Chapter 212: Fragile Balance and a Desperate Gamble

The crystal cave was filled with smoke, residual energy debris, and a faint, lingering smell of burning—utterly alien to its once-pure energy atmosphere. The brief, fierce battle only deepened the oppressive silence now. The black ash left by the slain Shadow Stalkers was slowly dissipating, like ominous embers.

Lingna endured the icy, needle-like agony stabbing through her shoulder, using her still-functional left hand to clumsily retrieve the last remaining vial of high-concentration energy gel, attempting to apply it to the wound. The gel hissed faintly upon contact with the corrosive shadow energy, bringing a brief surge of heat, but it was swiftly replaced by deeper cold and numbness—the black veins continued to spread slowly and stubbornly beneath her skin, though their pace had slightly slowed. Her face was as pale as paper, her temples slick with sweat, each breath pulling sharp pain from the wound.

Ali’s condition was no better. Her old injuries had not healed, and new ones had formed; the shadow corruption on her ribs and shoulders had worsened significantly under the strain of prolonged high-intensity combat and emotional turmoil. The black veins, like living vines, had spread to her collarbones, radiating an icy, lifeless aura that lowered the air temperature around her by several degrees. She leaned against the cave wall near the entrance, eyes closed, meditating, trying to suppress with sheer willpower the terrifying force that constantly sought to erode her mind and life—but her trembling fingertips and tightly pressed lips betrayed the immense pain she endured.

Lin Mo’s heart sank to its lowest point. He looked at his gravely wounded companions, then at Liyana, unconscious and locked in a perilous internal struggle, and finally at the milky-white crystal tree, steadily being corrupted. Despair, like the darkness deep within the cave, threatened to swallow him whole. External enemies surrounded them; internal crises piled up; allies fell one after another; and they remained trapped in this cage that seemed safe but was in fact fragile, with no way forward or back.

Zero’s console hovered above Liyana, its pale blue scanning beams sweeping over her body, data streams cascading like waterfalls. “Liyana’s internal energy conflict is extremely unstable. The annihilative spore’s activity has increased by 17.3% due to external stimuli and internal resistance. High-intensity mental barriers detected at the consciousness level are autonomously resisting external erosion, but barrier strength is continuously declining. World Tree seed energy injection efficiency is below expectations due to energy conflict.”

"Ali and Lingna's shadow corruption continues to worsen. Conventional methods can only slow it down, not eliminate it. The corrupting energy shares a common origin and exhibits weak resonance between instances, posing a risk of concentrated outbreak." [24] "Zero, monitor my condition and energy flow at all times. If it slips..." Lin Mo did not finish.

Bad news followed bad news.

The few crystal clusters had retreated far into the depths of the cave, their auras flickering with fear and unease, daring not to approach Lin Mo and the others, as if they carried disaster and misfortune.

Is there truly no way out?

Lin Mo’s gaze returned to the corrupted crystal tree, and the writhing black substance at its roots. Destruction and vitality, corruption and purification… a wildly dangerous, nearly insane idea began to take shape in his mind.

“Zero,” his voice, strained and hoarse, broke the silence, “analyze feasibility: what would happen if I attempt to actively absorb the energy from the corrupted region of the crystal tree?”

Zero’s console flickered violently, as if stunned by the suggestion; the data streams halted for several seconds before resuming frantic calculations.

“WARNING! Risk level for this operation: catastrophic!” Zero’s electronic voice was more urgent than ever, “Target energy is a highly mixed composition: pure geopulse energy, inert crystal energy, and highly active annihilative contamination energy. Forced absorption will most likely trigger uncontrolled energy conflict, resulting in a chain reaction explosion—or complete assimilation of the absorber by annihilative energy, transforming them into a new contamination source!”

“What if… I don’t absorb it directly? What if I use my Stardust energy as a guide and buffer—to draw out that mixed energy, especially the annihilative component, and redirect it?” Lin Mo’s eyes grew brighter, the insane idea becoming clearer, “Not draw it in—redirect it outward, to strike a target… perhaps the Shadow Stalkers still lingering outside the cave? Or… the next wave of enemies Dr. Gao Wei might send?”

Drive the tiger to devour the wolf! Use the enemy’s own power against them!

Zero fell silent again, calculating. Its pale blue glow flared intensely. “Theoretically… a success probability exists, but extremely low. Stardust energy may temporarily attract and bind annihilative energy. However, it demands exquisitely precise energy manipulation—any deviation risks turning the fire back on yourself. The redirected annihilative energy is highly unstable and difficult to control; it may cause indiscriminate destruction. Furthermore, this action will drastically accelerate the contamination of the crystal tree’s core, likely rendering this energy node permanently unusable.”

High risk. High reward. Possibly mutual annihilation.

But it is the only possible way to break the deadlock—even to turn the tide!

“Lin Mo brother! It’s too dangerous!” Lingna, forgetting her own wounds, cried out in alarm upon hearing their conversation, “Your power can’t afford to fail again!”

Ali opened her eyes, her cold gaze fixed on Lin Mo. She said nothing, but her eyes were filled with disapproval.

“We have no time left,” Lin Mo breathed deeply, his eyes sweeping over his wounded companions and the unconscious Liyana, his gaze hardening with resolve, “Dr. Gao Wei won’t give us a moment’s rest. Liyana can’t wait. This is our only chance—we must gamble!”

He walked to the corrupted crystal tree, sat cross-legged, and slowly placed his hands above the writhing black substance. Gentle Stardust energy began to flow from his body, like cautious tentacles, inching toward the cold, lifeless annihilative energy.

“Zero, monitor my condition and energy flow Quancheng . If it slips…” Lin Mo did not finish.

“Understood. Highest-priority emergency intervention protocol prepared. Success probability below 15%.” Zero’s console floated above his head, all sensors locked onto him.

Lingna and Ali held their breath, eyes locked on Lin Mo, their own breathing nearly stopped.

The process proved far more difficult and agonizing than imagined. Stardust energy and annihilative energy were like mortal enemies—upon contact, they erupted in violent conflict! Lin Mo’s body jolted violently, his face turning deathly pale, a trickle of blood seeping from his lips. The cold, lifeless sensation of corruption surged back along the energy link, attempting to invade his body—pain far exceeding physical injury, striking straight at his soul!

But he held on! Relying on his increasingly refined control over Stardust energy and iron will, he carefully adjusted the frequency and intensity of the energy, walking a tightrope over a thousand-foot abyss, striving to find that impossibly delicate balance point—to “peel” and “lure” the furious annihilative energy from the crystal tree, wrapping and binding it layer by layer with Stardust energy.

Seconds ticked by. Lin Mo’s temples bulged with veins, sweat poured down like streams, his body trembling from extreme pain and exhaustion. Yet between his palms, a highly unstable energy sphere was slowly forming—its interior crackling with black-purple lightning, radiating a terrifying wave of destruction that made the distant crystal clusters tremble, their auras nearly extinguished.

Just as the dangerous energy sphere neared its critical threshold, and Lin Mo himself reached his limit—

Wuuuuum—

That familiar, massive Ark hum—sounded again! And this time, it did not pass by—it echoed continuously through the entire cave, like a mournful cry!

Instantly, the entire crystal cave shook violently—as if some colossal force outside the Ark was battering the wreckage! The crystal clusters above rattled, and smaller crystals began to fracture and fall!

“DETECTED: EXTREME-INTENSITY ENERGY IMPACT! SOURCE: EXTERNAL TO THE ARK! ATTACK TYPE: CAPITAL-SHIP ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT! TARGET: ENTIRE ARK WRECKAGE STRUCTURE!” Zero’s alarm shrieked at its peak, “Shockwave reaching this sector imminently!”

Simultaneously, the entrance erupted in violent fluctuations of shadow energy—not one, but dozens of spatial distortions appeared at once! Dr. Gao Wei had lost patience. He deployed overwhelming force: orbital bombardment to pressure them, while sending a flood of Shadow Stalkers to force a breakthrough and end it all in one stroke.

Internal crisis unresolved—external threat arrived. And it was the most brutal full-scale assault yet.

Lin Mo snapped open his eyes, staring at the unstable energy sphere in his hands, pulsing with terrifying annihilative power, then at the trembling ceiling and the approaching tide of shadow at the entrance—his eyes flashed with desperate, mad resolve.

He did not try to stabilize the sphere. Instead, with his last ounce of strength, he hurled it violently toward the cave entrance!

“Taste your own poison!”