I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

Just then.

An anomaly has occurred again!

On the star map, in the dark area behind the void fleet, the space rippled like the surface of a lake where a pebble had been thrown in.

Followed by.

A colossal rift, radiating a ghastly white light, silently opened up in the universe!

The rift, unlike the passageway for spatial jumps, was filled with violent energy.

It... is very quiet.

It was as quiet as if a razor-sharp scalpel had cleanly and decisively cut open the black curtain of the universe.

Nothing could be seen from that crack.

There was only one... pure, chilling... deathly white.

It was as if behind the crack lay a world of death... devoid of matter and energy, containing only "end" and "annihilation."

The instant that crack appeared.

The entire battlefield came to a standstill.

Those Void Hunters who were just moments ago so fierce and fearless seemed to have been put on pause, all frozen in place.

Then, without prior arrangement, they all changed direction.

Instead of attacking the "League of Gods," it... let out a silent roar of extreme fear towards the pale white crack!

In their chaotic and frenzied consciousness, only one thought remained.

escape!

Get out of here!

Get as far away as possible!

However, it was too late.

From the pale white crack, a "hand" slowly emerged...

What kind of "hand" was it?

It is composed of countless pale white, bone-like segments.

The surface of each segment is covered with a smooth, mirror-like carapace that seems to absorb all light.

This "hand" is enormous; even just the part that extends out is larger than the Pangu Temple.

It just so gently reached out and grabbed towards the direction of the void fleet.

"Click—"

A crisp sound, so clear it seemed to freeze the soul.

The millions of kilometers of space surrounding that "hand," along with all the void hunters in that space, whether small "servants" or S-class "rippers," were all shattered in that instant.

Yes, it broke.

Like a mirror being struck by a hammer.

Space itself, along with all matter within it, shattered into billions of irregular fragments.

Then, drawn by an invisible force, those fragments surged towards the pale white giant hand like rivers flowing into the sea, eventually disappearing into a tiny vortex in its palm.

The whole process was clean and efficient, without a trace of fuss.

It was as if I had only done a trivial little thing.

For example... I crushed an ant.

"..."

"..."

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

The warriors of the "League of Gods" stared blankly at the universe that had been instantly emptied, leaving only a giant, pale, skeletal hand; their minds completely shut down.

What just happened?

Can we... go home now?

【Pangu】Temple, bridge of a ship.

Su Lie's mouth dropped open, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered, but he didn't even notice.

Qian Sen's glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, but he didn't bother to adjust them. His eyes were fixed on the giant hand slowly emerging from the crack on the screen, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"This...this is..."

His voice was dry and hoarse.

"Based on the deepest, most incomplete records in the pioneer database..."

"This... seems to be... their 'natural enemy'..."

"A... higher-dimensional... being that feeds on 'the void'..."

"They don't have a fixed name; the pioneers called them..."

"The cleaner".

The universe's... cleaner.

They are specifically designed to "clean up" "pests" like the Void Hunter who disrupt the balance of the universe.

"A cleaner?"

Lu Yuan stared at the enormous bone hand, his eyes narrowing.

He could sense that this thing was completely different from the Void Hunter.

The Void Hunter is chaos, greed, and uncontrolled devouring.

And this "cleaner" is... order, coldness, and absolute "annihilation".

If Void Hunter is a "virus".

So this "cleaner" is... "antivirus software".

A cold-blooded immune system, created by the universe itself.

"Interesting, fucking interesting."

Lu Yuan smiled.

He looked at the "cleaner" that had just finished cleaning up the "trash" and seemed to be preparing to turn its gaze toward him, and his smile grew even brighter.

"I originally thought there would only be one meal tonight."

"I didn't expect this..."

"And here comes someone... trying to steal our business?"

The enormous, pale white bone hand seemed unsatisfied after "devouring" all the Void Hunters.

It slowly turned towards the direction of the Pangu Temple.

From the depths of that crack came a will that was colder and more immense than before.

That will was devoid of emotion and malice.

There is only one... pure, mechanical, seemingly programmed... judgment.

[High concentration of chaotic energy detected...]

[Determined to be...an unstable factor...]

[Threat level... highest...]

[Execute...cleanup...procedure...]

The voice just fell.

The enormous bone hand slowly... slammed down towards the Pangu Temple!

The enormous, pale white bone hand didn't strike very fast.

In fact, it could be said to be very slow.

It moved so slowly that everyone could clearly see their own face, filled with terror and despair, reflected on its smooth, mirror-like shell.

But you can't escape it.

Because it is not targeting the physical entity of the Pangu Temple.

Rather, it's the entire area where the Pangu Temple is located... the "concept"!

In its "judgment," this area, along with everything in it, has been defined as "garbage" that needs to be "cleaned up."

No matter where you run to, no matter what means you use, you cannot escape the "definition" of being "trash".

There can only be one final outcome.

It was "cleaned up".

"It's over..."

Inside the bridge, a young researcher stared at the enormous hand that covered the entire porthole, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his face drained of color.

"Are we... going to be disposed of like trash?"

Despair, like the deepest darkness, instantly enveloped everyone's hearts.

They had just witnessed the terror of this "cleaner".

That's an existence that can wipe out even a void fleet in an instant, like crushing an insect!

What...can they use to resist?

Should we use Pangu's railgun?

It's likely that the shell, along with the cannon barrel itself, was "cleaned up" before it even left the barrel.

Should we send in the "League of Gods"?

That would be suicide!

Faced with that kind of "conceptual obliteration" power, any energy attack or physical defense seems like a joke.

"Commander... Commander..."

Su Lie turned his head with difficulty to look at Lu Yuan.

He discovered that while everyone else was in despair, only that man remained steadfast, sitting in his conductor's chair.

On his face, there was even a hint of... interest in his smile?

It was as if the one about to be swatted was not him, but a fly that had nothing to do with him.

"What's the panic?"

Lu Yuan glanced at his ashen-faced subordinates and curled his lip.

"If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."

"What's the rush?"

As he spoke, he stood up, stretched, and slowly walked to the center of the bridge.

He looked up at the giant hand on the screen, getting closer and closer, as if it were about to crush the whole world, and a look of... disgust appeared on his face.

"So ugly, yet you try to clap your hands?"

"It has absolutely no aesthetic appeal."

"Let me teach you what true... art really is."

The voice just fell.

Lu Yuan raised his right hand.

Then, he gently snapped his fingers at the giant hand that had slammed down on him.

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

then……

Nothing happened.

That enormous bone hand continued to slowly and resolutely bring down its weight.

Its inherent, icy, all-encompassing power of rules has not diminished in the slightest.

"this……"

Everyone was stunned.

Could it be that... even the commander-in-chief is helpless against this monster?

However, just as that giant hand was about to touch the energy shield of the Pangu Temple...

An unexpected change has occurred!

In front of the Pangu Temple, in the void, a gigantic, slowly rotating phantom of a "Tai Chi Diagram" quietly appeared.

Half of it is pitch black, representing "the end" and "returning to zero".

Half of it is as brilliant as gold, representing "creation" and "chaos".

When that pale white giant hand slammed onto the Tai Chi diagram.

There was no earth-shattering collision.

An explosion without energy.

That giant hand, just like that... silently, sank in.

It felt like I'd patted myself into a ball of... cotton?

No.

More accurately, it was shot into a... high-speed... "shredder"!

Suddenly, the dark half of the Tai Chi diagram burst forth with immense suction force!

The moment that enormous bone hand touched that darkness, its indestructible carapace, made of higher-dimensional matter, began to... be "reset to zero" inch by inch!

It is broken down into the most primitive form, which contains no information or rules: "nothingness"!

And these decomposed "nothingness" are instantly absorbed and assimilated by the other half of the Tai Chi diagram, that brilliant gold, and then transformed into... the purest power of "creation"!

One pulls in, the other releases; one destroys, the other creates!

A perfect, self-sufficient energy cycle!

That arrogant giant hand, representing the "cleaner" of the universe's immune system, actually became... "fuel" to provide energy for the Tai Chi diagram in front of Lu Yuan's [Chaotic Tai Chi]!

【……mistake……】

[Unknown rule detected...]

Unable to...parse...

Unable to... clean...

From the depths of that pale white crack, for the first time, a trace of... a wave of will carrying an emotion of "confusion" emanated.

Its cold, program-like judgment system seems to have... a bug.

It couldn't understand why its infallible "cleaning" program was completely ineffective against this tiny "unstable element."

They're even turning around and "cleaning up" themselves?

"Now you know who the real 'antivirus software' is, right?"

Lu Yuan watched as the giant bone hand was being slowly "eaten" by his Tai Chi diagram, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

"Your approach is outdated."

"What's popular now is... 'rogue software'."

"The kind that you can't uninstall even if you try."

As he spoke, he increased the power output of the [Chaos Godhead]!

The giant yin-yang symbol suddenly accelerated its rotation!

The speed at which it devoured the prey increased more than tenfold!

The enormous bone hand was being rapidly decomposed, devoured, and transformed at a speed visible to the naked eye...

【……warn……】

[Detected... Homogeneous... High-level... Threat...]

[Activate...the highest...emergency...plan...]

【retreat……】

The will deep within that crack made the wisest decision without hesitation.

If you can't beat them, run!

Suddenly, the giant hand that was being devoured shuddered and actually... severed its own wrist!

The remaining half of the arm instantly retracted into the pale white crack!

Then, the crack began to close rapidly!

"Trying to run away?"

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"Now that you're in my bowl, you think you can get away?"

"Leave it... for me!"

He clenched his right fist tightly!

The enormous chaotic Taiji diagram instantly transformed into a golden and black divine chain, like a living dragon, ignoring the distance in space, and in the last instant before the crack was about to close, it suddenly... burrowed into it!

"ah--!!!"

A mournful and furious scream, not belonging to this dimension, faintly echoed from the other end of the crack.

Immediately afterwards, the closing crack trembled violently, then shattered with a crash and disappeared.

The divine chain that had pierced through it also vanished without a trace.

The battlefield returned to calm once again.

Only a group of humans remained, whose brains were completely incapable of thinking.

They stared blankly at the man floating in space, looking as if he hadn't had enough and regretted that his "prey" had escaped. They didn't even have the energy to complain anymore.

"Damn, they're pretty fast."

Lu Yuan pursed his lips, somewhat displeased.

I was originally planning to follow the internet cable to see what the "cleaner's" lair looked like, and maybe even steal some good stuff.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so decisive, cutting off their own arm and giving up the "arm" altogether.

but……

Lu Yuan sensed that the divine chain formed from the Chaos Taiji that he had just thrown out had not disappeared.

Instead, it acted like a "locator" and a "backdoor program," firmly anchored to the "cleaner's" core.

Although it's not yet possible to teleport directly through it.

But, as long as the time is right...

"hey-hey."

Lu Yuan let out a laugh that was hard to decipher.

run?

No matter where you run, you can't escape the grasp of this "programmer".

Sooner or later, I'll pack you up along with your "antivirus software library" and make you my watchdog!

"Commander... Commander..."

Su Lie walked over shakily, his voice trembling.

"Now... what should we do?"

He looked at the empty universe on the star map, where not even a single Void Hunter's hair remained, and felt that all the bizarre things he had ever seen in his entire life combined did not equal what he had seen in a single day.

First came the Void Fleet invasion.

Then came the bombardment of the Pangu Temple.

Next, the BOSS appears and launches a mental attack.

Then the eldest brother took action and used reverse education.

Just as we were about to capture the BOSS alive, an even more powerful "cleaner" appeared and wiped out both the mobs and the BOSS.

Finally, the boss stepped in again and drove away this even more formidable "cleaner"...

The plot twists and turns are so dramatic that even the most brilliant screenwriter wouldn't dare to write it like this!

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

The current situation is that the Mantis (the Legion of Gods) was just about to catch the Cicada (Void Hunter) when the Oriole (the Scavenger) arrived and ate the Cicada in one gulp. Then, the Mantis's owner (Lu Yuan), annoyed that the Oriole had stolen his food, slapped the Oriole away as well.

What's this called?

This is fucking...a battle of gods!

"What should we do?"

Lu Yuan turned around, looked at the bewildered crowd, and said matter-of-factly:

"What else can we do?"

"Clean up the battlefield, call it a day and go home."

"Then……"

He licked his lips, his eyes flashing with a light that was both familiar and chilling to everyone.

"Barbecue!"