Just as Lu Zhechuan was about to carefully put away the Origin Core and plan the material collection route for the next few days, a sharp, cold, and extremely urgent energy fluctuation suddenly cut through the quiet night air, rushing straight towards his small iron shack from the direction of the scrap heaps outside.
Lu Zhechuan's expression changed instantly, his body tensing up like a fully drawn bow.
He quickly grabbed the Origin Core and tucked it back into his inner cloth pouch, pressing his right hand firmly on the silver-rank Dao Core hanging at his waist, his ears pricked up to detect every tiny sound outside. Three distinct, powerful, and oppressive auras were rapidly approaching his position, every step light and steady, with a neat and orderly rhythm—they were not random wasteland desperadoes or feral mechanical beasts, but well-trained, disciplined pursuers sent by the remaining forces of the small Blackstone Gang, and their cultivation realm was all late-stage Core Implantation, far more powerful than the gang leader he had just defeated.
"Search every inch of this area, don't let go of any scrap heap or shack! The abnormal energy fluctuation that erupted during the Blackstone Gang's annihilation came from this direction. We must find the guy who wiped out our brothers, take back the resources he robbed, and kill him to avenge the dead brothers!"
A low, cold, ruthless voice sounded from outside the shack, followed by the harsh sound of metal scraping and colliding as the pursuers frantically turned over the scrap heaps, getting closer and closer. Lu Zhechuan's heart sank to the bottom in an instant—they had tracked the faint energy ripple leaked by the Origin Core during the previous battle! Although the Blackstone Gang was only a small force, they still had several elite members left, and these three were the core fighters of the gang, who had come to hunt him down for revenge.
Once his position was exposed, he would face a deadly crisis. Without the system's temporary repair and functional assistance, he could only rely on the current mid-stage Core Implantation strength to fight three late-stage experts, and the odds of survival were extremely slim.
Lu Zhechuan held his breath completely, suppressing all the energy fluctuations in his body to the extreme, relying on the Origin Core's most primitive, passive aura-concealing effect to hide his presence completely. He moved silently and quickly to the back of the shack, where there was a narrow, dark gap leading to a winding, labyrinthine deep scrap tunnel, which was his only escape route. Every muscle in his body was tensed, his nerves stretched to the limit, ready to fight or flee at any moment.
The footsteps of the three pursuers got closer and closer, until they stopped abruptly right outside the rusted iron door of his shack.
"Bang!"
A heavy, powerful kick slammed into the fragile iron door, making a deafening sound. The already rusted and thin iron sheet dented violently inward, a huge crack appearing at the hinge.
"Open the door! We know you're hiding inside like a rat! Come out and face your death, or we'll break down this shabby door and tear you to pieces right now!"
The fierce, threatening roar mixed with the sharp buzzing sound of core energy gathering came through the door. The three pursuers outside had already mobilized their core energy, ready to forcefully break in and kill him at any time. There was no way to retreat quietly; the gap at the back was too narrow to escape before they broke in. Lu Zhechuan's eyes turned cold and sharp, he relaxed his shoulders slightly, and entered a combat-ready state—he had no choice but to fight.
"Creak—Bang!"
The iron door was kicked open violently by the leading pursuer, flying backward and hitting the wall with a loud crash.
Three men in dark gray, sturdy wasteland combat uniforms rushed into the cramped shack in an instant. Their faces were cold and fierce, their eyes filled with killing intent, and the oppressive, surging energy of the late-stage Core Implantation realm pressed down on Lu Zhechuan like a heavy mountain, making the tiny air in the shack almost stagnant. The leading man did not say a single unnecessary word, raised his right arm abruptly, and two sharp, crescent-shaped energy blades condensed instantly, cutting through the air with a shrill whistling sound, slashing straight at Lu Zhechuan's left and right shoulders, fast and ruthless, with the clear intention of crippling his limbs first and making him lose all ability to resist.
Lu Zhechuan moved in an instant, his body reacting faster than his thoughts.
Although the Origin Core was still damaged and had not been repaired, it still released a faint, instant early warning prompt in his mind at the moment of the attack, marking the trajectory of the two energy blades. He bent down sharply, his body twisting to an extremely tricky angle, narrowly dodging the two sharp energy blades. The energy blades slashed heavily on the iron wall behind him, leaving two deep, gaping marks, and scrap metal fragments splattered everywhere.
Before the leading pursuer could react, Lu Zhechuan took a quick, forceful step forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. He condensed all the stable core energy in his body (which was still the purified energy left by the Origin Core earlier) on his right palm, and struck out with a precise, swift palm strike, hitting the leading man's wrist directly, where the Dao Core was embedded.
A crisp, clear sound of bone dislocation and energy channel blockage echoed in the cramped shack.
"Ah—!" The leading man let out a painful scream, his wrist bending unnaturally downward, and the mid-level Dao Core embedded in his arm dimmed instantly, completely losing the ability to gather and output energy, rendering him unable to fight anymore.
The other two late-stage Core Implantation pursuers were shocked and enraged, their faces turning ferocious, and they charged towards Lu Zhechuan from the left and right sides at the same time, launching a fierce joint attack. The pursuer on the left roared loudly, mobilizing all his core energy, unleashing a continuous barrage of fierce Energy Fists. Wave after wave of chaotic, violent energy filled the entire cramped shack, leaving no room for dodge; the pursuer on the right quickly pulled out a short, sharp energy dagger from his waist, the blade glowing with a cold, blue light, stabbing straight at Lu Zhechuan's chest, aiming straight for his heart, a deadly blow.
Trapped in the narrow space of the shack, Lu Zhechuan had no room to dodge or retreat.
But his eyes remained extremely calm, without the slightest panic. The Origin Core's passive sensing function continuously captured the attack trajectories of the two pursuers, transmitting the most intuitive danger cues to his mind. He did not retreat but advanced, leaning his upper body forward abruptly, swinging his left elbow with all his strength, blocking the oncoming violent Energy Fist head-on. The condensed pure energy in his elbow collided with the chaotic energy of the fist, directly shattering the energy structure of the Energy Fist, dispersing it into invisible residual energy.
At the same time, Lu Zhechuan twisted his torso slightly to the right, the short energy dagger grazing sharply past his ribcage, cutting through his cloak and leaving a faint, shallow blood mark on his skin. He ignored the slight stinging pain, clenched his right fist tightly, and with all his strength, slammed his fist heavily into the abdomen of the dagger-wielding pursuer.
"Bang!"
A dull, heavy sound echoed. The pursuer's face turned pale instantly, his eyes widening, he spat out a mouthful of turbid air, his body bending like a cooked shrimp, and collapsed heavily to the ground, curled up in pain, unable to move or fight anymore.
The last remaining pursuer, who was at the late-stage Core Implantation realm, saw his two companions easily defeated in just a few breaths. The anger on his face instantly turned into deep fear and panic, his legs trembling slightly. He did not dare to fight Lu Zhechuan again for a moment, turned around abruptly, and ran frantically towards the broken door of the shack, wanting to escape for his life.
"Want to leave?"
Lu Zhechuan's cold voice sounded softly. He took two quick, swift steps, catching up with the fleeing pursuer in an instant. His right leg swept out like a whip, slamming heavily on the man's knee joint with a sharp force.
"Crack!" The man's knee bent unnaturally, he let out a scream, stumbled forward, and fell heavily to the ground. Lu Zhechuan stepped forward quickly, pressed his palm firmly on the back of the man's neck, and injected a wisp of faint Origin Core energy into his body, directly and temporarily sealing the Dao Core energy in his body, making him completely immobile, unable to speak, and unable to send out any warning messages.
In less than one minute, the three elite late-stage Core Implantation pursuers sent by the small Blackstone Gang were all defeated by Lu Zhechuan, without any room for resistance.
Lu Zhechuan stood quietly in the messy shack, breathing slightly shallowly, a surge of warm, powerful energy continuously surging through his meridians. This high-intensity, life-or-death battle had stimulated all the potential energy in his body, and the faint barrier between the mid-stage and late-stage Core Implantation had become extremely fragile. But he knew very well that he could not break through on his own—he needed the system's automatic cultivation function to slowly purify and guide the energy, to break through this barrier steadily and safely.
He did not relax his vigilance for a moment. Lu Zhechuan dragged the three immobilized pursuers one by one into the deep, winding scrap tunnel at the back of the shack, tied them tightly with thick iron wires found in the scrap heap, and fixed them on a fixed metal frame, ensuring that they could not escape or send out any energy signals to notify their companions. Then he hurried back to the shack, quickly cleaning up all the traces of the battle, disposing of the splattered metal fragments and faint bloodstains, restoring the shack to a neat, undisturbed state as much as possible.
After finishing all this, Lu Zhechuan locked the door again, sat cross-legged on the clean ground in the center of the shack, and took out the Origin Core again, placing it gently in front of his chest.
The Origin Core floated gently and autonomously in front of him, the faint golden lines on its surface glowing softly and warmly, conveying a wisp of gentle, pure residual energy to his body, helping him stabilize his surging energy. He stared at the core, the optimal repair plan and functional benefits replaying in his mind, and his determination became firmer.
The night in the wasteland was still long, and the danger was far from over.
The remaining forces of the small Blackstone Gang would surely send more pursuers to search for the missing three elites once they found no news, and the Origin Core's energy fluctuation might attract more forces with ulterior motives at any time. The Chip Graveyard, which had been his home for many years, had now become a dangerous place where he could not stay for long.
But he now had a clear, feasible path: he would spend the next three days, focusing on collecting the five lowest-grade scraps in the nearby shallow scrap heaps, complete the temporary repair of the Origin Core, activate the passive automatic cultivation and basic technique parsing functions. Let the system slowly help him improve his cultivation, and at the same time master the complete basic cultivation technique, movement footwork and defense technique, laying a solid foundation for his future strength growth and escape from the Chip Graveyard.
He quickly packed all his simple belongings: a few low-grade Dao Cores, repair tools, a small amount of clean water and dry food, and the Origin Core, which was tightly pressed against his chest, warm and steady. The faint, low hum of the Origin Core echoed in his chest, like a silent guiding light, pointing the way forward on his path to become stronger.
The shrill wasteland wind howled outside the iron shack, sweeping through the endless scrap heaps, carrying the faint sound of mechanical beasts' roars and distant scavenger conflicts. But Lu Zhechuan's heart was extremely calm and firm.
He no longer had any confusion or fear.
He knew exactly what he needed to do next: collect the most common lowest-grade scraps, complete the core's temporary repair, let the system automatically help him cultivate, and master the basic combat techniques. All his strength, all his hope of uncovering the truth, all his path to survival, came from this Origin Core.
The long night was gradually passing, and the dawn of hope was quietly approaching.
His real journey of strength growth and truth-seeking had only just begun.