Chapter 799

The top floor of the Commander Tower, a secret room.

This is the most central room of North‑Looking City, its walls lined with strange metal, the floor etched with shielding patterns, ensuring nothing inside leaks out.

On both sides of the long table sat the core figures of the Chen dynasty and the Ming side.

Chen Wen sat in the seat of honor.

On the left were Zhang Cheng, Yue Fei, Lin Chong, Zhao Lao Nian, and Gong Sun Sheng.

On the right were Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, and Liu Ji.

On the table there were no refreshments, only stacked documents and blueprints, and in the center a momentum‑energy crystal ball slowly rotating, projecting a light curtain and dynamic images of the surroundings.

The atmosphere was solemn.

"Let's begin." Chen Wen said, "Time is pressing; we need to know everything each of us knows, to piece together the full picture."

He looked toward Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng rose and began his report: "After the sovereign completed the ritual and gained the ability to scrutinize the rules, we re‑analyzed all the data. First, we confirmed: the light curtain is a 'rule‑binding net' that covers heaven and earth, woven from countless intricate patterns. Its fundamental purpose is to separate the rule environments of east and west."

He manipulated the crystal ball; the image shifted, showing a comparison of the energy spectra of east and west.

On the west, the violet‑black Yuneng Pollution spectrum resembled a boiling ocean, constantly eroding and twisting the pale gold background threads that represent the normal laws of heaven and earth.

On the east, the blue‑white momentum‑energy spectrum was relatively stable, coexisting harmoniously with the pale gold background threads; in some areas, the momentum ripples were actively repairing the faintly infiltrated Yuneng Pollution points.

"The fundamental laws of heaven and earth were originally the same." Zhang Cheng pointed to those pale gold threads, "but the west has been deeply polluted by Yuneng, its laws twisted; the east, shielded by the light curtain, remains relatively pure."

"What is the essence of Yuneng?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"It is a kind of energy with extreme corrosiveness that can twist existing laws." Gong Sun Sheng took up the thread, "It is not naturally bred in this heaven‑earth; it is more like… forcibly injected."

"Was it injected by the master of the Iron Crow Army?" Xu Da frowned.

"Perhaps, but more likely the master of the Iron Crow Army himself is the supreme controller, even the source, of this energy." Gong Sun Sheng said.

Yue Fei spoke in a low voice: "Over the past century, in our battles with Yuneng we have discovered two key traits. First, Yuneng can 'contaminate' life, twisting and remaking it, and the direction of that remaking is highly uniform, as if following a set template. Second, the more intense Yuneng activity is, the more thoroughly it reshapes the environment, yet it also produces unstable 'tidal' phenomena, like fluctuations in power supply."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Ji exchanged a glance.

Liu Ji said: "This matches the intelligence we have gathered. The core of the Qing shamanic system is to pray to the 'Origin Sea' for Yuneng. The Origin Sea is described as the infinite source controlled by the master of the Iron Crow Army, but actual invocation appears to have limits or cycles."

"The infinite source…" Chen Wen murmured, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table—a habit when he thinks under 'rule vision,' as if touching those invisible threads. "What if it isn't the source, but rather a… converter or distribution hub?"

Everyone looked at him.

"I tried 'observing' again last night." Chen Wen gazed into the void, as if seeing what ordinary people cannot, "At the rule level, Yuneng does not arise from nothing. When it appears, it is always accompanied by a 'dimming' or 'covering' of some underlying law in the surroundings—like smearing black ink over the original characters. The function of momentum‑energy is more like a 'cleansing,' attempting to restore the original script."

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your earlier remark about 'redundant reserves' gave me an idea. If we regard the inherent rule‑power of this heaven‑earth as 'basic resources,' then Yuneng might be some external program that forcibly requisitions and overlays those resources, converting them into the 'Yuneng' it can drive. The function of the light curtain is to block that requisition‑and‑overlay program from entering the east."

This description is more concrete than before, and also more horrifying.

"External program… requisition and overlay…" Zhang Cheng's face turned pale, "Your Majesty, are you saying Yuneng is plundering the very power of heaven and earth?"

"More precisely, it is tampering with the 'principle' that governs heaven and earth." Chen Wen said, "Turning it into another 'principle'—one that obeys the will of the Iron Crow Army's master."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said: "Then what is the master of the Iron Crow Army? Where does it come from? What is its purpose?"

The room fell into silence.

This is the most core, and also the most unsolvable, problem.

"I perhaps… have some vague clues." Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly, knowing he must now share those most outlandish ideas, "These clues come from the fragmentary 'strange knowledge' I had in my youth, and also from my observations of the Qing and the Iron Crow Army over the past century."

He gathered his thoughts.

"First, the actions of the Iron Crow Army's master show strong purpose and a sense of a script. It seems to be obsessively driving a particular historical trajectory—the decline of the Yuan, the rise of the Ming, the Ming‑Qing standoff, and ultimately the Ming's fall and the Qing's unification… all like a pre‑written grand play."

"Second, it is extremely sensitive to and rejects 'variables.' Anyone or anything that deviates from its preset script suffers the harshest blow. Our Great Ming is the greatest variable."

"Third, it possesses a higher‑dimensional perspective and control beyond our comprehension. The light curtain's binding net and the Yuneng system are not mundane means."

He paused, then voiced his most central conjecture.

"Therefore I surmise that the master of the Iron Crow Army may not be a 'life' or a 'god' as we understand them."

"It is more like an embodiment of 'rules,' or perhaps an agent of some supreme existence."

"Its purpose may be to reshape the world according to a preset 'blueprint,' making the world into the form it desires; anything that does not obey the blueprint is an 'error' to be eradicated."

"We are the 'errors' in its eyes." Chen Wen replied calmly.

"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "So it erected the light curtain to isolate us 'errors' on the east side; the west is its testing ground for implementing the blueprint. When the trial is complete, or when it deems isolation no longer safe…"

"It will purge us." Lin Chong clenched his fists.

"Then what, exactly, are we?" Xu Da's voice grew hoarse, "Why have we become 'errors'? Is it merely because we do not follow its script?"

This time, Chen Wen remained silent for a long while.

His gaze swept over everyone present.

The resolve in Yue Fei's eyes, Lin Chong's loyalty, Zhang Cheng's wisdom, Zhao Lao Nian's focus, Gong Sun Sheng's quest.

Zhu Yuanzhang's depth, Xu Da's valor, Liu Ji's scheming.

And himself as well.

He spoke slowly: "I don't know why we are 'errors,' but in my 'rule vision' I have seen something special."

Everyone's attention was intensely focused.

"I see that the core of each person's existence is a unique 'flame of life.'" Chen Wen described, "This flame is closely tied to the laws of heaven and earth, yet retains an independent will. That is the fundamental essence of what makes life alive."

"But around Lord Zhu's 'flame of life,'" he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, "I perceived an extremely fine trace, a slight 'separation' from the surrounding heaven‑earth laws. It is very faint, but it is indeed there."

Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils contracted slightly. He himself often felt a sense of detachment, as if separated from this world by a gauze‑thin veil.

"And in General Yue Fei, General Xu Da, Master Liu… in many of your flames' depths," Chen Wen's gaze swept over the Ming side, "I likewise saw something very obscure… a 'mark.' It shares the same origin as the separation on Lord Zhu, but manifests differently."

"What kind of mark?" Yue Fei asked in a low voice.

"Hard to describe." Chen Wen shook his head, "It is like an extremely tiny 'seed' buried deep in the core of the flame. It seems dormant, yet it is tightly intertwined with your will, your experiences, and your very being."

Liu Ji drew a deep breath: "Master Chen, are you saying that we… are born with a certain special 'imprint'?"

"Perhaps." Chen Wen said, "This imprint may be the reason we become 'variables,' become 'errors,' and also why the master of the Iron Crow Army insists on eliminating us."

He paused, then spoke his final puzzle guess.

I suspect that what the master of the Iron Crow Army wants, the "world blueprint," is a world completely under its control, with no "variables," everything running according to a fixed "script".

We who bear the "special mark" are innately capable of deviating from the "script" and creating "variables".

Therefore, we are not allowed to exist.

Perhaps the east side of the light curtain is the "isolation zone" and "observation field" it set up because it cannot yet completely eliminate us.

The secret room fell into silence.

This pieced-together truth is so dark it makes one breathless.

They are prisoners deemed "errors" by a higher existence.

Outside the isolation zone lies a test field being remade into a "blueprint world".

And the jailers are about to carry out a cleanup.

"So," Zhu Yuanzhang broke the silence, his voice still steady, "We have resisted for a hundred years, not merely for survival, not merely for the Huaxia Dao orthodoxy."

We fight for the will of "what makes humans human," for the right of "variables" to exist.

We are opposing a... "director" who wants to turn the world into a marionette theater.

That metaphor is precise and cruel.

"So," Xu Da stood up, eyes blazing, "Now this 'director' thinks the puppets are disobedient and will personally step in to clean up. What should we do?"

Chen Wen also stood up.

"Since we know who the enemy is and know the nature of the war,"

"Then we fight to the end."

"It wants to turn the world into a script without a soul."

"We will prove it to it——"

"Variables, never yield."

The glow of the momentum crystal ball illuminated every face.

Fear still lingered.

But more than that, it was a determination born of sudden enlightenment.

Knowing the worst truth, there was suddenly nothing left to fear.

All that remained was battle.

The meeting ended, and everyone left with a heavy yet resolute mood.

Chen Wen remained alone in the secret room.

He closed his eyes, reactivated his rule vision, and gazed in the direction Zhu Yuanzhang had gone.

That clump of life fire, tinged with pale gold and a subtle barrier, was fading away.

"Special mark……"

"Source of the variable……"

"Zhu Yue……"

He whispered that name.

The truth's puzzle still missing the last few pieces.

And he knew those pieces likely lay deep within Zhu Yuanzhang's own memory, which he himself had not yet fully known.

And also within his own deep-blue origin structure.

The light curtain trembled.

A storm is approaching.

But in the eye of the storm, the prisoners have begun sharpening their weapons.

What they want to tear apart is not only the enemy's Jun Ying.

But also the strings that control fate.