CHAPTER 68 – Shen Yichen and Ling Qiuyue Step In
Just as the hacker raised his hand, preparing to deliver the fatal, final blow to the collapsing Xiao Xi—
A brilliant, powerful golden light erupted directly behind him.
He spun around, recoiling in utter shock.
Shen Yichen stepped out of the light, his aura blazing with raw, unadulterated protagonist force.
Ling Qiuyue floated gracefully beside him, her body wrapped in soft, protective white radiance, her expression serene but powerful.
The hacker shrieked in digital horror.
"You—! How did YOU get in here!? This is the root! You're just characters!"
Shen Yichen's expression was cold, murderous, his normal charisma replaced by lethal intent.
"You destabilized our world, you code thief," he said, his voice echoing with the authority of the original narrative.
"You threatened our fates.
You put us all at risk."
Ling Qiuyue's voice rang out like a clear bell through the charged digital air.
"And you tried to erase her.
We may be fictional, but we have existence, and we will defend it."
Xiao Xi blinked, flickering weakly in Gu's arms, utterly confused.
Them? The original leads? Helping her?
Ling Qiuyue stepped forward, her glow intensifying, pushing back the surrounding static.
"We are the original leads," she said softly, an explanation, not a boast.
"We were born from the story.
If the story collapses, we collapse too.
You jeopardized all of us."
Shen added, his voice firm: "But that doesn't mean you have the right to choose who gets to live and who gets to be a replacement."
The hacker snarled, his logic dissolving into chaos.
"You were meant to follow the script! You were meant to be together!"
Shen crossed his arms, the golden light intensifying around him.
"I don't care about the script anymore.
I care about stability.
And you are the instability."
Ling smiled sadly, beautifully.
"Stories change, hacker.
Even the best ones."
The hacker screamed, his voice glitching into chaos.
Shen raised his hand—and a focused blast of golden protagonist force shot forward.
It hit the hacker squarely in the chest, the pure, distilled energy of the original narrative sending him flying across the void, crashing into a digital wall.
Gu lifted Xiao Xi higher into his arms, his eyes softening with gratitude for the unexpected intervention.
Xiao Xi looked at Shen and Ling, utterly shaken.
"You… helped me.
Why?"
Ling smiled gently, compassionately.
"You were never the problem, Xiao Xi.
The corrupt system that chose you to fix its errors was."