Chapter 56: Land of Reconstruction, Logical Cancer

Inside the Rust Eroded Canyon lies another world.

It is not decay, but a suffocating "order". Countless discarded pipes, reactors, and conveyors are not haphazardly piled; they are forcibly twisted and fused by an invisible force, forming towering, physics-defying Gothic-style metal spires and arches. Dark red data mist condenses into droplets here, writhing and flowing across the metal surfaces as if alive. The air reeks of strong iron rust, ozone, and a cloyingly sweet scent like rotting honey—this is highly concentrated data toxin.

Here the rule-lines are thicker and colder, like countless giant pythons coiling and constricting, sealing off this space completely. Chen Mo's Rule Analysis vision is heavily suppressed here, as if wading through viscous glue; the golden and white threads representing the Primordial Origin and the Luo Ya Legacy have become exceedingly scarce, like wild grass struggling to survive in cracks between boulders.

"The system's 'roots' run deep here," Su Yu whispered, her True Knowledge Vision also dimmed. "It is... digesting this place, completely transforming the industrial remnants of the old era into part of its database."

According to the Luo Ya Legacy's guidance, that outpost base should be located in the "Core Smelting Zone" at the canyon's deepest point. Yet every step forward is extraordinarily difficult.

They tried to create concealment via a compilation interface, but here the consumption of compilation is several times that of the outside world, and its effectiveness is greatly reduced. A simple visual-distortion compilation can last less than a second, and it immediately draws focused scans from the Detector-II type hovering overhead like vultures.

"No, the rule 'density' here is too high; our minor actions are like throwing stones into a calm lake— the ripples are too obvious." Li Siwen's face grew grave.

Just as they hid beneath a twisted metal arch bridge, temporarily evading a wave of dense detection scans, an anomaly occurred.

Not far ahead, a pile of scrap—originally static, made from old engines and pipes—suddenly writhed like a living thing! Metal parts frenziedly disassembled and reassembled, emitting a screeching scrape; in the blink of an eye it coalesced into a five-meter-tall horror construct resembling a spider, forged from countless sharp metal shards. Its eight compound eyes were formed from shattered instrument panels, needles spinning wildly, while its abdomen was a still-operating damaged reactor spewing dark red data streams.

【Area Defense Unit: Logical Cancer (Derivative)】

【Description: A malignant proliferative entity born from the abnormal fusion of system rules and waste matter in a heavily polluted environment. Traits: extremely high physical defense, variable energy resistance, possesses basic logic judgment and environmental self-adaptation capability, attacks carry a "data corruption" effect.】

Upon appearing, this Logical Cancer derivative did not attack immediately; instead, it locked onto the arch bridge where Chen Mo and the others hid using its chaotic compound eyes. It seemed not to rely on mere sight or life perception, but directly "sniffed" the "rule anomaly" on them that clashed with the system-assimilated environment.

"We've been spotted!" Han Qing hissed, bow already drawn.

"We can't force a clash! Too much movement will draw more!" Chen Mo's mind raced, scanning the surroundings. His gaze fell on the thick pipes hanging above the arch bridge, still slowly oozing dark red data sludge.

A daring thought flashed through his mind.

"Su Yu, analyze the energy fluctuation frequency and structural weak points of its core reactor!"

"Everyone else, hear my command—prepare to jointly compile the target: the data-sludge discharge interface of the upper pipe number three!"

The order was relayed instantly. Su Yu's eyes locked onto the reactor constantly spewing data streams, quickly finding an extremely subtle, periodic gap in its energy output. Meanwhile, Han Qing and the others immediately focused their mental power on the pipe interface Chen Mo had designated.

The Logical Cancer advanced on limbs forged from rebar, emitting a heavy roar as it lunged forward! Its sharp metal forelimbs swung like giant sickles toward the arch bridge!

"Now! Compile: discharge pressure peak! Aim at the reactor's fluctuation gap!"

Chen Mo led, and everyone's mental power output synchronized instantly!

Not a direct attack on the monster, nor a compilation of self-concealment. Instead, they compiled a "component" of the environment—the "pressure rule interface" of that pipe discharging data sludge!

Hum!

The pipe above shuddered violently; the slow-flowing dark red sludge, as if gripped by an invisible hand, was suddenly compressed into a high-pressure water arrow that shot with pinpoint accuracy at the tiny, just-exposed energy fluctuation gap in the Logical Cancer's abdominal reactor!

This sludge is no ordinary liquid, but a highly concentrated data toxin bearing the imprint of system rules!

"Pfft!"

The sludge struck the weak point precisely! The reactor's light flickered wildly, followed by a series of muffled explosions from within. The Logical Cancer derivative's forward momentum froze, its massive body convulsed violently, and its metal shards clattered to the ground; the reactor's glow rapidly dimmed, then with a final "bang" it sputtered out, collapsing into a heap of true scrap metal.

No earth-shaking explosion—just a single, ultra-precise "environmental exploitation." They used the system's own power, by compiling its rule "interface," to trigger an internal chain reaction of collapse in its creation.

Everyone exhaled in relief, yet their mood did not relax. Although the compilation had been exquisite and low-cost, that moment's rule disturbance still resembled lighting a match in the darkness.

Sure enough, the detector swarm in the sky immediately shifted, diving toward their location! Farther off came the grating metal screech of more Logical Cancer derivatives being activated.

"Exposed! Move!" Chen Mo bellowed, leading the charge toward the direction where the outpost base might lie.

The road ahead became a desperate chase and extreme compilation through a steel jungle.

They no longer pursued total concealment, but applied their compilation interface ability at the tactical level.

When the detector swarm dove, Zhao Lei and Liu Qian jointly compiled the "air density" and "light refraction" interfaces of a small area, creating brief optical distortion and energy barriers to disrupt their lock-on.

When Logical Cancer closed in from all sides, Han Qing and Zhang Yang stopped attacking its sturdy shell and instead compiled the "friction coefficient" of the ground beneath it or the "temporary stability" of nearby metal structures, causing collapses or topplings to impede its movement.

Wang Hu and Li Siwen focused on compiling unstable energy nodes in the environment—such as leaking cables or overloaded transformers—briefly compiling their "energy release" interface when pursuers approached, producing small-scale electromagnetic pulses or explosions.

Chen Mo and Su Yu, as the brain and eyes, continually parsed the environment, seeking exploitable rule gaps, guiding each hair's-breadth compilation.

They danced on a knife's edge, exploiting the system's own rule complexity and the region's still-undigested "chaos" to parry pursuers. Each compilation was like stepping onto a minefield—must achieve effect while keeping rule disturbance below the threshold that would instantly draw the system's main body's gaze.

Under such extreme pressure, their grasp and application of compilation power surged rapidly. From initially clumsy and costly consumption, they became ever more precise and effortless. They learned how to "borrow strength to strike strength," how to exploit interactions between different rule interfaces to achieve the effect of moving a thousand pounds with four ounces.

Finally, after paying the price of Wang Hu's left arm being grazed by data corruption and Li Siwen suffering mild mental-energy burns, they broke through layer after layer of blockade and reached the canyon's deepest point.

Before them lay a huge crater, as if formed by a meteorite impact. At its center, instead of the expected factory building, was a bottomless metal well whose rim was smooth as a mirror. Around the wellhead stood six white stone pillars, etched with Luo Ya civilization symbols, now badly broken. Between the pillars lingered faint energy barriers, stubbornly resisting erosion by the surrounding dark red data mist.

Above the wellhead hovered a massive, constantly rotating dark-gold cube, its surface flowing with countless intricate data streams, emitting vibrations that shared the origin of the Source Code Fragments but were far older and vaster.

The entrance to the Luo Ya outpost base! And that dark-gold cube is very likely the "Logic Core" mentioned in the legacy—the key repository for research on the "Chaos Whisper."

But at the same time, the ground and cliffs around the crater began to convulse violently! More Logical Cancer derivatives of varied shapes, like monsters crawling from a nightmare, slowly rose up, completely encircling them; the sky was also fully obscured by dense detector swarms.

The system gave them no further chance. It concentrated all mobilizable defensive forces onto this final "anomaly point."

Chen Mo gazed at the heavily encircled wellhead and Logic Core, then at his comrades—scarred yet eyes still blazing with fire—drew a deep breath, and clenched the two fused Source Code Fragments in his bosom.

This is the final obstacle.

He spoke softly, yet his voice rang clear in everyone's ears.

This time, we won't hide.

Let us see whether this 'Land of Reconstruction' can withstand... the wrath of the Primordial Origin.