Don't go to the moon, there are gods on the far side of the moon.

The door to the outer archives closed behind them, and the air was filled with the smell of cold metal and old paper.

This place didn't resemble a mythical ruin; it was more like a hastily abandoned maintenance team office. A work schedule was plastered on the wall, the cabinets were crammed with handwritten notes, and in the corner lay a half-frozen, grayish-white cup of coffee. Seeing these things, Lin Xiaoman almost burst into tears again.

My father is not the legendary guardian god.

He was just a repairman who would stay up late, make spelling mistakes, and stick family photos on cabinet doors.

Xu Wangshu opened the first engineering cabinet, which was full of succession policy documents. The more she looked, the colder her expression became.

The so-called successor of Buzhou Mountain is never an honor.

It is a process that gradually transforms living people into unrecognizable interfaces. The first step is to establish an echo; the second step is to strip away personal memories; the third step is to weaken human ties; the fourth step is to fix them as a beacon or a foundation; and the fifth step is for the system to take over the successor's judgment.

Lin Jibai is currently stuck between the third and fourth steps.

Lin Xiaoman's voice trembled: "So, you mean, brother didn't turn into a lamp on his own?"

"He chose to block the South Heavenly Gate himself." Xu Wangshu closed the file, "but the system is processing his choice into a succession process."

Lu Chen slammed his fist on the cabinet door: "It's this kind of thing again. First they praise you as a hero, then they turn you into parts."

Wen Zhao stared intently at the documents, as if watching his own crawling shadow. He had once wanted to process chaotic people into orderly parts, only with more modern names: models, interfaces, samples.

An obstacle rose from the archive floor. Countless silver lines formed a human-shaped outline; the face hadn't yet appeared, but the voice sounded like a mixture of Lin Wangchuan, Lin Jibai, and some ancient system.

[Successor vacancy.]

[Detected: Repairman 07 bloodline, Lighthouse Recorder, Hou Yi sequence, Tianheng authorized user.]

Please elect one person to guard the outer edge of Buzhou Mountain.

Simultaneously, circular lights silently illuminated beneath the feet of all four individuals.

The nomination wasn't a vote; it was coercion. If they refused, the system would randomly select the most suitable candidate. The most suitable candidate was, of course, Lin Xiaoman, who possessed the Nantianmen key within her.

Lin Xiaoman's face was deathly pale, but she gritted her teeth and said, "Choose me. As long as I can bring my brother back..."

"No," Xu Wangshu and Lu Chenggong said at the same time.

Wen Zhaolin also whispered, "We can't choose her."

Lin Xiaoman looked at him, her eyes still filled with hatred.

Wen Zhaolin did not dodge the question: "Because the old Heavenly Court has been waiting for her to volunteer. Voluntary sacrifice is more stable than forced filing."

Xu Wangshu immediately looked for loopholes in the system. She discovered a line in the succession clause that Lin Wangchuan had repeatedly circled: The successor must be able to independently judge whether Buzhou Mountain should be repaired.

"Independent judgment," she murmured. "If the system forces an election, then the requirement of independence is not met."

The silver-lined humanoid figure drew closer.

Refusing to be nominated will be considered as abandoning the protection of human beings and external relations.

Lu Chen raised his bow: "I'll do it. Hou Yi's lineage is meant for this dirty work."

"You can't do it," Xu Wangshu said. "Your sequence will be called in reverse by the Nine-Sun Array."

Wen Zhaolin suddenly said, "Then choose me."

The cabin fell silent.

Lin Xiaoman glared at him angrily: "You think you can use this to clear your name?"

"No," Wen Zhaolin said, "I want to repay it."

Xu Wangshu said coldly, "You're no better. You still believe in the priority of the larger system. The remnants will amplify your inclinations."

The silver thread had already wrapped around Lin Xiaoman's ankle.

Just then, the lighthouse echoed.

Don't steal it.

[You cannot select a person for this question.]

Xu Wangshu suddenly looked up.

Lin Jibai's voice was clearer than before, as if it came from a distant maintenance well.

If the succession system is flawed, then reform the system.

She got it.

Lin Wangchuan's words, "It's not on the pillars, it's in the succession system," were not meant to remind them to shirk their responsibilities, but rather to tell them the true goal of maintenance.

Xu Wangshu laid out all the succession documents and found the authorization signature section. The original system defaulted to a single successor being responsible for protection, because the old Heavenly Court liked to compress the complexities of the human world into a single interface. However, the Moonlit Lighthouse had just been established, and its function was to jointly record and jointly supervise.

"We are requesting a change to the succession system," Xu Wangshu said. "From a single successor to multiple witnesses, distributed recording, and temporary rotation. No one should be permanently fixed as a component of Buzhou Mountain."

The system immediately rejected the request.

Insufficient permissions.

Lin Xiaoman pressed her father's employee ID card onto the screen. Lu Chenggong pressed the broken bow onto the screen. Wen Zhaolin pressed the shattered access ring onto the screen. Xu Wangshu pressed the moon image onto the screen.

It is still insufficient.

Finally, a ray of light shone from the lighthouse on the far side of the moon.

Lin Jibai's name appeared at the very end of the signature column.

[Gonggong variable: Seconded.]

The silver-threaded humanoid began to collapse. It could not comprehend the structure of "no one to succeed but everyone to be responsible," just as the old Heavenly Court could not comprehend the mixture of good and evil in the human world.

The system amendments have been approved.

[Lin Jibai's permanent curing process is suspended.]

Lin Xiaoman rushed into the light: "Brother!"

The lighthouse echoed softly.

Don't pounce, it has no physical form.

Before anyone could even catch their breath, a hidden compartment suddenly opened at the deepest part of the archives. Inside lay a black moon rock, its surface engraved with a star map of the Northern Heavenly Gate.

As soon as Xu Wangshu touched it, Yue Tu frantically called the police.

The outer perimeter protection system has been patched, triggering a higher-level check.

The North Heavenly Gate patrol beacon has been received.

[Estimated arrival time in the outer human network: 72 hours.]

The black moon rock split open silently, and a strange and grand sound emanated from within.

"Nantianmen has lost contact."

"Begin the examination of humanity."

The countdown from the Beitianmen beacon wasn't just displayed on the lunar map. Xu Wangshu soon discovered that it had projected its numbers onto all the remnants of the old lines. The same cold light shone on the walls of transport shafts, beside abandoned instruments, and next to Lin Wangchuan's handwritten markings: seventy-two hours. It was as if reminding them that the old order never needed anger; it only needed patience to wait for you to tire, make mistakes, and compromise.

Before the third gate, the group was forced to stop. The gate's automatic indicator light was indeed faulty; the green light was on, but behind the gate lay a vacuum rift. Lin Wangchuan's warning from years ago had saved them. Xu Wangshu broke out in a cold sweat after using the lunar map to calculate that if they had trusted the green light, the entire team would have been sucked directly into the debris field surrounding the wreckage.

Lin Xiaoman touched the words her father had written on the wall, "Don't trust the lamp," and whispered, "Did Dad fall here before?"

The lighthouse echoed.

He definitely cursed at her.

Lin Xiaoman stopped crying and started laughing. In that instant, the tense atmosphere in the long transport shaft eased a little. Xu Wangshu realized that even though Lin Jibai was just an echo, he was still using his clumsy but most effective method to pull everyone out of fear.

As they bypassed the gate, Wen Zhaolin volunteered to walk in front. He said he was familiar with the temporary markings Tianheng had used back then and could clear the mines. Lu Chenggong didn't stop him, only coldly reminding him, "If you try to run, I'll shoot you in the leg."

Wen Zhaolin said, "I know."

After the system was amended, the archives didn't immediately let them leave. A new signature board appeared on the wall, requiring all witnesses to confirm their "refusal to permanently succeed" and assume responsibility for subsequent rotations. Xu Wangshu was the first to sign, Lin Xiaoman the second, and Lu Chenggong the third. When it was Wen Zhaolin's turn, the system hesitated, seemingly unwilling to accept the testimony of a sinner. Wen Zhaolin looked at the line of refusal and lowered his voice, saying, "Sinners should be recorded even more, lest someone later package their mistakes as ideals." He pressed his bloody fingerprint, and the signature board finally closed.