It was a battle Lin Lan chose for himself.
The target zone was riddled with magnetic disruption and densely packed with zombies. One of them—a Tier 3 peak-level mutant—was undergoing active mutation.
The squad had planned to avoid it. But Lin Lan stepped forward.
"I want this core," he said calmly. There was no room for negotiation.
Chen Mo didn't stop him. Zhao Yang simply nodded. Hu Hao asked quietly:
"Are you sure?"
Lin Lan replied:
"I don't want to rely on anyone else."
The fight was far from easy.
The zombie's magnetic structure was highly complex. Its movements were erratic—almost like a leftover emulator fragment.
Lin Lan didn't use sensory interference. Instead, he relied on raw environmental manipulation— wind pressure, lightning strikes, temperature shifts, air current disruption— tearing down its defenses bit by bit.
In the end, he shattered the core himself. No hesitation. He absorbed it immediately.
The moment the crystal entered his body, his sensory layer convulsed. Magnetic circuits expanded— but remained unstable.
He didn't use support devices. He didn't ask for sync assistance.
Zhao Yang stood nearby, hat off, gaze steady.
"You're forcing it."
He Xuan frowned.
"That's not safe."
Chen Mo spoke quietly.
"It's not his first time."
Lin Lan closed his eyes. His consciousness began to reconstruct itself.
He wasn't accepting the crystal's gift— he was taming it.
His magnetic field began simulating Earth's historical weather events— storms, lightning, sandstorms, extreme cold, heat waves…
Each simulation tore him apart— and rebuilt him.
Hu Hao tried to sync— but Lin Lan refused.
"I'll do it myself."
After the breakthrough, Lin Lan reached Tier 4 initial stage. But his magnetic field was unstable. His sensory layer collapsed frequently. His abilities couldn't be released with precision.
His weather forecasting ability began to surface— but it was uncontrollable. Sometimes a breeze. Sometimes a localized thunderstorm.
He Xuan recorded:
"Ability range is wide. Precision is lacking."
Zhao Yang deployed blood mist shielding to prevent the energy overflow from damaging the house.
Chen Mo said little— he simply stayed by Lin Lan's side during testing.
Hu Hao worked nearby, syncing magnetic feedback, trying to help stabilize the system.
Each time Lin Lan failed, he said nothing. He just kept adjusting.
No one rushed him. No one comforted him.
They understood— this wasn't about power. It was his personal battle.
A month later, the weather forecasting ability stabilized.
Lin Lan could now simulate historical weather events with precision. Though less effective against high-tier targets, the area of effect was massive.
He stood outside the house, gazing into the distance.
"I didn't rely on the crystal." "I relied… on myself."
Zhao Yang approached, voice calm.
"This isn't an ability." "It's a Stand."
Lin Lan smiled.
"Like JOJO." "Not Stand power—Stand will."
Chen Mo patted his shoulder.
"You've finally stabilized."
He Xuan logged the update:
"Lin Lan · Tier 4 Initial · Ability: Weather Forecast · Status: Stable."
Hu Hao added:
"You're now our true rear guard."
Not long after, inside the house, Lu Ye activated the Eye of the World to test long-range detection.
After scanning a cylindrical radius of one million kilometers, the magnetic field trembled. Within a minute, it locked onto an anomaly—
Not on Earth— but on the Moon.
Lin Lan looked up.
"You scanned the Moon?"
He Xuan confirmed:
"Magnetic feedback from the southern lunar surface. Structure is deep."
"Two materials detected: One is a crystalline gem—extremely high energy density. The other is a rare metal vein—magnetically stable."
Zhao Yang frowned.
"It's… pulling us in."
Hu Hao spoke quietly.
"Not a signal. A kind of… calling."
Lu Ye nodded.
"It's not sending information." "It's waiting for us to arrive."
Lin Lan reviewed the data.
"The gem might enhance abilities."
He Xuan added:
"The metal could lift certain physical restrictions."
Zhao Yang was silent for a moment.
"You mean… mine?"
No one answered. But they all knew—
Zhao Yang's aversion to sunlight, his vampiric traits— had never been explained.
Maybe the answer lay beneath that moonlight.
Lu Ye looked at the coordinate map.
"The Silent Field is sealed." "Now begins the lunar phase."
Zhao Yang pulled down his hat.
"Then let's prepare for the Moon."