41: The Invitation of the Spirit Craftsman and the Underground Sanctuary
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!"
The low, rapid pulse of machine gun fire broke the battlefield's clamor. The gray fin shark's belly cannons spat out a blue plasma barrage, precisely arcing around the panicked survivors, as if guided by eyes, striking hard at the Rending Beast's raised forelimb joints and the side of its head as it attempted to bite!
"Thud! Thud, thud!"
The plasma rounds exploded on the hard carapace. Though they didn't immediately penetrate, the contained high temperature and impact kinetic energy were thoroughly transmitted! The vulnerable joints suffered heavy blows, causing the Rending Beast's charge to abruptly halt, letting out a roar mixed with pain and fury. Its head, repeatedly struck on the side, was disoriented, and one of its compound eyes was shattered!
This sudden, precise fire support stunned the previously despairing survivors. They subconsciously looked in the direction of the incoming shells, only to see a battle-scarred but still sleek transport aircraft hovering silently behind the hills, its muzzles still wreathed in lingering ionized mist.
A flicker of surprise crossed Ling Shuang's eyes, but it immediately turned to vigilance and scrutiny. She gripped her energy short staff tightly, not relaxing because of the reinforcements, but instead observing the Rending Beast and the unknown aircraft with even greater caution.
Lin Mo didn't give the Rending Beast a chance to breathe. Having landed a successful hit, he immediately maneuvered the transport aircraft for a short-distance sidestep, while the machine guns roared again! This time, the shells, like scalpels, specifically aimed at the parts of the Rending Beast's carapace that Ling Shuang's energy arrows had previously wounded, where charred cracks had appeared!
"Boom! Crack!"
Continuous, precise strikes finally tore open its defenses! A thick piece of carapace was forcibly ripped off, exposing the relatively fragile flesh and blood underneath! Dark red, corrosive blood splattered out!
The Rending Beast let out a never-before-heard, agonizing shriek. Its massive body writhed wildly from the intense pain, its barbed tail flailing indiscriminately, smashing nearby ruins to dust. Its remaining single eye fixated on the gray fin shark in the sky, filled with mad hatred, but the intense pain and constant loss of vitality made it lose the courage to continue attacking.
It let out an unwilling roar, abruptly turned, and, dragging its injured body, stumbled through several ruined walls, fleeing miserably back into the depths of the city ruins.
The battle, under the sudden intervention, ended with the invader's retreat.
A brief, eerie silence fell around the water treatment plant. The survivors, still shaken, watched the retreating monster, then looked at the transport aircraft in the sky, finally turning their gaze to their leader, Ling Shuang.
Ling Shuang took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and raised a hand to signal her team to remain vigilant but not to fire. She looked up, her gaze piercing the distance, meeting the direction of the transport aircraft's cockpit—though she couldn't see the person inside.
"Unknown aircraft, thank you for your assistance." Her voice, transmitted through some rudimentary amplifier, was clear and calm, with a hint of undetectable detachment. "Please state your identities and intentions."
Behind the hills, inside the gray fin shark's cockpit. Lin Mo looked at the sharp-eyed woman holding an energy short staff on the screen, quickly weighing his options. The other party was clearly an organized, disciplined group that possessed special powers. Directly revealing all his cards would be foolish, but complete concealment could also lead to hostility.
He opened the external loudspeaker and responded with a voice that was steady and neutral, processed by the editor:
"We are passing survivors in need of water and temporary rest. We observed you were in danger, so we intervened. We have no ill intentions."
His answer was concise, stating his needs and explaining his motives, while retaining most of the information.
Ling Shuang on the ground remained silent for a moment, seemingly evaluating the credibility of his words. She glanced at the deep claw marks and the unsettling, not-yet-fully-cleaned energy corrosion traces on the transport aircraft's hull, her eyes subtly shifting. This aircraft had clearly endured a fierce battle and was not in peak condition.
"Riverside City does not welcome uninvited guests, especially those bringing... trouble." She pointedly glanced at the transport aircraft's scars. "But one of the Spirit Craftsmen's tenets is to repay kindness. You may come down for water, but only in the designated area, and you must accept our supervision. The aircraft must remain where it is."
Spirit Craftsmen? Lin Mo noted the name. He glanced at the underground structure of the water treatment plant scanned by the editor; the sealed third basement level and the energy source within remained a mystery.
"Understood. We only seek necessary supplies and will not provoke." Lin Mo agreed to her terms. For now, this was the least costly way to acquire resources and information.
He maneuvered the transport aircraft to slowly land in an open space designated by Ling Shuang, a distance from the water treatment plant's entrance. After the engines shut down, he descended the boarding ramp alone. Wu Yong and Xiao Li remained in the cabin to stand guard and look after Su Xi.
As Lin Mo stepped onto this unfamiliar land, he immediately felt several wary gazes fall upon him. The survivors, or rather, the Spirit Craftsmen, had their weapons not directly aimed at him, but their fingers were near the triggers. Most of them had weathered faces and resolute eyes, carrying the fierce aura characteristic of wasteland survivors.
Ling Shuang stepped forward, scrutinizing him at close range. She appeared young, about twenty-five or twenty-six, with distinct features, sun-kissed skin from long-term activity in the wasteland, and bright, deep eyes that held a composure and insight beyond her years. The glow of her energy short staff had receded, but the rotating crystal still emitted a disquieting, ordered pulsation.
"My name is Ling Shuang, and I am the leader of the Spirit Craftsmen's sanctuary in Riverside City." She introduced herself, her tone neither subservient nor arrogant. "Your aircraft... and your abilities, are quite unique." Her gaze swept over Lin Mo, as if sensing something, and her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, clearly detecting a power fluctuation from Lin Mo that was different from the psionic energy she was familiar with, and much deeper and more subtle.
"Lin Mo." Lin Mo stated his name without further explanation. "We are from the west and are traveling east."
"East?" A hint of surprise flashed in Ling Shuang's eyes. "That way lies the Withered Land and the Thunder Peak Mountain Range. The environment is extreme, and the danger level far exceeds here. Few survivors willingly head in that direction." She paused, then added, "Unless... you have a compelling reason to go."
Lin Mo did not answer, merely looking at her calmly.
Ling Shuang didn't press the issue; everyone had secrets in the wasteland. She turned and gestured for a team member to lead Lin Mo to the water source—a manually operated pump on the surface, which they had modified, connected to an underground aquifer.
During the water collection, Lin Mo casually asked, "You call yourselves 'Spirit Craftsmen'? The power you used earlier doesn't seem to be old-era technology."
Ling Shuang glanced at him, seemingly unsurprised by his question. "'Spirit Craftsmen' means 'artisans who sculpt mind and matter.'" She raised the short staff in her hand, and the blue crystal glowed faintly. "This is psionic energy, a spiritual power awakened in some humans after The Great Erosion. We can use it to communicate, guide, and even, to a certain extent, reshape matter and energy. We established this sanctuary here to collect, study, and try to understand this power, hoping to find a way to perpetuate the flame of civilization in the wasteland."
Her explanation was clear and direct, imbued with a conviction in her path. This was different from any faction Lin Mo had encountered before; they seemed more inclined to research, adapt to, and utilize the power of the new world, rather than simply plunder or fear it.
"A very unique power system." Lin Mo remarked, but his heart stirred. Psionic energy, this ordered power with information-encoded characteristics, seemed utterly different from the chaotic pollution of the Tide of Delusion, even subtly hinting at a form of resistance. Was this an adaptive evolution of humanity after the catastrophe?
"Your power is equally unique." Ling Shuang's gaze fell on Lin Mo again, as if trying to see through him. "It's very... ancient, and incredibly stable. I can feel a presence on you... subtly similar to the holy core we guard, yet distinctly different."
holy core? Lin Mo immediately thought of the stable energy source in the sealed space on the third basement level of the water treatment plant, which the editor had scanned. That might be the "holy core" Ling Shuang spoke of.
Just then, a Spirit Craftsmen team member rushed out of the water treatment plant's underground entrance and whispered a few words in Ling Shuang's ear. Ling Shuang's expression shifted slightly, and her gaze towards Lin Mo held more gravity and... an indescribable complexity.
"Mr. Lin Mo," she spoke again, her tone more formal than before, "Our holy core... has just produced an unprecedented resonance reaction to your arrival. The Elder Council hopes... to speak with you."
Lin Mo's heart jolted. The seed of source blood fragment resonated with that "holy core"? Could that "holy core" also be a core fragment of a reality stabilization anchor? Or... some kind of related creation?
He instantly realized that this might be more than just a simple resupply stop. He might have touched upon deeper secrets of this world, and the true core of the Spirit Craftsmen organization.
Was it a blessing or a curse?
He looked at Ling Shuang's eyes, which seemed to reflect the human heart, and nodded.
"Alright, I am willing to meet your Elder Council."
New clues had appeared, and he couldn't ignore them. Perhaps, beneath Riverside City, he could find more fragments about the eastward pull, about the seed of source blood, and even about the truth of The Great Erosion.