I will burn books and slay gods.

Chen Ye closed his eyes, trying to recall the fragmented blueprint of his cognition.

The four still-glowing anchor symbols responded faintly to him, but the entire structure was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Then he felt it—a warm power coming from the other side.

It's not physical heat, but the concept of "temperature".

Lin Su's cognitive field was like a gentle flame, slowly approaching the boundary of his consciousness.

Her field structure was simple: at the center was a burning white light core, surrounded by three layers of circulation—the inner ring was a fiery fighting spirit, the middle ring was a calm sense of responsibility to protect, and the outer ring… something soft that Chen Ye had never felt before.

That was the core of her emotions.

It's not the flame, but what the flame protects.

Chen Ye gently touched that field with his consciousness.

Instantly, images flooded in.

It's not a continuous memory, but fragments.

When Lin Su was seven years old, she saw the flame burning on her mother's fingertips for the first time, her eyes filled with both fear and pride.

When she was twelve, she burned her palm during training. Her mother applied medicine to it with her cold hands and said, "The flame needs to be controlled, otherwise it will burn the things you cherish."

At sixteen, before her mother went on her final mission, she put the Flame Pendant around her neck and said, "See the future of the Night's Watch for me."

Then came the day the news of her mother's sacrifice arrived. She locked herself in her room, and the flames went out of control and burned down half the house, but she didn't shed a single tear because "tears will be evaporated by the flames."

He also saw fragments about himself—what Lin Su was like in Chen Ye's eyes: initially a "dangerous companion," then a "reliable comrade-in-arms," ​​and later... "someone he wanted to protect."

Lin Su also saw fragments of Chen Ye: the loneliness of growing up in an orphanage, the thirst for knowledge, the fear when she was sent to Morning Star, the sense of accomplishment when she rescued a citizen for the first time, and... the feeling of her heart clenching when she saw her injured.

Their consciousnesses intertwined in the quiet room, like the roots of two trees meeting underground and supporting each other.

Chen Ye began to use Lin Su's flame frame as a reference.

His cognitive blueprint was originally a static three-dimensional model, but now he has added a new dimension—dynamic circulation.

Knowledge is no longer a fixed node, but a concept that flows like a river.

Rationality is no longer a rigid framework, but a flexible structure that can be adjusted as needed.

Most importantly, around the core of his blueprint, the light core that represents himself, a thin, warm "protective layer" was added—a lesson learned from Lin Su's field: the strongest power is sometimes used to protect the most vulnerable.

The reconstruction process was swift, but every second was fraught with risk.

For a moment, Chen Ye almost lost himself in Lin Su's intense emotions—her anger, her sadness, her suppressed tenderness, crashing against his rational dam like a tsunami.

But he remained steadfast, using his most resolute self-declaration as his anchor.

Lin Su also went through a test.

Chen Ye's vast knowledge system and complex logical structure unfolded like a maze, almost trapping her in an endless cycle of analysis.

But she used her fiery intuition to forge a straight path—ignoring the details and focusing only on the essence.

ten minutes.

twenty minutes.

In the observation room, the instruments showed that the two people's conceptual fluctuations were synchronizing.

Chen Ye's cognitive blueprint reconstruction progress jumped from 17% to 43%, and then to 68%.

"It's a success," Wang Xiaoming said softly.

Old Li frowned deeply: "It's not over yet. The hardest part is yet to come—separation."

Thirty minutes later, the reconstruction was completed.

Chen Ye's new cognitive blueprint is more complex and more solid than before.

All eight anchor points have been restored, and there are now richer connections between them.

More importantly, the blueprint now has a "breathing" quality—it subtly adjusts its structure according to his mood and state of mind.

Lin Su's flame field also changed.

The original purely emotional drive has been infused with a touch of rationality—not as a constraint, but to make the flame burn more precisely and for longer.

The question now is: how to separate them safely.

Their consciousnesses are so deeply intertwined that forcibly separating them could tear apart the newly reconstructed structure.

"Follow my instructions."

Old Li's voice came through, "Chen Ye, imagine your blueprint is 'cooling down,' slowly solidifying from a fluid state. Lin Su, your flame field is slowly 'shrinking,' returning to its core. The two of you should do this simultaneously, slowly and steadily."

Chen Ye did as instructed.

He gradually slowed down the conceptual river in his mind, and the connection between nodes changed from an active flow of light to a stable optical cable.

At the same time, he could feel Lin Su's flames moving away little by little, and the temperature decreasing.

Everything went smoothly.

But just when the separation was 80% complete, an accident occurred.

From the deepest part of Chen Ye's consciousness, a forgotten fragment suddenly surfaced.

It was a memory—no, not his memory. It was some kind of…external cognitive remnant.

The image is blurry: a huge laboratory with countless culture tanks, in which brain-like objects float.

People in white coats were moving around, recording data. Then a voice spoke, calm as if discussing the weather:

"Cognitive compatibility test subject, No. 07. Implanted with the concept package of 'philosopher cluster'. Expected growth direction: rational definer."

Scene changes: Still in the lab, but the tank is empty. Alarms are blaring, people are running. That voice sounds again, this time with a hint of…excitement?

"Subject 07 escaped. Conceptual contamination leaked. Record: First unplanned 'cognitive awakening' event."

The final scene: the gate of Morning Star Hospital.

Young Chen Ye was led inside. When he looked back, the person who had brought him there was wearing a mask, but their eyes... were pure black.

Memory fragments suddenly erupted, shattering like glass, with sharp shards piercing Chen Ye's core consciousness.

He groaned, his body trembling violently.

"Chen Ye!" Lin Su sensed something was wrong, and her flame field instinctively expanded in an attempt to protect him.

But this was the worst possible reaction—her consciousness reconnected deeply with Chen Ye because of this action, and the burst of memory fragments also rushed into her consciousness along the connection!

The two saw at the same time:

A file.

The cover reads: "Guixu Cult - Cognitive Evolution Project: Artificial Awakener Cultivation Program".

Turning the page, the first page is a list.

The list contains seven names, each followed by their age, compatibility type, breeding base, and... current status.

The status bar after the first six names is marked with: "[Out of Control, Reclaimed]" or "[Failed, Destroyed]".

Only the seventh one has the status bar displaying: "Escaped, in pursuit".

And that name is—Chen Ye.

That's the end of the fragmentation.

But the amount of information was enough to shake the two of them to their core.

Is Chen Ye... an "artificial awakener" cultivated by the cult?

All his abilities, his cognitive compatibility, and perhaps even some of his memories... were designed?

The separation process went out of control instantly.

Their consciousnesses were as if they were being violently torn apart by an invisible hand, and their cognitive structures were violently shaken.

The medical equipment alarms blared, and the readings of Chen Ye's soul fire and karmic obstacles on the screen jumped wildly.

"Force separation!" Old Li roared, "Quickly!"

The instructors have initiated emergency procedures.

In the quiet room, a powerful spatial stabilizing force field unfolded, forcibly separating the two people's conceptual fields.

Chen Ye and Lin Su fell backward at the same time, their consciousness fading into darkness.

In the observation room, everyone was staring at the screen.

After several tens of seconds, Chen Ye's vital signs stabilized.

His soul fire readings recovered, even brighter than before, and the karmic fog was compressed to a very low level—the cognitive blueprint was successfully rebuilt.

Lin Su's situation was similar; her flame field was stable, but she was somewhat fatigued.

But the question is... what did they know?

Looking at the two unconscious figures, Old Li turned to the ruler instructor with a grim expression: "That file... how much do you know about it?"

The instructor remained silent for a long time before whispering, "I only know that headquarters is investigating the cult's human experimentation. I didn't know Chen Ye was..."

"Now he knows," Wang Xiaoming said, his voice dry. "And Lin Su knows too."

The three looked at the two unconscious people in the quiet room.

The thunder outside the window grew closer.

A storm is coming, and the cracks inside may be more dangerous than the enemies outside.