Suddenly, he sensed that a disc had been inserted into the computer’s optical drive.

  Li Chunfeng immediately used his mind to investigate and discovered that it was the installation interface of an antivirus program.

  Hmm, is Zheng Yongjun planning to install new antivirus software?

  The server he was currently in already had antivirus software installed. Why add another one now?

  Could it be that Zheng Yongjun thought he was a virus? Worried that the original antivirus wouldn't be effective, he intended to deploy a new one to wipe it out?

  That has to be it. Earlier, after seeing those two emails, the computer had suddenly crashed. It seemed that had attracted Zheng Yongjun’s attention.

  Would the antivirus software harm him?

  Li Chunfeng was a little concerned. After all, a simple scan from the firewall software had already caused him pain. Perhaps he had already sustained some damage—why else would he feel so weak?

  Faced with the scans and the forceful deletion by a far more sophisticated antivirus, if he were truly identified as a virus, he might really be eradicated.

  Li Chunfeng’s worries and thoughts did nothing to slow the installation process of the antivirus software.

  At that moment, he felt countless tiny specks of light rushing toward him from somewhere.

  These were data packets from the installation program.

  Simultaneously, Li Chunfeng noticed that something was being added to a certain part of the strange space. Instinctively, he directed his consciousness toward the enlarging area.

  A flood of information instantly streamed into his mind.

  Since high school, Li Chunfeng had been studying programming. He loved seeing the results on the computer screen, knowing they were the products of his own code.

  It was a magical sensation—creating something from nothing. It was this very feeling that had made him fall hopelessly in love with computers and programming.

  But Li Chunfeng had never realized that software programs could be understood in this way.

  Yes, during his exploration amid the installation process, he suddenly comprehended the core of the antivirus software—its structure, operational mechanisms, and underlying principles.

  How long had it taken?

  A minute? A second? A nanosecond? A femtosecond?

  He had completely mastered a top-tier antivirus program.

  Li Chunfeng suddenly burst into laughter.

  Even if that laughter could only echo within this strange space.

  Even if the laughter only resonated within his own soul.

  Since his consciousness had reawakened today, he had been caught in confusion, fear, and near-madness—or rather, suffocation. But now, he experienced a profound joy, as if reborn.

  Yes, only now did Li Chunfeng truly feel the ecstasy of being alive again.

  I may be dead, but I now inhabit the world I have loved all my life.

  In this domain he cherished, he would grow even stronger, achieving feats beyond imagination.

  Amid Li Chunfeng’s laughter, the renowned antivirus software finished installing.

  An external command was immediately issued to scan and eliminate viruses.

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  Li Chunfeng sensed the birth of a massive, glowing star. It first darted around the space, colliding with scattered specks of light and knocking them askew.

  Then, the star hurtled toward the square space where he was located.

  Another insight struck him—it was as if this seemingly empty space was the computer’s memory, and the drifting specks of light represented the running programs or active data.

  Calm and unperturbed, Li Chunfeng watched the incoming star. He felt confident that he could handle this antivirus software.

  His consciousness swiftly simulated a specific data packet—a CPU instruction commonly used by the operating system in memory.

  Using this decoy packet like a cloak, he enveloped the entire square area.

  Indeed, the star merely brushed against the decoy packet, then moved away. It failed to recognize Li Chunfeng as an anomaly to be purged or eradicated. He had fooled it.

  The star continued wandering through the space, touching all scattered specks of light. According to its operational logic, the scan of memory-resident programs should have concluded by now.

  However, from the installation site of the antivirus software, countless tiny stars suddenly emerged.

  These small stars and the large one rapidly formed a dense network, descending toward Li Chunfeng’s location.

  If Li Chunfeng had a face, it would now be grim.

  This net of descending stars was clearly the antivirus’s new mechanism, activated after suspecting a virus.

  The crisis was imminent. Li Chunfeng’s thought process accelerated at once, a wave of exhaustion pressing him down.

  The descent speed of the antivirus net slowed perceptibly.

  Evidently, Li Chunfeng was consuming more CPU resources, forcing the antivirus to decelerate.

  He would be sweating—if he had a forehead. Urgently, he analyzed how the antivirus detected him.

  Earlier, it had employed only signature and checksum methods—methods his disguise had successfully bypassed.

  Now, it must have employed behavior-based detection.

  Seizing control of the CPU and the entire system, some of his actions—intentional or not—began to resemble those of a virus.

  This led the antivirus to identify him as an unknown threat.

  If he could remove or hide these behavioral traits, it would no longer recognize him as a virus.

  Without hesitation, Li Chunfeng used his consciousness to scan the master boot sector, verifying whether he had taken control of INT13H. The result was negative.

  Though the net’s descent was slowed, it continued inexorably.

  Racing through the system, he finally identified the issue.

  He had unconsciously altered the total memory value.

  Sensing that the net was closing in—faster than he could react—his consciousness instantly reverted the memory value to its original setting.

  The antivirus net froze—perhaps just a nanometer away from him.

  A moment later, the large star flickered, and the net dissolved. The tiny stars merged back into the large one.

  Then, the star began battering the walls of the strange space. Li Chunfeng understood—this marked the completion of the antivirus’s scan of memory-resident files, now moving on to examine the hard drive’s directory.

  He exhaled deeply, relieved that he had successfully deceived the antivirus, and the crisis was thus averted.

  Yet, his thoughts grew sluggish. The antivirus was consuming significant CPU and memory resources, threatening to stall his consciousness entirely.

  But Li Chunfeng had no intention of stopping it. He was studying the antivirus’s scanning methodology—an extremely efficient and advanced search algorithm.

  Software from such a renowned firm had been heavily encrypted—its code compiled into machine language, virtually uncrackable from outside.

  And yet, Li Chunfeng had acquired it effortlessly.

  Furthermore, interfering with the antivirus’s operation would alarm Zheng Yongjun, the network administrator, who might interpret its activity as persistent malware, leading to further measures.

  Did he want to fall into an endless cycle of evasion?

  Since the antivirus was no longer capable of harming him, letting it complete its scan was the simplest choice.

  Besides, he now had more intriguing pursuits. If he could dissect the antivirus so easily, mastering other software—perhaps even the entire Windows operating system—would be just as straightforward.

  Could this be the dream of countless programmers? The very thought excited him, though the sluggishness weighed down his mind even more.

  He quickly calmed himself, recognizing that the current server hardware still limited his full potential.

  As Li Chunfeng continued his relentless study of the operating system, the antivirus finally ceased its operation after two hours.

  A wave of relief flooded him.

  During those two hours, Li Chunfeng had fully unraveled the Windows system. Strangely, he now felt as though he had undergone some transformation.

  In fact, he had felt a faint change as he understood the antivirus’s scanning mechanisms; fully mastering the entire OS made this sensation much more apparent.

  Reviewing his memories, the only comparable feeling was the growth spurts he experienced in middle and high school—an unmistakable sense of becoming taller and stronger.

  Yes, it was like growing.

  Furthermore, Li Chunfeng felt an even closer integration with the computer—what once was a tool now felt like an extension of himself. Neither the firewall nor the antivirus could harm him anymore.

  His consciousness quickly swept the entire space.

  To his astonishment, he discovered a file in one of the deepest directories of the operating system, named “Miracle.sys”—created just moments ago.

  He could distinctly feel a mental connection to this file. Through it, the entire system lay within his grasp.

  Miracle?

  Yes, he was a miracle.

  How else to explain all this? And not just any miracle—one that was still evolving.

  An unprecedented joy surged through him.