Light Fortress Chapter 2099 - 99: Billion Lion Awakenings (Part 2)

The most important thing is that she experienced the word "love," which only humans can feel.

Guarding Qingzhong, sheltering thousands of lost souls in the cemetery, becoming the Tomb Guardian.

This is love.

Living and dying with Gu Shen, willingly waiting for seven years, rushing to the Ice Sea after each reincarnation.

This is also love.

Because she personally experienced the ups and downs of the human world, she understood the taste of every emotion that belongs to humanity.

Although her life is shorter than the song of a cicada, she knows the temperature of the first drop of rain after the thunder of spring and what the first snow of winter feels like when it falls on her cheek.

She was no longer the one sitting in Zero Zero One, coldly watching this world come and go in seasons under the [Source Code].

All of this happened unknowingly.

If you think about it carefully.

Chu Ling felt that the beginning of it all originated from the first meeting in Zero Zero One.

"...Gu Shen."

So, after waking up this time, she instinctively called out the name she cared about most in her heart.

Hundreds of miles away.

This call spread with the breeze.

"I’m here, always here."

On the battlefield, Gu Shen heard this call, and Deep Sea heard it too.

The former smiled happily.

The latter had a gloomy expression, not knowing what it was thinking.

"Did you hear that? My beloved is calling me."

Gu Shen’s smile carried a tone full of pride: "Your Dead Sea Ancient Scroll is quite useful... Oh no, actually, this thing should belong to us. I should say, our Dead Sea Ancient Scroll is quite useful."

[Source Code] and [Main System] both came into being because of the Dead Sea Ancient Scroll.

From this perspective, Gu Shen was not wrong.

Deep Sea tried to keep its voice calm: "What are you... planning to do?"

It has countless spiritual incarnations. After golden spike flowers and Meng Xizhou sent the Love Master’s statue into the array box, it abandoned the idea of condensing an avatar there. The "revival" of Chu Ling in the array box was already unstoppable, and the real important thing to do next... is to win this war, which is even more severe than the Divine War.

Chu Ling borrowing the Dead Sea Ancient Scroll to revive did not actually make it feel fear.

At worst, it would be relying on strength, mobilizing computing power to attack each other and re-enact the data war of the past!

What truly made Deep Sea feel "fear" was the unquantifiable unknown.

After its eleventh evolution, it can mobilize astronomical levels of spiritual power to predict the development of an event, but only this computational power was ineffective on "Gu Shen." This guy is a more forbidden existence than the Divine Throne... It can simulate interactions with Gu Shen unlimited times, but if it tries to forcibly spy on Gu Shen’s future, it would suffer a "backlash."

All invested computing power would be wiped out.

In other words.

Gu Shen’s existence, to Deep Sea... is an unpredicted bottomless pit of actions!

After eleven evolutions, Deep Sea basically has nothing to fear anymore.

The only thing it fears is the unknown.

And Gu Shen, is this "unknown"!

"It’s actually quite simple."

Gu Shen said softly, "Do you remember the last Lion Awakening War?"

"..."

Of course, Deep Sea remembered!

Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit! It could have linked the entire Five Continents...

Last time, it was Gu Shen and Chu Ling who jumped out to prevent its actions!

The last Lion Awakening War toppled the dominoes of destiny, leading to a series of dire chain reactions. Even if Deep Sea smoothly stirred up the Five Continents War, it was still unable to complete the twelfth upgrade. It can only wait for the "Divine War" to end, using Qinglong and the allied forces attacking the high wall as nourishment to complete this crucial evolution.

"The last war hasn’t ended. Now, I want to start once more."

Gu Shen spoke calmly, "Guess, if the Linkers of the Central Continent were given a choice, will they choose the [Main System] or the [Source Code]?"

"...?"

Deep Sea was stunned for a second.

This second, for it, was already long enough.

The Dead Sea enveloped the entire Central Continent, and hundreds of millions of Transcendents were pulled into a Dream... Everything in the real world seemed to fall into a standstill, where every Transcendent under the fog lost "consciousness," their foreheads attached to slender and glistening filaments that spread and rose into the collapsed Source Tower Dead Sea Skytop.

The Transcendents linked by the Dead Sea were like puppets that lost their freedom.

They turned from humans into plants.

From Transcendents to inanimate objects, losing their own ’life.’

If Deep Sea completed the twelfth upgrade.

Then with just one thought... all these people would perish, turning to dust, and ninety percent of the Central Continent would become a ghost town.

Standing at the core area of the Dead Sea, Chu Ling extended her palm.

A tall Black Shadow formed before Chu Ling, and the Main System also extended its hand, trying to grasp Chu Ling’s arm, but the golden illusion illuminated by the Torch of Love whipped up a majestic gale, ripping apart the Main System’s will the moment it touched the golden wind... Unlike Gu Shen’s proactive attack, Chu Ling had no intention of "killing" the Main System.

The roles reversed, and now, what she did was simple - just to prevent the Main System from interfering with her.

In an instant, hundreds of Black Shadows lunged at the golden wind.

But they all ended in failure.

Enveloped by the Torch of Love’s spiritual power, Chu Ling also wielded the "Fire Extinguishing Sword" that kills gods and Buddhas at her side!

"I lost to you in the first data war."

Chu Ling looked at the Black Shadow before her and spoke softly, "Do you think I’ll win this time?"

That defeat cost Chu Ling dearly.

So did the Ancient Literature Society.

The Main System gained the trust of everyone in the world, eradicated the [Source Code], and became the only [Deep Sea], leaving a deep impression on humanity’s history.

This time.

The Main System did not answer Chu Ling’s question.

Realizing what Chu Ling intended but unable to stop it, despair flooded its gaze.

And this was the best answer.

"Boom!"

The tip of the Source Tower resounded with a thunderous rumble.

Countless fireflies descending on the human world at this moment all reversed, converging towards Chu Ling’s outstretched palm; Chu Ling, with the identity of [Source Code], forcibly seized half the authority of the Dead Sea, braving the spiritual interference of the [Main System], sent a message to every Transcendent connected to Central Continent.

The content of this message is simple.

This is a seemingly unremarkable spiritual code...

A spiritual code about "Lion Awakening."

Transcendents who have awakened cannot awaken a second time.

Those forcibly linked under the Awakening Bill five years ago naturally cannot use the "Lion Awakening" code to awaken a second time.

But the purpose of this code is not just to provide a pathway to "self-awakening."

Chu Ling, using the identity of [Source Code], sent this message...

It was actually giving these "linked ones" an option.

If given another chance.

Would you choose to entrust your fate to the [Main System] or awaken yourself?

"..."

After the message was sent.

For a full ten seconds, there was no response.

The Dead Sea barrier covering the entire Central Continent fell into silence.

But on the eleventh second, countless streams of light surged up from the earth, almost filling the entire Skytop. It turned out there were not no responses, but too many responses that they "clogged" together during the spiritual transmission!

Boom——

The cold sea region of the array box instantly turned boiling.

Even with the blessing of the [Indomitable] authority, Chu Ling’s Heart Sea was almost bursting with this massive spiritual will.

The glow illuminating the Skytop of the Source Tower became even more dazzling at this moment—

In this world, no one should have a regret drug.

But by chance or fate, now there was such a regret drug available.

Chu Ling’s message was a regret drug for those linked.

Billions made their choice.

If they really could have another chance...

They hoped to hold their destiny in their own hands.

They chose "Lion Awakening."

...

...

(Tomorrow noon, around 12.)