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

"Did the black-armored men leave anything behind after they disappeared?"

[The body has completely dissipated, leaving no physical trace. However, a trace of residual system energy was detected at the site of dissipation, rapidly dissipating; I have already collected a portion of it.]

"Save it carefully."

Lin Yu was helped back to the small world.

Qingmingzi was already waiting in the Valley of Spirit Medicine. When the old pharmacist's soul saw his injuries, his white eyebrows furrowed.

"Your left arm is gone, a piece of your left lung is missing, five ribs are broken, and two meridians are damaged." Qingmingzi shook his head as he examined you. "You little rascal, every time you come back, you're in a worse state than the last."

"Can it be cured?"

"Life can be saved, and injuries can be healed. The left arm needs the main ingredient of the 'Muscle Regeneration and Bone Repair Ointment'—millennial stalactites, which have disappeared from the outside world, but may exist in the cave system inside the body."

"Let the queen insect find it."

Qingmingzi took out a dark green pill and had Lin Yu swallow it. The medicinal effect spread, and the pain in the wound was relieved a lot.

Lin Yu was placed in a room, where the healing spores of the Spirit Tree Mother were continuously sprayed on his body.

He leaned against the headboard, looking at his empty left shoulder, his expression unchanged.

Even with a broken arm, the Red Demon can still fight; so can he.

Moreover, this injury was not without its benefits; he broke through to the mid-level of the Legendary Realm.

If he were to fight that man in black armor again now, he was confident he could win without risking his life. Of course, that was assuming his left arm was still intact.

He began to recall the battle that had just taken place.

It can be basically confirmed that the black-armored men are the system's automatic defense mechanism in the event of a malfunction.

Its core was pure system energy, which completely dissipated after being shattered by the Demon-Slaying Sword.

But Red Demon said that the black-armored men chasing him were at the early and middle levels of Legend, while the ones who appeared today were at the peak of Legend.

This indicates that there are multiple people in black armor, of different ranks.

Beginner, intermediate, peak... are there any demigod-level black-armored men?

If so, that would be the real problem.

Lin Yu suppressed his worry and closed his eyes.

……

three days later.

The medicine from Qingmingzi and the healing spores from the Spirit Tree Mother were very effective. The wound on his left chest scabbed over, his lung lobe regrowed, and his broken ribs were basically healed.

The two damaged meridians were completely restored within two days under the dual repair of purple energy and source power.

The severed part of his left arm was sealed by biomass, so he was not in mortal danger, but it would require thousands of years of stalactites to regrow. The Queen Insect had already searched the cave system inside the divine body.

Some things also happened in the outside world during these three days.

The pilgrimage on the ocean debris gradually subsided after the shielding layer was erected, and aquatic life began to disperse again. However, a few epic deep-sea behemoths lingered at the edge of the debris.

The debris continued to approach, expected to reach a thousand kilometers in two days. Reconnaissance units attempted to approach the underground energy core again, discovering that the automated defense systems surrounding it were more active than before.

In addition, the Queen of Insects detected several legendary-level energy signals within a 5,000-kilometer radius of the divine body, but they only passed by at a distance and did not approach.

The system's core energy dropped to 19%. It completely shut down seventeen days later.

On the twenty-fourth day, debris from the ruins entered a range of one thousand kilometers.

Lin Yu's injuries had almost healed, except for his left arm. He went to the observation platform and used his Heavenly Eye to look at the gray-black fragment of the continent.

The architectural remains on the surface are clearly visible—collapsed towers, broken bridges, rusted metal frames, the last traces left by a civilization.

"The Queen Insect, and the condition of its underground core."

[Core energy output has increased by 15% in the past 24 hours. The automated defense system is fully activated, and numerous mechanical guards have appeared on the surface of the fragments, mostly silver to gold level, with a few epic level. They patrol the surface of the fragments.]

The energy core of a technological civilization that has been operating for tens of thousands of years suddenly accelerated toward the divine body at the point when the system collapsed and the world overlapped—this is no coincidence.

"It's coming for the divine body," Lin Yu said. "That core has its own consciousness or pre-programmed logic. It detected the divine body's primordial energy, so it's accelerating its approach. Send the Weaver Spider Queen with a squad of reconnaissance insects to try and communicate with the core's control system. If it's intelligent, tell it this is my territory and make it stop."

"What if they don't cooperate?"

"Tear it down."

The Spider Queen, accompanied by a hundred scouts, flew towards the ruins. Lin Yu monitored this in real time through the Zerg's sensory network.

When the Spider Queen flew to within 500 kilometers of the fragment, more than a dozen epic-level mechanical guards took off and blocked her path, their weapon systems locking on. The Spider Queen did not attack, but instead released a friendly energy signal.

After a five-minute standoff, a new energy fluctuation emanated from the depths of the fragment, sweeping directly over the Weaving Spider Queen as if scanning and analyzing her.

A few seconds later, a stream of information entered the Weaver Spider Queen's senses. It wasn't language, but pure data—images, text, symbols—flowing in like a waterfall.

Lin Yu received the data with his eyes closed. His Heavenly Eye's analytical capabilities had greatly improved after breaking through to the mid-level of the Legendary Realm, and he quickly deciphered the information.

This is a recording that plays automatically.

The ruins were once the home of a technological civilization called "Aura".

At its peak, the Aura civilization had a population of over 100 billion, mastered interstellar travel and energy conversion technologies, and could even manipulate space on a small scale.

Then came the "Great Collapse".

The Great Collapse—and the system crash and world overlap described by Mr. Fang are the same type of event.

The Aura civilization perished in the Great Collapse, the world shattered, and only a small fragment of the continent, along with the civilization's core database and energy reactor, drifted in the void.

The core database records the Aura civilization's research findings on the Great Collapse.

They discovered that this wasn't the first time the Great Collapse had occurred. Countless civilizations before the Aura civilization had perished in similar events.

The Great Collapse is cyclical; the system will "reboot" after operating for a certain period, reshuffling all worlds, erasing old civilizations, and giving birth to new ones from the ruins.

The Aura civilization called this cycle "reincarnation".

At the end of each cycle, the system enters a hibernation period and then restarts.

The rebooted system will erase most of the traces from the previous cycle, but some things will be preserved, such as the bodies of the ancient gods and the relics buried deep underground.

There is also an even more important piece of information in the database: before its demise, the Aura civilization launched a probe toward the system core.

The data transmitted back by the detector shows that the core of the system is not a machine, not a program, but a—

The data stops here.

It was deleted manually.

Someone deleted the Aura civilization's discoveries about the core essence of the system.

Lin Yu opened his eyes.

If the system core isn't the machine or the program, then what is it? Who deleted this data?

"Is there any other valuable information in the database?"

[Comprehensive analysis is underway. The database contains a wealth of technological information, including technologies such as energy conversion, space folding, and automated manufacturing. Additionally, the core artificial intelligence has sent a communication request.]

"catch."

A new message entered my mind. This time it was real-time communication.

"Hello, otherworldly life form." A neutral, emotionless voice sounded directly in his consciousness.

[I am the Central Management System of the Aura Civilization, ID 01. You may call me Aura. I have been drifting in the void for 12,700 years.]

Why did you approach the divine body?

My sensors detected energy signals from ancient god-level biological tissues seven thousand kilometers away.

According to the program settings, upon detecting an ancient god-level biological organism, it should proceed to dock, utilize its primordial energy to repair its own damage, and complete the final instructions of the Aura civilization.

"What instructions?"

To perpetuate civilization, we must find a suitable vessel and rebuild it.

Lin Yu has no interest in rebuilding civilization.

What he cares about is the technological data in the Aura database. If the Zerg can absorb the technology of the Aura civilization, their strength will increase significantly.

What are your conditions?

I need the Ancient Gods' source energy repair reactor, and a safe space to dock.

In exchange, I can access non-military technical data in the database.

"Non-military?"

[The military technology requires authorization from the Supreme Council of the Aura civilization, but the Supreme Council has been extinct for 12,700 years, and I cannot unlock it myself.]

Lin Yu thought for a moment.

"You can anchor a thousand kilometers away from the divine body. I will provide a small amount of primordial energy for your repair. The non-military technical data in the database is now available."

[Agreed, but I need to add one point. My sensors have detected a high-level energy core within your ancient god organization, whose energy characteristics are 73% similar to the system core.]

Lin Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, the divine core.

What do you want to say?

Based on my data analysis, the core of the Ancient God Organization and the core of the system may have a common origin.

In the research records of the Aura civilization, I found an undeleted note: "The Ancient Gods were the first creations of the system, and also the first discarded pawns."

The Ancient Gods were the first creations of the system.

Lin Yu fell silent.

If this is true, the relationship between the Divine Core and the System is deeper than he imagined.

Will the God Core be affected when the system restarts?

"This information is valuable; you can dock now."

Thank you. I will complete the docking within six hours and begin transferring database data.

Communication is interrupted.

The fragments of the ruins slowly approached and stopped a thousand kilometers away from the divine body.

Lin Yu stood on the observation platform, looking at the gray-black fragment of the continent, his mind racing with several pieces of information.

The Ancient Gods were the first creations of the system.

These pieces of information wove together in his mind to form a vague outline, but he still couldn't see the whole picture.

He only knew one thing: the system was much more complex than he had imagined.

He must become stronger before he can truly understand what the system is.

The Legendary mid-tier isn't enough.

Legendary peak isn't enough. Even demigod might not be enough.

On the twenty-fifth day, the queen insect found the ancient stalactite.

Qingmingzi confirmed that the quality was better than expected, and he was 70% confident that he could successfully refine the Muscle Regeneration and Bone Healing Pill.

Three days later, three milky-white pills were successfully refined.

Lin Yu immediately swallowed one. The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and warm medicinal power surged from his abdomen, gathering at the severed area on his left shoulder. The wound began to itch—cells were dividing, and bones were growing.

Two hours later, a new left arm grew out. The five fingers were flexible and indistinguishable from the original.

Lin Yu clenched his fist, and the source energy flowed smoothly in his new arm.

The Queen Insect kept the remaining two pills.

In the days that followed, Lin Yu entered a period of arduous cultivation.

He cultivates in the Xuandu Purple Mansion every day, using purple energy and the original energy of his divine body to hone his source power and temper his physical body.

Aura has a high level of technology, especially in energy conversion and automated manufacturing.

The Zerg have reached the pinnacle of biotechnology, but they have shortcomings in energy utilization efficiency and precision manufacturing.

Aura's technology perfectly filled these gaps.

For example, Aura's energy conversion technology can increase the utilization efficiency of the divine body's original energy by 40%; automated manufacturing technology allows the Zerg to mass-produce precision equipment and weapon parts, without having to rely on the Queen to personally incubate everything.

The Spider Queen spearheaded a technological team of ten advanced brain worms, specifically tasked with receiving and analyzing Aura's data.

The first batch of Zerg turrets incorporating Aura energy conversion technology have rolled off the production line, with their power increased by 35 percent compared to the original.

Aura also proposed deploying an early warning network around the divine body, covering a range of 100,000 kilometers, with an accuracy three times higher than the Zerg's existing monitoring system.

The price is providing more primal energy.

Lin Yu agreed.

He needs to see further.

The Queen's analysis revealed that the gathering of world fragments towards the divine body was not a coincidence. As an ancient god-level biological entity, the divine body's mass and energy density created a gravitational trap in the void. During the world's overlap, after the spatial barriers disappeared, smaller fragments were attracted to the larger object.

In other words, more and more debris will be hitting us.

According to Aura's calculation model, at least twenty world fragments will gather within a 1,000-kilometer radius of the divine body within a month.

This may include high-level life forms and hostile forces.

Lin Yu's strategy was simple: all debris entering the 5,000-kilometer range would be reconnoitered and then assessed; those threatening would be destroyed at a distance of 1,000 kilometers; and for those that could not be destroyed, a contingency plan would be developed in advance.

……

Lin Yu was cultivating in his Purple Mansion when the Queen Insect's voice interrupted him.

[My Lord, Elana, the Elf Queen of the Forest Fragment, requests a dialogue, claiming she possesses important information.]

Lin Yu opened his eyes and thought for a moment.

The elf remained well-behaved, adhering to the three agreements: it did not approach the divine body, did not spy on it, and did not release any detection signals.

The fact that they suddenly request a dialogue and claim to have important information suggests either they really have something to say, or they are testing us.

"Bring him in."

A communication signal composed of natural energy was connected to the Zerg's sensory network.

Elana's voice echoed in the void, carrying a hint of suppressed urgency.

"Powerful being, thank you for your willingness to speak with me."

"Get to the point."

"That's right." Elana paused, "My people discovered something in the void at the edge of the shards—an army moving this way."

Lin Yu's brow twitched: "What army? How far away? What rank?"

"They are about 20,000 kilometers away from here, slowly approaching, and their numbers are enormous."

"Our scouts dared not get too close, but they spotted them from afar..." Elana's voice hesitated, "They were wearing black armor and masks covering their faces, the same kind as the one you killed before."

Black-armored man.

Large quantity?

Lin Yu stood up.

Are you sure?

"I swear in the name of the Emerald Forest that every word I have said is true," Elana said. "Among those black-armored warriors, there are several with legendary auras, and one... an existence I cannot assess, deep within the army."

My scouts were almost overwhelmed by that aura after just one glance from afar.

Its existence cannot be assessed.

Lin Yu has already killed one of the legendary peak-level black-armored men. But "unable to assess" implies that he might be even stronger than the legendary peak-level—a demigod?

"Why are you telling me all this?" Lin Yu asked.

Elana paused for a second: "Because if they're coming for you, then once they get here, we won't be able to escape either."

Our debris is a thousand kilometers away; they won't let us go. Telling you this is also helping ourselves.

A very practical reason. Lin Yu likes dealing with realistic people.

"I understand. Your intelligence is valuable. In return, the Zerg's defensive barrier can cover your fragments—but only defensively."

Thank you for your understanding.

Communication was cut off.

Lin Yu stood in the Purple Mansion, his face very somber.

Hundreds of thousands of black-armored warriors, several legendary figures, and one entity whose existence cannot be assessed.

It has now been confirmed that they came to cleanse the divine body.

"Queen Insect."

【exist. 】

"All units on high alert. All legendary units, return to position, turrets fully charged, creep energy network operating at maximum power. Have Aura deploy the early warning network immediately; I need precise data on that army."

【clear.】

Lin Yu stood alone on the observation platform, gazing into the depths of the void.

The Heavenly Eye cannot see anything 20,000 kilometers away, but it can sense that a cold, mechanical will is moving toward them from the distant void.

Like an approaching meat grinder.

He is now a mid-tier Legendary, with eighteen Legendary Zerg, eight billion combat units, a fully activated Divine Body Defense System, and the technological assistance of Aura.

Is it enough to face an army of hundreds of thousands of black-armored men and a being who might be a demigod?

Lin Yu didn't know.

He turned around and strode towards the Xuandu Purple Mansion.

He needs to increase his strength as much as possible before the battle begins.

The barrier between the mid-tier and high-tier legendary ranks is still far off, but he can do other things—familiarize himself with his new arm, refine the second form of the Demon Slayer Technique, study the residual system energy of the Black Armor Man, and have the Queen of Insects accelerate the upgrade of the Zerg equipment based on Aura's technology.

time is limited.

According to preliminary calculations by the Aura Early Warning Network, the Black Armor Legion is not moving fast, but at its current direction and speed, it will arrive at the divine body in about five to seven days.

Five to seven days.

Lin Yu closed his eyes, and his source energy surged through his meridians.

Auspicious purple clouds are coming from the east.

He began to cultivate.

From the thirty-first day to the thirty-fourth day, the divine body entered a state of full preparation for battle.

The fungal carpet spread at an astonishing rate, constructing three deep defensive zones on the surface of the divine body. More than ten thousand new turrets, incorporating Aura energy conversion technology, were deployed, their power increased by thirty-five percent compared to the old models.

The Spider Queen of the Weaving Veins has spread an energy sensing network within a 500,000-kilometer radius around her divine body. Combined with Aura's early warning satellites, no movement can escape her monitoring.

Based on the intelligence provided by the Red Oni, the Queen Insect designed several new unit types:

One type is the "interference bug," which can release energy pulses at the same frequency as the system panel, interfering with the Black Armor Man's system connection—Red Oni said that the Black Armor Man's attacks can interfere with the player's panel, so conversely, the Zerg can also interfere with them.

One type is the "Armor-Breaking Ant," whose mouthparts have been modified by Aura's high-energy particle beam technology, enabling it to emit focused particle beams specifically targeting the armor plates of the Black Armor Man.

Another type is the "magnetic locust," which can create a strong local magnetic field, affecting the energy core operation of the black-armored people.

These new units hatched more than 50 million units in four days, all of which were deployed to the first line of defense.

The eighteen legendary Zerg were also ready. The wounds of the Dark Emperor and Dracula had healed, and the armor of the Broken Army had been repaired and was even thicker than before.

The Lord of the Ember Locusts, the Blood Scythe Mantis King, the Rock Mother Nest, and other units are all in position.

Aura wasn't idle either.

It activated all the mechanical guards on the surface of the ruins, totaling more than 100,000 units. Although most of them were below the gold level, they could supplement the Zerg's defenses.

It also unlocked several non-military defensive technologies, helping the Zerg to reinforce the crystalline armor of their divine bodies.

Meanwhile, Elana wasn't idle either, on the elf's side.

She deployed all the legendary-level combatants on the fragment, along with herself and two guards, to construct a natural energy defense line at the edge of the fragment.

Although this amount of power is probably a drop in the ocean compared to the black-armored men, it at least shows their attitude.

Lin Yu did not refuse the elf's help; every bit of strength counts.

About two weeks later.

Aura's early warning network transmitted accurate data.

The Black Armor Legion totaled 470,000, of which:

There are approximately 450,000 ordinary black-armored warriors, ranging in rank from gold to obsidian, with the majority being gold-level.

There are seven legendary black-armored warriors: two at the initial stage of legend, three at the intermediate stage of legend, and two at the advanced stage of legend.

At the very core of the legion, there exists a special entity.

It is not a man in black armor.

Or rather, it used to be a Black-Armored Man, but it isn't anymore.

The data transmitted back by Aura's sensors made Lin Yu's expression very unpleasant.

It was a three-meter-tall humanoid figure, wearing the same black armor as ordinary black-armored men, but the patterns on the armor plates were not dark red, but jet black, the same color as the darkness on the Void Serpent.

Its mask had no runes, only a vertical crack, through which a sliver of white light occasionally flashed.

Its energy level: cannot be assessed.

However, based on the degree of distortion of the space around it, Aura deduced that it was at least at the peak of the legendary realm, and there was a 30% probability that it had already reached the threshold of demigod.

"Thirty percent..." Lin Yu repeated the number in a low voice.

There is a 30% probability that he is a demigod.

This probability is already quite high.

If it really is a demigod, then the difficulty of this battle will increase exponentially.

Lin Yu had fought against demigods before.

The Void Serpent was a being of demigod level or higher. He risked his life to damage the serpent's natal pearl and scare it away.

But the Void Serpent is a beast that fights on instinct.

This black-armored leader is different; he is a creation of the system, cold, precise, and devoid of emotion.

This is much more difficult to deal with than the Void Serpent.

On the contrary, its subordinates are easier to deal with.

"Queen, all units, move to position."