26: Chapter 26 Ruins and Ashes Conceal the Edge

The shadows behind the broken wall were thick as ink, mixed with the foul smell of blood and dust. Lin Yuan leaned against the cold, rough masonry; every short breath felt like pulling a tattered bellows, his lungs filled with burning pain and the taste of rust. The Black-robed Man's "Soul-Devouring Grudge" had not directly hit his vitals, but the corrosive wounds left by the brushing chains of resentment were like bone-eating maggots, continuously emitting a cold, evil energy, trying to burrow into his meridians and freeze his vitality. The shock to his internal organs made his vision go black, and even the slightest movement caused agonizing pain throughout his body.

He struggled to mobilize his nearly exhausted spiritual sense, sensing the movement around him. In the distance, the unique, cold, and precise light blue scanning beams of the "Lingxiao" troops were slowly moving outside the ruins, combing through every inch of space like a brush, getting closer and closer. The air still held the cold, greasy aura of the Black-robed Man; although he had retreated, there was no guarantee he hadn't left some obscure tracking mark behind.

Double pursuit, a severely injured body, faith reserve bottomed out.

A desperate situation within a desperate situation.

But deep in Lin Yuan's eyes, the faint golden glimmer originating from the "Void God Spark" burned with unusual stability. It lacked a scorching temperature, yet brought a strange perception of tolerance, calmness, and analysis.

"Adaptive Compatibility... Substrate Reconstruction..." He chewed on these two newly acquired basic traits. After the life-and-death explosion just now, he had a more intuitive understanding of these two traits.

"Compatibility" was not simple "acceptance," but understanding the internal structure and operational logic of foreign energy. Just now, he could deflect the attack of the resentment chains precisely because of the "Compatibility" trait of the Spark, which allowed him to instantly "read" the most unstable flow nodes and attack tendencies of the resentment energy on the surface of those chains, thereby guiding them to produce a slight deflection.

"Reconstruction" was more fundamental, a fine-tuning and Optimization of his own or already marked "structures." The short-term strengthening of the defensive array just now was a manifestation of "Reconstruction."

Now, he needed to apply these two traits to his own survival.

First, he needed to deal with the evil energy wounds and fatal injuries on his body.

Gritting his teeth and enduring the excruciating pain, he sank his consciousness into his divine spark. That tiny spark of faint golden fire floated quietly in the chaotic depths of his divinity, emitting a warm, gentle light. He tried to use his only remaining weak intent to "communicate" with the Spark, mobilizing the power of "Compatibility" and "Reconstruction."

No massive surge of energy emerged. The Spark was too weak, only able to provide the most basic capability support.

But he didn't need massive energy. He needed precision.

He directed the perception of "Compatibility" toward the most severe evil energy-eroded wounds on his body. Immediately, a strange sense of "understanding" came: those cold, evil energies were not water without a source; inside them existed extremely subtle energy structural patterns woven from negative thoughts like pain, resentment, and curses. These patterns were not unbreakable; at certain nodes, due to the mixing of different resentments and the haste of the Black-robed Man's control, structural conflicts and weak points existed.

Found it!

Next, he mobilized the micro-power of "Reconstruction." This power couldn't directly "dispel" or "purify" the evil energy, but it could... perform extremely subtle "interference" and "guidance" at the weakest nodes of the evil energy structure, just like using the finest needle to poke at a precise but internally stressed mechanical structure.

He condensed the power of "Reconstruction" into a faint golden thread thinner than a hair, carefully "piercing" into a structural weak point of the evil energy in a shoulder wound.

There was no intense confrontation. Under the "understanding" of the "Compatibility" trait, the evil energy structure felt a very brief moment of "confusion" and "acceptance" toward this homologous but higher-level "order" interference. The faint golden thread took the opportunity to give a gentle "nudge."

Hum...

The evil energy patterns near that wound appeared to have a momentary disorder and self-conflict! A small wisp of cold, evil energy actually self-consumed and neutralized due to internal structural conflict, transforming into more inert, peaceful gray energy, which was then naturally expelled and dissipated by Lin Yuan's resilient vitality!

It worked! Although he could only handle an extremely small part of the evil energy at a time, and it consumed huge mental effort and was slow, this provided a possibility to slowly remove the evil energy erosion without consuming additional Power of Faith or triggering intense energy confrontation!

More importantly, the process of using "Compatibility" to understand the structure of evil energy was in itself a form of learning and analysis of the rules governing "resentment" and "negative energy," vaguely aligning with the path of the "God of Ruins." Lin Yuan could feel that the spark of the Spark deep in his divinity seemed to have become imperceptibly brighter and more solidified because of this "practice"!

He immediately followed suit and began to deal with the evil energy in other key wounds. This was a slow, grinding task, painful and long, and extremely mentally draining. But he had no other choice.

At the same time, his ears were always pricked, his spiritual sense like a taut string, sensing every movement outside.

The scanning beams of "Lingxiao" had advanced to the edge of these ruins. He could "hear" that standardized electronic synthesized voice ringing nearby:

"Area C-7 scan complete, no high-energy targets detected. Weak order energy residue detected, pointing northwest by north... Residue sample collection complete, analyzing... Composite negative energy erosion traces detected, 72% match with 'Special Threat Model - 7B' secondary characteristics... Trace tracking module activated, calculating energy dissipation trajectory and biological movement model..."

Lin Yuan's heart tightened. The opponent's technical means were indeed professional; they could not only track energy but also calculate movement patterns through traces! He had to finish treating his wounds and move his position as soon as possible.

He accelerated the processing speed of "Compatibility" and "Reconstruction," cold sweat mixed with blood dripping from his forehead. About twenty minutes later, several of the most dangerous evil energy erosions were temporarily suppressed and largely removed. Although the wounds were still painful and bleeding, at least they would not continue to worsen and erode his foundation. The shock to his internal organs also calmed down a little due to the infiltration of the Spark's peculiar glimmer, which carried a sense of "nourishment" and "stabilization."

He dared not delay any longer, enduring the pain throughout his body, he poked his head out from behind the broken wall to observe carefully.

Under the night, several small drones with smooth shapes and flickering light blue rune luster were hovering in mid-air dozens of meters away, slowly rotating, projecting beams of scanning light. On the ground, three personnel wearing "Lingxiao" uniforms, holding portable detectors and energy restraint devices, were moving in a tactical formation, cautiously searching toward the landing point where he had teleported earlier.

He couldn't stay here anymore.

His gaze swept across these ruins waiting to be demolished. This place used to be an old residential area, with demolition half-finished, leaving behind a large number of broken walls and accumulated construction waste. The terrain was complex with many hiding spots, but it also meant the opponent could surround him from multiple angles.

He needed to find a place that was more conducive to hiding and relocating, and perhaps... had some geographical advantage.

Memories flipped through his mind quickly. When he was investigating "Xiangyang New Village" before, he had scouted the nearby area and vaguely remembered that about four or five hundred meters to the northwest of these ruins, there was a small, long-abandoned underground air-raid shelter entrance, hidden under wild grass and rubble, very concealed. The internal structure of the air-raid shelter was complex with many forks, and it went deep underground, perhaps it could interfere with "Lingxiao"'s energy scanning and calculation.

That was it!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the bloody sweetness in his throat, and poured his last bit of strength and attention into stealth and anti-tracking.

He did not choose to run in a straight line; that would be equivalent to a living target. Instead, he utilized the complex terrain of the ruins, using broken walls, cement pipes, and stacked prefabricated slabs as cover, moving in an extremely slow, cautious, but twisting and varied route toward the entrance of the air-raid shelter in his memory.

Every step pulled at his wounds, but he forced himself to stay calm, applying the thinking of "Optimization" to the selection of his stealth route: how to maximize the use of shadows? How to let his footsteps and aura dissipate into the night wind and the noise of the ruins themselves? How to slightly disturb the environment (such as kicking a small pebble, letting dust fall naturally) after moving to cover up more subtle traces?

He even tried to apply the understanding of "resentment" structures he had just gained to himself—trying to restrain all overflowing "order" and "Optimization" aura, imitating the "desolate," "deadly silent," and "energetically inert" state of the surrounding ruins. The "Compatibility" trait of the Spark played an unexpected auxiliary role in this "imitation," allowing him to better "understand" and integrate into the environmental energy background.

"Scan detected no moving heat source... Energy traces appear discontinuous... Suspected target possesses primary environmental simulation or aura shielding capabilities..." The electronic synthesized voice came intermittently, seemingly encountering some analysis obstacles.

Lin Yuan felt slightly settled. His strategy was effective. He moved slowly and firmly in the dark ruins like an injured but experienced gecko.

The five-hundred-meter distance, which would normally take only a few minutes, now felt like crossing a chasm. When he finally saw the rusty, semi-circular concrete arch vaguely revealed in the wild grass, he was almost exhausted.

He looked back; the light blue scanning beams were still hovering more than a hundred meters behind, but seemed to be slowed down by the complex terrain and residual energy interference.

Without hesitation, he pushed aside the dense wild grass and vines and found the entrance half-hidden by concrete blocks. Pushing hard on the rusted iron fence (which made a teeth-grinding friction sound), a cold air mixed with the smell of mold, earth, and a faint metallic rust rushed toward him.

He turned sideways and squeezed in, immediately restoring the iron fence to its original position and jamming it with a few stones.

It was pitch black inside the air-raid shelter, where one couldn't see their own fingers. The air was damp and cold, and he could hear the ethereal echo of water droplets dripping from the rock wall above his head. His spiritual sense was suppressed to a certain extent here, but the gentle glimmer of the Spark seemed to have a strange adaptability to the dark and underground environment, making his perception much clearer than an ordinary person's.

He did not go deep, but sat down against the wall near the entrance, seizing the time to rest while dealing with the remaining lighter injuries.

Outside, the "Lingxiao" troops' scanning seemed to have finally tracked to the vicinity of the air-raid shelter entrance.

"Energy traces interrupted near coordinates (XXX, YYY), artificial underground structure entrance discovered... Weak biological disturbance and metal friction traces detected at the entrance... Speculated target may have entered the underground facility." The electronic synthesized voice reported.

"Underground facility structure scanning... Structure is complex, multiple barriers exist, standard scanning methods have penetration efficiency lower than 30%... Request authorization to use 'Deep Spirit-Probing Pulse' or dispatch ground team to enter for search." Another calmer electronic voice sounded.

"Authorization granted to use 'Spirit-Probing Pulse' (low power), prioritize mapping the underground structure. Ground team on standby, do not rashly enter complex and narrow environments before confirming the target's threat level." The field commander seemed to have issued the order.

Lin Yuan's heart sank. "Deep Spirit-Probing Pulse"? It didn't sound like a good thing. He had to recover some mobility as soon as possible and move deeper into the air-raid shelter, or... find a way to interfere with their detection.

While continuing to use the Spark's ability to treat his wounds, he pondered countermeasures. The internal structure of the air-raid shelter was complex, perhaps he could use the terrain to maneuver. But if the other side used large-scale detection or blockade means, he would still be in danger.

Just as he was struggling to think, deep in his soul, that tiny spark of faint golden fire suddenly throbbed slightly.

Immediately afterward, an extremely weak but incomparably clear sense of attraction came from deeper in the air-raid shelter, from some unknown direction! This attraction was not a sound or an image, but a pure resonance with "Void Ash," "wrecks," and "foundations waiting for reconstruction"!

It was as if something deep in this air-raid shelter was resonating with the "Void God Spark"!

Lin Yuan suddenly raised his head and looked into the deep, boundless darkness.

Could this... be more than just an abandoned air-raid shelter?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind: old city maps, war history, construction from special eras, potentially buried ruins or items...

Danger often coexists with opportunity.

The "Lingxiao" people were right outside; going deep into the unknown darkness might lead to other dangers. But staying here, once the opponent's "Spirit-Probing Pulse" completed the scan, he would likely have nowhere to hide.

With almost no hesitation, Lin Yuan leaned against the cold wall and struggled to stand up.

He glanced at the system interface; his faith reserve was still a pitiful 0.011, the Spark was burning stably, and the countdown was silently ticking: 22 days, 21 hours, 05 minutes.

There was no turning back.

Following that faint sense of attraction, dragging his wounded body, he walked step by step, firmly, toward the deeper, darker depths of the air-raid shelter.

At the entrance behind him, a low, infrasound-like hum could be vaguely heard—that was the sound of the "Spirit-Probing Pulse" starting.

The darkness, like thick ink, slowly swallowed his back.

And ahead, the unknown attraction, accompanied by equally unknown risks, was quietly waiting.

The Spark's glimmer, in the absolute darkness, flickered, yet never extinguished.