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

The faint dawn light pierced the eternal gray haze of the wasteland, gilding the cold steel fortress with a dark golden outline. Inside the depression, the wrench's "laboratory" was the first to ring with a sharp hum, drowning out the furnace's low roar.

"Activate! Hive One! Light it up for Old Man Wrench!" Standing on a makeshift wooden platform, Wrench excitedly slammed a rough switch in his hand, aimed at a device embedded in the crenellations above the fortress repair zone.

Hum—!

The "Hive" device mounted on the crenellations was instantly activated! Its main body was a hemisphere cast from Thorn Steel, covered in hexagonal Kong Dongs, with a complex and precise internal structure. As Wrench pressed the switch, the deep blue Order Energy Crystal Plate at the device's center erupted with a ghostly blue light! The light rushed along the faint blue-green energy veins within the Thorn Steel, rapidly conducting to every Hive Kong Dong!

Hiss hiss hiss hiss—!!!

In an instant, hundreds of hair-thin yet incredibly condensed ghost-blue energy pulses, like an enraged swarm of bees, shot out from the hexagonal Kong Dongs! These energy pulses were not straight lines but carried strange arcs, instantly weaving into a dense pulse network covering a nearly fifty-meter fan-shaped area in front of the fortress!

The blue pulse network flashed and vanished, but the air retained a strong fluctuation of Order energy and a faint smell of ozone. Where the pulse network swept, several tenacious radiation grasses instantly turned to dust, and the surface of a discarded metal plate was covered with fine, tiny holes as if corroded by strong acid!

"It worked! Hahahaha!" Wrench danced on the platform. "Penetration! Corrosiveness! Specifically counters energy shields and biological tissue! Just a bit energy-hungry..." He looked at the blue crystal plate at the device's core with a pained expression; its light had clearly dimmed slightly.

Copper Beard looked up from below, raising his thick eyebrows: "Coverage is acceptable. The power should be enough to deal with small groups of corrupted monsters or that slime. What about fire rate? Can it fire continuously?"

"Burst mode! One charge fires three waves! Interval is about five seconds!" Wrench jumped down, pointing to several thick energy conduits connected to the back of the device. "Mainly powered by the Order Crystal Plate; the Leyline Diversion Interface is a backup, not yet tested..."

Lin Mo nodded, observing the effect caused by the "Hive". Although it was a one-time consumable (the Order Crystal Plate could not be replenished), its value as a defensive measure for critical moments was undeniable. "Prioritize installation at key locations. Wrench, continue optimizing energy efficiency."

"No problem, Boss! I'll tweak the circuits again!" Wrench immediately threw himself back at the workbench, fiddling with the "Hive" blueprint and a pile of parts. Unaware, every time he tuned the energy circuits or activated the device for testing, the miniature sensors inside the disguised mechanical beetle beneath the workbench greedily recorded all energy fluctuation data, circuit frequencies, and even the microscopic stress changes in the Thorn Steel material under energy impact! These data were compressed and encrypted, then continuously transmitted to a distant location via an extremely faint signal disguised as background radiation.

Over the following days, the territory was immersed in a tense yet orderly atmosphere of construction. Copper Beard led the crew, attaching forged Thorn Steel armor plates to the outer layer of the Rock Fortress. The dark red fortress was gradually covered by a heavy shell glowing with faint blue-green light, greatly increasing its defense. Sister Ai Li continued to hone her "Moonlight Silk Blade" in a secluded spot; her control grew more exquisite, the light threads at her fingertips weaving simple protective nets or performing precise piercing cuts as if extensions of her own limbs, while her suppression of the residual pollution within her body became increasingly effortless.

Xiang Lingna's Emerald Nursery expanded slowly but steadily under the shelter of the fortress and the nourishment of the Emerald Heart fragment. Besides Star Moss and Rock Roots, she successfully cultivated a vine capable of rapid growth under light radiation, guiding it to climb the inner side of the fortress. Its pale golden leaves emitted a faint purifying aura, further improving the environment within the territory. She seemed to have established a vague connection with those plants, able to vaguely perceive their "emotions" and needs.

Lin Mo spent most of his time stationed beside the Leyline Rift. While guiding Leyline energy to nourish the territory, he maintained the balance between the Anchor of Order and the Corruption Mark within the 【Seed of Life】 like walking a tightrope. The whispers of the Corrupted Claw continued to harass him occasionally, but their frequency and intensity seemed to have weakened, as if gathering strength. However, the feeling of being watched grew stronger and stronger, like a thorn in his back.

That evening, Wrench was performing the final welding on the energy conduits of "Hive" Two. On the workbench, a spare, slightly smaller deep blue Order Energy Crystal Plate lay quietly in the corner. Suddenly, this crystal plate lit up without warning!

It was not the stable ghost-blue of activation, but a violent, irregular flickering as if of poor contact! The precise energy patterns inside the plate twisted and roamed wildly, emitting a buzzing electrical static! The plate's temperature rose sharply, even sending up wisps of greenish smoke!

"Holy crap! What's going on?!" Wrench was startled, nearly poking himself with the welding torch in his hand.

Lin Mo and Copper Beard were also drawn to the disturbance. Lin Mo's gaze sharpened; he clearly felt that the abnormal flickering frequency of this crystal plate somehow produced an... eerie synchronization with the fluctuation of the Anchor of Order deep within his consciousness? No, it was more like a clumsy imitation and interference!

"Energy overload? Internal circuit collapse?" Copper Beard's mechanical eye scanned rapidly.

"Impossible! I haven't touched it!" Wrench hurriedly used insulated pliers to clamp the hot crystal plate, trying to cut off any possible energy connection. But the moment the pliers touched the plate—

Zzzzt!

A twisted ghost-blue beam, carrying strong interference static, shot out violently from the center of the crystal plate! The beam had no clear target, sweeping wildly in the air; wherever it passed, several ordinary energy batteries on the workbench instantly exploded! The screen of the nearby energy analyzer burst into a shower of snow!

"Careful!" Lin Mo shouted low. Thorn roots surged out instantly, weaving into a shield in front of everyone.

Puff puff puff! The twisted beam struck the Thorn Fortress, leaving scorched black marks, but the power was not great.

The chaos lasted only a few seconds. The crystal plate's light quickly dimmed, returning to a cold state, as if nothing had happened, leaving only a mess on the workbench and a pungent smell of burning.

"Damn! Scared Old Man Wrench to death!" Wrench threw the crystal plate away, still shaken. "What's wrong with this broken plate?"

Lin Mo squatted down and picked up the now-cold crystal plate. It still felt smooth to the touch, but upon careful perception, a trace of extremely faint yet malicious... chaotic data stream seemed to remain inside the plate? Like a virus. He looked at the dog-eared "Hive" blueprint on the workbench, then recalled Engineer Kane's warning in the Sanctuary—stay away from technological artifacts potentially polluted by the "Tide"!

"All Order Energy Crystal Plates brought from the Sanctuary," Lin Mo's voice carried a chill, "isolate them immediately! Without my permission, do not use them in any device! Wrench, disassemble the core crystal plates from the 'Hives' you built earlier and store them separately!"

"Huh? Then... then my 'Hives' become decorations?" Wrench made a crying face.

"Use this as a temporary replacement." Copper Beard walked over and tossed him a newly forged Thorn Steel ingot, inside which flowed orange-red magma patterns and faint blue-green veins. "Powered by the energy of the Leyline Fire; the power is slightly weaker, but safety first!"

Wrench looked at the heavy steel ingot, then at the Order Crystal Plate taken away by Lin Mo, and could only sigh helplessly.

Late at night, Lin Mo sat cross-legged beside the Leyline Rift again. Holding the "acting up" Order Crystal Plate in his hand, he sank his consciousness into it, cautiously probing that trace of residual chaotic data stream.

The data stream was extremely faint and fragmented, full of interference. But with the help of the blue light from the Anchor of Order, he barely managed to capture some fragmented information:

【... Simulation... Connection Frequency...】

【... Information... Theft...】

【... Location... Confirmed...】

【... Induce... Self-Destruction...】

Lin Mo's eyes snapped open! This was no accident! It was human interference! Someone was using the characteristics of polluted Order energy to simulate the frequency of an Order link, attempting to steal information, locate, and even... induce device self-destruction!

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a blade, sweeping over the silent territory. In the darkness, it seemed countless cold electronic eyes were silently watching everything here.

The main screen of the Doctor's Base displayed the scene of Wrench cursing as he replaced the "Hive" core with a Thorn Steel ingot.

【Induced Self-Destruction Interference... Failed. Target alertness increased.】

【Information Siphon... Completion 82%... Key Data: Thorn Steel Energy Conduction Spectrum (97%), Lord's Mental Fluctuation Spectrum (73%), Life Fortress (Thorn Territory) Energy Node Distribution (65%)...】

【'Probe-07' Signal Strength Weakened... Entering Stealth Silent Mode.】

The Doctor's cold fingertips swept over the data stream on the screen, pulling up another energy characteristic model labeled 【Corrupted Claw (Annihilation Unit)】.

【Execute Final Phase: Information Packaging. Disguised Data Source: Corrupted Claw (Annihilation Unit). Release Port: Target Lord's Mental Pollution Link.】

【Target: Inject the key information we obtained, disguised as a mental pollution shock from the Corrupted Claw, into the target Lord, triggering his misjudgment and internal suspicion.】

A chaotic information stream, carefully disguised, carrying a large amount of core data from the Thorn Heart Territory, and simulating the energy characteristics of the Corrupted Claw, shot like an invisible poisoned arrow across space through the temporary information channel constructed by the mechanical beetle, straight at the meditating Lin Mo!