Outside the Observation Layer—
those things began to move.
—
Not crawling.
Not writhing.
But like creatures that had finally completed their "learning," they slowly lifted their heads in perfect synchronization.
The uniformity of the motion was horrifying.
—
The next second—
countless knocking sounds echoed across the outer walls of the Observation Layer.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Like endless fingers gently tapping on a door.
—
Lin Wan's entire body stiffened.
Because she suddenly realized—
those things were not attacking.
They were "confirming."
Confirming whether the humans inside truly matched what they had learned.
—
One of the creatures slowly split open its body.
Not flesh tearing apart.
But like badly stitched human skin peeling open from the middle.
And from inside—
a hand emerged.
—
A human hand.
Pale.
Thin.
Even complete with fingerprints and fingernails.
But the back of that hand was covered with countless rotating eyeballs.
It slowly pressed itself against the outer wall of the Observation Layer.
All the eyes—
turned toward Lin Wan simultaneously.
—
"They're learning…"
Lin Wan's voice became hoarse.
"They're observing us to learn how to become 'human.'"
—
BOOM!!!
The entire Observation Layer suddenly lurched downward violently.
As though something unimaginably massive had slammed into reality from beneath.
Countless prison chambers tilted instantly.
Large numbers of failed archived bodies crashed to the ground, screaming in terror.
—
And the System—
completely lost control.
—
"Activating highest-level purification protocol!!"
"Bottom-layer entities forbidden from intrusion!!"
"Sever all Observation Layer connections immediately!!"
—
The cold mechanical voice echoed frantically.
Then—
at the center of the Observation Layer—
a massive circular abyss slowly opened.
—
Inside it—
was an eye.
—
Larger than every crimson eye before it.
More complete.
More real.
—
It resembled a god finally awakening.
The moment its pupil slowly shifted—
the entire space began distorting.
The creatures clinging to the outer walls froze for the first time.
—
Because they, too, were staring at the eye.
—
Lin Wan's breathing stopped.
She finally understood.
Every crimson eye they had encountered before—
had merely been projections.
Tiny fragments of the true entity.
—
And now—
the System no longer had the luxury of hiding itself.
—
The giant eye slowly opened.
An indescribably cold gaze instantly flooded the Observation Layer.
All failed archived entities—
simultaneously fell silent.
Simultaneously lowered their heads.
Simultaneously knelt.
—
Like insects kneeling before a true god.
—
Only Lin Wan and Zhang remained standing.
—
"Final defense protocol activated."
For the first time—
the eye itself spoke.
Not a mechanical announcement.
Not a system notification.
But an ancient, colossal consciousness.
—
"Eliminate lower-layer contamination."
"Reset all anomalies."
"Erase observation nodes."
—
The moment the final sentence fell—
Lin Wan's shadow suddenly began shaking violently.
—
The "Shadow Lin Wan" that had been trying to replace her—
actually began retreating in fear.
—
For the first time, it screamed sharply:
"It must not see me!!"
—
Lin Wan's pupils contracted violently.
And in that instant—
she realized something horrifying.
—
Even these replacement shadows—
feared the true eye.
—
Which meant—
the shadows might not belong to the System at all.
—
Perhaps they, too—
were imprisoned, controlled, and exploited by it.
—
And the creatures outside the Observation Layer—
the ones imitating humanity—
might be the true "shadows."
—
"Zhang!!"
Lin Wan spun toward him.
"The System isn't protecting reality!!"
"It's trying to stop the things outside from getting in!!"
—
Zhang's expression changed instantly.
But at that exact moment—
outside the Observation Layer—
one of the creatures suddenly mimicked a human gesture.
Slowly raising its hand.
Then—
it waved at Lin Wan.
—
The motion was stiff.
Unnatural.
Yet strangely familiar.
—
Lin Wan's blood froze solid.
Because that movement—
was exactly how she used to wave as a child.
—
The next second—
the creature's neck twisted backward one hundred and eighty degrees.
It stared directly at her.
Then—
in a voice painfully awkward, yet disturbingly gentle—
it softly spoke:
"Wanwan."
—
"Mommy finally found you."