The "Meta" Realm: The Birth of "Primordial Origin"
The launch of the "Deep Dive Era" was like stepping on a precise brake for the "Meta" Realm, which had been advancing at full speed. Fleets on external exploration missions pulled back to defend, large-scale construction projects slowed down, and all resources and wisdom were channeled into invisible yet fundamental fields that held the key to the civilization's survival.
The Basic Rules Research Institute replaced material laboratories and energy institutes as the new core. Researchers were no longer content with applying known rules; instead, they sought to disassemble the "Meta" Realm's underlying code and understand the roots of the laws Lin Mo had established when founding this world. Every in-depth observation of micro-particles and every redefinition of energy's essence could trigger small-scale theoretical upheavals.
The Cutting-Edge Weapons R&D Department focused on transforming theory into power. Based on the analysis of Purifier wreckage and a deeper understanding of the "Order" threads, the design of a prototype weapon named the "Rule Shattering Cannon" began. Its target was no longer to destroy matter, but to directly destabilize the rules in the target area. Another device that used chaotic energy to create localized "information black holes" also entered the concept verification phase.
The "Mirror Lake" system underwent its largest-scale upgrade yet. New nodes, inspired by ancient wreckage technology and Star Spirit Survivor techniques, boasted stronger camouflage and higher detection accuracy. With Lin Mo personally adjusting its core algorithm, the system no longer merely received and analyzed data passively—it began to develop initial capabilities to "simulate" and "induce" specific rule fluctuations.
The entire "Meta" Realm seemed to transition from a noisy youth to a calm adult. While its surface remained unruffled, a profound transformation was taking place within.
Lin Mo's figure vanished from almost all public occasions. He spent long periods in the core array of "Mirror Lake" or the deepest chamber of the Basic Rules Research Institute. His state grew increasingly peculiar: sometimes he appeared as solid as an ordinary person, and at other times, he seemed to dissolve into a flowing mass of rules itself, merging deeply with the "Meta" Realm's underlying structure.
He was deducing and calculating.
Deducing the logic behind the "interrogation" wave, calculating the operational laws of the Observers' massive system, and above all, searching for that unique path that could break the existing pattern.
Time flew by in the depths of research.
On this day, in the deepest chamber of the Basic Rules Research Institute.
Before Lin Mo, three clusters of light hovered.
One was pure "Order" thread, representing order and definition.
One was surging chaotic energy, representing chaos and origin.
The third was a wisp of cold "problem-solving" logic fragment—captured, analyzed, and refined by the "Mirror Lake" system—from that "interrogation" wave.
The three clusters repelled each other, yet under the restraint of his powerful spiritual consciousness, they maintained a dangerous balance.
He had attempted countless combinations, striving to find a power system that transcended the current cognitive framework. Pure order could not counter higher-level "definition"; pure chaos was uncontrollable and prone to backlash; and while the "problem-solving" logic was powerful, it was filled with inhuman coldness that the "Meta" Realm could never accommodate.
Fusion was the only way.
He needed to find that singular... singularity that could unify all three.
His spiritual consciousness, at an unprecedented intensity, cut into the core of the three light clusters like the finest scalpel—not to force them together, but to guide their inherent properties toward that potential, dynamic balance point.
Order sought to define chaos.
Chaos sought to devour order.
And the cold "problem-solving" logic stood aside, calmly calculating the success rate and optimal solution for every possibility.
The energy fluctuations in the chamber grew extremely unstable, and the spatial structure emitted faint cracking sounds. Glak and Mo Shi, who were guarding the outer layer, felt the escaping aura that made their souls tremble, their expressions growing incomparably solemn.
Had he failed?
Just as the balance was about to collapse completely and the three light clusters were on the verge of uncontrolled annihilation—
In Lin Mo's eyes, countless rule runes appeared, vanished, and recombined at an unprecedented speed! He had caught it! In that near-zero probability, a fleeting moment where the frequencies of the three reached a subtle resonance!
He thrust out his spiritual consciousness—not to suppress, but like a precise tuning fork, gently striking that resonance point!
"Ding..."
A clear sound, as if from the dawn of the world, echoed in the chamber.
The three light clusters, which had been fiercely conflicting moments before, suddenly froze.
Then, they began to rotate slowly around an invisible core in a mysterious trajectory. The light of order was no longer pure, tinged with a hint of chaos' depth; the chaotic energy was no longer wild, gaining a trace of order's structure; and the cold "problem-solving" logic flowed between order and chaos like a lubricant, ensuring the sustainability of this delicate balance.
The three did not merge into one, but formed a dynamic, interdependent, and mutually transforming... cyclic system!
The rudiment of a new power system—one that transcended the existing rule framework of the "Meta" Realm—was born!
It was no longer merely order, nor just chaos, nor cold calculation. It contained the authority of "definition," the potential of "chaos," and the efficiency of "optimal solution."
Lin Mo named it—"Primordial Origin" (Yuan Shi).
The starting point of all things, yet also containing infinite futures.
He slowly stretched out his hand, and the slowly rotating "Primordial Origin" light, like a docile spirit, landed in his palm. Feeling the majestic power and boundless possibilities within—enough to stir even him—his lips finally curled into a faint, yet infinitely confident smile.
With "Primordial Origin," he now had the... qualification to converse with those behind-the-scenes "examiners."
And also the... cornerstone to truly forge a future for the "Meta" Realm—one not manipulated by any existence.
He lifted his head, his gaze seeming to penetrate the chamber's barriers, pierce the "Meta" Realm's boundaries, and once again meet the cold gaze that might lie deep in the endless void.
He awaited the next "interrogation."