Chapter 1432: Chapter 1430: Core Program
Walking through the severely glitched streets.
If not for the robot Little Yellow’s ability to precisely parse environmental program states and plot a concealed, functional route, Han Dong and Green might have accidentally encountered glitches, or worse yet, ending up completely frozen and immobile.
It’s apparent that [Mother Matrix] is, even in its final moments, trying to shrink everything inward as much as possible, stretching its domain and Makoms City’s internal defense to the absolute limit.
Yet it remains gravely and irreversibly affected.
If the Matrix were a flesh-and-blood entity, it would undoubtedly be in a state of missing limbs or suffering from severe injuries that cannot heal—completely incapable of contending with Death.
To the program world, Little Yellow resembles a worm virus, exploiting existing vulnerabilities for near-perfect stealth… Han Dong and Green need only follow along, doing almost nothing.
During this time, Han Dong was pondering a rather crucial question.
“The Matrix is evidently a highly rational, data-centric program entity.
The overarching layout of this invasion war must have been orchestrated by the Matrix.
The positron cannon capable of tearing through the Land Deed barrier, the transport crystals embedded within the Mythic Bodies, the fused local-attributed Infinite Terminator troops—all are directly tied to the Matrix.
In its current situation, she should be more aware than any King of the Capital City that there is no possibility of turning the tide.
Even if she decides to ‘perish the cauldrons and sink the boats’ by dragging us and Pandora along to mutual destruction, her current state makes that almost impossible.
Why not just escape?
Or did she already bet everything on the war, leaving no path of retreat? That’s likely… The Matrix is probably the sole ruler of this large-scale world. As a “program lifeform,” there are undeniable conveniences, but there must also be limitations.
Black Tower must have set high stakes for her and this world; defeating the Demon would bring fundamental changes.
If the war is lost, her corresponding world will likely be forcibly “demoted.”
What a pity… While data analysis is undeniably effective, information not recorded within data becomes a significant obstacle, and the Demons of [S-01 World] cannot be estimated by conventional metrics.”
Han Dong had already drafted a plan to maximize benefits internally.
Half an hour passed.
As Han Dong predicted.
The infiltration of the ‘Yittrium Ore Effect’ had already seeped in deeply, causing the peripheral zones of the program world to exude strange purple light.
During combat, the Matrix was riddled with bugs and began gradually succumbing to Death’s oppression, with the lethal aura even invading key core areas, causing related functionalities to start failing.
A throne composed purely of code and data now revealed considerable gaps.
…
[Origin Program Area – Manager Building]
Constructed from countless black pillar-like structures, the overall height soared over a thousand meters straight into the sky.
The elevator system was effortlessly decoded by Little Yellow. Following his instructions, the elevator carried the two individuals to the top-floor area… To Green’s disappointment, they encountered no program guards along the way.
In reality.
The Matrix’s two Mythic Body subordinates—[Agent Goodman] and [Causal Program – Melowenjay Cash]—had already been dispatched to the war.
Normally, safety here would be ensured by Goodman and the Matrix’s auxiliary consciousness.
However, now that the Matrix was fully occupied fighting Death, it had to retract all security protocols… exactly the scenario Han Dong hoped for.
“Ding!”
The elevator door opened at the top floor.
The view before them was entirely unexpected.
It was not a central data processing area packed with countless web cables and processor chips, nor a void space brimming with green program codes.
Rather, it was a circular hall spanning only about a hundred square meters.
A pillar of light descended at the center, within which hovered a liquid metal sphere, smooth and flawless without a single blemish.
This sphere was both the program world’s data core and Makoms City’s heart.
The fusion of the Matrix’s world domain with this sphere constituted the highly realistic program world capable of forcibly loading the consciousness of Outsiders.
Under normal circumstances, no single King Level being could possibly threaten the Matrix.
“Little Yellow, can you do it?”
“The Matrix has concentrated all core processors used to manage its world into itself… It should be feasible.
However, the moment I touch this thing, both my and your locations will be exposed.
The Matrix will likely stop at nothing to prevent us… It’s hard to estimate how much time is needed to infiltrate the core program and gain administrator authority.”
This time, Han Dong showed no hesitation.
Instead, he revealed a trusting smile and placed his hand on Little Yellow’s square-faced, golden-haired shoulder.
“From the fragmented files I’ve accessed at Hyperion Corporation, combined with your intimate knowledge of their systems, I can roughly hypothesize that you were once the Chief Engineer of Hyperion Corporation’s Intelligent Machinery Factory.
The chip embedded within you was likely hand-soldered by [Handsome Jack].
With us, you’re clearly a Mythic Body.
With your abilities, I’m sure you can acquire Administrator Authority. Go ahead! Leave the Matrix to us.”
“Thanks, boss!”
Little Yellow’s excitement rivaled that of anyone else.
What lay before him was the opportunity to interact with the [King]’s program core, containing the most advanced computing technologies… If successfully obtained, he would achieve self-upgrade and [Mechanical Ascension].
This might also bring about the technological fusion of two different worlds.
To Little Yellow, the sphere hovering in midair was more valuable than anything else.
In front of the pillar of light.
Clap!
Little Yellow clenched his fist and cracked open his own skull, removing his brain.
Embedded on the surface of the brain was a unique chip, branded with the Hyperion logo personally imprinted by Handsome Jack.
The moment the brain entered the light pillar, it floated independently in midair, gradually approaching the metal sphere.
Upon contact.
The metal sphere instantly transformed into liquid, fully enveloping the brain, infiltrating every cortical groove… engaging in deep integration.
Simultaneously.
In the midst of her thundercloud battle against Death, the Matrix sensed an anomaly, stunned that an external program had infiltrated the core program zone without her knowledge.
Inside the top-floor chamber of the Manager Building, Han Dong pressed himself close to Green.
“Green… Looks like she’s almost here.
Captain Alex has inflicted enough damage upon her. Various vulnerabilities are appearing at high frequencies. If we can seize the opportunity… we should be able to execute her!”
Green had once again merged with Miss Lyle, taking her strongest combat form.
Han Dong also prepared for Borrowing God, hoping that luck wouldn’t fail him this time—perhaps gifting him a quality Incarnation.
Then… something unexpected happened.
As the administrator, [Mother Matrix] expended her dwindling energy to summon a substance akin to World Lockchain from the skies, temporarily restraining Death.
Doing so consumed tremendous energy, nearly accelerating her demise.
The Matrix then applied ‘program infiltration’ techniques to manifest within the top-floor chamber.
Just as the fight seemed poised to begin.
A barrier of code suddenly materialized, temporarily restricting Han Dong and Green.
The Matrix’s gaze locked onto the brain undergoing integration within the metal sphere.
A synthesized female AI voice echoed through the room:
“I never expected such intelligent machinery to still exist in the Lost World… I was wrong from the very beginning; Black Tower’s true purpose wasn’t what I imagined…”
After muttering to herself, the Matrix’s metallic head did its best to morph into a human female face, turning towards the Han Dong and Green confined behind the barrier.
“I want to make a deal with you.”