wasteland 4
Chapter 56: The City Wall is Complete, Exclusive Territory!
Otherworld Calendar, Day Ten.
Lin Yue woke up naturally this time.
Stretching with a big yawn, he nudged Bai who was still fast asleep.
Bai half-opened and half-closed his eyes, groggily stood up, and then flopped back onto the space cotton pillow.
Lin Yue nudged him again, and the little guy made a "pji" sound, rolled over on the bed, seemingly unwilling to get up.
Yesterday, after drinking a cup of cola, this little guy burped while falling asleep, seeming quite satisfied.
This creature's lifestyle is even better than that of most survivors.
There's meat to eat, a bed to sleep on, and cola to drink.
I wonder what people in the group would say if they see Bai enjoying this?
"Bai, time to get up and work." Lin Yue pulled him up again.
Thud, the little guy stood up and threw himself onto the cooling mat again.
Goodness, not only is he a foodie, but he also loves lazing around.
Lin Yue shook his head and took out a skewer of lamb meat, which made the little guy immediately perk up.
"Pji!"
"First go outside with me and stand guard, then we'll talk about food, you little snack monster." Lin Yue put the lamb skewer back into the storage space; since time stopped inside, he didn't worry about it cooling down, though Bai seemed to prefer eating cold stuff?
Bai looked at Lin Yue pitifully, trying to act cute.
But Lin Yue didn't fall for that, feeling sorry for him this time means he won't in the future; he can't spoil him.
However, just before heading out the door, Lin Yue remembered something.
"Wait, didn't it say the points update daily?"
Lin Yue remembered the system announcement clearly; points have to be updated daily, allowing exchanges in the mall.
Well, shall we see?
[Day Nine]
[You have a sturdy shelter equipped with stone and iron cellars, with a total area of 120 square meters, Survival Points +490]
[You have stockpiled a large amount of drinking water and food, so you won't be defeated by these simple difficulties in the otherworld, Survival Points +277]
[Your quality of life continues to improve with every treasure chest opened, keeping your mood always pleasant, Survival Points +55]
[You have the most materials of any group, making your life more convenient, Survival Points +318]
[You have a reliable companion, even though it's a mutant creature, it evolved to make exploring the otherworld less difficult for you. Survival Points +85]
[You explored the Secret Realm, gained a lot of resources, killed monsters, and left safely. Survival Points +133]
[You have received considerable attention, Survival Points +120]
[...]
[Daily Survival Point Settlement Successful: Survival Points +1478]
[Total Survival Points: 1698]
Lin Yue: ???
What's going on?
So many Survival Points at once?
Back during the first settlement, weren't the disaster resistance points only 1095?
This was unexpected for Lin Yue.
However, a substantial income of Survival Points seems like he can buy more stuff now?
Besides, he doesn't want to show off in front of everyone or have thousands revering him.
Rather, he wants to quietly develop by himself.
"Pji?"
Bai suddenly called out, bringing Lin Yue back to his senses.
"Bai, let's go handle the important tasks first, then we can eat!"
Outside is still peaceful, seemingly without anything happening.
"Goo-oh-oh-oh!"
Goodness, just after saying nothing's happening, they heard the unique calls of the Mutant Sheep.
But these were screams of pain.
Following the sound, he found two dying Mutant Sheep trapped, though weak, lying there wailing, really not worth mentioning. Even Bai ignored them.
With the iron spear, Lin Yue swiftly dispatched them, yielding two Copper Treasure Chests as he wished.
Of course, the mutton, sheepskin, and tusks were also collected—these were great returns for free.
After tidying up a bit, leaving Bai to watch the surroundings, Lin Yue started constructing the stone wall.
While stone walls appear difficult to construct, building them by oneself is quite challenging. But now, with blueprints, it's much simpler, storing adequate stone materials in the storage space is followed by a monotonous circling process along the marks.
Numerous over three-meter-high stone walls straightened in the desert, continuously connecting under Lin Yue's control.
Soon, an impressive circular stone wall took shape!
"Finally, it's completed!"
In just half an hour, Lin Yue could finally lean against the iron spear, looking at his masterpiece with satisfaction.
Now, centered on the shelter's house, a roughly fifty-meter radius has appeared with a solid wall completely surrounding it.
Within this spacious area of nearly eight thousand square meters, the walls will prevent any large mutant creatures from freely intruding!
Lin Yue was quite emotional; this is the absolute territory solely belonging to him in the desert!
A strong sense of accomplishment blossomed in Lin Yue's mind in that instant.
Territory!
Territory in the otherworld!
He wasn't sure if his walls were the first in the otherworld, but to him, this was a significant step forward.
He used to merely rent a cramped single room less than ten square meters far from the city center, but now he has eight thousand square meters just for himself, a difference that provides a unique sensation of satisfaction.
Who wouldn't want their own piece of such territory?
Now, he has successfully become a lord!
"Pji~" Bai had loyally stood guard for half an hour, willing to complete the tasks Lin Yue assigned even while hungry.
This little guy is not only a key player in battles but can also assist nearby and stand guard for safety—a truly versatile assistant!
"Haha, I'll cook your favorite instant noodles, maybe try fried sauce noodles this time?"
"Pji!"
Starting a fire for cooking had become second nature, Lin Yue set up firewood, lit it, placed a pot on it, and poured in plenty of water.
Afterwards, he took out the cured meat they got earlier and sliced it, adding instant noodles to the pot, completing in one fluid motion.
Three minutes later, when the noodles had softened, a tempting fragrance was released.
The sauce-flavored instant noodles, garnished with cured meat aroma, made one's mouth water!
"Eating dry noodles, drinking soup—this is quite a blissful thing indeed."
After completing breakfast, Lin Yue gazed at the large contraption that hadn't moved at all.
"Next, should begin the farmer lifestyle formally from now on?"
...Chapter 57 This won't do, we have to...
The scorching sun was high in the sky, and Lin Yue was full of energy as he worked with the Soilless Cultivation Kit.
The Soilless Cultivation Kit covered fifty square meters, actually quite large, and came with a considerable amount of nutrient solution, spiral tubes, and sponges, among other things.
Taking them out of the plastic bags one by one, then assembling and configuring them, took quite a bit of time.
Fortunately, this thing mainly requires a lot of water; afterward, not much needs to be done.
"One unit requires two liters of water; one unit is one square meter and can be used for twenty days... Goodness, is a hundred liters of water for twenty days feasible?"
Even if he used all the water he had, it still was not enough.
However, thinking of the generous return this thing would provide later, it was not a big deal.
Moreover, water was rather easy for him to obtain.
As long as he wasn't bothered by the trouble of killing bugs.
Lin Yue scattered the leek seeds, along with the radish and bok choy seeds, onto the cultivation trays, and he looked at the expansive ground, focusing his gaze on the small greenhouse made of plastic, which he had never used.
Since he was going to start planting, he might as well do it all at once, otherwise who knows when he'd get around to it again.
Lin Yue also had procrastination, but he didn't want procrastination to put him at a disadvantage later on.
Furthermore, tonight in the midnight hours, another disaster forecast would be released.
If by then he was scrambling to prepare for the second disaster, it would be too late to get many things ready.
Lin Yue chose a simple plastic greenhouse, and soon the system delivered a notification sound.
[Plastic Greenhouse (Small), Area: 8X30 meters, Please select a location, areas where construction is impossible will be marked in red]
Hmm? This seems a bit more advanced than before?
Lin Yue selected and quickly found a spot without any red markings.
He also realized that areas that were not quite level would be marked red by the system. Too high or too low affected the greenhouse's construction.
[You have established a Plastic Greenhouse (Small)]
With the system's reminder, a thirty-meter-long and eight-meter-wide plastic greenhouse quickly appeared before Lin Yue's eyes!
The greenhouse had a metal structure, and the plastic film was quite transparent. Upon entering, Lin Yue immediately felt a wave of sweltering heat rush upon him.
The greenhouse was about three meters high, with excellent transparency, and the temperature inside was indeed quite hot and humid. Lin Yue couldn't tolerate it for long; he stayed only a little while before quickly leaving.
However, this temperature was quite suitable for cultivating crops.
So, what should he plant, and how should he plant it?
Clearing a piece of land directly on this desert was not a very good option, Lin Yue thought.
The snow walls from the previous snow disaster had all melted, and the snow water had been absorbed into the arid soil.
That snow water had certain corrosive properties; Lin Yue had experienced this himself, and those whose avatars had turned gray had proven the terrifying nature of such melted water with their lives.
He wasn't foolish enough to plant vegetables in the soil here.
Vegetables need to root down to absorb trace elements from the soil, and if he ended up eating vegetables grown in this soil...
Lin Yue felt that this approach was not workable.
"Looks like I need to change the soil in the greenhouse; either construct large wooden troughs or find plastic sheets, lay them on the existing soil and dig holes..."
He thought about it; the second method was not worth pursuing, as digging holes and finding plastic sheets would be too troublesome and laborious.
Lin Yue crafted a large number of wooden boards with timber, then used an iron saw to cut them to suitable sizes, connecting them with nails using a hammer...
[You have obtained a Wooden Planting Box design blueprint]
Indeed, he had to take advantage of the system's convenience and find some shortcuts.
Otherwise, working blindly would only tire him out.
[Wooden Planting Box: Timber X2, Iron Block X1]
Timber and iron blocks were readily available; Lin Yue immediately started crafting.
The Wooden Planting Box he made was indeed better looking, more attractive, and sturdier than the one he made himself, each being about half a meter long and wide, and roughly half a meter high.
After making fifty of them outside, Lin Yue placed them one by one inside the greenhouse, yet even after all were arranged, the inside of the greenhouse still felt quite empty.
However, the journey was step-by-step, and Lin Yue had no capability to immediately achieve everything.
Bringing over the two bags of 30L nutrient soil obtained earlier, Lin Yue emptied one bag into the boxes.
Hmm? Why... so little?
Pouring the second bag, there still seemed to be a shortage?
After a simple calculation, Lin Yue slapped his forehead.
Good grief, the volume formula for a rectangular prism is length X width X height, and these planting boxes would require 125 liters of soil to fill!
No wonder the soil piled up to only halfway.
So where can he obtain more nutrient soil?
Survival Points Mall!
[Humus Nutrient Soil 100L: 100 survival points]
Not cheap...
What about the trading mall?
Browsing around, he found that someone was indeed selling.
[Seller: Cork Brown]
[For Sale: Humus Nutrient Soil 50L in three bags]
[Required: Design blueprint or others]
[Seller's Note: This stuff grows vegetables! You guys wouldn't not know, right?]
Oh, isn't this Cork "Self-Strategy" Brown, the familiar second place on the leaderboard?
Lin Yue immediately initiated a private chat with him.
"Do you need water or food?"
The reply came almost instantly.
"Lin! I don't lack water or food; what I lack is...you know, that red thing that makes people feel blissful."
Lin Yue understood perfectly.
Offered 100 milliliters of wine.
"Oh, my favorite! But this is a bit too little, Lin."
"Oh."
Without much hesitation, Lin Yue closed the system panel.
Go ahead with your self-strategy, sir.
"Pooji?" Bai noticed the smile on Lin Yue's face, not knowing what had happened. It had just hopped onto the stone wall, climbing around joyfully, seemingly tirelessly navigating a full circle.
"Bai, watch the house; I'm off to snag some good stuff first."
The good stuff Lin Yue wanted was naturally the Wooden Treasure Chest.
Since he had decided to farm, he had to pay more attention to farming and get more water.
Quickly, he began his hunting mode in the nearby area.
Time flew by during this process.
Unable to go to the Secret Realm, Lin Yue focused all his thoughts on hunting.
And...
"The 72nd chest already? It seems these mutant creatures really are quite a lot." After obtaining a large amount of water and food, Lin Yue opened a bottle of purified water and twisted the cap.
The cool water flowed down his throat, providing ample refreshment.
In this moment of rest, Cork Brown had already completed his self-strategy.
[You lost 100 milliliters of wine]
[You gained 50 liters of humus nutrient soil X3]
And as Lin Yue browsed the trading mall again, he suddenly saw that someone was selling something he had always wanted!
"What's going on? Did they find it or did it come from Secret Realm..."
Chapter 58: Obtaining Crossbow Arrows, Assembling a Deadly Long-Range Weapon!
At this moment, in front of Lin Yue, the trading mall on the game panel caught all his attention with its list of goods.
[Seller: Guo Lei]
[Item: Hard Aluminum Alloy X7]
[Required: First Aid Supplies]
[Seller's Remark: No matter who you are, I need medicine. This is the only valuable thing I can offer. Private message me!]
The words "Hard Aluminum Alloy" naturally excited Lin Yue.
After all, this is the essential material for creating the "simple exoskeleton," on which there had been little progress!
The simple exoskeleton requires 10 pieces of hard aluminum alloy, and this person unexpectedly managed to produce 7 pieces, aiming straightforwardly for medicines...
It seems that he was injured, or perhaps a family member who arrived later was injured?
Lin Yue took out the "Emergency First Aid Kit" he had obtained earlier.
Inside were painkillers, anti-diarrheal medicine, iodine, bandages, adhesive bandages, anesthetics, and adrenaline.
Each of these is crucial in this apocalyptic world.
Over the past ten days, Lin Yue hadn't used anything from here because, in the Otherworld, even if there were extremely skilled doctors, there were no corresponding various instruments and medicines.
Of course, even if they were available, the vast distances separating them rendered help impossible.
Guo Lei's situation is a very real reflection of this.
If truly hurt or injured, one can only grit their teeth and endure.
Or simply wait to die.
Looking at the upper right corner of the group chat, only 8192 people remained.
Perhaps many among them died from being too weak after leaving lifesaving medical devices.
Reading the comments below this person's goods, many expressed sympathy, some doctors asked questions, but there were also those who gloated.
Some also doubted whether there was any medicine in this world.
Seeing the name and avatar, he was obviously from Tang Country, which added some bonus points in Lin Yue's mind.
After all, medicine was rare, wouldn't it be better used on oneself?
He opened a private chat.
"What medicine do you need?"
The reply came almost instantly: "Lin, Lin God!"
"Just tell me exactly what medicine you need; furthermore, I don't really like this nickname."
Lin Yue had long wanted to say it. Whoever came up with such a tacky name, it sounded rather unpleasant.
"Uh, to be honest, Lin Yue, I'm in a bit of a pinch here. My brother ate a piece of bread that I'd left out for too long, and now he's having terrible diarrhea, almost to the point of collapse! He hasn't improved in two days, and he's been squatting all day today. Do you have any Coptis root or anything like that?"
Diarrhea?
Bad food causing diarrhea and dehydration.
If there isn't any effective medicine, he definitely won't be able to survive for long in this Otherworld.
Diarrhea is a minor illness, but untreated, it's deadly!
Lin Yue looked at the emergency medicine box; he happened to have just what was needed.
"One anti-diarrheal pill, let's trade."
"You have anti-diarrheal medicine? A Tang Country person wouldn't trick a Tang Country person, repeat that!"
"I have it; just let me know if you want it or not."
"One pill... Can I have two pills for an addition of 5 pieces of hard aluminum alloy?"
Add another 5!
A total of 12 hard aluminum alloy, directly fulfilling all the requirements for the exoskeleton, with two pieces left over...
However...
"I want to add a condition." Lin Yue thought for a moment and replied, "Tell me where you got this information."
On Guo Lei's side of the screen, he hesitated.
Information is a very important asset at any time.
Especially in this Otherworld.
But now, Guo Lei had no choice; moreover, even if he told Lin Yue, it shouldn't matter much, right?
"Okay, I'll give you the information after a successful trade for two anti-diarrheal pills."
After replying, he immediately changed the trade item to Hard Aluminum Alloy X12.
Lin Yue promptly handed over two anti-diarrheal pills; he still had 28 pills, not an urgent resource for now.
Moreover, he could get more later.
[You lost Anti-diarrheal Pill X2]
[You obtained Hard Aluminum Alloy X12]
The remaining task was Guo Lei's information.
He wasn't worried that Guo Lei wouldn't disclose the information, as failing to do so would land him on Lin Yue's blacklist.
Lin Yue had many items now that were unique treasures not owned by anyone in the group.
For example, wine, medicine, and future vegetables.
"Lin Yue, I just gave my brother the medicine; it's such a quick fix!"
"Get to the point."
"Uh, actually, I got it in the Secret Realm. How could it be? I told my family, but they didn't believe me. It turned out to be a red and white iron tower. Do you know Tokyo Tower? Near there! Yesterday, I struck lucky and found a whole warehouse. Then I heard a scream outside, grabbed this much, or else..."
The rest weren't particularly important.
But Lin Yue had obtained a significant piece of information!
"Even Guo Lei's Secret Realm near his shelter is located near Tokyo Tower? It can't be such a coincidence..."
Originally, Lin Yue subconsciously assumed that with so many survivors left, the system would connect the Secret Realm Gates across different places on Earth.
But within just over a day, Lin Yue encountered a group of wandering survivors and today obtained information from Guo Lei that the Ancient Secret Realm Gate was also Tokyo Tower!
Is this a coincidence, or...?
He stood up again and walked into the shelter's walls.
"Squawk! Squawk!" Bai was evidently hungry, circling around Lin Yue.
Just now, Bai had also killed quite a number of mutated creatures and remained loyal to duty.
After its evolution, Bai was visibly stronger than before. He took the last piece of chocolate bar from the Storage Space and tossed it to Bai before taking a ladder to climb onto the wall.
A light wind rustled the sparse grass in the desert, reflected in Lin Yue's eyes the Ancient Secret Realm Gate covered in vines.
Yesterday, he almost couldn't return from the other side of that gate.
Although opportunity always comes with challenges, he couldn't guarantee he could defeat two Monster Winged Dragons next time.
Furthermore, there may be far more Monster Winged Dragons there than imagined!
It's still necessary to enhance his combat power first!
Luckily, today marked the first step forward; the exoskeleton now possessed the hardest-to-find component; the others shouldn't be far off.
Speaking of...
Is anyone selling crossbow arrow designs?
Crossbow arrows are crucial, but not exactly high-tech. They're just wooden shafts and metal arrowheads; tail feathers aren't really vital.
Before in the Secret Realm, he hadn't seen Korun's crossbow arrows with feathers.
Checked around, but truly nothing.
Looks like he'll have to buy it from the Survival Points Mall.
[Crossbow Arrow Design: 220 Survival Points]
Wow, there it is!
And it only takes a mere 220 Survival Points!
Click, purchase!
[You lost 220 Survival Points, remaining Survival Points 1325]
[You obtained: Crossbow Arrow Design]
Lin Yue became excited.
Crossbow arrows obtained, then...
He picked up the Steel Repeating Crossbow, aimed at the distant black spot, which was a striped hunting deer.
Coming down off the walls, Lin Yue turned to Bai who had waited for a long time: "Bai, fancy some hunting, the easy kind?"
"Squawk!"
...Chapter 59: Hunters Never Go Empty-Handed!
The gentle breeze rustled the sparse wild grass in the desert.
Lin Yue and Bai were hiding amidst a tall cluster of wild grass, waiting for the tiger-striped shadow deer to approach from a few dozen meters away.
They had been crouching here for almost half an hour, and only now did the tiger-striped shadow deer begin to draw near from several hundred meters away.
The tiger-striped shadow deer seemed to have been fixated in the opposite direction pursuing a large grasshopper earlier, paying no attention to Lin Yue's approach. Moreover, Lin Yue had swiftly wrapped himself in wild grass and reached this spot, lying in ambush for a while now.
It's worth saying that Lin Yue's first hunt with a crossbow was focused on being "steady."
Otherwise, he could easily have revealed himself first, lured the tiger-striped shadow deer over, and then dealt with it using the crossbow as it charged.
But he couldn't guarantee the accuracy of the crossbow before the beast could pounce on him.
If he got hurt, it would all have been for nothing.
He used the automatic stringer to load the crossbow, adjusted his breathing, and then parted the wild grass. Through the gaps, he aimed the sighting scope at the prey.
The iron spear was by his side, with a shield and wooden armor naturally equipped as well.
The word "steady," Lin Yue was beginning to grasp its essence.
"Squawk..." Bai had no idea what its master was doing. Seeing Lin Yue take out a strange object, Bai initially thought they were going directly for the hunt.
When Bai saw the shadow of the tiger-striped shadow deer, it wanted to rush forward to show Lin Yue its strength, but was stopped by Lin Yue.
Bai didn't understand why its master, before setting off, shot numerous arrows at a plank with that strange thing while mumbling to himself.
"About... thirty meters left, the crossbow arrow's deviation within a twenty-five meter range won't be too drastic, and with the wind, it will drift downwards to the right..."
Adjusting the sighting scope, Lin Yue awaited the tiger-striped shadow deer's approach, calculating the wind force, direction, and angle's effect on the trajectory.
Before heading this way, he had practiced at the shelter about thirty to forty times to gain a clear comprehension of the steel repeating crossbow's power.
A nearly ten-centimeter thick plank could easily be pierced at twenty meters!
However, he also discovered that the crossbow arrows had a significant deviation, possibly due to the lack of fletching, despite their immense power.
He constantly tuned and adjusted his raising angle, familiarizing himself with the aiming sensation, using the sighting scope to correct the aim deviation.
Having survived for ten days in this apocalypse, Lin Yue could patiently adapt and resolve issues, even when faced with complications like these.
Moreover, he had a natural fondness for these crossbow arrows, unknowingly developed, but his sense of achievement grew with each shot fired!
Yet, the steel repeating crossbow wasn't perfect.
Back in the Secret Realm, Korun managed to hit those gray monster insects continuously mainly because he was close enough and the monsters were large enough.
Five crossbow arrows were ready, but this close distance made it impossible to reload the string after the first shot.
If only he could find materials for fletching...
Lin Yue suddenly thought of a source, but to obtain it, he had to complete this task first!
"Alright, only thirty meters left... It seems to have spotted the meat, coming over!"
Lin Yue had placed a piece of raw lamb around twenty meters away as bait, attracting some bugs but proving enticing to the tiger-striped shadow deer.
"Woo-woo-woo..." The tiger-striped shadow deer saw the meat, growing cautious of its surroundings but drawn to the scent, inching closer.
Twenty-nine meters, twenty-eight meters... twenty-four meters!
It entered the range where the attack wouldn't deviate much, but still wasn't close enough.
Lin Yue waited patiently, and Bai quietly held its breath beside him.
The metallic arrowhead of the crossbow, masked by the wild grass, avoided reflecting light, while Lin Yue continuously adjusted the angle through the sighting scope.
Though crossbow arrows were sharp, penetrating the skull of such large animals remained challenging; however, the soft heart area in the abdomen or the slender neck could be accessed much more easily.
The tiger-striped shadow deer approached the meat step by step, its vigilance seemingly heightened.
Its nose twitched endlessly, and its head swiveled constantly, scanning around...
Did it smell something?
Lin Yue realized he might have underestimated the mutated creatures, especially those knocked down several times by him before.
But even now, the worst case scenario was the inability to attack with the steel repeating crossbow.
He still had the fine iron spear and Bai, who eagerly awaited battle!
"Woo-woo..." The deer's head stopped finally, its bizarre eyes fixated on the wild grass where Lin Yue was hidden!
It had detected him!
Now!
The crossbow string vibrated violently, a beam of light shot out from the grass with hurricane speed!
Pfft!
"Woo-woo-woo!!"
The crossbow arrow plunged into the tiger-striped shadow deer's upper abdomen, cut through its back, even piercing out from the lower back!
Yet, the second and third crossbow arrows followed swiftly, penetrating the heavily injured fallen deer's right eye and throat!
Strike while it's down!
An icy chill engulfed it, coating its hairs in frost!
The tiger-striped shadow deer that seemed ready for a desperate struggle stiffened instantly.
Finally, cold light flickering, the iron spear pierced out from its neck like a silver dragon!
Blood splattered wildly!
[You have obtained a Silver Treasure Chest]
Lin Yue caught his breath, surveying the surroundings, found no mutated creatures, and picked up the steel repeating crossbow, lost in thought.
To be honest, the steel repeating crossbow was indeed powerful.
It could even pierce through the tough hide of the tiger-striped shadow deer, through the abdomen and to the back.
But the shortcomings were quite apparent.
At close range, it couldn't kill large mutated animals in one shot!
In the end, he had to use the iron spear to finish off the tiger-striped shadow deer.
Originally thought to be an upgrade in combat capability, at short distances, it didn't seem to apply.
It seemed better suited for long-range attacks, maintaining distance while reloading the string, attacking consistently.
At least, against large tiger-striped shadow deer, that appeared to be the case.
Lin Yue placed the tiger-striped shadow deer's corpse into the Storage Space.
This wasn't its ideal burial place.
To lure more scavengers, it was necessary to place it outside the shelter walls, using its residual value to the fullest.
"Squawk!" Suddenly, Bai spotted a charging mutated sheep a hundred meters ahead, alerting Lin Yue.
Lin Yue took a deep breath and decided to give the steel repeating crossbow another shot.
He calmly straightened the crossbow string and set up traps around him at top speed, this time opting for a semi-crouched shooting position.
Bai stood ready beside, prepared to release ice mist as a precaution.
The mutated sheep barreled within twenty meters, and alongside the thud of the crossbow string, arrows shot out simultaneously!
It was shot in the right eye, emitting an indescribable scream, collapsing into the trap right before Lin Yue, incapable of standing up again.
Lin Yue moved closer and fired an arrow directly into its heart, triggering the system prompt.
[You have obtained a Copper Treasure Chest]
The first arrow was supposed to aim at the abdomen.
He looked towards the distance, at the Ancient Secret Realm Gate entwined with vines.
To unleash the steel repeating crossbow's maximum potential, he needed to find something for fletching for the arrows.
...
Chapter 60: Re-entering the Secret Realm, Discovering a Massive Treasury!
Outside the ancient Secret Realm gate, Lin Yue took a deep breath and checked his equipment once more.
Fine Wood Armor, Fine Wooden Shield, Fine Iron Spear, carrying a Steel Repeating Crossbow, and a lighter and torches.
Water, food, not lacking anything.
Materials and other items he didn't currently need, Lin Yue stored them in the shelter, and before leaving, set up traps around the shelter.
The corpses of the Tiger-striped Shadow Deer and the Mutant Sheep he hunted before were brought to the shelter, dissected for materials, and their remains were buried in a shallow pit.
This was all to attract more scavenger mutant insects tomorrow, and to gain more water and food.
As for the stone wall gate, Lin Yue simply used stones to seal the gap, roughly two meters wide, and obtained the "Stone Gate Design Map", using 6 stone materials, he installed the gate.
With this, it could essentially be considered a nearly inaccessible fortress.
Lin Yue felt everything was ready.
The Secret Realm was indeed dangerous, no doubt about it.
Last time, he encountered that Monster Winged Dragon at close range and witnessed it kill several people before dying near the ancient gate, proving the Secret Realm was not a place to tread lightly.
However, there were abundant resources inside the Secret Realm.
He obtained toilet paper, wet wipes, and a large amount of red wine, while the group of Nakorun obtained a Steel Repeating Crossbow, and Guo Lei got the hard aluminum alloy necessary to form an exoskeleton.
The resources around the Tokyo Tower were plentiful, without a doubt.
But if, due to danger, he loses the chance to explore more useful things and lags behind other survivors, he would never progress.
Moreover, tonight, the second disaster's warning was coming; perhaps what he brings out this time from the Secret Realm could be the key to surviving the disaster!
The fireplace during the last snowstorm was exactly like that, wasn't it?
On the corpses of the two dead monster Winged Dragons, there were things he wanted—feathers!
The tail feathers of the crossbow arrows needed those.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yue looked at Bai.
"Puchi?" Bai tilted its head, watching Lin Yue pull out skewer after skewer of mutton.
"All for you to eat." Lin Yue patted its little head.
"Puchi~~" It drooled with happiness.
"However..." Lin Yue put them all back into the storage space, "Bai, you have to promise me one thing."
"Puchi! Puchi!" Bai anxiously circled around Lin Yue, seeming to understand, chirping nonstop.
"Once full, we have to work hard. This time entering the Secret Realm could be quite dangerous."
Bai stopped, seeming to understand as it looked at the ancient Secret Realm gate behind Lin Yue, knowing it was going to follow him to the place he visited yesterday.
"Puchi!"
"Then, eat first. Once full, we hurriedly go back. If we encounter those monster Winged Dragons, you must swiftly unleash your ability."
Lin Yue patted Bai as it gobbled up the food while he started to replenish his stamina.
After eating and drinking, Lin Yue took the Iron Spear and pried open a small gap in the ancient gate with the spear tip.
Meanwhile, he observed Bai's reaction, staring closely at the wooden door.
If there was any danger outside, he would close the door quickly to attack.
Bai did not react.
Lin Yue sighed in relief and gradually opened the door wider.
A strong scent of heather flowers wafted out.
"Bai, nothing unusual?"
"Puchi."
Seeing that Bai, much sharper than a human, had no severe reaction, Lin Yue relaxed a bit.
Bai's enemy-seeking ability was trustworthy.
Carefully stepping through the ancient gate, Lin Yue looked at the heather tree beside him.
The two miserable corpses were gone, and the heather tree was nearly crushed completely; its trunk shattered, the flowers askew.
Those monster Winged Dragons finally feasted on the two corpses after all.
Lin Yue's face was stern, listening attentively to every abnormal sound and observing his surroundings.
Bai was more cautious than when they first entered and no longer ran about, staying by Lin Yue's side.
Going the hotel direction was out of question, but that didn't mean other places couldn't be explored.
In Lin Yue's mind, Tokyo Tower was almost located at the city center of Tokyo, as a tourist spot, nearby city facilities should be abundant; the hotel was a clear proof of this.
Lin Yue didn't want to go to a large area like a mall, not easy to escape, and suitable for insects to nest like previously; he wished to find the place where Guo Lei found the large amount of hard aluminum alloy, or shops with items not easily corroded by time.
After leaving the gate, Lin Yue did not follow the original path but ventured into the woods on the left.
This time he still used yarn as his path-marking strategy; those people found him last time partly by coincidence and partly due to his belief that one shouldn't casually encounter others in the Secret Realm.
So he mostly covered the yarn with soil or grass, then cut it every interval, and resumed about ten meters later.
Because of this, he slowed down considerably.
Surrounded by tall trees, he walked for over half an hour in the forest before realizing the clearing ahead.
Picking up pace, Lin Yue suddenly found it was a downslope ahead.
"Bai, how is it?"
"Puchi." Bai maintained no alert, proving everything was still safe.
Lin Yue nodded, leading it swiftly down the slope, suddenly finding the surroundings opened up before him.
An several-meter-wide straight highway lay ahead, flanked by decrepit, decaying buildings.
From the skewed tadpole-like writing on the signs, he sought anything recognizable.
"Puchi." Bai also looked in that direction, waiting for Lin Yue's next command.
"Let's go, check over there, always stay on guard."
Lin Yue raised the repeating crossbow, observing all around.
Indeed, the cluster of monster Winged Dragons from yesterday was gone, only the sound of decayed steel moved by the wind, or unknown building collapses could be heard.
Crossing the not-so-broad road, there was a store on the opposite side with a green sign and thick glass.
Only when approaching did Lin Yue realize it seemed to be a convenience store.
Touching the mottled, large glass outside, he obtained two pieces of acrylic glass.
It seemed he always found acrylic glass, while normal glass was rather hard to find.
Lin Yue collected two more pieces and directly walked into the convenience store.
The shelves had long rusted and collapsed, the products on them nearly crumbling at a touch.
No matter what instant noodles, chips, or drinks, they were covered in a thick layer of dust over time.
However...
[Identify for 1 survival point?]
[Refrigerator]
[Identify for 1 survival point?]
[Freezer]
[Identify...?]
Spent nearly 60 points, appraising everything of interest in the convenience store.
In the end, faced with many items to take away, he couldn't help exclaiming.
"Is this really a convenience store? It's a treasure trove!"
...