"New kid, huh, kiddo?"

"How come I've never seen your model before? You're not human, are you?"

"My back's killing me, take a quick look, will ya?"

"No, no, no, don't touch that—Argghhh! Eh? Holy... just like magic, brother, thanks a bunch!"

"I'm all better!"

After some personal visits and the enthusiastic introductions by various mechanical 'big brothers,' Ji Jue had pretty much figured out the state of the camp.

It was truly just a typical survivor settlement.

Everyone here was a 'resident' or, you could say, a 'creation' from the Crack Realm.

Amid various flaws and errors, they had somewhat realized the oddities in their own lives and their personal issues; that's why they were scared of the world above and fled here, huddling together for warmth.

The Prophet rarely showed face, but the atmosphere within the settlement was quite friendly and harmonious, with none of the bullying and exploitation common in apocalyptic literature. Occasionally, families would escape here from other places and were also swiftly accommodated.

Food came from two very old starch conversion machines and automated production equipment in the warehouse, and drinking water came from a well-protected pump in the center of the camp.

Some spontaneously maintained order, while others would regularly group up and try to explore the entire Crack Realm, though their efforts often ended in dismal results.

If this were an online novel, the protagonist would've figured out the color of the Prophet's underwear in six hours flat, but Ji Jue, after half a day, had been busy doing good deeds.

He fixed air conditioners, fridges, reupholstered cars, then welded sheet metal...

He was having so much fun he couldn't stop.

Little An recorded diligently in her notebook: On the third day entering the Crack Realm, Brother Ji Jue went back to his old trade, looking very happy.

"Mommy, Mommy!!!"

The excited 'child' on the small trolley pushed it back and forth, grabbing an old man, yelling ecstatically, "The big brother from outside, he fixed my wheels, quick, look!"

"That's nice," the elderly man, his lower body wriggling like a snake, ruffled its hair gently, as if smiling tenderly, "Now, don't wander off everywhere; every time you go out, everyone has to come looking for you."

"Yup, yup!" The child laughed joyously, "I am a good baby!"

With that said, it zipped away with the trolley to show the other moms its shiny new toy.

Ji Jue watched this scene from a distance, wrench in hand, concentrating on repairing the water purifier in front of him.

"The filter is clogged up and stinks. Got any charcoal? Or just fetch some wood to burn, that'll do. Open this thing, fill it up, and put it back on."

Ji Jue rubbed his sore back, stretched out, and finally added, "The pump's fine; it's just that the wires are old and need replacing. You guys can handle that yourselves, no need for me."

"Thanks."

The middle-aged man who had been following him the whole time grunted for a bit and squeezed out a garbled voice.

Even though he was initially suspicious of Ji Jue's intentions, seeing him fix almost all of the broken tools in the camp in just half a day, it was hard to stay wary and guarded.

After some hesitation, he went back and brought over a bottle.

It wasn't until Ji Jue finally tore apart two old cars and welded them into one that the man approached with a cup in hand, "Want some?"

Clear liquid poured into the paper cup, giving off a faintly pungent smell.

"This is..." Ji Jue sniffed carefully, uncertain.

"Booze." The middle-aged man gave a wry smile, "Let me introduce myself, just call me 97. Before I came here, I was... made to be a brewery worker. Collected some materials and made this myself.

It's made from starch; doesn't taste great, but it's all we have. Don't look down on it."

"To be honest, I have no idea if my stomach can handle the local ingredients." Ji Jue laughed at himself, only took a small sip, and then put it down.

Such a small amount surely couldn't get him drunk.

97, on the other hand, was stunned, unbelieving at how efficiently Ji Jue had drunk it, "You... weren't scared I poisoned it?"

Ji Jue just smiled, speaking straightforwardly, "If it were poisoned, I'd get back at you."

He wasn't worried about toxins fooling the scans of 'Brother Ball' worn around his neck as the Ancient's Mouth.

Not to mention that Little An was still standing around; if anything was mixed in, she'd smell it right away. Plus, if there really was a problem, with his abilities, making the entire camp collapse was just a snap of his fingers.

"..."

97 fell silent, downing a full glass before sighing, "Seems the Prophet was right. You really are different from those outsiders in the rumors."

"Huh? What about the outsiders?"

"Apparently, outsiders who have come here a few times before only caused destruction and killed some who don't even know what they are themselves.

They'd do anything for treasures. But whether there are treasures here or not, don't we know best? There's nothing here but Hell.

Yet they seem to love this Hell even more than we do."

"..." Ji Jue sighed, "'Players' are like that."

Forget about Mercury's legacy and treasures; even just some regular drops would lead them to turn the whole Crack Realm into a complete mess as if it were just another dungeon level.

The local factions aren't that friendly either; the waters are too deep. If the destruction gets out of hand, Mercury's workshop might just wipe the slate clean, taking out all the outsiders in an instant.

"Players?"

The middle-aged man didn't understand that word, his expression troubled, "The Prophet says they're demons, just like Mercury, demons."

Ji Jue was speechless.

Feeling the irony.

As the creator, he should be revered and worshiped by his creations, just as the Melting Furnace remained loyal to Mercury until the very end.

But now, the beings of the Crack Realm saw her as a terrifying demon.

What was this?

A rogue AI from a novel? An AI rebellion?

But no matter how out of control, no matter how rebellious, they couldn't stop the workshops from operating. They could only flee passively and endure.

"Do you have so much faith in the Prophet?" Ji Jue asked, curious.

"Of course, if it weren't for the Prophet, I might have been recycled and re-forged by now. Without her, this camp wouldn't exist either."

97 answered straightforwardly: "I know what you want to ask. The Prophet is the Prophet, the Prophet knows everything—at least, in this 'Crack Realm,' it is so. That's what she told me.

She is the one who woke up earliest among us, understanding everything more deeply than anyone else."

"I don't know what you outsiders are thinking, but there's no need to be so wary. We are just a bunch of poor bugs huddling together for warmth. Even the reward we can offer is only this little."

He raised his cup with self-deprecation and smiled: "If you want to do something, talk to the Prophet. There's not much time left until the reset."

"Reset?"

Ji Jue was curious and wanted to ask more.

But then, a scream rose, so familiar—sharp yet muffled, like countless people suffering in agony, mourning, howling from within the same body.

The wailing began.

"Mom, Mom!!!"

The handcart flew up, fell to the ground, shattered to pieces, but the fragmented child was twirled up into the sky by a sharp tentacle, wildly flailing as pieces continued to fall.

97's expression changed dramatically. He threw down his cup and bolted.

"Ironization!"

Among the scattering crowd, someone cried out in terror: "It's the ironization disease, 32 is having an attack again!"

In the midst of the chaos, a bloated, obese man was half crying, half screaming, while the other half of his face was already showing insect-like mutations. Two tentacles stretched out from the slit in his chest, sweeping crazily, destroying.

"You lied to me! You all lied to me! It's all fake—"

His face convulsed continuously, shouting frantically: "I have a child! I have a child; my child is already seven years old and is waiting at home for me, he, he... he..."

That twisted face spasmed, revealing despair, and he wailed in vain:

"He's dead."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Within the low, muffled thuds, a net made of wires covered the distorted and mutating figure. Then, Ji Jue saw the huge guns he'd seen before appear, remotely aiming at the struggling, rapidly swelling figure trapped in the net, and pulling the trigger.

What flew out was a spear-like harpoon with a jet propulsion, its lethality not even comparable to Ji Jue's rifle, but they used it with such skill.

Just like that, they pinned him to the ground.

"Kill him quick, he's lost control," someone in the panicked crowd shouted: "He couldn't contain himself yesterday and insisted on going to find his wife and child. The Suppressant is useless now."

97 paused for a moment, hesitated, and struggled with difficulty.

The trembling gun barrel slowly rose.

But then it was held down.

"...So why do I expect anything from my crappy luck."

Ji Jue sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward boldly: "I'll do it!"

Boom!

A tentacle writhed, coming down hard on him, but in mid-air, there was a flash of silver, and it was severed into two pieces. Little An was there.

In the net, the out-of-control figure had already swelled to two or three times its original size, with more and more mutating features appearing on him.

Even the original face was almost gone.

Only an eye that faintly resembled a human's remained, hollowly shedding tears.

Ji Jue hesitated for a moment, his hand raised but hovering in mid-air, then, without any hesitation, he pressed down.

"Eat shit, I guess."

He squeezed the words through his teeth: "Melting Furnace, I'm paying you back with interest!"

Snap!

At that instant, Mechanical Descent initiated!

Suffering, despair, wailing, mourning, frenzy, grace, hatred, love, joy, sorrow... all the emotions of the mortal world became a torrent pouring toward him.

Swallowing him whole.

Ji Jue's complexion flushed red in an instant, feeling the wildly turbulent and chaotic spiritual erosion consuming his soul, not even bothering to manage it—it was fine, his cousin could handle it later.

But now...

He issued another command:

—[Stop]!

In that instant, darkness fell before Ji Jue's eyes again, but that divine decree had already transmitted down from within his power.

Invisible ripples emitted from his body, resonating like a giant bell, its resounding echoes spreading from his hands, enveloping the entire camp.

Bringing everything to a sudden halt!

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