Chapter 28

The construction of the steam crossbow cannon was in full swing. With thick steel plates, massive alloy pipes, and high-strength bolts salvaged from the armored troop carrier, Wrench’s wild dreams were slowly becoming reality.

A massive boiler, fashioned from the troop carrier’s fuel tank, was mounted beside the workshop, belching black smoke. A stout alloy crossbow arm was installed on a heavy steel crossbow bed. Complex steam piping and piston mechanisms gradually took shape under Wrench’s hammering—though crooked and rugged in the goblin style, the ferocious menace of a steel beast was already emerging.

Lin Mo helped Wrench by hauling heavy parts, drilling and polishing with the tools Wrench provided, all while his mind churned uneasily. The searing heat of the [Seed of Life] on his chest had not faded; instead, it pulsed like a heartbeat, transmitting a sense of restless agitation. On the system interface, the progress bar for [New Territory Anchor] stubbornly remained stuck at 5%, flashing a warning red light.

Rich in natural energy, chaotic in laws, on the brink of collapse… what kind of world was this? Elves? Forests? Or something else? He desperately wanted to know—but he knew better: before the steam crossbow cannon was finished, before Ai Li’s wounds healed, before the threat of the Black Scorpions was resolved, he could not afford to be distracted.

Ai Li’s injuries, under Xiang Lingna’s careful care and the nourishment of Pure Water, recovered faster than expected. Though her left arm still lacked strength, the wounds on her back had scabbed over, and her complexion had grown slightly rosier. Most of her time was spent silently cleaning and maintaining her short crossbow, or instructing Lingna in light crossbow shooting. The coldness in her eyes had settled into a more contained, deadly intent. The mechanical hounds’ attack had fully ignited her resolve to kill the Black Scorpions.

Besides tending to Ai Li and the potato field, Lingna devoted most of her energy to the two mysterious seedlings. She watered them with the purest Pure Water and even tried “speaking” to them. The purple veins on the seedlings’ leaves had indeed slowly regained their luster; on one of the smallest leaves, a tiny, faint new sprout had even emerged at the tip! This filled her with joy.

Beneath the calm, currents surged. On the territory resource panel, the stock of [Metal Shards] had surged due to dismantling the troop carrier, but [Food] still read “Low.” Though the potatoes grew well, harvest was still days away. More troubling to Lin Mo was his perception through the resource panel: on the eastern perimeter of the depression, points representing [Non-Natural Metal] and [Weak Energy Responses] were slowly, rhythmically moving and gathering—like a spreading encirclement net!

The Black Scorpions! They were mobilizing! The mechanical hounds were merely scouts—the real full-scale assault was coming!

“Wrench! How much longer?” Lin Mo asked anxiously, staring at the steel behemoth that had taken shape but still lacked its critical steam valves and pressure gauges.

“Almost there! Don’t rush! Great inventions take time!” Wrench, drenched in sweat, tightened a thick steam pipe joint with a homemade, pincer-like tool. “Just a few more valves and… a pressure test! Wrench the Great swears, one shot will blow the Black Scorpions’ turtle shells to the sky!”

At that moment, Lingna, who had been guarding the watchtower’s base, suddenly screamed in terror: “Lin Mo brother! Ai Li sister! Look up!”

Lin Mo and Ai Li snapped their heads upward!

Above the center of the depression, the lead-gray sky had suddenly twisted into a warped patch of light—like a stone cast into still water, rippling outward in concentric waves. At the center, the scene shifted grotesquely: no longer the ashen wasteland, but a… lifeless forest shrouded in pale purple, withered mist. Twisted, withered giant trees stood like the skeletons of dying titans; the ground was carpeted in gray-white fungal mats; the air seemed to hum with silent lament.

A thick, suffocating stench—mixing rotting vegetation with strange floral fragrance—seeped through the warped light into the wasteland depression. This odor clashed violently with the radiation dust of the wasteland, carrying a chilling, heart-rending sorrow and despair from another world.

“It’s… it’s that world!” Lin Mo realized instantly! This was the fragment of the new world the system had sensed—on the verge of collapse! It was so unstable that spatial fluctuations had manifested directly above his territory!

The moment this alien aura descended, a chain reaction erupted within the depression!

The two mysterious seedlings Lingna guarded erupted in unprecedented brilliance—their purple veins blazed with light! As if in response, the seedlings stirred without wind, their tips pointing toward the withered forest’s phantom in the sky. Lingna clutched her chest, her face twisted in pain and confusion, as if pulled by an invisible force.

Meanwhile, the [Seed of Life] on Lin Mo’s chest burned like fire! A emerald glow pierced through his clothing! The [New Territory Anchor] progress bar surged like it had been injected with stimulant—leaping from 5% to 10%! To 15%!

But sudden change struck!

The [Non-Natural Metal] points on the eastern perimeter, which had been lurking and moving, instantly accelerated the moment they sensed the sky’s anomaly and the thick alien aura—like sharks smelling blood! Engine roars surged from afar, shattering the silence!

“Alert! Alert! High-energy signature approaching! Hostile target confirmed! Quantity: ten! Equipment: Heavy!” The crude alarm system Wrench had installed on the watchtower—modified from mechanical hound sensors—screamed shrilly!

Through the gaps in the unfinished wooden fence, Lin Mo saw ten larger, more monstrous tracked mechanical units roaring through the eastern ruins, charging full speed toward the depression! They were several times larger than the mechanical hounds—mobile steel fortresses, their heavy armor painted with black scorpion totems. Rotating turrets atop them slowly raised, their multi-barreled machine cannons now aiming squarely at the depression.

The Black Scorpions’ heavy assault platforms! True killing machines! Clearly drawn by the sky’s anomaly and the potent “anomalous energy,” they abandoned stealth and launched their full-scale assault!

“Damn it!” Lin Mo cursed. Misfortune never comes alone—the alien disturbance had drawn the Black Scorpions’ main force!

“Wrench! The crossbow cannon!” Lin Mo roared, raising his hunting rifle. Ai Li instantly entered combat stance, nocking her short crossbow, her icy gaze locked on the lead assault platform.

“Almost! Almost! Just one more!” Wrench frantically twisted the final bolt, hopping in place.

Above, the phantom of the withered forest twisted and rippled as the alien aura spread.

Below, the Black Scorpions’ heavy steel tide roared forward, crushing all in its path.

Hope Outpost faced its deadliest storm since its founding. Would the steam crossbow cannon roar at the last moment? Was the call from the other world an opportunity—or a tomb burying everything?