2: Chapter 2 The First Glimpse of Heaven's Secret: The Mystery of the Mineral Vein

The night wind swirled ashes among the ruins.

Chen Wuwang stood at the edge of the stone platform, his silver hair blowing back, three claw marks on his right cheek glinting cold white under the moonlight.

He stared toward Dongshan, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye turning slightly as internal data streams silently slid across his vision—temperature, humidity, Spiritual Qi concentration, everything was normal.

But he knew things had changed.

Midnight was approaching.

A moment ago, he had stood on the edge of doubt, unsure if that "Whisper of the Heavenly Dao" was an illusion or a trap. But now, he no longer waited for the System to find him; he took the initiative to meet it.

He closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank deep, like pressing the Enter key to execute a piece of unknown code. No incantations, no rituals, only a single thought of focus—

[Host's active invocation detected. Initiating Response Protocol.]

In an instant, three light ripples exploded in his Sea of Consciousness.

A holographic interface emerged, like a control panel suspended in the darkness. Three commands lit up one by one, the writing turning from ethereal to solid:

"First: The Dongshan Mineral Vein contains Gold-Eating Insect Egg Cores. Biological Enzymes can be extracted for rock layer corrosion."

"Second: Chen Tiezhu will achieve an Artifact Refining Breakthrough within seven days. Suggested input of new Materials to activate potential."

"Third: The Zerg Broodmother will awaken in three days. Countdown initiated."

Chen Wuwang opened his eyes.

Blood-colored Spiritual Runes flashed and vanished deep within his pupils.

"It's coming," he whispered, his voice extremely low yet carrying an irrepressible excitement.

It wasn't a pleasant surprise, but the frenzied omen of a hunter seeing his prey step into a trap.

He raised his hand to touch the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye on his left, his fingertips feeling the slight chill of the metal edge.

This thing was something he had pieced together from leftover technological parts after his Transmigration. It could scan Spiritual Qi fluctuations, record topographical data, and even simulate simple Formation trajectories—but it had never produced such a secret resonance with the System until now.

He looked toward Dongshan again.

This time, the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye focused automatically, entering low-power scanning mode.

Nothing seemed unusual on the surface, but exactly thirty zhang above the mineral vein, there was an extremely subtle distortion in the air, like rising heat waves or the residue of some biological energy.

"Egg Cores... hidden in the vein's interlayers?" he murmured. "Not a disaster, but Materials."

His programmer mindset kicked in instantly. Resource modeling began: Gold-Eating Insect Egg Core = high-activity Biological Enzyme source = can decompose stubborn mineral rock = increase mining efficiency = complete resource accumulation before the Zerg Broodmother awakens.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

This wasn't a disaster; it was a key delivered to his doorstep.

He looked at the second command—"Chen Tiezhu will achieve an Artifact Refining Breakthrough within seven days."

The image of that stubborn old man immediately popped into his head: face covered in coal ash, hands full of burn scars, cursing "what bullshit Psionic Assembly Line" while secretly studying Rune-engraved Chips late at night.

"The System isn't giving me prophecies; it's giving me interfaces," Chen Wuwang chuckled. "It knows I can link these two things together."

The Egg Core is the raw material, Chen Tiezhu is the converter, and seven days is the window of opportunity.

As long as the Biological Enzymes are extracted from the Egg Core and mixed into the Artifact Refining Materials, a brand-new "Self-corroding Psionic Drill" can be created—rotating at high speed while releasing corrosive enzymes, turning hard rock into tofu.

He had already drawn the blueprints in his mind.

The third command popped up: "The Zerg Broodmother will awaken in three days."

This time, he didn't frown; instead, he smiled.

"Three days... neither more nor less, just enough for me to dig out my first pot of gold," he whispered. "When you wake up, you'll find your eggs have become my drills."

The wind suddenly grew stronger.

He stood tall, his robes flapping loudly.

At this moment, he was no longer a Family Head passively reacting to moves, but a strategist holding three Heavenly Secrets in his hand, standing on ruins with fire burning in his eyes.

He began to pace.

One step, one tap.

His right index finger unconsciously tapped against the edge of the stone platform, making a slight "clack, clack" sound. The rhythm was steady, like a metronome during code compilation.

01100111 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110100

—got it (understood)

He was confirming the System's logical closed loop.

The first command verified: the mineral vein is indeed unusual and contains usable resources;

The second command provides a human node, hinting at the possibility of a technological leap;

The third command sets a countdown, forcing a pace of action.

The three were interconnected by Karma, linked together like a chain.

This wasn't random generation; it was precise targeting.

"So... you're not just a notification tool." He looked up, as if speaking to the Void Realm. "You are part of the rules themselves."

He turned abruptly toward Dongshan.

The Mechanical Prosthetic Eye started scanning again, locking onto the mineral vein's direction. Data showed the Earth Vein's trend was "Dragon-spine shaped," with the main mining tunnel buried three hundred zhang underground. Traditional excavation would take over half a month.

But now, with the Gold-Eating Insect Egg Core, three days would be enough.

He looked down at his hands.

These hands had typed countless lines of code and had also lifted crying children from the ruins.

Now, what they were going to write was a program that could rewrite the rules of the Cultivation World—using technology as the language, Heavenly Secrets as commands, and the entire Family as the operating platform.

"Old Lin said no one dares to go." He sneered. "But no one said I'm not allowed to go."

He didn't need others to understand.

Nor did he need to explain.

He only needed to build the drill, mine the ore, and re-establish the Family before the Zerg Broodmother woke up.

He raised his hand, gently stroking the claw marks on his right cheek.

Those were marks left by the Zerg, and also his first lesson upon waking up in this world.

"You destroyed my Foundation?" he whispered, his tone terrifyingly calm. "I will use your own things to rebuild a world you cannot understand."

In the distance, Dongshan remained silent.

But he knew a storm was hidden there.

And he had already obtained the switch to detonate it.

He took one last look at the System interface.

The three commands hovered quietly, with no new additions, no changes, and no interaction prompts.

Having completed this round of delivery, it sank back into silence, like a host computer automatically hibernating after finishing a task.

Chen Wuwang closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the Blood-colored Spiritual Runes had receded, and his gaze was as clear as a blade.

He stepped forward and walked down from the stone platform.

The sole of his boot crushed a piece of charred rock, making a crisp sound.

He didn't look back.

He knew that tomorrow—no, in a few hours—he would gather the clansmen on the high platform of the ruins and announce that plan which no one would dare believe.

But for now, he still had one thing to do.

He squatted down and picked up a broken piece of metal from a gap in the ruins; it was a cooling plate left behind after the Artifact Refining Workshop's explosion. The edges were sharp, and the surface was covered in cracks.

He scratched a few lines on it with his finger.

One horizontal line, two vertical lines, plus a semi-circle.

It was a simplified gear pattern.

Then, he inserted it into a crack in the ground, like raising a flag.

The wind blew, and the metal piece swayed slightly.

He knew that when the sun rose, this sign would be seen.

They would ask: "What is this?"

And he would say: "It is the first part of our new world."

He stood up and clapped his hands.

Facing Dongshan, he stood still.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanned the Earth Vein's trend in his peripheral vision, while his mind began to deduce every word of tomorrow's mobilization.

What to say, what not to say, who to provoke, who to suppress, which words to leave as hints, and which matters to keep as a backup.

He wasn't giving a speech; he was deploying a battle.

The wind stopped.

He suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but like a blade cutting through the night:

"Gold-Eating Insects? Just right for refining Psionic Drills."