Get the Damaged Safe House Core

[Record]: Your continuous live broadcast has exceeded fifteen minutes. A random airdrop reward will be issued one day before the next disaster." Liam switched off the live broadcast upon hearing the notification from the game panel. The constant surveillance of billions of people was unsettling. In this ruthless apocalyptic world, the more exposure you had, the greater the risk.

Liam made his way to where Scarface had died, the body sprawled on the ground. "These guys are going to be a pain to dispose of," Liam muttered.

Killing was easy, but disposing of the bodies was another matter. The rain masked the scent for now, but under the scorching sun, it would attract hordes of mutated creatures in a matter of days. It could even lead to an outbreak.

Liam crafted a new stone spear from the crafting menu. He used it to hook onto Scarface's clothes, his stomach churning. Back in the civilized world, he couldn't even stomach killing a chicken, but now, he had already taken five lives. Though they were bandits, the morals he had grown up with still held some sway.

"What's this?" Liam exclaimed.

After dragging away Scarface's body, he found a faint, glowing turtle shell where the man had lain. "Isn't this the shelter core I had to place at the beginning?" he wondered aloud.

He picked up the turtle shell, excitement bubbling within him. He examined its properties.

"[Damaged Safe House Core]:

The safe house is bound to the player. Once placed, it is bound to the ground and cannot be moved.

When a player destroys their safe house, it automatically reverts to a damaged state and cannot be placed until repaired.

All player items are stored within the safe house core upon death."

"[Record]: A complete safe house core has been detected. Do you wish to absorb it?"

"I can absorb other people's safe house cores?" Liam was astonished.

He quickly checked the other bodies. Sure enough, he found a damaged safe house core under each one. Near Ratface, he even found a complete, unplaced safe house core.

"Excellent!" Liam grinned.

He looked at the three damaged cores and one complete core in his hands and couldn't help but laugh. "No risk, no reward," he thought. "These guys robbed and killed so many innocent people. Now they've fallen into my hands. It's karma!"

He put the four cores into his backpack and went to dig a hole. The rain had softened the soil, making the work easier. In half an hour, he had dug a pit two meters wide, two meters long, and one meter deep.

He tossed the bodies into the pit and went back to where John was lying.

John was dead, leaving only a deep handprint in the soil. Liam found another damaged safe house core underneath him. "Considering you came all this way to deliver equipment, I can't bear to leave you exposed to the elements. Be a good person in your next life," Liam said, though he wasn't sure if John could even hear him.

John's face was unrecognizable, corroded by the acid rain. He looked like a zombie from an American doomsday movie.

Liam didn't dare look closely. He used the spear to pull John's body towards the pit. After pushing John in, he began to fill the hole.

The five men were buried, their bodies slowly decomposing beneath the earth.

Liam marked the spot with a branch and returned to the tunnel entrance. The wooden planks covering the entrance were already partially submerged in water.

"This would be a good escape route if I were to travel far. I should upgrade it," Liam thought.

He checked the tunnel's properties.

"[Access Tunnel]

Description: An open access tunnel.

Upgrade direction: Safe tunnel.

Branches: Expand (20), Material (40), Strength (200), Tunnel door (40).

Introduction: A wise rabbit has three burrows!"

"Tunnel door... I'll upgrade it to stone. I still have plenty of stone material," Liam decided.

He added stone material until the survival point requirement for the tunnel door stopped decreasing at 20 points.

"Upgrade tunnel door," he commanded.

He spent 20 points. A green light emanated from his body, and within a few breaths, the flimsy wooden door transformed into a solid stone one, identical to the front of the shelter. It was seamlessly sealed, preventing any rainwater from seeping in.

Liam covered the stone tunnel door with soil and returned to the main entrance of the shelter, satisfied. He decided to keep this secret tunnel as a hidden card, only to be used for long journeys or surprise attacks.

Back at the main entrance, he saw the bare stone walls on either side, the result of the bandits' frantic digging.

Liam couldn't help but laugh. His perfectly good underground shelter had been turned into an open pit.

"Oh well, I won't fill it in for now. I'll just wait until the rain stops to remodel it," he said to himself.

He circled the shelter, inspecting the excavated area. "Oreo, open the door, I'm back!" he shouted.

There was a frantic scratching sound from inside, and then the stone door creaked open a crack.

The ever-alert Oreo peeked out cautiously before opening the door wider.

"You clever little guy," Liam chuckled.

He couldn't pet Oreo with his raincoat on, so he gestured for him to move aside and closed the door. He stood in the corner of the shelter, removing his wet raincoat.

He had formulated two plans for the raid. Plan A was to launch a surprise attack from the back entrance while they were unprepared. Plan B, if there was no opportunity, was to have Oreo make some noise at the door to lure them over and create a chance to strike.

But these men were a disorganized bunch, lacking both combat strength and vigilance. They never expected Liam to suddenly appear from behind and attack.

After taking off his raincoat, Liam sat down on the wooden stool. He looked around the stone shelter, lit by the bright flames of the fireplace, and at Oreo, who was now playfully pawing at his feet.

Liam felt a sense of peace wash over him.

An hour ago, he was just another survivor struggling in this wasteland.

Now, he was a protector, a dispenser of justice who had taken five lives to defend his own.

He took out his loot, carefully wiping the turtle shells with a piece of cloth. The shells, with their ancient patterns, gleamed like jade under his touch.

After cleaning all the cores, Liam picked up the first damaged turtle shell he had acquired and activated the game panel's fusion function.

"Let's start by fusing this damaged core!" he declared.