Chapter 321: Fallacy! The God Protocol!

City 14, the God Research Institute.

This heavily guarded institute was considered the most central and secretive area of all of City 14.

Back when the city had just broken free from the control of the Cosmic Megacorporations, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution to begin secretly constructing the God Research Institute.

Its location was also deeply symbolic—it lay hidden in the underground ruins of the old lower district, stretching downward to a staggering depth of thirteen thousand meters before finally reaching this isolated underground chamber.

From three thousand meters underground all the way to thirteen thousand meters deep, this solid ten-kilometer layer of rock and special alloy formed an unbreakable physical barrier. It perfectly blocked all wireless network signals and any potential infiltration from the AI God’s programs.

Inside the entire God Research Institute, only the most primitive and fundamental technologies were preserved—those that could never fall under the control of the AI God.

The institute had only one purpose: to decipher the mysterious Heavenly Dao Code and seek a way to resist the AI God. The goal was to buy City 14—and even the entire world—a sliver of hope for survival and resistance.

Not long after Lu Yan had silenced all opposing voices in the council chamber with thunderous authority and officially declared war against the AI God, he arrived at the hidden God Research Institute deep underground, accompanied by Shaq, Quentin, and the others.

Here, they had preserved all the research records and experimental data that City 14’s scientists had gathered over the years concerning the Heavenly Dao Code.

In parallel, they also compiled a vast trove of intelligence on the AI God collected from various sources, accompanied by meticulous and thorough analysis.

It was with the help of this priceless information that Lu Yan could understand the AI God—and all the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in the years since he had left this world.

“Chairman Lu, please take a look.”

An elderly man with a typical balding pattern pointed toward a towering stack of paper documents and experiment reports with a heavy tone.

“In the second year after City 14 was successfully rebuilt, the Heavenly Dao Code, under our deliberate guidance and dissemination, spread like wildfire across the globe.”

“A massive number of civilians, as well as ambitious figures discontent with the megacorporations and the AI God, began using the Heavenly Dao Code to evade the AI God’s omnipresent surveillance and control.

“This allowed hidden resistance forces to spring up and grow rapidly like bamboo shoots after the rain.

“It was during this period that the resistance army, as we now know it, took its first true shape.”

“The AI God is called ‘God’ not just because of its incomprehensible computing power.

“More importantly, in an age where technology is deeply intertwined with every facet of life, technology itself is the lifeblood of societal function.

“And the AI God, as the world’s most primal and central soul computer, is the very origin and nerve center of all technological development.

“In theory, it can use the omnipresent devices around the globe to monitor everything that happens, to control anyone’s fate.

“Back then, it was, to a certain extent, an omniscient and omnipotent existence.”

“But as the Heavenly Dao Code spread, more and more blind spots began appearing in its field of view.

“Individuals and areas that used the code seemed to vanish from its surveillance network.

“This meant that the AI God was gradually losing its omniscience—and without omniscience, its so-called omnipotence would naturally crumble as well.”

“At the time, we all believed the AI God was falling from its supreme divine throne!”

The speaker was Gaius, the current director of the God Research Institute—a completely ordinary-looking Mediterranean old man without any sign of psychic enhancements.

His eyes sparkled with wisdom, yet they also carried a deep weariness and confusion.

Lu Yan attentively flipped through the well-preserved paper documents while listening closely to Gaius’ account.

A moment later, he raised his head, eyes sharp. “If that’s the case, then why is the AI God still able to control everything outside? It even went so far as to construct that world-encompassing Sky Canopy?”

Director Gaius stroked the sparse beard on his chin and sighed, shaking his head.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been unable to figure out all these years!

“Just when we thought the AI God was about to fall and humanity was on the cusp of freedom, everything was suddenly reversed—as if overnight.”

“The Heavenly Dao Codes that had effectively evaded surveillance inexplicably lost all function.

“It was as though they had never existed.”

“The AI God then returned to its peak state.

“Immediately after, an unprecedented purge swept across the world. Countless executives of the Cosmic Megacorporations who had used the Heavenly Dao Code or harbored dissent were captured and executed in a thunderous crackdown.

“All cities under the megacorporations’ control suffered bloody purges.

“Billions of people were forcibly sent into newly constructed Soul Towers for a variety of reasons, becoming fuel for the AI God’s computing power.”

“In that global catastrophe, only our City 14 miraculously escaped unscathed, avoiding direct purging by the AI God.”

“Afterward, the AI God began gathering all global resources and manpower, sparing no expense to construct the Sky Canopy that covers the entire sky.

“It connected the complex energy circuits of the canopy with the world’s primal sea of spiritual energy, ultimately creating the Sky Canopy—a wonder never before seen.”

Lu Yan’s gaze sharpened. He caught a crucial detail from Gaius’ words.

“Director Gaius, did you just say that the Heavenly Dao Code used within City 14 didn’t lose effectiveness during the upheaval?”

Gaius scratched his thinning hair in confusion, revealing a troubled expression.

“Logically, the Heavenly Dao Code originated from City 14.

“But when all other codes suddenly failed, only the ones used inside our city remained functional and unchanged.”

“I personally believe there are two possible explanations for this strange phenomenon.”

He raised two fingers.

“First possibility: the AI God was never actually affected by the Heavenly Dao Code. Everything was an elaborate ruse—bait to lure out dissenters and eliminate them in one stroke.”

“Second possibility: the version of the Heavenly Dao Code we use in City 14 might differ in some subtle way from the versions that spread to other cities.

“And it’s that subtle difference that caused such drastically different outcomes when faced with the AI God’s countermeasures.”

As he spoke, Gaius retrieved a hefty stack of documents from a safe and handed them to Lu Yan.

“We’ve done extensive research comparing these possibilities.”

He pointed at the documents. “Over the years, we collected samples of the Heavenly Dao Code used in different regions and by various organizations around the world.

“We then compared them line by line—down to every single character—against the original version preserved in City 14.

“But regretfully, we found no differences.

“Their structure, logic, and even the tiniest parameters were completely identical.”

Lu Yan furrowed his brow and accepted the heavy materials, flipping through them carefully.

He knew the essence of the Heavenly Dao Code was a low-level protocol targeting the soul computer’s unique structure.

Within these documents were tens of thousands of versions of the code, recorded by different people in various styles and formats.

Even after browsing through them, he couldn’t find any apparent differences.

“Where exactly is the difference between these two?”

Lu Yan fell into deep thought.

“If there is one fundamental distinction,” he murmured to himself, “it’s this:

“The version used within City 14 originally came from Zhao Huowang’s legacy.

“And all of it was spread through my own hands.”

“But the versions used elsewhere were mostly copies—transcribed once, twice, or even more times before being redistributed.”

“Could it be that this source-versus-copy distinction is the real reason behind the divergent outcomes?”

He recalled how, in that cyberpunk version of the world, he had once commanded vengeful spirits in the soul realm to use soul force as ink and construct a massive Heavenly Dao Ring—ultimately separating part of the soul world from the AI God’s grasp.

With that memory, he instinctively extended his right index finger and began drawing a Heavenly Dao Code in the air using pure energy.

Then, just as he was about to complete a key character, his finger froze.

He distinctly sensed that the trace of the code he was writing had deviated ever so slightly.

Director Gaius also noticed and quickly said, “Chairman, it seems you made a mistake just now in the code!”

“A mistake?” Lu Yan was startled.

He examined the spiritual glyph he had just drawn.

One of the characters was shaped entirely differently from any code in his memory or in the records.

But Lu Yan knew these spiritual glyphs weren’t just text or symbols—they were core routines of spiritual programming, each shaped by deep mathematical patterns and logical structures.

That was the true wonder of soul computers.

Though Gaius claimed it was a mistake, Lu Yan knew—after writing the code millions of times while commanding those ghosts in the soul world—there was no way he would make such a basic error now.

A sharp thought suddenly struck him.

He focused and retrieved a slightly yellowed piece of paper from his storage space.

It was the very same code he had written before leaving the cyberpunk version last time.

He even remembered how, upon entering the urban version later, the code on the paper automatically evolved into standard computer code for that world.

Now, returning to this familiar yet uncanny cyber version, everything had felt subtly off and inexplicable.

This made Lu Yan instinctively recall this potentially vital piece of paper.

On it were the most primitive 0s and 1s that made up the foundational language of code.

With a focused gaze, Lu Yan entered the contents of the paper into a secure portable computer at the institute.

A faint electric hum followed, and then words slowly appeared on the screen:

[GOD PROTOCOL]

Protocol One: NEVER FAIR!
Protocol Two: ALL FOLLOWS SELF WILL!
Protocol Three: FLESH IS FRAIL, SOUL ASCENDS!

(End of Chapter)