7: Chapter 7 Green Tide and the Foundry

Chewing sounds came from the end of the metal corridor.

Lin Yuan pressed against the rusted wall, his left hand on the artery of his right arm, his right hand gripping a Mark IV Laspistol. The energy indicator on the gun body flashed red: 4%, like a red-hot needle piercing his retina. The air was filled with a sweet, rotten smell mixed with ozone, and in the shadow ahead, the sound of dislocated bones clicked.

"It's not a Sand Scorpion," Scarface's voice came from behind him, very low, with the tense edge unique to a wasteland veteran. "This smell... it's a Green Skin."

Golden noise appeared at the edge of his vision; the side effects of the God-Emperors Gaze were more active in the enclosed space. The system interface floated deep in his consciousness:

[WAAAGH! Energy materialized product detected]

[Threat Level: Medium]

[Suggestion: Immediately evacuate or acquire melee weapons]

"Laspistols can't deal with them," Scarface licked his chapped lips, the plastic zip tie on his wrist leaving purplish-red marks. "The more you shoot them, the more excited they get. Martin tried cultivating them in Sector B12; half a squad died."

Lin Yuan's fingertips touched the stc memory card in his pocket. A spasm ran through his left arm, and yellowish-green pus seeped through the bandage; crimson spiderweb patterns had climbed to his shoulder. Gene Resonance was at 22%; his body was irreversibly adapting to the template from the depths of the stars.

Two points of crimson light appeared in the darkness ahead.

A figure wriggled out from around the corner. It had once been human, but its muscles had expanded to an exaggerated degree, and fluorescent energy veins flowed beneath its green skin. It had no eyes, but Lin Yuan could feel its malicious, hungry gaze.

The Green Skin Guard let out a roar somewhere between a laugh and a bellow, the sound waves shaking the accumulated dust from the ceiling.

"Step back," Lin Yuan said calmly.

Rat Eye cowered in the corner, gripping his dagger, knuckles white, breathing rapidly but with surprisingly bright eyes. Scarface didn't retreat; he was calculating. What was about to happen would determine whether he would see tomorrow's sun.

Lin Yuan's hand went into his pocket and pulled out an stc fragment.

"What are you doing?" Scarface's voice changed pitch. "There's no Forge there!"

Lin Yuan didn't answer. He suddenly tore open the bandage on his left arm, revealing a semi-crystallized wound. Pus and blood dripped onto the stc memory card, sizzling. The system interface erupted in a dazzling blue light:

[STC Emergency Forging Protocol initiated]

[Biological Sacrifice: Tyranid Gene-polluted Blood (High Purity)]

[Energy Source: gene-seed Resonance (22% → estimated 35%)]

[Warning: Mental erosion risk increased]

Options displayed: Mark IV Lasrifle power pack, rudimentary Power Sword, rudimentary Carapace Armor chest plate.

Lin Yuan selected the Power Sword.

The Green Skin Guard sensed the threat and let out an earth-shattering war cry; WAAAGH! Energy rippled across its body. It violently pushed off the ground, its swollen muscles erupting with terrifying strength, the metal floor denting as its body lunged forward at a speed that defied physics.

"My lord!" Rat Eye shrieked.

Forging began.

His blood boiled, and his left arm felt as if liquid nitrogen had been injected, first extreme cold, then scorching heat. His vision was split: half the lunging monster, the other half a golden throne, upon which sat a colossal figure shrouded in light.

Efficiency, a voice boomed in his mind, for the continuation of humanity, individual instability is an acceptable price.

Lin Yuan bit the inside of his mouth, using the pain to stay conscious. He rejected this cold logic, but he needed this sword.

Blue light erupted from his palm; the stc memory card dissolved, reorganized, and extended. Energy was drawn from his body, and his Gene Resonance soared: 25%, 28%, 32%... dark golden energy patterns, more orderly than the Green Skin's, appeared beneath his skin.

The sword took shape in his hand: ninety centimeters, a single-handed grip wrapped in non-slip leather, a matte gray metal blade, with "[Imperial Armory, Standard Issue, Batch 7]" engraved on the hilt. The blade vibrated, emitting a low hum.

The Green Skin Guard's claws were thirty centimeters from his throat.

Lin Yuan sidestepped, his movement so fluid it didn't seem like a radiation-poisoned Scavenger. The Power Sword cut a silver-gray arc, severing the monster's forelimb like cutting butter.

Black blood splattered the wall, hissing corrosively.

The Green Skin did not retreat. It let out a more fanatical roar, muscles at the severed limb wriggling at a visible speed; WAAAGH! Energy coalesced into substance, its body grew larger, and its fluorescent pulsation became more intense. It struck with its remaining arm, the force of the punch stinging Lin Yuan's cheek.

Lin Yuan stepped back, the blade slashing upwards, opening a bone-deep gash in its chest. The stench of putrid innards wafted over him.

"It's getting stronger!" Scarface yelled, his voice filled with fear and strange excitement. "Kill it! Quick!"

Lin Yuan silently executed his tactics. He noticed that after each regeneration, the Green Skin's surface glow would dim slightly; recovery was consuming its core energy reserves.

This was a war of attrition, and he couldn't afford it.

His strategy changed. No longer cutting non-vital areas, but blocking, dodging, guiding the Green Skin to crash into the corridor's metal supports. Huge crashing sounds echoed, bone spikes breaking against steel beams, but the Green Skin didn't care, laughing maniacally as it continued its assault.

"Left!" Rat Eye suddenly shouted.

Lin Yuan rolled to the right. A bone whip grazed his left arm, tearing away a chunk of flesh.

The pain made the golden throne in his vision even clearer. Lin Yuan knelt on one knee, the Power Sword held horizontally across his chest. The Green Skin leaped high, preparing to crush its prey with its weight.

Now.

Lin Yuan charged forward, meeting the descending shadow. The Power Sword thrust upwards, piercing its jaw, entering its cranial cavity, and puncturing the violently pulsating WAAAGH! Energy core.

Green light erupted, then extinguished.

The corpse crashed to the floor, twitched a few times, and rapidly disintegrated into fluorescent pus, seeping into the metal seams.

Lin Yuan knelt, gasping for breath. He looked down at the sword; bloodstains were being evaporated by some mechanism. But his hand was trembling. In that instant, when he decided to charge at the Green Skin, what he considered was no longer "how to protect everyone," but "how to end the battle most efficiently, no matter the cost." This shift was subtle and dangerous.

[Forging complete]

[Equipment: rudimentary Power Sword (Standard Issue)]

[Gene Resonance: 35%]

[Side Effects: Proto-biological armor formed (left arm), mental erosion intensified (God-Emperors Gaze 0.5% → 0.8%)]

His left arm felt numb and itchy. Pulling back his sleeve, the crimson spiderweb patterns had woven into a hard, shell-like layer, covering the mangled area. He wiggled his fingers, feeling strength, but also a sense of unfamiliarity.

"You... what exactly are you?" Scarface's voice trembled, no longer calculating, but shivering at the face of something incomprehensible.

Lin Yuan stood up, inserting the Power Sword into a temporary sword hanger at his waist. He turned to look at Scarface, his gaze calm: "Lead the way to the control room."

Scarface's Adam's apple bobbed. He looked at the glowing residue, then at the weapon that clearly didn't belong to wasteland technology. He realized that Martin's experiments were like child's toys in front of this young man.

"There's a trap in the control room," Scarface said quickly, his words tumbling out like spilled beans. "Martin installed a 'Flesh Bomb' three months ago. It's specifically for Lin family bloodlines like yours. The trigger mechanism is related to Gene Resonance; the higher the resonance, the bigger the explosion."

Lin Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and he took a step forward. Scarface backed up and hit the wall.

"Why are you telling me this?" His voice wasn't loud, but each word sounded as if it had been steeped in ice water.

Scarface licked his lips, forcing a smile mixed with greed and survival instinct: "I want to live. And I want to see Martin dead. If you can make him suffer, I don't mind siding with the winner. Call it an investment."

Lin Yuan stared at him for three seconds, then looked away. This reason was real enough, consistent with the laws of wasteland survival.

"Lead the way," he repeated, "avoid the traps."

Rat Eye emerged from the corner, his gaze towards Lin Yuan changed, no longer fear or calculation, but almost religious fanaticism. He quickly ran to Lin Yuan's side, guarding him like a sentry.

"My lord, there are two more ahead," Rat Eye's voice trembled. "There's a sound in the ventilation duct."

Lin Yuan gripped the hilt of his sword and stepped forward. At the end of the corridor was a heavy blast door, with bullet holes next to the biometric lock on the door, its edges rusted. As he approached, the lock suddenly glowed green, and a holographic projection popped up from above the keyhole.

It was an image of an old man in a white lab coat, his face serious, his features bearing a three-tenths resemblance to Lin Yuan. "If you see this message, it means my bloodline has found this place," Lin Weiguo's voice was hoarse and weary. "The ARK-07 STC Master Template is not a gift, it's bait. The Scavengers want it, not to rebuild civilization, but to create more Green Skin monsters. They call it a 'controllable WAAAGH! Legion'."

The image flickered, his expression more solemn: "The control room has core authority and can remotely link to other Ark sites. But remember, child, don't trust every answer the system gives you. The God-Emperors Gaze... comes with a price."

The image disappeared, and the blast door made a heavy unlocking sound, slowly opening.

In the darkness behind the door, the outlines of complex instruments were faintly visible, as well as a circular area on the floor of a slightly different color, covered with fine, almost invisible patterns.

Scarface grabbed Lin Yuan's arm, his finger pointing to that spot on the floor, his face pale: "That's the Flesh Bomb. Step on it, and your Gene Resonance will directly detonate it. Martin calibrated it using Lin family gene samples."

Lin Yuan stood before the blast door, his left hand unconsciously touching the newly formed biological armor on his left arm. It was hard and cold, slowly merging with him.

He looked at the trap in the darkness, and then at the weapon in his hand from another universe.

He knew that from this moment on, he was no longer a Scavenger in the wasteland. He was a piece in a larger game, and the opponents on the board had been waiting for too long.

He knew that from this moment on, he was no longer a Scavenger in the wasteland. He was a piece in a larger game, and the opponents on the board had been waiting for too long.