Chapter 802: Code Analysis

Third underground level of the command tower.

Analysis room.

The emerald data crystal hovered in the potential field.

Chen Wen's rule vision fully opened, analyzing the flowing violet-black seal patterns inside the crystal.

"Begin deep analysis."

He gave the order.

Zhang Cheng operated the instruments.

A blue-white probe pierced the crystal.

Hum—

The crystal projected light and shadow.

Countless unfamiliar symbols and patterns began to flow.

"Record!"

All instruments ran at full power.

Gongsun Sheng stared at the light and shadow: "The structure of these patterns……follows a pattern."

Liu Ji pointed at a repeating complex pattern: "Look here, this pattern appears seventeen times, each time triggering a specific change in the subsequent patterns."

"Like a kind of command." Gongsun Sheng said.

"A command that triggers a specific response."

Chen Wen's rule vision locked onto the pattern's core.

He saw three violet-black main patterns intertwining.

At the intersection point, a tiny node flickered.

"Enlarge the node area."

The image enlarged.

Inside the node, hundreds of fine, silk-like secondary patterns were arranged in precise geometry.

Zhang Cheng sucked in a cold breath: "Such a complex structure is definitely not naturally formed."

"This was designed."

"Design?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice came from the doorway.

He and Xu Da had just finished the interrogation.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked to the control console.

When his gaze fell on the description of those precise patterns, the "command," and the "node," his heart jumped.

Command set?

Node structure?

This description……is exactly like a computer's underlying architecture.

He suppressed the tumultuous waves in his heart, keeping his expression calm.

"What did the shaman convey?" Chen Wen asked, his eyes not leaving the light and shadow.

Zhu Yuanzhang gathered his thoughts and reported: "The Youneng Network has a hierarchical structure. Peripheral nodes, regional hubs, provincial cores, with the Central Capital's 'Main Brain' at the top, connected to the 'Origin Sea.' The shaman's prayer is actually submitting an invocation request to the Main Brain."

"What are the application conditions?" Liu Ji pressed.

Xu Da continued: "Two conditions. One is the 'permission identifier'; different ranks of shamans have different invocation limits. Two is that it must conform to the 'operating agreement'—the shaman can't explain what it is, only saying that if it doesn't conform, it will be rejected or even backlash."

"Permission identifier……operating agreement……"

Zhu Yuanzhang hearing these words, memories of modern knowledge surged wildly in his mind.

This is almost a copy of user permissions and system agreements.

Chen Wen repeated those two words, his eyes falling on that complex pattern.

In his rule vision, the arrangement of those secondary patterns became increasingly clear.

"This is a kind of 'verification structure.'"

He pointed to the inside of the node.

"The three main patterns represent three fundamental 'rule constraints.'"

"The one hundred twenty-seven secondary patterns represent one hundred twenty-seven 'condition judgments.'"

"Only when the externally input 'request pattern' simultaneously satisfies the three main constraints and passes at least ninety percent of the condition judgments will the node 'allow passage.'"

He looked at the crowd.

"This is the concrete manifestation of the 'operating agreement.' It is the……'law' underlying the operation of the Youneng Network."

The room fell into dead silence.

Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts raced at high speed.

Verification, condition judgment, allowance……this is a standard identity verification and access control process.

Could it be that the overlord of the Iron Crow Army has constructed……a world‑covering……operating system?

That thought made him shudder.

Gongsun Sheng's voice trembled: "In other words, the Youneng Network operates under a strict 'law'? Any invocation must conform to this 'law'?"

"Yes." Chen Wen nodded.

"The shaman's prayer generates a 'request pattern' that conforms to the 'law.' The 'Main Brain' or 'Origin Sea' then judges the response according to the law."

"Then what about the 'permission identifier'?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked, needing more information to verify his hypothesis.

Chen Wen shifted his gaze to another part of the chart.

A relatively simple pattern cluster flashes before all the charts appear.

This should be the identifier. A kind of 'identity authentication' pattern. Different ranks have different pattern complexities.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at that cluster of patterns.

This is the data symbol of user ID and permission level.

He suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a deliberately controlled calm: "Chen Wen, according to this, if one forcibly draws nether energy exceeding one's permission, will it trigger a 'rule backlash'?"

He looked at Xu Da: "During the interrogation, did the shaman mention this point?"

Xu Da nodded: "The shaman said, lightly, one loses the ability to draw; severely, one is inversely eroded by nether energy, becoming an unconscious contamination beast."

"Rule backlash..." Chen Wen's eyes narrowed.

"Mr. Gong Sun, Mr. Liu. Do you still remember the speculation about the light curtain? Overuse of nether energy will cause local overload of the light curtain, creating gaps."

Gong Sun Sheng and Liu Ji nodded simultaneously.

Zhu Yuanzhang's train of thought was exceptionally clear at this moment.

He combined his modern knowledge and proposed a more complete speculation: "Perhaps we can regard the nether energy network, the light curtain ban, and even the 'Origin Sea' as a vast... 'ritual of heaven and earth's operation'."

He deliberately chose a localized metaphor.

"This set of 'ritual' has a unified underlying 'rule'. When nether energy use is excessive, causing network overload, the power maintaining other parts—such as the light curtain—will be temporarily diverted, prioritizing nether energy supply. That is the cause of the gaps."

He paused, looking at Chen Wen: "But this also means that the load of this 'ritual' has an upper limit. Once it exceeds a certain 'threshold', the entire system may... malfunction, even partially collapse."

Liu Ji's eyes lit up: "Lord Zhu means, if we can force the Qing to draw nether energy beyond the threshold, the entire nether energy network could fall into chaos?"

"It could even affect the light curtain and the 'Origin Sea'." Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

Just like server overload causing the whole system to crash. He added mentally.

Chen Wen gave Zhu Yuanzhang a deep look.

He keenly sensed that Zhu Yuanzhang's current way of thinking and the concepts he proposed, like the earlier "redundant reserves" statement, exuded a transcendent, highly systematic precision.

But he did not pursue it further.

"This requires massive data support." Zhang Cheng said calmly.

"We need to analyze more crystals to understand the node structures at different levels, know how the 'main brain' connects to the 'Origin Sea', and even need a complete diagram of the 'rules' themselves."

"Then let's continue the analysis." Chen Wen said.

He looked at the crystal: "Zhang Cheng, Mr. Gong Sun, Mr. Liu, lead your teams to analyze with all effort. I want all fragments of the 'operating protocol', especially the constraints on the energy usage upper limit."

"Yes!"

"General Xu, continue the interrogation. Use every safe means to pry open the shaman's mouth."

"Understood."

Chen Wen finally looked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Lord Zhu, we need a plan. A plan that can force the Qing to massively, overload draw nether energy. This might require... an attack sufficient to threaten their core."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were sharp: "Exactly to my liking. Passive defense can never break the cage. To break through, we must strike where it hurts them, strike until they have to use all their strength."

The two locked gazes, their resolve clear.

The analysis continued.

The crystal's light and shadow shifted.

Gong Sun Sheng and Liu Ji quickly drafted the pattern chart.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood aside, seemingly observing, but his mind was racing.

If the nether energy network truly resembles a computer system, then the 'operating protocol' is its core code.

With code, there may be vulnerabilities. With protocol, there may be rules that can be exploited.

Find that 'request' capable of overloading the system or creating contradictions...

At midnight.

Zhang Cheng brought a major discovery.

"My lord, Lord Zhu! We have discovered a special 'protocol pattern'! It seems related to... energy usage under 'emergency conditions'!"

Chen Wen and Zhu Yuanzhang immediately came to the main console.

In the light and shadow, an extremely complex purplish-black pattern slowly rotated.

At the pattern's core is a constantly pulsing "black hole"-like structure.

"According to the analysis, once this pattern is activated, the nether energy network will enter 'overload mode'."

Zhang Cheng pointed at the "black hole".

"The usage limit of all nodes is temporarily increased threefold."

"But the cost is: network stability drops by seventy percent. Moreover, the binding force of the 'rules' will temporarily weaken."

"Binding force weakened?" Zhu Yuanzhang keenly seized the key point.

Isn't this just the system entering an emergency state, with part of the safety rules being bypassed?

"Yes." Zhang Cheng nodded.

"In overload mode, some originally strictly prohibited 'dangerous operations' may be temporarily allowed. For example, direct energy transfer across nodes, forcibly drawing deep reserves of the 'Origin Sea'. These operations would normally be blocked by the 'rules', but in overload mode, the rules' monitoring and interception capabilities decline."

Chen Wen's rule vision locked tightly onto that "black hole" structure.

He saw within the structure an extremely fine "fracture point".

That is a near-perfect "vulnerability" in the pattern's design, normally sealed tightly, only briefly exposed in overload state.

Zhu Yuanzhang, looking at that structure, had modern terms like "backdoor", "vulnerability exploitation", "buffer overflow" surface in his mind.

He could almost certainly say this is a flaw in the system's design.

"If," Chen Wen said slowly, "we can create a crisis to force the master of the Iron Crow Army to activate this 'emergency protocol', putting the network into overload mode. Then, during the window when the 'rules' binding force is reduced, through this 'vulnerability', we could inject into the 'Origin Sea' a... 'abnormal' energy flow."

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

"For example, a highly concentrated potential energy. A force representing 'repair' and 'order'."

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly understood Chen Wen's intention.

This is exploiting a system loophole to inject malicious code into the core database—no, it's 'correcting' the data.

With the power of 'Positive Order', we strike at the source of 'Chaos.' Zhu Yuanzhang said in a low voice, 'If the Origin Sea truly is the energy core of the entire system, even a hint of 'foreignness' is enough to trigger a chain reaction.'

It's like a drop of clear water falling into boiling oil." Liu Ji murmured.

It will explode." Gongsun Sheng continued.

The room fell silent.

The plan is bold and dangerous.

Continue the analysis." Chen Wen broke the silence.

We need more detailed data: the exact conditions for activating the 'Emergency Protocol', the duration of the 'Overload Mode', and the precise location and entry method of that 'loophole'.

He looked toward the west.

Then we'll go and give it a 'cure'.

In our way.

The lights in the analysis room stayed on all night.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood before the light and shadow, his gaze deep.

His suspicion that the world is an operating system grew clearer and clearer.

And perhaps the way to break through lies in finding that … fatal request capable of crashing the system.