GLOBAL AWAKENING: My 10,000x Exp Multiplier-Chapter 69: []Global Panic, The Only Viable Defense
Sovereign National Bank, Penthouse.
The room was completely quiet. Outside the massive reinforced windows, the Chronos Hourglass dome hummed as it shielded the White City.
Above them, the sky had turned completely golden!
Vahn Ryker stood by the glass and looked down at the marble streets. Thousands of refugees stood frozen in place. They were staring up at the sky in absolute fear.
The global announcement didn’t just tell everyone they won a battle. It placed a massive target on their backs for the rest of the universe to see!
"The entire global grid is crashing!" Hana shouted loudly from the holographic terminal. She had set it up right on top of their ruined dining table.
She possessed a very special set of skills. She had actually managed to splice her own interface directly into the remnants of Earth’s old communication satellites! This allowed her to see everything happening across the globe.
"Show me," Vahn ordered. He didn’t even turn his head around to look at her.
Hana didn’t waste any time. She swiped her fingers across the console. Instantly, a dozen floating screens appeared in the center of the room. The footage playing on them was chaotic, frantic, and completely disastrous!
In Tokyo, things were looking extremely bad. Massive military mechs were firing relentless barrages of railgun artillery at a single hovering Vultun scout ship. These mechs were heavily armored and packed incredible firepower!
However, the explosive rounds simply bounced off the alien ship’s invisible kinetic shielding. They couldn’t even leave a single scratch on it!
A second later, a beam of pale blue energy shot out from the ship. In the blink of an eye, it erased the entire military blockade from existence!
In New York, the situation was no better. The rich and powerful global elite were hiding deep inside their underground bunkers.
They screamed at their comms officers in a panic as the automated defenses of the Spire breached their thick steel doors with ease. The doors might as well have been made of paper!
"Traditional military hardware has a zero percent success rate." Sia Vance stood rigidly as she watched the tactical feeds.
"They are trying to use kinetic force and chemical combustion against monsters that use data deletion and spatial manipulation. It is a complete slaughter!" She analyzed the situation perfectly.
"Because they still think they are fighting a normal war," Vahn finally turned away from the window.
He walked over to the terminal, his deep purple eyes scanning the terrifying casualty reports.
"They don’t understand that the universe has been reformatted. Bullets and bombs are useless lines of code now. The only thing that matters in this new world is raw data."
Aria stepped up beside him. She reached out and placed her fingers lightly on his arm to support him.
"The world leaders are broadcasting on an open frequency," she noted. Her green eyes were filled with pity and exhaustion. "They are demanding answers."
"They are begging," Hana corrected bluntly and tapped another command on her console.
The main screen changed instantly. The sweating face of Director Vance appeared. This was the same man who had tried to take over their city by force just days ago!
He was currently broadcasting from a damaged command center somewhere on the outskirts of the continent.
"To the entity known as Vahn Ryker!" The Director barked loudly. However, his voice cracked with panic that he couldn’t hide.
"This is the Global Defense Coalition! We saw you fight the alien threat! Our weapons are completely useless against them. We demand you share your technology! Give your administrative code to the Coalition, or humanity will fall!"
Vahn let out a short sigh. He reached over and tapped the console, opening a two way audio link to the global frequency.
"Director Vance," Vahn spoke coldly. His absolute tone completely crushed the frantic energy of the broadcast.
"You don’t seem to understand your current position. You have no authority here. You have no leverage. You are standing in a burning house and demanding the fire department give you the keys to the fire truck."
"We are the governing body of this planet!" The Director shrieked in anger. "You cannot keep this power to yourself! The aliens are slaughtering our men!"
"Your men don’t matter," Vahn replied expressionlessly.
"The Galactic Arena does not negotiate with politicians. They only harvest data. The only reason the White City still stands is because I forced the physics engine to reject their technology. You cannot copy my code. And I won’t waste my energy trying to save the egos of the old world."
Vahn didn’t wait for a reply. He immediately cut the connection, shutting up the angry global elite!
He looked at his team. Right now, they were the only true sovereign power left on Earth.
"The Overlords know we exist now," Vahn stated. He looked at Aria, then Sia, and finally his sister.
"The Vultun Herald was just a scout. It was a minor inconvenience. When the real armada arrives, a ten block radius of stabilized data won’t be enough to protect the planet."
"Then what is our next optimal move, Commander?" Sia asked. Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
Vahn looked up. His eyes seemed to pierce through the ceiling of the penthouse, locking onto the Chronos Spire stretching into the sky.
"We stop playing defense," Vahn smiled.
"The Spire was designed as a lifeboat, but its core contains the administrative permissions for the entire planet. If I reach the top, I can elevate my access. I can lock Earth’s data permanently and turn the whole globe into a fortress."
"You want to climb the Tower of Combat!" Aria gasped in realization.
"Vahn, the upper floors are locked down! The system reset wiped your level back to zero!
Even with your base stats, the Spire’s engine will forcibly reject you if you don’t meet the level requirements."
"Then I suppose I will just have to level up again." Vahn chuckled.
The sheer madness of his statement hung in the air. He turned toward the door, his dark jacket fluttering behind him.
The sky above the White City was no longer bleeding red like a dying server. It wasn’t the smog choked gray of the old Sovereign City either. It was pure gold!
Earth had been forcefully merged into the framework of the Galactic Arena. The Spire’s engine had just announced their survival to the entire universe.
Vahn Ryker stood on the grand balcony of the penthouse. His hands rested casually on the reinforced glass railing.
The loud and chaotic noise of the Convergence had completely faded into silence. Below him, the ten block radius of marble buildings hummed with the stabilizing energy of the Chronos Hourglass.
Thousands of refugees crowded the plazas below. They stared up at the golden heavens. Their faces showed a mix of absolute awe and lingering terror.
They had survived the end of the world. But looking at that golden sky, Vahn knew the harsh truth.
They hadn’t won the war. They had simply forced the enemy to acknowledge their existence!
"It feels heavy," a soft voice murmured from his right.
Aria stepped up beside him. Her Crimson Lotus Vestments shimmered in the golden light. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms accompanied her, pushing back the sterile smell of the penthouse.
She didn’t stand at a rigid distance. She stood close enough that their shoulders brushed against each other. It was her stubborn way of saying she wouldn’t let him carry the weight of the new world all by himself.
"The atmospheric density has increased," Vahn replied.
His voice lost the cold, robotic tone he used to terrify the elite guilds. He sounded tired, but very human.
"Earth’s original physics engine has been entirely overwritten by the Starmark System. The mana in the air is thicker now. It will take the civilians a few days to get used to the new pressure."
Aria turned her head. Her green eyes scanned his face closely.
"I wasn’t talking about the atmospheric pressure, Vahn. I was talking about you."
She reached out and gently placed her fingers against the center of his chest. This was the exact spot where the Calamity Curse had once threatened to tear his soul apart!
"The integration is complete. You forced a planetary reset. You defied a Tier 6 Abyssal Entity and rewrote the rules of reality. But the system didn’t just let you walk away for free, did it?"
Vahn let out a soft and genuine laugh. He didn’t pull away from her touch.
"You are entirely too perceptive, Priestess."
"I am your Prime Healer," Aria corrected him. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, but she didn’t remove her hand.
"It is my job to monitor your structural integrity. And right now, your mana pathways feel hollow. Stable, but hollow."
From the massive living room behind them, Hana skipped over. A holographic datapad floated effortlessly beside her.
"She’s right, Brother. I was reviewing the localized faction logs. The system reset recognized your World Scale Conversion as an unauthorized administrative override."
"It couldn’t delete you, but it definitely hit you with a penalty."
Sia Vance marched out from the interior of the penthouse. Her heavy boots clicked sharply against the marble floor.
She held her massive obsidian kite shield at her side, her silver grey eyes entirely focused.
"Commander. If your combat effectiveness has been compromised, the Vanguard will double the perimeter patrols. We will not allow a single monster to breach the White City while you recover."
"Stand down, Sia. The perimeter is perfectly secure," Vahn smiled. He turned away from the golden sky to face his team.
"My combat effectiveness hasn’t been compromised at all. But my administrative access has been heavily restricted."
Vahn raised his right hand. He swiped his fingers across the empty air.
Instantly, his master interface materialized! A crisp blue holographic display projected into the center of the room.
He didn’t hide the data from them. They were his core faction members. They needed to see it.
[Player Information]
↳ Name: Vahn Ryker
↳ Class: Celestial Architect (Mythic)
↳ Title: System Administrator
↳ Current Level: 0
Aria gasped loudly. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock.
"Level 0? Vahn, the system wiped your entire progression! You reset the planet, and it stripped you of all your levels!"
"That is unacceptable!" Sia snarled in anger.
Her hand dropped to the hilt of her short sword as if she was prepared to physically fight the holographic screen!
"You defeated the Alpha! You deleted a Mythic boss! The system owes you decades of progression!"
"The system is just following its base programming," Vahn explained calmly.
He was thoroughly amused by his Vanguard’s readiness to stab a concept. He tapped the interface and expanded the attribute window.
"When I forced Earth and Aetheria to merge, I violated the level cap mechanics of the Chronos Spire. The engine responded by formatting my level back to the baseline."
"However, it could not delete the raw experience points I had already injected into my physical infrastructure."
The glowing numbers appeared on the screen, illuminating the penthouse.
[Biological State]
↳ Strength: 9,999
↳ Agility: 9,999
↳ Intelligence: 9,999
↳ Endurance: 9,999
Hana blinked hard. She stared at the screen for a moment. Then, a wide and highly entertained grin broke across her face.
"You kept the stats. You are a Level 0 player with the physical density of a demigod. That is the most broken exploit I have ever seen!"
"I am highly optimized," Vahn agreed. He closed the window with a flick of his wrist.
"My physical capacity is not the issue. I could walk outside right now and shatter a Level 50 boss with my bare hands."
"The problem lies with my Administrator privileges."
Vahn’s expression sobered up. The terrifying focus of the Architect returned to his deep purple eyes.
"The Chronos Spire is a lifeboat, but it is also a massive centralized server. By resetting the world, I successfully locked the physical perimeter of Earth."
"But the digital perimeter is the overarching firewall that protects our planet from the Galactic Arena. And it is controlled from the apex of the Spire."
