeding expectations.

They had successfully triggered “self-doubt,” but this “self-doubt,” under the high-pressure suppression of the network, did not lead to stagnation. Instead, it… mutated into a new rule threat with the ability to devour and expand!

This was no longer the painful scar of a resonator they were familiar with, but rather… an active, greedy “rule plague”!

“The Resonance Detonator… what have we unleashed?” Ling Shuang’s voice trembled slightly.

Dr. Einstein’s models ran frantically, attempting to deduce the spread rate and potential impact of this mutated rule. The results were despairing — if left unchecked, this Crystal Devourer phenomenon could spread like wildfire along the connectionVeins of the Order Fortress network, devouring and transforming all rule structures in its path! Its destructiveness might be even more unpredictable and chaotic than the formatting of the tide of delusion!

They had intended to create a logical loophole, but inadvertently opened Pandora’s Box, unleashing a monster that could destroy the existing order, yet did not lead to life and harmony, but to another form of chaos!

Two abysses appeared ahead:

On one side was the cold, absolute order of the tide of delusion, aimed at erasing all Possibility of life.

On the other side was the aggressive and uncontrollable “rule plague” they had personally unleashed.

And they, the Star Speakers, originally doctors meant to heal the stars, might now be the source of an even more terrifying disaster.

Lin Mo stood still, his face ashen. He looked at the area on the star map that had returned to darkness due to the disconnection of ‘Phantom - 07’, but which everyone knew was undergoing a terrible upheaval, and for the first time felt… lost.

Would their star language bring new life to this universe, or… utter destruction?