The blinding white light had not yet fully dissipated when a piercing coldness率先侵袭而来. The aftershock of Su Xiaolan's rejection of the system's options was like a massive rock thrown into stagnant water, triggering a chain collapse. The progress bar was stuck at [40%], but the entire Zero Station plunged into a more terrifying "stasis backlash."
Gravity inverted instantly. Several collaborator soldiers about to open fire were slammed violently against the metal ceiling, the sickening crunch of bones and screams grating on the ears. On the other side, two of Li Chenyuan's team members floated up helplessly, struggling mid-air. Metal structures groaned under the strain, thick white frost spreading visibly, instantly freezing weapons and exposed equipment. Most suffocating was the air being rapidly siphoned away; lungs felt squeezed by an invisible hand, every breath becoming scorching and difficult. Icy system prompts flashed relentlessly, overriding all chaos:
[Warning: Path Invalid]
[Recalculating…]
[Stasis Protocol Engaged]
"Cease fire! Everyone, cease fire!" Li Chenyuan's roar cut through the din. He gripped a fixed pipe with one hand to steady himself, the other still shielding Su Xiaolan. His gaze sharp as a blade, he scanned Lu Xingze and the collaborator leader. "One more move, and none of us will get out alive!" Lu Xingze's expression was grim; his calculations and ambitions seemed pale in the face of the system's absolute violence. Gritting his teeth, he waved his hand, signaling the Star Shield members to lower their weapons—not surrender, but a cold assessment based on survival probability. The collaborator leader, eyes bloodshot, roared, "This is sacrilege against the divine oracle!" but was held back firmly by a calmer subordinate beside him, who shook his head with difficulty, pointing at the rapidly deteriorating environment. A temporary, fragile, precarious truce was barely forged under the threat of death.
"Wait... what's this...?" Wang Jing was practically crushed against his operating terminal, his lips purple from oxygen deprivation, but his eyes blazed with fervor. Seizing this brief peace, he frantically deciphered the underlying code accidentally exposed by the system's backlash. Suddenly, an encrypted, hidden command appeared:
[Consensus Channel… Locked]
"Found it!" he shouted hoarsely, his voice raspy from lack of air. "'Equivalent Sacrifice' isn't the only solution! Atlantis... the original designers left a backdoor—a 'Consensus Channel'!" He explained urgently: The system required "majority witness" or joint authorization from all marked "decision units" to overwrite the preset paths of destruction and unlock new possibilities. Everyone who heard this was stunned. This meant the power to decide fate shifted from Su Xiaolan's shoulders alone to the three mutually hostile parties present.
On the throne, Su Xiaolan's consciousness floated in agony. Her fusion with P.D. continued, pain scorching her nerves, yet her "vision" had never been clearer. She "saw" that in the circular hall, the other twelve crystal thrones were not completely dark. Two of them flickered faintly yet stubbornly, echoing her own throne. Vague, startled fragments of thought transmitted across vast distances:
"...Signal... who?... Another candidate... awakening?"
A system prompt confirmed her perception:
[Alternate Anchor Candidates Detected]
→ Potential "Anchors" were still awakening globally, but here and now, the core decision-making authority remained focused on this place, on these three factions.
"The original designers... feared absolute power... hence they left checks and balances..." P.D.'s voice grew weaker, as if fading away, yet carried a hint of relief. "But the cost... is discord and strife...""Rather than sacrifice... better to... return." Su Xiaolan whispered deep within her consciousness, her will firmer than ever before. "Return the consciousness, the freedom, the future that Ψ stole... all back to humanity!" Without further hesitation, using her own near-breaking body as the final medium, she transformed this intense will into a new command and forcefully input it into the system core! Blinding streams of light surged from the throne, flooding her limbs; data patterns the color of scorching appeared on her skin as if she herself were turning into data. The entire server ship shuddered violently, the system prompt changing abruptly:
[New Parameter Input: "Return"]
[Consensus Required]
"Xiaolan!" Li Chenyuan ignored his own peril, his eyes only on her suffering form. His voice was resolute, steady, and full of strength: "No matter which path you choose, I am here. Your choice is my choice." Lu Xingze's eyes struggled intensely, rapidly assessing the countless ways the "Return" plan could fail—the success probability was despairingly low. He hissed, less in opposition and more in reluctance: "This is madness... the success rate is near zero... we could have..." His thirst for ultimate knowledge clashed violently with harsh reality. "Shut up! You thieves! Traitors!" The collaborator leader was utterly enraged, his pride in pure bloodline utterly trampled. He abruptly raised his energy gun, aiming at Su Xiaolan on the throne. "Our ancestors' legacy must not be defiled! Better destruction!" The energy beam shot out but was absorbed and annihilated instantly by a suddenly manifesting diamond-shaped energy barrier meters away from the throne. The system declared coldly:
[Decision Unit Authority Locked]
[Non-authorized offensive action negated]
The authority to decide had been forcibly locked by the system onto Li Chenyuan, Lu Xingze, and the collaborator leader.
A massive holographic image exploded in the center of the cavity, the system's broadcast echoing in every corner:
[Consensus Protocol Initiated]
[Decision Required: Yes / No]
[Countdown: 10…]
Three smaller virtual interfaces materialized simultaneously before Li Chenyuan, Lu Xingze, and the collaborator leader. The simple [Yes] and [No] options flashed coldly, alongside crimson countdown numbers: 10… All chaos, fighting, and screams eerily stilled at this moment. Friend and foe alike held their breath, gazes locked intently on the three individuals deciding their fate. Su Xialan raised her head with difficulty within the throne's light, her sight sweeping over Li Chenyuan's determined face, Lu Xingze's conflicted eyes, the collaborator leader's狰狞 expression. Agony and the massive data flow nearly tore her apart, yet the corners of her lips lifted into a faint, complex smile.
"This time..." she breathed, almost inaudible, "I am not alone."
The scene seemed frozen.
The countdown numbers mercilessly changed: 9…
Three hands, carrying different resolves, hesitations, and rages, slowly reached toward the light screens that would decide the future.
[Countdown: 8…]