545: Chapter 480: Emergency Repairs, Mo Family Mechanical Techniques Save the Day

The explosion of the guixu energy core at Node No. 2401 was stopped in time by Lin Zhou, but the aftermath of the explosion still damaged the node platform. It was not a structural collapse, but a large-scale failure of the rune engravings. On the essence of order bricks on the platform's surface, where five hundred runes were originally engraved, fewer than three hundred remained glowing after the explosion. The failed rune areas revealed grey-white corrosion marks—residue of guixu energy.

[Node No. 2401 · Damage Data]

- Platform Integrity: 100% → 70%

- Rune Failure: 500 → 280 (220 failed)

- seed of civilization Intensity: LV650 → LV600 (due to shock fluctuations)

- Barrier Thickness: 10 meters → 9.5 meters (locally thinned)

- Repair Time: If not repaired in time, the seed of civilization will extinguish in three days, and the barrier gap will expand.

Lin Zhou crouched beside the platform base, touching the grey-white corrosion marks with his fingers. The Fire of Civilization surged from his fingertips, stripping away the residual guixu energy. However, the stripping speed was very slow because the guixu energy had already seeped into the micro-structure of the essence of order bricks. Conventional Fire of Civilization scorching would take at least three days to purify completely, but the seed of civilization would be extinguished in three days. He needed a faster method.

"Li Mo, can the Mohist Mechanical Arts repair runes?"

Li Mo's projection hovered above the platform, his fingers sweeping through the Void Realm. His analyzer was conducting a molecular-level scan of the corrosion marks. "Yes. There is a technique in the Mohist 'The Exploitation of the Works of Nature'—Rune Overwriting. We can use Mohist Mechanical Arts to 'trace' the rule structure of the runes onto new bricks, then replace the damaged ones. No purification needed, just direct replacement."

[Rune Overwriting · Technical Data]

- Principle: Mohist Mechanical Arts, extracting the rule structure of runes from the original bricks and overwriting them onto new bricks.

- Speed: 10 seconds per rune.

- Materials: essence of order bricks (10 units of essence of order per piece).

- Consumption: None (Mohist Mechanisms operate automatically).

Lin Zhou calculated. Two hundred and twenty failed runes, ten seconds each, totaling two thousand two hundred seconds, approximately thirty-seven minutes. Adding the time to replace the bricks, the repair could be completed within an hour. The seed of civilization could still hold for three days; there was enough time.

"Start overwriting."

Li Mo took two hundred and twenty blank essence of order bricks from the Divine Kingdom warehouse and arranged them around the platform. His projection split into two hundred and twenty tiny Clones, each holding a rune engraving needle. The engraving needles were driven by Mohist Mechanical Arts, carving the rule structure of the runes onto the blank bricks.

[Rune Overwriting · Progress]

- Completed: 50... 100... 150...

- Speed: 50 runes every 10 seconds (Clones working in parallel).

- Estimated Completion: Approximately 5 minutes.

In five minutes, the two hundred and twenty runes were finished being overwritten. Li Mo's Clones dissipated, and his main projection flickered slightly—too much computing power had been consumed, and he needed to rest.

"Captain, rune overwriting is complete. Replacing the bricks requires manual labor."

Lin Zhou nodded. "Wang Meng, bring the Vanguard Battalion. Each person carry ten bricks and replace the failed ones on the platform."

Wang Meng led two hundred and twenty soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion and rushed onto the platform. They used Flying Swords to pry up the failed grey-white bricks and embedded the newly carved golden bricks. The moment each brick was embedded, the runes automatically activated, and a blue-gold light shone. The number of runes on the platform recovered from two hundred and eighty to five hundred, and the intensity of the seed of civilization rose from LV600 back to LV650.

[Node No. 2401 · Repair Complete]

- Platform Integrity: 70% → 100%

- Rune Quantity: 280 → 500

- seed of civilization Intensity: LV600 → LV650

- Barrier Thickness: 9.5 meters → 10 meters

- Repair Time: Approximately 40 minutes.

Lin Zhou stood on the platform, looking at the re-brightened seed of civilization. Golden Scale flew out from the Divine Kingdom, coiled above the platform, and unleashed Dragon Breath, igniting the seed of civilization. The light of the seed of civilization surged, illuminating the Void Realm for tens of thousands of kilometers.

"Li Mo, can Mohist Mechanical Arts be used to reinforce other nodes? If every node can be quickly repaired using rune overwriting, the maintenance efficiency of the defense line will increase tenfold."

Li Mo's projection recovered from a brief slumber. "Yes. But it requires a large number of blank essence of order bricks. Each node needs at least one hundred spare bricks; three thousand nodes would be three hundred thousand pieces. Each brick requires ten units of essence of order, totaling three million units."

Lin Zhou was silent. Three million units—he did not have that. But the total essence of order collected by various war zones and races had already exceeded one million units. Although not enough for three million, it could be used for the weakest nodes first.

"Produce one hundred thousand spare bricks first and distribute them to the one thousand nodes closest to the direction of the Gate of Guixu."

"Understood."

Lin Zhou returned to the Wall of Heroes, gathered representatives of craftsmen from various war zones, and taught them the rune overwriting technique. Combining Mohist Mechanical Arts with the forging techniques of various races, many variants were derived—the Dwarf Race's "Rune Forging Hammer" could engrave runes directly into bricks during forging; the Elf Race's "Life Engraving" could grow runes on bricks using the roots of spirit plants; the Human Race's "Order Furnace" could melt and cast runes into bricks.

[Rune Overwriting · Technology Diffusion]

- Dwarf Race: Rune Forging Hammer — Forging + Engraving synchronized, efficiency +50%.

- Elf Race: Life Engraving — Spirit plant roots grow runes, zero consumption.

- Human Race: Order Furnace — Rune melting and casting, durability +100%.

One month later, one hundred thousand spare bricks were produced and distributed to the one thousand nodes closest to the Gate of Guixu. Each node was stocked with one hundred spare bricks, enough to cope with one small-scale guixu energy erosion.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhou asked Li Mo to develop a mechanical device that could automatically repair runes. The device could be installed on the node platform, and once rune failure was detected, it would automatically trigger rune overwriting without manual intervention.

[Automatic Repair Device · Blueprint]

- Principle: Mohist Mechanical Arts + Fire of Civilization sensing.

- Function: Automatic detection of rune failure, automatic overwriting and replacement.

- Materials: 100 units of essence of order per unit, one piece of spatial Origin stone.

- Coverage: Single node.

- Maintenance Cycle: One year.

Lin Zhou looked at the blueprint and nodded. "Produce one hundred units first and install them on the weakest nodes."

"Understood."

Li Mo took the rune craftsmen from the Research Hall and began producing the automatic repair devices. One unit, two units, three units... One month later, one hundred units were produced and installed on the one hundred weakest nodes.

[Automatic Repair Device · Installation Nodes]

- Node Numbers: 1-100 (closest to the direction of the Gate of Guixu).

- Installation Progress: 100%.

- Test Results: Success (Simulated guixu energy erosion, device automatically activated, repair time three minutes).

Lin Zhou stood on the platform of the first node, looking at the automatic repair device. The device was a sphere with a diameter of one meter, hovering at the top of the platform, below the seed of civilization. Mohist mechanical runes flowed on the surface of the sphere, and one hundred spare bricks were sealed inside. Once rune failure was detected, the sphere would automatically open, release a spare brick, and simultaneously strip away the failed brick using the Fire of Civilization.

"Captain, with this device, the nodes will not fear small-scale guixu energy erosion anymore." Li Mo's voice carried a hint of fatigue.

"Thank you for your hard work." Lin Zhou patted his projection.

He turned and faced that sea of stars. The Fire of Civilization of one hundred thousand towns was like a sea of stars in the night sky. There were four months left before the Gate of Guixu returned. The Civilization Principle Defense Line was ready. Three thousand nodes, each with guardians, spare bricks, and automatic repair devices. guixu energy could not easily break through this wall.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Su Yueyao walked over.

"Thinking about myself four months from now."

"You will come back."

Lin Zhou looked at her and was silent for a moment. "Okay."

The two stood side by side on the platform, looking at that sea of stars. The Fire of Civilization was burning, illuminating the road ahead and also illuminating the direction of the Gate of Guixu. Four months later, he would walk into that gate. But at this moment, he was standing by her side. That was enough.