Chapter 29: It's Getting Warm

[Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo, congratulations to this player for winning the first prize! It's been a long, long time since we've had a first prize!]

[Your prize will be delivered right away!]

[Congratulations, you've obtained the super rare item: Inverter Air Conditioner x1]

[Congratulations, you've obtained the super rare item: Fairy's Garden x1]

[Congratulations, you've obtained the super rare item: Ore Vein Detector x1]

Three super rare items in a row left Zhao Kuo's mind spinning.

Although he didn't know what the latter two items were yet, just the sight of the inverter air conditioner filled him with immense happiness!

An air conditioner! He already had a generator, which meant that even in the harshest cold, his little room could stay relatively warm.

At least Tang Yingying wouldn't have to squeeze into the same bed with him anymore. What a relief!

After the three draws, the slot machine's interface turned black and white, then dissolved into sparkling dots, disappearing into the air.

Thank you, slot machine. Thank you, luck points.

Zhao Kuo couldn't help but smile as he stepped down from the platform. The moment he did, the entire platform vanished into nothingness.

Zhao Kuo didn't pay it much mind and quickly returned to the train.

Tang Yingying's eyes sparkled. "You look so happy! What did you get? What did you get?"

"Not bad, all good stuff. Too bad there wasn't anything to boost our speed," Zhao Kuo said, clearly enjoying his good fortune while pretending to be modest.

But when he revealed the items he'd won, Tang Yingying's breath nearly stopped. She felt like she was about to faint from happiness.

"A special material exchange voucher! You can exchange it for oil, radioactive materials, gold, silicon crystals, titanium alloy… Wow, these are all amazing! Too bad you can only pick one…"

"A Zhong Kui statue! This is great, this is great! We won't have to worry about ghosts and monsters anymore," Tang Yingying exclaimed, holding a strange statue in her hands, utterly thrilled.

[Zhong Kui Statue]

[Worshipped by the world for many years, how did it end up here?]

[Daily offerings can ward off evil and protect the home, with strong suppression effects against spirits and ghosts.]

Looking at the statue's attributes, Zhao Kuo thought it was just what they needed. With this statue, their nights would likely be much more peaceful.

But what exactly did they need to offer daily?

Zhao Kuo placed the statue by the control panel and, after some thought, offered a bowl of rice.

Sure enough, the rice in the bowl slowly diminished until it was completely gone, and the statue began to emit a faint glow.

Not bad, not bad. They had plenty of rice, but if they offered something more precious, the statue's effects might be even stronger. He wondered if it could handle something as powerful as what they'd encountered last night.

After all, he was someone targeted by the subway world.

Meanwhile, Tang Yingying moved the box of purified water into the room and said, "We can keep these bottles. Oh, and those soda bottles of yours can be kept too. We can use them as water storage containers later. This advanced water condenser is way better than mine."

Tang Yingying's water condenser could collect 100ml of purified water per hour, totaling 2.4 liters a day.

But in their current environment, they could only collect about 1.8 liters daily.

The advanced water condenser, however, could collect a full 200ml per hour, unaffected by the environment, totaling 4.8 liters a day.

It wasn't a huge amount, but it meant they were self-sufficient in water.

Zhao Kuo set up the advanced water condenser and then checked out the pet collar, his eyes lighting up immediately.

[Pet Collar]

[Can transform an entity into the user's pet. The success rate depends on the entity's level and characteristics.]

In other words, if the entity's level was too high—like that terrifying thing from last night—the transformation would likely fail. But if the level was lower, the success rate would increase significantly.

Zhao Kuo thought of the mantis that had slashed through their train roof. If he could turn it into a pet, his combat power would improve a lot.

Too bad he'd have to wait and see if he encountered any strong monsters in the future.

As for the iron train car blueprint, it allowed them to upgrade their existing car into an iron car, requiring 300 units of iron and 200 units of parts. But it greatly enhanced the car's defensive and insulation capabilities.

Looking at the noticeably more upscale walls of the train car, Zhao Kuo smiled with satisfaction.

Their subway train was becoming more and more advanced, evolving from a manual railcar to a full four-car train.

But what made Tang Yingying happiest was undoubtedly the inverter air conditioner. The moment she saw it, she jumped for joy.

"Wow, your luck is insane! If we sold this air conditioner, it'd probably fetch over 10,000 subway coins!" Tang Yingying's first thought was still about money.

But selling it was out of the question—no one could afford it anyway.

Without hesitation, Tang Yingying installed the air conditioner in their small room, connected it to the generator, and turned it on with satisfaction.

Warm air flowed out, giving them a cozy feeling—a feeling that had another name: hope.

Zhao Kuo pulled up a chair and sat under the airflow, then opened the description for the Fairy's Garden.

[Fairy's Garden]

[A garden created by fairies using magic. You can plant one type of plant at a time, and when it matures, it grants a random magical effect.]

[Maturation period: 2 days]

A random magical effect? Was it something like an explosive fruit, or something akin to a Devil Fruit that could alter human abilities?

Probably the former. The latter would be way too overpowered.

As for the ore vein detector, as the name suggested, it could detect nearby ore veins. Zhao Kuo tried it out, but there was no reaction—clearly, there were no ore veins around.

Still, it was worth keeping. If they ever came across a vein, they could make a small fortune.

If it were a silver or gold vein—oh, he didn't even dare to imagine.

All in all, the slot machine had been a huge success. It seemed the left fork was purely a reward stage, with the quality of the rewards depending on one's luck.

Zhao Kuo had already told Luo Ping'an and Gu Shan about taking the left path. Now, he informed them about the slot machine as well.

He also asked them to consider offering him any good items they didn't need.

They naturally agreed without hesitation. In their subconscious, they were already a team, and even if they weren't together at the moment, it didn't affect their bond.

Zhao Kuo restarted the subway train. Outside, the snow had lessened significantly, and the train's speed had reached 28 kilometers per hour.

At this rate, they should reach the next station in less than three days.

He just hoped there wouldn't be any unexpected complications.