Chapter 33: Anvil Bulwark and the Primordial Forge

The blood‑red data storm at the edge of the Death Rift Valley was flung far behind, but the feeling of being watched like a thorn in the back had not completely faded. The System's wanted order was like an invisible chain, still entangling every member of the Echo Team.

The nonstop, seven‑day, seven‑night desperate flight exhausted the team's last bit of strength; everyone had reached their limit, their bodies covered in wounds that hadn't had time to fully heal, equipment severely damaged, and their spirits were like a bowstring pulled to the breaking point, ready to snap at any moment.

When the endless grey‑brown desert known as the Eternal Wasteland finally appeared on the horizon, a glimmer of mixed hope and bewilderment flashed in everyone's eyes.

Desolate, dead silent—that's the first impression the Eternal Wasteland gives. There are no twisted trees, no fiendish monster lairs, even the wind feels weak, kicking up only dry dust. The sky remains that ominous blood‑red, but the traces of the data storm are clearly much thinner here, as if the System's power to infiltrate this place has met some obstruction.

According to the vague guidance in Mother's data and Chen Mo's judgment, they trekked along the edge of the wasteland for two full days before finally seeing the legendary Anvil Settlement.

It was not the refugee camp of makeshift tents and wrecked vehicles one might imagine, but a fortress built upon a massive, exposed metal skeleton!

Relying on a half‑buried, shattered warship hull in the yellow sand, various rough metal plates, large rivets, twisted pipes, and rusted armor chunks were crudely but effectively welded and pieced together, forming a wall over twenty meters high, studded with sharp spikes and firing ports. Above the wall, several complex energy towers could be made out, their tips flickering with steady blue‑white arcs, forming a faint energy barrier that enveloped the entire settlement.

A strong smell of metal smelting, machine oil, and sweat hit them. The only gate in the wall is a heavy alloy door half a meter thick that requires a mechanical winch to open. On the watchtowers flanking the gate stand guards wearing full‑coverage powered armor with visible weld marks, holding not simple firearms but live‑ammunition weapons or oddly shaped energy cannons that emit dangerous energy fluctuations.

Grim, exclusionary, yet it carried a stubborn sense of order that felt out of place in this wasteland.

"Halt! Outsiders!" a guard shouted through a loudspeaker, his voice processed with a metallic rasp, "State your identity and purpose! Anvil does not welcome wanderers of unknown origin!"

Chen Mo signaled the team to stop, stepped forward a few paces, looked up at the watchtower, and spoke calmly but clearly: "We are survivors from the eastern Preserve Zone, having encountered the Purification Society and the System's wanted order. We hope to temporarily settle here, to resupply and recuperate." He did not hide the fact that they were wanted; in this place, lies are pointless.

"System wanted?" the guard's voice took on a note of obvious wariness and... disgust? "Huh, another unlucky soul targeted by the Purple Corrosion's lackeys? Who knows if you're not spies sent by the Purification Society?"

Just then, Su Yu let out a soft "Huh," and the pendant at her neck again emitted a faint blue light that subtly resonated with the material of the warship wreck. She instinctively stepped forward a few paces, her gaze falling on an inconspicuous spot on the wall's base, etched with a gear‑and‑flame emblem similar to the Ark's marking.

"We... mean no harm," Su Yu raised her head, trying to send a thread of peaceful thought mixed with the pendant's unique vibration toward the wall, "We are merely looking for... the Fire Seed."

The two words "Fire Seed" were mentioned in Mother's data as a possible code for contacting early Ark survivors.

The guards on the wall fell silent for a moment, seemingly communicating via some internal channel. After a while, the heavy alloy gate, amid harsh metal grinding, slowly opened a slit just wide enough for one person to pass.

An old man in oil‑stained leather work clothes, his hair white but his eyes sharp as a hawk, stepped out from behind the gate. He held a tablet constantly flashing with data streams, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo and the others like a searchlight, lingering especially on Su Yu and the pendant at her neck.

"I am the Anvil's Mechanical Divine Artificer, Wo Ke." The old man's voice was gruff, rough from years of working with metal, "You mentioned the Fire Seed, and... the aura of the Ark." His eyes finally settled on Su Yu: "Little girl, the mark on you is quite special. Come in, but don't play tricks. Anvil's law: those who destroy order are thrown straight into the furnace."

The gate lowered behind them with a heavy thud, temporarily sealing off the outside desolation and danger.

Inside the settlement it was even more "hardcore" than it looked from outside. The streets were paved with metal grating, and on either side were shops and workshops converted from warship compartments, the constant clatter of hammering, welding sparks, and the hiss of steam. Most passersby wore utilitarian work clothes or simple armor, their faces showing the wariness and numbness typical of wasteland inhabitants, but deep in their eyes lingered a hint of the focused glow of technicians, different from ordinary outside survivors.

Wo Ke led them through the noisy streets to a fairly spacious building converted from a warship engine room, its door hung with a rough metal sign reading "Broken Gear Tavern and Information Exchange."

"Wait here," Wo Ke said, then took his tablet to the bar and spoke quietly with a burly bartender wearing a similarly oil‑stained leather apron and a thick beard, occasionally gesturing toward Chen Mo and Su Yu.

Many in the tavern cast scrutinizing looks, mixed with curiosity, wariness, and even a faint, hard‑to‑detect sympathy... Obviously, being a System‑wanted criminal is no secret here.

Chen Mo silently observed his surroundings. The people here seemed universally hostile toward the System, their technology clearly superior to that of the outside world, retaining more of the old era's industrial capacity. Perhaps this is the embryonic form of the resistance force mentioned in Mother's data?

After a while, Wo Ke and the bearded bartender walked over together.

"I'm Marcus, the owner here and one of Anvil's militia captains." The bearded bartender's voice rumbled like distant thunder as he sized up Chen Mo: "Kid, you've stirred up serious trouble. The System's wanted order is broadcast directly to every still‑running terminal. If it weren't for... the Fire Seed and Old Wo Ke's guarantee, you wouldn't even get through the door."

He shifted tone, a hint of probing: "Still, being so highly valued by the System also shows you have some skill. Tell me, how did you get on the bad side of those Purple Corrosion lackeys? And what's the deal with the Ark aura on that little girl?"

Chen Mo pondered, then selectively revealed some information: his encounter with the Purification Society, discovering the outpost, learning the truth about the System, and Su Yu's identity as an Observer, while withholding specific coordinates and the details of Mother's message.

After hearing Chen Mo's account, Marcus and Wo Ke exchanged a glance, their expressions growing grave.

"Observer... Primordial Blood... System truth..." Wo Ke muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with fervent research desire, "It seems the old records are true... the Ark's legacy has not been completely erased."

Marcus then slammed the metal bar hard, making a huge bang: "Damn! I knew that damn System had no good intentions! All that player‑level‑up nonsense is just pig feed!" His gaze at Chen Mo and the others lost a bit of scrutiny, gaining camaraderie: "You lot managed to escape the System's wanted order and make it here—you're real men! Anvil can't promise much, but at least we can give you a place to catch your breath and help fix your gear."

He pointed at Wo Ke: "Old Wo Ke is our best mechanic and archaeologist here—uh, basically the specialist who studies old‑era junk. He's very interested in Ark‑related stuff; if you need anything repaired or authenticated, go see him."

Wo Ke nodded, his gaze intense on Su Yu: "Little girl, I'm very interested in the mark on you and the research data on Primordial Blood. Perhaps we could cooperate. Anvil retains some old‑era forges and techniques; maybe we can help you... craft something that can counter the System's rules."

Hope seemed to cast a faint but genuine ray of light within this cold metal fortress.

Chen Mo looked at the two leaders before him—different in style but equally resolute—then at his weary teammates whose eyes had rekindled with hope, and nodded slowly.

"We need weapons, we need intel, we need to understand this wasteland and... the System's rule loopholes in this region."

Temporary safety brought precious time for rest and reorganization. And the fates of the Echo team and the Anvil settlement quietly intertwined at this moment. The true fire of rebellion may be rekindled from this fortress built upon the wreckage of a warship.