The air in the Dead Zone reeked of rusted metal and a cloying, rotting sweetness. Su Che opened his eyes, and a red warning log immediately flashed across his retina.
[System Self-Check Complete.]
[Abnormal fluctuation in vital signs detected.]
[Current Environmental Parameters: Oxygen Concentration 14.2% (Critical Limit), Gravity Acceleration 10.4m/s² (Overload).]
He raised his hand, his silver-gray short hair drifting slightly amidst faint arcs of electricity. Through the lenses of his frameless smart glasses, countless streams of green code cascaded like a waterfall, dissecting the ruined landscape before him into a dense matrix of binary.
This was not scenery. It was an error report.
A burning sensation gripped his lungs, as if he were inhaling shards of glass rather than air. Su Che took a deep breath, his Adam's apple rolling, producing a dry, friction-heavy sound.
"Logically consistent," he muttered, his voice cold as the frozen earth beneath ice.
"Mr. Su, your respiratory system's energy consumption has exceeded the current protocol threshold by 3.4%."
The mechanical voice of the Ghost Protocol echoed in his mind, devoid of inflection, carrying the synthetic texture of pure electronics. Su Che closed his eyes and lightly tapped his fingers in the void. He did not see darkness; instead, he saw the red warning lights of his internal biological circuits flashing frantically.
In this universe run by the Primordial Code, breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature were essentially high-energy background processes. Maintaining these processes required the consumption of a fundamental currency known as "System Points."
Once the points hit zero, the system would forcibly reclaim the individual's data. That was death.
"Zero," Su Che called out.
The silver-haired girl beside him turned slowly. The edges of her body were rippling with faint digital noise, resembling a holographic projection with poor signal quality. This was the side effect of being the materialization of a "Logic Error."
"I am here," Zero replied, her voice cold yet carrying an imperceptible tremor.
"Unauthorized process injection detected," Su Che said, pointing to a translucent wall of air ahead. "This is the Dead Zone's underlying protocol forcibly reclaiming my computing power."
Beyond the air wall lay a gray-white void. There were no physical structures, only data currents that constantly collapsed and reassembled. Every fragment screamed; they were the remnants of civilizations deemed "garbage" by the system.
"We need points," Su Che turned, his gaze fixing on Zero. "But the only way to acquire points is to execute high-risk missions, or... modify the underlying logic."
"Modifying logic requires Root Permission," Zero said, reaching out. Her fingertips brushed against Su Che's back. Her palm was ice-cold, lacking body heat, offering only a faint tingling sensation as data streams pierced through his skin.
"I have permission," Su Che withdrew his hand and pulled a translucent, deep-blue operation interface into the void.
The interface hovered before his eyes like a mirror made of light. Countless parameters roamed across its surface: `O2_Consumption_Rate`, `Gravity_Load`, `Metabolism_Base`.
"Ghost Protocol, retrieve the basic survival protocol documentation for the current region."
[Command Received...]
[Loading: /System/Basic/Survival_Logic_v4.9]
[Load Complete. Redundant code segment detected: Lines 7321 to 7389, described as 'Optimization of Basic Breathing Energy Consumption for Biological Organisms'.]
Su Che's fingers danced across the void with incredible speed. Each keystroke sent ripples through the data, accompanied by the faint hiss of electricity in the air.
"This code logic is redundant," he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "It sets oxygen consumption to a constant high-load state, ignoring the adaptive regulation mechanism required for the low-oxygen environment of the Dead Zone."
"Mr. Su, do you intend to rewrite it?" Zero watched the characters dancing at his fingertips, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. "This violates Article 12 of the 'Security Protocol': Unauthorized modification of basic survival modules is prohibited."
"If living itself is an error, then correcting it is the logical inevitability."
Su Che's eyes sharpened. In his vision, this code was no longer cold text, but a string of red error logs constantly devouring his life points.
[Current Permission Level: Root_Limited (Restricted).]
[Execute Forced Write? Risk Assessment: 87.4%.]
"Execute," Su Che spat out two words.
His fingertip slammed down on the virtual Enter key.
`rm -rf /System/Basic/Survival_Logic_v4.9/Redundant_Sector`
`chmod +x /System/Basic/Survival_Logic_v4.9/Optimized_Respiration`
"Injecting patch package..."
As the command executed, a sharp, searing pain erupted in Su Che's mind. It was the burning sensation of his Mental Computing Power being instantly drained, as if someone were stirring a red-hot iron rod through his nerves.
[Mental Computing Power Consumption: 18% | Remaining Available: 25%]
[Respiratory System Energy Consumption Optimized. Current Oxygen Utilization Rate Increased to 94.3%.]
Su Che's breathing smoothed out. The sensation of glass shards burning his lungs vanished, replaced by a cool, faintly metallic air flowing smoothly into his body.
He felt a wave of relief, but it was immediately followed by a heavy sense of weakness. The dizziness caused by the computing power depletion forced him to lean against a nearby metal ruin.
"You succeeded," Zero said, looking at Su Che's pale face, her voice tinged with concern. "But the system logs have recorded this operation."
"I know," Su Che released his grip, his fingers trembling slightly. "The Dead Zone's monitoring is real-time. Modifying the underlying logic is like setting fire behind a firewall."
Before he could finish, the air around them suddenly solidified.
The gray-white currents stopped churning. The distant data storms froze instantly, as if the entire world had hit the pause button.
Then, a piercing electronic screech shattered the silence.
[Alert! Unauthorized process injection detected!]
[Location Locked: Sector_07-Alpha.]
[Source Analysis: Root_Limited permission abnormal operation.]
[Executing Cleanup Protocol...]
A massive fissure tore open in the sky. It was not a physical crack, but the underlying code exposed after space had been ripped apart. Countless red `ERROR` and `FATAL` characters rolled frantically in the void.
A gigantic mechanical arm emerged from the fissure. Composed of countless black metal blocks, its surface flowed with dark red data streams. Every swing of the arm caused spatial distortion.
"That is... an Adjudicator," Zero's body shook violently, the noise at her edges spreading to her waist. "A System-Level Permission Execution Unit."
"Not it. Its shadow," Su Che quickly adjusted his respiratory module, solidifying the parameters he had just modified into his local cache.
He watched the arm slowly retract in the void. Countless red beams shot from between its fingers, forming a massive net that descended upon the area where he and Zero stood.
"Logically consistent," Su Che repeated his catchphrase again, but this time his cadence was faster, his gaze colder. "As long as we aren't overwritten, there is no meaning."
"It's scanning us!" Zero grabbed Su Che's arm, her fingers digging deep into his sleeve. "Its scanning algorithm can identify all modified underlying code!"
"Silence." Su Che did not turn back. Instead, he raised his right hand and pulled up the operation interface once more.
This time, the characters on the interface turned a glaring red.
[Threat Level: S-Class (System-Level Purge).]
[Suggested Protocol: Flee current coordinates immediately.]
"No way out," Su Che said, looking at the collapsing data currents around him. "Its scanning range covers the entire Sector_07-Alpha."
"Then create chaos," Zero said suddenly, her voice laced with determination. "Since it is a tool for the system to clean up errors, let us become an unrecognizable error."
Su Che paused for a moment, then a glint of approval flashed in his eyes.
"You mean... using your noise?"
"I am the materialization of a logic error," Zero's body began to flicker violently, the air around her distorting due to her energy fluctuations. "If I actively amplify my own 'error' signature, I can interfere with its recognition algorithm."
"What is the cost?" Su Che watched the digital noise at Zero's edges intensify, those noises seeming alive as they consumed her once-clear outline.
"My existence will be completely scattered," Zero replied, her voice still calm, but a new warmth in her eyes that had never existed before. "But I can be reassembled. As long as you exist, I exist."
"No," Su Che refused, blunt and decisive. "That is self-destruction."
"If we do not modify the logic, we are a program destined to die," Zero stepped forward, pressing her forehead against Su Che's chest. "Can't you cure your coding obsession? Look at the current situation; this is simply... a dead loop."
Su Che fell silent. He looked at Zero's face, which was gradually blurring, while his mind raced through various scenarios.
Time seemed to stretch. Every second felt like walking on the edge of a blade.
The massive mechanical arm was pressing down, the net of red beams about to touch their skin. The pressure was not merely physical; it was a data repulsion from the very depths of the soul.
"Ghost Protocol," Su Che suddenly spoke. "Call upon my Root Permission Interface to convert Zero's noise signature into a system false alarm signal."
[Command Received...]
[Warning: Upon execution, you may fall into a state of consciousness overload and coma.]
"Execute," Su Che said without a shred of hesitation.
He grabbed Zero's wrist with one hand and frantically typed in the air with the other.
`rm -rf /System/Security/Scanner/Algorithm_01`
`inject: Zero_Log_Error_Signature -> System_Bug_Report`
"Injecting..."
In an instant, a blinding blue light exploded between the two of them. It was not light, but pure data streams carrying a destructive logical impact.
The massive mechanical arm froze the moment it touched the blue light. Countless red `ERROR` codes danced frantically on its surface, as if the entire system had been infected by a virus.
[Alert! Unknown logic error detected!]
[Unable to identify target signature!]
[Recompiling...]
[Compilation Failed!]
"Now!" Su Che roared, his voice trembling with exertion.
He grabbed Zero, and they vanished from their spot. It was not teleportation; they had used the logic loophole created moments ago to forcibly squeeze into a cache gap within the system.
When they woke up at an abandoned data node kilometers away, the surrounding space had returned to calm, but the silence was more suffocating than before.
Su Che knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. His vision was pitch black, filled only with the piercing ringing in his ears and the sound of his heart pounding wildly.
[Suggestion: Enter Sleep Mode Immediately.]
"Don't... power down," Su Che gritted his teeth, trying to summon his remaining consciousness. "It's not over yet."
He pushed himself up to stand, staggering slightly before Zero caught him.
Zero's body was even more blurred than before. Half of her face had turned into garbled code, and her silver hair had transformed into gray pixel blocks.
"I... seem... a bit laggy," Zero managed to force a smile, though to Su Che, that smile was just a combination of erroneous code.
"You did well," Su Che said, his voice hoarse but unusually firm. "Logically consistent."
He reached out and touched Zero's cheek. His fingertips met the cold, flickering pixel blocks. The sensation brought a pang of sorrow, but he quickly suppressed the emotion.
Now was not the time for sentimentality. They had bought time, but their points were still critically low, and they had attracted a higher-level pursuit.
"Ghost Protocol, check remaining survival time."
[Current Environment: Dead Zone Edge Cache Node.]
[Oxygen Concentration: Restored to 21% (Based on temporary repair).]
[Gravity Load: Restored to normal.]
[System Points: 0.]
[Status: Death Countdown Initiated. Estimated Remaining Time: 30 minutes.]
Su Che's pupils contracted sharply.
"Thirty minutes," he murmured. "Not enough."
"Then modify the logic once more," Zero's voice was faint but clear. "Or... find a new source of points."
She pointed toward the distance. There, atop a massive ruin of data, a golden light point faintly emerged. It was the only "Original Code Library" in the depths of the Dead Zone that remained unpolluted.
"Infinite computing power lies there," Su Che said, looking at the light point, a fanatical glint igniting in his eyes. "But it also has the highest defense protocols."
"Then go and take it." Zero reached out. Though her body was swaying precariously, her eyes were incredibly firm.
Su Che looked at her, the corner of his mouth curling up into a faint, almost cold smile.
"Logically consistent."
He took Zero's hand and walked toward that golden light. Every step felt like walking on the edge of a blade, but he did not stop.
Because in this universe composed of code, only by constantly refactoring the rules could one survive.
Even if the price was self-destruction, they would write their own line of code before the destruction took them.
In the distance, the red alarm sounded again, more urgent than before. The System-Level Permissions were repositioning to locate them once more.
But Su Che no longer cared. In his eyes, there was only the path to the future, woven from countless error reports and patches.
"Let's go," he said.
The two disappeared into the data currents, leaving behind a string of unparsed code shadows that flickered for a final moment in the void before falling into silence.
And deep within that silence, new logic was quietly being generated.