Chapter 46: Logic Maze, Heart Source Barrier‑Breaking

Inside the Initial Land, time and space carry a meticulously calibrated falseness; the air is still, with no breeze or insects, only the overly uniform rustle of grass underfoot, reminding everyone that this is not genuine nature. In the distance, the entrance to the "Wailing Cave" resembles a massive black maw waiting to devour everything, exuding a heart‑pounding allure—the scorching sensation of Luo Ya's Heritage Mark emanates from beyond.

However, the road to the cave is not smooth. Between them and the cave lies a region that appears ordinary but hides lethal traps—the dilapidated town from memory. At this moment, the town, within Chen Mo's Rule Analysis perception, is a massive maze formed entirely of countless interwoven, rotating, self‑replicating logic chains. Every building, every street, even every paving stone is a logical proposition, a conditional judgment, a loop statement.

"It is a logic maze," Chen Mo's voice low, his eyes sharply scanning ahead, "the system built the defense with the most basic rule code. Forcibly breaking in will trigger infinite loops, paradox traps, or a direct existential Negation."

"Can we go around it?" Han Qing, arrow nocked, watches the surroundings warily.

Chen Mo shook his head: "The maze's scope envelops the entire area, and… it's moving." In his eyes, those logic chains are slowly and precisely recombining, sealing any possible shortcuts. "It is adapting to us, calculating our behavior patterns. We must breach the core logical node from within to open the path to the cave."

At that moment, the light‑shadow fence at the maze entrance, composed of countless IF‑THEN statements, rippled, and three silhouettes slowly coalesced into form.

They were neither snarling monsters nor cold machines. They were three figures indistinguishable from humans, yet their eyes were hollow, their bodies bathed in pure, icy data auras. Their appearances were unmistakably copies of Chen Mo, Su Yu, and Han Qing!

【Logical Mirror Unit Generated.】

【Traits: Replicates target's basic abilities and behavior patterns, immune to pandemic interference, absolutely logic‑driven. Objective: Eliminate logical anomalies.】

"Copy us?" Zhang Yang exclaimed in astonishment.

"Mirror Chen Mo" launched the first attack; he used no flashy technique, just a simple punch. Yet the power and angle of that punch matched Chen Mo's usual combat style perfectly, even more precise and efficient, bearing a coldness that discarded all redundancy!

Chen Mo's pupils narrowed as he met it with an equal punch! The fists collided, qi waves roiled, and both stepped back. Chen Mo felt his arm go numb; the opponent's strength and reaction speed were on par with his own body.

On the other side, "Mirror Su Yu" raised her hand, streams of data forming chains that wrapped around the real Su Yu, attempting to imprison her Observation ability, while "Mirror Han Qing" drew his bow; the arrow was not a solid projectile but a void arrow composed purely of "Causal Lock" logic, ignoring physical barriers and targeting Han Qing's consciousness core!

The battle erupted in an instant, yet fell into a strange stalemate. The mirrors fully replicated the originals' abilities, and because they lacked concerns of emotion or stamina, their attacks were like an endlessly relentless precision machine. The tactics and coordination Chen Mo and his companions knew gave them no advantage against the mirrors; instead, the mirrors' absolute rational predictions repeatedly restrained them.

"If this continues we'll be worn out to death!" Li Siwen tried to disrupt with an energy weapon, but the beam was easily deflected by the mirror's logical shield.

"Their core is the logical commands that drive them!" Su Yu, while dodging the chains, hurriedly transmitted information, "I can see the logical flow inside them, but I can't interfere directly; it's too tight!"

Chen Mo, while dueling his own mirror, pushed Rule Analysis to its limit. He saw that within each of the three mirror bodies was a core logical node pulsing like a heart, continuously supplying them with computational power and action commands. Destroy that node…

He attempted to condense Basic Compilation, but Mirror Chen Mo seemed to anticipate his intent, accelerating his attacks, and forcing Chen Mo to be unable to divert his mind to compile. The opponent's logical prediction nearly sealed every gap where he could unleash special abilities.

"No! Any tactical intent we have will be pre‑emptively seen by their logic‑based deductions!" Chen Mo gritted his teeth. It's a despairing suppression; every step you take is already within the opponent's calculation.

Prolonged defense leads to loss. Wang Hu, careless for a moment, was grazed by Mirror Han Qing's logical arrow across his shoulder—no wound, but his axe‑holding arm instantly stiffened as if bound by invisible rules, his movements slowed by several beats! Immediately, Mirror Chen Mo's side kick seized the opening, striking Wang Hu's chest hard, kicking him out, slamming him into a wall built of "Loop Statements," spraying a mouthful of blood.

"Tiger!" Zhang Yang's eyes widened in fury, his heavy machine gun raked wildly, yet the mirror dodged effortlessly.

In the predicament, Chen Mo's gaze swept over his comrades—blood spilling from their mouths, eyes still burning with unyielding flame—and then turned to the three cold, perfect, unmoving mirrors opposite. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Absolute logic… truly unbeatable?

It has copied our abilities, our combat patterns, even predicts our tactics. But it cannot copy… the will we unleash in battle that transcends logic! It cannot copy the irrational, instantaneous power we summon to protect each other! It cannot copy… the unpredictable "heart" of us as "humans"!

"Everyone!" Chen Mo roared through the mental link, his voice bearing a do‑or‑die resolve, "Abandon the combat methods you're used to! Abandon thought! Follow your instincts! Recall the feeling in Luo Ya's ruins—not to compile rules, but to let our 'will' become the rule!"

He was the first to demonstrate. Facing the mirror Chen Mo's incoming punch—calculated to precision, sealing every retreat—Chen Mo neither blocked nor dodged, nor gathered any energy. He simply closed his eyes, concentrating all his spirit, every belief, his protection of comrades, his yearning for the future, his anger at the system's injustice… all this chaotic, scorching human force coalesced into an utterly pure "Barrier‑breaking" will, riding the fist's edge and blasting out without any flourish!

That punch bore no technique at all, defying all his combat habits, completely beyond the scope of logical deduction!

In Mirror Chen Mo's hollow eyes, the data streams flickered violently and unstably for the first time! Its logical core could not process this wholly "irrational" attack pattern! Prediction failed!

"Bang!"

The fists clashed again, but this time the willpower in Chen Mo's fist—reckless, unreasonable—was like a red‑hot branding iron, smashing into the mirror's body made of pure logic!

Mirror Chen Mo's arm, starting from the fist, collapsed and dissipated like code infected by a virus! Its whole body twisted violently, emitting harsh, glitchy program noise, and finally with a "Boom" it turned into countless scattered data specks across the sky.

Almost simultaneously, Su Yu, facing the encircling data chains, ceased trying to parse or evade. She halted, her clear eyes reflecting myriad rules, yet she drew all her spiritual power inward, safeguarding the deepest part of her heart that represented the Pure Land of "self" and "Observation." A steadfast will—"All laws cannot invade; I stand firm"—radiated through her. The data chains, upon contacting her invisible force field, melted away like ice under sunlight! Mirror Su Yu's body likewise became ethereal and finally dissipated.

Han Qing watched the causal arrow aimed at his consciousness core, neither dodging nor resisting with willpower. He lowered his bow, closed his eyes, and the images that rose were his wife and daughter's final warm smiles, and the hatred and protective resolve that, when the monster's claws tore their bodies, could burn everything. He transformed that ultimate love and hate into a pure mental shock, thrusting it toward the logical arrow!

No sound. When the causal arrow met the spirit shock forged from complex humanity, the logical chain snapped instantly, turning to void. Mirror Han Qing likewise disintegrated.

The entrance to the logic maze temporarily returned to calm.

The group gasped for breath, looking at each other, their eyes filled with shock and enlightenment. They won, not through the crushing force of power and technique, but through a humanity‑driven will that transcended logic!

"Where the heart points, there is the rule…" Su Yu said softly, as if enlightened.

Chen Mo nodded, his gaze returning to the logic maze. "The mirrors are merely appetizers. The maze itself is the greater challenge."

He approached the light‑shadow fence at the maze entrance, placing his palm gently on it instead of forcing a break with Compilation. He closed his eyes, no longer parsing the tangled logic chains, but slowly poured his own will—fresh from defeating the logical mirrors, brimming with rebellion and humanity—into it.

Like a water droplet falling into hot oil, the entire logic maze roiled violently! The tight IF‑THEN statements began to glitch, the loop chains were broken, and the paradox zones became extremely unstable!

"Move!" Chen Mo barked low, stepping into the maze first.

Inside the maze, light and shadow shifted, paths twisted. Yet under Chen Mo's interference, saturated with "irrational" will, the maze's self‑repair and transformation abilities were greatly reduced. Su Yu's Observation pierced the chaotic façade, revealing the shortest route to the core node. The others followed closely, no longer relying on rational judgment but on combat intuition and mutual trust, sprinting through the collapsing logic maze.

Occasionally lingering logical traps triggered, but the group smashed them down with the same reckless willpower.

Finally, they reached the maze's center. There floated a continuously rotating, multi‑faceted crystal composed of countless TRUE/FALSE judgments—the logical core of the maze.

Chen Mo hesitated not, gathering everyone's strength, hurling a chaotic yet mighty torrent of collective will—condensed from all their thoughts—straight at that absolutely rational core!

"Crack—!"

The logical core crystal was riddled with fissures, then exploded with a thunderous burst!

The entire logic maze collapsed, all code walls and light‑shadow paths vanished, restoring the town to its original dilapidated state. A straight, unobstructed road stretched from their feet directly to the distant, deep entrance of the "Wailing Cave."

Deep within the cave, a more ancient, more primal power fluctuation, sharing the same origin as Luo Ya's Heritage Mark, whispered like the breath of a sleeping giant.

The first Source Code Fragment lay within arm's reach.

Yet Chen Mo knew that its guardian would no longer be a creation of logic. The system's final defense placed in the core area would inevitably be an even more terrifying entity.

He inhaled deeply, stepping first onto the final path toward the cave.