Inside the Corridor of Light, a battle erupted instantly. The eerie blue parasites, like hungry hyenas, pounced on Allen, who exuded the aura of "Origin." Meanwhile, the ancient defensive robots dutifully fired pure energy beams to eliminate the parasites, while also diverting some of their firepower to warn the Straw Hat Pirates and prevent them from advancing further.
"Don't get tangled up in them! Find the right path!" Nami dodged the energy beams while trying to find patterns in the ever-changing phantom information and branching paths.
Luffy and Zoro deliberately faced the defensive robot, not to destroy it, but to try and hold it back. " Gum-Gum Giant Barrier!" Luffy used his body to block the robot's main cannon, while Zoro used exquisite slashes to deflect other attacks, creating space for his companions. Sanji, Jinbe, Ace, and the others were responsible for clearing out the annoying parasites, while Franky provided cover fire with artillery fire.
Robin and Allen became the key to breaking the deadlock. Robin quickly scanned the flowing data and runes on both sides, as well as the historical phantoms, trying to piece together the internal structure of the Chain Link Point and the path rules leading to the core. "These information flows are not completely random; they follow a certain logical order based on the stability of rules!"
Allen then fully unleashed his senses, no longer limiting himself to sight, but instead trying to feel the immense torrent of information within the corridor itself. He closed his eyes, and his Power of Definition, like a fine net, captured the rhythm of "order" and "stability" contained within the flow of information. Those fluctuations representing chaos, invasion (parasites), or even overreactions of the defense system, sounded like discordant noises to him.
"Follow the flow of 'order' that is strongest!" Allen suddenly pointed to a seemingly ordinary fork in the road, but one with the highest "order" in the information flow.
The team immediately turned and rushed into the side path. Sure enough, the phantoms here were more orderly, mostly scenes of Pioneers maintaining nodes, the number of parasites had also decreased sharply, and the defensive robots were significantly less aggressive, even occasionally ceasing fire, as if they were "observing" them.
As they ventured deeper, relying on Allen's perception of the flow of order and Robin's interpretation of historical information, they avoided traps and vicious cycles. Finally, they arrived at the end of the corridor—a spherical space radiating soft white light.
There is nothing here except a constantly pulsating "light core" composed of pure rule-based information suspended at the center. This is the control core of the Chain Link Point and the final convergence point of information recording.
As Allen approached the core of light, it seemed to awaken, and a vast yet peaceful flow of information surged into his consciousness. This time, it was no longer a fragmented replay of history, but rather a discussion about the function of the Chain Link Point itself, the conception of Cosmic Rule Network, and... a heavy warning.
[Multiple nodes in the rule network are offline... stability continues to decline...]
The ' Shadow of the Other Side ' activity has intensified... Multiple high-intensity infiltration attempts detected...
[Core instruction: Maintain stability and await successor.]
[Warning: Precursor fluctuations to the ' Tide of the End ' detected... Calculations show that the current network cannot withstand the load...]
[Repair... Must be repaired...]
The information from the light core carried a mechanical sense of urgency. It clearly pointed out that the Cosmic Rule Network was in a dangerous state, with frequent activities from extraterrestrial threats ( the Shadow of the Other Side ), and a catastrophe known as the " Tide of the End " seemed to be brewing, which the existing, damaged network could not withstand.
At the same time, the light core also transmitted the coordinates and current status (most of which were offline or abnormal) of several other " Chain Link Point " to Allen.
Having received the information, the light core's glow gradually subsided, restoring its calm pulse. It could not directly provide power, but it pointed the way—repairing the network of rules that permeated the universe was a crucial step in addressing future crises.
"Looks like we've added a lot more places to our list," Luffy grinned, seemingly unfazed by the heavy warning.
"Ah," Allen nodded, his gaze resolute, "Then let's fix them one by one!"
Having obtained the coordinates of the next node, the Straw Hat Pirates left the information corridor. Their journey, which began with adventure and protection, officially embarked on a long quest to repair the foundations of the universe and confront the ultimate threat.