Chen Yu leaned against the rough barricade built from the armored plates. Pain still flared in his thigh with every shift of weight. The reconstruction worked nonstop to close the reopened cracks along his ribs and the cuts across his side.
He sat down. The damaged nail driver rested across his knees. For the first time since waking in this body, the immediate threats had pulled back.
The forest stayed quiet. Only faint rustles of leaves and distant howls reached his ears.
Chen Yu stared at his hands. Silver threads moved faintly under the skin when he flexed his fingers.
Who the hell was I?
Memories came in broken pieces. Orbital drops under heavy fire. The last mission on New Beijing. Leading a strike team with machines and cold precision. Then everything went black.
He had been a cyber-commander. A soldier who solved problems with railguns and tactical strikes. Not whatever these mutants called cultivation.
Now he sat inside the body of a dead teenager.
Chen Yu spoke quietly.
"System. Full status report. Who owned this body before me? Why was it discarded here?"
The mechanical voice answered without hesitation.
[Previous owner designated Chen Yu, outer disciple of Azure Cloud Sect, age 17.] [Neural pathways destroyed by forced meridian rupture.] [Punishment for stealing three mid-grade spirit stones and one Qi Condensation pill.] [Body declared irreparable by sect standards and thrown into the Forbidden Forest as an example.]
Chen Yu exhaled once, short and sharp.
Stealing pills. A stupid way to die. Seventeen years old and executed by his own sect for pocket change. These freaks really do treat their own like disposable ammo.
He looked at the dense energy crystal stored inside the Nano-Forge. It pulsed with steady power.
"System. What are the limits of the Genesis Nano-Forge?"
[System designed for military reconstruction and resource conversion.] [Current constraints tied directly to available energy and raw materials.] [Nano-machine swarm limited by host body capacity.] [Heavy weaponry and orbital fabrication remain impossible until sufficient high-density resources are secured.]
Practical answers. No miracles. Exactly how he preferred it.
Chen Yu flexed his repaired shoulder. The pain had dulled, but the body still felt borrowed. Slightly wrong in small ways.
Doesn't matter. He would make it his.
A low growl sounded from the trees. The quiet moment ended.
Chen Yu stood. He placed the nail driver on the ground and pressed both palms against it.
"System. Upgrade the weapon. Increase penetration power. Add burst mode. Use the armored plating and energy crystal."
[Integration started. Estimated time: 6 minutes.]
While the silver threads worked, Chen Yu strengthened the barricade. He stacked additional plates and created narrow firing slits between them. The stone outcrop provided solid cover from behind.
The upgrade finished with a quiet click.
[Weapon upgrade complete.] [Designation: Mark II Pneumatic Nail Driver.] [Penetration increased by 180%. Burst mode added – three rounds rapid fire.] [Magazine capacity: 18 nails.]
Chen Yu loaded fresh nails forged from the new materials. The weapon felt heavier and more stable in his hands.
The first wave arrived minutes later.
Six creatures burst from the underbrush. Four wolf-types and two spiked panthers.
Chen Yu stayed low behind the barricade. He raised the Mark II and fired.
Phht-phht-phht.
The burst tore through the front line. Two wolves dropped instantly. A third staggered after taking nails to the chest.
Claws scraped loudly against the armored plates. One panther climbed the barricade.
Chen Yu leaned out and fired another burst into its underside. The creature screamed and fell backward.
More creatures came. He kept firing in controlled bursts and reloaded when the magazine ran low. Sweat mixed with drying blood on his face.
A wolf forced its way through a gap in the plates. Chen Yu smashed the butt of the weapon into its jaw, then finished it with a single point-blank shot.
The fight dragged on for nearly fifteen minutes.
When the last creature collapsed, silence returned to the clearing.
Chen Yu leaned against the barricade. His breathing stayed even. The Mark II felt hot in his grip. The magazine held only four nails.
He looked at the fresh corpses scattered outside his position.
They would keep coming. The forest itself seemed determined to wear him down.
[Total mutants neutralized during defense: 14.] [Biomass harvest recommended.] [Energy reserves: 89%.]
Chen Yu harvested only the energy-rich organs and crystals. He left the rest where they fell.
While he worked, the system updated.
[New data: A large concentrated energy node detected 800 meters northeast.] [Caution: High-level guardian entity likely present at the primary node.]
Chen Yu checked the barricade one final time. It had held for now, but another heavy assault would shatter it.
He could not stay here forever. Static defense invited death.
He loaded his remaining nails and stepped out from behind the plates.
The rough barricade stood silent among the dead mutants. A temporary mark in hostile ground.
Chen Yu moved northeast. He stayed low and used the trees for cover. The Mark II stayed ready in his hands.
The howls started again in the distance, louder this time.
He kept walking.