75. The Annihilator of Hua (Grand Launch Tomorrow—Seeking Subscriptions and Flowers)

The sphere of inner energy steadily ascended, moving millimeter by millimeter, while beads of sweat grew ever denser on Ye Feng’s brow. As time slipped by, the energy sphere gradually approached its zenith. With his brows knit in concentration, Ye Feng drove his mental power, pushing the sphere upward with all his might—success was within reach.

At last, a faint pop sounded at the crown of Ye Feng’s head. In that instant, the inner energy sphere broke through its barrier and gleefully slid downward toward the sea of qi. At that same moment, as the light pop echoed at the summit of his head, the energy particles surrounding him seemed to find a breakthrough, surging en masse toward the same point. Vast streams of energy particles poured in through the crown of his head and flooded Ye Feng’s Ren and Du meridians until they brimmed to the full.

With the influx of so much energy, the inner energy sphere began to expand wildly, further enlarging the sea of qi, circling within. Gradually, the sea of qi reached its limit and could expand no more, yet the sphere continued to swell rapidly until it filled the sea to its brim.

Still, the torrent of energy particles did not relent. Compressed by the relentless influx, the inner energy sphere suddenly exploded, sending immense waves of bioenergy rushing through Ye Feng’s limbs and body.

With a deep gasp, Ye Feng felt the surge of bioenergy course through him, lightening his body as though he had been administered a potent anesthetic. The sensation was so exhilarating that he could not help but let out a long, contented breath.

The tremendous bioenergy continued to seep into the cells of his muscles, bones, and skin, halting there to steadily strengthen every fiber of his being. As the strengthening progressed, Ye Feng felt a tingling numbness spread through his entire body. Only after taking several deep breaths did he manage to suppress the feeling that seemed to reach into his very core.

Fortunately, the numbness gradually faded, leaving Ye Feng energized, as though filled with boundless strength.

Suddenly, the long-awaited voice resounded in Ye Feng’s mind. “Hey, kid, not bad at all! You only let me sleep for four days!”

Ye Feng was more than satisfied with his current state. He could sense that his strength had increased by far more than ten percent, and his perception and sensitivity had improved greatly as well. When he focused with intent, he could even hear the sounds of people downstairs getting up and going to the bathroom. But most importantly, his old friend Huaihuai had returned.

“Although I’d love to say ‘welcome back,’ Huaihuai, things outside are on the verge of chaos. Can you help me get rid of that damned virus first?” Ye Feng replied urgently.

“Of course I can, but I need to upgrade the system first,” Huaihuai replied. Then, a metallic voice sounded in Ye Feng’s mind: “Bioenergy sufficient, system upgrade commencing…”

After a long wait.

“Beep… System upgrade complete. Duration: sixty seconds. Energy consumed: sixty-five percent…”

“Hey, I’m back! Feels great to be fully charged, but you’ll need to replenish my energy again soon,” Huaihuai teased.

“Alright, no problem. Let’s take care of business first! Deal with the virus, quickly!” Ye Feng had no time for banter.

As he watched the nation’s systems gradually recover, Tai Aiguo finally felt some relief. Just half an hour ago, a mysterious figure named Xuanyuan had sent him a compressed file. Upon extracting it, he discovered an antivirus program and a firewall called Ultimate Guardian.

Initially, Tai Aiguo did not trust this Xuanyuan, as he had never heard of him before and feared it might be another nation’s hacker trying to sabotage them.

But as each minute passed and the nation’s strength continued to wane, Tai Aiguo realized that if this continued, disaster was inevitable. Out of desperate hope, he decided to try the antivirus program, and to his astonishment, it eradicated the destructive virus with overwhelming speed.

From installation to completion, it took Tai Aiguo only a quarter of an hour—truly miraculous.

What impressed him even more was the firewall called Ultimate Guardian. From his position, Tai Aiguo could see many things others could not. Though it was just a firewall, it represented the pinnacle of a nation’s technological civilization. And the creator was a fellow countryman, which made Tai Aiguo all the more in awe of the enigmatic Xuanyuan.

If, at the peak of the viral outbreak, Tai Aiguo had felt as though he stood at the gates of hell, now he felt as though he had ascended to paradise.

Yet after the euphoria faded, Tai Aiguo could only sigh. Despite the collective strength of so many, they were outclassed by a single individual—or perhaps an organization—that had operated undetected in the nation for years. As guardians of the nation’s cyberspace, they had no inkling of this presence. The thought made him uneasy. Thankfully, this mysterious force had not done harm to the country—otherwise, he doubted they could have stopped them, or perhaps it would have been simply impossible.

Tai Aiguo dared not see Xuanyuan as a mere individual. If he were, his skills would be leagues ahead of the nation’s own—how could that be? Was he truly some sort of deity?

Meanwhile, Huaihuai scoffed in Ye Feng’s mind, “The computers of this era are so worthless. I wanted to upload a more advanced firewall, but the hardware just can’t handle it. What a shame!”

Huaihuai did possess the latest firewalls, all designed for quantum computers a century ahead of their time, but they were unusable here, leaving only these inferior versions.

The firewall Huaihuai provided was already the highest level that current computers could support. It was foreseeable that, for at least the next decade, no one would be able to breach the nation’s defenses—save, perhaps, GOD or the Zang Tian organization, who might, at most, take a look without being able to do anything.

At this point, the central authorities began to question just who Xuanyuan truly was. Despite the fact that he was now protecting the nation, the leadership remained uneasy. Thus, they issued a strict order: Tai Aiguo was to verify Xuanyuan’s identity, or at the very least confirm his nationality. This left Tai Aiguo frustrated—how could he possibly contact such a figure? There was only one mysterious port, which he had tried to trace, but although it was trackable, the precise location could not be determined. Still, with a direct order from the Premier, he had no choice but to send request after request for communication.

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