Chapter 33: The Gaze of Rotclaw, the Restless Geopulse, and the Black Scorpion

A few drops of otherworldly pure water fell like sweet rain onto the parched wasteland. Xiang Lingna treated the young shoots of 'Starlight Moss' as precious treasures, carefully watering them with dew collected by Lin Mo mixed with these few drops of pure water. The young shoots lived up to expectations: their pale golden leaves unfurled, releasing a faint natural aura that spread like ripples, causing a small patch of surrounding blackened soil to darken slightly and the radiation pollution to diminish a fraction. The energy reserve of the domain's core, 【Seed of Life】, also struggled to climb to 10.1%.

Hope, like a blade of grass in a crack of stone, grew stubbornly.

Every day, Lin Mo maintained a difficult spiritual link with Priestess Liyana, far away in the Withered Forest. Priestess Liyana, having exhausted her mental energy to purify a small bowl of spring water, transformed it into a dozen precious drops of pure water on Lin Mo's side. Some of this pure water was used to sustain the growth of the 'Starlight Moss'; the rest Lin Mo stored, preparing to use it in the key components of a new purifier—he needed a special material or coating capable of resisting the high temperatures of energy weapons.

Each time he linked, Lin Mo could "see" the situation on Priestess Liyana's side. The silver pure land, nourished by the life energy feedback from Lin Mo's domain, had expanded its area by an almost imperceptible amount, and a few more patches of silver moss had appeared. But Priestess Liyana's exhaustion was immense; her complexion grew paler, and the purple stains on her silver hair seemed to be spreading. What startled Lin Mo most was that within Priestess Liyana's mental awareness, the hidden fear had become increasingly clear—something was watching her from the shadows! That malice was like a cold venomous snake, coiling along the edges of the spiritual link.

"Rotclaw… the hunter in the mist… it has fixed its gaze… on the last silver radiance…" Priestess Liyana transmitted a warning during one link, her mental voice trembling with unmistakable dread. She showed a blurred vision: deep within the mist, a massive, hunched silhouette, covered in rotting bark and purple fungal blotches, stared with clouded yellow eyes directly toward the remains of the World Tree!

Lin Mo's heart sank. The crisis in the elf world was imminent!

Meanwhile, the wasteland domain was far from peaceful.

Wrench, using high-grade alloys and special components salvaged from dismantled Black Scorpion gear, combined with his mad creativity, actually managed to build something! He forged himself a crude "plate armor" covering his chest, abdomen, and shoulders from fragments of the assault platform's main armor—though crooked and uneven, its defensive power was astonishing. He also fashioned an extremely unstable "lighting/flash-bang" device from the remnants of a mechanical hound's energy core and several patches of luminous moss he'd found in dark corners (likely a byproduct seeping from the elf world).

"Boss Lin Mo! Check out Wrench the Great's 'Blind the Dog's Eyes Bomb'!" Wrench proudly displayed his new invention, then accidentally triggered the switch.

"Whirr—Boom!"

A blinding white light, accompanied by a faint electric current, instantly engulfed the workshop! Lin Mo and Sister Ai Li were blinded by the flash; Wrench himself was jolted by the pulse, his hair standing on end, and his makeshift communicator—modified from a mechanical hound sensor and actively monitoring for possible Black Scorpion signals—immediately smoked and fried.

"Uh… the power… was a bit too much…" Wrench muttered, sporting a spiky hairdo.

This accident wasn't without gain. In the instant of the bright light and pulse explosion, a previously unseen, intensely glaring orange-red point suddenly lit up on the domain's resource panel—the area representing the metal ore deposit deep in the depression! The point pulsed like a heartbeat, radiating a scorching energy fluctuation!

【WARNING! Detected abnormal deep geopulse energy fluctuation! Energy attribute: highly active, violent, fire-type! Suspected fragment of a 'Geopulse Heart' briefly awakened by external stimulus (high-energy pulse)!】

【This energy source contains immense power but is extremely unstable! Forced extraction or approach carries high risk of violent explosion!】

【May attempt to channel this energy for domain core charging or special facilities, requires 'Stabilization Anchor' and 'Energy Diversion Device' (unlocked)!】

Geopulse Heart fragment? Violent fire-type energy? Lin Mo was both startled and elated! This might be the key to solving the energy problem! But how to use it safely? What was a Stabilization Anchor? Wrench's 'Blind the Dog's Eyes Bomb' had accidentally hit the mark—if only it could be controlled without self-destructing.

As Lin Mo studied this unexpected discovery, Sister Ai Li, on guard duty, suddenly issued a cold warning: "Something… is approaching… very quietly."

Everyone immediately went on alert. Outside the depression's perimeter, behind a collapsed concrete wall, a tiny mechanical spider, entirely black and no larger than a palm, scanned the depression with eight glowing red compound eyes. Its size was far smaller than the previous 'Stealthers,' its movement more concealed, nearly blending into the environment!

"It's a 'Shadow Spider'! Black Scorpion's micro-recon drone! Camouflaged! Designed to record imagery and energy fluctuations!" Wrench whispered, his beady green eyes filled with revulsion. "Damn it! They must've been drawn by the energy pulse just now—or they've been watching us all along!"

Sister Ai Li didn't hesitate—her short crossbow snapped up instantly!

"Shhh!" The azure arrow flew soundlessly!

Yet, just before impact, the spider's surface rippled like water, instantly becoming semi-transparent, as if dissolving into the air! The bolt pierced its phantom body and embedded itself in the wall behind!

"Optical camouflage!" Wrench cried out.

The next instant, the mechanical spider reappeared, its eight legs moving rapidly, turning into a black streak that shot toward the depths of the ruins and vanished!

"It recorded the energy fluctuation! And… the 'Starlight Moss'!" Lin Mo's face darkened. The Black Scorpion, like a parasitic tick, had never abandoned their pursuit. The Doctor's greed for anomalous energy far exceeded imagination.

"After it!" Sister Ai Li's voice was icy and sharp. She moved like a hunting leopard, dashing out after it! Her left arm was ruined, but her speed and tracking instincts remained top-tier!

Lin Mo and Wrench immediately followed. Xiang Lingna was left behind to guard the outpost.

The three pursued deep into the ruins. Sister Ai Li, relying on minute traces and instinct, tracked relentlessly. Soon, they found the mechanical spider's remains inside a half-collapsed metal pipe—it had been pinned to the pipe wall by Sister Ai Li's second bolt, but its core memory unit had already been incinerated by its own built-in micro-meltdown device!

"Damn it! It self-destructed!" Wrench kicked the pipe in fury.

The trail was lost. But Sister Ai Li crouched down, carefully examining the ground around the spider's remains. She pinched a tiny speck of metallic glittering powder between her fingers.

"Tracking powder..." Sister Ai Li's voice carried a note of heaviness and solemnity. "Black Scorpion's counter-tracking measure. Once it sticks... you can't shake it off."

Lin Mo and Wrench looked down at their shoes and pant legs—sure enough, they were dusted with inconspicuous silver powder!

"We're done! Wrench the Great's become a landmark!" Wrench wailed.

At that moment, a low, dense roar of engines drew nearer from the east—the sound heading straight toward their location in the ruins!

The Black Scorpion's main force, following the tracking powder signal, was coming—and fast!

"Back to the outpost! Prepare for defense!" Lin Mo decided instantly. With the tracking powder on them, escape was impossible—they could only hold the depression at all costs!

The three retreated toward the depression at top speed. The engine roar grew louder, like the drumbeats of death!

The elf world's Rotclaw watched from the shadows; the violent energy beneath the wasteland stirred restlessly; the Black Scorpion's pursuers had reached the gate. Hope Outpost stood once more on the brink of destruction. And Priestess Liyana's next transmission of pure water was imminent. Crisis and hope, like twin vines, twisted wildly upon the cliff of despair.