Chapter 50: The Geometrical Fortress and the Coming of the Devourer
The 48-hour countdown was not just a number on a screen; it was a rhythmic vibration that felt like a slow, heavy heartbeat deep within the planet's mantle. Zhou Fan stood atop the tallest spire of the Central Archive, his tactical suit now connected to a web of millions of wires that snaked down into the city's underground power grid.
He had become the Central Processor. Through the [Neural Interface], he was managing the labor of five million awakened souls. Below, the city of Aethelgard had transformed into a gargantuan assembly line. Former mزارعون (cultivators) who once practiced sword-intent were now using [Plasma Torches] and [Molecular Welders] to reshape the obsidian hulls of fallen ships.
"The logic is simple," Zhou Fan's voice resonated through every headset in the city. "We cannot match the Designers in pure energy. But we can outmatch them in Focus. We are turning this city into a [Synchrotron Array]. We will harvest the kinetic energy of the planet's rotation and fire it back at the 'World-Eater'."
The Engineering of Despair
Ling Er was in the subterranean depths, overseeing the cooling systems. The heat generated by the city's massive energy conversion was turning the lower levels into a furnace. She was no longer the fragile girl from the simulation; she wore a grease-stained engineer's vest, her hands busy calibrating the [Entropy Vents].
"Master Zhou, the core temperature is reaching 4000°C," she reported via the neural link. "If we push the rotation-tap any further, the city's foundation will liquify."
"Push it to 5000," Zhou Fan replied, his eyes bleeding violet light. "We don't need a city after today. We only need a Shot."
Suddenly, the dark sky above the planet began to "Ripply." A massive shadow, larger than any moon, began to occlude the stars. This was the [World-Eater]. It wasn't a ship; it was a bio-mechanical organism, a void-beast engineered in the 5th Dimension. It looked like a gargantuan, translucent jellyfish made of dark matter, its tentacles stretching thousands of kilometers into the vacuum.
As it touched the upper atmosphere, the air began to disappear.
The beast was literally "Eating" the oxygen and nitrogen, converting the atmosphere into fuel for its own growth.
The Physicality Protocol: First Contact
"It's here," the refugees screamed from the streets, looking up at the sky that was turning into a whirlpool of grey mist. The pressure was dropping. People began to gasp for air.
"Initialize the [Lorentz Force Gates]!" Zhou Fan commanded.
At his signal, twelve massive towers at the city's perimeter erupted with blue lightning. These weren't decorative; they created a [Magnetic Bottle] over Aethelgard, trapping the remaining oxygen and creating a localized gravity well.
The World-Eater felt the resistance. One of its tentacles, a rope of concentrated darkness the size of a mountain range, slammed down toward Sector 7.
"Calculation: Impact in 3... 2... 1..."
Zhou Fan didn't dodge. He redirected the city's entire power output into the [Hard-Light Pavements]. As the tentacle hit, it didn't crush the buildings; it hit a "Physical Firewall." The collision created a sonic boom that shattered every piece of glass for five hundred miles.
"He held it!" Ling Er cried out, watching the sensors. "A direct hit from a 5th-Dimensional entity, and the city is still standing!"
"But the 'Bottle' is at 12%," Zhou Fan groaned, the strain on his mind causing his nose to bleed. "The beast is learning our frequency. It's preparing for a [Mass-Absorption]. Ling Er, get the 'Refugee Processors' to maximum synchronization. I need every soul to visualize one thing: The Zero Point."
The Final Hour
The World-Eater opened its central maw—a glowing white abyss that promised nothing but total annihilation. The sky was no longer grey; it was a blinding, hungry white.
Zhou Fan stood up, his suit glowing so bright it was painful to look at. He was no longer just a man; he was the Focal Point of a million wills.
"You call us 'Meat'?" Zhou Fan whispered, his voice projected into the void itself. "Then taste the hunger of the meat you discarded."
He raised his arm. The entire city of Aethelgard began to tilt, the tectonic plates grinding as the [Planetary Defense Cannon]—the city itself—aligned with the white maw in the sky.
"Firing Sequence: [THE BIG CRUNCH]!"