Chapter 81: Blueprint of the 120mm Towed Artillery Assembly

“Master, the green mist is now 180 meters away.”

Lin Mu was taken aback.

“What did you say? Aren’t our lights on?”

Wasn’t it supposed to be 200 meters? How is it only 180 now?

“The intensity of the green mist has increased.”

Damn!

This is ridiculous. If it retreats by 20 meters the first day, that’s 140 meters over seven days. That would leave only 70 meters for the safe zone.

Lin Mu tapped on the steering wheel, feeling uneasy about the diminishing safety.

He quickly opened the panel.

“Panel, I clearly have dispersal tools—why can the mist still approach?”

[Rest assured, player, this is normal. To motivate players to upgrade, we have intentionally strengthened the green mist. Please enjoy the game.]

Normal? Upgrade? Enjoy?

Are you sure you’re not using the wrong words?

No one could possibly enjoy this.

Lin Mu switched to the regional channel and pondered for a moment.

“Has anyone noticed the mist is getting closer?”

“Hah, closer? It’s practically right in front of me—just two meters from both sides of my car.”

“Two meters? That’s lucky. Mine’s less than a meter. Only the headlights can push it back by three or four meters—I don’t dare drive fast.”

“…”

The furthest distance was about four or five meters. The closest, barely half a meter.

Yesterday, they’d had more than ten meters of clearance.

By tomorrow, it seemed, they’d spend the whole day inside the toxic fog.

The gas itself wasn’t terrifying. As long as you wore the protective gear, there was no real danger.

But the green mist wasn’t empty—it contained those creatures.

Their attacks were truly deadly.

If only his modification skills could be applied to other vehicles. Unfortunately, binding to a new car had a seven-day cooldown. Otherwise, he would have re-bound and modified another vehicle.

Compared to others crawling along blind, his speed was nearly soaring.

The convoy hadn’t dropped below eighty the whole way.

Only at intersections did they pause.

Two hours later, they encountered the first resource box.

[Congratulations on opening a silver resource box: Braised Beef Noodles x105, Antidote x63, Gasoline 2100L]

Lin Mu shook his head. So much less than before—what a loss.

[Congratulations on opening a gold resource box: Powered Shield x21, Warning Device Blueprint (A) x21, Gasoline 2100L, Mithril Ingot x210]

Hmm?

Something new again.

[Powered Shield]: When activated, generates a shield with 1000 defense.

[Warning Device Blueprint (A)]: Simple warning device, can alert to anomalies within a 10-kilometer radius.

Useful, perhaps, yet perhaps not.

His vehicle didn’t need shields, but others certainly did.

At least, facing last night’s situation, these would have been protective.

He hoped for more.

As for the warning device, it was utterly useless in this disaster.

As Lin Mu drove further, other vehicles fell into the encroaching mist.

Surrounded by fog, fear gripped everyone.

They dreaded unknown creatures emerging.

Lin Mu continued opening boxes along the way, gathering resources.

Yellow talismans, cinnabar, energy shields became the main loot.

Watching the growing stash of talismans and cinnabar, Lin Mu wondered if there might actually be zombies.

After all, zombies were poisonous, too.

[Congratulations on opening a diamond resource box: Powered Shield x105, Traction 120 Cannon Component Blueprint (SS) x21, Gasoline 10500L]

Wait!

What is this?

Lin Mu knew diamond boxes were good, but this was exceptional.

Traction cannons—now that’s surprising!

He sucked in a breath.

This certainly wasn’t for immediate use; those creatures were agile, and cannons wouldn’t help.

The only explanation: this would be needed later.

Damn!

What sort of catastrophe was coming next?

He immediately set the traction cannon to permanent, then tossed the remaining blueprints into the recycling bin.

Lin Mu spent another hour scavenging boxes nearby before returning to the convoy.

Meanwhile, the others were nearly suffering claustrophobia.

“Report! My oxygen tank is almost empty.”

“Report, mine too.”

“…”

Five voices in succession.

Lin Mu winced; what had they done with their oxygen tanks? Didn’t they just replace them this morning? How could they already be empty?

Still, needs must; he sent oxygen tanks to his teammates via the convoy’s built-in system.

After all, these people were his assets—nothing could go wrong.

Tonight, he’d try out the shield.

Altogether, they encountered six waves of resource boxes today.

And among them, all sorts of toxic creatures.

Even the geese they met were poisonous—absurd.

At eight that evening, the convoy stopped.

“Everyone gets two shields. When you sleep, remember to activate one. Don’t say I didn’t protect you—stay alert.”

“Roger!”

“Thanks, boss.”

“Thank you, big brother.”

“…”

Lin Mu considered and decided to assemble a warning device.

Though it only covered five kilometers, it was better than nothing.

Once finished, Lin Mu activated it, and the panel displayed a map.

At the center was his convoy, little cars drawn on it.

A highway ran through the middle, with a white circle at the center and green all around.

He dragged the warning device’s circle to envelop the vehicles.

As he confirmed, little iron rods with flashing red lights appeared in the mist, embedded in the earth.

Thin wires connected the rods.

That was the warning system—judging intrusions by these lines.

After setting it up, he distributed bread and a bottle of water to each person.

He didn’t care for bread, and had plenty of water.

He didn’t want to waste resources.

He grabbed a piece of steak and tossed it to 001: “I don’t want grilled steak—give me braised beef over rice.”

“Yes, master.”

001 went to work, while Lin Mu fetched a chilled soda from the fridge and lounged on the sofa.

That’s right; after the others left, Lin Mu had remodeled the rear into a living room.

As for Wang Changjun, he was locked up on the third floor by Lin Mu.

There, he had facilities to bathe, use the restroom, and sleep.

Perhaps, for him, this life was better than the freedom enjoyed by Jiang Ying and the others.

Lin Mu sipped his cold soda and opened the regional channel.

Originally, Shuxin handled this, but unfortunately…

Lin Mu shook his head—such a good helper, but fate was cruel.

[Zone 62]—126,000 people.

Not many deaths.

But Lin Mu knew, if deaths weren’t high by midnight, then they truly weren’t high.

“No more words—tonight at twelve I’m staying awake!”

“Don’t say you’re staying up; our whole convoy won’t sleep. Last night, we lost twelve vehicles!”