The main Ouyang Zhao in the brain remained silent for a long time.
So long that Yu Zhezhong felt that Qin Xuezhong had quietly dealt with that invisible, intangible big villain.
A decisive voice from Little Qin came through the communication channel, "Directly initiate the upload, no delays."
"Received, we're going in."
Yu Zhezhong made a gesture and prepared to move forward.
At the same time, he asked Qin Xuezhong in his mind, "Is direct upload enough? Can you handle the virus outside?"
"It should be fine," Qin Xuezhong's voice sounded a bit strange.
"What's wrong?" Yu Zhezhong asked.
Little Qin hesitated for a moment and then softly said, "I think I've figured out what the main Ouyang Zhao released and… how it came about."
"What is it?"
"It's, as she said, a kind of underlying logical power. I just used some of it to help you deal with the situation here; you should have felt it."
"Indeed, it's really… incredible, and a bit hard to comprehend," Yu Zhezhong chuckled wryly.
"It's indeed hard to understand; I don't quite get it either. But the key point is where this power comes from." Qin Xuezhong's voice grew strange again.
Yu Zhezhong sensed that Little Qin was about to reveal something significant.
"I suspect that this kind of power can only be touched by those who have experienced death, and only if they're lucky."
—This was Little Qin's most reasonable inference and her strongest feeling.
When she felt this power, she also sensed the overwhelming force present at the moment of the original owner's death.
Yu Zhezhong didn't fully understand what Qin Xuezhong was trying to express, only responding, "Okay…"
Qin Xuezhong continued to explain, "I just used a bit of that power through you; I've already used almost one percent of it, and it cannot be replenished."
"But the main Ouyang Zhao can broadcast this power to the entire Federation, allowing everyone to be controlled by her…"
Yu Zhezhong halted in his tracks, murmuring, "Those… dead people."
"Yes, she may have found a method to efficiently extract this power from people's deaths. The problem now isn't how many people she has killed, but that I actually have only one share of this power, while she…"
"Has billions of shares."
Yu Zhezhong felt as if his heart was seized tightly, causing sharp pain.
This meant that in terms of strength comparison, it was at least one billion to one between the main Ouyang Zhao and Qin Xuezhong.
In real terms, that meant it was a situation where one person's spit could drown another.
"No," Yu Zhezhong said, "If she is really that strong, she could just create an accident to kill us directly. Why go through all this trouble? Why threaten us?"
"Exactly," Qin Xuezhong replied, "There must be something wrong with her ability, or some kind of limitation. I don't know exactly what, but we need to upload quickly to avoid any long-lasting troubles."
"Understood."
The mental exchange was quick, almost completed in the blink of an eye.
After saying this, Qin Xuezhong asked the also-silent negative Ouyang Zhao, "You heard that just now. Do you know what's going on?"
The negative Ouyang Zhao shook her head, "I don't know. I only know that 'destiny' was originally a reasoning model developed based on a chaotic system. I never expected it would end up being something like this…"
"Okay," Little Qin hesitated for a moment before asking, "If you are uploaded, will your consciousness… still exist?"
"I don't know. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But… that's not the main point now. Let's finish this quickly."
Everyone was aware that they were facing life and death ahead, and there was some reluctance, but no one said much.
"By the way, if possible, let Old Li's pancake shop continue to operate. Such delicious food can't just disappear," the negative Ouyang Zhao said.
Little Qin answered seriously, "Okay, I promise you."
Amidst the anxious and tense atmosphere, Yu Zhezhong and the others had already opened the panel of the core chamber, preparing to initiate the upload.
At that moment, the main Ouyang Zhao's voice reappeared.
"Very good. I didn't expect you to grasp the essence of destiny so quickly. Truly worthy of being a phantom."
"Then you should have also realized that your flickering light has no effect in front of me."
"Talking is useless; let me see how long you can hold out."
After saying this, the main Ouyang Zhao fell silent once more.
Outside, a sudden series of explosive sounds erupted.
The outer wall of the core chamber was completely blown open, revealing an overwhelming mechanical army outside.
It seemed the main Ouyang Zhao was prepared to use brute force to eliminate the Phantom Organization's group.
"Hold them off! How long does the upload need?"
"At least two hours!"
Everyone was left with only despair.
Holding them off for two minutes was feasible, but for two hours? That was just a fantasy.
Just then, the negative Ouyang Zhao suddenly pressed the hand of the person next to her, who was connecting her, saying, "Wait."
She and Yu Zhezhong exchanged glances.
Little Yu still hadn't processed it when he realized that the negative Ouyang Zhao wanted to communicate with Qin Xuezhong.
Before she could speak, Little Qin had already shouted, "Climate regulation satellites!"
The negative Ouyang Zhao nodded, "Exactly, that's what I was thinking."
—Their thoughts were simple: in this world, there was only one thing similar to "destiny," which was the thousands of climate regulation satellites surrounding the entire planet.
These satellites interacted with the regulating balloons floating in the upper atmosphere, constantly releasing energy to maintain the overall climate of the planet and prevent its collapse.
On exceptionally clear days, people could see these satellites resembling stars scattered across the sky, forming a peculiar starry sky.
Sometimes, they resembled a cage, enclosing the entire world.
However, in the mostly overcast Valleyside City, such scenes were rare.
These regulating satellites did not operate independently but were unifiedly controlled by a single chaotic system in the main brain, functioning as a massive regulator.
Essentially, this enormous climate regulator was not much different from "destiny."
Both were systems that controlled the whole through minute variables.
The key point that Qin Xuezhong and the negative Ouyang Zhao grasped was:
—"Destiny" is a continuous means of control, not a real virus.
As long as they severed the main Ouyang Zhao's connection to the outside, all the terrifying things outside should stop.
As they locked eyes, both found hope in each other's gaze.
At that moment, the main Ouyang Zhao laughed.
"Oh? That's quite a good plan, but how do you intend to shut down a thousand satellites with just a few of you?"
Though her tone was casual, laced with a hint of mockery, Yu Zhezhong could tell that the main Ouyang Zhao was beginning to feel a bit anxious.
Qin Xuezhong didn't say a word. She directly controlled Yu Zhezhong to walk to the interface where the negative Ouyang Zhao was supposed to be uploaded.
This interface was the highest specification laboratory interface, boasting the best transmission speed and stability.
Moreover, through this interface, Qin Xuezhong could connect to all facilities related to the main brain.
Once connected, Little Qin located the chaotic system within the vast database of the main brain.
As her consciousness barely touched it, the main Ouyang Zhao exclaimed, "Main brain, immediately revoke access! This person intends to destroy the satellites protecting us!"
The voice of the main brain remained calm.
"Based on the earlier situation, both you and Ms. Qin Xuezhong have indicated a willingness to resort to environmental or population extinction as a final measure. Thus, I cannot determine which side aligns more closely with the goals of 'world peace and ecological health.' Until you two reach an agreement, I will not execute any commands from either side."
The main Ouyang Zhao paused in silence, then without saying much, entered the main brain with her consciousness to try to organize Qin Xuezhong.
Yu Zhezhong and two other hackers from the Phantom Organization followed her inside to assist Qin Xuezhong if needed.
The main brain's data, though massive, was organized.
Qin Xuezhong felt as if she were in a vast warehouse, complex yet intuitively laid out.
All the information was neatly categorized, making it easy for even a newcomer to quickly find what they needed.
If someone had obsessive-compulsive disorder or was a neat freak, they could probably live here indefinitely because it looked so beautiful.
Little Qin quickly found the data on the chaotic system.
But upon seeing it for the first time, she was shocked.
The most prominent debug data indicated that these climate regulation satellites could completely adjust the entire ecosystem to an optimal state and enter a healthy natural cycle.
Wasn't it previously said that the climate was on the verge of collapse? That human society was facing extinction?
"It seems you've seen it."
The main Ouyang Zhao had arrived.
In the data space of the main brain, she wore a white lab coat and glasses, appearing scholarly.
Unlike the negative Ouyang Zhao, her expression was calm, and her voice elegant. Just a glance and a sound from her could endear her to others.
But Qin Xuezhong knew that in the data space, there was no such thing as goodwill; this person probably added an emotional influence module for herself to affect those who interacted with her here.
Little Qin felt a quiet alarm.
"Why?" she asked.
—Why maintain the external disasters, the internal illusions, and the countless miserable lies when you have the ability to make this world better?
"Because once they know the truth, people become lazy, their desires swell, and they start fighting for power, making society chaotic and disorganized…" The main Ouyang Zhao wore a pained expression. "It's better to make the environment a bit frightening and increase social pressure; that way, it can better stimulate human potential and keep them from overthinking."
"So, you've decided to deliberately do all those chaotic things? Spread viruses, kidnap the innocent, and exploit everyone?" Qin Xuezhong retorted.
"Hmph, a healthy society is certainly not one that is spotless; with a shiny exterior, there will always be dark corners. If the dark matters are under my control, there won't be social chaos. Precisely because they are oppressed to the extreme, people work 40 hours a week just to scrape together a bit of food. Historically, there has never been a period with such a high surge in productivity. All of this… is thanks to me."
At this point, the main Ouyang Zhao laughed heartily. "I know you can't accept this all at once; it's a flaw of humanity to be perpetually wary of the unknown. Don't worry; once I've dealt with you all, I'll extract your brain and let it continue to contribute to the future of humanity."
Little Qin fell silent. She felt as if she were conversing with a contrarian; continuing would be pointless.
Someone like this wouldn't stop arguing until the end.
She attempted to fully extend her consciousness into the void, aiming to connect with every satellite.
No human could achieve such a feat, which was why the main Ouyang Zhao didn't immediately stop her.
Even for the main brain to attempt this, the primary server would overheat severely.
Such heat on a person could burn them alive.
Yet, in an instant, Qin Xuezhong activated all the regulation satellites.
Under her conscious control, each satellite's energy module began to operate at overclocked power, emitting dazzling light.
The brightness was so intense that it pierced through the thick clouds, as if someone had lit up the night sky.
This time, the main Ouyang Zhao was truly taken aback. She exclaimed, "You… how did you do that?!"
Little Qin had a flash of insight and replied, "This might be the anger of the working class."