64: Chapter 64 Scrap Metal Everywhere is a Treasure Trove! Lu Chen's Massive Resource Development

The Polaris traveled across the surface of the Rustwind Wasteland at thirty kilometers per hour for forty minutes.

The further north they went, the denser the remnants of the former civilization scattered on the ice became.

An overturned large excavator occupied half an acre of land to the front left; its bucket had rusted into a sieve, with grayish-white ice crystal pillars growing from the holes.

To the right was a row of collapsed industrial chimneys lying across the ice, their inner walls covered in rust-colored icicles.

Lu Chen slowed down and manipulated the control lever for the mechanical arms, extending the right arm three meters outside the vehicle.

On the ice fifty meters ahead, a pitch-black stone lay exposed among a pile of scrap metal fragments, its surface glowing with a deeper dark-red light than the low-grade coal crystals from the Pale Shoals.

"System, scan the target ahead."

[Ding! Scan complete. Target identified: intermediate sourcefire coal crystal. Quality: Medium. Conversion value per unit: 50 Truth Points.]

Lu Chen's finger paused for a beat.

50 Truth Points.

A low-grade coal crystal from the Pale Shoals was only worth 5 points.

One intermediate coal crystal here was worth ten of those.

He manipulated the mechanical arm to its maximum radius, the claw gripping the fist-sized intermediate coal crystal and pulling it out along with the surrounding crushed ice.

As the claw tightened, the coal crystal was steadily dragged toward the vehicle and sent inside through the material loading port on the side.

The whole process took less than twenty seconds.

"City Lord, the color of this coal crystal is so deep." Lin Wan poked her head out from the planting area and glanced at the black stone brought in by the mechanical arm.

"It's an intermediate one."

"Intermediate! How much more is it worth than the previous ones?"

"Ten times."

Lin Wan's mouth hung open for a moment before she retracted her head into the planting area to continue her work.

She had grown accustomed to the figures coming out of Lu Chen's mouth making her scalp tingle every time.

The Polaris continued forward.

Over the next hour, Lu Chen slowly circled the periphery of the factory ruins, using the mechanical arm to successively collect nine intermediate sourcefire coal crystals of varying quality from the gaps in the wreckage.

Each one was confirmed by a system scan, with conversion values ranging from 40 to 60 Truth Points.

Ten intermediate coal crystals in total had an estimated conversion value of five hundred Truth Points.

Combined with the account balance of 250 points, the total amount of Truth Points currently available reached 750.

But he was in no hurry to convert them. He stored the coal crystals in the coal bin for now, intending to process them all at once.

Because the real prize hadn't appeared yet.

Lu Chen stopped the vehicle when the Polaris reached the northern entrance of the factory ruins.

Dense claw marks were left on the ground ahead, at least one size larger than the Icefield Wolf prints in the Pale Shoals.

The depth of the claw marks indicated that the creature that left them was quite heavy.

"Mutant Beast activity zone."

He flipped the safety off the Heavy Machine Gun, and the turret entered standby mode.

Two rounds for the Harpoon Cannon were in place.

The Ray Cannon was fully charged for three shots.

The Fragmentation Grenade Launcher Array was on standby, but the ammunition consumption of fifty points per round made him decide to save it for last.

Lu Chen slowly drove the Polaris into the interior of the ruins.

On both sides were collapsed factory walls, their scrap steel skeletons exposed.

Some horizontal metal trusses remained overhead, blocking part of the rust-colored wind and sand.

The light dimmed, and the searchlights turned on automatically.

Eighty meters ahead, a massive dark shadow crouched at the entrance of a collapsed factory building.

His hand moved to the two-way control levers of the fire control console.

"System, scan."

[Ding! Scan complete. Target identified: Mutated Iron Iguana. Level: Intermediate. Threat level: High (fatal threat to Lv.1 and below vehicles). Weaknesses: Gaps in abdominal scales, neck joints.]

Mutated Iron Iguana.

It was a size smaller than the Mutated Ice-Armored Giant Rhino, but its body was covered in a layer of metallic-textured scales mutated from long-term contact with industrial waste.

Those scales gleamed with a cold, bluish-gray light under the beam of the searchlight.

Lu Chen did not hesitate.

He manipulated the fire control console to rotate the Heavy Machine Gun turret directly forward, locking the crosshairs onto the Iron Iguana's head.

Distance: eighty meters.

For a six-barreled rotary gun, this was the most comfortable firing distance.

"A five-round burst, let's test its hardness first."

He pulled the trigger.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

Five rounds of standard caliber ammunition poured out within 0.3 seconds, the hum of the rotating barrels amplified several times in the narrow space of the ruins.

The impact points were concentrated on the right side of the Iron Iguana's head.

Sparks flew everywhere.

All five bullets were deflected by the metallic scales, punching five shallow pits into the ground.

The Iron Iguana was startled; its massive body shifted from a crouch to a standing position, limbs propped up, as its ugly head turned toward the Polaris.

Six crimson compound eyes locked onto the source of the searchlight.

"Head hardness is too high, change targets."

Lu Chen moved the crosshairs down, locking onto the Iron Iguana's front leg joints.

The joints were where the scale armor was thinnest.

This time he didn't use a burst, but held the trigger down.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

A fifteen-round continuous fire.

The impact points densely covered the right front leg joint area.

This time it was effective.

Cracks appeared in the scales at the joint under the continuous impact, and three bullets successfully embedded themselves into the gaps.

The Iron Iguana let out a low growl, its right front leg stumbling.

"Defense broken."

He switched to the Harpoon Cannon.

In the periscope sight, the Iron Iguana had already begun charging toward the Polaris; its speed was significantly slower than the Ice-Armored Giant Rhino, but with every step it took, the ground trembled.

Distance closed to forty meters.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

Lu Chen pulled the Harpoon Cannon's trigger.

Bang!

The fifty-pound pure steel harpoon was equipped with a delayed explosive fuse, propelled out of the muzzle by the dual thrust of steam and black powder.

Target: The cracked position on the Iron Iguana's right front leg joint.

Direct hit.

The harpoon's barbs embedded themselves deeply into the joint gap. The Iron Iguana let out a shrill roar, its entire body tilting to the right.

Three seconds later, the delayed fuse triggered.

The sound of an explosion came from inside the Iron Iguana's front leg; the shockwave of the internal blast tore the bones and tendons at the joint apart from within.

The right front leg was completely severed from the shoulder.

The Iron Iguana lost its balance, its massive body crashing to the ground and smashing a shallow pit into the floor of the ruins.

It was still struggling, three legs supporting its body as it tried to stand up.

Lu Chen manipulated the mechanical arm to extend from the vehicle, the claw opening and clamping onto the exposed abdominal scale gaps of the Iron Iguana.

The hydraulic system tightened with all its might, the steel fingers of the claw embedding themselves between the soft ribs.

The Iron Iguana let out a final wail, its body twitching violently a few times before it stopped moving.

He manipulated the mechanical arm to flip the beast's body over and found the location of the beast core in the abdomen.

The claw sliced through the soft tissue between the scales, extracting a beast core that radiated a rich blue light from near the heart.

It was exactly twice as large as the primary beast cores from the Pale Shoals.

"System, scan."

[Ding! Target identified: intermediate beast core. Quality: Medium-high. Estimated conversion value: 350 Truth Points.]

Lu Chen sent the beast core into the vehicle through the material loading port.

The glowing blue stone on the iron tray was his first major income since coming to the Rustwind Wasteland.

350 points.

Plus 500 points from the ten intermediate coal crystals, plus the account balance of 250 points.

1100 points.

One intermediate Mutant Beast in the Rustwind Wasteland was worth more than a dozen primary Icefield Wolves from the Pale Shoals.

In this industrial graveyard, there were many more.