Chapter 1 The Beginning

The Initial, now starting its submersion...

Throughout the long years, A’fo had kept it in a state of drifting, but due to the Initial's massive size, it hadn't moved much despite being scoured by the icy sea for centuries.

Now, the behemoth was plunging into the abyss of the deep sea.

This created the scene Yin Zhuo Meritz witnessed after falling.

The Ice Sea Ruins disappeared...

In fact, only the tip of the iceberg of the Initial was exposed above the sea.

Now, it had completely submerged, surrounded by a tight array of defensive runes. Unless the survivors were "seeking death" and searched the sea, they would never see the so-called Ice Sea Ruins again.

Moreover, this submersion was not a simple fixed-point descent.

Gu Shen's mention of the five "leaders" had genuinely frightened A'fo.

Afraid that the only legacy left by its master would be destroyed, it activated the backup power source after submerging. The Initial would now slowly navigate along the bottom of the icy sea. Where it went in the future was unimportant. A'fo would avoid the recurrence of the Ice Sea Ruins incident. Even if transcendents delved into the sea, they wouldn't detect the Initial's presence.

"Alright, you can now safely touch the dream left by the 'Lord of Love.'"

With all matters settled, the small, cube-shaped robot flew back to Gu Shen.

No need for A'fo to remind him.

Gu Shen had already been preparing when the Initial submerged.

He readjusted his breathing.

The skeleton sitting in the center of the bronze hall's throne still radiated a powerful majesty, even after nearly a thousand years.

Even standing at the edge of the golden dream, he could feel waves of pressure.

"Let me say this beforehand, I can't guarantee success."

"I don't mind waiting a bit longer. If you can't do it, there's still Little Man..."

A'fo paused for a moment, then added considerately, "Safety first. Do what you can."

After speaking, it flew away, pulling Gu Xiaoman back a few steps.

The two, one person and one machine, gave Gu Shen ample space.

Gu Shen took a deep breath and stepped into the illusion.

...

...

Although the edge of the golden light seemed faint, Gu Shen was instantly swallowed the moment he stepped out.

"Does a fire that's been extinguished for so many years still have this much power?"

Gu Shen squinted.

He looked back.

The bronze hall, Gu Xiaoman, and A'fo had all vanished.

Just touching the outermost edge was enough to be pulled into the dream. The Lord of Love's power was truly terrifying.

Gu Shen's tranquil Heart Lake, cultivated for so long, immediately began to churn.

He sat cross-legged and circulated the Four Seasons Breathing to resist the interference of this golden illusion—

Spring, Winter, Autumn.

The three volumes of reverse cultivation breathing techniques unfolded one by one.

A Susu Tree emerged above Gu Shen's head. He originally wanted to summon Netherfire, but unfortunately, Netherfire didn't have the miraculous effect Gu Shen had anticipated in this situation.

Perhaps the power of the authority was too small.

The wisp of black flame was immediately extinguished as soon as it was summoned in the golden illusion.

"The King of the Underworld's authority is really useless..."

Gu Shen gritted his teeth. He quickly stabilized his emotions. He was only in contact with the outermost layer of the golden illusion.

Even if he had to face the remaining pressure from the God's throne, it was the weakest.

Had he been unable to withstand even a wisp of it after nearly a thousand years?

He didn't believe it!

"Rumble—"

Violent winds surged in the illusion, carrying the bronze's rusty stench. Gu Shen's mental power was highly concentrated, and the source quality within him began to deplete rapidly.

He knew he was fighting against the illusion.

Gu Shen stared intently at the end of the golden illusion. Touching the "dream" left by the Lord of Love was to get a glimpse of the truth of that year!

In the fierce winds, the withered bones on the throne seemed to come alive. The dry skeleton was filled with golden splendor.

Divine power flowed, filling the muscles and bones, making the flesh full.

It was just obscured by layers of golden gauze, and Gu Shen couldn't see it clearly...

"I'm going to see what secrets are in this illusion!"

Gu Shen gritted his teeth and strode towards the throne in the bronze hall. The pressure on his spiritual sea instantly increased. The Susu Tree dropped thousands of willow leaves to envelop him. He forcibly endured the remaining power of the golden illusion's fire and advanced.

He saw that within the golden gauze, a graceful figure was pierced by a long sword.

What muscles, what flesh.

Under the empowerment of the Sword of Extinguished Fire, all was but nothingness. The central line of the withered skull's crown, even in the illusion, could not be repaired. The central axis was still a pale, weathered bone. As a result, the flesh filled around it looked exceptionally eerie. Fortunately, it was covered by golden gauze, otherwise it would be an incredibly terrifying sight.

"Visitor... please stop."

A light, ethereal voice echoed in the illusion.

Gu Shen's eyes widened.

He didn't believe that the Lord of Love still had a residual consciousness after so many years.

That was impossible.

So, he was more inclined to believe that the voice in the illusion was a figment of his own Heart Lake, or a fixed phrase left behind by the Lord of Love at the time of her death.

Regardless, Gu Shen stopped immediately upon hearing the ethereal voice.

He wanted to get to the bottom of things, but he knew better that the pressure of this illusion was so great that his current strength was far from enough to act recklessly.

The word "stop" was spoken in a gentle tone. The other party should be kindly advising him.

If he insisted on moving forward, he would probably be blasted away directly.

"Senior..."

Gu Shen forced himself to speak. He wanted to know if this was the sound of his own Heart Lake or a message that had long existed in the illusion, so he probed at this moment.

The golden master in the illusion did not respond to Gu Shen, but asked herself.

"What year is it today?"

"It should be New Calendar 647," Gu Shen replied after thinking for a moment, not very skillfully.

After all, he had been trapped under the icy sea for nearly six years.

"...Should be?"

The Lord of Love's statement caught Gu Shen off guard.

The other party had asked a question based on his words in real time.

He stared blankly at the golden figure on the throne. Surrounded by countless fierce winds, everything seemed so unreal.

This was definitely not a murmur left behind in the illusion.

Then... it could only be the response given by his own Heart Lake.

The Lord of Love's fire had been extinguished. It couldn't possibly be the Lord of Love herself from a thousand years ago, right?

Gu Shen quickly calmed down and realized an even more important detail.

After he answered the time, the Lord of Love was curious about the words "should be" and did not ask him what "New Calendar" was.

"...I don't keep track of time."

Gu Shen didn't explain too much and simply glossed over it: "So I don't remember the exact date outside very clearly."

"Heh..."

The figure on the golden throne smiled softly.

Although the wind was fierce and the pressure was immense, her voice was quite gentle: "People like you... are rare."

Gu Shen rubbed his eyebrows.

The Lord of Love's every word contained a great deal of information.

Without allowing him to think too much.

"So..."

The Lord of Love asked, word by word: "Are you also here to draw the sword?"

As soon as the word "also" was spoken, Gu Shen stopped answering.

He stared intently at the skeleton.

The skeleton on the throne was wrapped in golden gauze, its posture dignified and elegant, but it was a pity that its crown was pierced, and even in the illusion, there was some bloody and terrifying meaning.

After a long time, Gu Shen shook his head and bowed: "Sorry, Senior... I'm disturbing you."

He retreated backward.

The Lord of Love did not make things difficult for him.

This golden illusion did not show the slightest resistance.

Gu Shen walked out of the range of the swaying golden gauze step by step, the pressure gradually lessened, the wind gradually died down, and finally he completely withdrew from this illusion and returned to the bronze hall.

"Gu Shen, how was it?!"

Gu Xiaoman approached nervously.

Gu Shen's gaze was still fixed on the skeleton on the throne. After leaving the illusion, the skeleton no longer moved, and the flesh also dissipated...

The feeling of reality and dream being reversed was very uncomfortable.

Even though his spirit was strong enough now, it would still take some time to digest this perfect, flawless sense of reversal.

Several minutes later, Gu Shen let out a long breath.

Now he could distinguish the real world from the illusory dream.

"It's okay... I'm not injured."

He first reassured the worried Gu Xiaoman, and then looked at A'fo on the other side.

The little robot blinked its eyes in the air: "Gu Shen, what did you see?"

"..."

Gu Shen did not answer A'fo.

He just stared straight into A'fo's eyes.

Although this guy didn't have eyes, after a long gaze, the little cube subconsciously moved its body. In humans, being afraid of eye contact was a sign of guilt.

"...Gu Shen?"

Gu Xiaoman felt that the atmosphere was somewhat frozen. She was a little uneasy and subconsciously tugged on Gu Shen's clothes.

Gu Shen reached out and patted the little guy's head.

He raised the old question he had asked once before: "A'fo... I want to ask you one more time. Over the years, is it just you on the Initial?"

"If you consider me a 'person'..."

A'fo's answer was exactly the same as before.

But this time, Gu Shen interrupted him.

"I'll ask another way."

Gu Shen said, "In recent years, apart from me and Gu Xiaoman, has anyone else stepped into the Initial and entered this bronze hall?"

"..."

A'fo was silent.

"You know, Ai is a near-perfect creation, but the more perfect things are, the more flaws exist in unnoticed places." Gu Shen seriously reminded: "You were born too early and haven't learned to lie yet, not knowing that... sometimes, silence itself is an answer."

"Let me answer for you. Someone has already been to this bronze hall."

Gu Shen turned to look at the golden illusion.

He said, word by word: "If you want to know what I saw in the 'Lord of Love's' dream, you must tell me, who is that person? When did he come? Did you also give him access to the 'Initial'?"

Once again, a long silence.

"Sorry, Mr. Gu Shen. I have no intention of being your enemy."

A'fo's voice was low, but very serious: "Due to the master's settings, I can't lie, so I can't hide some truths... but for the other part of this truth, I firmly choose to remain silent. Because I promised him to keep it secret, I can't break my promise."

"So much time has passed. Now that the Initial has chosen to submerge, and the next visitor is far away, it can be said that the possibility is close to zero."

Gu Shen asked coldly, "You choose to keep it secret, causing you to miss the opportunity to understand the content of the illusion again, and you're okay with that?"

A'fo's answer remained the same.

"...I'm okay with that."

"Alright."

Gu Shen suddenly put on a smiling face. He patted the little cube's head and said with a smile: "It seems you were rejected last time, that's pretty unlucky."

A'fo: "???"

It hovered blankly in the air, realizing that it had fallen into Gu Shen's verbal trap again.

Missing the opportunity to understand the content of the illusion again.

Again.

Which meant... it had never known what the illusion was.

"Don't be too nervous, I just want to see what your underlying programming logic is like." Gu Shen smiled, and then suddenly asked: "Speaking of the upper-level visitor, as long as you don't actively tell me, it doesn't count as leaking secrets, right?"

"..."

A'fo warily flew back a distance.

The human who came to the Initial this time was no less cunning than the previous one.

"Hey, Gu, don't try to trick me into talking!"

A'fo looked at Gu Shen, who was closing in step by step, his voice angry.

"Calm down, calm down..."

Gu Shen slowly moved forward, turned A'fo's head straight, and forced eye contact: "I'll just ask you one question, if you don't answer, I'll take it as a 'yes'..."

"!!"

The red light in A'fo's pupils flickered at a very high frequency, which meant he was very nervous.

Gu Shen smiled slightly: "The last person who came to the Initial, his name... is it Alan Turing?"

...

...

(Three updates completed, good night everyone.)