53: Geothermal micro-light and information weaving

The line of information about the geothermal observation station on the environmental recorder screen was like a ray of sunlight suddenly piercing through a dark prison, instantly dispelling the despairing gloom that filled the cabin. Wu Yong and Xiao Li's faces rekindled with hope, and their breathing quickened.

"Seventh Geothermal Observation Station... five kilometers away..." Ling Shuang repeated the coordinates, a hint of color returning to her pale face. She looked at Lin Mo, "At this distance, with our current condition, walking there carries a high risk. But... it's our only hope right now."

Lin Mo nodded, his internal organs still aching as if pricked by needles, every breath pulling at his damaged roots. He forced himself to concentrate, mobilizing his nearly exhausted information perception ability, extending it towards the northeast.

His perception range was severely compressed, less than a kilometer, and blurry, like looking through a thick pane of frosted glass. Yet, he still caught a faint but stable geothermal energy signal coming from that direction, like a lighthouse in the dark.

"Signal confirmed," Lin Mo's voice was weak but firm, "Path... needs to be planned. editor, combine existing terrain data with life signal scans to plan the safest route to the coordinates."

The jade slip's light flickered a few times with difficulty, like dying embers, feeding back a winding, circuitous path that tried to avoid several weak but present life reaction zones scanned by the editor, as well as some treacherous terrain.

"Route planning complete. Estimated walking time: 4 to 6 hours. Warning: Subject's condition is extremely poor, unable to withstand high-intensity combat or complex ability usage."

Four to six hours... for survivors in good condition, it would be nothing, but for their battered, almost depleted team, it was nothing short of a life-or-death trial.

"We must leave immediately," Ling Shuang decided promptly, "Su Xi's life support pod won't last much longer." She looked at Wu Yong and Xiao Li, "We need to make a stretcher and take turns carrying Su Xi. Bring all the food, water, and emergency medicine we can. Weapons... take whatever you can get."

Wu Yong and Xiao Li immediately sprang into action, rummaging through the wreckage for usable materials. They salvaged some relatively intact alloy plates and a sturdy section of cable, managing to piece together a makeshift stretcher. Food and water were indeed scarce, barely enough for a few people to survive for two days. As for weapons, there was only Wu Yong's pulse pistol with its depleted energy, and a heavy metal pipe Xiao Li found.

Lin Mo attempted to mobilize a trace of the seed of source blood's power to heal himself, but the effect was minimal, instead causing more violent coughing. He realized that conventional recovery methods were not feasible given the current lack of resources. His consciousness once again sank into his Sea of Consciousness, gazing at the dusty nascent rules recorded in the information singularity.

"editor, analyze the 'existence definition' and 'material structure' prototypes recorded in the information-side fragment, and attempt to deduce the Possibility of 'Information Weaving' on non-living matter under low-consumption conditions."

He no longer pursued powerful attacks or defenses but turned to more fundamental and essential applications—using information-level authority to directly influence the "state" of matter.

The light of the jade slip and the information-side fragment intertwined extremely faintly, like a candle in the wind performing precise calculations. A moment later, an extremely simplified information encoding model concerning material "structural strength" and "energy conduction efficiency" appeared in Lin Mo's perception.

【Information Weaving · Basic Structure Enhancement】

He reached out, his fingers gently brushing over the most fragile connection point on the makeshift stretcher. There was no shining light, no energy fluctuation, only an extremely subtle infusion of his mental power, like the finest needle and thread, "weaving" that simplified "enhancement" information encoding into the microscopic structural information layer of the alloy.

In an instant, Wu Yong and Xiao Li felt that the stretcher in their hands seemed... a little "sturdier"? The shaky feeling lessened slightly. It wasn't a change in physical form, but rather the information within the material that carried the attribute of "structural strength" was temporarily and subtly enhanced.

It worked! Although the effect was extremely limited and its duration unknown, this was a completely new direction! It didn't rely on large amounts of energy, but directly modified the "attribute information" of matter! This could be crucial for repairing tools, and even for repairing the transport plane in the future!

Lin Mo's mental power was also consumed a bit, making his already pale complexion even more translucent. This ability required extremely high mental focus, and using it in a weakened state was even more difficult.

"Alright... let's go," he gasped.

The group left the wreckage of the gray fin shark and embarked on their journey of survival towards the geothermal observation station. Ling Shuang walked at the front, her depleted psionic energy having robbed her of most of her perceptive abilities, forcing her to rely on sight and experience to watch her surroundings. Wu Yong and Xiao Li struggled, carrying Su Xi's stretcher. Lin Mo walked at the back, each step feeling like he was treading on cotton, requiring immense willpower.

The terrain at the edge of the Thunder Peak Mountain Range was rugged, covered with sharpgravel and bottomless crevices. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur, and in the distance, a low rumble, like the churning of the mountain's belly, could be faintly heard. The sky remained overcast, leaden clouds hanging low, as if ready to press down at any moment.

Following the route planned by the editor, they bypassed several caves that might contain mutated creature nests and skirted a steep cliff face. The journey was more difficult than expected. In less than an hour, Wu Yong and Xiao Li were already panting, sweat soaking through their tattered clothes. Although Su Xi's vital signs on the stretcher were stable, the long period of bumping was clearly not conducive to her recovery.

Lin Mo's condition was worse. The intense pain in his body and the over-consumption of his mental power blurred his vision, and he nearly fell several times. He had to stop frequently, leaning against rocks to catch his breath. His information perception ability was intermittent, unable to provide effective warnings.

"Rest... for ten minutes," Ling Shuang ordered decisively, seeing Lin Mo's precarious state. She herself leaned against a rock, seizing every second to recover her almost non-existent psionic energy.

Just then, Lin Mo's intermittent information perception caught a faint rustling sound and several weak, greedy life signals coming from behind a pile of rocks ahead and to the side!

"Something... is approaching..." he warned hoarsely.

Ling Shuang's body instantly tensed, gripping the energy short staff in her hand (though it could no longer be activated). Wu Yong and Xiao Li also nervously grabbed their makeshift "weapons," shielding the stretcher behind them.

From behind the pile of rocks, three strangely shaped creatures slowly emerged. They were wolf-sized, with dull, rock-colored skin that almost blended with the surroundings. Their limbs were short, stout, and powerful, their claws as sharp as obsidian. Most unsettling was their heads—they had no eyes, only a huge, constantly opening and closing mouth filled with spiral-shaped sharp teeth! These were "Stone Devourers," unique mutated creatures of the Thunder Peak Mountain Range, hunting by vibration perception and keen scent, particularly fond of preying on injured or weak creatures!

Clearly, they had been attracted by the "weakness" emanating from Lin Mo and the others.

"Damn it!" Wu Yong raised his pulse pistol, but the energy indicator had long since returned to zero.

Xiao Li nervously waved the metal pipe, but it seemed so ridiculous against three bloodthirsty mutated creatures.

The Stone Devourers let out low growls, like rocks grinding together, and spread out, slowly closing in in a pincer movement. They sensed the helplessness of their prey.

Ling Shuang's eyes sharpened, and she forced out a trace of psionic energy, attempting to cast the most basic mental deterrence, but the psionic energy almost dissipated as soon as it left her body, only making the Stone Devourers pause for half a second.

Despair once again enveloped them.

Lin Mo leaned against the rock, watching the three approaching monsters, watching the desperate eyes of his companions, watching the unconscious Su Xi on the stretcher. His consciousness once again sank into the dusty nascent rules.

Going head-to-head was impossible. Energy attacks were also impossible to unleash.

Then... deception?

He recalled the vague concepts of "perception" and "existence" in the information singularity. He locked onto one of the Stone Devourers, condensing his remaining mental power into an invisible "needle," carrying an extremely simple, "woven" piece of information—an intensely strong, false perception signal of "fatal danger exists here"—and plunged it into the primitive nervous system of that Stone Devourer, which relied on vibration perception!

【Information Weaving · Perception Misdirection】

The Stone Devourer, just about to pounce, suddenly froze! In its simple perception system, the image of a "weak prey" it had originally locked onto instantly twisted and deformed, transforming into the terrifying aura and pressure of some top Predator of the Thunder Peak Mountain Range, something it feared most deep in its genes!

"Awoo—!"

It let out a terrified shriek and turned to flee, regardless of anything! It even knocked over a nearby rock!

The other two Stone Devourers were bewildered by their companion's sudden frantic action. They perceived no abnormalities, but their companion's genuine fear infected them. The hunting unspoken understanding was broken, and hesitation and unease spread through their simple minds.

Ling Shuang seized this fleeting opportunity! Enduring the pain of overexertion, she once again gathered a barely perceptible trace of psionic energy. This time, it wasn't an attack, but an extremely brief "association" between the image of "prey" in the minds of the other two Stone Devourers and a nearby rock that emitted faint radiation, which they instinctively disliked!

This crude suggestion alone would not have been enough to scare them away, but in the eerie atmosphere created by their companion's flight and Lin Mo's "Information Weaving," it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The other two Stone Devourers also let out a low growl, abandoned the hunt, retreated cautiously, and quickly disappeared among the rocks.

The crisis... was once again averted.

Wu Yong and Xiao Li collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, as if they had just returned from the gates of hell. Their gazes at Lin Mo were filled with disbelief and lingering fear.

Ling Shuang also breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze at Lin Mo even more complex. She vaguely felt that Lin Mo had done something just now, but the method... was beyond her comprehension.

Lin Mo offered no explanation; he was almost completely exhausted, slowly sliding to the ground, leaning against the rock. Two extremely limited "Information Weaving" almost drained his last mental power. In his Sea of Consciousness, the crack in the jade slip seemed to have widened a bit.

But he proved that even in the weakest state, an understanding of rules could be a weapon for the weak to overcome the strong.

After a longer rest, the team set off again. The rest of the journey was relatively peaceful; perhaps disturbed by the abnormal behavior of the Stone Devourers, they encountered no further threats.

Hours later, as the lingering glow of the setting sun struggled to penetrate the leaden clouds, painting the mountain range in a tragically beautiful orange-red, they finally reached their destination—

An old-era building, built into the mountain and half-buried underground, appeared before them. On the heavy metal door, the words "Seventh Geothermal Observation Station" were faintly discernible. The door was tightly shut, but the indicator light of the backup energy port beside the door emitted a steady, reassuring green glow.

Hope lay behind the door.