Chapter 111: The Water-Purification Hub, Uninvited Guests

The storeroom was saturated with a suffocating deathly stillness and the lingering miasma of fear. The final wail of the deep-green crystal shard and the hellish vision were seared into the three of them like cold brands.

"Key… annihilation… Wang Ting…" Xiang Lingna hugged her shoulders, her small body still trembling faintly, her large eyes filled with terror at the vision just witnessed and instinctive panic at the word "key." She unconsciously touched her empty chest, where the Heart of Jade shard had once hung—now only the completely withered remnant of that tender twig remained.

Wrench, meanwhile, crouched beside the shattered crystal powder, carefully prodding it with his metal-tipped conduit, muttering, "Self-destructing information carrier? Energy-triggered? This tech is a bit sinister… the elves play this game too?" The goblin's thirst for knowledge seemed, for the moment, to outweigh his fear.

Bronze Beard wore the heaviest and most solemn expression. A dwarf's instinct told him the secret they had just glimpsed was a maw deep enough to devour everything. "Key," "Origin," "Hand of Annihilation," "core of the Withered Wang Ting"… every word carried an ill-omened curse. And they, it seemed, were already standing at the edge of the storm.

"Let's go… get out of here first." Bronze Beard said in a low voice, taking the lead in picking up the rune-engraving knife and several jars of pure crystal dust. Wrench also came to his senses, hastily pocketing a few pieces of luminous white jade slabs inscribed with runes (which he called "elven circuit diagrams").

The three quickly retreated from the storeroom; the stone door closed heavily behind them, sealing away that aura of despair.

Returning to the core sanctuary, the steady hum of the altar in operation and the warm glow of the luminous moss dispelled some of the chill in their hearts. Xiang Lingna threw herself onto the mossy ground beside the altar, as if only by pressing close to that surging vitality could she feel safe. Once again she softly hummed that little tune of natural rhythm; under her soothing, the luminous moss grew faster, its light growing softer and brighter.

Bronze Beard carefully set the rune-engraving knife and crystal dust beside the altar's base. They now had the tools to repair the thorned passage, but Xiang Lingna's condition was clearly unsuited to such a complex and dangerous operation right away. They needed to rest, and to learn more about the sanctuary.

His gaze fell on the luminous jade slabs Wrench had brought back. Perhaps within these elven "circuit diagrams" were instructions on how to safely repair the passage?

"Wrench… take a look at those jade slabs…"

Wrench immediately perked up, sat down cross-legged, placed a jade slab on his knee, and pressed his bean-sized eyes extremely close, carefully studying the intricate and arcane patterns. "Tsk tsk… this energy circuit design… exquisite! Too exquisite! Totally different from us dwarves… no, totally different from us goblins! Wait… here… this looks like the master-control rune array for a water-purification system?"

As he studied, he used his metal-tipped conduit to trace patterns on the smooth floor, trying to copy and understand them. Suddenly, pointing at a relatively independent, structurally complete rune-array module on the jade slab, he called out excitedly, "Boss! This one! This looks like the hub that controls the purification and distribution of water throughout the whole sanctuary! Activate it, and maybe we can gather and channel all the seepage points from every corner into one place—build ourselves a big pool!"

A water-purification hub? Bronze Beard's heart stirred. If they could concentrate the scattered, tiny seepage points into a stable water reserve, it would be hugely significant for them.

"Can… it be activated?"

"Let's try! This module doesn't look badly damaged, and I've seen the energy nodes it needs on the storeroom map! Right in that passage next door!" Wrench was eager to try, snatching up the rune-engraving knife and a jar of crystal dust. "Little Lingna, come with me! Might need your little hand to press something!"

Under Wrench's direction, the three quickly found the entrance to the next-door passage (also a hidden wall node). This passage was narrower; at its end was a small stone chamber, and at the center of the chamber stood a half-person-tall, complex apparatus made of countless tiny crystal pipes and rune bases. Most of the apparatus was dim and dark, covered in thick dust; only at its core were embedded several fist-sized energy crystals emitting a faint blue glow.

"This is it! The water-purification core hub!" Wrench pointed at a clearly cracked rune node at the apparatus's core. "Look, it's broken here! Dip the knife in crystal dust and fill the crack following the pattern on the jade slab! Lingna—when I say press, you put your hand on this biggest crystal and think hard about making the water flow over!"

Wrench carefully dipped the tip of the rune-engraving knife into a pinch of shimmering pure crystal dust, held his breath, and following the pattern on the jade slab, extremely slowly and precisely filled the dust into the crack of that rune node. The instant the crystal dust touched the crack, it lit up with a faint glow, seeping in like melting stardust.

"Lingna! Press!"

Xiang Lingna took a deep breath and placed her small hand on the largest of the faint-blue crystals at the apparatus's core. She closed her eyes, striving to focus, imagining the scene of water flowing together, mobilizing her innate affinity with nature.

Hum!

The instant Xiang Lingna's hand touched it, the spot filled by the rune-engraving knife burst forth with a soft blue light! The crack sealed itself at a speed visible to the naked eye! The entire dormant water-purification hub apparatus seemed infused with life—countless tiny crystal pipes lit up one by one from near to far with a soft blue radiance! A low, pleasant sound of flowing water rose within the pipes!

From the direction of the core sanctuary came the gurgling rush of water!

The three hurried back to the core sanctuary. There, at what had originally been a shallow seepage basin, a finger-thick stream of clear, cold water was now gushing from a suddenly enlarged hole within the wall! The water poured into the basin, the level rising rapidly, and soon a small pool had formed! Crystal clear to the bottom, emanating a pure breath of life!

"It worked! Oh, my Wrench God! I'm a genius!" Wrench capered about excitedly, nearly flinging the water tank off his "Survival Arm."

Xiang Lingna laughed happily too, cupping a handful of clear water and taking a sip—sweet and refreshingly cold.

Bronze Beard gazed at this pool of clear spring, and a rare trace of relief showed in his single eye. A stable water source is the cornerstone of survival. Wrench's uncanny talent for elven rune-craft, and Xiang Lingna's pure resonance ability, had both been validated in this small success. Perhaps repairing the thorned passage was not so far out of reach after all.

He walked to the edge of the pool, meaning to scoop up some water to wash the blood from his face. Just as he bent down—

Crack!

An extremely faint yet unusually clear sound of something shattering came from the ventilation opening above (a small hole covered in luminous moss)!

Not rock flaking off—more like… something brittle and hard being crushed underfoot?

The three froze instantly; every sound vanished, leaving only the gurgle of water falling into the pool.

Bronze Beard jerked his head up, his single eye sharp as an eagle's, fixing on that ventilation opening. Xiang Lingna covered her mouth in terror. Wrench instinctively tightened his grip on the sharp conduit on his "Survival Arm."

Beyond the ventilation opening, a deathly stillness.

But the dwarf Bronze Beard's keen senses told him something… was out there! In the darkness, beyond that thin stone wall, quietly… watching them!

Who? Underground creatures drawn by the sound of water? Or… hounds sent by the Doctor?

Or… other "survivors" down here in the withered forest, besides themselves?

A chill once again crept silently through the sanctuary, which had only just tasted the joy of gaining a water source.