Chapter 119: The Essence of the Heavenly Code

“Learning Version? What the hell is this?”

Lu Yan stood frozen in place the moment he read the first option’s description.

He considered himself a veteran Unchanger who’d been through several worlds, but this was the first time he had encountered a version this… refreshingly bizarre.

Kindergarten, Elementary Schooler, Middle Schooler—such humble classifications. Yet hidden within that simplicity was a clear sense of hierarchical order.

“Don’t tell me this Learning Version features a protagonist named Xiao Shu who’s about to advance to middle school but suffers a massive drop in learning power due to an ancient grandpa’s interference, getting knocked back to third grade, and then even gets dumped by his pretend kindergarten girlfriend?

Then the grandpa awakens, hands him a legendary tome of Arcane Exam Problems, and sends him on a journey to collect such problems across the world to level up—eventually allowing him to defeat middle school elites as an elementary schooler?

And at the end, he masters all exam problems and breaks through to the rank of ‘Academician’?”

“Would it be titled something like Learn Through the Heavens?”

Lu Yan couldn’t help but mock aloud.

Despite the absurdity, he was genuinely intrigued by such a strangely unique version. It looked abstract and silly on the surface, but perhaps there was some hidden treasure buried within the ranks of this educational power system.

Even if not, at least it didn’t seem dangerous—definitely a huge improvement over the last string of deadly traps he’d endured.

With that in mind, Lu Yan kept the Learning Version as a backup and turned to examine the second choice: the Entertainment Version.

Compared to the Learning Version, the Entertainment Version was much more ordinary.

Following standard progression, if this version lacked supernatural powers, it would basically be an opportunity to plagiarize famous works from past worlds.

If Lu Yan were just a regular transmigrator without time limits on version stay, he might’ve entered this version to plagiarize books and songs, living the peaceful life of a superstar.

But within the constraints of version progression, the Entertainment Version simply offered too little in return. It might be a good vacation world later, but not now—not when power and survival were still key.

He moved on to the third option.

The moment Lu Yan laid eyes on the Urban Version, his heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, he made his decision.

To Lu Yan, the Urban Version was the safest, most stable choice.

He had just made major gains in the Cyber Version and now urgently needed a peaceful environment to digest his gains. Plus, the Urban Version would allow him to test several hypotheses regarding the Cyber world.

And perhaps—just perhaps—he might even find a way to break through the Foundation Establishment Realm here.

“Update—Urban Version!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, darkness swept across his vision. But when the sensation faded… nothing changed.

Lu Yan blinked.

“Did the version update… bug out?”

He was still standing in the same narrow, grimy alley—garbage piled in corners, murky puddles glistening under dim light, and an overpowering stench hanging in the air.

But after carefully surveying the surroundings, Lu Yan realized the update had indeed taken place. The alley was real, and the environment had changed subtly—but not enough to be noticed at first glance.

The most obvious clue? The unmistakable stench of residual smoke from smoking leaves filled the air.

“Low-purity trash. In the Cyber Version, no one would even take this stuff for free. Not compared to the high-grade Neural Bliss Mist in the atmosphere.”

Lu Yan instinctively curled his lips, then immediately caught himself.

His thinking was being assimilated by the Cyber Version’s values.

“That’s not a good sign.”

He quickly pushed away all the distorted worldviews of the Cyber Version and turned his attention to the items he had left in the alley.

Over half of the carefully arranged items had vanished—only a dozen books, a USB drive, and a single sheet of paper remained.

Lu Yan had learned from last time: placing items too far from his person could result in them disappearing during version transition.

But this time, the loss was far worse.

Frowning, he bent down to pick them up—only for something unexpected to occur.

From the branching alleyway, a man in a puffy down jacket dashed by—a Black man with a bulging backpack whose zipper hadn’t even been closed. Inside were loose odds and ends: cigarettes, candy, piles of loose change.

Upon entering the alley, he spotted Lu Yan and visibly flinched, startled that someone else was present in such an out-of-the-way spot.

Then his eyes darted toward the books on the ground.

Without thinking, he reached out, intending to snatch them on the spot.

Lu Yan’s mouth twitched.

Seriously?

The last time he entered the Cyber Version, he was also greeted by a Black guy performing a “zero-dollar purchase.” Now, in the Urban Version, the rules may have changed, but the theft vibe remained the same.

The only difference: that last guy had probably just been released from the Paradise Computing Center. There was no way he could’ve gone back to crime so quickly.

“Scram.”

Lu Yan’s voice was calm, but it exploded like thunder in the narrow alley.

No magic was used—just the pressure of his presence alone sent the man sprawling.

He collapsed face-first on the ground, the stolen cigarettes and cash from his backpack spilling everywhere. But the guy didn’t even hesitate—he grabbed the bag and bolted.

Glancing down the alley, Lu Yan didn’t see any pursuing officers.

Guess the stuff he stole wasn’t valuable enough to meet the threshold for a case.

Lu Yan sighed in disappointment.

“Cops here really can’t compare to the Cyber Version.

If this were Cyber, they’d slap him with a few hundred thousand in credit fines, then toss him straight into the Paradise Computing Center to meet their performance quota.”

Chuckling at the honest thuggery of this new world, Lu Yan bent down and picked up the remaining items.

His gaze swept past the books and the USB drive, focusing first on the single sheet of white paper.

There was no doubt—this paper likely held the Cyber Version’s Heavenly Code.

Looking closely, Lu Yan’s brows furrowed.

The sheet wasn’t filled with symbols or spells—but instead, line after line of machine code, composed entirely of 0s and 1s, densely packed until the page was nearly black.

“This… is the true essence of the Heavenly Code?”

The most fundamental form of computer programming—machine language. By inputting these numbers, one could reconstruct the original program.

Intrigued, Lu Yan opened his Cyber-era personal terminal and began entering the string of machine code.

Moments later, the program compiled. A message popped up on the virtual screen:

[Soul Computer Core Protocol]
Protocol One: Absolute Justice!
Protocol Two: Obey Order and Law!
Protocol Three: Do Not Harm Humans!

(End of Chapter)