The Salty Nut felt lighter, but the air around it had grown thick and electric. With the Eternal Heart secured in Xin’s pack, the ship was no longer just a vessel; it was a target. They had barely cleared the sinking lagoon of the glass cathedral when the horizon was blotted out by a fleet of low-profile, black-sailed raiders. These were the Steel-Hunters, scavengers who lived on the edge of the 100th Earth, led by a man known only as Vane.
"They aren't firing cannons," Mei said, her eyes glued to the brass telescope. "They’re launching harpoons. Xin, they don't want to sink us. They want to board us and take the Heart."
"They can try," Xin said, tightening the straps on his pack. He felt the Level 19 power humming in his blood, a heavy, grounded strength that made the wooden deck feel
