Chapter Seven: Ethereal Energy! Looking to the

Based on the information Soma had gathered so far, after killing monsters in the wild, the lowest yield would be a wooden treasure chest, followed by iron, bronze, and so on.

Many speculated that there were silver, gold, and diamond treasure chests after that, but according to the news from yesterday, the best treasure chest opened was only a bronze chest.

Including this monster guide, it was a good item that Chen Pingan had opened from a bronze chest.

"Silver treasure chest, silver treasure chest, oh my dear heart!"

Licking his dry lips, Soma, lying on the sandy ground, felt as if he had just drunk a bottle of ice-cold cola on a hot summer day; the only two words that could describe him were—refreshing!

Picking up the cypress wood spear, Soma cautiously approached, stored the silver treasure chest, and quickly returned along the path he came.

The monster guide has three usage opportunities each day, and since he had already used the last one to kill the chameleon, he couldn't afford to be careless now.

He returned to the base safely, locked the wooden door, and sat at the small table, taking out the silver treasure chest.

The chest was entirely silver, shimmering with an enchanting silver light, and with each breath, it seemed to have a deadly magic, urging one to open it.

"Open the silver treasure chest."

As Soma's voice fell, the chest began to emit light, and soon there were sounds like dice being rolled.

[Record]: You have opened the silver treasure chest.

[Record]: You have obtained Ethereal Energy *1.

[Record]: You have obtained an Unknown Pet Egg *1.

[Record]: You have obtained a Design Blueprint for an Energy Bicycle *1.

[Record]: You have obtained 500ml of Mineral Water *2.

[Record]: You have obtained 5kg of Bread.

"I've struck gold! This is a huge windfall!"

Looking at the five items of various shapes in his inventory, Soma felt a surge of excitement, wishing he could rush out and find another chameleon to battle for three hundred rounds.

Taking out the three items except for food and water, he placed them on the table and focused his gaze.

[Ethereal Energy]: One of the top clean energy sources, with incredible effects, requires corresponding blueprints for use.

[Unknown Pet Egg]: Dropping player blood on the eggshell will hatch an unknown pet.

[Energy Bicycle Design Blueprint]: Can be powered by any energy source, including but not limited to food, wood, gasoline, diesel, ethereal energy…

"Is this really the ethereal energy that countless scientists on Earth have tirelessly researched?"

Playing with the energy block in his hand, which was about the size of a peach, Soma suddenly gained a deeper understanding of this world.

As a top-tier clean energy source, Earth scientists not only proposed the application range of ethereal energy but also pointed out its immense potential.

Anything powered by ethereal energy is akin to being enchanted; it can derive some effects that are difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.

Although what that effect is remains unknown, at the very least, it represents a prototype for future technological development.

Unfortunately, even before the apocalypse, this concept had remained locked away in top-secret laboratories, with formulas scribbled on paper dozens of meters high.

If the application of ethereal energy is indeed as described in Earth's scientific research, wouldn't that mean…

Thinking of this, Soma focused his attention and called upon the system to view the overall situation of the shelter.

[Personal Shelter]

Owner: Soma

Space: 100㎡

Completeness: 100%

Facilities: Wooden bed, wooden chair, wooden table, mini well water extractor.

Description: A generally simple shelter with basic survival facilities; food is currently your most urgent issue.

Upgrade Option One: Ethereal Energy Shelter?????, requires survival points (5,000,000).

"There's really an upgrade option, but it requires a whopping 500,000 survival points, or I can provide 5,000 ethereal energy crystals…"

Soma couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

To know that when he first detected the upgrade, the shelter didn't even have an upgrade option.

Now, with ethereal energy crystals in hand, the upgrade direction for the shelter appeared directly.

Considering the developmental potential of ethereal energy, once evolved into an ethereal energy shelter, it would be akin to the shelter transforming into something biological, possessing terrifying disaster resistance.

Even in the future, upgrading to an interstellar shelter would make it possible to bathe in the sun without issue.

Of course, discussing such distant possibilities now is premature.

So Soma shifted his focus to the only gold mine available at the moment—the well water extractor.

[Mini Well Water Extractor (Normal)]

Current Efficiency: 2000ml/day

Upgrade Option One: Upgrade well material, add sealing and purification functions, greatly extend the freshness time of drinking water; upgrade consumes survival points (200).

Upgrade Option Two: Deepen the well pit, enhance water extraction efficiency; upgrade consumes survival points (300).

Upgrade Option Three: Evolve towards ethereal energy, significantly increase water production efficiency, enhance purification efficiency; long-term consumption of drinking water has a very small chance of physical enhancement; upgrade consumes survival points (1080).

Evaluation: Essential for wilderness survival!

"That's so expensive?"

Soma was taken aback but quickly realized that materials had not yet been input.

When he put in one unit of ethereal energy crystals, the consumption immediately dropped to 70 points, and most of the remaining materials were names Soma had never heard of.

After searching, he found that there were currently no such materials available in the trading market.

"Choose Upgrade Option Three!"

With 88 survival points remaining, it was more than enough for the upgrade, and as the current treasure trove, upgrading this was definitely a priority.

In an instant, the ethereal energy crystal in his hand began to disappear, and the next second, a deep blue light illuminated the well.

In the following moment, the wellhead underwent a tremendous transformation.

From its original grayish-blue stone color, it changed to a mix of blue and black, and the material looked significantly different.

[Ethereal Well Water Extractor (Excellent)]

Current Efficiency: 7200ml/day (300ml/hour)

Upgrade Option One: Quality (3000), Efficiency (500), Low-Temperature Resistance (200), Water Quality (5000)…

Soma pulled up the water from the well.

The originally clear well water now had visible blue specks of light.

Even the description had changed to:

[Ethereal Water]: Has a slight healing effect; long-term consumption can enhance physical condition.

After trying a sip, Soma was pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the properties changed, but even the taste was vastly different.

Ordinary water could taste as rich as Maotai from Earth.

A hint of sweetness blossomed on his tongue, fragrant in his mouth, and his slightly inflamed throat felt much more comfortable under the caress of the ethereal water.

"Indeed, the addition of ethereal energy adds a touch of mystery to science, and with an hourly production of 300ml, this is taking off!"

After placing the bucket down to collect, Soma examined the two items and stored them away.

While the drinking issue was resolved, food still lacked a good source; if he opened a small creature, that would be fine, but if it turned out to be a large pet that required dozens of pounds of food every day, he couldn't afford to keep it.

As for the energy bicycle, although there was a design blueprint, Soma glanced at the complex material requirements and immediately abandoned the idea of crafting it.

Although it would be useful, even putting in one unit of wood could convert into power.

But it involved material conversion technology, which was still too complicated.

"The immediate priority is to secure the base and ventilation issues; it would be best to solve drainage as well."

With a firm decision, Soma began planning the transformation of the base under the firelight.

The two bottles of 500ml water opened from the silver treasure chest proved that drinking water still held significant purchasing power.

So directly utilizing ethereal water to procure supplies and rapidly develop the base was indeed a good route.