Chapter 58

To the west of the depression, the air was heavy and solemn as lead. The roar of the furnace and the clanging of hammering seemed sealed off by an invisible barrier, leaving only the suppressed breaths of the group and a cold current seeping through cracks in the rock wall, carrying the scent of rust and dust.

"Dig! Dig it open!" Tong Xu's mechanical prosthetic hand switched to high-speed drill mode, slamming into the seam between the rock wall and the metal door. Sparks flew wildly; the hard rock peeled away like tofu under the specialized drill bit, but when the drill scraped against the silver-gray alloy door, it emitted a grating, teeth-on-edge screech, leaving only faint white scratches.

"Useless, Master Tong Xu," Lin Mo gripped the dwarf's shoulder. "This alloy is far stronger than Fire-Embossed Steel. Forcing it will only destroy your tools."

Ban Shou circled the door seam, his beady eyes glinting with manic energy. "Energy! Boss! This door's got an energy lock! Look at these symbols!" He pointed to the three circular engravings Ai Li had touched earlier. "They lit up just now! Try your primal energy? Or Sister Ai Li's Moonlight? If all else fails, hit it with the Earth Vein Heart!"

Ai Li's fingertips shimmered with cool Moonlight, yet she did not dare touch. She stared at the symbols and whispered, "It feels… cold, empty—not alive, not corrupted… like… a machine." The silver scar on her chest throbbed faintly, as if warning her to stay away.

Xiang Lingna crouched beside the door seam, her small hand gently pressed against the cold metal, eyes closed. The soft green glow from the Jade Heart shard flowed around her. "It's… sleeping…" she murmured. "So deep, so deep… but it doesn't like the smell of that bad claw mark." She referred to the chilling sensation left by the Corrupted Claw Mark.

Lin Mo took a deep breath. Ban Shou's words held merit. He stepped forward, right hand gripping the Earth Vein Arbiter, its tip aimed at the three circular symbols. His left palm hovered over the ground, attuning to the Earth Vein Heart. Orange Earth Vein energy mingled with emerald life energy, surging up his arm into the blade. The thorn emblem on the guard glowed, and a refined, four-colored stream—fused with Earth's Heaviness and the resilience of life—slowly extended toward the engraved symbols.

Just as the energy stream neared the symbols—

Hum—

The three circular symbols erupted in blinding, deep blue light! The light was not an energy blast, but transformed into countless flowing, exquisitely intricate geometric runes that instantly crawled across the entire metal door! A cold, mechanical hum emanated from deep within the door, followed by a series of heavy, muffled clangs as metal components unlocked and hydraulic systems activated.

Crack! Boom—

The heavy metal door did not swing inward or outward—it folded inward like a precision Rubik's Cube, sliding and collapsing along countless invisible seams, revealing a downward-sloping, pitch-black tunnel entrance! A stronger wind, thick with the scent of cold machine oil, ancient dust, and something… faintly energetic, surged violently from the tunnel's depths!

Everyone instinctively stepped back. The flashlight beam (Ban Shou's makeshift contraption) pierced the tunnel, illuminating the sloping staircase and walls, both cast from the same silver-gray alloy. The steps were buried under thick layers of dust; the walls were mirror-smooth, devoid of decoration, their cold metallic texture stretching into unknown darkness.

"An… ancient world sanctuary?" Tong Xu's mechanical eye flickered blue with awe and intense curiosity.

"Energy readings are active! Something big's down there!" Ban Shou's voice trembled with excitement as he stared at his wildly fluctuating crude detector.

Lin Mo felt it most intensely. The moment the door opened, a cold, pure, emotionless yet vast and overwhelming energy field slammed into them. This field clashed with his Earth Vein energy, even subtly repelling it. Yet the faint violet vein within his 【Life Seed】 core writhed violently, stretching like a shark scenting blood, transmitting an intense hunger to consume! The Earth Vein Heart's pulse grew chaotic again; the barrier shield flickered erratically.

"I'll go first." Ai Li stepped forward, her fingertips coalescing Moonlight into a silver dagger, six inches long. The cool glow barely pushed back the darkness a few meters ahead. Her silver scar warmed slightly in the tunnel's energy field; Moonlight flowed automatically, forming a faint protective shield. She stepped onto the dusty alloy stairs, her footsteps silent.

Lin Mo followed close behind, Earth Vein Arbiter held horizontally before him, its thorn runes glowing, ready to unleash the Root Domain. Tong Xu gripped his forging hammer, his mechanical hand switching to impact mode. Ban Shou held his detector (also serving as a flashlight) and a modified shotgun, nervously trailing behind. Xiang Lingna was shielded in the center, her small hand clutching Lin Mo's sleeve, a faint green halo of Jade Heart energy enveloping her.

The tunnel was deep, spiraling downward. The air was cold and dry, broken only by the echo of footsteps and the occasional beep of the detector. The walls bore no markings—only that cold, hard silver-gray alloy. After about ten minutes, the passage opened abruptly ahead.

The flashlight beam swept across, revealing a vast underground chamber!

It resembled an abandoned transit hub. Broad alloy platforms extended outward, connecting to multiple tunnels of the same material leading into darkness. At the platform's center stood several massive metal cylinders, covered in complex piping and interfaces, like silent giants. Scattered across the floor were heavily rusted metal fragments, barely recognizable as vehicle frames. Most striking was the grand, sealed alloy door at the far end. Its surface bore the three-circular-symbol emblem, magnified many times over, hovering faintly at its center like the eye of a slumbering beast.

"Power core… or command center!" Ban Shou's voice shook as his detector pointed at the central cylinders. "The energy source is behind that door! It's insane!"

At that moment, Xiang Lingna suddenly pointed into the shadowed corner of the platform, her voice tinged with fear: "Brother Lin Mo… look there!"

The beam shifted. Thick dust on the ground revealed several enormous, non-human footprints! The prints resembled giant claws—three toes, each tipped with sharp points, deeply embedded into the hard alloy floor. Along the edges, dried, dark-purple viscous stains lingered, emitting a faint but nauseating stench of decay.

"Corrupted Claw?!" Tong Xu gasped. "That thing was here?!"

Ai Li's gaze sharpened like a blade; her Moonlight dagger glowed brighter. "The traces are old… but the aura… it's the same as the Whisperer's!"

Lin Mo's heart sank. The Corrupted Claw's trail appeared here, in this buried relic of the old world? What was it searching for? Or… what had it left behind?

Suddenly!

Hum—

The several giant metal cylinders at the platform's center ignited with deep blue energy patterns. On their tops, crystal-like panels projected fan-shaped scanning beams, instantly covering the entire platform!

【Unauthorized lifeform intrusion detected!】

【Elimination protocol initiated!】

A cold, electronic voice echoed without warning throughout the chamber!

Hssss—!

The scanning beams instantly transformed into searing high-energy laser beams—like red whips of death—lashing toward the group with speed beyond reaction!

"Watch out!" Lin Mo roared. "Thorn Barrier!" Dark-gold roots erupted wildly, weaving into a shield before them!

Puff! Puff! Puff! The laser beams slammed into the Thorn Barrier; emerald life energy and crimson laser light annihilated each other violently. The roots trembled violently, smoking where scorched.

Simultaneously, from shadows in the platform's corners and ceiling, several hemispherical metal devices slid out silently, their single eyes glowing cold red, firing blue-white energy beams like venomous snakes' tongues, sealing off all escape routes!

The ancient world's guardians, awakened after countless centuries of dust, had stirred! The overture of slaughter had begun! And the grand, sealed door at the platform's end, bearing the massive symbol, flickered—so faintly it was almost imperceptible—its central blue rune glowing for a heartbeat amid the battle's energy surge.

The doctor's surveillance feed jittered violently, finally freezing on the moment the guardians activated and lasers crisscrossed. A line of crimson text flashed on the screen:

【"Sanctuary" defense protocol activated! Target Lord engaged in Gao Wei combat! "Catalyst" released successfully! "Roots of Erosion" activity exceeds critical threshold! "Annihilation Seed" contingency readiness: 95%... 96%...】

A cold countdown began, silent and relentless.