5: Chapter 5 Cloudtop Fortress

Returning to the cramped cockpit, Zhou An pulled the hatch shut behind him, completely sealing out the stench of blood and the bone-chilling wind from high altitude.

Before he could even catch his breath, the system light screen before him began to flicker frantically, as if it had gone haywire.

[Area 997 Chat Channel]

"Holy crap! Was that a region-wide announcement just now? Who is Zhou An? First kill of a boss monster?!"

"Pterosaur? Just the name alone tells you it's a prehistoric beast. I can't even beat a mutated bird, and he's already killed a boss?"

"Is Big Brother Zhou there? Please carry me! I'm fifty kilometers behind the main force. If I don't catch up soon, the black fog is going to eat me!"

"City Lord Zhao Tianyu just said he was going to kill monsters to get blueprints, and not even ten minutes later, the first boss kill pops up? That's some fast karma!"

"Great Zhou An, what grade of monster did you kill? Did it drop any blueprints? Are you selling?"

Even City Lord Zhao Tianyu, who was the first to upgrade, popped up and posted a string of ellipses, clearly shaken by the sudden announcement of the first kill.

Zhou An just scanned them coldly and ignored all private messages.

In this world, exposing one's trump cards or wasting breath was just asking for death.

With a thought, he took the upgrade blueprint out of his inventory.

"Upgrade!"

[Upgrade blueprint detected, beginning to scan material list...]

[Required materials: Tier 1 Steel x100 (have 200), Rubber x50 (have 60), Tier 1 Wood x100 (have 210), Aviation Fuel x50 (have 600)...]

[Materials satisfied! Please select your vehicle's evolution path:]

Two holographic thumbnails appeared in the void:

[Thunder Falcon (Speed/Combat oriented)]: Streamlined fuselage, single main rotor, nose-mounted autocannon, flight speed can reach 160 KM/h.

[Cloud Top Fortress (Defense/Survival oriented)]: Heavy multi-rotor structure, spacious and flat cabin space, extremely high defense, suitable for long-term living and infrastructure construction.

Zhou An barely hesitated and tapped directly on [Cloud Top Fortress].

In this world of infinite flight, speed was certainly important, but space was the cornerstone of survival.

He didn't want to spend even one more second in that single-person cockpit, which was so cramped he couldn't even stretch his legs.

[Selection successful! Vehicle evolution initiated, estimated time: 3 hours.]

[During evolution, the vehicle will maintain constant speed automatic flight and cannot be manually controlled.]

Countless tiny golden gears and energy lines suddenly surged inside the helicopter, wrapping around the entire aircraft like a giant net.

Zhou An felt a slight vibration as the surrounding space began to be forcibly widened and reorganized like pulled noodles.

The three hours passed in a flash, intertwined with anxiety and anticipation.

When Zhou An opened his eyes again, the scene before him had undergone a complete transformation.

The original dilapidated single-person cabin was gone, replaced by a spacious, tidy, rectangular metal interior cabin.

He stood up; since the height had increased to three meters, he could walk inside the cabin with his back completely straight.

The cabin was about five meters long and wide; while twenty-five square meters didn't make it a mansion, above the clouds, it was practically a five-star hotel.

The external structure of the fuselage had also completely changed. The original single main rotor had been replaced by a huge ducted rotor blade at each of the four corners, making it look more like a miniature transport ship from a sci-fi movie.

Zhou An couldn't wait to open the vehicle panel:

[Name: Cloud Top Fortress]

[Level: Tier 2]

[Area: 25 square meters (3 meters high)]

[Maximum speed: 50 km/h]

[Endurance: Fuel tank expanded, current fuel storage 300/500]

"50 kilometers per hour; although it's still slow, at least it's an improvement." Zhou An did the math.

After the vehicle upgrade, although the power consumption per unit of distance had increased, the fuel tank capacity had also increased.

The self-healing recovery speed of [Smallest Giant] is 5% per hour.

The fuel tank is now 500 liters, so recovering 5% per hour means 25 liters.

And according to the current flight consumption, cruising at a constant speed of 50 km/h consumes about 20 liters of fuel per hour.

"Recovery is greater than consumption!"

Zhou An's eyes suddenly lit up.

"From now on, as long as I don't frequently use intense combat acceleration, I can truly achieve infinite fuel consumption and fly forever!"

This solid sense of security made Zhou An let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, he took the green [Basic Kitchen Module Blueprint] out from his bosom.

Although 25 square meters wasn't large, he didn't intend to eat cold compressed biscuits anymore.

He selected a corner at the back of the cabin, consumed a small amount of steel and rubber, and chose to use the blueprint.

[Kitchen module under construction...]

With a sound of mechanical assembly, a simple countertop occupying about three square meters appeared. It not only had a stainless steel sink and a small induction cooker powered by the vehicle core, but even a small range hood pipe leading outside the cabin.

"Tonight, I can finally eat a hot meal of braised Pterosaur meat."

Just as Zhou An was admiring his newly built small kitchen, the system's crisp notification sound rang out in his mind again, sounding like music to his ears.

[Notification: Detected that the host has successfully upgraded the vehicle to LV1, achieving phased evolution.]

[Hextech system has been triggered, currently drawing the second enhancement option for you...]

A colored entry suddenly appeared.

[Hextech Enhancement: Compound Interest (Colored)]

[Effect: Time is money. Every day at midnight, all basic resources in your inventory, including materials, fuel, food, etc., excluding blueprints and equipment, will automatically increase by 1%.]

"1% daily interest..." Zhou An gasped, his heart rate accelerating instantly.

Don't ever underestimate this 1%.

In the early stages when resources are scarce, it might just be a few more pieces of wood or a few drops of oil every day.

But anyone who has played management games knows that Compound Interest is the most terrifying weapon in this world!

As long as his base amount is large enough, for example, saving ten thousand units of steel, he could earn one hundred units a day just by lying down.

What if he saved one hundred thousand or a million? By the mid-to-late game, he wouldn't need to risk his life searching for resources; the interest generated every day would be enough for him to splurge!

"With 'Compound Interest', why would I still chase the progress of the main force?"

Zhou An leaned back comfortably in the pilot's seat and set an extremely clear strategic goal.

From today on, he had only one goal: to crazily hoard basic resources and scour the map for resource rains to loot. Others flew forward to save their lives; wherever he flew, that place would be his ATM!

In a great mood, Zhou An decided to treat himself well.

He walked to the brand-new kitchen countertop and took out the mutated Pterosaur meat he had obtained earlier.

The meat looked crystal clear with distinct textures. He also dug out a box of [Self-heating Braised Beef Rice], poured the dehydrated vegetables and seasoning base into the stainless steel pot, added pure water, and made a simple braised soup base.

Subsequently, he sliced the Pterosaur meat into thin strips. This green kitchen module really had a bonus; not only were the knives exceptionally sharp, but when slicing the meat, he could even feel the fibers in the meat being softened by some kind of tiny energy.

Turning on the induction cooker, the braised soup base soon boiled, bubbling and steaming.

Zhou An picked up a slice of Pterosaur meat and swished it in the pot for a few seconds. The slice instantly curled and changed color, emitting an intoxicating aroma of fat.

"Whew... refreshing!"

With one bite of meat down, it melted in his mouth, and the rich meaty aroma and the spiciness of the seasoning exploded in his mouth. Sitting in the spacious and stable Tier 2 Fortress, eating a hot beef and Pterosaur hot pot, it was truly a heavenly life.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhou An set the helicopter's autopilot to a constant cruising speed of 50 KM/h, turned on the radar's automatic resource rain alarm, and then lay down comfortably on the large leather seat in the cockpit, ready to AFK.