Blue Year 2022. Desertification claimed over eighty percent of the Blue Star’s soil. The world turned to dust.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWH10ojCIYt
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1I7GCaV7m
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5XYFAIRBH
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBieQ9Pfgmf
Blue Year 2040. The calendar was reset. The Era of the Wasteland began.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlyrT6kNIk
Wasteland Year 11. The Frozen Wastes, outside Redrock Bastion.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbd1mDgIlqU
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX79U5Otwv9
Redrock Bastion was the gateway to the Northern Frontier, the largest human settlement in the region, and dangerously close to the main insectoid nests.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnjAJhKfl7
Clang. Clang.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrAoJHDdrP
The rhythmic, heavy sound of iron dragging against stone echoed through the wasteland.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQsE2Iu9qn
A dozen cavalrymen mounted on black-scaled horses—mutated beasts with hides like armor—escorted a line of over a hundred prisoners.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtufwR8Bfv
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dse5AshzW
The prisoners were chained together in a long, wretched file, heavy shackles weighing down their wrists and ankles.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzsnYI73Nz
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JAbHuL8Xc
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBOVAZcdFz
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjS6dgFlg2y
[User Candidate: Jax, Male, 21]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVByFV05bY
[Bio-Score: 55 (Pathetically Weak)]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5rlN67AuR
[Architect Level: Unranked]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYS1erefuNt
[Owned Defense Tower Types: None]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7gKcLyat2
[God-Tier Architect System Binding Task: Incomplete (Time Remaining: 10 Days)]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cCa8aWbxv
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iOU3b4X4K
Thirty days was enough time to understand the golden rule of this era: only the ruthless survive.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnmVVEHRYQ
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEupmDfQuC
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDu1nJvts9
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRfOBwteKi
Jax wanted a tower. He craved it.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMLgIKB92A
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c0tCBxW6L
But the barrier to entry was suffocating. First, you needed a blueprint. Then, you needed a mountain of Cores to exchange for construction materials.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZzcokIt8Z
A single Tier 1 Defense Tower blueprint cost a million Credits. The materials cost even more—an astronomical figure for a refugee.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA1PRQn6nJ
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK5swQccHu
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaU8iD1lX9
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4M0i4LCy7z
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3sJQwVu57
But right now, none of that mattered. Fate had handed Jax a different kind of opportunity. A dangerous one.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLPUX8FV6N
Jax felt a sharp tap on his spine. He glanced back.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfAZ1SU5AD
A lean, bald man with eyes like a vulture winked at him.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcAeqCeg7Z
Is it starting already?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7hpNtjp7O
Jax felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzyD8Z2GBI
"Get ready," the bald man whispered, his voice low and laced with palpable Killing Intent. "Wait for the signal."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM03x5e5el
Jax gave a microscopic nod, keeping his eyes forward.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQzhp0GMex
The plan was simple: kill the cavalrymen, break the chains, and run for The Sprawl.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjez8PX6dl
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4Fi7C3T8S
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSV7SK2dsH
The cavalrymen saw the rest stop and visibly relaxed. Their grim expressions softened into anticipation.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOG4xkzWWY
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2clnrkdne
The bald man tapped Jax again.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAb3a89DCQQ
"Jax, I'm warning you," the man hissed. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you before the guards do."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oDCT0OXgN
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMbpqXUCcM
"Boys! Get ready to move!"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMDu4FdIUj
He slipped the key into Jax's palm, his eyes manic with urgency.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJo4mO84tm
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7ryoVMJ75
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYQ4aElimX
The formation held. The guards noticed nothing.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFJx0HfDcA
Jax turned his head slightly to look at the massive figure walking behind him.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34Ii7RTo8y
His name was Barnaby. He was sixteen years old, but he had been shadowing Jax for five years.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpGS5CJm2h
Barnaby was a giant, standing a full two meters tall, rippling with muscle. But his face bore a perpetual, vacant grin.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvri9gowHfs
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.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59a2BwiaH5
Seeing Jax look at him, Barnaby’s face lit up. He opened his mouth in a wide, goofy smile.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoVAz6rQRN
"Hehe."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rrNKnf7O1
Barnaby reached under his shoe and pried out a crude wooden spike. "Brother Jax, look! Uncle Baldy gave it to me!"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzr5kTNOke
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!"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7VeAhqDds
Barnaby clapped his hands, giggling like a preschooler. "Hehe! Find sister! Find sister!"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qc7z61e3h
"Barney, don't listen to him!"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVagBvsgX0
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?"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFB6WGbdam
The bald man sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcrXsk29YJ
"A kid? He's sixteen years old. You call that a child?"66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMP518h7t2n
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."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoYyv5j3gD
1234 copyright protection62ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuQn31pvWp 尼

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