Chapter 60

Absolute silence, like heavy ice water, drowned the entire underground platform. Frozen laser beams, frozen guards, dim metal cylinders—all outlined in the eerie blue glow seeping from the doorway—formed a bizarre tableau of stillness. Only the massive alloy door at the far end of the platform emitted a low, distant mechanical hum, as if an ancient beast had awakened from slumber.

“W-what… just… happened?” Wrench’s voice trembled with the aftershock of survival, breaking the dead silence. He slumped to the ground, the barrel of his shotgun still slightly warm.

“Time… stopped?” Tong Xu’s mechanical ocular scanned the frozen laser beams frantically, data cascading across its lens like a waterfall. “No… it’s an energy field! A domain-level field strong enough to interfere with the motion state of matter!” He stared at the opening door, eyes filled with shock and dread.

Ali clutched her chest; the violet aura at her silver scar had been forcibly suppressed during the pulse. She fixed Lin Mo with a sharp gaze: “The thing inside you… drew this?” She meant the out-of-control Rotclaw power.

Lin Mo said nothing. He looked down at the “Earthvein Arbiter” in his hand. The eerie purple-black energy on the blade’s surface had receded like a tide after the pulse, revealing once more its dark gold base and thorn runes. But along the edge of the miniature four-colored thorn emblem at the guard’s center, a faint, almost imperceptible dark purple trace had Qiaoran appeared—like an ominous brand. The corruption power that had erupted in that life-or-death moment had opened a dangerous valve; he could feel the mark deeply rooted in the core of the [Seed of Life] growing more active, more… inseparable.

“The door… it’s open…” Xiang Lingna’s timid voice broke the silence. She pointed with a small finger toward the far end of the platform.

The heavy alloy door had slid inward, revealing a gap wide enough for several people to walk side by side. Beyond was not the vast chamber they expected, but a relatively compact circular hall. At its center floated a complex geometric shape composed of countless You blue light threads, slowly rotating and radiating a soft yet immense glow—the very source of the terrifying pulse. Beneath it lay a control console half-embedded in the floor, its surface covered with dead crystal panels and physical buttons, all thickly coated in dust.

What drew everyone’s gaze was a holographic projection, calmly suspended in the air directly before the console. The image flickered slightly, but its content was clear:

A middle-aged man in a worn pre-Collapse uniform, his face weary but his eyes resolute, spoke directly into the camera. Behind him was a room filled with instrument screens (distinctly different from the Doctor’s base—more ancient, heavier). His voice carried static, yet every word was crisp:

“...Log ID: Era of Annihilation, Seventh Cycle Day. This is Ark Station Seven, Chief Engineer Kane.”

“...We failed. The Source Matrix went out of control three cycle days ahead of prediction. It is consuming all energy, warping physical laws, and disintegrating matter and life it touches… into primordial chaos. We call it the ‘Wave of Annihilation.’”

“The station’s energy barrier can hold for no more than seventy-two hours. All expedition teams have lost contact. Final scans show the ‘Tide’ has engulfed 97% of the main star zone and is expanding exponentially.”

“...We attempted every known suppression method. All failed. The Matrix core has developed a rudimentary… consuming consciousness. It refuses communication, obeying only the instinct to consume and expand.”

“Warning! All survivors receiving this message! Avoid high-energy zones! Avoid any technology linked to the Source Matrix! They may already be contaminated by the ‘Tide,’ becoming its tentacles!”

“Final data analysis indicates the ‘Wave of Annihilation’ exhibits a unique ‘anchoring’ effect on highly ordered, structurally stable energy and matter forms. Especially… life energy deeply integrated with planetary ley lines…”

In the image, Engineer Kane’s face twisted with extreme pain and despair.

“...We may have… unintentionally… pointed it… in the right direction…”

“May those who come after… find… the true… path to survival…”

The image ended, dissolving into flickering static.

Silence, heavier than before.

“Annihilation… Era…” Wrench muttered, face pale. “The old world… was eaten by that… ‘Source Matrix’?”

“Source Matrix… consuming consciousness… Wave of Annihilation…” Tong Xu’s thick brows knitted. His mechanical hand unconsciously tapped the edge of the console. “Rotclaw… that Gui tree-man… its power signature…”

Ali snapped her gaze to Lin Mo, eyes like ice: “Consumes energy, warps matter, disintegrates life… and has an ‘anchoring’ effect on ley-line life energy… Lin Mo, doesn’t this sound exactly like Rotclaw? Doesn’t it sound like… its greed for that seed inside you?!”

Lin Mo was struck as if by lightning! Kane’s warning was a cold key, instantly unlocking every clue!

- The Rotclaw’s power that consumed vitality and withered all things!

- Its erosion of the spirit-world fragments rich in life’s origin!

- Its greed for the world-origin transmitted by Liyana!

- Its covetousness and psychic whispers toward his [Seed of Life]!

- And… the corruption mark inside him, activated and now Fengkuang consuming ley energy, attempting to contaminate the core!

Every fragment pointed to one terrifying truth—Rotclaw was very likely the terrifying manifestation born within some world fragment of the Shikong Source Matrix (or its shard), twisted and corrupted by the ‘Wave of Annihilation’—a disaster entity endowed with a consuming will!

And the Thornsheart Domain, possessing the Ley Heart, the Seed of Life, the Jade Fragment… these highly ordered forms of life and ley energy—were, in Rotclaw’s eyes, nothing less than the brightest beacon in darkness—the most delicious bait!

“We’ve… been marked,” Lin Mo’s voice was dry and hoarse; an unprecedented sense of crisis gripped him. “Since the moment we activated the Ley Heart… no, perhaps since Liyana transmitted her world-origin to me… we became its inevitable prey! This door, this observatory… may have been marked long ago!” He stared at the massive Rotclaw footprint on the ground, icy dread crawling up his spine.

“Then… what just stopped the guards…?” Lingna clutched Lin Mo’s arm, trembling, her small finger pointing to the hovering You blue geometric shape in the center of the hall.

At that moment, the slowly rotating You blue geometric shape flickered violently! A new, mechanically stuttering electronic voice crackled out, fragmented:

【Highest… directive… conflict…】

【Detected… deep contamination… individual…】

【Target: Lord… Lin Mo…】

【Status: Life origin… subjected to… unknown high-dimensional corruption will… deep integration…】

【Assessment: Irreversible contamination… threat level… ∞ (infinite)】

【Executing… final purification protocol…】

【Annihilation sequence… initiating countdown: 10… 9…】

Wum—!!!

A piercing alarm shrieked through the entire hall! All dead crystal panels on the console flared crimson with warning glyphs! From the ceiling and walls, countless weapon emplacements erupted, glowing with lethal energy, all locked onto Lin Mo!

In the Doctor’s main control room, the snowy screen suddenly cleared. The image showed Lin Mo, surrounded by weapons, the crimson countdown pulsing in the center: 6… 5…

“Finally… I’ve waited for this moment.” The Doctor’s voice was ice-cold, utterly unshaken. His finger, suspended above the crimson button, moved with absolute rationality and cold control—and pressed down.

【Annihilation Seed… released!】