Chapter 64

The patched sections of thornsteel barrier glowed with a cold, hard sheen under the sunset, the newly embedded steel bricks fitting perfectly, with faint blue-green energy veins flickering within, completely concealing the wounds left by the Rotclaws. In the depression, the furnace’s roar once again became the dominant sound; Copperbeard directed wrenches and several newly recruited, physically robust refugees as they began installing a thornsteel outer armor layer over the entire Stone Wall section. Heavy steel ingots were heated, hammered, and shaped, the rhythmic clanging echoing with a sense of renewed strength.

The “laboratory” formed by Wrench’s half-open shed, surrounded by assault platform armor, had become the busiest place. A makeshift workbench was piled high with circuit boards, energy conduits, disassembled “Clearer” components, and several vital deep-blue Order Energy Crystal Plates. He himself was disheveled, his small eyes bloodshot yet blazing with near-fanatical excitement, wildly gesturing at several unfolded blueprints covered in complex symbols and structures.

“It’s done! Absolutely done!” Wrench snatched up a still-wet blueprint and rushed to Lin Mo, who was overseeing armor installation. “Boss! Look at this! ‘Hive’ Close-In Defense System! Inspired by a defense module from the Sanctuary’s data archive! I used thornsteel for the hive shell, packed it full of micro energy nozzles, and used Order Crystal Plates as the core activator! Once activated, it instantly forms a coverage-wide Order Energy Pulse Network outside the wall—perfect for neutralizing Rot Slime and low-tier Withered monsters! Far more efficient than Sister Ellie hacking them one by one!”

He pulled out another sketch, depicting a massive, spiky wheel: “And this—‘Iron Thorn’! Driven by furnace waste heat, spinning at high speed! Edges inlaid with quenched thornsteel spikes! A meat grinder! Any claw that reaches out gets sliced to shreds!”

Lin Mo took the blueprint. Its wild lines and annotations brimmed with goblin-like madness, yet the core energy circuits and structural design exuded a cold, efficient sense of Order—clearly borrowed from Sanctuary tech. In the corner, cramped handwriting noted energy requirements, material lists, and projected effects.

“Using Order Crystal Plates as the energy core… won’t that drain them too fast?” Lin Mo asked. The Sanctuary’s core was dormant; these plates were finite—use one, lose one.

“Use sparingly! Pulse mode! Single shots!” Wrench thumped his chest. “Besides, don’t we have the Earthheart? I designed a diversion interface—can tap geothermal energy in emergencies! Just unstable… tends to explode…”

Lin Mo nodded and returned the blueprint. “Prioritize the ‘Hive’ system. Install it above the repaired wall sections and key battlements. Build one prototype of the ‘Iron Thorn’ first—test its effectiveness.” With experience against the Rotclaws, the importance of ranged and area defense was undeniable.

“Aye, sir!” Wrench sprinted back to his workbench, immediately rummaging for materials. He didn’t notice that as he sorted through the physical storage blocks copied from the Sanctuary, a tiny mechanical “beetle,” disguised as a charred pebble, silently crawled out from a crack in the blocks and slipped into a pile of discarded circuit boards beneath the bench. Two faint red lights flickered once across its head.

On the relatively quiet ground to the west of the depression, Ellie stood alone before a heavy target made of ordinary Flame-etched Steel. She closed her eyes, focusing, her fingertips shimmering with Lunar Radiance—but no longer striving to form shields or daggers. The silver scar on her chest warmed slightly; her experiences in the Sanctuary and against the Rotclaw projections had deepened her understanding of Lunar Radiance’s essence—it was not merely a purifying blade, but an extension of protective will.

She tried to sink her awareness into her chest. The shard of the Lunar Pearl embedded there emitted a cold, luminous glow, subtly resonating with the thorned protective will branded into her soul—originating from Lin Mo and the territory. The silver radiance at her fingertips no longer erupted wildly; instead, it retracted inward like a living thing, weaving into countless fine, resilient strands of silver light. These strands did not remain still—they pulsed and slowly extended, like living neural pathways.

Hiss!

A single strand shot out silently, faster than lightning, piercing the edge of the steel target with perfect precision. No violent explosion—only a small, mirror-smooth hole. Around the hole, the metal had turned brittle, as if instantly frozen by ultra-low temperatures.

A flash of silver lit Ellie’s eyes; her fingertip twitched. The strand that had pierced the target did not vanish—it snapped taut and retracted with uncanny sentience.

Crack!

The region of the steel target pierced and frozen by the strand shattered like fragile glass, torn cleanly away in a small fragment.

“Lunar… filament blade…” Ellie whispered, a faint trace of satisfaction crossing her icy face. This control method consumed less, penetrated deeper, remained more concealed—and suited her Wanderer combat style perfectly. More importantly, the purifying force within the filaments proved devastating against corrupted entities.

Yet, as she focused her mind on shaping the filaments into a more complex defensive net—

“Protection… shackles…”

“Power… stems from… destruction…”

“Shatter… thorns… embrace… annihilation…”

Cold, viscous whispers, laced with temptation and corruption, hissed like a serpent’s tongue—suddenly echoing in her mind! Identical to the Rotclaw’s whispers that Lin Mo endured, yet far more targeted—attacking the Lunar Radiance within her! The Withered corruption lingering deep in her silver scar, stirred by her newly awakened power, stirred again.

Ellie grunted, her silver filaments instantly spiraling out of control, exploding like a bristling hedge of needles! The mental assault split her skull with pain; purple mist reappeared faintly around her scar.

“Hmph!” She bit her tongue hard. The sharp pain jolted her mind back into focus. Silver light blazed in her eyes; the thorned protective will rose like an invisible wall within her consciousness, slamming shut against the evil whispers. The runaway filaments were forcibly reined in, coalescing into a violently flickering silver orb.

“Your power is drawing deeper interest from ‘it,’” Lin Mo’s voice came from behind. He had arrived without warning; his face still bore traces of fatigue, but his gaze was sharp. He had felt the faint stir of his own suppressed corruption mark when her power had gone out of control.

Ellie extinguished the silver glow in her hand and turned to Lin Mo, her eyes cold and resolute: “Let it come. My dagger will purify every last trace of its filth.” The purple mist around her scar slowly receded under the pressure of the protective will.

Deep night. All was silent. The furnace’s glow had dimmed; only vague silhouettes of refugee sentries patrolled the wall. By the Earth Vein fissure at the depression’s center, Lin Mo sat cross-legged, the Earthheart Arbiter planted beside him. His awareness sank into the [Seed of Life], guarded by the blue aura of the Anchor of Order, carefully inspecting the dark purple mass compressed deep within his core.

Suddenly, the dormant dark purple twitched—slightly, almost imperceptibly. Not striking the Order prison, but transmitting a faint, fragmented… thought? Like the murmurs of a sleeper:

“...coordinates... locked...”

“...tide... approaches...”

“...key... in...”

“...consume... Ark...”

The fragments vanished instantly—so fast Lin Mo almost thought it an illusion. Yet the words—“coordinates locked,” “tide approaches,” “consume Ark”—struck his mind like ice spikes.

What had the Rotclaw sensed in its slumber? What was the “key”? And the “Ark” it sought to consume—was it the dormant Sanctuary core… or something else?

A chill crept slowly up Lin Mo’s spine. He lifted his gaze to the deep night sky of the Wasteland, as if seeing beyond the Withered Mist—a murky, colossal eye slowly opening.

Inside the Doctor’s base, the main screen split into multiple panels: Wrench scratching his head over the “Hive” blueprint; Ellie manipulating silver filaments beneath the moonlight; Lin Mo seated by the Earth Vein, eyes closed in meditation.

【‘False Blueprint’ successfully implanted into target’s information database.】

【Target individual (Ellie) Lunar Radiance control precision increased; threat level slightly elevated.】

【Target Lord (Lin Mo) status stable; contamination suppressed. Detected minor psychic wave leakage (suspected subconscious information spill from contamination source)... Keywords captured: ‘coordinates,’ ‘tide,’ ‘key,’ ‘Ark’...】

【Analysis: Contamination source (Rotclaw) may be conducting long-range psychic information transmission or reception.】

【Execute: Enhance surveillance, analyze potential coordinate data. Activate ‘Probe-07’ Phase Two—‘Information Siphon.’】

The mechanical beetle hidden beneath Wrench’s workbench glowed red in its compound eyes, emitting an extremely faint energy ripple—like an invisible web, quietly spreading toward Lin Mo’s location.