16: Seven-day survival mission completed

[eternal frozen marrow fragment]

[Properties: Extreme Cold Attribute Energy Crystal (fragment)]

[Current Status: Energy stable (Suppressed by rv force field)]

[Warning: Due to the presence of suppression, if the fragment leaves the suppression force field, it will instantly release an extreme cold Domain with a radius of three meters and a temperature of -80°C]

Qin Lin's pupils constricted slightly.

-80°C.

If he had been outside the vehicle just now, without the System suppression...

If he had tried to grab this fragment with his bare hands... his entire arm would likely have frozen into a popsicle in an instant and then shattered.

A wave of lingering fear sent a chill up his spine.

"So the RV protected us?"

Qin Lin let out a long breath.

"The System used some kind of force field to suppress the fragment's energy release. Inside the vehicle, it's safe. But outside..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

It was like a nuclear fuel rod—safe within the reactor's protective layer, but once exposed, it became lethal radiation.

Qin Lin carefully picked up the fragment and observed it closely in his palm.

The System prompts continued to scroll:

[Fragment analysis complete]

[Volume: 1/10 of a complete eternal frozen marrow]

[Energy Purity: 87%]

[Upgrade Requirement: 5 fragments of equal purity can be synthesized into the complete crystal stone required for upgrades]

One-fifth.

He still needed four more.

Qin Lin wasn't disappointed; instead, he felt a sense of relief.

At least he had found a direction and knew the form the crystal stone took.

He knew where to look—areas with abnormally low temperatures.

Moreover, this fragment itself was a harvest.

He pulled up the RV's energy interface:

[Energy: 33/100]

[External energy source detected. Absorb and convert?]

"Absorb," Qin Lin murmured.

The blue light on the fragment's surface began to flow, pouring into the RV like water and then disappearing.

The whole process lasted about ten seconds.

The fragment dimmed completely, turning into an ordinary transparent crystal that no longer glowed.

[Absorption complete]

[Can be converted into: 870 energy points or 87 survival points]

Qin Lin chose energy without hesitation.

[Energy: 33→100/100 (Limit reached, excess energy stored)]

[Energy Storage Pool: 803/∞]

Storage pool?

Qin Lin noticed the new entry.

It seemed that if the absorbed energy exceeded the current limit, it would be stored in an infinite-capacity storage pool to be called upon when needed.

This solved a major problem.

In the future, when he found more fragments, he could store energy in advance without worrying about waste.

And the conversion seemed to be based on the crystal stone's purity.

A purity of 87% yielded 870 energy points.

"The energy is full now,"

Qin Lin said to Su Yuran.

"We don't have to worry about the RV's power problems anymore."

Su Yuran nodded, but her gaze was still a bit dazed.

She looked out the window and suddenly said:

"Qin Lin, look outside."

Qin Lin turned his head.

Outside the window, it was still snowing, but it seemed... a bit lighter?

He opened the car door—only a crack this time—and tested the outside temperature with his hand.

It was still very cold, but it seemed... not as bone-chilling as before?

Qin Lin looked at the outside temperature display.

The reading fluctuated: -47°C.

But now... "The temperature is rising," Qin Lin said.

-46°C.

-45°C.

-44°C... It was rising slowly but steadily at a rate of 1-2 degrees per hour.

Three hours later, the temperature stabilized at -43°C and stopped changing.

"It stopped."

Qin Lin recorded the data.

"It rose from -61°C to -43°C, an 18-degree increase, and then stopped."

"So the crystal stone fragments affect the local temperature?" Su Yuran asked.

"It doesn't just affect it; it creates it."

"The original temperature of this area should be similar to the outside, around -43°C."

"But the presence of the fragment turned a small area into an extreme low-temperature zone of -61°C."

"Now that I've taken the fragment, the temperature is returning to normal."

He paused, his eyes lighting up:

"This is a major discovery. It means we can find crystal stones by monitoring temperature anomalies. The lower the temperature, the larger and more complete the crystal stone might be."

"But... how do we know what the 'normal' temperature is?" Su Yuran asked. "The whole city is in the negative forties."

Qin Lin thought for a moment.

"Comparison. Record the temperature of each area and find the points significantly lower than the surroundings," he said. "For example, in the Science and Technology Park, if it's -43°C outside and -50°C or even lower in certain places inside, that's an anomaly."

He looked at the clock in the car.

4:17 PM.

There were less than eight hours left until the seven-day survival task was completed.

"Let's head back to the Auto Repair Shop first."

"The task will be finished soon; let's see what the reward is."

Qin Lin started the car, turned around, and drove toward the Auto Repair Shop.

On the way back, Qin Lin kept thinking.

Fragments affect local temperature.

What about a complete eternal frozen marrow?

Would it affect an entire block, or even the whole city?

Was this current low temperature caused by this kind of crystal stone?

However, now was not the time to investigate the truth.

Staying alive and getting stronger were the top priorities.

By the time they returned to the Auto Repair Shop, it was almost dark.

Qin Lin parked the car at the very back of the workshop and used an iron bar to brace the door again.

Su Yuran began to prepare dinner.

Two packs of Instant Noodles plus a ham sausage—this was their most sumptuous meal in days.

While waiting for the noodles to cook, Qin Lin checked the vehicle's status.

[Doomsday RV Lv1]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Stored Energy: 803]

[survival points: 191]

[Driver: Qin Lin]

[Passengers: 1]

[Unlocked Modules: Basic Survival Unit, supplies supermarket]

[Current Task: Survive for seven days (6 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes / 7 days)]

Two minutes left.

Qin Lin stared at the clock.

The second hand ticked.

57, 58, 59—

[Seven-day survival task completed]

[Issuing rewards...]

[Obtained: survival points × 100]

[Obtained: Random Basic Supplies Box × 1]

The survival points jumped from 191 to 292. The reward plus the survival points converted during this last hour totaled 101 points.

Simultaneously, on the screen inside the vehicle, a silver-gray metal box appeared out of thin air.

It was just like a scene from a movie.

The box wasn't large, about half a meter long, thirty centimeters wide, and twenty centimeters high, with no markings on the surface.

[Obtained a Basic Supplies Box. Open it?]

"Yes."

[Opening... Opening complete. Congratulations on obtaining:]

10 packs of Compressed Biscuits.

5 packs of Beef Jerky.

3 boxes of Chocolate.

2 cans of Canned Luncheon Meat.

Not particularly generous, but still practical.

But Qin Lin really wanted something else.

He was getting tired of eating these things.

"It seems I still need to complete Hidden Task rewards for them to be generous."

"At least it's enough to eat for a few days."

These items soon appeared on the shelves of the supermarket space.

Su Yuran counted the food, a small smile finally appearing on her face.

Qin Lin cared more about the survival points.

What exactly was the use of this thing?

Moreover, the next task didn't seem to have started.

"How could I be so stupid? I can just ask the System."

Qin Lin slapped his head, realizing he was being quite foolish.

He had the RV System but didn't ask it, instead pondering blindly here.

"System, what are survival points used for?"