202: Chapter 202 The Puppet Falls into the Trap and Sets Off; The Trap Is Quietly About to Be Unleashed

Morning light had just begun to creep over the rocky ridges of the East Wasteland's Main Peak as the mountain wind, carrying the acrid scent of slag, swept through the back alley of the Artifact Refining Workshop.

An old detector labeled 'red eye no. 3' was being lifted onto a freight slide by two technicians. Its casing was mottled with oil stains, looking as if it had just been dug out of a scrap heap.

One of them, named A-Chui, was a fast talker. He shouted as he walked,

"Old Qi, have you heard? The signal from the Seventh Branch Vein went off the charts last night; the Spiritual Qi purity is nearly as high as the core mine shafts! I saw Uncle Chen Tiezhu adjust the parameters himself. There's no mistake!"

The other man nodded in response and lowered his voice. "Shh—don't spread this around. The dispatch department hasn't issued an official notice yet."

The moment the words fell, an imperceptible spiritual wave brushed past the stone pillar at the alley entrance, seeping into the ground like ripples in water.

A hundred miles away, deep within a fissure in the Geothermal Layer of the Northern East Wasteland, a nest constructed of cooled lava lay in silent dormancy.

Twelve mechanical Puppets were embedded in the rock walls, each with a different appearance—some covered in spikes, others with bone wings on their backs. At this moment, they were all as still as statues.

Only one, entirely pitch-black with silver patterns on its face, stood on a high central platform. Its eyes flickered with a ghostly blue flow of data.

Mo Yuan's consciousness awakened within this shell.

He lightly tapped the Void Realm, and a semi-transparent crystal screen emerged, displaying a signal waveform intercepted from an encrypted frequency.

The frequency was stable, with periodic fluctuations in amplitude that perfectly matched the breathing rhythm of a real Spiritual Vein.

Below it was a brief audio report from a peripheral scout: "...red eye no. 3 detected abnormal fluctuations, speculated to be a discarded mine shaft regaining activity. Coordinates have been localized."

"Hahahaha..." A low laugh emanated from the Puppet's throat, possessing the texture of grinding metal. "Chen Wuwang, oh Chen Wuwang. No matter how deep you hide, you will eventually pay for your greed."

He did not hesitate.

With a wave of his right hand, three combat-type Puppets opened their eyes simultaneously, their pupils glowing with a crimson light.

One was short and stout, its limbs constructed as drills; another had high-frequency vibration blades extending from its arms.

The last one unfurled folding propulsion wings from its back, its entire body entwined with dark purple runic chains.

"Target: The seventh branch of the old mining area," Mo Yuan ordered coldly. "The intelligence confirms it as a high-value resource point. Depart immediately. Infiltrate stealthily; do not expose your tracks. If you encounter resistance, kill without mercy."

The three Puppets bowed in unison as a circular elevator platform opened beneath their feet, slowly descending into an underground tunnel. The rock layers closed, leaving no trace.

The nest returned to a deathly silence, save for the silver-faced Puppet in the center, which remained standing. Its eyes stayed connected to the remote monitoring link, quietly watching real-time footage of its three subordinates heading deep into the lava tunnels.

Meanwhile, Chen Wuwang stood inside a secret chamber in the Main Hall.

The room had no windows, and the four walls were embedded with dynamic crystal panels reflecting the energy flow map of the entire East Wasteland's ley lines.

His right Mechanical Prosthetic Eye was operating at high speed, with data streams constantly refreshing in his pupil.

His left hand rested on the edge of a tactical tablet, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"They're here," he whispered.

On the screen, three abnormal energy trails were crossing the geothermal fault zone, moving toward the southwest in a triangular formation.

Their path perfectly overlapped with the preset route, their speed was stable, and they had not triggered any peripheral alarms.

He closed the public channel, enabled only the Family's highest-level encrypted frequency, and pressed the communication key: "Group B in position, Group C block the flanks, Group D cut off the retreat. Everyone, silent operation. Do not activate power sources."

He was answered by a string of concise confirmation codes.

Chen Wuwang put away the tablet and donned black combat outer armor. The Titanium Alloy Dagger at his waist vibrated slightly, automatically calibrating its position.

He pushed open the door and stepped out onto the bluestone corridor without a sound.

The entrance to the old mining area three hundred zhang away was no longer the desolate place it once was.

The valley surface was covered in collapse pits and strewn with rubble. When the wind blew, it kicked up a gray mist.

Yet beneath these seemingly natural cracks, hundreds of miniature Spirit Array nodes had been quietly buried, interconnected into an invisible net.

Every wrong step could detonate a chain reaction.

Chen Wuwang descended along a hidden passage and arrived at an underground bunker.

This place was originally a shelter left behind during the insectoid invasion, but it had now been converted into a frontline command post.

A holographic topographical map hung on the wall, where three red dots were slowly approaching.

Several Shadow Guards stood by with heads lowered. Their mechas were in optical camouflage mode, and even their breathing had been regulated to the lowest frequency.

In the air, there was only the faint hum of the cooling System.

"Patriarch," a captain reported in a low voice. "The trap zone is fully activated. The monitoring array covers a radius of eight hundred zhang. The enemies are still outside the blind spot and are expected to enter the minefield within half a koku."

Chen Wuwang nodded, walked to the observation port, and looked out through the one-way crystal membrane.

The wind and sand remained, and the earth was silent.

But he knew the prey was already on its way.

He raised his right hand, and his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye switched to spiritual energy thermal sensing mode. A faint underground trail appeared in his vision—the slight residual heat left by the Puppets as they traveled through the rock layers.

"The fish has left the nest," he murmured. "Now, let's see if it dares to take the bait."

Time passed minute by minute.

No one spoke in the bunker; even the sound of heartbeats seemed suppressed to the extreme.

Suddenly, the tactical tablet vibrated.

A new message popped up: [Target has passed the first disguised fissure and is moving along the edge of Collapse Valley. Path unchanged.]

Chen Wuwang's lips twitched slightly, but he still gave no order.

He knew the real test was still to come.

Those Puppets would not easily step into the central area; they would surely test the waters first.

And what he was waiting for was that moment of testing.

That would be the time to pull the net.

Far away, deep underground.

The three Puppets were moving along the rock walls.

The drill-type Puppet suddenly stopped. It inserted its forelimbs into the rock layer and rotated slightly, extracting a soil sample.

The data analysis results showed that the Spiritual Qi concentration was extremely low, severely inconsistent with the received signals.

It uploaded the information to the remote hub.

Mo Yuan sat on the high platform in the nest, his brow furrowing slightly.

But then, he saw another piece of supplementary intelligence—a fragment of an anonymous log from within the Chen Family: "A sealed gas layer is suspected to exist at the bottom of the Seventh Branch Vein, which may be preventing the leakage of Spiritual Qi."

"Reasonable," he sneered. "As expected, they intentionally hid it because they were afraid others would snatch the benefits."

He ordered: "Continue forward. Maintain vigilance. Focus scanning on the three points in the center of the surface collapse zone."

The order was given, and the three Puppets set off again, their steps even more cautious.

On the surface, in the center of the deepest part of Collapse Valley, a miniature Eavesdropping Talisman under a seemingly ordinary rock was silently recording everything.

Chen Wuwang watched the data being sent back, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"They bought it," he said to the adjutant beside him. "And they've already started looking for the 'Treasure Trove'."

The adjutant asked in a low voice, "Should we detonate now?"

"No," Chen Wuwang shook his head. "Let them get a little closer. I want them to see hope clearly before I snuff it out with my own hands."

He slowly sat down, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table in a steady rhythm, like the beat of a countdown.

The wind blew in from the mouth of the valley, carrying the smell of dust and metal.

The sky was azure, without a single cloud.

Everything seemed normal.

But beneath this calm, a string stretched to its limit was vibrating silently.

Chen Wuwang stared at the screen, his gaze locked onto the three red dots that were getting closer and closer.

Three hundred zhang... two hundred and fifty zhang... two hundred zhang...

"Prepare," he said softly.

Everyone held their breath.

The mecha weapon Systems were quietly unlocked, and the Spirit Array charging progress bars rose slowly.

One hundred and fifty zhang.

The Puppets' footsteps stepped onto the first pressure-sensing node.

Deep underground, there was a faint crackle of electricity, like a snake flicking its tongue.

Chen Wuwang's finger hovered over the activation key of the tactical tablet.

Just one more step.

Just one step away.

He did not move.

He knew that a true trap was never the mechanism itself.

But the determination to let the enemy walk into it themselves.

The wind grew stronger.

Grains of sand struck the bunker's observation window, making a fine, crackling sound.

Chen Wuwang's Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowed with a faint blue light, continuously scanning the distant movements.

His expression was grim, and his finger rested on the edge of the tablet, motionless.

Waiting.