Chapter 76: Light of Hope, Dark Tides Rise Again

The Rule Neutralizer reclaimed from the Iron Curtain outpost caused a stir in the camp no less than Kaiwen's defection as a "rare protected animal". That ice‑blue potion was ushered by Li Siwen and Hui Jin into the temporary medical shed as if bearing an ancestral tablet, and even the rough‑handed Zhang Yang subconsciously softened his steps as he passed.

"I'm telling you, Old Han, you're being stubborn," Zhang Yang leaned against the medical shed doorway, muttering to the still‑unconscious Han Qing inside, "This was the brothers' lives… uh, mainly their faces (referring to that ridiculous ice‑skating battle) they traded for it. If you don't get up and treat us to a good meal, this isn't over!"

Wang Hu, standing nearby, nodded heavily and added, "At least… ten roasted wart pigs!"

Hui Jin ignored the two jokers, his expression solemn as he injected a dose of the neutralizer into the pale‑blue frozen wound on Han Qing's arm. The moment the medicine touched the skin, a faint "sizzle" sounded, and the ice‑blue mist clashed violently with the pale‑blue rule‑freezing power, like water and fire merging. Han Qing's body trembled sharply, his brows knit as if bearing immense pain, yet the bruised purple on his face began to recede at a visibly rapid rate.

"It worked!" Su Yu's clenched hand finally relaxed, a smile of relief spreading across her face.

Chen Mo stood aside, watching the scene, and the stone that had long pressed on his chest seemed to lighten a few points. He patted Zhang Yang's and Wang Hu's shoulders: "The roasted wart pigs will be there; once he wakes, let him go fetch them himself."

A few days later, Han Qing finally opened his eyes slowly under the hopeful gazes of everyone. Though still weak and in need of recuperation, the deep‑seated icy freeze had vanished, replaced by the long‑missed warmth of the living. He looked at the companions gathered around the bed, moved his lips, and finally managed only two words, hoarse from surviving the calamity: "…Thanks."

The camp's morale surged from this hard‑won victory. Kaiwen's status rose even higher, upgraded from "rare protected animal" to "distinguished technical consultant", walking with a breeze, though he still couldn't curb his sharp‑tongued habit.

"Look! Look!" he pointed at the newly calibrated, wider‑range "Big Eye No. 2" warning system that Li Siwen had just finished adjusting; the screen clearly distinguished mutated creatures (yellow dots) and potential threat zones (orange dots). "Now that's what technology changing life looks like! Before you were just feeling around in the dark; now we have satellite‑guided… uh, wasteland off‑road vehicles!"

Li Siwen, unusually not arguing, pushed his glasses up, a smile at the corner of his mouth: "The algorithm's optimized, the hardware upgraded; next time you fight, remember to scavenge an i11."

Even more delightful was the experimental field to the east. Under Hui Jin's and the cultists' careful, almost stingy "Pure Fire micro‑manipulation", those few drought‑resistant potatoes actually survived stubbornly, even sprouting tender green new leaves! The Ning Shen Grass grew vigorously, emitting a faint, calming fragrance that soothed the spirit.

Su Yu spent time each day by the field's edge, watching the slowly expanding green as if seeing the world's hope breaking through the soil. She even began using the simple Pure Water device cobbled together by Li Siwen and Kaiwen to try cultivating some more precious herb seeds brought back from the fresh soil.

Hope, like a spark of stars, began to quietly spread across the battered land of Echo Camp. People's faces were no longer numb and desperate; they now held a bit more drive and yearning for the future. Repairing houses, reinforcing walls, learning to use new tools, even learning the most basic Pure Fire meditation from Hui Jin's cultists (though most could only light a cigarette‑size flame)… everything was moving toward a better direction.

Chen Mo stood on the newly re‑planned Watchtower, watching the orderly, vibrant camp below, a warm current rising in his heart. This was the meaning of their fight—not for destruction, but to guard this hard‑won "daily life".

Yet the wasteland sky had never truly cleared.

A few days later, in the dead of night, a shrill alarm ripped the camp's silence! On the "Big Eye No. 2" screen, an unprecedented massive light point glowing deep crimson surged toward them at astonishing speed from the northwest!

"What the—?!" the night‑shift Li Siwen sprang from his chair, fully awake. Kaiwen stared at the data stream on the screen, his face turning ashen instantly: "Energy reading off the charts! Rule disturbance level… surpassing all known Ark units! This… what the hell is this thing?!"

Chen Mo, Su Yu, Han Qing (barely getting up), Zhang Yang, Wang Hu and the others rushed to the command post at once.

On the screen, the crimson light point's outline was clear—it was a humanoid creature hovering mid‑air, cloaked in tattered black robes! It had no legs; its lower half was a constantly churning, oil‑like black mass, and it wielded a long scythe of pure shadow that twisted and shifted endlessly. Wherever it passed, even the footage transmitted by "Big Eye No. 2" began to warp and snow‑flake!

"Not standard Ark equipment…" Kaiwen's voice trembled, "Its style… feels more like… the art of Return to the Void!"

Return to the Void?! A collective shiver ran through everyone.

The black silhouette halted about a kilometer from the camp, two scarlet glints beneath its hood sweeping over the camp, a will of endless void, cold and malice, materializing like a shockwave, crashing down with a roar!

"Found… the stench of… Primordial Origin…"

A dry, eerie whisper as if countless voices layered together rang directly in everyone's mind! Several weaker‑willed survivors immediately clutched their heads and crouched in pain.

"Definition Firewall!" Chen Mo didn't hesitate, slamming his hands to the ground, resonating instantly with Hui Jin and several core cultists! A golden mesh reappeared, enveloping the entire camp!

The shadow will struck the firewall, emitting a teeth‑gnashing grinding sound! The firewall quivered violently, but this time it was no longer as stable as before! The "Return to the Void" rules embedded in the shadow will seemed highly corrosive to the "Definition Firewall"!

"It's parsing the firewall's structure!" Su Yu exclaimed, her True Knowledge Vision allowing her to see the shadow force as countless tiny black worms crazily gnawing the golden mesh's rule nodes!

Hui Jin's face turned pale, his hands maintaining the Pure Fire foundation trembling slightly: "Can't hold it much longer! Its rule tier… is too high!"

The airborne Return to the Void apostle seemed a bit impatient; it lifted its shadow scythe and gave the firewall a light swing!

No sound, yet everyone felt as if their souls were ripped open! The firewall emitted a strained wail, and a section near the edge instantly dimmed, shattered, turning into void!

"Not good!" Chen Mo muttered, a trickle of blood spilling from his mouth corner. Forcing the firewall to withstand this level of existence consumed far beyond his imagination!

"Dammit! I'll take it on!" Zhang Yang roared, about to charge out.

"Come back!" Han Qing, mustering his weakness, grabbed him, "That's suicide!"

At that critical moment, the Return to the Void apostle suddenly halted its attack. Its scarlet gaze swept over the trembling firewall, seeming to "look" at Chen Mo, its eyes filled with greed and… an indescribable "curiosity".

"Seeds… have been marked…"

"Await… harvest…"

Leaving that chilling phrase, the Return to the Void apostle's figure dissolved like ink melting in water, fading slowly into the night sky, and the terrifying will‑pressure receded with it.

Inside the camp, a death‑like silence. Only the faint "crackle" from the broken firewall's lingering energy and the heavy breathing of the group could be heard.

Chen Mo wiped the blood from his mouth corner, gazing toward where the Return to the Void apostle vanished, his eyes unusually solemn.

The light of hope had just ignited, yet deeper darkness was already creeping in.

The Ark was not settled, Return to the Void returned.

This survival battle seemed only to have entered its truly brutal chapter. And their small Echo, already locked in the gaze of the data abyss, was firmly targeted.