Blue Year 2022. Desertification claimed over eighty percent of the Blue Star’s soil. The world turned to dust.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHYpvTtLjE
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGRr6z2KwQ
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcaRstl1fs
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaipAlgRWaa
Blue Year 2040. The calendar was reset. The Era of the Wasteland began.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4owEy7G65
Wasteland Year 11. The Frozen Wastes, outside Redrock Bastion.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUXgYhotlE
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5YMP3TQeN
Redrock Bastion was the gateway to the Northern Frontier, the largest human settlement in the region, and dangerously close to the main insectoid nests.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoBmPaUyR9
Clang. Clang.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfJo07HLZm
The rhythmic, heavy sound of iron dragging against stone echoed through the wasteland.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAshrBtPT5M
A dozen cavalrymen mounted on black-scaled horses—mutated beasts with hides like armor—escorted a line of over a hundred prisoners.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnthls0uaU
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tbqXPYfNI
The prisoners were chained together in a long, wretched file, heavy shackles weighing down their wrists and ankles.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AD1neHNMR
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoTbC1Hr6M
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2QT0VKehk
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4tu9JqojA
[User Candidate: Jax, Male, 21]69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVcjYIPbog
[Bio-Score: 55 (Pathetically Weak)]69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4b8UuIzw91
[Architect Level: Unranked]69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHb8SwkK629
[Owned Defense Tower Types: None]69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85p6EPsOkq
[God-Tier Architect System Binding Task: Incomplete (Time Remaining: 10 Days)]69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwCqsxyqoL
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVfNKCMuxP
Thirty days was enough time to understand the golden rule of this era: only the ruthless survive.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY9V48sVz9
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."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsN0ieDv2W
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiXsVCyra3
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdLRfITv0K
Jax wanted a tower. He craved it.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4oUqzHP6R
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEJA0mL52Z
But the barrier to entry was suffocating. First, you needed a blueprint. Then, you needed a mountain of Cores to exchange for construction materials.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfMhTFuqYS
A single Tier 1 Defense Tower blueprint cost a million Credits. The materials cost even more—an astronomical figure for a refugee.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ8WlbA93F
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgxSIxYd8l
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7GrOrgCLk
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lUElMCfKP
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbuGSGcR79
But right now, none of that mattered. Fate had handed Jax a different kind of opportunity. A dangerous one.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTuD16iH95
Jax felt a sharp tap on his spine. He glanced back.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXugt0fWFbj
A lean, bald man with eyes like a vulture winked at him.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ766eplNZfs
Is it starting already?69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GXFRaBD1A
Jax felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgTts9gVji
"Get ready," the bald man whispered, his voice low and laced with palpable Killing Intent. "Wait for the signal."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsMrxFgA9A
Jax gave a microscopic nod, keeping his eyes forward.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYknIijkG2
The plan was simple: kill the cavalrymen, break the chains, and run for The Sprawl.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWT9HumNVH
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiZnpOr5kG
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AJKmpIzcl
The cavalrymen saw the rest stop and visibly relaxed. Their grim expressions softened into anticipation.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxaKWOqdTV
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF75qxucN6z
The bald man tapped Jax again.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPm9hK7GSk
"Jax, I'm warning you," the man hissed. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you before the guards do."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJkgSXn42G
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uH8ocNYRO
"Boys! Get ready to move!"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbvm9xRSzx
He slipped the key into Jax's palm, his eyes manic with urgency.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZggCUDlRy8
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbgn33TFVS
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtF8MTwGOP
The formation held. The guards noticed nothing.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSaHChejYd
Jax turned his head slightly to look at the massive figure walking behind him.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZySfRqNEE
His name was Barnaby. He was sixteen years old, but he had been shadowing Jax for five years.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjgrdIfX31
Barnaby was a giant, standing a full two meters tall, rippling with muscle. But his face bore a perpetual, vacant grin.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHW2aUHQ79
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.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iMqZsfdXc
Seeing Jax look at him, Barnaby’s face lit up. He opened his mouth in a wide, goofy smile.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD71AikfHRs
"Hehe."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEtmAiD2Mn
Barnaby reached under his shoe and pried out a crude wooden spike. "Brother Jax, look! Uncle Baldy gave it to me!"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7wSIZIEmK
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!"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9aaIG5957
Barnaby clapped his hands, giggling like a preschooler. "Hehe! Find sister! Find sister!"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZnO7Yf3lL
"Barney, don't listen to him!"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjuYQGwZXm
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?"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ikpd9rVRS
The bald man sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7ZpWw4yCF
"A kid? He's sixteen years old. You call that a child?"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFg13u94hoG
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."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPn677eVW4p
1234 copyright protection65ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQGAny3xpw 尼

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