Chapter 18: Beneath the Thorns: The Forge, the Crude Lightning, and the Scavenger's Bargain

The Anvil's warning clung like a bone-burrowing maggot, lingering in the night air of Hope Outpost. The oppressive presence of twenty Blood Claw elites, combined with the Black Scorpion "Doctor's" chilling interest, made the basin's air seem to freeze into solid lead.

The thought of giving up flashed through Lin Mo's mind for only an instant before it was shattered by Sister Ai Li's icy resolve and Xiang Lingna's helpless gaze. Hold! They had to hold! By any means necessary!

The crude workshop became their final bastion of hope.

Sister Ai Li's instructions were clear and cold: manufacture more weapons capable of mass destruction. Molotov cocktails were one option, but against enemies charging in a scattered formation or archers hiding behind cover, their effectiveness was limited.

Lin Mo's gaze fell on a few brass-colored shotgun shells scavenged from the marauders, sitting in the corner of the workshop. An extremely dangerous, yet potentially viable crude weapon surfaced in his mind—a **booby trap / tripwire mine! **

The principle was simple: use the shell's primer, triggered by a pull or trip mechanism, to detonate the propellant inside the shell, producing a small-scale explosion and fragmentation damage! They had all the materials—shells, springs, wire, and a small packet of black powder accidentally found near the Gnawrat lair, possibly a relic from the old era!

But this idea was far too dangerous! One careless slip, and instead of blowing up the enemy, they'd send themselves sky-high!

Lin Mo told Sister Ai Li of his idea and its enormous risks. Sister Ai Li was silent for a moment, looked at the few shells, then looked at Lin Mo, and said only two words: "Careful. Do it."

With Sister Ai Li's tacit approval, Lin Mo immediately sprang into action, his heart pounding with tension and excitement. He selected one shotgun shell and, using a rusty knife and small pliers, attempted with extreme caution to separate the slug from the casing—this was the most dangerous step! Any excessive force or wrong angle could set off the primer prematurely!

Sweat soaked through his clothes, his fingers trembling slightly from the strain. Xiang Lingna watched from afar, not daring to even breathe loudly. Sister Ai Li leaned against the wall, resting her eyes, but her faintly trembling lashes showed she hadn't truly relaxed.

Finally, with a soft "click," the slug was unscrewed intact, revealing the black granular propellant packed inside. Lin Mo let out a long breath, his back drenched in cold sweat. He carefully poured half the propellant into a small iron canister to reduce the power and lower the risk of a dud or accidental explosion, mixed it with an equal portion of black powder to enhance the deflagration effect, and stirred it evenly.

Next, using the fine spring and tough wire he'd found, he fashioned a crude but effective pull-trigger mechanism: the spring provided tension, the wire served as the trip line. He carefully secured the device to the primer end at the base of the casing, leading the trip line out. Finally, he carefully poured the mixed powder back into the casing, packed it down, then forced the slug back on as best he could—not a perfect seal, but enough to keep the powder from spilling out.

An utterly crude, unknown-power, questionable-reliability improvised "land mine / trip mine" was complete! Lin Mo held it in his hands, feeling as though he were holding a red-hot branding iron.

"The first one… shall we test it?" Lin Mo looked at Sister Ai Li.

Sister Ai Li opened her eyes and nodded. She had Lin Mo bring this dangerous "creation" to a spot on the basin's edge, far from the settlement, backed against a large chunk of concrete rubble. Xiang Lingna was strictly ordered to stay in the shack.

Lin Mo dug a shallow pit in the hard soil with his dagger, buried the "mine" inside, leaving only the trip line exposed. He carefully ran the trip line out a dozen or so meters and anchored it to another rock.

"Fall back." Sister Ai Li signaled Lin Mo to take cover behind the concrete rubble.

Lin Mo drew a deep breath, ducked behind the cover, his heart in his throat. Sister Ai Li stood at a slightly farther safe distance, raising the repaired hand crossbow.

"Thwip!" A crossbow bolt precisely severed the trip line!

"Fizzle…" The violent explosion they'd anticipated never came! There was only a soft hiss, like damp powder, a thin wisp of blue smoke rising from the buried mine, and the slug being lofted a few meters away by a feeble push before dropping limply to the ground.

A dud!

A wave of crushing disappointment washed over Lin Mo. Had it failed? Was the powder damp? Or was the mix ratio wrong?

Just as he was dejectedly moving forward to inspect it, Sister Ai Li suddenly barked: "Don't move!"

In the smoking shallow pit, the residual powder, after a brief delay, suddenly deflagrated! A ball of orange-red flame leapt half a meter high, accompanied by a muffled boom and flying dirt! Though the power fell far short of expectations, with no fragmentation kill, that momentary burst of flame and firelight was still immensely intimidating!

Success! Imperfect, but it proved the concept!

Lin Mo's spirits soared! Power insufficient? Then pack in more charge! Stability poor? Then make more of them! Spread them out!

Armed with the experience and lessons of the first attempt, Lin Mo grew bolder. Using the remaining shells and materials, he crafted two improved "incendiary trip mines." This time, he increased the powder charge and refined the trip mechanism to ensure more reliable ignition upon triggering. For one of them, he swapped the slug for sharp metal fragments, hoping to add a bit of fragmentation effect.

He carefully placed these three dangerous "iron melons" along the paths outside the thorn barricade where the enemy was most likely to attack, the trip lines cleverly camouflaged with dead grass and loose soil. This was their first deadly line of defense against a human-wave charge!

By the time all this was done, the sky was already growing light. Lin Mo was exhausted to the point of collapse, but looking at those three hidden death traps gave him a sliver of confidence.

"Tap… tap…" The familiar metallic tapping rang out again, shattering the morning stillness.

The Anvil had returned.

This time, the earlier ease was gone from his face, replaced by a trace of anxiety. He stopped at his usual spot and got straight to the point: "Water! More water! Urgent!"

"A reason." Sister Ai Li's hand crossbow rose, her voice icy. She was deeply wary of the Anvil's repeated appearances.

The Anvil clenched his teeth, seemingly weighing his options, then said in a low voice: "A 'polluted beast tide'! Coming from the 'Stinking Marsh' to the west! Huge numbers! They were spooked by the commotion over at Vulture Cliff! They're… moving this way! They'll be here by evening at the latest! I need water to mix a drug, to mask the scent at my hideout!"

A polluted beast tide?! Lin Mo and Sister Ai Li's faces instantly turned ghastly! This was simply adding frost to snow! Strong enemies in front, a beast tide behind?

"Intel for water." Sister Ai Li remained unmoved.

The Anvil said urgently: "Lame Wolf's squad was delayed by the beast tide! They're pinned at the 'Broken Bridge' east of Vulture Cliff! They won't get through today at the earliest! Does that count as intel?"

Lame Wolf held up by the beast tide? That was genuinely good news! It bought them precious time!

Lin Mo looked at Sister Ai Li. Sister Ai Li gave a slight nod.

Lin Mo once again filled half a bottle with purified water and handed it out. The Anvil snatched it, tipped his head back for a few gulps, then carefully tucked the rest away.

"Thanks! A word of warning—a beast tide doesn't care about Blood Claw or Black Scorpion! If you don't want to be gnawed to the bone, either run now, or…" The Anvil's gaze swept over the newly reinforced thorns and cover around the basin, and the traces of the trip-mine placement Lin Mo hadn't yet fully concealed, the corner of his mouth twitching, "…good luck to you!"

He hobbled off on his crutch, faster than he'd come, tap-tap-tap disappearing into the ruins as if a demon were at his heels.

A polluted beast tide! Lame Wolf blocked! The Black Scorpion lurking in the shadows!

Hope Outpost, after a brief respite, now faced an even more chaotic and deadly situation! The threat of the beast tide hung over everyone's head like a Sword of Damocles, friend and foe alike!

Lin Mo watched the direction the Anvil had vanished, then looked toward the gray, fog-shrouded sky to the west. The Stinking Marsh… a polluted beast tide… what would they look like? Could Xiang Lingna's purple mist work another miracle? And how long could their crude traps and Molotov cocktails hold against a raging beast tide?

Sister Ai Li tightened her grip on the hand crossbow, her cold gaze sweeping west, then darting east. Her left hand still hung limp, but the fingers of her right hand slowly traced the ghostly blue patterns on the crossbow's stock.

The storm was about to descend in the most chaotic way imaginable!