"But if the network collapses, everyone will lose everything!" Guanlan's voice carried rare anger.
"You must be responsible for the safety of all participants!"
Lin Ye fell silent for a moment before making his decision.
"Activate the deep mode of the Power of the Ultrareal," he said. "I'm going to redefine the nature of the network."
"What?" Guanlan was shocked. "That will consume all your energy!"
"It may even damage the source of your consciousness!"
"I know," Lin Ye said calmly. "But this is the only way."
He began mobilizing the deepest level of the Power of the Ultrareal.
This was no longer a localized alteration of reality, but a reconstruction of the very nature of the entire network.
"The network is not composed of nodes," he declared from the deepest part of his consciousness.
"The network itself is a whole, a living being."
"Every node is not an independent part, but a cell of that life."
"So adding nodes does not increase the burden—it strengthens the life."
It was a definition so bold it bordered on madness.
Yet when the Power of the Ultrareal was activated, that definition began to become reality.
The entire Hyperconscious Network underwent a fundamental transformation.
Its original structure of node connections began to collapse, then reorganized in an entirely new way.
It was no longer "connections between points," but "flow within a whole."
Every consciousness was no longer an independent node, but a ripple in the ocean of collective consciousness.
Independent, yet merged as one.
The change left every participant stunned.
"I'm still myself... but I'm not only myself anymore..."
"I can feel the presence of others, but I'm not overwhelmed by them..."
"This feeling... is impossible to describe..."
The Absolute One's voice rang out, carrying rare reverence. "You created a collective consciousness..."
"Yet