CHAPTER 84 – Gu Begins to Unravel
The five composite entities attacked relentlessly, using the chaotic digital environment to their advantage.
Shen unleashed focused, golden bursts of protagonist power, successfully disintegrating three of the entities at once.
Ling summoned powerful, shimmering white shields, protecting the vulnerable Xiao Xi.
Gu fought with a new, terrifying intensity—a reckless, primal defense of his anchor. Every single strike he delivered emitted massive sparks of glitching code, but the power was unstable.
And each time he attacked, his body flickered harder, the duration of the anomaly increasing.
Xiao Xi grabbed his arm mid-swing, terrified.
"Yanzhou—STOP! You're destabilizing your core data!"
Gu flinched, the pain of the feedback clearly visible.
His body pixelated violently from the waist down for a heart-stopping moment, leaving only dissolving static—then pulled himself back together with sheer will.
Ling gasped, her focus on the shield breaking slightly. "Your connection to Xiao Xi's System is overloading! You can't handle this much power transfer!"
Shen's eyes widened with grim realization. "If you keep fighting like this, your core data will be purged! You'll disappear!"
Gu clenched his jaw, the digital rage overriding logic.
"Then what do you expect me to do—watch her die and let this world collapse!?"
His voice cracked with raw, profound fear—not of death, but of losing her.
Xiao Xi's throat tightened, tears stinging her eyes.
"Don't disappear," she whispered, grabbing his hand.
"Not for me.
Not again.
I need you to be stable!"
Gu's hand reached for her cheek, but his fingers phased right through her skin, a chilling, impossible moment of non-existence.
He froze, his eyes filling with pure horror.
"Xiao Xi…"
She grabbed him desperately with both hands, using her physical reality to ground his existence.
"You're slipping! I can't lose you, Yanzhou!"
He shook his head, his voice barely holding together.
"I won't let anything take you.
I won't let the price of my existence be your loss."
But his body was flickering faster, his code breaking down.
He was fading.
Because protecting her meant breaking the fragile world stability he represented.
The composite entity shrieked again, charging the fragile barrier.
Gu tried to step forward—but his entire leg vanished into static.
Xiao Xi screamed in agony.
"NO!"
She threw herself in front of him—and initiated the maximum deployment of her System's core energy.