Chapter 17: Anvil Returns, the Workshop's Roar and the Burning Bottles

The Black Scorpion retreated like a ghost, leaving behind deeper chill and the two mysterious seedlings now completely withered. Lingna guarded the broken bowl, tears dropping one after another, her small hand gently stroking the limp leaves as if transferring her own life force. Lin Mo watched, heart aching but powerless, and could only pour the last of the purified water down, praying for a miracle.

The most urgent matter is Sister Ai Li's crossbow and defense!

Lin Mo suppressed his worry and rushed back to the makeshift workshop. Although Sister Ai Li was severely injured and weak, her experience and keen eye remained. Leaning against the wall, she used her only functional right hand to painfully guide Lin Mo in repairing the crossbow mechanism.

"The latch... here, use a file... smooth it a bit... yes..."

"The spring... the angle is wrong... bend it back... careful! Don't break it!"

"The string... new... use that one... the main tendon of the mutated lizard... soak it soft... twist it tight..."

Sister Ai Li's voice came in broken fragments, accompanied by pained gasps, yet every instruction was precise. Lin Mo acted like the most focused apprentice, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the cold metal parts. Using metal scraps he had found, he fashioned a simple file and small pliers, and under Sister Ai Li's guidance, he corrected the deformed parts and replaced damaged components bit by bit.

Lingna also temporarily rallied from her grief. Knowing she couldn't help in the workshop, she poured all her energy into the potato field. To her surprise, although the seedlings were withered, the potato plants previously nourished by the purple mist seemed even more vigorous; their leaves were thicker and the green deeper. She tended to them with even greater care, as if they were the last hope.

Time passed amidst tense repairs and silent vigilance. When the sunset's afterglow once again dyed the ruins red, Lin Mo finally reset the last part and carefully installed a new crossbow string on the bow arm—one made from the main tendon of the mutated lizard, soaked, twisted tight, and coated with animal fat!

He held his breath and handed the repaired short crossbow to Sister Ai Li.

Sister Ai Li took it with her right hand. Although her left hand could not exert force, relying solely on her right hand and body stability, she inspected the crossbow mechanism's movement and the string's tension with extreme proficiency. Then, she slowly raised the bow arm, the dark blue arrowhead pointing at a piece of discarded iron sheet outside the hut.

"Click." The crossbow mechanism made a light sound.

"Whoosh!" The crossbow bolt became a streak of dark blue light, piercing precisely through the rusted iron sheet twenty meters away! It penetrated deep!

It's fixed!

Both Lin Mo and Lingna breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing smiles of survival. Sister Ai Li's cold lips seemed to twitch slightly, but were immediately replaced by a Heavy and Solemn expression. The crossbow was fixed, but her left hand was almost useless, her combat power greatly reduced. The threat of the Black Scorpion had not been eliminated.

"Need... stronger weapons." Sister Ai Li's gaze swept over several empty wine bottles collected in the corner of the workshop, and the half-can of thick, black mutated animal fat Lin Mo had left after burning plant ash.

A thought struck Lin Mo! A crude but deadly weapon seen in countless movies and games flashed in his mind—a Molotov cocktail!

"Perhaps... we can make this!" Lin Mo immediately described his idea to Sister Ai Li: fill the bottle with fat, stuff a cloth strip soaked in fat into the bottle mouth as a fuse, ignite it, and throw it to create a sea of fire!

Sister Ai Li's eyes brightened! Such a primitive flame weapon, in defensive battles within the narrow terrain of the wasteland, might be more terrifying than firearms! Especially against enemies charging in dense formation or... dispersing toxic smoke?

Let's do it! Lin Mo immediately got to work. Lingna helped wash the glass bottles, while Lin Mo carefully poured the thick animal fat into the bottles, leaving only a small space at the mouth. Then he tore off cloth strips, soaked them in fat, and tightly plugged the bottle mouths. Soon, three rough but danger-radiating Molotov cocktails were finished!

Looking at the three glass bottles, Lin Mo felt slightly calmer. These were their new trump card against unknown threats.

Just then, on the eastern side of the depression, that familiar sound of metal striking the ground, "clack... clack...", rang out again, growing louder as it approached from afar.

It's Anvil! That scavenger is back!

Sister Ai Li's short crossbow instantly rose, her eyes cold. Lin Mo also gripped his hunting rifle, which had only two bullets left, and signaled Lingna to hide.

Anvil's figure appeared at the end of the path. This time he carried no large backpack, only a small cloth bag; his face paint remained, but his expression seemed even more Heavy and Solemn. He stopped outside the thorn wall, gazing through the spikes, his eyes sweeping over the renewed thorn enclosure, the withered seedlings at the hut entrance, the Molotov cocktails in Lin Mo's hand, and finally settling on Sister Ai Li's tightly bandaged but still visibly twisted left hand, and the short crossbow beside her, just repaired and shimmering with dark blue cold light.

"Tsk." Anvil made an ambiguous clicking sound with his tongue, "Seems things got quite lively after I left. The Mad Dog didn't get his way, and even tasted the Black Scorpion's 'Sweet Dream'?" He had clearly deduced the general situation from the scene's traces and Sister Ai Li's injuries.

"What do you want?" Sister Ai Li's voice remained cold, the crossbow arrow vaguely pointing at Anvil.

"Trade." Anvil shook the cloth bag in his hand, "Information, for water. Clean water."

Lin Mo and Sister Ai Li exchanged a glance. Information was what they needed most right now!

"What information?" Lin Mo asked in a deep voice.

"Two." Anvil held up two fingers, "First, the Lame Wolf is furious. The Mad Dog escaped back severely injured, losing three subordinates. Vulture Cliff is gathering manpower, the number... no less than twenty. Better equipped. The target is this depression of yours, and... that little girl who can emit purple light." His gaze flicked toward Lingna inside the hut; Lingna shrank her neck in fear.

Twenty people! Well-equipped! Lin Mo's heart sank.

"Second," Anvil's voice lowered, carrying a hint of apprehension, "the Black Scorpion. You've stirred up big trouble. They aren't ordinary raiders. They are looking for 'Pure Samples'—clean water sources, land capable of purifying pollution, and... people like that little girl who can grow things in this ghost place, or even trigger 'Anomalies'!" His gaze swept over Lingna and the two seedlings again. "The poison gas just now was merely a probe. Their 'Doctor' is... very interested in this place of yours."

Pure Samples? Anomalies? Doctor? Lin Mo felt a chill run down his spine! The Black Scorpion's purpose was far more terrifying than the Blood Claw's simple raiding!

"Information given. Water." Anvil held out his hand.

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then used a broken bottle to fill half with filtered purified water and carefully passed it out through the thorns. Anvil took it, drank a large mouthful eagerly, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"In exchange for the water, I'll give you one more piece of advice." Anvil wiped his mouth, his expression Heavy and Solemn, "Defending is impossible. Whether the Blood Scorpion or the Black Scorpion strikes with full force, you'll be finished. To survive, either abandon this place and run deep into the 'Rust Canyon' before the Lame Wolf's main force arrives, and gamble on luck. Or..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Lin Mo's makeshift workshop where the short crossbow had just been repaired and the few Molotov cocktails, a strange smile tugging at his lips.

"... rely on this broken workshop of yours to produce something truly terrifying."

Having said that, he lingered no longer, leaning on his cane, and quickly disappeared into the twilight with a "clack, clack, clack."

The information Anvil brought was like two mountains, pressing down on Lin Mo until he could barely breathe. Over twenty elite Blood Claw soldiers, plus the mysterious and strangely motivated Black Scorpion organization... the Hope Outpost was like a lone boat in a raging sea.

Abandon? Looking at Lingna's carefully tended potato field, at Sister Ai Li's hand severely injured in defense, at the just-repaired short crossbow and those three Molotov cocktails... a strong unwillingness surged in Lin Mo's heart! This was the "home" they had built with blood and sweat!

"We cannot leave." Sister Ai Li's voice broke the silence, 异常 calm yet carrying undeniable force. She looked at her useless left hand, then at Lin Mo, "The workshop... continue. Make... things that can kill more people."

Her gaze fell on those empty bottles and the remaining fat.

Lin Mo understood her meaning. Molotov cocktails... not enough! They needed more, deadlier weapons!

He looked at the makeshift workshop, at the various metal scraps, springs, screws... collected in the corner... a crazy and dangerous thought sprouted wildly in his heart like weeds.

Perhaps... it's time to try that?