Chapter 65: The Hum of the Hive, the Anomaly of the Crystal Plate, and the Spread of Thorns

Dawn’s faint light pierced the eternal gray haze of the wasteland, gilding the cold steel ramparts with a dark golden outline. In the depression, Wrench’s “laboratory” was the first to emit a sharp hum, drowning out the furnace’s low roar.

“Activate! Hive One! Light it up for Uncle Wrench!” Wrench stood atop a makeshift wooden scaffold, slamming down a crude switch in his hand toward a device mounted above the rampart’s parapet.

Hum—!

The “Hive” device mounted on the parapet activated instantly! Its core was a half-sphere forged from Thornsteel, riddled with hexagonal apertures, its internal structure complex and precise. As Wrench flipped the switch, the deep blue Order Energy Crystal Plate at its center erupted in an eerie blue glow! The light surged rapidly along the fine blue-green energy veins within the Thornsteel, flooding every hexagonal aperture.

Hssssss—!!

In an instant, hundreds of hair-thin yet intensely condensed deep-blue energy pulses erupted from the hexagonal holes like an enraged swarm of bees! These pulses did not travel straight—they curved in strange arcs, instantly weaving into a dense network covering a fifty-meter fan-shaped area in front of the fortress.

The blue pulse network vanished in a flash, but the air retained strong Order Energy fluctuations and a faint ozone scent. Where the network swept across the ground, a few stubborn radiation weeds turned instantly to ash; a discarded metal plate was pockmarked with tiny holes, as if eaten by strong acid.

“Success! Hahaha!” Wrench danced on the scaffold, “Penetration! Corrosion! Perfect against energy shields and biological tissue! Just a bit too power-hungry…” He frowned at the blue crystal plate at the device’s core, its glow noticeably dimmed.

Copperbeard looked up, his bushy eyebrows lifting slightly: “Coverage’s decent. Power’s enough for small groups of corrupted monsters or that slime. Rate of fire? Can it sustain?”

“Burst mode! One charge fires three bursts! Five-second intervals!” Wrench jumped down, pointing to several thick energy conduits connected behind the device, “Main power comes from the Order Crystal Plate. The geopulse tap is a backup—still untested…”

Lin Mo watched the Hive’s effects and nodded. Though it was a one-time consumable (the Order Crystal Plate couldn’t be replenished), its value as a critical defense measure was undeniable. “Install it at key positions first. Wrench, keep optimizing energy efficiency.”

“No problem, boss! I’ll tweak the circuits again!” Wrench immediately dove back onto his workbench, fiddling with the Hive blueprint and a pile of parts. Unaware, every time he adjusted the energy circuits or activated the device for testing, the disguised mechanical beetle beneath the bench was greedily recording every energy fluctuation, circuit frequency, even the microscopic stress responses of the Thornsteel under energy impact! These data were compressed, encrypted, and continuously transmitted far away via an extremely faint signal disguised as background radiation.

In the following days, the territory thrived in a tense yet orderly atmosphere of construction. Copperbeard led teams to bolt forged Thornsteel armor plates onto the outer layer of Stone Wall Fortress; the dark red ramparts gradually took on a thick, blue-green glowing shell, greatly enhancing defense. Ali continued refining her “Moonlight Silk Blade” in solitude, her control growing ever more precise—light threads at her fingertips now wove effortlessly into simple protective nets or executed delicate piercing cuts, and her suppression of residual corruption grew increasingly effortless.

Lingna’s Jade Nursery expanded slowly but steadily under the fortress’s protection and the nourishment of Jade Heart fragments. Besides Starlight Moss and Stone Roots, she had successfully cultivated a vine capable of rapid growth under light radiation, guiding it to climb the inner walls of the fortress. Its pale golden leaves emitted a faint purifying aura, further improving the territory’s environment. She seemed to have formed a vague resonance with the plants, able to faintly sense their “emotions” and needs.

Lin Mo spent most of his time stationed beside the geopulse fissure. He guided geopulse energy to nourish the territory while walking a tightrope, maintaining the balance between the Anchor of Order and the Corruption Mark within the Seed of Life. The Whisper of the Claw still occasionally disturbed him, but its frequency and intensity had lessened—as if gathering strength. Yet the feeling of being watched grew stronger, like thorns pricking his back.

That evening, Wrench was performing the final weld on Hive Two’s energy conduit. On the workbench, a spare, slightly smaller deep blue Order Energy Crystal Plate rested quietly in the corner. Suddenly, the plate lit up without warning!

Not the stable, eerie blue of activation—but erratic, flickering wildly, like a faulty connection! The intricate energy patterns inside the plate twisted and writhed frantically, emitting a sizzling electrical noise! Its temperature spiked rapidly, even sending up wisps of blue smoke!

“Holy shit! What the hell?!” Wrench jumped, nearly stabbing himself with his welding torch.

Lin Mo and Copperbeard were drawn by the disturbance. Lin Mo’s gaze sharpened—he clearly felt the flickering frequency of this crystal plate synchronizing with… something… in his own mind? No—it was a crude imitation, a deliberate interference!

“Energy overload? Internal circuit collapse?” Copperbeard’s mechanical ocular scanned rapidly.

“Impossible! I didn’t even touch it!” Wrench frantically grabbed the scorching plate with insulated pliers, trying to sever any possible energy link. But the instant the pliers touched the plate—

Zzzt!

A twisted, heavily distorted deep-blue beam shot violently from the plate’s center! It had no target, sweeping erratically through the air—where it passed, several ordinary energy batteries on the workbench exploded instantly; the screen of the nearby energy analyzer burst into static!

“Watch out!” Lin Mo hissed. Thorn roots surged forth, weaving into a shield before them.

Puff! Puff! Puff! The twisted beam struck the Thornsteel barrier, leaving charred marks—but its power was weak.

The chaos lasted only seconds. The plate’s glow faded rapidly, returning to cold stillness, as if nothing had happened—leaving only a mess of debris and the acrid stench of burnt metal.

“Damn! Scared the hell out of Uncle Wrench!” Wrench dropped the plate, heart pounding, “What the hell was wrong with this damn plate?”

Lin Mo knelt, picking up the now-cold crystal plate. It felt smooth in his hand, but upon careful sensing, a faint, malicious… chaotic data stream lingered within? Like a virus. He glanced at the dog-eared Hive blueprint on the workbench, then recalled Engineer Cain’s warning in the Sanctuary—avoid any tech potentially tainted by the “Tide”!

“All Order Crystal Plates brought from the Sanctuary,” Lin Mo’s voice turned icy, “isolate them immediately. No one uses them in any device without my permission. Wrench, remove the core plate from your Hive and store it separately!”

“Huh? But… my Hive’ll just be a decoration now?” Wrench’s face fell.

“Use this for now.” Copperbeard stepped forward, tossing him a newly forged Thornsteel ingot, its interior swirling with orange magma veins and faint blue-green energy lines, “Powered by geopulse fire. Weaker output? Fine. Safety first!”

Wrench stared at the heavy ingot, then at the Order Crystal Plate Lin Mo had taken away, and sighed helplessly.

Deep night. Lin Mo sat again beside the geopulse fissure. In his hand, he held the “malfunctioning” Order Crystal Plate. His consciousness sank into it, cautiously probing the lingering chaotic data stream.

The data stream was extremely faint and fragmented, filled with interference. But with the blue light of the Anchor of Order aiding him, he barely caught fragmented fragments:

【…simulate…connection frequency…】

【…information…steal…】

【…locate…confirm…】

【…induce…self-destruct…】

Lin Mo snapped open his eyes! This wasn’t an accident! It was sabotage! Someone was exploiting the corrupted Order Energy’s properties, mimicking Order connection frequencies, attempting to steal data, locate the source, and even… trigger self-destruction!

He shot upright, his gaze sharp as a blade, sweeping over the silent territory. In the darkness, countless cold electronic eyes seemed to be silently watching everything here.

On the Doctor’s base main screen, footage showed Wrench grumbling as he replaced the Hive’s core with the Thornsteel ingot.

【Induced self-destruct interference… failed. Target’s vigilance increased.】

【Information siphoning… completion 82%… Key data: Thornsteel energy conduction map (97%), Lord’s mental waveform spectrum (73%), Life Barrier (Thorn Domain) energy node distribution (65%)…】

【Probe-07 signal strength weakened… entering stealth silent mode.】

The Doctor’s cold fingertip traced the data stream on screen, pulling up another file labeled 【Claw (Annihilation Unit)】 energy signature model.

【Execute final phase: data packaging. False data source: Claw (Annihilation Unit). Release port: Target Lord’s spiritual corruption link.】

【Objective: Transmit our acquired key data, disguised as Claw’s spiritual corruption surge, into the target Lord, triggering misjudgment and internal suspicion.】

A meticulously disguised stream of chaotic data—packed with core data from the Thornheart territory and mimicking Claw’s energy signature—like an invisible poisoned arrow, surged along the temporary information channel built by the mechanical beetle, crossing space, and struck Lin Mo as he focused his perception!