I will burn books and slay gods.

All the server fans accelerated simultaneously, and the roar turned into a shriek!

The lights in the server room began to flicker wildly. In the alternation of light and dark, Chen Ye saw something wriggling in the shadows of the server racks.

It's not a physical entity, it's a shadow.

The shadows seeped out from the gaps in the server racks, spreading across the ground like black oil, and then slowly rose up, forming human shapes.

Without facial features, without details, it points to a pure, dark shadow of humanity.

But on the chest of each shadow is a glowing symbol—the pattern of a traffic light.

"Signal Ghosts..." Chen Ye recognized it. It was a rare type of Nightmare mentioned in the files, born from people's collective dependence on and fear of "traffic rules." They themselves are not powerful, but they can distort local "rule perception."

For example, make people who see them believe that "red light means go, green light means stop".

A dozen or so signal ghosts surrounded them.

They move silently, but wherever they go, road markings, arrows, and even virtual traffic light projections briefly appear on the ground.

Lin Su had already lit the flame, but the flame clearly weakened in the cold air of the server room.

The "rules" here have been altered—fire requires oxygen to burn, but the ghosts have distorted the physical rules of this area, temporarily "diluting" the presence of oxygen.

Wang Xiaoming tried to interfere with the causal chain, but as soon as he established the connection, he felt a severe headache—the "rule distortion" of those ghosts took effect immediately, without any causal process, directly changing the result.

Chen Ye thought quickly.

Rules... cognition... to combat the distortion of rules, we need a more fundamental "law".

He recalled his "first time" dealing with the loop ramps. But this time was different; this time, the rules had been altered.

What is more fundamental than "traffic rules"?

Survival instinct.

Stopping at red lights and going at green lights are rules we learn, but "avoiding moving objects" and "protecting ourselves" are biological instincts.

Chen Ye closed his eyes and activated the most primitive anchor card in his cognitive blueprint: "heartbeat" (representing life, instinct, and survival).

He expanded this concept to cover the entire computer room.

"Listen up, everyone!" he shouted. "Forget the rules! Just look at one thing—are those shadows getting closer to you? If they are, get out of the way! Simple enough?"

Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming immediately understood.

Lin Su extinguished the oxygen-dependent flame, instead allowing it to form a thin film of light on her skin—a purely conceptual protection that didn't burn matter, only the "malice" that approached. Wang Xiaoming stopped establishing causality, picked up a metal tool from the ground, and prepared to physically strike.

The ghosts surrounded them.

Chen Ye also picked up a wrench.

When the first ghost pounced on him, he didn't think about any rules at all. He just instinctively rolled to the side and then used the wrench to smash the shadow's "head".

The wrench passed through the shadow, without any tactile sensation.

But the shadow trembled, and the traffic light symbol on its chest began to flash.

Physical attacks are ineffective, but the very concept of "being attacked" seems to interfere with the stability of its rules.

Chen Ye had an idea.

"They exist because they depend on 'rules'!" he shouted. "We do things that completely defy the rules! Lin Su, draw a meaningless graffiti with flames! Wang Xiaoming, spin around three times and then hop on one foot!"

It sounded stupid, but Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming did it.

Lin Su drew a crooked rabbit in the air with flames. Wang Xiaoming actually spun around three times, then stood on one leg.

The ghosts all stopped.

Their logic is incapable of handling this completely meaningless, irregular, and purposeless behavior. It's like a computer program encountering unparseable gibberish.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Ye rushed toward the control panel.

The command line on the screen was still flashing: "Test Phase 2, Begin".

He simply unplugged the power cord from the main control panel.

The screen went black.

But the next second, all the lights in the server room went out. Emergency lights came on, casting a red glow over everything.

In the flashing red light, Chen Ye saw more dark shadows seeping out from the gaps in what used to be cable ducts on the walls of the server room.

Not just a dozen or so. There are dozens, even hundreds.

Moreover, they began to merge, forming a huge aggregate that almost filled half of the server room.

The aggregate's chest no longer displays traffic lights, but rather a constantly changing and complex road network map.

"Conceptual overload..." Wang Xiaoming's voice tightened, "They need to merge into a 'collective of rules'... At that time, all the physical laws in this area will be rewritten..."

The fusion must be prevented.

Chen Ye looked at the main server rack.

All the shadows seep out from there.

What's in the server rack?

He rushed over and pried open the cabinet door with a wrench.

It's not a server.

It is a huge brain, submerged in a transparent liquid.

But it is not a biological brain.

This brain is made of a translucent material that resembles both silicone and crystal, with light flowing across its surface like electrical circuits.

It is connected to dozens of data cables, which pulsate like blood vessels.

At the center of the brain is a red crystal.

A drop of black liquid is sealed inside the crystal—a highly concentrated "conceptual pollution source".

"Artificial Nightmare Core..." Chen Ye murmured.

This is the cult's "experiment" at the signal center.

They are not controlling signals, but cultivating a "living concept engine" that can rewrite the rules of the city.

The brain seemed to sense his gaze. The light on the surface accelerated its flow, and the drop of black liquid began to boil.

More shadows emerged from the server rack.

Lin Su's flame shield was fluctuating violently, and Wang Xiaoming was already kneeling on the ground, enduring the perceptual confusion caused by the distortion of the rules.

Chen Ye knew that he had to destroy that core.

But how to destroy it? A physical attack? That might release the contaminants inside.

Concept purification? His ability is not strong enough.

Time is running out. The aggregate has taken shape and is beginning to emit a powerful field of distorted rules.

Chen Ye felt his left hand suddenly "lighten"—not that it was lighter, but that the direction of gravity had been partially altered, and his hand wanted to float upwards. He had to exert force to control it.

If this continues, they won't even be able to stand.

Just then, Instructor Ruler's urgent voice came through the communicator: "Chen Ye! 'Blinds' has detected a sharp increase in conceptual fluctuations at the signal center! You must evacuate immediately! Otherwise, you may be trapped in the turbulent flow of rules!"

"But the core—"

"It's too late! Now! I'm activating the beacon!"

Chen Ye looked at the brain core. It was pulsating rapidly, and the black, polluted liquid was almost bursting through the red crystal.

They cannot stay. Absolutely cannot stay.

He made a decision.

"Lin Su! Wang Xiaoming! You two go first!" he shouted. "I have an idea, let's try it!"

"Are you crazy?" Lin Su snapped. "Let's go together!"

"Go!" Chen Ye practically roared. "That's an order!"

Lin Su gritted her teeth, grabbed Wang Xiaoming who was almost losing his balance, and rushed towards the door of the computer room.

Chen Ye turned to face the core of the brain.

He had only one option, an extremely dangerous one: to use a cognitive blueprint to construct a "temporary rule" for himself.

The rule states that a source of pollution cannot exist in this location.

But he himself must “believe” in this law, believe it wholeheartedly, as he would believe that “the sun rises in the east.”

Then, using all their power, they "wrote" this law into the reality of this region.

If he succeeds, the source of pollution will be temporarily eliminated.

If he fails... his cognition will collapse, he may become a vegetable, or worse.

There was no time to hesitate.

Chen Ye closed his eyes and activated all the cognitive anchor cards.

Eight symbols lit up in my consciousness, connecting to form a network.

He mobilized all his memories, knowledge, emotions, and instincts to construct an absolute and unquestionable belief:

The pollution here must be removed.

This is not a request, not a hope. This is a "law".

He opened his eyes, looked at the core of his brain, and used all his strength to "declare" this law.

There was no sound, but the entire server room shook.

The core of the brain suddenly froze.

Cracks appeared in the red crystals, and the black contaminant began to evaporate.

It's not physical evaporation, it's a conceptual level: "being denied existence." It's like a piece of erroneous code being deleted from a program.

The cracks spread, and the crystal broke.

The light path in the brain dims and eventually goes out completely.

The aggregates of shadows emitted a silent shriek before dissipating like smoke.

The lights in the server room returned to normal. The rule distortion field disappeared.

Chen Ye collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

His monitor was alarming frantically, his soul fire was dimming, and the karmic fog almost completely enveloped the flames.

The cognitive blueprint in my mind developed multiple cracks, and three of the eight anchor symbols disappeared.

But he did it.

The instructor's voice came through the communicator, unusually urgent: "Chen Ye! Answer!"

"The core... is destroyed..." Chen Ye said with difficulty.

"Stay where you are! I'm coming for you!"

A few minutes later, the instructor appeared directly in the computer room via a spatial beacon.

She glanced at the destroyed brain core remains, then looked at the weakened Chen Ye, said nothing, and simply helped him up.

"Where are Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming?"

"Safe, outside." The instructor activated another beacon.

The two were enveloped in blue light.

In the last moment before leaving, Chen Ye saw the screen on the main control panel light up again.

It's not a command line, but a simple smiley face:

Below is a line of smaller text:

"Phase two of the test is complete. Data value: extremely high. We will reserve front-row seats for you during the official performance. —Short circuit"

Chen Ye closed his eyes.

She knew that this war had only just begun.