318: Chapter 318 Occupying Territory and Beginning Construction

Yellow sand continued to drift, and the scorched smell of the battlefield mixed with the scent of rust, stinging the nostrils.

Chen Wuwang sat in the cockpit of the "dawn." As his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanned the topographical map, the thirty-seven red dots had shrunk to just one—

Limping through a pile of jagged rocks on the northwest slope, moving deeper into the mountain gully.

"Still haven't given up?" He let out a cold sneer, his fingers tapping on the console. "Xiao Dao, is there any wind movement in that shattered rock zone at the southeast corner?"

Chen Xiaodao's voice came through the communication channel: "Yes. The grass is leaning west, but three seconds ago, behind that black stone at the bottom left, half a leaf suddenly twitched."

"He's there." Chen Wuwang's tone remained flat. "His leg is injured, and in his haste to hide, he forgot to conceal his breathing rhythm."

"Leave it to me." Chen Xiaodao's voice turned cold.

In the next instant, a beam of sword light tore through the air, so fast that it didn't even leave a trail. A muffled thud sounded, followed by a scream erupting from the distant rock pile, and then the heavy sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Hit him." Chen Xiaodao sheathed his sword, his tone indifferent. "Right knee pierced; he can't crawl anymore."

"Tiezhu!" Chen Wuwang gave a direct order. "Go pick him up. Don't kill him; I want to interrogate him."

"Coming!" Chen Tiezhu roared as his mecha rumbled to life. He piloted the "earth dragon type-i," taking heavy strides that left deep craters in the ground. Three minutes later, the mecha stopped before the rock pile, and its mechanical arm snatched up the man struggling on the ground.

The man's face was covered in blood and grime; it was Lei Sha. His right calf had been pierced through by Sword Qi, and blood pooled on the ground. Gnashing his teeth, he tried to throw a punch, only for the mechanical arm to give a light squeeze, dislocating his entire arm.

"Oh boy, you're quite stubborn." Chen Tiezhu turned on the external loudspeaker. "Do you know what our Young Lord hates most? It's people like you who can't win but still talk tough."

Lei Sha spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "If you have the guts... kill me!"

"Kill you?" Chen Tiezhu scoffed. "Our Family is practicing civilized construction now; we don't just kill people randomly. With your build, you're too rusty to even be recycled as scrap for the furnace."

With a casual toss, he threw Lei Sha into the detention cage in the mecha's side compartment and clicked it shut. "Let's go. The prisoner is secured; mission accomplished!"

The mecha turned back, its tracks grinding over the scorched earth with a dull, heavy sound.

Returning to the main battlefield, the remaining soldiers had been cleared and the bodies gathered. Enemy weapons, shields, and broken spears lay scattered everywhere. Chen Tiezhu jumped down from the mecha and wiped the dust from his face. "Xiao Dao, give me a hand. Let's categorize this scrap metal; don't let anything that can be melted down go to waste."

Chen Xiaodao walked over, looking at the mess on the ground. "You really plan to build things with these?"

"What? You look down on scrap?" Chen Tiezhu glared. "Last month you were calling my 'earth dragon' a tin can, but didn't you just use it to knock down their high platform? Turning waste into treasure—now that's true skill."

While the two of them tidied up, they directed the engineering team's technicians to deploy three light transport mechas to load the metal components. Broken blades, shattered armor, and damaged breastplates were all marked with "Meltable" tags, ready to be sent back to the smelting workshop for recasting.

Bai Ling leaned against a rock, her face still somewhat pale, but her spirits were much better. Watching the busy crowd, she said softly, "This land... is finally quiet."

Chen Wuwang stepped down from the "dawn," his black combat suit stained with traces of gunpowder smoke, his left Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowing slightly blue. He walked into the center of the group and scanned his surroundings. "Quiet isn't the goal; taking root is."

He raised his hand and pointed toward an open area in the distance. "See that fissure? There's a branch of a Spiritual Vein underneath. It's shallow, but it'll do. We'll lay the energy grid first, then build the workshops."

"Start right now?" Chen Tiezhu asked.

"Now," Chen Wuwang nodded. "The enemy won't wait for us to catch our breath. The sooner we have power, the more initiative we'll have."

He opened a tactical projection, and a light screen appeared in the air, showing the terrain and the flow of the Spiritual Vein. "Prioritize setting up Micro-Psionic Receiving Towers at five nodes to connect to the Energy Storage Array. We must have power tonight so the first construction mecha can move by tomorrow morning."

"Understood!" Chen Tiezhu slapped his chest. "I'll take men to the east side; the terrain there is flat, perfect for a transfer station."

"I'll take the west side." Chen Xiaodao sheathed his sword. "I'll keep watch while I'm at it to make sure no one slipped through the net."

"Alright." Chen Wuwang nodded. "Bai Ling, you rest first. Recovery is the priority."

Bai Ling shook her head. "I can help. The Qi of this land is a bit chaotic; I can use my spiritual energy to stabilize the soil structure, making it easier to lay the foundations."

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Chen Wuwang looked at her, his tone softening slightly.

The group immediately split up to act.

Chen Tiezhu led the engineering team toward the east, with transport mechas shuttling back and forth;

Chen Xiaodao led his team to patrol the western highlands, checking every piece of cover;

Bai Ling sat cross-legged, her hands pressed to the ground as threads of pale green light seeped into the dirt, turning the soft, scorched earth firm.

Chen Wuwang walked alone toward the largest rock in the center of the battlefield.

He pulled out the Titanium Alloy Dagger from his waist, its blade flashing coldly in the sunlight. He crouched down and carved a deep stroke into the face of the rock—

"Chen."

As the stroke fell, the rock vibrated, and spiritual runes emerged from the knife mark, glowing with a faint golden light. He stood up, took two steps back, and quietly looked at the character.

Before long, the clansmen gathered one after another, standing behind him. No one spoke, but their eyes were bright.

Chen Wuwang looked up at the crowd. "There are no ruins here, only a starting point."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"From this day forth, this land shall be called 'Qiming Plain.' It is the birthplace of the Chen Family's Seventh Branch. If anyone thinks this land is unworthy, they are free to turn around and leave right now."

No one moved.

An old craftsman suddenly stepped forward, pulled an old Family emblem from his robe, and planted it at the foot of the rock.

Then, a second person stepped forward and laid down a charred flagpole.

The third person was an unnamed laborer who silently brought a flat stone slab and placed it directly in front of the character "Chen."

The battle flag rose slowly, hoisted by two young guards and planted in the center of the stone slab. The flag unfurled, snapping in the wind.

Chen Wuwang gazed at the flag. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled. "Good. Since you all accept this land, don't just stand there. Tiezhu!"

"Here!"

"Before sunrise tomorrow, I want to see the first section of the Main Energy Grid connected."

"Guaranteed to finish!" Chen Tiezhu snapped to attention and gave a mechanical salute.

"Xiao Dao!"

"Here."

"Expand the sentry perimeter to three miles. Report any unusual movement immediately."

"Understood."

"Bai Ling, when you're able to move, help me look at the flow of the water veins in this area. I want to build a Water Purification and Recycling System here."

"Okay," she replied softly.

Chen Wuwang took one last look around and turned toward the temporary command tent. As he passed the "dawn," he reached out and patted its cold armor, whispering, "Old friend, our new home begins."

As the night deepened, lights flickered on one by one across Qiming Plain.

The five micro-psionic towers had been assembled, their Energy Storage Arrays humming as current flowed through the wires with a faint crackling sound.

Chen Tiezhu crouched at the eastern construction site, tightening the last mounting bolt. He looked up at the sky. "We'll have power tonight."

Chen Xiaodao stood on a high slope, gazing at the pitch-black mountain ridges in the distance, his hand never leaving his sword hilt.

Bai Ling leaned on a stone bench outside the medical tent, her hands resting gently on her knees as she closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, a slight smile playing on her lips.

And Chen Wuwang stood at the peak of the high slope, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanning the data streams of the entire land.

His fingers unconsciously tapped his thigh, as if he were calculating something.

Upon this scorched earth, a new order was growing.