(Pure Rationality Overwrite Version)
Subtitle: When Trust Becomes the Only Coordinate, All Shadows Shall Be Revealed
The embers of reason still smoldered—yet deep beneath the capital, a new decree had already been signed.
Within the Night Crow Division's "Seventh Secret Archive," the air was tomb-silent, thick with the dust of sealed histories. Cold light from spell-locked document cases cast long shadows across the stone floor. Xuan Ya knelt on one knee, her form rigid, her shadow stretched and distorted in the gloom.
"Thirteen years ago, in the Snow Wolf Valley of the Northern Frontier—what did you witness?"
The new Emperor's voice was an ice-cold blade, each word weighted with unyielding authority.
Xuan Ya's head remained bowed, her reply low and measured: "A judge who betrayed reason, and a girl… who should have died."
"That is enough." A faint, cold smile touched the Emperor's lips. In his hand gleamed the golden seal of the Rationality Academy Anomaly Archives.
Since the "White Coup," the writing of history had been permitted only in sterile, dispassionate tones.
"If reason will not obey," the Emperor declared, his tone detached and final, "then history shall be rewritten. The 'Overwrite' project within the Imperial Tomb requires an overseer—one who will witness its completion."
Xuan Ya's eyes burned with devout determination as she dissolved into the shadows, her path set for the Imperial Tomb.
Three days later, the Coordination Office remained under strict lockdown. Yet, at dawn, the secret letter arrived.
By flickering candlelight, the faces of the four were grim. The letter, written on gold-leaf paper, lay open on the table, its ink still fresh. Shen Yuzhu traced the characters on the reverse side: "Imperial Tomb disturbance, heart-pulse tremors, guards replaced."
"The brushstrokes match the Night Crow Division's cipher technique. The ink contains 'Frost Dust'—a compound exclusive to the Seventh Archive," Shen Yuzhu observed, his gaze sharp. "The messenger came from the Empire's most classified location."
Gu Changfeng's grip tightened on his blade. "If the Imperial Tomb is unstable, we go—even if it's a trap."
Lu Wanning analyzed coolly, "The probability of this being a trap is approximately 73%."
Chu Hongying turned to Shen Yuzhu. "What does your reason tell you now?"
Shen Yuzhu smiled faintly. "My reason has yielded to you. Now, my heart says—trust this warning, but be prepared to walk into hell."
Their eyes met in the candlelight—a silent vow forming in the dimness.
Night patrols in the capital intensified; the iron gates of the Coordination Office were reinforced before midnight.
Gu Changfeng exchanged his patrol armor for the black uniform of a Night Crow Division inspector.
Under the guise of medical supervision, Lu Wanning diverted herbal reserves, leaving behind incense capable of paralyzing surveillance barriers.
Shen Yuzhu used old Rationality Academy clearance codes to break the sealing spells.
As the last lamp before dawn extinguished, they slipped into the hidden waterways—toward the heart of the tomb.
Deep within the Imperial Tomb's earth veins, the air was damp and cold, heavy with the scent of copper rust and ancient medicinal herbs.
The four moved like shadows, evading the "Shadow Keepers"—emotionless, mechanically precise guardians of rational order.
At the core altar, the energy flow of the Empire's Mirror Array was torn by countless pulsating golden cracks. Each fracture bled light, throbbing like a heartbeat, releasing fragments of long-suppressed emotion: laughter, sobs, roars, prayers—the murmurs of ten thousand silenced souls.
The altar pillar was inscribed with the Rationality Academy's hexagram emblem and a motto:
"Order in the name of statistics, mercy in the form of overwriting." —Hengzhi First Year
Lu Wanning's fingertips brushed a shimmering strand of golden light. "The Mirror Array's instability is a surface symptom. This is the collective subconscious of the Empire's repressed emotions—now rebelling against the system."
Chu Hongying's chest, marked with a golden-red seal, and Shen Yuzhu's palm, bearing a heart-shaped imprint, grew warm in unison, resonating with the trembling "heart-pulse." The entire Imperial Tomb felt like a colossal, beating heart.
Cracks spread across the mirror surface with her breath, cold light seeping out like veins.
Xuan Ya emerged from the unbroken mirror, flanked by rows of Shadow Keepers standing like an iron wall.
Her gaze fixed on Shen Yuzhu. "Master, top disciple of the 'Mental Arithmetic Project,' pride of the Rationality Academy—now you let the framework of reason grow soft. Flesh that decays where bone once ruled."
Her tone was cold, divine, and final. "Look at these Shadow Keepers—devoid of joy or sorrow, they are the Empire's most perfect foundation. The 'emotions' you introduced bring only chaos."
Turning to Chu Hongying, she declared, "The Snow Wolf Valley long proved the calamity of emotions. You are an erroneous variable that should not exist."
She announced, "This is the new Emperor's 'Heart-Pulse Overwrite Project'—using the absolute rational Mirror Array to format all human weakness. The Night Crow Division is its executor."
Her final ultimatum fell like a sharp blade: "Submit to order. Otherwise, you will be defined as 'errors'—and eradicated alongside this heart-pulse."
The battle erupted. The Shadow Keepers attacked with cold, surgical precision—execution programs in human form.
The four stood back-to-back, an unbreakable formation. Gu Changfeng's blade cleared the path for Lu Wanning's silver needles; Lu Wanning used medicinal mist to paralyze enemy meridians.
Shen Yuzhu and Chu Hongying moved as one—he no longer calculated, merely synchronizing his heartbeat with her breath.
A Shadow Keeper lunged at Chu Hongying from a blind spot. Shen Yuzhu instinctively stepped forward, but her spear tip had already swept back as if prescient, deflecting the strike.
She whispered sidelong, "I trusted that you would trust me."
In that moment of unity, the chaotic heart-pulse energy flowed through them, turning docile. Golden light, warm as a healing stream, mended their wounds and repelled the enemies with their shared will.
This was not tactics—it was faith.
Trust, proven as a force capable of shaking reality.
The Shadow Keepers retreated temporarily; Xuan Ya vanished into the mirror's reflection.
From the deepest shadows emerged the Seventh Prince, Zhao Yuan. He picked up a fallen Rationality Academy emblem, dusting it off calmly.
"The heart of the Imperial Tomb is but a reflection of power. The true storm lies not in the veins of earth, but in the pulse of men."
His voice was low. "The 'shadow' behind the secret letter is my agent. The Overwrite Project is nearing its end—since the White Coup, the Emperor has believed only in rewritable history. He despises randomness and fears the unpredictable 'heart.'"
Zhao Yuan's gaze swept over Shen Yuzhu and Chu Hongying. "The truth often wounds more than lies. Are you certain you wish to uncover it?"
A butterfly shimmering with heart-pulse light fluttered down from the shattered dome, alighting on Chu Hongying's spear tassel before dissolving into starlight and merging with the mark on her chest.
The four shadows intertwined upon the ground—
not merely the shape of trust—
but the first light of dawn breaking the long night of the old era.