7: Chapter 7 Pure Water: The Birth of the Snow Melting Water Purifier

The issues of mobility and heat retention had been resolved.

But the relaxation on Lu Chen's face lasted less than a minute before his expression became solemn once again.

His gaze moved past the dashboard and landed on a rusted tin canteen.

This was the last canteen left behind by the Old City Lord.

Inside were the last few mouthfuls of snow water Lu Chen had melted earlier, which was also their entire current liquid water reserve.

Lu Chen unscrewed the cap, and a strange odor mixed with rust and unidentified sediment wafted toward him.

The water in the canteen was incredibly turbid.

A few wisps of grayish-black flocculent material drifted slowly with his movements—clumps of decaying algae sediment.

Lu Chen's jawline tightened.

On Blue Star after the Frost Calamity, the thing in greatest abundance was water frozen as ice and snow, but the thing in shortest supply was, ironically, clean water.

The great upheaval a century ago had not only brought extreme cold but also unknown extraterrestrial radiation and heavy metal pollution.

The pale snow covering the earth's surface looked white and clean, but in reality, every snowflake was encased in lethal radioactive dust and toxins.

Eating snow directly to quench thirst was the most foolish form of suicide on the wasteland.

At best, it caused diarrhea and dehydration; at worst, internal organs would fester, leading to death from acute radiation sickness within three days.

To obtain safe drinking water, one had to use extremely complex distillation and filtration equipment.

And such equipment was something only medium-sized mobile cities or larger could afford to equip.

Low-level vehicles like the Polaris could previously only rely on boiling the water and letting it sit to settle, then drinking the top layer where the toxicity was slightly weaker.

Over time, the Old City Lord's early death was inextricably linked to the day-by-day destruction of his bodily functions by accumulated toxins.

"The temperature inside is a constant twenty degrees, and with the intake of high-calorie wolf meat, human metabolism speeds up. If clean water isn't replenished in time, dehydration will set in quickly."

Lu Chen licked his dry lips and turned to look at Lin Wan. "Are you thirsty?"

Lin Wan swallowed subconsciously.

A burning sting came from her parched throat; it was so rough and dry that it pained her.

"Thirsty... City Lord. But I know the snow outside can't be drunk directly. I... I can still endure it."

She was a smart person and knew full well that on the wasteland, asking a ruler for water—which was more precious than food—was a major taboo.

"You can't endure it."

Lu Chen shook his head, the obsessive-compulsive disorder deeply etched into his bones flaring up again.

He pursued a perfect closed loop of survival; how could he just barely scrape by in a pile of garbage?

Without clean water, the ecological farm was a joke, and that cabbage seedling would also quickly wither and die.

He summoned the Truth Tech Tree one last time, his gaze fixed directly on the second gray node of the [Ecological Logistics Lv1] branch.

[Ecological Logistics Lv1 (Node 2): snow-melting water purifier]

[Node Description: Generates a collection funnel at the vehicle's side armor to automatically draw in external ice and snow. Built-in three-layer reverse osmosis membrane and radiation-neutralizing filter core thoroughly strip away heavy metals and radioactive dust. Produces direct-drinking pure water. Waste is discharged directly outside the vehicle.]

[Unlock Cost: 50 Truth Points.]

Truth Points balance: 50 points.

Not a point more, not a point less.

"Spend it all, balance to zero. This is the most perfect node loop for my OCD."

Lu Chen issued the command without hesitation, "System, unlock the snow-melting water purifier!"

[Ding! 50 Truth Points deducted. [Ecological Logistics Lv1 (Node 2)] unlocked successfully.]

The deep blue light bloomed inside the cabin for the third time, the glow converging on a blank piece of sheet metal on the left side of the cabin near the boiler.

Clang! Crack!

The dazzling display of metallic restructuring played out once more.

That sheet of metal folded outward, forming a funnel-shaped device with an intake vent that protruded directly outside the vehicle.

Inside the cabin, a cylindrical machine half a meter tall generated out of thin air.

Its surface was made of brushed stainless steel in a full cyberpunk style, and it was precisely connected to the boiler's waste heat system by two thickened composite pipelines.

On the front of the machine, a small silver faucet gleamed with a metallic luster, and there was an indicator light next to it.

Hum!

As soon as it was generated, the external collection funnel emitted a powerful suction sound, drawing the thick snow clinging to the vehicle's exterior directly into the machine's interior.

Immediately following that, the sound of water boiling and fine, rustling filtration came from inside the machine.

After the red indicator light flickered for a few seconds, it abruptly jumped to green, representing safety!

"Bowl." Lu Chen was concise, pointing to the battered aluminum bowl Lin Wan had used to eat meat earlier.

Lin Wan hadn't yet recovered from this magic-like manifestation of a machine, so she subconsciously walked over holding the bowl.

Lu Chen gripped the cold, hard silver faucet and gave it a gentle flick.

Splash!

Warm water, clear as crystal, gushed from the faucet and fell into the battered aluminum bowl, even giving off a bit of steam.

Zero impurities!

No strange odors!

Only the most primal purity of water!

Under the refraction of the lights, the stream was transparent, reflecting a bright glow!

The stream quickly filled more than half the bowl, and Lu Chen casually turned off the faucet.

Lin Wan stared blankly at the crystal-clear warm water in the bowl, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

In her memory, even in the core laboratories of the Black Rock City-State, water purified with the most expensive equipment still had a lingering smell of disinfectant.

But the bowl of water before her eyes was so pure it made her heart skip a beat!

"Drink," Lu Chen commanded.

Lin Wan could no longer hold back.

She cupped the bowl with both hands, a feverish thirst for survival surging in the depths of her eyes.

Trembling, she raised the aluminum bowl, buried her face in it, and began to swallow in great gulps.

Gulp... gulp...

Warm, sweet, pure water without a hint of impurity flowed down her parched throat.

It moistened every one of her dried-up cells and washed away the gamey taste of wolf meat remaining in her mouth.

That unprecedented sense of satisfaction caused her taut nerves to completely break down.

Large tears welled up and dripped into the bowl, mixing with the water.

She didn't care at all, drinking the entire bowl of water clean in one breath, and finally even stuck out her tongue to piously lick clean the very last drop at the bottom of the bowl.

"City Lord... this... this water is too delicious!"

Lin Wan looked up, her face covered in tear tracks and filled with shock and wild joy. "With this machine, our water... will be endless!"

Lu Chen didn't respond.

He picked up his own paint-chipped stainless steel thermos and calmly filled it with a cup of steaming pure water.

Leaning back into the driver's seat, he took a slow, methodical sip.

As the warm water slid into his stomach, combined with the constant twenty-degree temperature in the cabin, Lu Chen felt so comfortable he almost groaned.

Threat of freezing to death: resolved.

Anxiety over coal consumption: resolved.

Panic over dehydration: resolved.

Basic survival conditions perfectly achieved!

"All internal hidden dangers cleared."

Lu Chen put down the thermos, his gaze penetrating the bulletproof glass to look out at the increasingly violent and dark ice plains.

"Now, before this natural disaster crushes all the small fry in their holes, it's time to head out and stockpile some winter rations for our Polaris."