Data Incineration (Part II)

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through the temples of Tang Yu! It felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing into his brain at once. He collapsed to his knees, nearly dropping his phone.

[Mental attack has breached the Emotion Shield!]

[Intensity: Lethal]

[Emotion Shield collapsed]

[Remaining Emotion Points: 1000]

Tang Yu gritted his teeth and held on, his fingers still moving across the screen. Progress: 71%... 73%...

"Stubborn little thing." Tsukishiro's voice turned dangerous. "Perhaps I should deal with Karuizawa Kei first? My subordinates have already located her surveillance point."

Tang Yu's heart jolted. Karuizawa was in danger! This distraction made Tsukishiro's attack even more violent. Blood flowed from Tang Yu's nostrils, and his vision began to blur.

[Warning! Vital signs dropping]

[Emotion Points depleted]

[System entering sleep mode]

Just on the edge of despair, Karuizawa's voice suddenly came through the earpiece: "Tang Yu! I'm okay, Ayanokoji is here! He took care of those people! Hang in there!"

This voice was like a lighthouse in the darkness. Tang Yu used his last bit of strength to plug his phone into his neural interface—this was the ultimate measure prepared by Ayanokoji, a direct brain-machine connection.

"System, concentrate all remaining energy for a breakthrough!"

[Neural link established]

[Consciousness uploading...]

[Warning! This operation carries extremely high risk]

The world dissolved before Tang Yu's eyes, and his consciousness was pulled into a digital space. There was no physical form here, only endless data streams and firewalls. And at the core, Tsukishiro's consciousness sat like a giant spider, entrenched in the center of the network.

"Finally, face to face." Tsukishiro's digital avatar was a distorted humanoid, though its head was structured like a quantum processor. "Welcome to my domain."

Tang Yu had no physical body, but he could feel his "existence" being entangled by Tsukishiro's data tentacles. This was a direct confrontation of consciousness, far more perilous than a physical battle.

"You cannot defeat me." Tsukishiro's data torrent slammed into Tang Yu's consciousness. "I am perfect evolution; you are fragile flesh and blood."

Tang Yu's consciousness began to disintegrate, and memory fragments drifted away like snowflakes—the loneliness of his childhood, the nervousness on his first day of transferring schools, the kiss from Karuizawa under the cherry blossom tree...

Just as his consciousness was about to dissipate, a warm force suddenly surged in. It was gentle yet firm, like a hand in the dark pulling him back.

"Tang Yu, I'm here."

Karuizawa's voice! How was that possible?

Tang Yu's consciousness re-condensed, and he saw a golden data chain extending from the void, connecting to him. The other end of the chain... was Karuizawa! Somehow, she had accessed this digital war through the neural link.

"This is impossible!" Tsukishiro's data body fluctuated violently. "Human emotional connections shouldn't have this kind of power!"

Tang Yu suddenly understood. Although Tsukishiro's system was powerful, it was built on cold logic. The emotional connection between him and Karuizawa had generated a form of quantum resonance, a variable Tsukishiro could not parse.

"Now, Tsukishiro." Tang Yu's consciousness merged with Karuizawa's power, forming a golden sword. "Taste the power of humanity!"

The golden sword pierced into Tsukishiro's core database. A quantum processor overload alarm rang throughout the digital space.

"No! This is impossible! My defenses—"

Data exploded. Tsukishiro's core began to collapse, and countless memory fragments gushed out—hundreds of incubation pods in a laboratory, discarded failures, secret meetings of the White Room high-level officials... and finally, an encrypted file marked "Project Elysium".

In the real world, the bio-mechanical structure inside the central container began to smoke, and the liquid boiled. Alarms blared throughout the facility.

[Incursion complete]

[Target quantum processor damage rate: 89%]

[Warning: Reverse tracking program detected]

[Implanted into host neural system]

Tang Yu abruptly disconnected and collapsed to the floor. The phone had melted, but his mission was complete. Tsukishiro's core had been destroyed; at the very least, this Hive node was now scrap.

The security door was suddenly blown open, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rushed in, followed by Karuizawa. She had a scrape on her face, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.

"Not much time." Ayanokoji said briefly. "White Room reinforcements will be here soon."

He walked toward the smoking central container and inserted a device: downloading the remaining data. There might be critical intelligence.

Karuizawa knelt beside Tang Yu, tears welling in her eyes: "Are you okay? Your nose is bleeding..."

"I'm fine." Tang Yu smiled weakly. "Tsukishiro... is he dead?"

"This node has been destroyed." Ayanokoji replied. "But the White Room has backups elsewhere. However, rebuilding will take time."

The download finished, and Ayanokoji put away the device: "We have to go. Underground passage, follow me."

The three of them quickly left the server room. The corridor was already empty, clearly, the staff had evacuated. Ayanokoji led them through a series of hidden passages, eventually reaching an underground parking lot.

"This car will take you to a safe location." Ayanokoji pointed to an inconspicuous gray sedan. "It's safer to split up."

"You aren't coming with us?" Karuizawa asked.

Ayanokoji shook his head: "I have other tasks. The White Room won't give up, and I must obtain more intelligence." He looked at Tang Yu. "You have been implanted with a tracking program. I will try to interfere with the signal, but you will be located sooner or later."

Tang Yu nodded: "I understand the risks."

"Do not use any electronic devices for the next 72 hours." Ayanokoji handed him a slip of paper. "This is the address of the next safe house. Navigate there manually."

Before they parted ways, Ayanokoji hesitated for a moment: "That encrypted data... Project Elysium. I suspect it is some kind of large-scale control program targeting teenagers nationwide. Tsukishiro might just be the vanguard."

This possibility sent a chill down Tang Yu's spine. The ambition of the White Room was far greater than he had imagined.

As the car drove away from Tokyo Bay, the horizon was already beginning to glow with the morning light. Karuizawa leaned against Tang Yu's shoulder, fast asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tang Yu gazed at the city scenery flashing past the window, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

They had destroyed one of Tsukishiro's nodes, but the war had only just begun. What was Project Elysium? How many more Hives did the White Room have? Most importantly—when would the tracking program inside him draw new pursuers?

The system interface flickered faintly:

[Mission Complete: Destroy Tsukishiro Node]

[Intel Acquired: Project Elysium]

[New Mission: Evade White Room Pursuit]

[Warning: Tracking Program Active]

[Estimated Time Until Discovery: 48-72 Hours]

Tang Yu gently held Karuizawa's hand. No matter what lay ahead, at least they were still together for now. And sometimes, when confronting cold technology, the warmth of humanity was the most powerful weapon of all.

The car merged into the morning traffic of Tokyo, heading toward the unknown safe house. The next battlefield was already waiting for them.