Deep in the dense forest, Li Ming leaned against an ancient tree, listening to his heartbeat.
Too fast—thump thump thump—like it would burst from his chest. Not a normal person's heartbeat, more like... something pounding in his chest cavity, strike after strike, trying to shatter his ribs, turning his heartbeat into drumbeats echoing through his body.
"Side effect of foundation damage..."
He murmured, voice clear in the silent forest, echoes drifting between tree trunks. Too quiet around him, even insects silent, like the entire forest held its breath, waiting for something, waiting for some moment to arrive.
Li Ming pulled the note from his robes—Old Zhou's, already crumpled. "Seven days later, library. Trust no one. Including me."
"Including me..."
He laughed bitterly, crumpling the note into a ball, then unfolding it, smoothing it, crumpling again. The paper rustled in his hand like a sigh.
"Damn."
Finally he tucked it back into his robes against his chest, cool against his skin.
Can't trust Old Zhou, can't trust Chen Feng, can't trust Wang Hu. Then who can he trust? Trust this game that wants to kill him? Trust whatever gave him the system? Trust those invisible Cleaners?
"Trust himself."
Li Ming closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath, beginning to check his status. The system interface appeared before him, pale green text flickering in darkness like fireflies:
[Cultivation] Qi Refinement Layer Two 15/400
[Status] Foundation damaged (collapse risk 70%)
[Time remaining] 19 days 22 hours 31 minutes
[Mission] Reach library within seven days
[Warning] Pursuers still searching
[Bounty] 500 cultivation points, one technique, 100 spirit stones
"Five hundred cultivation points..."
Li Ming calculated. Layer One to Two needed 400 points, Two to Three needed 800. Five hundred points—enough for an outer disciple to break through a layer with surplus, enough to buy many things. On the black market, 500 points could buy Foundation Establishment Pills, mid-grade spirit swords, even a safe hiding place.
"No wonder someone wants to kill me."
This bounty was too tempting. Five hundred points—for someone stuck at Layer Three, it might be their breakthrough opportunity. For those wanting to kill and loot, it was a windfall. For someone wanting to survive, it was the capital to keep living.
He stood up, legs still trembling, but better than before. Had to move, couldn't stay in one place too long. Five pursuers, Old Zhou covering his retreat, but Old Zhou...
"Including me."
That sentence surfaced again like a curse, spinning in his mind.
Li Ming shook his head, beginning to walk deeper into the dense forest. He didn't know where to go, only knew to stay away from the cliff, away from the library, away from... anyone. Hide if he could, run if he couldn't, if he couldn't run...
"Find somewhere to hide first."
He moved through the trees, taking hard paths. Thorns tore his clothes, leaving several gashes, fabric ripping sounds jarringly loud in the silence. Skin cut too, blood seeping, sticky, drying on clothes, becoming hard. But he ignored the pain—compared to the tearing in his meridians, these surface wounds were nothing.
After roughly half an hour, a cave appeared ahead.
Not large, only room for one person. The entrance covered by vines, withered yellow tendrils hanging like curtains. Invisible unless you looked closely, like nature deliberately hid it.
"This is it."
Li Ming pushed aside the vines, crawling in. They closed behind him like a door, separating him from the outside world.
The cave was pitch black, can't see your hand in front of your face. Air carried a damp smell, like dirt and rotting leaves mixed. He found a flat stone, sitting down, stone cold but tolerable. He closed his eyes, letting them adjust to darkness.
"Need to think of something."
Foundation damaged, collapse in twenty days. Old Zhou said it could be repaired, but the price was a memory. Chen Feng said only he was real, but he was an Executor. Wang Hu said he was a player, but he might also be a Cleaner. Everyone's words half true, half false, impossible to distinguish.
"Damn."
He cursed again, voice echoing in the cave.
What kind of dead end was this? Can't advance, can't retreat, can't trust anyone.
"But what if..."
Li Ming suddenly thought of a possibility.
"What if I can repair the foundation myself?"
The thought made him jump.
Foundation can also be modified with code? Would that work? Isn't foundation physical? Meridians, bones, spirit roots... all parts of the body, how can code modify them?
But then again, techniques were code, nodes were code, the system was code, then this world... wasn't it constructed from code? Then foundation, why wouldn't it be code?
"Try it."
He concentrated, beginning to call up the code view. The system interface flashed, then displayed a notification:
[Advanced Scan unlocked]
[Scan own status?]
"Yes."
Li Ming thought.
The air before him rippled like disturbed water. Lines of code appeared—not technique code, but his own... status code? Pale green, glittering in darkness:
```
[Li_Ming_Foundation.py]
def foundation_status():
integrity = 0.3 # integrity 30%
stability = 0.5 # stability 50%
collapse_risk = 0.7 # collapse risk 70%
estimated_collapse = "19 days"
```
"Integrity 30%..."
Li Ming stared at that line, heart chilling, like cold water flowing down his spine.
Worse than he imagined. Only 30% integrity meant 70% of his foundation was already ruined. 50% stability meant problems could arise anytime. 70% collapse risk meant likely failure.
"Then how to repair?"
He began examining the code structure. Foundation integrity depended on several factors: meridian strength, spiritual power purity, breakthrough method. He'd modified the breakthrough threshold, bypassing normal breakthrough process, so...
"Integrity decreased."
Breaking through was like using brute force to break down a door—door opened, but the frame broke too. Normal breakthrough was gradual, slow and steady. He'd swallowed a whole cow at once, stuffing himself until he broke.
"But what if..."
Li Ming paused, staring at those lines of code.
"What if I can find a 'repair function'?"
He began scanning code, searching for possible repair methods. Reading line by line, checking bit by bit, searched long, finally...
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
```
[Foundation_Repair.py]
def repair():
# requires materials: Foundation Establishment Pill x1, Thousand-Year Lingzhi x1, Dragon Blood Grass x1
# requires cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer Five
# requires permissions: Administrator
status = "LOCKED"
```
"Requires permissions..."
Li Ming laughed bitterly.
Administrator permissions—where would he get those? He wasn't even an outer disciple anymore, a fugitive, a wanted man.
"But materials..."
He thought. Foundation Establishment Pills—outer sect black market might have them, not cheap but available. Thousand-Year Lingzhi—deep in the back mountain dense forest might have them, but risk being eaten by demon beasts. Dragon Blood Grass...
"What is that?"
Li Ming had never heard of this grass. Dragon blood... sounded rare and dangerous.
"Need to check."
He tried calling up the system's search function, but notification said insufficient permissions. Like a user without admin rights trying to access system files—denied.
"Damn."
Cursed again, voice carrying resignation.
This game really pressed every step, each one blocking him.
"But..."
Li Ming paused, eyes sharpening.
"If I can't find materials, can I... simulate them with code?"
The thought made him jump.
Simulate materials with code? Would that work? Materials were physical things—pills, mushrooms, herbs... all materially existing, how can code simulate them?
But then again, wasn't this world itself constructed from code? Then matter was also a form of code expression? If he could understand materials at the code level...
"Try it."
He concentrated, beginning to modify the repair function's code. Fingers tracing through empty air, changing line by line.
The material requirement lines, he commented out, adding # before each.
```
# requires materials: Foundation Establishment Pill x1, Thousand-Year Lingzhi x1, Dragon Blood Grass x1
# requires cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer Five
# requires permissions: Administrator
```
Then he added one line:
```
status = "UNLOCKED" # force unlock
```
The moment code modification completed, he felt something in his body... move?
Like something sleeping had been awakened. A strange sensation, head to toe, like electric current passing through.
[Warning] Illegal operation detected
[Hint] Force unlock may cause unknown consequences
[Recommendation] Restore default value
"Unknown consequences..."
Li Ming hesitated.
What were unknown consequences? System crash? Or him crashing? Or something worse?
But he remembered Old Zhou's words—twenty days later, foundation collapse. What did collapse mean? Cultivation destroyed? Meridians severed? Or... death?
"Still better than... dying."
He didn't restore the default value, but continued examining the repair function.
The function body was empty.
"What does this mean?"
Li Ming frowned, brow knitting together.
Function unlocked but no implementation? Then how to repair?
"Then..."
He thought, staring at that empty function.
"Have to write it myself?"
The thought made him laugh, hoarse laughter echoing in the cave.
Write a foundation repair function? Him, a programmer, when did he become an alchemist? When could he modify body structure? But...
"But..."
Li Ming paused, eyes turning determined.
"Alchemy... isn't it also code?"
Material mixing, fire control, timing... wasn't this... function calls? Parameter passing? Return values?
"Try it."
He began writing code, line by line, fingers tracing through empty air.
```
def repair_foundation():
# repair foundation
absorb_energy() # absorb spiritual energy
purify_meridian() # purify meridians
stabilize_core() # stabilize core
return True
```
Done, he closed his eyes, beginning to circulate the technique.
But not the *Foundation Qi Circulation Technique*—his own written... "repair technique"? Code becoming technique, technique becoming code, circulating within his body.
Spiritual power flowed through his meridians, but this time... different.
Like... rebuilding something.
Meridians reorganizing, spiritual power purifying, core... stabilizing? That feeling was strange, like someone dismantling his body then reassembling it, but differently than before.
"Working?"
Li Ming felt joy, but before he could celebrate, pain struck.
Like someone tearing his meridians out one by one, then reconnecting them. More painful than before, pain nearly making him cry out, clenching his jaw, metallic blood taste spreading.
"Hold on..."
He clenched his jaw, nails digging into flesh, palm bleeding, blood dripping to the ground—pat pat pat.
"Can't... give up..."
Spiritual power continued flowing, repair function continued running. Each run, pain lessened. That tearing sensation slowly vanished, replaced by something... warm?
Like something filling the hollows in his body. Those damaged meridians repaired one by one; that scattered spiritual power gathered bit by bit; that unstable core slowly stabilizing.
A quarter hour passed.
Two quarter hours passed.
Light outside the cave changed, from darkness to dimness, showing time passing.
Pain slowly lessened, replaced by something... relaxed? Like shedding a heavy burden, body becoming lighter.
Suddenly, a crisp sound came from within his body.
Like something... closing.
[Ding! Host detected repairing foundation]
[Warning] Illegal repair may cause system rejection
[Status] Foundation damaged → Foundation unstable (collapse risk 30%)
[Time remaining] 19 days 22 hours 01 minute
"30%..."
Li Ming relaxed, exhaling a long turbid breath.
Though not fully repaired, from 70% to 30% was already... a miracle? At least he wouldn't be crippled in nineteen days.
"But system rejection..."
He remembered that warning.
"What does it mean?"
System rejection? The system would reject him? Because he illegally modified the repair function? Because he bypassed normal process?
No time to think.
Outside the cave, footsteps sounded.
Light, but Li Ming heard them. More than one person, at least three, footsteps rising and falling.
"He's inside."
A voice said—it was Chen Feng.
"Sure?" Another voice, unfamiliar, not Chen Feng's person.
"Sure." Chen Feng said, tone certain. "I sense his spiritual power fluctuation. Just now... he was repairing his foundation."
"Then go in?"
"Wait." Chen Feng said. "He just finished repairing, now at his weakest. Wait a moment, wait for him... to relax his guard."
Li Ming held his breath, heart racing.
Chen Feng was waiting for him to relax guard. They weren't rushed, they knew he couldn't run, knew he was in the cave, knew he was at his weakest now.
"Damn."
He cursed softly, voice barely audible.
Couldn't stay here.
But the cave had only one exit, Chen Feng guarding outside. They outnumbered him, had swords, had spiritual power—he couldn't fight at all. Fighting was suicide, surrender was waiting for death, running... where could he run?
"Need another way."
Li Ming looked around, the cave was small, besides his sitting stone, nothing. But...
On the cave wall, several scratch marks.
Not natural, like... man-made? Very fine, very deep, carved into stone, like carved bit by bit with a sharp tool.
He walked over, examining carefully. Fingers touching those scratches, rough texture transmitting to fingertips.
Was it... code?
```
[Escape_Route.py]
def secret_exit():
# secret exit
status = "LOCKED"
key = "Player_001"
```
"Secret exit..."
Li Ming's heart jumped—thump.
Player_001?
That was... the first player? The one Old Zhou mentioned? The dead one? Or the one who became an Executor?
"Old Zhou said the first player died, became an Executor..."
"Then this exit..."
He paused, staring at those scratches.
"Was it... left by Old Zhou?"
But the key was "Player_001," not Old Zhou. Old Zhou said he was the first to clear, but his number...
No, Old Zhou said he cleared ten years ago, his number might be... earlier?
"Then..."
Li Ming thought, mind racing.
"What if I can crack this key?"
He began examining the lock's code structure. Key verification logic was simple—check the caller's player number. If Player_001, unlock; if not, deny.
"Then what if..."
"I disguise myself as Player_001?"
The thought made him jump.
Disguise as the first player? Would that work? Would the system believe it?
But then again, his system could disguise against Cleaner detection, then... disguise player number? Wasn't it all modifying status code?
"Try it."
He concentrated, beginning to modify his own status code. Fingers tracing through empty air, changing line by line:
```
[Li_Ming_Status.py]
def player_id():
return "1025" # original number
```
Change to:
```
def player_id():
return "001" # disguise as first player
```
The moment code modification completed, he felt something in his body... change?
Like something... rejecting him? That feeling was strange, like a second person inside him trying to squeeze him out.
[Warning] Identity disguise detected
[Hint] May be recognized by original player
[Recommendation] Use cautiously
"Original player..."
Li Ming's heart tightened, palm sweating.
Player_001... still alive?
No time to think. Chen Feng was waiting outside, waiting for him to relax guard, waiting for him to come out, then... kill him.
He walked to the cave wall, placing his hand on the scratches. Those scratches burned under his hand, like electric current flowing.
"I am Player_001." He said, voice soft but firm.
The cave wall trembled, low humming sound, like something operating inside.
Then, a door slowly opened.
Behind was a passage, very narrow, only room for one person, bent over. Inside was pitch black, nothing visible.
"Working."
Li Ming crawled in, passage narrow, shoulders scraping walls, stone scratching clothes, rustling sounds.
The passage was dark, he could only feel his way forward. Walls damp, covered in moss, slippery. After roughly one incense stick's time, a glimmer of light appeared ahead, faint white light.
"Exit."
He quickened his pace, nearly running.
Exiting the passage, sunlight blinded him.
A... valley?
Mountains on all sides, flat land in the middle, covered in grass, lush green, wind blowing, grass waves undulating. Floral scent drifted in the air, very peaceful, stark contrast to the life-or-death rush just now.
"Where is this?"
Li Ming looked around, squinting.
Then he saw—
In the valley center, stood a stone tablet.
The tablet was tall, about two meters, finely carved. One line of text carved deep, like carved into the stone's heart:
"Player 001's Tomb."
"Tomb..."
Li Ming walked over, steps light, like afraid of disturbing the dead.
He examined carefully. Below the tablet, a... button?
Very small circular button, embedded in the tablet, invisible unless you looked closely.
He hesitated, then pressed down.
The moment his finger touched the button, the ground trembled, rumbling sound, like something awakened.
Then, the tablet slowly opened.
Inside wasn't a corpse, wasn't ashes, but... a book?
Old book, yellowed cover, but well preserved. Li Ming picked it up, no title on cover, only one line of code:
[Game_Rules.py]
"Game rules..."
He opened to the first page.
First page, only one line, red characters like written in blood:
"Clearing condition: kill the game administrator."
Li Ming's heart jumped.
"But the administrator..."
He turned to the second page.
Second page, only one line, black characters, very neat:
"The administrator is... yourself."
