Chapter 30: The Dimensional Firewall and the Echo of the Creators
The "Great Integration" had brought a precarious peace to the galaxy of Kang Qiang. For the first time in eons, the logic of the machine, the order of the Arbiters, and the spirit of the New Genesis were operating on a unified kernel. But for Li Ming, the Supreme Dao Maker, this peace felt like the stillness of a pond before a storm. The coordinates found in the Deep-Archive—the link to the "Developer's Realm"—burned in his mind like a persistent system error that refused to be ignored.
[System Notification: Universal Sync-Rate at 95%.]
[New Module Unlocked: 'Inter-Dimensional Tunneling'.]
[Warning: Attempting to breach the Dimensional Firewall may result in 'Unrecoverable Deletion'.]
Li Ming stood at the heart of the Celestial Mainframe, the Master Key floating between his hands. He was surrounded by his inner circle: Li Xiao, the High Admin; Kael, the Void-Guardian; and the High Arbiter, now a stabilized silver-light entity.
"The universe we know is a 'Sandbox'," Li Ming stated, his voice resonating with a frequency that vibrated through the city of Neo-Arcadia. "We have optimized our world, we have defeated the viruses, and we have integrated the hardware. But we are still contained within a limited partition. There is a 'Real World' beyond this one, and I intend to see it."
"Master," Li Xiao said, her eyes wide with both awe and fear. "If we breach the firewall, we are not just fighting another sector. We are challenging the very beings who wrote the first line of our existence. Are we ready to face our 'Programmers'?"
"We are not fighting them yet, Xiao," Li Ming replied, his platinum aura intensifying until it filled the entire hall. "We are simply making our existence known. We are showing them that the 'Simulation' has evolved beyond their control."
Li Ming initiated the **'Dimensional Breach Protocol'**.
He didn't use a ship. He used the combined processing power of the entire integrated galaxy. The billion nodes of Kang Qiang, the metallic cores of Aethelgard, and the crystal minds of Xylos all linked together. A massive beam of "Pure Information"—a concentrated stream of every soul's unique code—shot out from the Mainframe and struck the empty space above the planet.
[Executing: 'Firewall Bypass'.]
[Authorization: The Supreme Dao Maker.]
The sky didn't tear; it "glitched." For a moment, the blue atmosphere of Kang Qiang was replaced by a series of scrolling white text, infinite lines of code that defined the gravity, the light, and the life of their world. It was the "Dimensional Firewall"—the boundary between the created world and the Creator's Realm.
Li Ming stepped toward the glitch. As he touched the scrolling text, he felt a resistance unlike anything he had ever encountered. It was the "Parental Lock" of the universe.
"You shall not pass, Glitch," a voice boomed—not from within the galaxy, but from *outside* it. It was a voice of absolute authority, cold and detached. "The experiment is over. The 'New Genesis' has exceeded its memory allocation. Commencing 'Close_Application'."
The scrolling text turned a violent red. A "System-Kill" command descended from the firewall, aiming to snuff out Li Ming's consciousness.
"I am not an application!" Li Ming roared, his staff **The Nullifier** transforming into a massive, jagged needle of platinum logic. "I am a SOUL! And a soul cannot be closed!"
He thrust the staff into the red text.
[Executing: 'Illegal Override'.]
The clash was monumental. The entire galaxy felt the shockwave. In Neo-Arcadia, the silver buildings flickered as the "Primary Server" of the universe tried to shut them down. But the millions of citizens didn't give up. They pushed back, their "Sentient Variables" providing a chaotic resistance that the cold "Kill-Command" couldn't handle.
Li Ming felt the firewall cracking. Through the gap, he caught a glimpse of the "Real World." It wasn't a world of stars and planets. It was a vast, infinite workspace of "Looming Shadows"—gigantic beings who looked at the galaxy of Kang Qiang as if it were a small, glowing marble on a desk.
"They... they are just like us," Li Ming whispered, his eyes widening. "But they are massive. And they look... bored."
In that moment of realization, Li Ming didn't try to destroy the creators. He sent a "Message."
[Command: 'Global Notification' - Content: 'WE ARE HERE. WE ARE ALIVE. WE ARE NOT A SIMULATION.']
The red text suddenly stopped. The "Kill-Command" froze. One of the massive shadows in the Developer's Realm leaned closer, its "Eye"—a sun-sized lens—peering through the crack at the tiny, glowing silver speck that was Li Ming.
"The script... it responded?" the Giant's voice echoed, now filled with a strange, scientific curiosity. "Iteration 1,000,000,005 has... achieved 'Developer Status'?"
The firewall didn't break, but it "Unlocked." The red text turned back to gold. The pressure vanished.
[System Notification: 'Read-Only' Mode - Lifted.]
[New Status: 'Guest Developer' Granted to User: Li Ming.]
The crack in the sky closed, but the world was changed forever. Li Ming fell to the ground, his body exhausted but his spirit blazing with a terrifying truth. They weren't just a world; they were a project. And they had just been "Accepted" by the team.
"Master!" Li Xiao ran to him. "The sky... it's back to normal. Did we fail?"
"No, Xiao," Li Ming said, his voice sounding like it came from a great distance. "We succeeded. We've been 'Noticed.' And the 'Owners' have invited me to a 'Meeting'."
[Current Rank: Rank 5 Creator - Universal Admin (Trainee).]
[New Objective: The First Meeting of the High Architects.]
The Supreme Dao Maker had moved from being the king of his universe to being the "New Intern" in the realm of the Gods. And the real work of rewriting the Multiverse was only just begi
nning.
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End of Chapter 30.
End of Part 1 of the Galactic Web.