Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

But it was something he noticed during the battle—the invaders, though from different worlds, had very similar targets.

They are all moving towards the central area of ​​the community.

It's as if someone is directing it.

"You noticed it too?" Red Demon leaned against a broken wall, panting. "These things aren't just rushing around randomly; they have a direction."

"Yes." Lin Yu nodded, "And they're all heading in the same direction—towards the center of the neighborhood."

What's in the community center?

"The management office. And..." Lin Yu thought for a moment, "...the Balance Organization's branch in this community."

Red Demon's expression changed: "You mean, someone is targeting the Balance Organization?"

"It's uncertain. But if the Balance Organization really has lost contact, then their branches are the most vulnerable targets," Lin Yu said. "And don't forget, Old Chen said—those forces in the void might be under unified command."

The Red Demon was silent for a few seconds, then cursed, "Damn it, these persistent bastards."

Just then, Lin Yu's communication talisman lit up.

It was a message from the Overlord: "I've arrived!"

Next came Liu Baiyu's message: "Brother Lin, I've entered the residential area. I'm currently near the west gate and have encountered a group of undead creatures; I'm clearing them out."

Two have arrived.

Lin Yu relayed their location, then said to Chi Gui, "Overlord and Liu Baiyu have arrived. Let's go meet them."

Twenty minutes later, the four people met in front of the management office building in the center of the community.

The Overlord was still the same as before—bare-chested, muscular, holding a giant axe bigger than himself, his body stained with blood of various colors, looking like he had just fought his way out of a fierce battle.

Liu Baiyu, on the other hand, was much cleaner—dressed in white, holding a long flute, and without a speck of dust on his body. Behind him followed several people in blue robes, who appeared to be his companions.

"Good heavens, what a scene!" Overlord grinned, looking at the dilapidated streets and cracks in the sky. "Even more lively than the Divine Body Secret Realm."

"Stop joking around," Lin Yu said, getting straight to the point. "Let me briefly explain the situation. The system is crashing, the boundaries have failed, and multiple game worlds and void forces are invading. The Balance Organization is out of contact, and there's currently no official force we can rely on. The few of us are the strongest fighting force in this area right now."

He looked at the three of them: "My suggestion is to establish a joint defense line centered on the management office. I have the Zerg to handle the outer perimeter and suppress enemy numbers, while the three of you are responsible for dealing with legendary-level and above enemies. At the same time, organize the surviving players and residents for evacuation and self-rescue."

"No objection," Red Demon was the first to speak.

"I'm here to fight. You tell me how to fight, and I'll fight you however you want." The Overlord carried his giant axe, looking completely indifferent.

Liu Baiyu pondered for a moment: "Brother Lin's arrangement is very sound. But I have a question—if the system completely crashes, will our equipment, skills, and attributes also become invalid?"

Everyone fell silent at this question.

This is the most fundamental issue.

Their power largely comes from the equipment and skills provided by the system. If the system disappears, will these things still be usable?

"Let's not worry about that now. It's not worth it. Instead of thinking about the future, let's focus on the present," Lin Yu said. "From now on, the four of us will form a temporary command group."

Red Demon is in charge of the South District, Overlord is in charge of the North District, Liu Baiyu is in charge of the East District, and I am in charge of the West District and overall coordination.

If any legendary or higher-level enemy appears, report it immediately, and we will work together to eliminate it.

"Understood." The three nodded in unison.

"There's one more thing," Lin Yu's tone turned a few degrees somber. "I suspect that these intruders are being directed by someone behind the scenes, and their target may be a branch of the Balance Organization."

The entrance to the Balanced Organization's branch is located right below the management building; we must defend that area.

"Don't worry." The Overlord slammed his giant axe on the ground, causing it to tremble three times. "With me here, nobody's coming in."

The four split up and acted separately.

Lin Yu returned to the western district's defense line.

The Zerg deployment is essentially complete—30,000 combat units have spread out along the boundary of the area, forming an impenetrable dark gold defensive line. Heavy armored Zerglings act as meat shields at the front, Hydralisks provide ranged firepower in the middle, Blademasters are responsible for assaults on both sides, and flying units patrol the air.

The Queen's command efficiency is extremely high. Each Zerg unit is like a part in a precision machine, each performing its own function and cooperating seamlessly.

But Lin Yu knew that this defensive line could not stop a true powerhouse.

Invaders of legendary rank or higher can only be dealt with by a few legendary players themselves.

But these are not what he is most worried about.

It's the divine body.

Since then, his connection with the divine body sub-network has become intermittent, as if something is interfering with the signal. Qingyuan's aura has also become unstable, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

He had a very bad feeling.

Lin Yu walked to a relatively quiet corner, closed his eyes, and extended his consciousness into the divine body space through the divine character between his eyebrows.

At first, the connection went smoothly—he could feel the Zerg network within his divine body functioning normally, with the Queen's offspring consciousness directing the defenses within the heart chamber.

But when he tried to contact Qingyuan, the connection was lost.

It wasn't that Qingyuan didn't respond, but rather... an extremely violent energy fluctuation came from deep within his divine body, directly repelling his consciousness back.

He was very familiar with the characteristics of that energy fluctuation.

It is the energy of the divine core.

But unlike before—the previous divine core energy was dormant and passive, but now it is violent and aggressive.

It was as if something had startled the divine core from its slumber.

And it wasn't a natural awakening.

It was artificially awakened.

"Queen Insect," Lin Yu called out in his mind.

[Dominator.] The Queen's offspring consciousness responded, but her voice carried an unusual urgency. [The divine body is exhibiting abnormalities. The devouring will of the divine core has suddenly erupted, its intensity more than five times that of before. Lady Qingyuan is suppressing it, but... she is struggling greatly.]

"What exactly happened?"

Three minutes ago, an unknown energy suddenly erupted from the depths of the divine core, directly destroying the outer barrier of consciousness. The divine core's devouring will, now unrestrained, began to spread throughout the entire divine body. The immune system, activated by this devouring will, is attacking all non-divine native units—including our Zerg.

Lin Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

The immune system launches a counterattack against the Zerg.

This is exactly as described in the syllabus.

"What about Qingyuan? What's her condition now?"

[Lady Qingyuan constructed a new barrier at the top of her heart, attempting to suppress the devouring will of the divine core once more. However, the strength of the devouring will far exceeded expectations, and her barrier was being eroded. At the current rate, it could only hold for a maximum of... twenty minutes.]

twenty minutes.

Lin Yu frowned.

He's currently in the small world, while his divine body exists in another dimension. Although there are passages to this small world, these passages take time to open, and what will happen to the western district's defenses if he leaves?

"Queen, order all Zerg units to retreat into the Heart Chamber and abandon the outer defenses. Protect Azure Garden with all your might."

[Understood. But Overlord, the immune system's counterattack is massive; the Zerg alone may not be able to stop it. Lady Qingyuan needs support.]

"I know." Lin Yu took a deep breath. "Give me ten minutes."

He severed his connection with the divine body and opened his eyes.

The battle in the western district is still ongoing, but the Zerg defenses are solid, and he doesn't need to personally intervene for the time being.

He has to make a choice.

Should they stay in the community world and continue commanding the defense line? Or should they go to the divine body to support Qingyuan?

Both sides are important.

The community world has Tangtang, Jinling, Longge, countless residents and players, and three allies: Chigui, Bawang, and Liu Baiyu. If he leaves, the defense line might be in trouble.

But on the divine body side are Qingyuan, the Queen Insect, and the Zerg civilization he painstakingly built. If the devouring will of the divine core completely spirals out of control, Qingyuan will die, the Zerg will be wiped out by the immune system, and all his plans within the divine body will be rendered meaningless.

Moreover... Qingyuan stayed in his divine body to help him.

He couldn't just ignore her.

"Red Demon." Lin Yu activated the communication talisman.

"What's wrong?"

"I have some urgent business to attend to and may have to leave for a while. Keep an eye on the western defenses for me. I'll leave command instructions for the Zerg; they'll defend automatically."

The Red Demon was silent for two seconds: "Is it serious?"

"A little."

"Do you need any help?"

"No need, I can handle it myself. Just keep watch over this area for me."

"Fine. Go ahead, I'll handle things here."

Lin Yu sent another message to Ba Wang and Liu Baiyu, briefly explaining the situation, and then turned and walked towards the apartment building.

He needs to go through the passage of the small world to the divine body.

In the apartment, Tangtang was already asleep on the sofa. Jinling was lying next to her. When she saw Lin Yu come in, she looked up and called out.

"I need to go out for a bit." Lin Yu patted Jin Ling's head. "You protect her."

Jinling nuzzled his palm with its head and let out a low whimper.

Lin Yu didn't linger and went straight into the small world.

A golden vortex slowly rotated deep within the small world; it was the passageway leading to the heart chamber of the divine body.

He stood before the whirlpool, took a deep breath, and then stepped in.

My vision was overwhelmed by the golden light.

When his vision cleared again, he was already standing inside the heart chamber of the divine body.

Then he froze.

The scene before him was even worse than he had anticipated.

The heart chambers were littered with the marks of battle—the dark golden creep was corroded into countless large pits, the remains of Zerg units were scattered all over the place, and the blood vessels on the walls were throbbing wildly, spewing out streams of dark purple liquid.

Those liquids are the immune system's attack method—a dissolving fluid that can melt away all substances that are not native to the divine body.

In the center of the chamber, Qingyuan floated in mid-air.

Her silver-white armor was mostly torn, revealing her pale skin underneath. Her long, silver-white hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, the ends trembling slightly.

She stretched her hands forward, palms facing the direction of her heart, and a silvery-white balancing energy surged continuously from her body, forming a huge barrier in front of her.

On the other side of the barrier, a raging torrent of dark purple water stretched out.

That was the devouring will of the divine core.

It was no longer in a suppressed, slowly seeping state, but rather it erupted completely—like a dam that had been blown open, a torrent of dark purple energy surged out, swallowing, dissolving, and assimilating everything in its path.

The barrier of Qingyuan was constantly deformed under the impact of the torrent, its surface covered with dense cracks. Every second, new cracks appeared and old cracks widened.

She's just putting on a brave face.

Using all their strength, they held up this barrier that could collapse at any moment.

"Qingyuan!" Lin Yu shouted, and in a flash, he arrived beside her.

Qingyuan turned her head and glanced at him.

Her face was as pale as paper, her lips were bloodless, and her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

"Why are you here?" Her voice was very soft, as if she had used all her strength to say it. "The situation outside..."

"You have friends helping you outside." Lin Yu stood beside her, channeling his source energy into the barrier to help alleviate her pressure. "I'll help you here."

With Lin Yu's power added, the barrier's stability improved slightly.

But the dark purple torrent was too powerful; even with their combined strength, the two could only barely hold on and were unable to fight back.

"What exactly happened?" Lin Yu asked while maintaining the barrier.

"The consciousness of the Divine Core... has been destroyed." Qingyuan's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Something shattered its core consciousness from the deepest part of the Divine Core."

"What could possibly do such a thing?"

"I don't know." Qingyuan shook her head. "I only felt a very brief energy fluctuation, and then the consciousness of the divine core disappeared. The Devouring Will, without the restraint of consciousness, became like this."

Lin Yu's heart sank.

Someone destroyed the consciousness of the divine core.

who is it?

A possibility that Lin Yu had never considered before surfaced in his mind—could the effects of the system's failure have also affected the divine body?

Although the divine body is an independent space, it is not entirely unconnected to the system.

If the underlying rules of the system are collapsing, will the rules of the divine body also be affected?

Could the consciousness of the Divine Core collapse due to the failure of the system rules?

This guess sent a chill down Lin Yu's spine.

If that's the case, then the problem with the divine body is not temporary, but fundamental.

If the system doesn't recover, the consciousness of the Divine Core won't recover, and the Devouring Will will remain out of control.

The system is beyond repair.

"Qingyuan," Lin Yu's voice was deep, "if the consciousness of the divine core cannot be restored, do you have a way to permanently suppress the devouring will?"

Qingyuan remained silent for a few seconds.

"Yes," she said, "but at a high cost."

"What price?"

"I will merge my consciousness with the divine core, replacing the destroyed divine core consciousness with my own, and re-restraining the devouring will." Qingyuan's tone was calm, as if she were talking about something unrelated to herself. "But after the fusion, my consciousness will enter a deep slumber, and I don't know when I will wake up."

It might take years, it might take decades, or it might... never wake up.

Lin Yu frowned.

"This is the only way." Qingyuan looked at him calmly. "Once the Devouring Will breaks through the barrier, the entire divine body will be assimilated by it. The Zerg will be wiped out, the Old God embryo will be devoured, and all your plans within the divine body will be rendered meaningless. Moreover... if the Devouring Will breaks through the boundaries of the divine body and enters the sub-world, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Is there any other way?" Lin Yu asked.

"No more." Qingyuan gently shook her head. "I've calculated all the possibilities. Suppressing it with external force will only last a few hours at most. Blocking it with the Zerg won't work. Only consciousness fusion can fundamentally re-restrain the devouring will."

The cracks in the barrier widened again.

The dark purple torrent surged more and more violently, as if it had sensed that the power within the barrier was weakening.

Qingyuan's body swayed, and a trace of silver blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

"I can't hold on much longer," she said.

"...What do you need me to do?" Lin Yu sighed.

"Help me hold this barrier until the fusion is complete," she said. "The fusion process will take about three minutes. During those three minutes, the Devouring Will will attack wildly; you must withstand it."

"good."

"Also," Qingyuan took out a silver-white token from her bosom and handed it to Lin Yu, "this is my identity token in the Balance Organization."

If one day I never wake up, please give this to Old Chen for me. Tell him... I did my best.

Lin Yu took the token and held it in his hand.

"I'll try my best to help you," he said.

Qingyuan didn't answer, but just smiled again.

Then she withdrew the power that maintained the barrier.

The dark purple torrent, having lost half its restraint, surged forward with tremendous force.

Lin Yu gritted his teeth and poured all his source power into the barrier, single-handedly withstanding the impact.

His arms were trembling, and the armor plates of his Heavenly Gang Battle Suit groaned under the strain.

But he did not back down.

Qingyuan's body slowly floated towards the deepest part of her heart—the location of the divine core, from which the dark purple torrent surged forth.

Her body began to glow.

A silvery-white light surged from her body, growing brighter and purer. It was the ultimate form of balanced energy, and also the manifestation of her consciousness.

The light enveloped her body and then slowly merged into the dark purple torrent.

At first, the dark purple torrent frantically crashed against the silvery-white light, trying to devour and dissolve it. But the silvery-white light was extremely resilient; no matter how the torrent pounded against it, it remained firmly in the position of the divine core, without the slightest wavering.

Then, the light began to spread.

The silvery-white energy, like ink poured into water, seeped little by little into the dark purple torrent. Wherever it passed, the violent devouring will subsided somewhat, and the force of its impact weakened.

One minute.

Two minutes.

By the third minute, the dark purple torrent had been completely permeated by the silvery-white light. The raging energy became docile, like a tamed beast, slowly retreating into the depths of the divine core.

The impact outside the barrier has stopped.

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was still not at ease.

Because he saw that Qingyuan's body was still suspended at the location of the divine core.

Her eyes were closed, her face expressionless. Her silver armor was completely shattered, revealing her slender, pale body beneath. Her long hair swayed gently in the flow of energy, like a sleeping water sprite.

She was still breathing, but very faintly, almost imperceptibly.

Her consciousness has already merged with the divine core.

"Qingyuan?" Lin Yu called out tentatively.

no respond.

He shouted again, this time even louder.

Still no response.

She fell into a deep sleep.

A deep sleep from which I have no idea when I will wake up.

Lin Yu stood there, watching her sleeping figure, without saying a word for a long time.

It was very quiet inside the heart chambers.

The dark purple torrent had receded, and silvery-white light flowed slowly around the divine core, forming a new barrier.

That barrier was more solid and deeper than the one Qingyuan had built before—because it was not a constraint imposed by external forces, but a new consciousness that grew from within the divine core.

Qingyuan replaced the destroyed divine core consciousness with her own.

From this moment on, she is the core of the divine power.

Or rather, the Divine Core is her.

Lin Yu flew to her side and gently touched her cheek.

It's very cold.

Like ice.

But she still had a faint warmth, which meant she was still alive.

He turned and looked at the entrance to the heart chamber.

The projection of the Queen of Insects appeared before him.

[Overlord. The fusion of Lord Qingyuan's consciousness is complete, and the devouring will of the divine core has been re-restrained. The immune system's counterattack is subsiding, and the Zerg unit loss statistics are in progress... Currently, approximately 37% of the combat units have been lost.]

Thirty-seven percent.

Lin Yu closed his eyes.

More than a third of the Zerg units are gone.

This was the most devastating loss he had suffered since arriving at the divine body.

But at least, it was saved.

"Re-incubate and replenish forces," Lin Yu said. "Raise the defense level of the heart chamber to the highest level."

Before Qingyuan awakens, you will have full command of the divine body.

【clear.】

"Also," Lin Yu thought for a moment, "how's the Old God embryo going?"

The Old God embryo remained unaffected; it seemed to possess a natural resistance to the Devouring Will. During its immune system counterattack, it proactively released an energy shield to protect the surrounding Zerg units.

Lin Yu nodded.

It makes sense that the power of the old gods is the "original antibody" of the divine body, which resists the will to devour.

"Take good care of it," he said. "Maybe one day, it can help Qingyuan wake up."

【clear.】

Lin Yu took one last look at Qingyuan's sleeping figure, then turned around and returned to the small world through the passage.

Then return to the apartment from the small world.

Tangtang was still asleep in the living room.

When Jinling saw him return, it looked up and called out, its voice carrying a hint of worry—it could sense that Lin Yu's emotions were not quite right.

"I'm fine." Lin Yu patted its head, then walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain.

It was already daylight outside.

But it wasn't a normal dawn.

The four cracks in the sky are still there, and the light shining through them paints the sky with eerie colors.

The neighborhood was littered with signs of battle—collapsed buildings, burning vehicles, scattered debris, and… corpses that hadn’t been cleared away.

But the defense held firm.

The Zerg's dark gold defensive line stretched along the boundary of the community, like a Great Wall of Steel.

The three legendary players, Red Demon, Overlord, and Liu Baiyu, each guarded their own territory, slaying all the powerful enemies who broke through the defenses.

The surviving players and residents were concentrated in the underground parking lots of the management building and apartment buildings, where conditions were harsh but at least safe.

The situation in the neighborhood has stabilized for now.