Chapter 42: The Wasteland's Gasp, the Crystal's Crack, and the Gift of the Leylines

The price of victory was suffocatingly heavy.

The circular pit at the center of the depression resembled a scar upon the earth, blackened and cracked, emitting a pungent stench of sulfur, ozone, and plant ash. The once tenacious potato fields and precious Starfall Moss had been utterly obliterated by the first volley of the "Scavengers" and the subsequent energy storm, leaving not a single fragment of wreckage. The remaining half-wall of the shack had collapsed completely; the ruins of the water purifier were buried deep, and of Bawang's bizarre trap devices, less than one in ten remained.

Hope Outpost existed in name only.

When Lin Mo awoke, he found himself lying on a relatively flat stone slab beside the shack's ruins, covered by several pieces of dirty canvas. Sunlight filtered through the lead-gray clouds of the wasteland, sparingly casting down a few dim, yellowish rays. Every inch of his body ached, especially his chest, where every breath tugged at a tearing, burning pain. He struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, forcing a muffled groan from him.

"Don't move!" came Xiang Lingna's voice, thick with tears. The little girl's eyes were red and swollen, her small face streaked with tears and black soot. She was carefully trying to wipe the blood scabs from Lin Mo's arm with a rag soaked in murky mud water. Seeing Lin Mo awake, her tears welled up again. "Brother Lin Mo... you're awake... that's wonderful..."

Lin Mo nodded weakly, his gaze scanning the surroundings with urgency: "Sister Ai Li... where is Sister Ai Li?"

"Sister Ai Li... is here..." Xiang Lingna pointed to the side. Ai Li lay on another stone slab, covered by a relatively clean heat-insulating blanket stripped from a Black Scorpion corpse. Her face was pale as paper, her lips cracked and devoid of color. Although the corrupted wooden spike in her chest had been cut off and simply bandaged by Bawang using a red-hot dagger, the seeping blood had still stained the bandage dark red. Her breathing was weak and rapid, her brows knitted tightly, as if she were enduring immense pain even in her unconscious state. The Moonlight Crystal, its power exhausted, was wrapped in clean scraps of cloth by Xiang Lingna and placed beside her hand.

"How... is she?" Lin Mo's heart tightened.

"Uncle Bawang said... the wound is deep... and it was stained with... that purple poison... she's been running a fever..." Xiang Lingna sobbed. "Our purified water... is almost gone... and we have no medicine..."

Lin Mo's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss. Ai Li had been injured this way to save Priestess Liyana, to retrieve the crystal. He struggled to shift closer to Ai Li, trembling as he reached out a finger to check her breath; it was faint but still there. He took Ai Li's cold hand and attempted to summon the power of the 【Seed of Life】.

However, the emerald light in his chest was as faint as a firefly, and the power it transmitted flowed like a mere trickle, utterly unable to dispel the withering energy that dwelt around Ai Li's wound, an energy carrying a scent of decay. That was the fatal contamination from the Corrupted Treant, diametrically opposed to the power of the Moonlight Crystal.

"Energy... I need energy..." Lin Mo closed his eyes in pain. The Leyline Fragments had been used to stabilize the passage; the territory core's energy was depleted; the agricultural cycle had been destroyed... Everything seemed to have returned to the most desperate starting point.

"Boss Lin Mo! You're awake!" Bawang limped over, his leg injured by shrapnel in the earlier explosion and hastily bandaged. His face was covered in soot and burn marks, yet his bean eyes sparkled with the light of survival and a hint of... excitement? "Don't lose heart! Uncle Bawang has found something good!"

He presented a palm-sized ore to Lin Mo as if it were a treasure. The ore was dark red throughout, its surface flowing with natural orange-red patterns like molten lava. It felt warm to the touch, emitting a restrained yet scorching aura.

"Look! 'Fire-Grain Steel' raw ore! Right next to that big crack! Baked out by the earth fire! The purity is incredibly high!" Bawang spoke excitedly, spittle flying. "The earlier eruption of earth fire brought all the good stuff from underground to the surface! This thing is a treasure! Harder than the alloy the Black Scorpions use! And heat-resistant! If we can smelt it..."

Lin Mo's eyes suddenly lit up! Fire-Grain Steel! A crucial mineral resource from the Orc Territory in the third volume! It had appeared in his own wasteland territory, in this very way! This was truly a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation! He took the ore; it was heavy. The pure and stable fire-attribute energy within the ore faintly resonated with the core deep within the 【Seed of Life】 in his body, which originated from the Leyline Fragments!

【Detected 'Fire-Grain Steel Raw Ore (High Purity)'! Contains stable fire-attribute energy and metallic essence!】

【Absorb the energy essence? Or use it for forging?】

The system's prompt was like heavenly music! Absorbing the energy could restore the power of the 【Seed of Life】, and might even help Ai Li dispel the withering contamination! Forging, on the other hand, would yield powerful weapons and armor to fight the Black Scorpions in the future. But the energy could only be used for one purpose.

Lin Mo's gaze fell on Ai Li's pale, pained face, then shifted to the Moonlight Crystal, covered in cracks and stained with purple filth. Without Ai Li, there would be no crystal, no this bitter victory. Without Priestess Liyana's assistance, they would have long since turned to ash.

"Absorb the energy essence!" Lin Mo made his choice without hesitation. Power can be found again; people must be saved!

He gripped the Fire-Grain Steel ore tightly, focusing his mind to guide the 【Seed of Life】. The orange-red patterns within the ore suddenly flared, and a pure, warm power, like molten lava from the earth's core, was drawn out continuously, pouring into the emerald core in his chest!

The 【Seed of Life】 greedily absorbed this kindred power; its dim light grew bright and solid at a speed visible to the naked eye! The depleted energy reserves, like a drought-stricken land meeting sweet rain, began to climb slowly but steadily from 15%: 20%... 30%... 40%!

When the last trace of energy essence in the ore was completely absorbed, leaving it dull and ordinary, the energy reserves of the 【Seed of Life】 settled at 45%! Deep within the core, the crimson Leyline Mark became clearer and more stable, even subtly radiating a gentle warmth that nourished Lin Mo's damaged body.

Lin Mo felt his strength largely restored, and the burning pain in his chest had diminished significantly. He immediately guided this newly born life energy, fused with the essence of the earth fire, carefully toward Ai Li, focusing on flushing out the wound on her chest contaminated by the withering power.

The energy flow, emerald with a faint orange-red glow, wrapped around Ai Li's wound like warm spring water. The stubborn purple withering energy dwelling at the wound site, as if encountering its nemesis, emitted a faint "hiss-hiss" sound and began to slowly melt and recede! Ai Li's tightly knitted brows seemed to relax slightly, and her breathing became a bit more steady.

It worked!

Overjoyed, Lin Mo continued to output energy. Xiang Lingna watched nervously, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.

However, just as the withering contamination was mostly dispelled and the wound began to show signs of healing, a sudden change occurred!

The purple filth spreading quietly from the depths of the cracks in the Moonlight Crystal, placed beside Ai Li's hand, suddenly flared with a faint purple light like an enraged viper! A withering will, originating from the same source as Ai Li's wound yet far more cold and decayed, followed Lin Mo's life energy flow like a parasite attached to the bone, eroding backward! Its target was directly Lin Mo's 【Seed of Life】!

"Ugh!" Lin Mo groaned, feeling an icy, malicious, decay-filled power instantly invade his body, frantically contaminating his energy and assaulting his spirit! In his mind, it seemed as if the phantom sounds of countless trees withering and living beings wailing rang out!

The contamination within the crystal was far more ancient and powerful than that in Ai Li's wound! It had been sealed by Priestess Liyana's power, but the previous overexertion and the cracks had allowed it to find a gap for infiltration!

Lin Mo's face instantly turned pale, his body trembling violently; the healing energy he was directing toward Ai Li became chaotic! Ai Li, who had just begun to improve, let out a painful moan; the purple qi that had been difficult to dispel from her wound showed signs of counterattacking!

"Brother Lin Mo!" Xiang Lingna cried out in terror.

Bawang also saw something was wrong, scratching his head and ears in panic: "What's wrong? Boss! Is there a problem with that broken stone?!"

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, summoning the full power of the 【Seed of Life】 to engage in a fierce tug-of-war with the cold withering will inside his body! Emerald and withered purple energies clashed wildly within his meridians! He could feel that the source of this withering will was filled with extreme greed for the origin of life and... a projection of a vast, twisted, malicious existence—Corrupted Claw!

The crisis had not departed! The Moonlight Crystal was both hope and the medium that drew the source contamination! Ai Li's injury, Nana's Predicament, and the contamination within this crystal were tightly intertwined!