2026-01-25 04:36:09The wind screamed in Xin’s ears as Mei’s floating bike zoomed through the ruined streets. Behind them, the rock monster—a giant beast of stone and sparking electricity—let out a roar that shattered the windows of nearby shops.
"He’s gaining on us!" Xin yelled, looking over his shoulder. Each time the monster stepped, the ground cracked. "What do I do?"
"You've got the Engine in your chest, Window Boy! Give it some gas!" Mei shouted back, steering the bike through a narrow alleyway.
"Warning," the voice in Xin’s head spoke again. "Host heartbeat is too high. Level 1 energy is unstable. To reach Level 2, you must synchronize with the threat."
"Synchronize? You want me to be friends with that thing?" Xin asked.
"No. You must absorb its impact to unlock the 'Kinetic Burst' path."
Xin looked at the monster. It was lifting a massive chunk of a fallen bus, ready to throw it at them. "Mei, stop the bike!"
"Are you crazy? We’re finally making distance!"
"Just do it! I have an idea, and if it doesn't work, well... at least you have a cool bike!"
Mei slammed on the brakes, the bike sliding sideways in a cloud of dust. Xin jumped off before it even stopped. He stood in the middle of the road, his legs shaking. He felt small. The monster towered over him, its body made of jagged granite and pulsing yellow lightning.
The beast threw the bus.
"Xin, move!" Mei screamed.
Xin didn't move. He planted his feet. He focused all his thoughts on the silver mark on his chest. Don't let me die. Don't let me die.
The bus slammed into him. But instead of crushing him into a pancake, a shimmering silver dome flickered into existence. The bus hit the shield and stopped dead in mid-air, held by a ripple of gravity.
[Absorption: 40%... 70%... 100%]
[Energy Overflow Detected. Upgrading Host...]
[Level 2 Unlocked: The Rebounder.]
The silver mark on Xin’s chest expanded. The light turned from a soft glow into a brilliant, electric blue. He felt a rush of power so strong it made his hair stand on end. He felt like he could jump over the moon.
"My turn," Xin whispered.
He pushed his hands forward. The energy he had absorbed from the bus's impact didn't just disappear—it shot back out. A wave of blue force hit the rock monster like a physical wall. The beast’s stone chest shattered into dust, and the lightning inside it fizzled out. The monster collapsed into a pile of ordinary rocks.
Xin fell to his knees, gasping for air. His arms felt like they were on fire.
Mei ran over, her heavy wrench still in hand. She stared at the pile of rocks, then at Xin. "Okay... that was actually pretty impressive for a guy who usually just uses a squeegee."
"I think... I'm going to throw up," Xin panted.
"Save it for later," Mei said, her face suddenly turning pale. She pointed toward the city center.
The golden fortress in the sky was no longer just floating. It had lowered a massive, glowing spire that touched the roof of the tallest building—the same building Xin had fallen from. The air around the spire was turning purple, and people were being lifted off the streets by strange beams of light.
"They're harvesting," Mei whispered, her voice trembling for the first time. "They aren't just looking for the Engine. They’re taking people back to Earth-6."
Xin looked at the silver mark on his arm. It was pulsing slowly now, like a heartbeat. He thought of Old Chen. He hadn't seen Chen since the fall. Was he being pulled up into that ship?
The realization hit him hard. He wasn't just a survivor anymore. He was the reason these monsters were here. If he hadn't been on that scaffolding, maybe the meteor would have just hit an empty park.
"It's my fault," Xin said, his voice low.
Mei grabbed his shoulder. Her hand was greasy and rough, but her grip was firm. "Listen to me, Xin. You didn't ask for that rock to hit you. But you're the only one who can stop them. Look at your hand."
Xin looked. Small blue sparks were still dancing between his fingers.
"You just took down a Level 1 Sentinel," Mei said. "My grandpa’s notes say the Engine grows by fighting. If you get to Level 5, you might be able to shut down that spire. But we need help. We need the Resistance."
"Where are they?"
"In the old subway tunnels. But to get there, we have to cross the 'Gray Zone'—the part of the city the Elementals have already terraformed."
Xin looked toward the downtown area. It didn't look like his city anymore. Giant, crystalline trees were growing out of the asphalt, and the air was filled with a thick, glowing fog. The world was being rewritten right in front of his eyes.
"Then let's go," Xin said, standing up. He felt a new weight on his shoulders—not the weight of the debris, but the weight of every life in Jiangnan. "I need to get stronger. Fast."
They hopped back on the bike and sped toward the fog. As they entered the Gray Zone, the temperature dropped. The buildings were covered in a weird, silver moss that seemed to be breathing.
"Stay quiet," Mei cautioned. "The 'Sound-Eaters' hunt in the fog."
Just as she said it, a long, thin shadow darted across the road. It looked like a spider made of glass, its legs clicking on the pavement.
"Host Caution," the voice in Xin’s head warned. "New Enemy Type detected: Stealth Class. Level 2 energy may not be enough for a direct hit."
"Great," Xin muttered. "Any suggestions?"
"Unlock Level 3: 'Thermal Vision.' Requirement: Defeat an enemy without using your eyes."
Xin froze. "You want me to do what?"
Suddenly, the bike was jerked sideways. An invisible force had grabbed the back wheel. Mei screamed as they were dragged into a dark, moss-covered parking garage.
The bike flipped, throwing them onto the cold concrete. In the darkness, Xin could hear something crawling on the ceiling—something fast, something invisible, and something very hungry.
"Xin! I can't see it!" Mei cried out, swinging her wrench at the shadows.
Xin stood in the dark, his heart racing. He closed his eyes. He remembered what the voice said. He had to stop looking with his eyes and start feeling the Engine.
Click. Click. Click.
The Sound-Eater was right above his head
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Ice Portal
The Salty Nut didn't just fly toward the white dot; it fell toward it. As they got closer, the "station" revealed its true shape. It wasn't a building made of metal and glass. It was a massive, jagged ring of frozen starlight, suspended in a part of the void where even the shadows felt cold. This was the Ice Portal, the final barrier between the known sectors and the deep, unwritten forge of the Ark."The temperature is dropping past the safety limits!" Mei shouted, her breath visible in the cabin as a thick, white mist. She was wearing her heaviest fur coat, her gloved fingers fumbling with the touchscreen. "The ship’s internal heaters are being drained by the portal. It’s not just cold, Xin—it’s a thermal vacuum. It’s sucking the heat out of our very atoms."Xin stood at the center of the bridge, his Mental Shield glowing with a soft, steady silver light. He could feel the Ice Portal humming. It wasn't the rhythmic heartbeat of the Great Needle; it was a high, thin whistle, like a
The Void’s First Whisper
The Salty Nut didn't jump this time. It slipped. As the ship crossed the invisible line between the 1st Earth’s protected ring and the uncharted "Outer Rim," the stars didn't just fade—they turned into long, jagged needles of white light. The hum of the engine changed from a healthy thrum to a high-pitched whine, like a dog sensing a predator in the tall grass.Xin stood at the prow, his hand resting on the cooling manifold Mei had just installed. He could feel the Star-Steel shivering. It wasn't the cold of space; it was a lack of information. The "Master Record" in his mind, which usually mapped every inch of the hundred sectors, was showing nothing but a flat, gray static."Mei, the navigation grid is dropping," Xin said, his voice low. "It’s like the map just... ended."Mei was strapped into the pilot’s seat, her eyes fixed on a screen that was flickering with a pale, ghostly light. "The 1st Earth’s signal can’t reach this far, Xin. We’re past the reach of the Mother-Seed’s roo
Waking Up
The celebration in Jiangnan didn’t end with the fireworks. It ended with a silence so deep it felt like the ocean had swallowed the city. As the last embers of the lanterns drifted into the dark water, Xin felt a final, massive shift in the Great Needle’s resonance. It wasn't a spike of pain this time; it was a long, slow exhale.Xin stood at the very top of the Needle, his hand resting on the smooth, white bark of the Mother-Seed’s new growth. Beside him, Mei was checking a small monitor, her eyes reflecting the soft green pulse of the tree. Pip was fast asleep on a pile of gear bags, her hatchet tucked under her arm like a stuffed toy."The numbers are flat, Xin," Mei whispered, her voice full of a strange kind of peace. "No more spikes. No more ghosts. The 100 sectors aren't fighting the light anymore. They’re just... breathing.""They're waking up," Xin said.For five hundred years, the Ark had kept the worlds in a dream—a state of low-energy survival where nobody grew too muc
Mental Sheild
The celebration in Jiangnan was supposed to be a time of rest, but for Xin, the noise of the crowds felt like a physical weight. Every cheer from the Gutter and every pulse of the Great Needle felt ten times louder than before. As he sat on the high balcony of the Needle’s heart, watching the colorful lanterns float over the water, a sharp, cold spike of pain shot through his temples."Xin? You’re bleeding," Mei said, her voice dropping as she reached out to touch his face.A thin trail of silver liquid was trickling from his ear. This wasn't physical exhaustion. It was the "Master Record" from the 1st Earth trying to download its final protocols into his brain. Now that the sectors were linked, the data of a hundred worlds was trying to find a home in his mind.[Status: Level 22 Achieved.][New Skill Unlocked: Mental Shield.]Suddenly, the festive lights of the city vanished. Xin wasn't on the balcony anymore. He was standing in a white void, surrounded by a thousand whispering v
The Heart Link
The Salty Nut didn't head back to Jiangnan right away. While the fleet of scavenger ships celebrated their small victory against the 99th Earth, a new signal began to throb from the holographic map. It wasn't a call for help or a battle cry. It was a rhythmic, weeping pulse coming from the 55th Earth—a world located in the "Dead Zone," the furthest reach of the Ark’s original map."The 55th isn't waking up, Xin," Mei said, her brow furrowed as she adjusted the frequency on the ship’s comms. "The Mother-Seed sent the light out to every sector, but the 55th is reflecting it back. It’s like the world has a shell around it. A Heart-Lock."Xin stood at the observation window, looking out at the swirling silver mist of the void. He felt a strange tug in his chest, a low vibration that matched the pulse on the screen. Since he had given up the Predator power to wake the white tree, his connection to the Star-Steel hadn't disappeared; it had changed. He didn't feel like a weapon anymore; h
Breaking the Cages
The high conservatory of the Alpha Site was no longer a tomb. It was a lighthouse. The white sunlight from the Mother-Seed poured through the glass dome, cutting through the stagnant shadows of the 1st Earth. But as the light reached out to the stars, the sky began to fill with the jagged, silver shapes of the 99th Earth’s fleet. Hundreds of pearl-colored ships hovered in a tight circle around the ring, their violet cannons charging with a hum that made the floor shake."They aren't parleying," Mei said, her eyes fixed on the scanner. Her hands were blurred as she tapped into the Alpha Site’s ancient defensive grid. "The Council of the 99 has issued a total purge order. They say the 100th Earth has 'contaminated' the Archive. They’re going to burn the Alpha Site to stop the signal from spreading.""They're too late," Xin said. He felt lighter than he had in years. The heavy, predatory heat in his blood was gone, replaced by a cool, steady calm. He wasn't Level 20 anymore. He was ju
You may also like
Monster Girl Ranching in Another World
Magic_33.5K viewsREBIRTH OF A WARRIOR
Highpriest 18.9K viewsThe Supreme Genius Reborn
Mattimeo18.1K viewsTotem Warrior
Cindy Chen27.4K viewsPatient Zero: Messiah of Thorns
Rose Lumiere218 viewsI Was Reincarnated In The Viceroyalty Era With My Harem
Haisen X249 viewsTreasure Hunter
Xamo 1.8K viewsTHE ILLUSIONIST OF ELDRALITH
Amìnessa Vale500 views