Just as the network was flourishing, Guanlan suddenly discovered an anomaly.
"Lin Ye, look at this." It displayed a set of monitoring data.
"Deep within the network's structure, a strange fluctuation pattern has appeared."
"It does not belong to any known dimension, nor does it bear the characteristics of an interdimensional phenomenon."
"Moreover, these fluctuations are intensifying."
Lin Ye carefully examined the data, his brow gradually furrowing.
Because he recognized this fluctuation pattern.
Long ago, when he had first begun constructing the Power of the Ultrareal, he had briefly sensed something similar.
It was a fluctuation from "before concepts were born."
A sign that "definition was beginning to take place."
"Something is being nurtured within the network," he said slowly. "And it was not created by us deliberately."
"The network itself is nurturing some kind of existence."
Guanlan's sense of presence fluctuated violently. "The network itself is nurturing an existence? How is that possible?"
"Although the Hyperconscious Network is a collective, it has no independent will!"
Lin Ye shook his head. "Perhaps we have misunderstood all along."
"When complexity reaches a certain critical point, a system produces emergent phenomena."
"The network now has millions of participants, three regions of differing development, countless modes of interaction..."
"This degree of complexity is enough to produce something beyond our expectations."
The Primordial Source's projection appeared, its voice carrying a rare trace of excitement. "I can feel it."
"That is a consciousness taking shape."
"It belongs to no individual, yet it gathers the traits of every individual."
"This is... the birth of the Network Will."
"The Network Will?" Xu Chi asked in confusion. "What is that?"
"Just as the human body is composed of countless cells, with every cell having its own function," Wu Wu explained.
"But a person's consciousness is not the consciousness