Chapter 31: Mistwood Forest, the Corrupted Thorns, and the Silver-Haired Priestess

The gunpowder smoke in the hollow had not yet fully dispersed, the air thick with the smell of rust, scorched matter, and a faint whiff of plant ash. Hope Outpost, like an anthill that had just weathered a storm, stubbornly rebuilt itself among the ruins.

Wrench, his badly burned arm wrapped in cloth strips that Xiang Lingna had soaked in purified water, was grimacing in pain but full of vigor. He paced around the wreckage of the completely scrapped steam crossbow, cursing the Black Scorpions while mulling over a "salvage and reuse" plan, his bean-sized eyes glittering with greed for metal. Xiang Lingna had finally woken after a day of unconsciousness, her little face still pale, her spirit listless, as if drained of strength. The two saplings that had burned to ash, sacrificing their essence, left her silent for a long time; she simply hugged the empty bowl and stared blankly. Sister Ai Li's back wound had torn open again; blood loss combined with forced exertion had left her extremely weak, spending most of her time resting. Yet her one remaining hand never let go of that dim-blue short crossbow, her gaze colder than the wasteland's metal.

Lin Mo became the busiest person. He directed Wrench and Xiang Lingna, who could still move, to clear the battlefield, salvage usable metal fragments, and reinforce the wooden fence that had been blown to pieces. The water purifier had miraculously survived the explosion intact, its clear stream becoming the cornerstone supporting everything.

On the territory resource panel:

**Food: Radiation-Resistant Potatoes (growing period) Stock: Extremely Low (some plants damaged)**

**Water Source: Stable Output (Water Purifier) Stock: Medium (demand increased)**

**Building Materials: Wood (Extremely Low), Metal Fragments (High), Special Alloy (Medium)**

**Special: None (saplings perished)**

**Status: Post-War Reconstruction (Moderate Damage)**

The losses were heavy, but the core remained. And in Lin Mo's heart, the image of the withered forest and the elves' lament lingered, Like a Brand that would not fade.

"System, can you open the passage to the elven world again?" Lin Mo asked silently in his mind.

【World Fragment 'Elven Lament' Anchor Status: Stable.】

【Origin Passage (Temporary) has been closed. Reopening requires a massive expenditure of energy. Current territory energy reserves (Seed of Life remnant/natural dissipation): below 5%.】

【Suggestion: Stabilize the current territory, boost core energy, or obtain a high-purity energy source.】

Energy! Energy again! Lin Mo stared at the dim, cool-to-the-touch 【Seed of Life】 on his chest, his brow tightly furrowed. The wasteland was barren—besides radiation, where would high-purity energy come from? Would he have to raid the Black Scorpions' lair for it?

As he was racking his brains, Wrench limped over, holding in his hand a fist-sized, scorched black cube he had pried from the wreckage of the assault platform, with broken wires still clinging to it.

"Boss Lin Mo! Look at this!" Wrench's bean-eyes lit up. "The energy cores from the Black Scorpions' 'Iron Dog' and 'Iron Turtle'! Scorched, sure, but Grandpa Wrench can smell it—there's still residue inside! Good stuff! Absolutely good stuff! If we could purify it out…"

Energy cores? Lin Mo's spirit lifted! "Can you purify it? What do you need?"

"Tough! Very tough!" Wrench scratched his singed green hair. "Need a high-temperature furnace! Special solvents! And… uh, Grandpa Wrench's secret recipe! And the quantity's too small—these few busted cores combined probably wouldn't even light a small bulb." He weighed the scorched cube in his hand, somewhat deflated.

A drop in the bucket. The hope that had just risen in Lin Mo sank again. His gaze swept across the hollow and finally settled on the stubbornly surviving potato field. The lush green leaves swayed in the wasteland's breeze, carrying an indomitable vitality. Perhaps… the very act of plants growing was itself a gathering of energy?

A few days later, when the first potato plant bloomed an unassuming pale-purple flower at its tip, the 【Seed of Life】 on Lin Mo's chest suddenly pulsed with an extremely faint yet unmistakably clear throb! Like a sleeping heart being awakened! At the same time, a system prompt chimed:

【Stable life cycle detected within territory (primary agriculture)! Trace life energy feedback to territory core! 'Seed of Life' activity slightly increased! Current energy reserves: 7%!】

Agriculture! A life cycle! Lin Mo suddenly understood! Farming could not only solve the food problem, but also slowly nourish the territory core and accumulate energy!

"Xiang Lingna! Expand the planting! Plant potatoes on every bit of empty ground!" Lin Mo ordered at once. Xiang Lingna's eyes lit up, as if she had found a new purpose, and she nodded firmly, beginning to carefully collect mature potato tubers for propagation.

Sister Ai Li's wounds recovered quickly in the purified water and relatively stable environment. Though her left hand still couldn't exert force, the wound on her back had already scabbed over and peeled away, leaving a hideous scar. Her stamina had mostly recovered as well, and she began restorative training around the hollow—her movements still swift and precise, just lacking some explosive power. She silently wiped down her short crossbow, her gaze occasionally turning east, where the Black Scorpions had retreated and where her target for blood-debt repayment lay. Lin Mo noticed she would sometimes run her fingers over the dim-blue patterns on the crossbow's arm, her eyes deep, seemingly recalling the faint silver light that had flickered on the withered tree within the Thorns Portal.

Wrench, meanwhile, was obsessed with dismantling the Black Scorpions' technological wreckage. Using crude tools and wild imagination, he tried to reconstruct the energy-drive principles of the mechanical hounds, and even dreamed of forging himself a set of "super armor" from the assault platform's plating. He muttered nonsense about "energy weapons" and "electromagnetic cannons" all day, occasionally triggering small explosions that left him covered in soot.

The peaceful days lasted less than a week. That evening, while tending the newly expanded potato field, Xiang Lingna suddenly pointed at the edge of a ridge and cried out: "Brother Lin Mo! Look! What is this?"

Lin Mo and Sister Ai Li immediately walked over. There, at the edge of the moist, freshly turned soil, several never-before-seen, extremely tiny sprouts had broken through the ground. The sprouts were pale gold, their leaves like the finest feathers, trembling gently in the wasteland's breeze, emanating an extremely faint yet utterly pure… natural aura? Utterly unlike the surrounding radiation-resistant potatoes!

"Is… is it a seed from the elven world?" Lin Mo's heart jolted! Could it have drifted over with the alien atmosphere when the Thorns Portal opened?

【Detected otherworldly plant 'Starshine Moss' (juvenile)! Contains faint natural energy! Can mildly purify soil radiation!】

【Detected trace permeation of 'Elven Lament' world origin! Territory core 'Seed of Life' resonance strengthened! Energy reserves increased to 9%!】

Just as he thought! Though the passage was closed, a connection between the two worlds had been established! The origin power of the elven world was seeping into his wasteland territory in an extremely slow manner!

Just then!

"Buzz—!"

A low, heart-chilling hum suddenly rose from the ruins on the eastern outer edge of the hollow! The sound carried a metallic grinding quality, and… it was getting closer!

"Alert!" Sister Ai Li instantly entered combat stance, short crossbow raised! Lin Mo also immediately grabbed his hunting rifle!

In the dim sky-light, three even more streamlined, smaller-bodied, yet unusually swift and agile mechanical units slid out from the shadows of the ruins like ghosts! They were no longer canine-shaped, but resembled enlarged metal spiders—eight reverse-jointed mechanical legs moving in silence, their backs fitted with rotating scanner probes and two slender energy guns flickering with dim-blue light!

"Black Scorpion 'Stalkers'! Recon and harassment model!" Wrench poked his head out of the workshop, his face changing. "They've got energy weapons! Be careful!"

Before the words faded!

"Zap—!"

Three dim-blue beams, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, instantly shot from the "spiders'" back-mounted energy gun muzzles! The target was not people, but the water purifier roaring away in the center of the hollow!

"No!" Lin Mo's eyes nearly split from rage!

The beams were too fast! There was no time to intercept!

"Pff! Pff! Pff!" The three beams precisely struck the main housing of the water purifier! No violent explosion, but the metal parts they hit instantly turned red-hot, then melted and vaporized like candle wax! Three fist-sized scorched holes appeared! Clear water gushed from the breaches like a fountain!

The water purifier! Destroyed!

"Bastards!" Lin Mo roared, raising his hunting rifle and firing at the nearest "Stalker"! The buckshot struck its sleek armor, leaving only shallow dents! Sister Ai Li's crossbow bolt also shot out, but the "spider's" movement trajectory was bizarrely erratic, and the bolt flew past its body!

The three "Stalkers," having struck successfully, did not linger—their electronic eyes flashing red as if recording damage assessments—then their eight legs suddenly powered out, launching themselves like pellets toward different ruin directions and vanishing in an instant! Leaving only the gushing water and dead silence of despair in the hollow.

The Black Scorpions' retaliation, like a venomous snake's bite, was precise, vicious, striking the vital point! They had destroyed Hope Outpost's lifeline!

Lin Mo stared at the rapidly draining purified water and the still-smoking wreckage of the water purifier, a cold fury and helplessness sweeping through him. Wrench rushed over, looked at the melted holes in the purifier, his face grim: "Energy weapons… high-temperature plasma beams… repair… impossible…"

Xiang Lingna stared at the drying water channels and the potato sprouts showing signs of wilting, tears streaming silently down her face.

Sister Ai Li walked to the water purifier, crouched down, dipped a finger in the purified water that hadn't yet drained away, and put it in her mouth. It was still sweet and crisp, yet carried the bitterness of an ending. She raised her head, her cold eyes gazing in the direction the "Stalkers" had vanished, killing intent crystallizing into something almost tangible.

"Without water… we won't last three days." Lin Mo's voice was dry and hoarse.

Hope, it seemed, had once again reached its end.

Yet, at the very edge of this abyss of despair, the 【Seed of Life】 on Lin Mo's chest suddenly transmitted an unprecedented, strong and clear throbbing! A faint yet tenacious will, carrying the dampness of forests and the scent of decay, flowed directly into his mind:

**"Passage… stable… energy… gathering… thorns… rebirth…"**

At the same time, he clearly "saw" at the edge of the territory resource panel, an extremely dim symbol formed of twisted thorns slowly lighting up! Beside the symbol was displayed:

**【Secondary Passage Node (Elven Lament): Maintainable (Energy Supply: 0.1%)】**

**【Status: Spatial coordinates recorded, energy injection may attempt one-way opening of micro passage (limited to non-material/low-mass information transmission)】**

The elven world! Priestess Liyana! They were actively trying to make contact! And… they seemed to have found a way to stabilize the spatial node? Even if only information could be transmitted, this meant… hope had not been severed!

Lin Mo jerked his head up, looking at Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna, a light of desperate resolve bursting in his eyes: "There's still a way! Sister Ai Li, Xiang Lingna! I need your help! We… are going to talk to another world!"

The wasteland's water source has run dry, but the Spring of Hope that spans the heavens may yet be flowing, with difficulty, deep within the withered forest.