Blue Year 2022. Desertification claimed over eighty percent of the Blue Star’s soil. The world turned to dust.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW7qRuYR3V
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxluALHsifk
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSDOjgGXgl
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVD0AltVFj
Blue Year 2040. The calendar was reset. The Era of the Wasteland began.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPPPsXULfQ
Wasteland Year 11. The Frozen Wastes, outside Redrock Bastion.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRDVFZwaYS
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWu87gRTSD
Redrock Bastion was the gateway to the Northern Frontier, the largest human settlement in the region, and dangerously close to the main insectoid nests.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0BbhE3bey
Clang. Clang.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2wH7hVzl3
The rhythmic, heavy sound of iron dragging against stone echoed through the wasteland.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCtU643N6g
A dozen cavalrymen mounted on black-scaled horses—mutated beasts with hides like armor—escorted a line of over a hundred prisoners.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2nyzc4Qz9
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRziit5Fl5O
The prisoners were chained together in a long, wretched file, heavy shackles weighing down their wrists and ankles.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8v6jEMYGuo
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTQXEH3XDs
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCX3bujpJai
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnswaALJCm2
[User Candidate: Jax, Male, 21]76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEfCpB2TVC
[Bio-Score: 55 (Pathetically Weak)]76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdkd9GkzlG
[Architect Level: Unranked]76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IIG2vV3LV
[Owned Defense Tower Types: None]76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRK46zq1XK
[God-Tier Architect System Binding Task: Incomplete (Time Remaining: 10 Days)]76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDb6IuQrgEu
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Y4cBfdOeQ
Thirty days was enough time to understand the golden rule of this era: only the ruthless survive.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUZQdgqrJO
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."76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFFvOsX7kH
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oqlKwgfCX
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3Gr5O6XM0
Jax wanted a tower. He craved it.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdGOpXu4z8
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmvnjtcqpH
But the barrier to entry was suffocating. First, you needed a blueprint. Then, you needed a mountain of Cores to exchange for construction materials.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hbMq3Ulj0
A single Tier 1 Defense Tower blueprint cost a million Credits. The materials cost even more—an astronomical figure for a refugee.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzqxUwIv59
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduxHacGXbV
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcESkxZAkEp
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2Gjom9m8s
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStmM7zbx5g
But right now, none of that mattered. Fate had handed Jax a different kind of opportunity. A dangerous one.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6sJbOglXR
Jax felt a sharp tap on his spine. He glanced back.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DJiU1wrg4
A lean, bald man with eyes like a vulture winked at him.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPK8XDgX9SU
Is it starting already?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5kJZGMael
Jax felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbLaVHjHN6
"Get ready," the bald man whispered, his voice low and laced with palpable Killing Intent. "Wait for the signal."76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqa7GgVBgQZ
Jax gave a microscopic nod, keeping his eyes forward.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOR4H4gb2VT
The plan was simple: kill the cavalrymen, break the chains, and run for The Sprawl.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBb8TlRzRAK
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSD3Iwblh35
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEKzJYf8Md
The cavalrymen saw the rest stop and visibly relaxed. Their grim expressions softened into anticipation.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v6viPx209
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD70gh0mUGL
The bald man tapped Jax again.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpF8ZdhMFx
"Jax, I'm warning you," the man hissed. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you before the guards do."76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCwqSgeGZs
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdcGlYLime
"Boys! Get ready to move!"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwo810CtQc0
He slipped the key into Jax's palm, his eyes manic with urgency.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxiZ61XeZu
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcn4faAdF0K
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jEIeqssWm
The formation held. The guards noticed nothing.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUeJE2elzx
Jax turned his head slightly to look at the massive figure walking behind him.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTHsnDrF8C
His name was Barnaby. He was sixteen years old, but he had been shadowing Jax for five years.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvohxWDYI5M
Barnaby was a giant, standing a full two meters tall, rippling with muscle. But his face bore a perpetual, vacant grin.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYuHJktxrW
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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjC9nTIUbm
Seeing Jax look at him, Barnaby’s face lit up. He opened his mouth in a wide, goofy smile.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioCJXZK03U
"Hehe."76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQMp5m9jVa
Barnaby reached under his shoe and pried out a crude wooden spike. "Brother Jax, look! Uncle Baldy gave it to me!"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmKh5fa8Hx
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!"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qYQeT3cNE
Barnaby clapped his hands, giggling like a preschooler. "Hehe! Find sister! Find sister!"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGR2Jwi2rI7
"Barney, don't listen to him!"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiGWpaWAZl
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?"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5W82dDzuZ
The bald man sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe04SUTYudn
"A kid? He's sixteen years old. You call that a child?"76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrRwPqroRe
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."76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WOvfZhOir
1234 copyright protection72ＰＥＮＡＮＡzr6hAtRn1l 尼

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