42: Chapter 42 The Calm Before the Storm

The first night after the rank-up.

Polaris was parked on the leeward side of an ice-rock shelter, its engine idling at the lowest setting.

Inside the carriage of over a hundred square meters, the hot water circulation system in the heating pipes made a faint trickling sound.

The constant twenty-degree air was filled with the lingering savory aroma of cabbage and meat soup, along with the smell of ozone emitted by the UV lamps.

Lu Chen lay on the upper bunk.

The mesh of the metal-framed bed was stiff, but it was as good as the best bed he had ever slept in.

Compared to shivering on a frozen iron plate wrapped in a stiff, ragged quilt during the early days of his transmigration, this treatment with heating and a bed could be called luxurious.

He closed his eyes, calculating in his head.

Current Truth Points balance: 90 points.

Including the two low-tier wolves hunted while testing the heavy machine gun today and the beast cores recovered by the Mechanical Arm, there were still 60 points of unconverted stock.

A total of 150 points.

Still 350 points away from the next 500-point technology node.

Based on the efficiency of sweeping five to eight low-tier Mutant Beasts a day, plus scavenging bits of coal crystal, he could gather five hundred points in three to four days.

He calculated silently in the darkness.

A nine-day window.

If he maintained today's hunting efficiency every day, he could unlock at least one more Lv.2 node by the time the radiation mark dissipated.

As for which one to unlock, he would decide then.

The sound of Lin Wan turning over came from the lower bunk beneath him.

"City Lord? Are you asleep?"

"No."

"I can't sleep either."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about the Black Rock City-State."

Lu Chen opened his eyes and looked at the bronze curve of the heating pipe on the ceiling.

"Speak."

"City Lord, I was thinking, if the group leader and the others really win, the future direction of the Black Rock City-State will change."

Lin Wan's voice came up muffled from the lower bunk.

"They will invest more resources into agriculture and ecological research."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I mean, if the Black Rock City-State really takes the path of ecological revival, they will need a lot of seeds and agricultural technology in the future."

Lin Wan's voice became more animated in the darkness.

"The City Lord has a grade a seed vault, a Botanist like me, and systematic cultivation equipment. If we can do business with the Black Rock City-State in the future..."

"The prerequisite for doing business is being alive."

Lu Chen interrupted her.

"I currently have a tracking mark from the Snow Shard Gang on me. Those lunatics might drive over with hundreds of chariots at any moment. Before this problem is solved, the Black Rock City-State's affairs aren't a priority."

"I understand... but..."

"Go to sleep."

"Oh."

Silence returned to the carriage.

Five minutes passed.

"City Lord?"

"What now?"

"If, I mean if."

Lin Wan's fingers unconsciously rubbed the metal bed frame at the edge of the quilt.

"If the Snow Shard Gang issue is resolved in the future, would you consider contacting the Black Rock City-State?"

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

"Depends on the situation. If they can offer something that satisfies me, we can talk."

"What kind of thing would satisfy you?"

"scientific research blueprints from the pre-civilization era. The more, the better; the more high-end, the better."

Lin Wan let out a laugh from the lower bunk.

"Just like what that fat guy Fernand wanted."

"Scientific blueprints are gold mines for Truth Points. A single blueprint is worth a month of hunting."

"The Merchant Alliance has them, so it's impossible that the Black Rock City-State doesn't. As long as they're willing to provide them, everything is negotiable."

"But the prerequisite is still being alive."

"The prerequisite is being alive."

Lu Chen repeated.

"So stop talking nonsense. We have to go out and sweep tomorrow to replenish ammunition and Truth Points. Save your energy."

"Okay, goodnight, City Lord."

"Mhm."

Lu Chen turned over, facing the wall of the vehicle.

The warmth of the heating pipe reached his cheek through the thin metal wall, feeling cozy.

He closed his eyes.

The last image that flashed through his mind was that brand-new Lv.2 technology tree.

Its four branches emitted a faint blue light in the darkness, with over a dozen gray nodes waiting to be lit up.

Behind every node was an evolution that would transform Polaris completely.

The tense muscles in Lu Chen's face relaxed slightly.

Then he fell asleep.

On the ice plains outside the window, the wind and snow never stopped.

On the radio, the Black Rock City-State's missing persons broadcast was still looping every fifteen minutes.

Between the stiff voice of the announcer, occasional interference from other frequencies would mix in.

There were intermittent calls for help from drifters.

There was information about resource exchanges between unknown small camps.

There was also a radio wave mixed in the interference, almost drowned out by noise, which was faintly a signal from one of the Snow Shard Gang's channels.

There were only four words in that radio wave.

Target locked.

But Lu Chen was already asleep.

Polaris's engine hummed softly in its idle state.

Its massive and brand-new body lay quietly in the shadows of the ice-rock shelter.

The muzzles of the Twin-Linked Six-Barreled Heavy Machine Guns on the roof swayed in the cold wind.

The tip of the manganese steel ram reflected the pale moonlight.

The calm before the storm.

This calm would not last long.

The old radio inside the carriage continued to faithfully record every sound that flowed through the airwaves.

Including those four words.

They would wait for their master to wake up tomorrow morning.