Blue Year 2022. Desertification claimed over eighty percent of the Blue Star’s soil. The world turned to dust.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtOGwsmv5o
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCa3oiyDadx
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFCA6hfoK5
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAxNrwRVta
Blue Year 2040. The calendar was reset. The Era of the Wasteland began.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJTgqXbY43
Wasteland Year 11. The Frozen Wastes, outside Redrock Bastion.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PtWWsMNBE
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNo1QikreGl
Redrock Bastion was the gateway to the Northern Frontier, the largest human settlement in the region, and dangerously close to the main insectoid nests.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MbGTduW5U
Clang. Clang.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4NOP37qnt
The rhythmic, heavy sound of iron dragging against stone echoed through the wasteland.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoahjNoW1YH
A dozen cavalrymen mounted on black-scaled horses—mutated beasts with hides like armor—escorted a line of over a hundred prisoners.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WAQGpFzwl
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuWT4McWY3
The prisoners were chained together in a long, wretched file, heavy shackles weighing down their wrists and ankles.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcz5H8tKej
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlmEUVImDh
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmvXSFgniv
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnneB6BYMX
[User Candidate: Jax, Male, 21]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaZw4PMBRn
[Bio-Score: 55 (Pathetically Weak)]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOnMFn3Xpe
[Architect Level: Unranked]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEso47dOYu
[Owned Defense Tower Types: None]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TVceSMVWk
[God-Tier Architect System Binding Task: Incomplete (Time Remaining: 10 Days)]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcq6BNNTH1k
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPWLSbuZ1g
Thirty days was enough time to understand the golden rule of this era: only the ruthless survive.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkwV8UzSAs
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."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzv14zJGqZ
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcorhVxe4G
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAqvhq5xmP
Jax wanted a tower. He craved it.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTB0ifSljKY
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZVKcoJ9j5
But the barrier to entry was suffocating. First, you needed a blueprint. Then, you needed a mountain of Cores to exchange for construction materials.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3TqHTt6Pj
A single Tier 1 Defense Tower blueprint cost a million Credits. The materials cost even more—an astronomical figure for a refugee.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdy9CpxgV5
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2Y6SxTIcY
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHu1fi0Idzr
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCJuoNt8Ii
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZE2b0E0Cym
But right now, none of that mattered. Fate had handed Jax a different kind of opportunity. A dangerous one.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHRdRiWAJ4
Jax felt a sharp tap on his spine. He glanced back.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0woc6PQGL
A lean, bald man with eyes like a vulture winked at him.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYEd0hVmEa
Is it starting already?71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEhJTcp7Lu
Jax felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4WZSNupuV
"Get ready," the bald man whispered, his voice low and laced with palpable Killing Intent. "Wait for the signal."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUE4pb3xWB
Jax gave a microscopic nod, keeping his eyes forward.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRDbsjVNf3
The plan was simple: kill the cavalrymen, break the chains, and run for The Sprawl.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPf2kyfngQ
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh7yUbhxTO
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGOKUidVFI
The cavalrymen saw the rest stop and visibly relaxed. Their grim expressions softened into anticipation.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uJiwfE2TA
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQnI071QZR
The bald man tapped Jax again.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBbYGeAnL6
"Jax, I'm warning you," the man hissed. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you before the guards do."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBnXYqFfle
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ67tuTpLrE
"Boys! Get ready to move!"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPYzffSUEo
He slipped the key into Jax's palm, his eyes manic with urgency.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSScOLjg3Le
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFq4ipi7XwB
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7eCFwVXk1
The formation held. The guards noticed nothing.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2rlSLFKUb
Jax turned his head slightly to look at the massive figure walking behind him.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4e6UZUEib
His name was Barnaby. He was sixteen years old, but he had been shadowing Jax for five years.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvQR6knkQ7
Barnaby was a giant, standing a full two meters tall, rippling with muscle. But his face bore a perpetual, vacant grin.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVZbtFysLk
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.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xRGLkZ7oc
Seeing Jax look at him, Barnaby’s face lit up. He opened his mouth in a wide, goofy smile.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUGQkII1WF
"Hehe."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRHwy5wPDW
Barnaby reached under his shoe and pried out a crude wooden spike. "Brother Jax, look! Uncle Baldy gave it to me!"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuwuzUWOZm
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!"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeSurrtpwY
Barnaby clapped his hands, giggling like a preschooler. "Hehe! Find sister! Find sister!"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cciPz8Un4
"Barney, don't listen to him!"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmzpGSfKsM
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?"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy9UPyHxOW
The bald man sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1absWW1Lz
"A kid? He's sixteen years old. You call that a child?"71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjn9nfBzni1
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."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4mfP9n6nw
1234 copyright protection67ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoOYacnTMd 尼

216.73.217.14