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

Then he discovered a pattern.

The core of the Black Armor Leader is located in its chest, and all its defenses revolve around this core.

However, the core is not always in a state of maximum defense. When it attacks, the core's defense will drop by about 30% because some of its energy is diverted to the attack.

Just now, when he pierced the core outer energy membrane, it was at the moment when the black-armored leader was holding the gun with both hands and focusing his attention on him.

"When it attacks, its core defense will weaken," Lin Yu said. "I need one person to draw its full attention, making it attack with all its might. Then another person can seize the opportunity to slash its core from the waist, disrupting its energy flow. I'll stab its core the moment its defense is at its lowest."

"Who's attracting attention?" asked the King of the Underworld.

"Me," Lin Yu said, "The Third Prince is in good enough shape to withstand its attack. You're in charge of cutting its waist, making sure to cut the same spot repeatedly to widen the wound."

"Alright." The King of the Underworld didn't hesitate. "But can you withstand it? It just sent you flying with a single punch."

"We have to hold on, even if we can't." Lin Yu gripped the Fire-Tipped Spear tightly. "Its phantom has returned, and we don't have much time. Once it fully adapts to our attack methods, it will be even harder to fight."

"Then let's do it." The Netherworld Emperor's giant scythe drew an arc in front of him, the power of death flowing along the blade.

"superior!"

With a spin of his Wind and Fire Wheels, Lin Yu shot forward.

A streak of crimson-gold light trailed a long tail in the void as it hurtled straight toward the face of the black-armored leader.

The Fire-Tipped Spear thrust out, and the Samadhi True Fire condensed into a single point at the tip, pointing directly at the crack in the mask.

The black-armored leader was indeed drawn to the attack. It raised its hands, black energy gathering in its palms, preparing to take the hit head-on.

At the same time, the hundred-meter-tall phantom behind it also moved. The phantom raised a giant hand and slapped Lin Yu from the side, blocking his dodge route.

Lin Yu did not dodge.

He withstood the giant, phantom hand and thrust out his Fire-Tipped Spear at full speed.

"clang--!"

The spear tip pierced the black-armored leader's crossed arms, unleashing Samadhi Fire that enveloped his hands in crimson-gold flames.

The black-armored leader's hands trembled in the flames, its entire focus on blocking the spear.

Right now.

The figure of the Netherworld Emperor emerged from the void; it had already circled around to the side and rear of the black-armored leader.

The giant scythe was raised high, the power of death concentrated to its extreme on the blade, and then it was slammed down hard on the previous wound.

"Snap—!"

The armor plate shattered again.

This time, the King of the Underworld's scythe cut in an inch and a half, twice as deep as before.

The power of death surged wildly into the wound, causing a noticeable disruption in the energy flow within the black-armored leader's body.

Its body froze.

A crack appeared in the energy membrane of the core outer layer amidst the chaos.

Lin Yu was waiting for this very gap.

He abruptly pulled back the Fire-Tipped Spear, then gripped it with both hands, channeling all his Samadhi True Fire, Source Power, and the Third Prince's Divine Power into the spear tip.

The six arms of the three-headed, eight-armed deity simultaneously assume a gun-gripping posture, with all power converging at a single point.

The fire-tipped spear thrust out.

This shot had no flashy visual effects, nor any earth-shattering momentum.

Only a tiny, crimson-gold flame remained at the tip of the spear, condensed to its extreme, so hot that the space around the tip was melting.

The spear tip pierced through the gap in the outer energy membrane of the core and plunged into the chest of the black-armored leader.

Then, it pierced the core.

"puff--"

A soft sound.

The tip of the spear pierced the jet-black bead.

The Samadhi True Fire surged into the core along the tip of the spear, and the crimson-gold flames exploded inside the pitch-black bead.

The black-armored leader's body trembled violently.

It lowered its head, looking at the fire-tipped spear piercing its chest, white light flashing wildly through the cracks in its mask.

Then, it let out a roar.

It's not a mechanical flow of information; it's a real, painful scream.

The sound was a mixture of countless different voices—men's, women's, old people's, children's—as if countless souls were sealed inside the bead, screaming in agony at the same time.

Lin Yu frowned slightly.

This core is formed from the condensation of countless souls.

But he didn't stop.

He turned the gun barrel, and the Samadhi True Fire erupted with full force within its core.

"broken."

"Crack—Bang—!!!"

The black bead exploded from the inside.

Countless fragments of souls poured out from the cracks, like wisps of smoke.

The crimson-gold Samadhi Fire enveloped the fragments, purifying them.

Those souls let out a sigh of relief in the flames, then turned into specks of light and vanished into the void.

The black-armored leader froze.

It looked down at the large hole in its chest, and the white light in the crack of its mask gradually went out.

It raised its hand, as if trying to grab something.

Then, its body began to crack from its chest, and black fragments peeled off like glass.

Before it completely dissipated, Lin Yu saw what was beneath the fragments.

A figure in a gray uniform.

They were exactly the same as the gray uniforms worn by Mr. Fang's men, as described by the Red Demon.

But only for a moment.

The figure and the fragments turned into specks of light and vanished.

The leader of the Black Armored Clan is dead.

Lin Yu drew his Fire-Tipped Spear, his body swaying slightly. The Third Prince's divine power was rapidly fading; the time to borrow his strength was almost up. His chest still ached faintly; although his broken bones had healed, his internal injuries needed time to recover.

"Resolved?" The Netherworld Emperor floated to his side.

"Hmm." Lin Yu put away the Fire-Tipped Spear, and the Demon-Slaying Sword reappeared in his hand.

"Before it dissipated, it revealed a figure in a gray uniform," Lin Yu said coldly. "The same uniform as the one Red Demon mentioned worn by Mr. Fang's men."

The Netherworld King's soul fire flickered a few times: "You doubt Mr. Fang?"

"Suspicion. But no evidence," Lin Yu said. "Mr. Fang is gathering survivors, while the Black Armorers are hunting players and collecting corpses and souls."

One act of gathering and the other of killing may seem contradictory, but if gathering is about selection and killing is about eliminating substandard goods, then there is no contradiction.

"You mean, Mr. Fang is screening on behalf of the system?"

"It could be for the system, or it could be for himself," Lin Yu said. "He said he wanted to establish a new order, but what his 'new order' would be like, nobody knows."

The Emperor of the Underworld was silent for a moment, then said, "Whatever he wants to do, we'll wait until he finds his way here. The problem now is—the 470,000 Black-Armored Men are still here."

Lin Yu looked up.

The death of the Black Armored Leader caused a brief period of chaos within the legion.

The movements of the 470,000 black-armored warriors paused for about three seconds, as if they were receiving commands again.

Three seconds later, they started moving again.

However, without the leader's command, their coordination clearly decreased.

There is no longer any precise tactical coordination; instead, they fight their own battles, like a group of ants whose nest has been destroyed.

"The entire army will launch a counterattack."

His voice resonated throughout the entire Divine Body Defense Line via the Zerg's mental network.

Eighteen legendary Zerg creatures roared simultaneously.

The Emperor of the Underworld was the first to charge out, wielding his giant scythe. The power of death transformed into a dark golden arc of light, cleaving the hundreds of black-armored warriors at the front in half.

Dracula and Po Jun emerged from the other side, their Blood Abyss power and Source Energy intertwining to tear apart swarms of black-armored warriors.

Ignoring the injury to his wings, the Lord of the Ember Locusts unleashed a barrage of dark golden beams, each capable of taking down dozens of black-armored warriors.

Eight thousand artillery emplacements continued their bombardment, fifty million disruptive insects constantly released pulses, and ten million armor-piercing ants harvested the black-armored horde with particle beams.

Lin Yu did not rush to the front.

The Third Prince's use of power has ended, and he is not in a good state now.

He stood behind the defensive line, directing the Zerg to fight through the mental network, while using his "Heavenly Eye" to observe the battlefield, identify legendary units among the Black Armored troops, and command the Zerg to focus fire and kill them.

Of the seven legendary black-armored men, one was killed earlier, leaving six remaining.

Without their leader's command, the six legendary black-armored warriors fought independently. Although their individual strength remained formidable, their teamwork was far less effective than before.

Lin Yu commanded the Netherworld Emperor and Dracula to join forces against a high-level legendary Zerg, while Po Jun and the Lord of the Ash Locusts dealt with another high-level legendary Zerg. The remaining four mid-level and low-level legendary Zerg were targeted by the other legendary Zerg and turrets.

The battle lasted for two hours.

All six legendary black-armored men were killed.

Without the guidance of legendary units, the ordinary black-armored warriors became utterly helpless. They continued to fight, but without tactics or coordination, attacking purely on instinct.

The Zerg are suffering losses, but the number of Black Armorers is declining even faster.

Just then, a small figure rushed out from inside the divine body.

Sugar.

She wore a light armor made for her by the queen from biomass, and clutched her rag doll in her hand. Golden Feather perched on her shoulder, its feathers somewhat disheveled, but its eyes sharp.

"Big brother! I'm here to help!" Tangtang's voice rang out in the mental network, tinged with excitement.

Lin Yu frowned slightly: "Who let you out?"

"Sister Qingyuan said the Divine Core is stable for now, so she told me to get out and move around a bit," Tangtang said. "Besides, I can fight too, don't underestimate me."

As she spoke, the doll's eyes lit up.

A beam of energy shot out from the doll's eye, with a diameter of over ten meters, heading straight for the most densely packed area among the black-armored crowd.

"boom--!!"

The beam of light exploded, and hundreds of black-armored warriors were vaporized in the source energy, leaving not even fragments behind.

Lin Yu's Heavenly Eye swept over it.

Sugar's energy source has a natural restraining effect on the system's energy.

The armor plates of the black-armored warriors melted like wax in the energy beams, with an effect even more direct than that of Samadhi Fire.

"You stay with the King of the Underworld and don't act alone," Lin Yu said.

"Got it!" Tangtang replied, her energy surging beneath her feet, and she shot towards the Netherworld Emperor like a small cannonball.

Golden feathers flew off her shoulder, flapping their wings and soaring through the air above the black-armored crowd.

Its golden claws lit up, and it swooped down, crushing the head of a Shining Stone-level black-armored warrior with a single claw.

The King of the Underworld smiled as he saw Tangtang rushing towards him. "Stay close, don't wander off."

"Don't worry, sister, I'm pretty good!" Tangtang said, and the rag doll shot out another beam of energy, evaporating dozens of black-armored warriors who rushed over.

The King of the Underworld didn't stop his actions. With a swing of his giant scythe, he cleaved an epic-level black-armored warrior in two.

The battle continued for a little while longer.

When the last black-armored warrior's core was crushed by the Netherworld King's giant scythe, countless black fragments floated in the void, like a black snowfall.

The entire 470,000-strong Black Armor Legion was wiped out.

The Zerg suffered relatively few losses.

One million combat units were killed, three legendary Zerg were severely wounded, and the rest were all wounded, with no losses.

Lin Yu sat on the crystal shell, watching the black fragments drifting in the void, panting heavily.

The queen bee is directing worker bees to clean up the battlefield and collect debris.

The fragments of armor plates belonging to those black-armored beings contain special system energy that the Zerg can absorb and utilize.

"Overlord, battlefield cleanup is expected to take six hours," the Queen reported. "Useful system energy was detected in the recovered Black Armored Man remains, which is estimated to provide the Zerg with approximately 15% evolutionary acceleration."

"Recover everything," Lin Yu said. "Also, thoroughly search the area where the black-armored leader disappeared; don't overlook any remaining energy fragments."

【clear.】

The King of the Underworld floated over.

"How are your injuries?" Lin Yu asked.

"It's just a minor injury. I'll be fine once I go back and absorb some death energy." The Netherworld Emperor shook his head.

Tangtang ran over too, her face covered in fragments of the black-armored man, her hair a mess, but her eyes sparkling.

"Big brother! I killed so many!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Jin Ling killed so many too!"

"I saw it," Lin Yu said.

"Oh," Tangtang responded, then leaned closer and whispered, "Big brother, during the battle just now, I sensed movement from the Divine Core."

Lin Yu frowned: "What's that noise?"

"Well... the energy of the divine core fluctuated for a moment, as if it was stimulated by something." Tangtang thought for a moment, "It wasn't Qingyuan's fluctuation, it was the divine core's own, just for a moment, and then it calmed down."

Lin Yu remained silent for a while.

The divine core was stimulated. It's possible that when the black-armored leader's black beam of light struck the divine body, the residual energy was transmitted to the divine core. Or it could be for some other reason.

"Queen, retrieve the monitoring data for the divine core region."

[Retrieving data... The Divine Core did indeed experience an energy fluctuation during the battle, lasting approximately 0.3 seconds, with a fluctuation amplitude of 300% of the normal level.]

The source of the fluctuation is uncertain, but its characteristics bear a 47% similarity to the black beam of light released by the black-armored leader.

Forty-seven percent.

Not high, but not low either.

"How is Qingyuan doing?"

Qingyuan's consciousness integration level remained stable at 87%, unaffected.

She automatically intensified her suppression of the divine core when it fluctuated, and the fluctuations quickly subsided.

Lin Yu nodded.

Everything is fine for now.

But the fact that the Divine Core reacted to the black-armored man's energy was not a good sign.

If the black-armored man's energy and the divine core share the same origin, and Aura said that the divine core and the system core have a 73% similarity, then there might be more trouble in the future.

"Strengthen monitoring of the core region. Report any abnormal fluctuations immediately."

【clear.】

Lin Yu stood up and stretched. His internal injuries were still throbbing, but they didn't affect his mobility.

"King of the Underworld, take Tangtang back to rest. Jinling, go back too."

"Alright," the Emperor of the Underworld replied.

Tangtang skipped and hopped along with the Netherworld Emperor into the divine body, and a golden feather landed on her shoulder, letting out a light chirp.

Lin Yu watched their retreating figures without saying anything more.

He turned and walked toward the debris.

Aura was anchored a thousand kilometers away. During the battle, it also dispatched 100,000 mechanical guards to participate in the fight, and lost about 30% of them.

Now that the battle is over, he needs to talk to Aura.

The remains of the black-armored men contain system energy, and Aura, as an AI of a technological civilization, may be able to analyze more information about the system from these remains.

Moreover, he had another question to ask Aura.

Regarding that core formed from the soul.

Regarding Mr. Fang.

What will the system become in the future?

Lin Yu's feet surged with source energy, and he transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the ruins.

In the void, black fragments continued to drift slowly down, like a never-ending snowfall.

Lin Yu's figure disappeared into the depths of the void, flying towards the ruins.

Lin Yu landed on the surface of the debris, with rusted metal floorboards and broken pipes beneath his feet.

Aura's core is located 300 meters underground in the fragment, and its perception range covers the entire fragment. Lin Yu received its communication as soon as he landed.

[Otherworldly life form, welcome to Aura. Is the battle over?]

"It's over." Lin Yu walked down a still-intact passage into the underground. "I brought some remains of the black-armored men. Can you analyze them?"

[Yes, my laboratory is on the second basement level and is fully functional. Please place the wreckage on the teleportation platform at the entrance.]

Following Aura's directions, Lin Yu found the teleportation platform and poured the remains of a black-armored man from a storage ring onto it. The platform glowed with a pale blue light, and the remains were teleported to the underground laboratory.

Ten minutes later, Aura's analysis results came out.

Analysis complete. The armor plates of the black-armored man are made of an unknown alloy, which contains 17 percent of the system's original energy crystals.

This crystallization is a product of the system's energy solidification; it cannot form in the natural environment and can only be produced directly by the system's core.

"Directly manufactured by the system core?" Lin Yu frowned. "You mean, these black-armored men were created by the system core?"

Based on data analysis, the probability is 83%. The system's original energy crystals in the A-piece have uniform manufacturing numbers and batch marks, indicating that they are products of mass production.

The energy characteristics of the manufacturing source match the system core with a 91% degree of accuracy.

Ninety-one percent.

It can be basically confirmed.

The black-armored men are scavengers created by the system's core.

During the system crash, some core mechanisms went out of control and began to mass-produce these elimination units to hunt down targets deemed "abnormal".

"And their core? It's that bead formed from souls."

[Analysis in progress... Analysis complete. The core's main component is soul energy, amounting to approximately the sum of twelve thousand complete souls.]

The soul energy is encapsulated, compressed, and solidified by the system's primordial energy, forming a high-density energy core.

The soul within the core is in a state of forced fusion; individual consciousness has vanished, leaving only the most primal emotions—fear, pain, and anger.

Twelve thousand souls.

The core of a legendary, peak-level black-armored man used twelve thousand souls.

What about the 470,000 black-armored warriors? Although the core of an ordinary black-armored warrior is small, their numbers are enormous.

All in all, there may be hundreds of millions of souls trapped inside these shells.

Where did these souls come from?

The system connects to 1,276 worlds. During the system's collapse and the worlds' overlap, how many beings from those worlds were harvested by the system's core?

"Aura, do you have any records in your database about the system harvesting souls?"

Searching... Search complete.

There are no direct records of the Aura civilization's research records regarding the system's harvesting of souls.

However, there is an indirect record: three years before the Great Collapse, the Aura civilization's deep space probes discovered a huge energy channel in the void, the other end of which was connected to an undetectable entity.

There is a continuous flow of soul energy within the passage, flowing from various worlds towards that unknown entity.

"Did it start three years before the Great Collapse?"

Yes, according to records, the flow of soul energy peaked a year before the Great Collapse and then suddenly stopped.

Scientists from the Aura civilization speculate that the unknown entity may be preparing for some large-scale operation.

Lin Yu fell silent.

The system began reaping souls even before the Great Collapse.

It didn't get out of control during the collapse; rather, everything was planned and prepared in advance.

Those souls were used to create the Black Armor Men. The Black Armor Men were then sent to hunt down more "anomalies".

The hunted souls are then recycled to create even more Black Armor Men.

This is a loop.

A cycle fueled by the soul.

"Mr. Fang..." Lin Yu murmured the name.

Mr. Fang is a seventh-level authority holder. He said he wanted to establish a new order after the system crashed.

He was gathering the survivors, and his men, dressed in gray uniforms, moved in perfect unison.

The black-armored leader's core contained the soul of a gray-uniformed figure.

These clues, when pieced together, point to a possibility.

Mr. Fang knew what the system was doing.

He might even be cooperating with the system.

He gathered the survivors not to save them, but to provide the system with "qualified" souls.

Those he recruits may eventually become the core of the Black Armored Men.

Of course, this is just speculation.

Lin Yu will not draw any conclusions without evidence.

But he raised Mr. Fang's danger level to the highest level.

"Ola, save all the analysis results. Also, I need you to do something for me."

Please speak.

"Analyze the energy frequency and attack patterns of the Black Armored Men to find their weaknesses."

I especially need to know the principles and methods to bypass the ability to interfere with the system panel.

[Understood. The full analysis is expected to take seventy-two hours to complete.]

Lin Yu nodded and turned to leave the ruins.

Back in her divine body, the Queen had almost finished cleaning up the battlefield.

All the remains of the Black Armored Man have been recovered, and the worker bees are repairing the damaged crystal armor and turrets.

"Overlord, all the recovered remains of the Black-Armored Men have been stored in the biomass warehouse, and Aura's analysis data has been synchronized to the Zerg's information network," the Queen reported. "In addition, Queen Elana of the Elves sent a message saying that they also lost some of their people in the battle and hope to receive some primal energy as compensation."

"Give them some," Lin Yu said.

[Understood. How much?]

"Enough to repair the injuries. You decide what to do with it."

【Yes. 】

Lin Yu didn't dwell on the elves' affairs. They had contributed to the battle, so some compensation was appropriate, but that was all.

He returned to the small world and went to the Valley of Spirit Medicine.