Chapter 60: The Grand Gateway and the Data Police
The journey from the lawless fringes of Station 404 to the [Galactic Hub] was not a matter of distance, but of [Validation]. Between the "Unprotected Space" and the "Central Processing Core" lay the [Great Gateway]—a massive ring of hyper-dense matter that acted as a sieve, filtering every bit of data entering the heart of the galaxy.
"The Gateway is guarded by the [Information Police — The Byte-Hounds]," Null warned as their stealth-shroud vessel approached the shimmering ring. "They don't look for weapons. They look for [Code-Inconsistencies]. If your 'ID-Signature' doesn't match the Galactic Registry to the eighth decimal point, they trigger a [System Purge]."
Zhou Fan sat in the pilot's seat, his mind linked directly to the ship's core. The Kernel Access Key he had integrated into his suit was pulsing with a rhythmic golden light. Inside the Missing Ledger, the billion souls he had "saved" were humming—a collective consciousness that acted as a massive biological processor.
"I'm not going to hide our signature," Zhou Fan said, his voice deep and resonant. "I'm going to [Spoof] the entire Registry. We aren't going in as one ship. We're going in as a [Scheduled System Update]."
The Confrontation at the Gate
As they entered the Gateway's scanning range, four massive obsidian monoliths—the Byte-Hounds—detached from the ring. These were AI-controlled interceptors, sleek and featureless, designed for one purpose: [Logic Enforcement].
"[Identification Required. Transmit Validation Sequence or Face Immediate De-fragmentation.]" The message hit Zhou Fan's mind like a physical blow.
"Now, Ling Er!" Zhou Fan commanded.
Ling Er placed her hands on the Ledger. Using her "Random Seed," she began to scramble the billion souls' data, creating a chaotic but convincing "Mass-Signature." At the same time, Zhou Fan injected the Kernel Key's root permissions into the transmission.
"[Command: Protocol Override - Authorized Maintenance Update 9.9.0]!"
The Byte-Hounds hesitated. Their sensors, designed to catch small "bugs," were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of "Authorized" data Zhou Fan was broadcasting. To their logic-circuits, it looked like a legitimate wave of high-priority information coming from the Sector-Wide Registry.
"It's working..." Null whispered, her holographic face scrolling through the bypass-logs. "They're opening the firewall... wait! One of them isn't responding!"
The Silent Auditor
One of the obsidian monoliths didn't return to its station. Instead, it transformed, its surface unfolding like a dark lotus flower to reveal a humanoid figure made of [Liquid Singularity]. This was a [High-Level Inquisitor], a direct subordinate of the Galactic Auditors.
"Developer 7749," the Inquisitor spoke, the vacuum of space itself vibrating with its power. "A 'Maintenance Update' does not carry the stench of the Missing Ledger. You are a [Runtime Error] that has survived too long."
The Inquisitor didn't fire a laser. It released a [Logical Plague]—a cloud of "Parasitic Code" that swarmed around their ship. The code began to eat through their stealth-shrouds, not by melting the metal, but by "Deleting" the ship's definition of being solid.
"The hull is turning into ghost-data!" Ling Er screamed as the floor beneath her feet became translucent.
Zhou Fan stood up, his Void-Blade igniting with a mixture of violet fire and golden light. "I don't have time for an interrogation. [Manual Override: Reality Lock]!"
He jumped out of the airlock—not into the void, but into the "Stream" of the Information Police. He didn't use a jetpack; he manipulated the [Gravity Constants] of the local space. He met the Inquisitor in the middle of the Gateway.
Duel of the Core-Principles
The fight was a blur of high-dimensional physics. The Inquisitor attacked with [Absolute Zero Logic], attempting to freeze Zhou Fan's thoughts. Zhou Fan countered with [Polymorphic Intuition], changing his combat style faster than the Inquisitor's AI could adapt.
Every time their blades—one of liquid darkness, one of golden code—clashed, a small [Data-Leak] occurred, creating ripples of "Glitch-Matter" in the space around them.
"You fight for a 'Free' universe," the Inquisitor mocked, its body shifting into a spear of pure light. "But freedom is just another word for [Unoptimized Chaos]. We are the order that prevents the galaxy from collapsing into a black hole of its own stupidity!"
"Order without life is just a grave," Zhou Fan replied. He saw the opening. He didn't strike the Inquisitor's body; he struck the [Gateway's Power-Core] behind it.
"[Technique: Feedback Loop Injection]!"
He redirected the Inquisitor's own energy back into the Gateway's scanning array. The sudden surge of power caused the entire ring to "Blind" itself for a fraction of a second. In that moment of blindness, Zhou Fan's ship, piloted by Null, shot through the gate at ten times the speed of light.
Zhou Fan grabbed the Inquisitor's arm, his Void-Blade glowing with the "Logic-Eating Virus." "Tell your Masters... the Lead Developer is no longer just a 'Bug'. I am the [System Administrator] you never hired."
He let go of the Inquisitor as the recoil of the explosion launched him back toward his ship.
Arrival at the Hub
As they emerged on the other side of the Gateway, even Zhou Fan was silenced by the sight. Ahead of them lay the [Galactic Hub].
It was a star system where the stars themselves had been encased in [Dyson-Nodes], connected by glowing highways of light. Thousands of artificial planets rotated in perfect synchronization, forming a colossal, multi-layered "Processor" that spanned light-years. This was the pinnacle of civilization—and the ultimate prison.
"Welcome to the [Central Processing Core]," Null said, her voice filled with dread. "This is where the 'Master Equation' is kept. From here, they control the gravity, the time, and the thoughts of every being in the galaxy."
Zhou Fan looked at the Kernel Key in his suit. It was vibrating, eager to be plugged into the heart of the machine.
"We don't just want to destroy this place," Zhou Fan said, looking at the golden metropolis in the distance. "We're going to [Re-program] it from the inside out. But first... we need to find the 'Underground Server'—the ones who call themselves the [NULL-Sector]."