1.6 The Colossal Shadow in the Void

"Understood," the artificial intelligence acknowledged.

As Wu Chen had predicted, the race against life and death on the Path of Destruction 404 was merely a prelude to initiating the plot. To enter the City of Shattered Fragments, one had to reach the end of the expressway before the destruction took hold, or allow the collapse to occur until it provoked a counterattack from the World Guardian. Either scenario would trigger the subsequent narrative.

As was well known, Grade A plot worlds possessed eight-star guardians, while Grade B plot worlds required seven-star protection. The exclusive main worlds Wu Chen once commanded—such as "New Hong Kong: Thousand Years of Chaos" and "Fire Dragon Empire"—all featured eight-star guardians and had given birth to two major pantheons: the Chimera Protoss, led by the Eight-Headed Dragon God, and the Electronic Protoss, headed by Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth.

It was a pity that ever since the Sanctuary shattered, the exclusive main worlds Wu Chen had painstakingly cultivated, along with their respective guardians, had vanished without a trace, much like his own memories. In all honesty, at this moment, Wu Chen felt indifferent to these losses, for he remembered nothing at all.

Smashing through another remnant of a player's vehicle to replenish the light shield's energy, Wu Chen saw the road ahead suddenly collapse in succession. He remained fully focused, following the vehicle in front to navigate the danger. Baili Yan, riding in her vintage flying car, also did her best to avoid the dead zones, serving as a guide for Wu Chen. The player couple, trailing behind in a four-winged aircraft, ignored the obstacles and crossed with ease.

It seemed that the vehicle upgrade at the maintenance station was a masterstroke and a prerequisite for traversing the Path of Destruction 404. It was a shame that the lack of a "Constructor’s" tutorial had left many veteran VIP players caught off guard, completely in the dark about where to begin.

Of course, gathering the ten Sanctuary Coins needed for the upgrade was also a key factor in driving the plot forward. As Wu Chen later learned, since arriving in this world, almost all VIP players had received a single Sanctuary Coin as an initial reward. Naturally, there were those unfortunate enough to be left with nothing, such as Baili Yan, the player couple, and those low-tier VIPs who opted to hitch a ride because they couldn't afford the coin. Regardless, only Wu Chen had been able to use his coin to upgrade his AE86 into a "Nuclear-Powered Intelligent Electric Vehicle."

Based on the tiers of player VIP status, Wu Chen’s Purple-Gold VIP rank sat above Platinum. This suggested that Baili Yan and the player couple held quite high status within the Sanctuary. It remained unknown whether VIPs below the Platinum tier could also embark on the Path of Redemption or if they would receive this sole opportunity for self-salvation following the shattering of the Sanctuary.

Serving as a navigator, the car’s onboard super-intelligence calculated at full capacity, planning the path ahead for Wu Chen. The AE86’s powerful nuclear-driven output helped him traverse the terrain as if it were level ground, leaving the destruction in his wake.

Annihilation followed, devouring everything. A moment of carelessness would mean the destruction of the car and the death of its occupants. The rearview mirror was a sight too harrowing to bear.

"Master, watch out!" The AI sounded the alarm just as the path ahead collapsed, sending the vintage flying car plummeting into the abyss.

Wu Chen slammed on the brakes. The four-winged aircraft behind them swept over his roof. The male player was prepared: "0326, I'll cushion the impact!"

"Understood." Wu Chen floored the accelerator, and the AE86 shot toward the abyss like a bolt of black lightning.

It landed heavily on the back of the four-winged aircraft.

The onboard AI synchronized with the aircraft’s main control program, stabilizing the car. At that moment, Baili Yan’s vintage flying car rose back up from the abyss.

Baili Yan accelerated, overtaking them to resume the lead. Wu Chen drove the AE86 off the center of the four-winged aircraft, with the player couple following behind. The four of them reorganized their formation, watching over each other. As long-established citizens of the Sanctuary, their individual competence was beyond doubt. Moreover, all signs had already indicated that Wu Chen’s past was destined to be extraordinary. What lay before them was merely a beginner-level trial. Once they entered the City of Shattered Fragments, the true VIP-level challenges would begin. Wu Chen had kept his ten precious Sanctuary Coins in reserve—a standard choice for a veteran player to observe how things played out. But that was contingent on safely passing the Path of Destruction 404. Otherwise, there would be no chance to use that fortune.

In short, the risk was high, but the rewards were higher.

In the City of Shattered Fragments, the purchasing power of ten Sanctuary Coins would surely be beyond imagination.

Wu Chen was filled with anticipation.

Without realizing it, the dust had settled. The surrounding material world had been completely annihilated. Looking around, the four of them and their three vehicles seemed to be floating in a void.

"0326, what should we do?" The male player’s voice could not hide his panic. Everything before them was completely beyond imagination.

Wu Chen had personally experienced similar situations. As his former nemesis, the Hammerfall Organization had been forced to delete the "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" plot world because the Nazi faith of the characters within it became uncontrollable, retaining only the core asset: the female elite guard.

"Don't panic. Wait a little longer." Although his memories and abilities were not what they once were, Wu Chen was not as lost as his fellow players. Being accustomed to the strange was simply a case of a great player's "experience solidifying into intuition."

"Master, abnormal energy fluctuations detected," the onboard AI reported.

A massive shadow suddenly appeared beyond the void.

Starlight converged, and all four felt their eyes grow bright. The single day of memories they had since arriving in this Land of Exile was being wantonly read by the massive shadow.

"Don't resist," Wu Chen gritted out, enduring a splitting headache.

"It hurts!" Baili Yan cried out in agony.

Images from their memories surged forth all at once. Every minute detail was magnified to the extreme. Their cerebral cortexes were severely overloaded, and their neurons were firing excessively. Their cranial temperatures rose, and their bodies burned. The player couple, unable to bear the agony, bled from their seven orifices before blacking out and losing consciousness. With their brains crashed, the massive shadow abandoned them and turned its full force toward Baili Yan and Wu Chen.

Before long, Baili Yan also overloaded and collapsed into unconsciousness. Only Wu Chen remained, gritting his teeth and persisting. His mental world was being swept, a nameless and strange sensation—like a computer being hacked, teetering on the edge of total collapse.

Wu Chen finally understood why his previous memories had been wiped.

It was because the Guardian of the Shattered World—this massive shadow in the void—would forcibly read the players' memories to reshape the Path of Destruction!

Time ticked by. The shadow in the void finally finished scouring their memories.

The shadow prepared to act. Wu Chen’s eyes flared with light, piercing the void.

Through Wu Chen’s eyes, the shadow in the void looked down at the world from the clouds. As far as the gaze reached, every blade of grass, every tree, every brick, and every tile appeared out of thin air, growing fearlessly. Looking back at the road they had traveled, the observation deck, the service area, and even the entire 404 Island Ring Expressway had been rebuilt exactly as they were.

For every taking, there must be a giving.

While the light in his eyes had not yet faded, the shadow in the void drove Wu Chen to turn and look at the path ahead. A suspension bridge connecting to the City of Shattered Fragments appeared like a mirage, and in the blink of an eye, it solidified, standing tall at the end of the island ring expressway.

It stood to reason that this cross-sea bridge leading to the City of Shattered Fragments was the Door of Rebirth they had been desperately seeking. It was the essential path to the next chapter of the plot—the beginning of a new chapter of self-redemption.

The world reconstruction was complete. The void, along with the shadow, was silently veiled by blue skies and white clouds.

Everything returned to as it was. Only Wu Chen remained, whispering to himself: "So that’s how it is."

It was unknown how much time had passed when Baili Yan finally returned to her senses. She felt weak all over, the lingering pain in her head not yet gone. Struggling to lift her eyelids, Wu Chen’s back gradually came into focus.

"Wu Chen?"

"We succeeded," Wu Chen said, turning around with a smile.

"What happened?" Baili Yan asked, her head still spinning.

"The World Guardian used our memories to rebuild the Path of Destruction," Wu Chen gave her the answer.

"Could it be that the shadow in the void is the guardian deity of this world?" the male player asked, now awake as well.

"Perhaps," Wu Chen couldn't be certain.

"So, destruction was not its intention," Baili Yan realized. "Perhaps certain player organizations want to destroy this world, and the World Guardian is doing everything it can to fight them, preventing the world from being destroyed time and time again."

"That’s very likely," the female player from the couple added, having also awakened.