Chapter 58: Battle for the Vehicle Core – What a Place!

For three uneventful days, nothing happened except opening box after box. As for vehicles, he didn’t encounter a single one.

It was Saturday, the penultimate day. Lin Mu woke up early and sat in the driver’s seat. If he could just make it through these last two days, this so-called hell of scorching heat would be over.

He opened the control panel, and a message popped up:
[Vehicle tires require repair.]

Switching to the vehicle info tab, he saw a cross-section of the car—the four tires had all turned red, indicating they were on the verge of failure.

Using four pieces of rubber, Lin Mu repaired the tires. He couldn’t help but complain, “So vehicle modifications don’t even include tires? You just want me to spend more materials, don’t you?”

Then he glanced at the nearly five hundred bars of mithril in his backpack—there seemed to be plenty. Modifying the tires had only cost him one mithril bar and one lava stone, which was really minimal.

He checked the temperature in the corner of the screen.
Outside: 85 degrees Celsius.
Inside: 23 degrees Celsius.

The car’s air conditioning had been running non-stop. Actually, even if he turned it off, the temperature would only rise to thirty degrees, which was still manageable. But since he had so much gasoline, why not use it?

By now, he had over 10,000 liters of gasoline, filling eleven slots.

After tossing some food to 001, Lin Mu opened the regional channel:
[Region 562] — Population: 32,832

Meanwhile, the world channel’s population had dropped to just over a billion. Another half of the people had disappeared. And that was in less than a month. If things continued like this, Lin Mu doubted there would even be ten thousand left in the end.

The odds of dying were just too high. Recently, most deaths were due to dehydration.

“I can’t take it anymore, the temperature inside my car has reached forty-two degrees—I feel like I’m dying.”

“It’s not just you, mine’s at thirty-eight.”

“Your vehicle levels are too low. Level four vehicles won’t go above thirty-six degrees inside, even with the AC off. Just hang in there.”

“It’s not like I don’t want to upgrade. Vehicle cores are too hard to get. It’s been nineteen days and I haven’t seen a single car.”

“...”

Reading the messages in the chat, Lin Mu shook his head. For those who never encountered another vehicle, you could say they were lucky—no external threats. But they couldn’t even upgrade their vehicle cores. All it took was a level one core, and yet some had never even seen another car—how absurd was that?

After breakfast was ready, everyone came downstairs.

Two more days passed, and Shu Xin and Shu Yi had grown accustomed to this new way of life.

“Mm... Only two days left. I wonder what’s coming next,” Jiang Ying mumbled, her mouth full of food.

“Can’t you chew before you talk? Now you’re spitting food everywhere,” Lin Mu frowned, eyeing a bit of steamed bun on the table.

Jiang Ying quickly apologized. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, picking it up and popping it in her mouth.

“Lin Mu, what do you think will come next week?” the chubby boy asked curiously.

“What? Of course it’s rest, isn’t that obvious?”

Everyone twitched at the corners of their eyes. That did make sense! But it wasn’t really what they wanted to ask.

“Brother Mu, don’t you have any guesses?” someone pressed.

Lin Mu glanced at the antidote injectors, gas masks, and protective suits they’d recently acquired. “Most likely something to do with poison. Whether it’s toxic fog, gas, or rain, I’m not sure.”

Shu Yi nodded—she’d also thought of the items they’d gotten from the boxes. It seemed very likely.

Thinking of those things, Lin Mu couldn’t help but look at Shu Xin. She’d opened so many boxes full of good stuff. He couldn’t help but wonder if Shu Xin had some kind of hidden ability. Yet she clearly didn’t.

Unfortunately, the vehicle collector’s control couldn’t be delegated to Shu Xin right now; otherwise, he’d definitely hand it over. That would take his resources up another notch.

“Master, the sun-protection suits are sold out.”

“Alright, I see.”

Lin Mu finished his meal quickly and hurried back to the driver’s seat. He crafted a hundred new sets at the workbench right away and put them up for exchange, asking for basic materials and antidotes.

Whether it was oxygen tanks or gas masks, both required antidote as a material. He’d always assumed the antidote was just for injections—he hadn’t expected it to be a basic component as well.

Once he’d finished, Lin Mu started the vehicle. It was the sixth day; the first resource box was five hundred kilometers away, and time was of the essence. As for Shu Yi, he’d have her take the wheel once they arrived.

He’d only discovered yesterday that the convoy didn’t have to keep moving. As long as there was a vehicle present before opening a box, it counted. That’s why Lin Mu wanted to gather more vehicles and people, but so far, he hadn’t had the chance.

The others sat together in the back, chatting.

Of course, the chubby boy wasn’t really part of the conversation. He didn’t mind; surrounded by women, he never knew what to say anyway. He just sat by himself, gazing out the window. But there was nothing to see outside except lava, and after a while, even that lost its novelty.

Before long, Lin Mu reached the first lava pool town.

“We’re here, Shu Yi, get ready—”

Buzz!

[Congratulations to the anonymous player for activating the 24-hour Vehicle Core Capture Event. There is no danger during the event; players may participate with confidence.]

[Reminder: Watch your teammates.]

“...”

Lin Mu stared at the little town up ahead, momentarily at a loss for words. Couldn’t they have waited until he’d collected the resource box first?

As for the claim that there was no danger, he didn’t believe it for a second. If there wasn’t any danger, that would be the real surprise.

Bathed in a flash of white light, Lin Mu leaned back in his seat and calmly put on his sunglasses—he was used to this sort of thing by now. The five people behind him all closed their eyes.

A few minutes later, the light faded, and Lin Mu surveyed his surroundings. Was there truly no danger?

The vehicle was now parked in a forest; the asphalt road was gone, replaced by a faintly pressed trail.

He checked the thermometer.

Outside: 22 degrees Celsius.
Inside: 23 degrees Celsius.

Lin Mu immediately turned off the air conditioning.

“Wow, look! Wild boars—if we kill one, do we get pork?”

They’d nearly run out of meat, and recent meals had been far less hearty.

“If you want to eat, go get it,” Lin Mu said, rubbing his chin as he looked out the window.

Shu Xin agreed and started to open the car door. Jiang Ying immediately jumped out, but Shu Xin hesitated.

Something wasn’t right. Definitely not right.

Jiang Ying had already walked five or six meters away. When she didn’t hear any other footsteps, she turned around.

“Weren’t we going to hunt wild boar? Why isn’t anyone else getting out?”