Chapter 42: The Gasping of Scorched Earth, the Cracks of the Crystal, and the Earth Vein

The cost of victory was suffocatingly heavy.

The circular pit at the center of the depression was like a scar on the earth—charred, cracked, and reeking of pungent sulfur, ozone, and plant ash. The once resilient potato fields and precious Starlight Moss had been utterly erased by the first volley of the “Sanitation Crew” and the ensuing energy storm, leaving not a single fragment behind. The last half-wall of the shack had collapsed entirely; the water purifier’s ruins were buried deep; and Banchi’s countless bizarre trap devices were reduced to less than one in ten.

Hope Outpost existed only in name.

When Lin Mo awoke, he found himself lying on a relatively flat stone slab beside the shack’s ruins, covered with several filthy tarps. Sunlight filtered weakly through the leaden gray clouds of the wasteland, offering only a meager, dim yellow glow. Every part of his body ached, especially his chest—each breath pulled at a searing, tearing pain. He struggled to sit up, but the movement tugged at his wounds, forcing a muffled groan from his lips.

“Don’t move!” Xiang Lingna’s voice came, thick with tears. The girl’s eyes were swollen, her small face streaked with tear tracks and soot, as she carefully wiped blood crusts from Lin Mo’s arm with a rag soaked in murky mudwater. Seeing him awake, her tears spilled again. “Brother Lin Mo… you’re awake… thank goodness…”

Lin Mo nodded weakly, his gaze urgently scanning the surroundings: “Ali… where’s Ali?”

“Sister Ali… is here…” Lingna pointed to the side. Ali lay on another stone slab, covered with a relatively clean thermal blanket stripped from the Black Scorpion’s corpse. Her face was as pale as paper, lips cracked and bloodless. The rotting wooden splinter embedded in her chest had been severed with a red-hot dagger by Banchi and crudely bandaged, but blood still seeped through, staining the cloth a dark red. Her breaths were shallow and rapid, her brow tightly furrowed as if even in unconsciousness she endured immense pain. The depleted Moonlight Crystal, wrapped in clean scraps of cloth, rested beside her hand.

“How is she?” Lin Mo’s heart clenched.

“Uncle Banchi says… the wound is deep… and it’s coated with… that purple poison… she’s had a fever nonstop…” Lingna sobbed. “Our water purifier… is almost gone… we have no medicine…”

Lin Mo’s heart sank to the bottom. Ali had been injured saving Liyana, to retrieve the crystal. He struggled to crawl beside her, trembling as he extended a finger to feel her breath—faint, but still there. He gripped her cold hand and tried to channel the power of the [Seed of Life].

Yet the faint emerald glow in his chest was as weak as a firefly’s flicker; the energy it transmitted was a mere trickle, utterly incapable of dispelling the withering energy that clung to Ali’s wound, thick with decay. It was the lethal corruption from the Rotting Treefolk, diametrically opposed to the power of the Moonlight Crystal.

“Energy… I need energy…” Lin Mo closed his eyes in agony. The Earth Vein fragments had been used to stabilize the passage; the territory’s core energy was exhausted; the agricultural cycle had been destroyed… everything seemed to have returned to its most desperate beginning.

“Boss Lin Mo! You’re awake!” Banchi limped over, one leg wounded by shrapnel in the earlier explosion, hastily bandaged, his face blackened by smoke and fire, yet his bean-sized eyes gleamed with the light of survival—and a hint of… excitement? “Don’t lose heart! Uncle Banchi found something great!”

He proudly presented a palm-sized ore, entirely dark red, its surface flowing with natural orange-red veins like molten lava. The ore felt warm to the touch, radiating a contained, scorching energy.

“Look! Raw Firevein Steel! Right beside that big fissure! Baked up by the geothermal fire! Purity’s insane!” Banchi spat excitedly. “That geothermal eruption brought all the good stuff up from below! This stuff’s a treasure! Harder than the alloy the Black Scorpions use! Heat-resistant too! If we can smelt it…”

Lin Mo’s eyes flashed bright! Firevein Steel! The key mineral from the third volume’s Orc Territory! It had appeared in his own wasteland territory—this way! It was a ray of hope in utter despair. He took the ore—it was heavy—and within it pulsed a pure, stable fire energy that faintly resonated with the core of his [Seed of Life], rooted in the Earth Vein fragment!

【Detected ‘Raw Firevein Steel (High Purity)’! Contains stable fire attribute energy and metal essence!】

【Absorb energy essence? Or use for forging?】

The system’s prompt was like celestial music. Absorb the energy to restore the [Seed of Life]—perhaps even help Ali purge the withering corruption. Forge it to gain powerful weapons and armor to fight future Black Scorpions. But energy could serve only one purpose.

Lin Mo’s gaze fell on Ali’s pale, pained face, then to the Moonlight Crystal—cracked, stained with purple filth. Without Ali, there would be no crystal, no hard-won victory. Without Liyana’s aid, they would already be ash.

“Absorb the energy essence!” Lin Mo chose without hesitation. Power could be found again—lives must be saved!

He gripped the Firevein Steel ore tightly, focusing his mind to guide the [Seed of Life]. The orange-red veins on the ore flared suddenly—a pure, warm, magma-like power surged forth, continuously drawn into his emerald core.

The [Seed of Life] greedily absorbed this homologous energy; its dim glow brightened and solidified visibly. The depleted reserves rose steadily, like drought-stricken earth finally receiving rain: 15%… 20%… 30%… 40%!

When the last trace of energy essence was drained, leaving the ore dull and ordinary, the [Seed of Life]’s reserves stabilized at 45%. Deep within the core, the crimson Earth Vein imprint grew clearer and more stable, emitting a gentle warmth that nourished Lin Mo’s damaged body.

Lin Mo felt half his strength restored; the searing pain in his chest eased considerably. He immediately guided this new, fire-infused life energy toward Ali, focusing it on the withered, corrupted wound on her chest.

The emerald energy, faintly tinged with orange-red, flowed like warm spring water around her wound. The stubborn purple withering energy, as if encountering its antithesis, emitted faint hissing sounds as it slowly dissolved and retreated. Ali’s furrowed brow loosened slightly; her breathing grew marginally steadier.

It worked.

Lin Mo’s heart surged with joy; he continued channeling energy. Lingna watched anxiously, her small hands clenched tight in her clothes.

But just as the withering corruption was mostly purged and the wound began to heal, an abrupt change occurred!

The Moonlight Crystal beside Ali, its surface riddled with cracks, suddenly flared faintly purple where the filth had spread—like an enraged serpent. A withering will, identical to Ali’s wound but colder, more decayed, surged backward along Lin Mo’s life energy stream—a parasitic invasion targeting his [Seed of Life]!

“Ugh!” Lin Mo groaned as a cold, malevolent decay surged into his body, wildly polluting his energy and assaulting his mind. Hallucinations filled his thoughts—countless trees withering, living beings screaming in agony.

The corruption within the crystal was far older, far stronger than the infection in Ali’s wound. It had been sealed by Liyana’s power, but the prior depletion and cracks had given it an opening.

Lin Mo’s face turned instantly pale; his body trembled violently; the healing energy flowing toward Ali grew chaotic. Ali, who had just begun to improve, moaned in pain—the purple miasma just driven back now showed signs of surging back.

“Brother Lin Mo!” Lingna cried in terror.

Banchi also sensed something wrong, frantic and scratching his head: “What’s happening, Boss? Is that damn stone cursed?!”

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of the [Seed of Life]’s power to wage a fierce battle against the cold withering will inside him. Emerald and withered purple energies clashed violently through his meridians. He sensed the source of this withering will—driven by an extreme greed for life’s essence… and the distorted, malevolent projection of a vast entity—Rotclaw.

The crisis had not passed. The Moonlight Crystal was both hope and the conduit for the source of corruption. Ali’s wound, Liyana’s plight, and the crystal’s filth were inextricably entwined.