1: Chapter 1 begins with an iron coffin; upgrade! The truth tech tree!

(Brothers, after several failures, I've returned to my best genre: apocalyptic upgrade novels ╥﹏╥...)

(If there are bugs or data issues, please @ me. About 6000 words across three chapters daily. No breaks. Guaranteed satisfaction, or come and get me (～o￣3￣)～)

"It's been half a month since I transmigrated to this dump. This life is not meant for humans."

Lu Chen's purple lips trembled as he downed the last two sips of warm water from his thermos.

Outside, the gale swirled with snowflakes as large as goose feathers, frantically cutting across the ice at minus sixty degrees.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen was huddled in a dilapidated miniature tracked vehicle, the Polaris, measuring eight meters long and three meters wide.

Over a hundred years ago, the Frost Calamity turned the Blue Planet into a wasteland of ice.

Humans relied on excavating Sourcefire Engines from the previous civilization to build [Mobile Cities].

Here, heat is a god.

And for the wanderers huddled in miniature vehicles, the end is often being frozen into an ice sculpture.

Like the previous city lord who died stiffly in the driver's seat half a month ago.

Lu Chen, wrapped in a stiff, ragged cotton quilt, looked at the cast-iron boiler in the center of the cabin.

The flame was dim and weak, and the coal box contained only a few fragments of the lowest quality sourcefire coal crystal.

"This bit of coal will only last two more days at most."

Not a trace of wavering showed on his face. No hysteria, no cries of despair.

In his previous life, he was a mechanical engineering prodigy. The more desperate the situation, the more he needed to solve problems step by step.

In a few days, when the coal ran out and the boiler stopped, this jalopy would completely turn into an iron coffin.

"However, it's about time."

Lu Chen rubbed his purple, frozen hands and whispered:

"System, activate."

Just as he spoke, a faint blue light screen that only he could see lit up in the dim cabin.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully survived for 15 days and has fully adapted to the laws of the current world.]

[Truth Tech Tree System, officially activated!]

Lu Chen's tense facial features relaxed. For the past half month, he had heard the system's loading countdown every day, and today it finally reached 100%.

[Vehicle Name: Polaris, Mobile City Level: Lv.1 Miniature Snow Fortress (Vehicle Grade), City Population: 1]

[System Rules Confirmed: This system is dedicated to helping the host build an Ark of Truth that ignores all calamities.]

[Core Resource: Truth Points (Can be converted by consuming sourcefire coal crystals, high-grade materials, research blueprints, etc.).]

[Technology Tree Branches: Four major branches! [Armament and Weaponry], [Infrastructure Armor], [Ecological Logistics], [Power Engine].]

[Hard Restriction (Host please note): You must max out all nodes on the current level (Lv.1) of the four technology tree branches to the top core to unlock cross-tier technology, trigger city rank evolution, and enter the next level.]

Looking at this red warning, Lu Chen didn't find the conditions harsh at all; instead, a fanatical light ignited in his eyes.

"Must max out all four branches to upgrade? This is practically tailor-made for someone with OCD like me!"

He was a construction maniac with severe firepower deficiency phobia and a heavy hoarding habit.

Even if the system allowed him to skip skills, he would definitely lay the foundation of each level firmly.

Resolutely not skipping levels, resolutely not taking risks. Caliber is justice, armor is truth!

"Let's check my starting capital first."

Lu Chen walked to the iron bed and reached under it into an old boot full of holes.

This was something the Old City Lord had desperately protected before he died.

He reached in and poured out six stones the size of fingernails, emitting a faint red glow.

Six low-grade sourcefire coal crystals! This was the Old City Lord's coffin money saved over a lifetime.

"System, convert all!"

[Ding! Consumed six low-grade sourcefire coal crystals, obtained: Truth Points × 30.]

Lu Chen looked at the dim technology tree on the light screen. Without hesitation, his gaze locked onto the bottom row of gray icons.

The primary crisis is freezing to death; temperature must be solved first!

"Invest 10 Truth Points to unlock [Power Engine Lv1: Primary Efficiency Boiler]!"

[Ding! Unlock successful. Your boiler's coal-burning efficiency has increased by 30%, and heat loss has decreased by 50%.]

Along with the system notification, a faint light invisible to the naked eye appeared out of thin air and quickly burrowed into the cast-iron boiler in the center of the cabin that was about to go out.

The next second, a miracle happened.

The boiler, which had been clattering and looking like it was about to fall apart, suddenly let out a low and smooth hum. The rusty gears were lubricated and began to mesh frantically.

The vents suddenly sucked in air, and the weak, dark red flame inside the boiler flared up with a whoosh, turning into a bright orange!

A visible heat wave spread outward from the boiler.

The frost on the cabin walls began to melt rapidly, turning into dripping water droplets.

Lu Chen's chest heaved, and the white mist he had been exhaling disappeared.

He stared intently at the old thermometer on the cabin wall; the red needle was struggling, yet persistently climbing!

Minus ten degrees! Zero degrees! Five degrees! Fifteen degrees!

The temperature finally stabilized at fifteen degrees.

In this apocalyptic ice field of minus sixty degrees outside, a temperature of fifteen degrees inside the cabin was simply paradise!

"Comfortable."

Lu Chen unhesitatingly pulled off the stiff, ragged cotton quilt and threw it aside.

Wearing only a thin sweater, his whole body was already warm.

After the boiler upgrade, those coal scraps that were about to run out could last at least several more days! The countdown to death was forcibly extended.

But that wasn't enough.

As a construction maniac, temperature alone wasn't enough. His stomach let out a thunderous protest at the right time.

The half-bag of rock-hard black bread left by the Old City Lord was long gone. He now urgently needed fresh food.

In this world, the value of an ounce of fresh vegetables is even higher than a pound of coal!

Because on the sunless ice field, no plants can survive.

Lu Chen looked at the [Ecological Logistics] branch.

"Invest 10 Truth Points to unlock [Ecological Logistics Lv1: Simple Soilless Cultivation Box]!"

[Ding! Unlock successful. Please specify the installation location, Host.]

"Put it in that empty box at the foot of the bed."

A flash of light, and the ragged wooden box that originally held junk underwent a mutation.

The wooden boards were covered with a layer of unknown composite material, UV light strips simulating sunlight lit up inside the box, and a layer of grayish-brown nutrient substrate was automatically generated at the bottom.

Most miraculously, a water pipe extended from the side of the box, connecting directly to the boiler's cooling water tank, forming a simple circulation system.

Lu Chen gently took out a small package wrapped tightly in oil paper from his inner pocket.

After opening it, there were over a dozen shriveled cabbage seeds inside.

These were bought from the black market by the original owner at a high price before he transmigrated. He hadn't been willing to plant them because the temperature simply wasn't high enough.

He picked up a seed and gently pressed it into the nutrient substrate of the cultivation box.

[Ding! Lifeform implantation detected. Current ambient temperature is suitable, and nutrient supply is sufficient. Estimated maturation time: 72 hours.]

Three days!

In just three days, he would be able to eat a mouthful of crisp, juicy, fresh cabbage in this damn icy world!

Thinking of the sweet juice bursting in his mouth, Lu Chen subconsciously swallowed.

He had 10 Truth Points left; he would look at the subsequent technologies before making a decision.

He looked through the bulletproof glass at the front of the cabin at the raging blizzard outside.

In the gale, hair-raising howls could be heard faintly.

That sound clearly indicated some massive creature was rapidly gliding across the ice.

The crisis was far from over.

The coal in the vehicle could last a few more days, but it would eventually burn out.

The Polaris couldn't stay here forever. Sooner or later, it would be buried by the storm or torn to pieces by wandering Ice Field Mutant Beasts.

He had to go out. To hunt. To find mineral veins.