Chapter 16: Shadow of the Black Scorpion, the Venomous Fang Revealed

The Scavenger Anvil's warning smoldered like cold embers in the dead silence of Hope Outpost. The dust from the Mad Dog Squad's rout had barely settled, yet a deeper gloom had already descended. Sister Ai Li leaned against a reinforced barricade, her left hand wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, her face pale as paper, every breath pulling at sharp pain — but her icy gaze remained sharp, fixed on the direction of the eastern ruins — the direction from which the "Black Scorpions" might attack.

Lin Mo forced himself to ignore the gaping hole in their fighting strength left by Sister Ai Li's grievous wound, and the panic gnawing at his heart. He had to move! The workshop! Repair the crossbow! That was their only hope right now!

He soaked the relatively clean strips of cloth Xiang Lingna had gathered with precious purified water, carefully re-dressing Sister Ai Li's wound to minimize the risk of infection. Xiang Lingna silently dabbed the last of their plant ash along the edge of the wound on the back of Sister Ai Li's hand (the only "antiseptic" she could think of). Watching that nearly mangled hand, tears welled in Xiang Lingna's eyes.

"The workshop." Sister Ai Li's voice was hoarse with pain, yet unusually clear, her gaze turning toward the crooked metal frame. "The crossbow… it has to be fixed."

Lin Mo nodded heavily. He lunged straight for the crude workbench. Sister Ai Li's crossbow was ingeniously crafted, its prod forged from a strange metal laced with ghostly blue veins, and the trigger mechanism was even more complex. Lin Mo had no professional tools—only a rusty knife, a crowbar, a screwdriver, and a pair of hands trembling with tension.

He drew a deep breath, recalling the scattered bits of structure he had glimpsed when Sister Ai Li disassembled it for maintenance, and carefully began to take off the prod's wooden guard. Every movement was exceptionally cautious, afraid of damaging their only ranged weapon. Xiang Lingna watched tensely at his side, helping by handing him the small screws she had found.

Time slipped by in the rhythm of clinking taps and strained breathing. Lin Mo removed the twisted and deformed bowstring, then tried to repair the slightly bent trigger catch. Sweat soaked through his back, and progress was so slow it was despairing.

Outside the hollow, the wind whimpered, and the shadows of the ruins seemed to writhe in silence. Xiang Lingna stood watch, clutching the last spare light crossbow Sister Ai Li Li had given her — already strung — her small face taut, her big eyes anxiously scanning the surroundings, especially the east.

Suddenly, Xiang Lingna's nose twitched slightly. "Brother Lin Mo… there's… there's a weird smell…" she said in a small, timid voice.

Lin Mo paused his work and sniffed hard. Beyond the rust, blood, and plant ash, there did seem to be… an extra trace of an extremely faint, cloyingly sweet, slightly stifling scent? Like rotting fruit mixed with some kind of chemical agent?

"Not good!" Sister Ai Li's eyes snapped open, her gaze instantly razor-sharp. "Hold your breath! It's poison gas! The Black Scorpions' 'Sweet Dream'!" Her voice carried an urgency she had never shown before!

Almost at the same instant Sister Ai Li raised the alarm, on the downwind side of the hollow's eastern edge near the thorn wall, several wisps of extremely faint yellow-green smoke, nearly blending into the dusk, were creeping in along the ground like living things, silent and deadly! Not fast, but lethally so!

The Black Scorpions! They had come! And their opening move was the most insidious of all — a poison gas attack!

Lin Mo's scalp instantly prickled! He tore off a strip of his hem, trying to cover his nose and mouth, but it was too late! That cloying sweetness had already crept into his nostrils; a violent wave of dizziness crashed over him, and the scene before his eyes began to spin! Xiang Lingna's little face went even paler, her body swayed, and the light crossbow nearly slipped from her hands!

Sister Ai Li struggled to stand, but her grievous wounds and blood loss made her movements sluggish, and the poison gas seemed to hit her even harder!

It's over! A cold wash of despair flooded Lin Mo's heart. The Black Scorpions didn't even bother to show themselves — they were going to silently erase them in this tiny hollow with poison gas!

Just then!

"Buzz…"

A very faint hum, like the trembling of a leaf, rose from the broken bowl Xiang Lingna had been guarding at the mouth of the shack!

The two mysterious seedlings with purple-veined leaves, as if sensing a lethal threat, suddenly shook their tender top leaves violently! The purple veins on the leaves instantly lit up with a faint glow, and a plume of pale purple mist — richer and fresher than before — burst forth from the center of the two seedlings like a fountain!

This time, the purple mist no longer drifted slowly; it formed a thin, rotating barrier that instantly enveloped the shack's entrance and the nearby Lin Mo, Xiang Lingna, and Sister Ai Li!

A miraculous sight unfolded!

That cloyingly lethal yellow-green poison gas, upon touching the rotating pale purple mist barrier, melted and faded away like snow meeting sunlight! The dizzying sweetness in the air was replaced by a refreshing, heart-soothing scent of grass and trees!

Lin Mo felt his head clear instantly, the dizziness fading fast! Xiang Lingna steadied herself as well, staring in fright at the miraculous purple mist barrier.

A flash of shock crossed Sister Ai Li's eyes too, but what dominated was the decisiveness of seizing a lifeline! "Xiang Lingna! The crossbow! Shoot the source of the smoke!" she barked through gritted teeth, fighting off the dizziness and the searing pain!

Xiang Lingna was jolted awake by Sister Ai Li's shout. Looking at the poison smoke outside still trying to seep in but blocked by the purple mist, a flicker of fear crossed her little face — but what shone through more was the courage to protect her "home"! She raised the small light crossbow, her arm still trembling, but gritting her teeth, she aimed at the direction beyond the eastern wall where the poison smoke drifted — at the ruins shrouded in shadow!

"Twang!" The bolt left the string! The force was weak, the aim off, and it lodged at the edge of a broken wall.

Though it hadn't hit its target, that bolt was like a pebble tossed into a still pond!

"They're ready! Fall back!" A cold, raspy voice barked low from the shadows!

Several figures in dark gray tactical bodysuits and gas masks retreated from their cover behind the ruins like startled lizards, moving with unbelievable agility! The drifting yellow-green poison smoke, its source cut off, quickly dispersed.

The hollow fell silent once more, only the pale purple mist barrier still slowly rotating, casting a soft glow, guarding the three shaken survivors.

Xiang Lingna looked at the two seedlings in the broken bowl — after releasing the purple mist, their leaves had completely drooped, their purple veins dim and lifeless, as if drained of every spark of vitality — and burst out crying: "They… they're not moving anymore…"

Lin Mo looked at the dispersing poison smoke and the empty ruins outside, then at the wilted seedlings and the weeping Xiang Lingna, his heart filled with lingering dread and awe. The Black Scorpions… like venomous snakes in the shadows — strike and miss, and vanish at once — were even more chilling than the Mad Dogs' frenzy!

Sister Ai Li struggled to sit upright, watching the miraculous purple mist slowly dissipate, her gaze falling on the wilted seedlings, then turning to Xiang Lingna. Deep within her icy eyes, for the first time, there flickered a… complex, unreadable ripple. This mysterious power had saved them — but at what cost?

"They… will come back." Sister Ai Li's voice carried a heavy weariness, but more than that, a cold killing intent. "Next time… they'll be even more ruthless."

The Black Scorpions' venomous fang had already been bared. Hope Outpost, in the clash of poison mist and purple light, had survived by a hair's breadth — but was already battered and scarred, exposed to the gaze of an even more insidious hunter. Was the secret of Xiang Lingna's seedlings a blessing or a curse? In what form would the Black Scorpions' "Sweet Dream" descend next time?