Blue Year 2022. Desertification claimed over eighty percent of the Blue Star’s soil. The world turned to dust.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpTFFcy2hf
Blue Year 2027. Stellar radiation bombarded the atmosphere. Global temperatures skyrocketed, triggering a mass extinction event. From the parched earth emerged a drought-resistant terror: mutated insectoids. They swarmed the planet, and the human population collapsed.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHPiGyJJY1
Blue Year 2028. Humanity discovered "Cores" inside the bodies of these monsters. Within these crystalline hearts lay a new element—one capable of evolving the human physique beyond its natural limits.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZ94RxeHSM
Blue Year 2037. To survive the endless waves of claws and mandibles, humanity established fortified settlements. They erected Defense Towers, massive structures engineered specifically to slaughter the insectoid hordes.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nMbWITBom
Blue Year 2040. The calendar was reset. The Era of the Wasteland began.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vEZrCyOO9
Wasteland Year 11. The Frozen Wastes, outside Redrock Bastion.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqaB2v58pb
A dry, scorching wind swept across the barren landscape. The heat rising from the cracked earth distorted the air, making the towering Sentry Towers of Redrock Bastion shimmer like mirages in the distance. They stood over ten meters tall, silent sentinels guarding the northernmost point of the Quicksand Continent.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7hRw20w9p
Redrock Bastion was the gateway to the Northern Frontier, the largest human settlement in the region, and dangerously close to the main insectoid nests.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hU8ZmeNWh
Clang. Clang.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82ALQzAiql
The rhythmic, heavy sound of iron dragging against stone echoed through the wasteland.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTwveeiIu2
A dozen cavalrymen mounted on black-scaled horses—mutated beasts with hides like armor—escorted a line of over a hundred prisoners.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nxQnim6gf
Inside the walls of Redrock Bastion, there were cars. But in the Apocalypse, where the population had crumbled and resources were worth more than life itself, fuel and parts were luxuries reserved for the apex of society. For everyone else, there were beasts of burden, or walking.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHQ98SCZVY
The prisoners were chained together in a long, wretched file, heavy shackles weighing down their wrists and ankles.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIwjKBh3Sk
Their lips were cracked and bleeding, parched from the relentless sun. They hadn't tasted a drop of water in twenty-four hours. Even their meager rations had been cut from once a day to once every two days.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWsKpxamp7
Most of these men were deserters. Half a month ago, an Insect Swarm had erupted. Faced with a suicide mission against an endless tide of chitin and acid, they had chosen to run. But in this world, cowardice was a capital offense. Today, they were marching to the execution grounds.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ha3C9vvJy
Jax walked silently in the middle of the column. His body was there, trudging through the dust, but his mind was far away, lingering in a mysterious dimension within his consciousness.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoeG45i9tL
[User Candidate: Jax, Male, 21]73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ljYh283Aq
[Bio-Score: 55 (Pathetically Weak)]73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxuzYL3kJf
[Architect Level: Unranked]73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEbSNYTzVt
[Owned Defense Tower Types: None]73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW17k46PqZl
[God-Tier Architect System Binding Task: Incomplete (Time Remaining: 10 Days)]73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZm4xKZ66FC
It had been over a month since Jax had transmigrated into this hellscape. He had finally come to terms with the transition from an urban white-collar worker to a piece of wasteland refuse.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCyREkI8lk
Thirty days was enough time to understand the golden rule of this era: only the ruthless survive.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9aH3fnSGE
To activate his "God-Tier Architect System," he had to complete a specific task. Only then would the system bind to him and grant him the "Newbie Gift Pack."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNTeZDXB0F
Jax knew from years of gaming in his past life that the starter pack was everything. It contained the foundation, the critical resources that would determine whether he rose to power or died in the dirt.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81Y0zUZ15b
Redrock Bastion boasted over a thousand Defense Towers. Seventy percent belonged to the city's government. The remaining thirty percent were owned by powerful private factions. These tower owners were the aristocracy of the wasteland; they were the only ones who didn't worry about starving or dying of thirst.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBy2U752G0C
Jax wanted a tower. He craved it.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CRPWvN8qz
In a world where clean water was liquid gold, a Defense Tower was an infinite money printer. It slaughtered bugs, and bugs dropped Cores. Cores were wealth.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL31cFRmGM
But the barrier to entry was suffocating. First, you needed a blueprint. Then, you needed a mountain of Cores to exchange for construction materials.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9P5G0CTYVu
A single Tier 1 Defense Tower blueprint cost a million Credits. The materials cost even more—an astronomical figure for a refugee.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPgXiuBKdP
The average annual income for a commoner in Redrock Bastion was barely a thousand Credits. For someone like Jax, buying a blueprint wasn't just difficult; it was a fantasy.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCrxJ3nlSX
Cores were a resource "with a price but no market." The government hoarded them. Occasionally, a powerful private faction would buy them up, but they were rarely sold back to the public.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0O15euIQ2e
And if you wanted to use a Core to strengthen your body? Tough luck. Without specialized, exorbitant extraction equipment, a raw Core was useless rock.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEyJParSH3
A Tier 1 Core could sell for about a thousand Credits on the black market. Maybe a bit more if someone was desperate for building materials.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPjn3cuvNE
But right now, none of that mattered. Fate had handed Jax a different kind of opportunity. A dangerous one.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNBnYOGZ14
Jax felt a sharp tap on his spine. He glanced back.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOxTitVadb
A lean, bald man with eyes like a vulture winked at him.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv8KPsAwB1
Is it starting already?73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7t6nvvxswD
Jax felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDzkmEXyz0
"Get ready," the bald man whispered, his voice low and laced with palpable Killing Intent. "Wait for the signal."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmXaN9rtmk
Jax gave a microscopic nod, keeping his eyes forward.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3bDW93eul
The plan was simple: kill the cavalrymen, break the chains, and run for The Sprawl.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZraEagt4Lq
The Sprawl was a lawless market town outside Redrock Bastion. It had grown too powerful for the city to control and had effectively declared independence. It was a chaotic hive of gangs, mercenaries, and black markets. It was a paradise for adventurers and the only sanctuary for condemned men.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoNAsa8xUC
A few hundred meters ahead, a small relay station appeared—a simple pavilion with a few tables and chairs. An old man and a youth were waiting there.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugIsG5Nzod
The cavalrymen saw the rest stop and visibly relaxed. Their grim expressions softened into anticipation.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsHsiBnpZi
Seeing their destination within reach, the guards kicked the flanks of their black-scaled horses, urging them into a trot toward the shade and water.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrXr2K965B
The bald man tapped Jax again.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBhLV3aWBN
"Jax, I'm warning you," the man hissed. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you before the guards do."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfA9nBcaAx
In his hand, hidden from the guards' view, the bald man produced a key. He deftly clicked open his wrist shackles, then bent down and unlocked his leg irons.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKsja9PYB0
"Boys! Get ready to move!"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULs9FaK0ki
He slipped the key into Jax's palm, his eyes manic with urgency.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVKIuSSgnV
Jax didn't hesitate. He stole a glance at the guards, who were fixated on the pavilion, and carefully unlocked his own chains. He passed the key to the prisoner in front of him.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUT8lJuQO0
Within seconds, the metallic clinking of chains stopped being a constraint and became a ruse. Hidden in the hands of the prisoners were sharpened wooden spikes—ten-centimeter shivs crafted in secret.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkMDMJEttL
The formation held. The guards noticed nothing.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyRdeGW1KK
Jax turned his head slightly to look at the massive figure walking behind him.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTFbgNW8ku
His name was Barnaby. He was sixteen years old, but he had been shadowing Jax for five years.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboOFy1LNse
Barnaby was a giant, standing a full two meters tall, rippling with muscle. But his face bore a perpetual, vacant grin.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGV4M4hV6h
Years ago, during a desperate defense against Sandworms, Barnaby had fallen from the city Wall. He survived, but his mind didn't. He was left with the intelligence of a toddler.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBT3eugmyI
Seeing Jax look at him, Barnaby’s face lit up. He opened his mouth in a wide, goofy smile.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wM8C5EZ0f
"Hehe."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDhxnjDfQz
Barnaby reached under his shoe and pried out a crude wooden spike. "Brother Jax, look! Uncle Baldy gave it to me!"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFg7s3iFYO
The bald man leaned in, whispering to the giant. "Barney! Listen to me. When we go, you charge first. If you pin down the leader, Uncle will take you to The Elysium Lounge to find your sister!"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccJnm3xVnM
Barnaby clapped his hands, giggling like a preschooler. "Hehe! Find sister! Find sister!"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iGWhp2ZwD
"Barney, don't listen to him!"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyapDQfb73
Jax snapped at the giant, then turned a glare on the bald man. "Baldy, he's just a kid. You're sending him to die? Isn't that crossing a line?"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd9UxhkTEE
The bald man sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj1u3c3f9P
"A kid? He's sixteen years old. You call that a child?"73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlembUyVwu
He spat on the dry ground. "Jax, this is the Apocalypse. If you want to live, shut your mouth and do what you're told."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdfNKdDcLB
1234 copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgoAxXivi4 尼

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