Chapter 67: Plague Mutation, Pure Fire Awakening

The cold wind of Bingfeng Valley seemed to chase the rescue team's steps, bringing the biting chill back to the Echo Camp. Han Qing and four scouts were rushed into the medical tents; their frostbite far exceeded the normal, and beneath skin a ominous pale blue seeped, the erosion left by the "Absolute Low Temperature" rule. Even Su Yu's life‑energy guidance was of little effect, barely sustaining their vitality.

The atmosphere at the camp's center was heavier than the weather. They rescued people, but everyone knew the price.

"They're after you, Chen Mo." Li Siwen pushed his glasses up, his eyes behind the lenses bloodshot. In front of him lay the damaged tablet wreckage seized from the white‑uniform officer. "I tried to repair the storage unit; most of the data self‑destructed, but in the recovered fragments the terms 'High‑Dimensional Rule Interference Entity', 'Supreme Threat', 'Capture or Destroy' appear with extremely high frequency. Your priority on their list is probably now first."

Chen Mo silently watched the campfire's dancing flames, a faint throb emanating from where his chest merged with the Primordial Core. Bingfeng Valley forcibly guided and defined a wide‑range low‑temperature rule, draining his mental energy; now a wave of exhaustion rose like tide. Yet he was more concerned about another matter.

"That energy net, and their reaction speed to my rule interference…" Chen Mo began slowly, "They're not adapting; they seem to be… analyzing and learning. Next time, they may have measures specifically targeting me."

Hui Jin, who had been silently breathing, suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse with a strange rasp: "It's not just about you." He raised his hand, a strand of white Pure Fire flickered at his fingertip, but the core of the flame subtly showed an almost imperceptible icy blue. "My Pure Fire, after contacting that energy, seems… also to have been 'marked'. I can feel a cold will, far away, attempting to dissect the essence of Pure Fire."

This news sent a chill down everyone's spine. The Ark's objective was not only Chen Mo, the "High‑Dimensional Rule Interference Entity", but all "abnormal" forces that could threaten them!

At that moment, a panicked shout came from the east side of the camp—"Bad! 'Life Barrier'! The barrier is weakening!"

Everyone's complexion changed abruptly, and they rushed toward the Isolation zone. The previously stable white light shield was now thinning at a visible speed, rippling continuously as if being eroded by an invisible force! Inside, the black Data Plague zone, whose dead silence had been suppressed, reawakened; the charred, circuit‑like patterns resembled living veins, faintly pulsing, beginning to expand outward slowly but steadily.

"What's happening? Is the energy core output unstable?" Li Siwen rushed toward the device maintaining the Life Barrier.

"No! Energy output is normal!" the technician guarding the device shouted in terror, "It's… it's the Plague itself! It's mutating! It's adapting to the barrier's filtering rules, trying to bypass the 'whitelist' detection!"

Su Yu's True Knowledge Vision flared at full power, her complexion turning instantly pale: "It's not just adapting… it's absorbing the barrier's energy! Though slowly, it is indeed using the barrier's Primordial Force to self‑replicate and strengthen! It's… it's come alive!"

The artificially created Data Plague has somehow acquired an "evolution" capability! This is definitely the Ark, after detecting the camp's defenses, remotely activating or guiding the Plague's mutation!

"Reinforce the barrier! Increase energy output!" Chen Mo barked orders.

Li Siwen and the technician scrambled to adjust the device, pouring more Primordial Core crystals into the energy circuit; the barrier's light shield steadied slightly, but everyone could see this was merely a stopgap. The Plague continued absorbing energy, its mutation accelerated, and the barrier's breach was only a matter of time.

We must quickly find a cure for the Plague, or the entire camp will be devoured by this black death!

"Hui Jin, the Pathfinder," Chen Mo looked at the Pure Fire leader beside him, "You just said your Pure Fire was marked? Could you describe that feeling in detail?"

Hui Jin closed his eyes and focused; the strand of ice‑blue Pure Fire at his fingertip quivered slightly: "Cold… hollow… bearing a greed to decompose and assimilate all 'heterogeneous' things. It tries to understand Pure Fire's composition, seeking the core 'purification' rule, then… pollute it, or overlay it."

Understanding? Overlay?

In Chen Mo's mind, a flash of lightning seemed to streak! He suddenly glanced at the mutating Plague battering the barrier, then at Hui Jin's fingertip Pure Fire.

"I have an idea… risky," Chen Mo's voice carried a hint of resolve, "Since it's trying to dissect and learn, let's let it learn!"

"What do you mean?" Su Yu asked, puzzled.

"Doesn't it want to understand Pure Fire's 'purification' rule? We'll give it a 'purification' rule! Not the true core, but a… 'trap'!" Chen Mo's eyes gleamed, "Hui Jin, the Pathfinder, I need you to separate a small strand of Pure Fire Origin, strip its outermost 'purification' trait, forming a pure, untainted by your personal will, 'purification rule model'."

Hui Jin instantly grasped Chen Mo's intention, his pupils narrowing: "You want… to feed it? Then embed a trap within that rule model?"

"Exactly!" Chen Mo nodded, "Engineer Li, cooperate with Hui Jin, the Pathfinder, to wrap this stripped rule model with the lowest‑power Primordial Energy, simulating an unowned, absorbable 'information packet'. Then we will deliberately open an extremely tiny fissure in the barrier and send this 'information packet' inside!"

"That's too dangerous!" Li Siwen exclaimed, "What if it absorbs it and becomes stronger?"

"So the trap is key!" Chen Mo looked at Su Yu, "Su Yu, your True Knowledge Vision can see the Plague's data operation logic. We need to design a logical bomb—when it absorbs and begins executing this 'purification rule model', a trigger condition forces its internal logic into a dead loop or causes rule conflicts, causing self‑collapse!"

This is an extremely precise and dangerous plan. The trap must be flawless, undetectable by the Plague. The feeding process must be exact, lest it absorb too much genuine barrier energy.

There is no time to hesitate; the barrier's glow is dimming faster.

Hui Jin was the first to sit cross‑legged, his expression solemn, beginning to carefully strip a strand of Pure Fire Origin. Su Yu and Li Siwen immediately gathered around, the three anxiously designing the lethal 'rule trap'.

Chen Mo stayed by the barrier, continuously performing low‑intensity rule mediation, forcibly slowing the Plague's spread, buying every second for the trap's creation. Cold sweat seeped constantly from his forehead; his mental energy was near depletion.

Second after second passed. Everyone at the camp held their breath, watching the three who decided the camp's fate.

Finally, after half an hour, Hui Jin held up an energy sphere no larger than a fingernail, its interior swirling with pure white aura and countless tiny golden runes— the 'purification rule model' stripped of will, its core harboring a logical bomb meticulously crafted by Su Yu and Li Siwen, perfectly integrated with the model.

"Ready," Hui Jin's voice carried a hint of fatigue.

Chen Mo nodded, inhaled deeply, and walked to the barrier. He extended a finger, lightly tapping the light shield.

"Mediation: Barrier structure—open micro‑channel (duration: 0.1 seconds)!"

Buzz! A pinprick‑sized hole appeared on the light shield!

The prepared Li Siwen immediately used a custom guider to fire the trap‑laden 'information packet' precisely into the hole!

The hole sealed instantly.

Everyone's hearts rose to their throats, eyes fixed on the black Plague within the Isolation zone.

The mutating Plague seemed to pause, then, like a shark sensing blood, countless black data streams surged madly toward the just‑injected, alluring 'purification' scented information packet! They greedily enveloped, dissected, and absorbed it…

It succeeded!

However, just as everyone thought the plan succeeded, the mutation rebirthed!

The absorbed 'purification rule model' did not immediately trigger the trap; instead, at the Plague's core, a speck of pure white light flared! The Plague's expansion halted abruptly, even beginning to contract slightly inward!

"What's happening? The trap failed?" Zhang Yang shouted.

"No… not right…" Su Yu's complexion turned extremely odd; her True Knowledge Vision saw an unbelievable scene, "It's… it's using that model… to self‑purify?!"

The white light grew brighter, gradually dispelling the surrounding darkness; a truly pure, trap‑free 'purification' force spread from the Plague's core!

"It's Hui Jin's Pure Fire Origin!" Chen Mo snapped his gaze to Hui Jin.

Hui Jin himself was also stunned, feeling the purification force, same source yet purer and older, muttering, "It's not me… it's… Pure Fire itself? It's resonating? Stimulated by that external analytical pressure… awakening a part of… an ancient inheritance?"

As if to confirm his words, within the Isolation zone the white light burst explosively! Not an explosion, but spreading like warm sunshine! Wherever it touched, the black Plague, like paper thrown into fire, melted and disintegrated into void! Not only the Plague itself, but also the corrupted land, under this pure purification light, shed its deathly silence, faintly showing a spark of life!

Within minutes, the once hopeless black zone vanished without a trace. Only a somewhat barren, now harmless land remained, and the air retained a refreshing pure scent.

Everyone was stunned, watching this miraculous scene.

The barrier no longer needed maintenance; Li Siwen shut down the device, and silence fell over the camp.

Hui Jin stared blankly at his hands; the strand of Pure Fire that once bore a hint of ice‑blue now shone unprecedentedly pure and bright.

"Pure Fire… the true power…" he whispered, his eyes filled with awe and enlightenment.

Chen Mo walked to his side, looking at the purified land, and said slowly, "It seems the Ark seeks to dissect and overlay a source of power they cannot comprehend."

He lifted his head, gazing northward, his stare profound.

"They released the Plague, awakening a more ancient existence."

"This game is becoming increasingly interesting."

The unexpected awakening of Pure Fire averted the camp's annihilation, but also foreshadows that the clash with the Ark will enter an even more unpredictable realm. Ancient inheritance and cold technology—who will define this wasteland's future?