Doomsday Reboot: My Superpowers Absorb Everything

The steel plant's No. 3 workshop reeked of pungent rust. An abandoned furnace, like a silent behemoth, crouched in the center of the workshop, its furnace chamber thick with soot, faint traces of the dark red smelting process still visible. Lin Ye leaned against the rusty control panel, dark purple energy coursing through the wires at his fingertips, attempting to start the old winch—the most crucial step in the plan, needed to lower the heavy hammer atop the furnace and seal the opening.

"Can it still work?" Zhou Ming held up a kerosene lamp, the pale blue light illuminating the dust-covered dial. The hands were already stuck at zero. "I remember this machine used to break down frequently back then. I didn't expect it to still be in good shape after all these years."

Lin Ye channeled his energy into the rusted gears, causing the winch to groan and the chain to twitch slightly. "It can turn, but it takes brute force. When the Wolf King goes in, I need you to block its retreat with the ice wall to buy me time to start it up."

"No problem." Zhou Ming hung the kerosene lamp on the hook of the control panel, rubbed his hands which were red from the cold, and said, "My ice wall may not last long, but it's more than enough to stop a wolf."

The howls of wolves grew closer outside the workshop, mixed with the screams of Black Wind Stronghold members. Lin Ye looked through the broken window and saw the silver-white wolf king leading a pack of corpse wolves chasing several panicked figures. The torches in those people's hands had long been extinguished, and they could only hide in the ruins, but were soon pounced on by the corpse wolves.

"They're here." Lin Ye gripped his military dagger, his senses locking onto the wolf king. This level-nine mutant's energy reaction was even more ferocious than before, its dark green eyes burning with a bloodthirsty ferocity, clearly blaming the previous setbacks on humans.

Zhou Ming took a deep breath, walked to the passageway on the side of the furnace, and placed his hands on the cold ground. Pale blue water energy rapidly spread, and the water on the ground began to freeze, quickly forming a half-meter-thick ice wall that completely blocked the passageway—this was the only entrance to the furnace, and also the trap they had planned.

"Remember, when I yell 'Release,' remove the ice wall." Lin Ye checked the winch chain one last time, making sure the hook was securely fastened to the counterweight. "Not too early, not too late."

Zhou Ming nodded, his eyes fixed on the movements outside the passage. The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered behind him, casting a long shadow of the old man against the cold steel wall, giving it a resolute air.

The wolf king, leading its pack of corpse wolves, stormed into Workshop No. 3. Its massive body smashed through the already crumbling iron door, sending rust and sawdust flying. It immediately spotted Lin Ye standing by the furnace, a mocking glint in its dark green eyes, as if to say, "You've walked right into my trap."

"Come and catch me!" Lin Ye deliberately revealed a flaw, turned around and crawled into the entrance passage of the furnace.

The wolf king let out an angry howl and chased after it without hesitation. It was too confident; as the overlord of this area, no prey had ever escaped its pursuit, let alone in such an enclosed space.

"Now!" Lin Ye's voice came from the passage.

Zhou Ming immediately withdrew his energy, and the ice wall instantly melted into water, flowing away through the cracks in the ground. The dozen or so corpse wolves following the wolf king were about to rush into the passage when they were stopped by Li Hu and his group, who suddenly appeared—they brought chains and steel forks and rushed out from the shadows on both sides of the workshop, completely blocking the corpse wolves' retreat.

"Stop right there!" Li Hu brandished a long stick made from a welding torch. The iron hook at the end of the stick precisely hooked the neck of a corpse wolf, and with a sudden pull, the beast screamed and fell to the ground, where it was nailed to death with a steel fork by the team members who arrived later.

The workshop erupted into chaos. Though the number of zombie wolves was small, each one was exceptionally ferocious, especially those enraged by Li Hu, which frantically tore at the chains, the sound of steel scraping against steel deafeningly loud. Lin Jianjun, holding a rifle for cover from a high vantage point, used specially made bone bullets to pierce the wolves' fur, always managing to save his teammates at the most crucial moments.

Inside the furnace's passageway, Lin Ye was engaged in a fierce battle with the Wolf King. The passageway was narrow, preventing the Wolf King's massive body from fully extending, giving Lin Ye a chance to catch his breath. Taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain, he continuously leaped between platforms on either side of the passageway, his military dagger, imbued with dark purple energy, occasionally leaving a wound on the Wolf King's body.

"Roar!" The wolf king was completely enraged and slammed into the side wall. Concrete blocks rained down, a crack appeared in the ceiling of the passage, and rubble kept falling. Lin Ye couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the back by a piece of rubble, feeling a sharp pain and almost falling off the platform.

It's now!

Lin Ye endured the excruciating pain, flipped over and jumped off the platform, landing in front of the winch's control panel. He pressed down hard on the start lever with both hands, injecting all the remaining dark purple energy in his body!

"Buzz—!"

The winch gears spun wildly, the iron chain carrying the heavy hammer slowly rose, and then suddenly fell!

"Boom!"

The heavy hammer struck the furnace entrance with pinpoint accuracy, instantly sealing off the passage with thick steel plates. Trapped inside the furnace, the wolf king roared in fury and despair, its claws scratching at the steel plates with a piercing hissing sound, but it couldn't open the furnace no matter what it did.

"It's done!" Lin Ye slumped to the ground, his back wound throbbing with pain, and his vision blurred.

Zhou Ming rushed over and used his pale blue energy to relieve his pain: "Don't move around, you might have a fracture in your back."

The battle in the workshop was nearing its end. Although Li Hu and his men had suffered several injuries, they had successfully eliminated all the zombie wolves. Lin Jianjun walked over, stepping over the wolf corpses, and looked at the sealed furnace entrance with a relieved smile: "Finally, this big problem is solved."

"It's not over yet." Lin Ye pointed to the oil tank next to the control panel, which contained kerosene brought from the purification station. "Pour this in and light it."

Li Hu paused for a moment, then understood what he meant, and carried the oil can towards the furnace. Thick kerosene flowed into the furnace through the gaps in the steel plates, and was quickly splattered everywhere by the wolf king's claws.

Lin Ye took out a lighter, which Zhou Ming had given him; it was supposedly a windproof model produced before the apocalypse. He took a deep breath, lit a rag soaked in kerosene, and threw it towards the furnace.

"boom--!"

Flames erupted instantly in the furnace, the orange-red light shining through the gaps in the steel plates, illuminating the entire workshop as if it were daytime. The wolf king's howl came from the furnace, filled with pain and resentment, but it was quickly drowned out by the crackling of the flames.

Everyone stared silently at the burning furnace, their expressions complex. The wolf king, which had kept them on tenterhooks for so long, had ultimately not escaped its fate of being burned.

After an unknown amount of time, the roaring sounds from the furnace completely disappeared, leaving only the sound of the flames burning. The steel plates of the furnace were glowing red-hot, like a giant branding iron, radiating scorching heat.

"That's enough." Old Zhang arrived at the workshop with his men at some point. Leaning on his iron cane, he looked at the red-hot furnace. "Let it burn. Once it's clean, it can also disinfect this area."

Lin Ye, carried on Li Hu's back, looked back at the burning furnace and suddenly felt a little dazed. From the spring to the steel mill, from the iron beetles to the pack of corpse wolves, they seemed to have always been fighting, always brushing shoulders with death. But every time they stopped, they could see something different—the new shoots in the fields, the clear water in the purification station, and the light that had been rekindled in the eyes of old man Zhou Ming.

"Let's go back," Lin Ye said softly, his voice tinged with weariness, yet also with an unprecedented sense of peace.

On the way back, the setting sun was slowly sinking, bathing the ruins in a warm orange-red hue. In the direction of the outpost, wisps of smoke could be faintly seen; Suya and the women were preparing dinner, presumably using freshly fetched clean water.

Lin Ye leaned against Li Hu's broad back, smelling the faint scent of cooking in the air, and suddenly smiled.

The flames in the furnace will eventually go out, leaving only embers. But as long as someone remembers to add fuel, as long as there are still embers to burn, new flames will always be ignited.

Just like the land beneath their feet, even if it is stained with blood and flames, as long as there are people willing to cultivate it and protect it, new life will always break through the soil, grow stubbornly in the sunlight.

The outline of the outpost became clearer and clearer. Lin Ye could almost see the rice seedlings in the fields, the reinforced iron walls, and the children laughing around the campfire.

He closed his eyes, letting the turbulent rhythm lull him into a light sleep. In his dream, there was clear spring water, sturdy iron walls, and an endless expanse of lush green rice paddies.