Chapter 2 - Turbo Glitch Breakthrough

Thunder qi lashed out like a live wire, scorching the air inches from Ghost Script's face. Elder Voidline loomed, his golden core pulsing with cold digital fury—soul shards orbiting his pupils like glitchy moons. "Anomaly, you dare mock the Dao? Perish into code dust."Ghost Script's heart hammered. No time for gamer panic. He stabbed the Y on SYS's prompt mentally. [Turbo engaged! Soul drain: 47%... Spirit surge: OVERCLOCKED. Warning: Dantian meltdown in 30 secs.] Power flooded his veins—raw, jagged, like chugging battery acid. The mop ignited in his grip, humming with stolen deck energy.He lunged first. Mop swung wild, crackling lightning qi that clipped Voidline's robe. Sparks flew; the elder staggered, surprise cracking his stone face. "F- trash with Jindan spark? Impossible!" Ghost Script didn't answer—just bolted into the mainframe chamber, hatch slamming shut behind him. Alarms wailed louder now, the whole spire groaning like a dying server.Core Hack FrenzyInside, the Dao Cloud core throbbed: a massive crystal sphere veined with neon code-streams, pumping heaven's algorithm to every sect node. Holo-screens flickered with soul uploads—cultivators dissolving into data ghosts, screaming silently as fragments glitched out. Shadow Demon hackers' viruses crawled the edges like black mold.SYS yapped over the din: [Pro tip: Plug in! Risk soul-merge with trash code. Or play safe and die. Your call, meatbag.] Ghost Script jammed his wrist tattoo into a port. Pain exploded—his mind yanked into cyberspace. Reality blurred: neon rivers of code, firewalls like dragon scales, heaven's root algorithm glowing at the heart like a forbidden fruit.But Shadow Demon avatars swarmed—demonic hackers with claw-code, shredding barriers. One latched onto him: "Fresh soul meat! Donate to our sect or get parsed!" Ghost Script's gamer reflexes kicked in hard. He swung virtual fists, punching through with turbo-boosted qi. Code shattered; the avatar burst into pixel blood. Dark laugh bubbled up again. "You hacks couldn't DDoS a toaster."Dark Ascension SnapQi built to critical. His dantian cracked open—Foundation Establishment, cyber-style. Spirit energy fused with viral glitches, birthing something new: Glitch Core Lv.1. Memories flashed—not just Chen Hao's Earth hacks, but Ghost Script's janitor grudges, a lifetime of sect bootlicking. Rage honed it sharp.Voidline breached the chamber, qi-blade drawn. "Enough games. Soul extraction!" But Ghost Script spun, eyes glowing glitch-green. He hurled the overcharged mop—straight lightning spear. It pierced the elder's shoulder, code-corrupting his golden core. Voidline howled, dropping to one knee as soul shards flickered out.[Achievement: Elder Down! Contribution +5000. Sect Alert: Traitor Ghost Script. Bounty: 10k spirit stones. Run?]Shadow Demon reinforcements warped in—dozens, led by a sneering Yuan Ying boss with void-mask. "The anomaly is ours!" Tianzhu shuddered harder; outer walls cracking under dual assaults. Ghost Script grinned, blood trickling from his nose, power thrumming wild.Turbo fading. Soul at 53%. Hack the root code now... or bail with half a victory?