[Wasteland Resolve: The Brutal Override]
The Wasteland lay still, save for the cooling fragments of the Sentinel Hunter and the rising steam from the crater. Li Yunzhou ignored his own searing pain and the heavy fatigue settling into his bones. Executive Zero's message had cut deeper than any blade.
Defunct Code awaiting retrieval.
He looked at the Quantum Ring he wore—the pact that bound him to Aria. He had accepted the role of a tool, a host, but he refused to let her be erased and scorned.
Li Yunzhou picked up the largest fragment of the Hound's core. It hummed with latent, hostile energy, a piece of sophisticated Sky City technology capable of wiping his mind clean.
He sat cross-legged amidst the debris, his Furnace Constitution roaring back to life. He poured his newly refined Matrix True Qi into the cold, black metal, not to destroy it, but to read it.
"Stop! Li Yunzhou, stop this immediately!" Aria's faint, strained voice spiked with alarm. "That core is shielded by Silver-Tier Encryption! Your brute force will trigger a self-destruct routine and fry your consciousness!"
"I don't care about their encryption, Aria. I care about what Executive Zero said," Li Yunzhou's reply was rough, his resolve absolute. "He has your identity. I am going to rip it out of his technology."
He ignored her frenzied warnings. His approach was not one of delicate hacking, but of brutal, refined metallurgy. He treated the highly complex circuit board as a stubborn piece of ore, using the precise, high-frequency True Qi of the Matrix Refining Divine Art to shatter the encryption layers.
The clash was internal and excruciating. Data streams screamed against spiritual energy. Li Yunzhou's temples pounded, threatening to burst, but he held the focus—a relentless, concentrated force of will.
Finally, with a sharp, wrenching snap of displaced energy, he broke through. He successfully performed a Forceful Data Extraction, ripping a small, corrupted chunk of data from the core before the core itself could fully self-destruct.
[Olympus Sanctuary: The Truth Unveiled]
Up in her sterile bunker, Aria felt the rough, violent torrent of data burst into her weakened consciousness.
"Idiot! You nearly killed us both! That was reckless beyond measure!" she cried, a mixture of terror and grudging awe in her voice.
But her complaints died in her throat as she focused her limited compute power on repairing the corrupted file Li Yunzhou had seized. The fragments coalesced, the data streams stabilized, and the final identity file was revealed.
She read the text, her consciousness reeling from the shock:
User ID (UID): 00-X-470User Alias (Alias): AriaProject Title: [CORE OF GENESIS]Project Status: Awaiting Data RetrievalPreceding Authority: [ACCESS DENIED/DATA CORRUPTED]Project Permissions: [AETHER ADMINISTRATOR]
A cold, breathless silence descended upon Aria's mind.
Aether Administrator.
It was the highest rank—the fabled title whispered in the floating halls of Olympus, reserved only for the Core Deities of the Senate. She wasn't just a rogue operative; she was not even intended to be a hacker. She had been one of the very architects of the Sky City's existence!
"I… I was an Administrator?" Aria's voice was barely a tremor, stripped bare of all her usual cynicism. "Why? Why would they format a system administrator and turn me into a hunted ghost?" The betrayal was staggering, an existential wound.
Li Yunzhou, sensing her profound shock, transmitted a single, steady stream of True Qi—the same calming energy she had taught him. "It means you were not a small piece of code, Aria. It means they were terrified of what you knew."
[The Artifact: The Quantum Anchor]
The fear was replaced by cold, calculated fury. Aria pushed the emotional turbulence aside and focused on survival.
"We are exposed. Zero knows where the core fragmented. We need to disappear, and we need a new link," Aria stated, her voice regaining its chilling clarity. "The core remnant is still incredibly powerful. Use your Furnace Art to forge it into a Quantum Communication Anchor."
"An Anchor?"
"Yes. It will be a stable, long-distance communication link. I can use it to securely analyze the Sky City's low-level data and monitor Zero's movements. And you, Li Yunzhou, will use it as your eyes and ears in this world. It is our final means of secure communication."
Li Yunzhou, now fueled by a grim purpose, began the final forging. He incorporated the black, high-tech fragment into his own crude, scrap-metal armor. He shaped it into a single, half-black, half-gold Ring, its surface subtly carved with the Matrix runes of their shared pact.
When the Ring was cool, Li Yunzhou slipped it onto his finger. He felt the instantaneous connection—a tangible link to Aria's powerful consciousness.
"The Anchor is forged," he confirmed.
"Why did you integrate it into a ring, Li Yunzhou? You could have used that power to bolster your own armor," Aria asked, genuinely puzzled by his choice.
"It secures you, Aria. And if you are secure, you can give me better data. I need you to keep your systems running so I can fully utilize you," Li Yunzhou replied, his words possessing a rough, possessive logic that disguised the true sentiment. "From now on, you are not my tool; you are my Intelligence Hub. And I will protect the Hub."
[The Hook: Zero's Final Ultimatum]
Aria accepted the title. The defiance in his tone was a stronger defense than any encryption. She accessed the newly forged Ring, using the high-level connection to scan the network for Executive Zero.
"He knows we destroyed the Hound. He's gone dark, withdrawing to the Data Retrieval Sector for repairs and a full power-up."
Aria's analysis suddenly crashed. Her mind was flooded by a cold, imposing data packet—a direct transmission from the now fully powered Executive Zero.
"Li Yunzhou, you amuse me. You delayed my work. Now, you will pay the price for the insolence of your 'Intelligence Hub'."
A terrifying visual projection flared in Li Yunzhou's mind, broadcast directly through the Ring: a massive, dark sphere, humming with destructive energy, materializing high above the clouds.
"That is the Orbital Balance Destroyer. It will annihilate all known spiritual veins on the wasteland in exactly one hour. Your Furnace Art and the very environment that sustains your primitive power will be eliminated."
Executive Zero's image lingered, his expression one of frigid triumph.
"You have one hour to choose: save your so-called 'Queen,' or save your 'Homeland.' The countdown begins now."
[Next Chapter Preview:] The countdown is active! Li Yunzhou must make an impossible choice: destroy his spiritual home to neutralize the Destroyer's Anchors, or watch his world wither. He must locate three Spiritual Vein Anchors on the ground and destroy them under Aria's guidance. The last anchor is at the ruins of his own sect, guarded by Executive Zero himself.
Chapter 5: One Hour Countdown: Queen or Homeland is next!