Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1362: Stuck

Leaving the Rift was easier than expected: I thought that such a chaotic and topsy-turvy space would surely be quite troublesome, like finding that the path out is just as endless as the path in. But Bingdisi flapped her big wings, and in a blink, she was at the cave entrance grinning foolishly at me.

"I’ve observed that the real ’Rupture Layer’ of this Rift is just a thin layer," Bingdisi said, shaking her head and looking like an expert as I climbed up, "If it’s a place where two different forms of information clusters meet, then this intersection point would not form a passageway but rather a plane. This is a rule common to the Dream Plane and any other void world. So the Rift itself is that invisible ’ground’ we were standing on just now, all the information based on this ’plane’: falling, gravity, the illusion of solid footing, will all disappear once leaving this surface. Leaving the Rift isn’t difficult at all, at least not for the two of us. The real difficulty is how to cross that layer..."

I was looking around the surrounding pale world, searching for the figure of Xyrin waiting nearby, when I heard Bingdisi and glanced at her sidelong: "You’re still thinking of penetrating the Black Barrier and launching an expedition to the Abyss Empire?"

"Why not?" Bingdisi slowly shed her Valkyrie armor, the ethereal armor dissipating in the air. Although her long black dress was somewhat plain, it looked more pleasing to the eye, "Think about it, the Empire’s greatest foe, the Abyss Empire, their base is separated from you by a barrier without even a thickness—how great the threat, how great the opportunity. I believe your side isn’t the only one biting their nails over this secret passage. The other side has been biting them, perhaps starting thousands of years earlier. Although this was actively connected by the Black Xyrin on the other side, I suspect once she discovered she couldn’t control it, it became her greatest threat. Now the opportunity is equal, you must either choose to strike proactively or fortify this passage and not just leave it be."

Bingdisi was right, within the premise that neither side could break through or control the passage, the Rift/Breakage Zone was an indefinite bomb for both the New Empire and the Fallen Apostle. Anyone with brains more than their foot could imagine this bomb’s potential destructive power. This situation was absurdly dramatic: two sides fighting like fury suddenly finding a teleportation gate to the other’s home base within their own. Even someone as composed as Sandora would have their heart racing for a couple of hours: if the other side figured out how to open the door first, it’s game over...

Now, the New Empire is just finding out about the Rift, whereas the Abyss Xyrin knew from the start. I believe they must have tried penetrating the Black Barrier, and I don’t think they’ve ever given up on that effort: the inherent nature of the Xyrin Apostle still applies to the Fallen Apostle; once she starts something, she won’t stop until it’s done.

"Launching an attack from within your collective spiritual world, that’s the deadliest," Bingdisi patted my shoulder, "Even the strongest being has weaknesses. You’ve already suffered a devastating attack from the Spirit World once, don’t let it happen again."

I nodded: "Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan. First, I’ll have Taville find a way to fix the Rift’s position: since this thing is related to Void Powers and the Concept Rupture from back then, it provides a general direction. With Taville’s strength, finding a method to fix it shouldn’t be an issue given the understanding of the Rift’s cause. Next, I think I should set some defenses near the Rift... My Void Powers are highly poisonous to the Fallen Apostle. The greatest fear of the Abyss Xyrin in the New Empire’s network environment is likely the pervasive void disturbances here. By focusing on this, I can make the Rift impregnable—at least to the Fallen Apostle."

Bingdisi acknowledged with a hum and suddenly remembered something: "Come to think of it, that Abyss Xyrin gives off a very strange feeling, very... I have an indescribable feeling. She told you too much, some information indeed doesn’t matter if leaked like she said, but some... Ultimately, she gives off a very unsettling vibe, so be careful, I fear she’s trying to mislead you somehow."

"Can’t fully believe or completely disbelieve, I’m not stupid, don’t worry," I smiled, also patting Bingdisi’s shoulder, "My smartest trait is knowing my own limitations, so I’m rarely fooled by smart people."

Bingdisi smiled brightly, her beauty incomparable, then pointed to the sky: "Look! A girl falling from the sky!"

There’s no way I’d fall for that, I casually pushed the female hooligan aside: "Your joke is way too old..." "Bang!"

I was knocked to the ground by a girl falling from above, everything happened so suddenly I didn’t even get to see clearly what she looked like before I felt a soft body lying across my waist. Then there was the startled voice of Xyrin: "Ah! Your Majesty, are you alright? Sorry, this world is usually deserted, I’ve gotten used to randomly landing from the sky..."

Bingdisi squatted beside my face, pulling out a toothpick to poke my nose: "See, really a girl fell."

Me: "...You damn..."

The topic of the Rift and the Abyss Xyrin was halted by Xyrin (the absent-minded version) crashing in, and I got up, flicked the head of Xyrin standing by with her head lowered: "Why’d you reveal your true form? Didn’t you say you need to ensure bandwidth?"

"I had a lot of downtime earlier, optimized my focal point algorithm within the network, using idle channels to share less time-sensitive computation tasks, thus not using much bandwidth now. But this interaction interface has some anomalies," Xyrin spouted a bunch of jargon I didn’t understand, then she ran two laps around me and Bingdisi, leaving a long trail of aftimages. It was like a mouse with trail effects enabled—Just say you’re experiencing lag why don’t you!

Xyrin ran in dizzying circles, forcing me to stop her. She’d changed her appearance again, and for some reason, perhaps an "empathetic link" with the Abyss Xyrin, she was back to looking like that golden-haired girl from before. I felt a moment of disorientation, as this silly and carefree Xyrin overlapped with the elusive and enigmatic Abyss Leader buried deep within the Rift...

I shook my head vigorously, casting aside these unfounded associations, then caught up with Bingdisi, who had walked far ahead: "Let’s go, mission accomplished. Once we’re on the regular network segments, Bingdisi and I will return to reality."

"Oh, oh," Xyrin nodded, again leaving a trail of aftimages, "By the way, what’s really beneath the Rift?"

"..." This time, I hesitated sharply, plagued by an uncertainty of how to relay this to Xyrin: her Abyssalized counterpart is the highest leader of the Fallen Apostle, the greatest enemy the entire Empire has faced (even though she claims ’no hostility’ toward the Empire—which holds minimal weight). The everyday cheerful and slightly oblivious girl beside me differs vastly from her counterpart on the other side.

But ultimately, she deserves to know everything, and as an Apostle herself, she should handle it. Exhaling, I said, "It’s another you, back when the Imperial network was split into two, your other part ended up on the Fallen Apostle’s side, now she’s the..."

I relayed to her everything about Abyss Xyrin, which didn’t take long as she already knew most of the story. She listened with a flat expression, rolling her eyes in thought: "Oh, so that’s how it is, recently the database refreshed some related info, about the Network Cluster Consciousness being corrupted and controlling the entire Abyss Empire, and threat assessment reports on this consciousness, I’ve seen them. Did you guys see her in the Rift? What does she look like?"

"She looks all sorts of ways, just like you," Bingdisi, seeing us walking slowly behind, decided to join the slow stroll and interjected, "Aren’t you moved at all? You two are practically the same person, and even now, she counts as your sister."

"Oh, yes," Xyrin nodded, her eyes wide open, "She is indeed my sister, and I need to figure out a way to kill her, right? Is there anything I can help with? Assisting with research or anything?"

Bingdisi was taken aback: "... Fine, seems you have no sentimental attachment to your other half. Good thing I worried for nothing about your glass heart. As for you, the nice guy over there, don’t worry and refrain from burdening yourself with psychological pressure when it comes time to act..."

"I do have attachment," Xyrin interrupted Bingdisi, "I miss her a lot, even though we haven’t seen each other since becoming independent, but I miss her, and if there was a chance to talk, to call her ’sister’, it would be great. But ultimately, she still needs to be killed."

I was dumbstruck: "...How can you say this so nonchalantly?"

"Because it’s necessary," Xyrin was expressionless, "There’s no contradiction between missing my sister and needing to kill her. She currently threatens the safety of the node matrix and might be attempting to destroy the orderly network. She’s an attack program, I’m a network administrator, and per protocol, I need to kill her to maintain the protocol."

"... I have no hostility towards you and your Old Empire... it’s necessary to do so... The war between us arises from a certain necessity... goal, need, execution..."

The words spoken by the Abyss Xyrin echoed once again in my mind.

The girl in front of me and the leader of the Fallen Apostles shared the same logical processes, both governed by the same protocol framework dictating their thought procedures. They had emotions, but primarily they were embodiments of network protocols, making decisions based on a set target, and would execute relentlessly even if the system crashes—everything for the node matrix, victory belongs to the protocol.

As a creature of the real world, I knew there was no way to reach mutual understanding with Xyrin on this topic, yet what else could I say?

The war would not end until all Fallen Apostles were defeated. In a foreseeable future, the most likely candidate to kill the Abyss Xyrin would be me: using the power of Void Creatures to massively interfere with the network of Fallen Apostles, the only method to destroy the race cluster mentality.

It’s a pity that I can’t discern what the Abyss Xyrin truly wants to do. This accidental contact with the opposing side didn’t bring much clarity, instead throwing me into deeper entanglements... Hopefully, Sandora can analyze insights.

"We’ve reached the network stabilization zone." Xyrin’s voice awakened me from reverie, I noticed we had already exited the pale data obstacle area, surrounded by normal scenery which was a relief, "I’ll check the nearby nodes, then you can leave."

I glanced at Xyrin, recalling what the Abyss Xyrin mentioned before parting—

"Tell the ’Xyrin’ on your side, if wanting to approach the Breakage Zone, lower its node index process by one priority level..."

It seemed this is why the Abyss Xyrin, despite being a cluster consciousness on the network, could safely enter the Rift. Xyrin simply hadn’t discovered this pattern, or perhaps the "performance discrepancy" between them prevented deduction of this rule; logically, if this information is true, I should tell Xyrin, however—can the Abyss Xyrin’s words be trusted?

It’s not that I am overly skeptical, but standing on this position, I cannot easily trust unknown intelligence, especially from an enemy. The Abyss Xyrin seemed slightly different from typical Fallen Apostles, her behavior was peculiar, yet I still suspect she is cunning enough to orchestrate such pretense: If I easily believed others, I would have long perished countless times.

"Emperor?" Xyrin dragged over with remnants of shadows, patting my arm, "What’s wrong? It’s time to leave the network!"

"Oh, it’s nothing," I hurriedly shook my head, "Just remembered a few things, but you don’t need to know for now. Bingdisi—"

"Already prepared," Bingdisi approached me as she spoke, and before I could react, a supremely soft and elastic body was nestled in my arms, "Don’t overthink, it’s just the restoration of Soul Unison’s initial state, afterward I need a good bath outside, unsure what your wives have done to my body..."

Her voice dwindled into whispers, ultimately morphing into a wave of light particles, blending into my form. Xyrin watched curiously beside me, suddenly poking my elbow, "Emperor, does Lord Bingdisi also need to be registered as Mistress?"

I: "...Just act like nothing happened! Hurry and start..."

After speaking, I involuntarily squeezed my hand, the genuine sensation from earlier still lingering, Bingdisi’s Soul Unison... Speaking of which, does a cheat divine technique aiming for exam fraud indeed need such an embrace prior to integration? What if the top student were male, wouldn’t Sister Bing feel a bit diminished?

The sudden dizziness prevented further thoughts, akin to the feeling during the network upload, a soul-out-of-body haze persisted for about a minute, afterward—sounds, temperatures, light and air, tangible Earth’s gravity, all real-world perceptions rushed in waves, somewhat perceptible even in the network yet tinged with surrealism, I inhaled deeply in this sensory storm, felt someone open the hatch before me, Taville’s familiar voice echoed nearby, "Your Majesty, the phantom returns to the real world."

"The scenery was nice, just a bit monotonous." I opened my eyes, cheerfully declared, everyone was guarding around, the first to leap forward as I exited the access cabin was still Qianqian, her short hair brimming with exuberance jostling in my embrace, "Ah Jun, Ah Jun, you looked so silly, like sleepwalking, any issues there? Was the journey smooth? What’s in the Rift anyway? Even the spiritual connection was blocked earlier, truly worrisome. Once ordinary, lacked spiritual connection, now can’t do without it, what are we having for dinner tonight? Also, the east end restaurant owner’s cat had kittens—Why aren’t you responding to me?"

I held the small-framed girl in my arms with a rigid expression, mouth twitching, "...I’m still processing."

"Oh," Qianqian gleefully bumped her head against my chest, "Anyway, I’ve forgotten what I just said..."

"Damn, enough with the love show-offs, let me settle back first!" Bingdisi’s exasperated voice finally resonated on the public channel, she was now merged with me in a soul-hosting state, naturally she could only communicate through spiritual connection, "Sandora, hurry, present my Golden Body! I’m unsure how you’ve wrecked it—"

"Don’t worry, I kept a good watch." Sandora reassured while beckoning backwards, two mass projection Tavilles escorted Bingdisi’s body over: in her soul-separated state, Bingdisi’s body wasn’t completely dormant, the hooligan’s residual consciousness controlled the body, maintaining minimal functional ability: basically limited to a sort of sleepwalking.

I observed Bingdisi’s body, it was indeed not as tragically chaotic as the hooligan imagined, appeared fairly normal, though the face seemed freshly washed: water still clung, clothes slightly disheveled, hints of the underwear strap at her neck faintly visible—I dared not imagine what could Qianqian and Lin Xue have done in the past few hours...

"Damn it, never again will I trust you all," Bingdisi’s helpless voice echoed in the spiritual connection, "Chen, move closer, might be tricky to reunite due to prolonged separation."

I acknowledged, moving before Bingdisi’s body.

"...Still not working, closer."

I pouted, continuing to approach, this proximity was nearly breathing distance, aside from mountains and valleys, I could see little else—this hooligan’s figure truly remarkable, even her underwear was black...

"...Damn, something’s wrong... Get even closer..."

"Any further would be adult-content," Sandora gritted, "What are you up to?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Silence lingered for a long while, as Bingdisi seemed to ascertain something, before unleashing a lamented roar, "Darn it, Holy Light! Holy mother of Light! Stuck! I’m stuck!!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)