150: Embers of the Wasteland, a Game with Scavengers

The battlefield, after the violent discharge of energy, fell into an eerie silence.

The mushroom cloud that had blotted out the sky was long gone.

In its place was a gigantic scar, as if a god had pressed a finger fiercely into the earth.

A colossal glass crater, over a hundred kilometers in diameter, silently testified to the catastrophe that had occurred not long ago.

The edges of the pit were made of material that had been melted by high temperatures and then rapidly cooled, resembling black crystal, reflecting a morbid yet magnificent light under the dark red sun in the sky.

This place was already a forbidden zone of death.

Inside the Bridge, the adrenaline-induced euphoria gradually faded, replaced by the emptiness and exhaustion that followed a major battle.

Gu Zhixia stood by the viewport, looking down at the world below, which had been completely reduced to scorched earth. In her phoenix eyes, which usually burned with fierce fighting spirit, a complex, ineffable emotion flickered.

“What a… waste,” she murmured.

The word, spoken from her lips, carried no trace of regret; it was more like a calm, almost cold, assessment purely from a resource and strategic perspective.

“A top-tier industrial complex capable of providing logistical support for an entire interstellar fleet, countless rare mineral veins, and those high-precision automated production lines…”, she continued.

“All of it just turned into a worthless piece of radioactive glass.”

She turned around and looked at Lin Mo, who was still seated on the throne as if nothing had happened.

“While it’s satisfying, in the long run, this is a losing proposition.”

At her core, she was, after all, a warrior accustomed to meticulous planning.

In her view, if this Purgatory Furnace could have been captured, even if only its core database was seized, it would have been an immeasurable fortune for them.

But now, everything had turned to radioactive dust.

Lin Mo did not refute her.

He simply shifted his gaze from the screen, meeting Gu Zhixia’s eyes calmly.

“Lan Yue said we are pawns,” he said.

His voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in every corner of the Bridge.

“This Purgatory Furnace is a very large, very important pawn that Leviathan placed on the board. But in the end, it is still just a pawn.”

He slowly rose and walked to Gu Zhixia’s side, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, looking down at the masterpiece of destruction below.

“Facing a god who has already set the board and is ready to flip it over at any moment, for us pawns to win…”

Lin Mo’s tone was flat, yet it carried a chilling madness.

“The only way is not to be better at playing the game than Him.”

He pointed his hand at the scorched earth below.

“It’s to utterly smash this chessboard.”

“His king, queen, bishop, soldiers…”

“Everything, crushed into powder.”

“Leaving Him with no moves to make.”

“This is our way.”

Gu Zhixia’s heart trembled violently!

She looked at Lin Mo’s sharply defined profile, and the thought of “waste” in her mind instantly vanished.

In its place was a purer, more resolute sense of agreement.

Yes.

They were not here to contend for resources.

They were here for revenge, to… slay a god!

Just as the atmosphere grew somewhat solemn, a timid, curious voice came from behind the commander’s chair.

“Um… Sister, Brother Mo…”

Gu Nianqiu, at some point, had changed into a comfortable, cute lace-trimmed work overall dress, still clutching her carrot pillow tightly, and poked her little head out.

“We’ve stomped on their sandcastle so badly…”

Her big eyes blinked, and she asked cautiously.

“So… will there be any fun treasures buried in that… sandcastle?”

“Just like sometimes you can pick up pretty seashells on the beach!”

This utterly innocent remark, like a clear spring, instantly dispelled the heaviness andKill (solemnity) brought by the topic of “god-slaying” in the Bridge.

Gu Zhixia glanced at her Little Girl with a wry smile, about to say, “Below that is only radiation that could roast you alive,” but the words caught in her throat.

Because she saw that Lin Mo’s face actually showed a hint of thoughtfulness.

“Treasures, huh…”

Lin Mo’s gaze once again turned to the center of the giant pit below.

The powerful scanning capability of the antimatter core was conducting a carpet search in the chaotic energy ruins.

“Conventional alloys and equipment have indeed been vaporized. However…”

He changed his tone.

“The energy cores that support the operation of ‘Law’-level energy shields, and the ‘phase engines’ of those special assault ships—their materials cannot be that fragile.”

“The flames of zhurong erase the concept of ‘existence,’ but if the ‘existence’ concept of a certain object itself is strong enough, then it might survive this great cleansing.”

A hunter’s gleam, one he hadn’t even noticed himself, flashed in Lin Mo’s eyes.

“Nianqiu is right.”

He turned to look at the Little Girl, who was full of anticipation, his calm face softening for a rare moment.

“It’s time to go down… and pick up seashells.”

Half an hour later.

A specially modified “Worker Bee”-class small landing craft, its external armor covered with a thin, emerald-green bio-membrane made of “World Tree” energy, slowly detached from the Natural Selection and flew towards the land of death.

In the pilot’s seat of the landing craft sat an excited, eager Gu Zhixia.

She controlled the “Thunder Dragon,” which was fixed in a peculiar posture on the outside of the landing craft. The silver-blue surface of the mecha was also covered with an energy membrane to resist the terrifying radiation that could instantly melt steel.

Inside the landing craft, Lin Mo sat at the main console, calmly analyzing the scan data.

Gu Nianqiu, like a primary school student going on a picnic, her back adorned with a bulging backpack featuring a cute little bear, was sprawled against the viewport, curiously watching the bizarre spectacle outside.

“Wow! Sister, look! That rock is glowing! Like rainbow candy!”

“Brother Mo, quick look! The ground there looks like jelly! It’s jiggling!”

Her innocent exclamations added a touch of absurd comedy to this scavenger hunt deep into hell.

The landing craft slowly descended into the central area of the giant pit.

This was once the energy supply center of the Purgatory Furnace, and also the impact point of Lin Mo’s “gift.”

The surrounding ground presented a translucent, vitrified texture, and deep underground, dark red magma slowly flowed, like a wound on the earth that refused to heal.

The air was filled with high-intensity energy particles, causing a slight distortion in one’s vision.

“High-energy reaction detected!”

Lin Mo’s voice instantly invigorated both sisters, who had been looking around.

“Right below us, about thirty meters deep!”

On the holographic screen in front of him, a dazzling, dark golden signal source was pulsating violently.

The intensity of that signal even faintly overpowered the background radiation of the surrounding environment!

It was like the heart of a giant dragon, slumbering deep in hell.

“Zhi Xia.”

Lin Mo’s voice was steady and powerful.

“Time to get to work.”

“Understood!”

Gu Zhixia’s voice came through the external communication, filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Outside the landing craft, the “Thunder Dragon” mecha, which had remained silent, suddenly lit up its eyes with dazzling silver-blue light!

Its huge mechanical arm extended, fingers pressed together, forming an indestructible vibration blade made of high-frequency particle flow!

Buzz—!

The air itself seemed to tremble!

“Open… for me!”

Accompanied by Gu Zhixia’s clear, sharp cry, the particle blade, capable of slicing through battleship armor, fiercely slashed down towards the vitrified ground!