23: Chapter 23: Target 2000 points! Unlock the coal-fired booster compressor!

In the corner, Lin Wan was curled up beside the simple hydroponic cultivation box.

She watched Lu Chen walk in completely unscathed, then glanced through the bulletproof glass frosted with ice crystals at the two massive wrecks still billowing thick black smoke outside.

She couldn't help but swallow hard.

Using a vehicle-class mini snow fortress to completely annihilate two camp-class Mobile City units without sustaining a scratch.

This scene, which only existed in the delusions of wasteland madmen, had turned into a bloody reality right before her eyes.

Lu Chen ignored the way Lin Wan was looking at him as if he were a monster.

He walked straight to the iron table in the center of the cabin, pulled out the welded-shut tin chair, and sat down.

The rationality in his bones and his heinous obsessive-compulsive disorder drove him to immediately conduct an extremely rigorous inventory and accounting of the loot after every battle.

He reached into his trouser pocket and took out the primary beast core he had dug out from the Mutated Ice-Rock Pig.

With a soft clink, the beast core was placed right in the center of the smooth tabletop.

This beast core was a size larger than the previous Icefield Wolf's and should have originally presented a perfect crystalline structure.

However, under the unreasonable internal combustion of the Armor-Piercing Explosive Harpoon Gun, several chips had been blown off its edges. The bio-electric energy flowing within was in utter chaos, sputtering static sparks outward from time to time.

"It's damaged, but the foundation is still there."

Lu Chen tapped his long fingers against the tabletop twice.

"System, scan, convert."

[Ding! Command confirmed, high-dimensional scanning module activated.]

A familiar, deep blue beam of light poured down from the holographic panel, scanning the damaged beast core inch by inch.

[Scan complete.]

[Detected: Mutated Ice-Rock Pig (Primary Peak Stage) remnant core! Damaged primary beast core × 1. Internal bio-electric energy loss approximately 30%.]

[Conversion rate per unit: 50 Truth Points! Execute conversion immediately?]

Lu Chen stared intently at the holographic panel.

For a primary peak stage beast core, even damaged, the conversion rate given by the system still reached 50 points. This was a notch higher than the 30-point standard of the Icefield Wolf.

The quality of the prey is the only standard that determines the speed of earning Truth Points.

"Convert."

The beast core on the table, sputtering static sparks, trembled violently in the blue light. It then disintegrated into countless golden data streams, flowing upwards against the void and pouring into the holographic panel before Lu Chen's eyes.

[Conversion successful! Gained 50 Truth Points.]

[Current account balance: 250 Truth Points.]

Looking at the golden, shining number in the top right corner, Lu Chen's tense nerves found some comfort.

But there was no joy in his eyes; instead, they revealed a sense of oppression, as if standing on the edge of an abyss.

The time left for him was already being calculated in hours.

Lu Chen opened the Truth Tech Tree, which radiated a mysterious aura.

His gaze passed over all the already lit nodes, pointing directly at those few gray icons representing cross-tier evolution.

"System, pull up the total resource requirements for upgrading to Lv.2."

Lu Chen's voice was cold and stern.

[Ding! Requirements calculating...]

[Host's current level: Lv.1 mini snow fortress.]

[Upgrade prerequisite: Must light up all nodes and top cores of the current level for all four major branches.]

[List of currently locked nodes:]

[Power Engine Lv1 (Node 3): 200 Truth Points.]

[Ecological Logistics Lv1 (Node 3): 200 Truth Points.]

[Infrastructure Armor Lv1 (Top Core): 400 Truth Points.]

[Armament and Weaponry Lv1 (Top Core): 400 Truth Points.]

[Power Engine Lv1 (Top Core): 400 Truth Points.]

[Ecological Logistics Lv1 (Top Core): 400 Truth Points.]

Rows of scarlet numbers danced on the light screen, eventually converging into a total that would be enough to make a normal person despair.

[Total Truth Points required: 2000 points! Current balance: 250 points. Gap: 1750 points!]

A terrifying chasm of 1,750 points!

In a resource-scarce newbie zone like Pale Shoals, wanting to gather 1,750 points meant he would have to slaughter every breathing mutated creature on this snowfield and also dig out several deep-buried sourcefire coal crystal veins along the way.

"Four top cores, each requiring 400 points..."

Lu Chen stared fixedly at those strings of numbers, wishing he could devour them whole.

"The price of truth is excitingly expensive."

No despair, no retreat.

His deep-seated "infrastructure maniac" attribute was completely ignited under extreme pressure.

Since the gap is so big, then fill it in the most brutal way possible!

He must complete this cross-tier mechanical ascension before the main force of the Snow Shard Gang surrounds him!

"Need to speed up hunting efficiency; relying solely on the current 30 km/h speed is far from enough."

Lu Chen's train of thought was extremely clear.

On this vast icefield, mobility determines the frequency of searching for prey and shifting battlefields. When encountering strong enemies, running fast can save your life. When encountering fat sheep, running fast allows you to hunt them down.

He locked his gaze without hesitation onto the third node of the Power Engine Lv1 branch.

"System, invest 200 Truth Points and light it up for me!"

Lu Chen's command was resolute.

[Ding! Deducted 200 Truth Points. Power Engine Lv1 (Node 3): Crude Coal-Fired Supercharger, unlocked successfully!]

[Current Truth Points balance: 50 points.]

Accompanied by the system's prompt, the whistling of airflow echoed throughout the cabin.

The Primary Efficiency Boiler, which had been idling at a steady speed, suddenly emitted an extremely dull, metallic roar.

That sound was by no means the movement of a dead machine; it was the roar of an ancient behemoth forcibly injected with a berserk potion!

A deep blue system shimmer tightly enveloped the entire boiler.

Lin Wan watched in horror as the left outer wall of the boiler began to undergo violent physical reorganization. The heavy cast iron surface churned wildly, and a large amount of scrap steel material was kneaded and squeezed by an invisible hand.

Crack! Clatter!

A mechanical cylinder, fully half a person's height and with an extremely rugged design, grew straight out of the side of the boiler.

Inside the cylinder were countless complex interlocking brass gears and high-pressure sealed cylinders.

A thick black exhaust pipe extended from the top of the cylinder, piercing directly through the composite armor of the roof and reaching out toward the sky outside.

And on the left panel of the driver's console, a heavy push-pull lever suddenly popped out from the previously smooth metal surface.

The top of the lever was a metal ball handle painted with black and yellow warning stripes. Beside it was a highly precise mechanical pressure gauge.

[Node Description: Based on the Primary Efficiency Boiler, an external, purely mechanical coal-fired supercharging cylinder and forced draft system are generated.]

[After activating the supercharging lever, the boiler will enter an overload combustion state. For a short time, it will provide the vehicle with 1.5 times the extreme burst power! Ignoring complex terrain, it will forcibly break through the maximum speed limit!]

[Warning: The supercharging state will cause the consumption rate of low-grade sourcefire coal crystal to rise exponentially; please control the timing of use, Host.]

1.5 times the power burst!

Lu Chen reached out and gripped the heavy push-pull lever with the black and yellow warning stripes.

The rough metallic texture came from his palm. That extreme heavy industrial violent aesthetic made his heart, which was usually in a rational state, couldn't help but beat hard twice.

After adding ten centimeters of composite scrap steel armor, the dead weight of Polaris had reached a shocking tonnage. This was the reason why the maximum speed had been stuck firmly at 30 km/h before.

But with this crude Coal-Fired Supercharger!

This iron tortoise clad in heavy armor could instantly turn into a rampaging steel rhinoceros!

"Very good."

Lu Chen released the lever, his gaze cold and hard.

The last short board of mobility has been filled.

Now, he has the capital to gallop freely on this Pale Shoals and plunder Truth Points wantonly.