11: Chapter 11 First Settlement

He walked out of the bedroom and came to the brand-new main console.

Through the wider windshield, he saw the exterior of the fortress covered by a faint, translucent blue light screen.

This was the Tier 2 energy protective shield that came with the upgrade.

This light screen not only completely blocked out the high-altitude gale and freezing cold but could even withstand the full-force strike of most Tier 1 monsters.

Standing inside this protective shield, Zhou An felt an unprecedented sense of comfort and peace of mind.

He couldn't wait to open the brand-new vehicle panel:

[Name: Cloud Top Fortress (LV2)]

[Area: 50 square meters (Height 4 meters)]

[Maximum Speed: 70 km/h]

[External Armor: Tier 2 Composite Energy Protective Shield (Charge Status: 100%)]

[Current Status: Smallest Giant Hextech in effect (Durability and Energy restore 5% per hour)]

[Installed Facilities/Modules (Living):]

[Green Shade Water Purifier (Green)]: Produces 500ml of pure water per hour.

[High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Green)]: Stores energy during the day to maintain the fortress's internal power circulation.

[Basic Kitchen Module (Green)]: Comes with a stainless steel sink and induction cooker, with a probability of improving cooking effects.

[Integrated Automatic Bathroom (Green)]: Water recycling, SAN value recovery bonus.

[Multifunctional Ergonomic Rehabilitation Bed (Green)]: Increases stamina recovery, SAN value recovery +1/hour.

Looking at this packed panel, Zhou An nodded with satisfaction.

With this living configuration, if he posted it to the regional channel, it would probably make those people still freezing on drafty hot air balloons jealous to the point of madness.

As his gaze moved down, he discovered two brand-new, glowing empty slots at the very bottom of the panel.

[Weapon Modules Installable (0/2):]

[storm twin-linked autocannon array (Blueprint Unlocked)]

Type: Kinetic weapon.

Power: Extremely high rate of fire, enough to shred the defenses of Tier 2 monsters.

Construction Requirements: Tier 2 Steel x500, Precision Bearings x50, Gunpowder Materials x1000.

[high-frequency tracking cutting ray (Blueprint Unlocked)]

Type: Energy weapon.

Power: Automatically locks onto targets, possesses extremely strong cutting destructive power against shields and heavy armor.

Construction Requirements: High-Density Energy Core x100, Rare Conductive Gel x30, Tier 2 Composite Rubber x200.

"Good grief, I've jumped straight from the cold weapon era into the sci-fi heavy firepower era." Looking at the descriptions of these two weapon modules, Zhou An drooled with envy.

If he installed these two killing machines, his [Cloud Top Fortress] would truly become a bona fide aerial hedgehog, killing anyone who dared to come near.

However, he looked at the construction requirements and could only sigh helplessly.

The basic materials were enough, but he lacked some of the supplies, and a glance at the Trading House showed no one selling them; he guessed it was because he had upgraded too quickly.

"Forget it, no rush for now."

Zhou An leaned back in the leather seat of the main console, looking through the windshield at the empty sea of clouds ahead.

He was currently the tail-ender of the entire region, lagging behind the main force by who knew how many kilometers.

Those aggressive flying monsters and survivor guilds were all ahead, tearing each other apart.

He was idling alone at the very back, which could be called an absolutely safe vacuum zone; he couldn't even see a bird, and there were simply no enemies that required the use of heavy firepower.

Moreover, with the fortress upgrade, his maximum speed had increased to 70 km/h.

The devouring black mist moved at only 30 km/h, and his current speed was enough to leave the black mist far behind, completely eliminating any pressure on his survival.

"I'll wait for Compound Interest to generate a few more rounds of interest, or go to the low-altitude area to scavenge some junk; it won't be too late to install the weapons once I've gathered the materials."

Humming a little tune, Zhou An walked into the kitchen, turned on the water purifier to pour a glass of ice water, and leisurely walked into his exclusive bedroom.

Above these cruel clouds, he decided to take a nice nap first.

Over the next two days, Zhou An completely transformed into a scavenging maniac beneath the clouds.

With [Little Giant] to restore his SAN value and the [Cloud Top Fortress]'s 70 km/h mobility as a safety net, he wasn't afraid at all.

Facts proved that high risk was often accompanied by high reward. Hidden within the falling objects on the edge of the devouring black mist was astonishing wealth.

It wasn't until the morning of the seventh day of the game that Zhou An, having calculated the time, reluctantly ascended, broke through the heavy haze, and returned to the sunny 15,000-meter safety flight path.

Returning to the spacious main cabin of the fortress, Zhou An counted the fruits of his crazy operations over the past two days, his hands trembling slightly.

Basic supplies: tens of thousands of units of various basic materials like wood, scrap iron, and rubber, and that wasn't even counting the interest generated daily by [Compound Interest].

532 ordinary supply blind boxes!

45 black iron treasure chests!

8 bronze treasure chests!

1 silver treasure chest! This was a top-tier item he had forcibly dragged back with a grappling hook on the edge of the black mist, risking the fortress being torn apart!

"After looting this haul, even if I don't do anything for a while, I'll be filthy rich."

Zhou An slumped on the leather sofa and gulped down a large mouthful of iced pure water.

Just as he was rubbing his hands together, preparing to open this batch of blind boxes.

A grand and cold mechanical system voice exploded in the minds of all survivors simultaneously:

[Region-wide System Announcement (Area 997)!]

[The seven-day novice protection period has officially ended!]

[1. Random encounter mechanism activated: From this moment on, various flying aberrations and meteorological monsters will randomly spawn on the flight path. Please maintain ample firepower at all times.]

As soon as this announcement came out, the regional chat channel, which was already on edge, instantly erupted in wails:

"What the hell?! The first seven days were actually called a protection period? I had an eye pecked out by a mutated eagle on the first day, and you call this a protection period?!"

"It's over, it's over, doesn't random monster spawning mean I'm just waiting to die!"

"System, try acting like a human for once and leave us a way to survive!"

The system ignored the wailing and crying in the channel, and the cold voice continued to broadcast:

[2. devouring black mist evolution: The advancement speed of the black mist behind has permanently increased by 10 km/h. Current speed: 40 km/h.]

[3. First regional phase settlement, starting now!]

"Settlement?" Zhou An immediately sat up straight.

[This settlement will be divided into three core sections: Personal Combat Power, Material Foundation. The system will issue unique leaderboard rewards based on comprehensive scores.]

A few seconds later, three huge holographic leaderboards appeared on everyone's panels.

Zhou An took a look at the leaderboards.

On the [Personal Combat Power Ranking], although he had reached Tier 2, the core members of those large guilds ahead had used their vast numbers to plunder resources and had long since piled up quite a few Tier 2 powerhouses. Zhou An barely made it into the top 500.

"It seems that not only is my vehicle speed at the bottom, but I'm also a fringe player in this score."

Zhou An laughed at himself.

However, when everyone clicked on the last one, the [Material Foundation Ranking], the entire Area 997 fell into a deathly silence.

After a brief silence, the chat channel erupted with unprecedented shock, the message refresh rate so fast it created afterimages!

[Material Foundation Ranking]

1st Place: Zhou An — Material Comprehensive Score: 87,500 points

2nd Place: Four Seas Chamber of Commerce Guild Leader Qian Wanguan — Material Comprehensive Score: 12,400 points

3rd Place: City Lord Zhao Tianyu — Material Comprehensive Score: 9,800 points

A cliff-like lead!

The second place plus the third place, multiplied by three, still didn't even equal a fraction of Zhou An's score!

"87,500 points?! Is the damn system bugged? I worked my ass off for seven days, even pawned my underwear, and my material score is only 35 points!"

"Zhou An... it's this Zhou An again! He got the first kill too! What the hell did he do? Did he rob the system bank?!"

"Brothers, investigate! Dig three feet underground to find this bastard! If we rob him, our whole region can live in luxury!"

"Where is he! Whoever has his coordinates, I'll pay a fortune to buy them!"

Watching the furious comments in the channel, with everyone wishing they could tear him apart, Zhou An wasn't flustered in the slightest; he even leisurely peeled a piece of fruit he had opened earlier and popped it into his mouth.

He was hidden in the absolutely safe rear of the flight path; wanting to check his coordinates? Maybe in their next life.

[Settlement Complete!]

[Congratulations to Survivor 'Zhou An' for topping the regional comprehensive score ranking with an absolute material advantage!]

[Distributing Rank 1 exclusive rewards...]

With a flash of light, three treasure chests emitting brilliant golden light appeared out of thin air on the console in front of Zhou An.

[Obtained: Golden Treasure Chest x3]

[Obtained: Self-selected Basic Material Pool Quota x3000 units]

"3000 units of self-selected materials?" Zhou An's eyes lit up; this reward was exactly what he wanted.

He opened the selection panel without hesitation and maxed out on high-tier hard currency like [Tier 2 Steel] and [Tier 2 Composite Rubber].

In this world where a large amount of materials must be consumed every day to repair vehicles and upgrade modules, metal materials would always be the most stable value-preserving asset.

[System Prompt: The next settlement is in one month. Please, survivors, strive to survive.]