21: Post-Apocalyptic RV Upgrade Lv2

For the next five days, Qin Lin and Su Yuran practically lived in the Science and Technology Park.

Using the Auto Repair Shop as their base, they set out every morning, driving to different areas of the park to systematically search for temperature anomalies.

Qin Lin made a simple temperature logger himself.

Using a portable thermometer along with paper and pen, he recorded the coordinates and temperature at every location they visited.

On the third day, they found the third fragment.

It was in the 'Low-Temperature Physics Laboratory' in the southwest corner of the park.

The temperature in that building was ridiculously low: -67°C.

The fragment was hidden in the wreckage of a liquid nitrogen storage tank, with a purity of 86%, providing 860 units of energy.

On the fourth day, they found nothing.

It seemed the temperature anomalies in the Science and Technology Park had been completely scavenged.

Qin Lin drove around the entire park three times and measured over a hundred points, but never found another area below -60°C.

“It looks like there were only three pieces in the park.”

“For the rest, we'll have to look elsewhere.”

“There's a lake in the city center that's frozen over. Could there be one there?”

“It's possible.”

Qin Lin recalled.

On the morning of the fifth day, they set off for the Artificial Lake in the city center.

The lake was about eight kilometers from the Science and Technology Park, which would take over an hour to drive through the snow.

On the way, they once again witnessed more of the Apocalypse's cruel scenes:

Some shops had been burned down, the black smoke particularly jarring against the snowy sky.

There were also people in uniforms trying to maintain order, but unsustainable situations continued to occur nonetheless.

Even though their weapons were Advanced, they were of no use.

At a crossroad, Qin Lin saw a group of people.

There were about a dozen of them, all wrapped in thick clothes, carrying clubs and makeshift weapons. Led by a burly man, they were knocking on doors one by one.

If a door didn't open, they smashed it. If it did, they went inside to 'requisition supplies.'

“It's a gang,” Qin Lin said in a low voice. “They've already started to become organized.”

Su Yuran's face turned pale. “They... they're robbing people?”

“It's not just robbery.”

Qin Lin watched as the group dragged a bag of rice out of a house.

“They are establishing a sphere of influence.”

“Is no one stopping them?”

“They can't,” Qin Lin shook his head. “They can manage it for a moment, but not forever.”

He bypassed that intersection and took another road.

Order was gradually collapsing.

Small survivor groups were beginning to form, and as they fought over limited resources, conflicts would only increase.

The era of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, had officially begun.

They arrived at the Artificial Lake.

Calling it a lake was a stretch; it was actually a large ornamental pool, about the size of two football fields.

Now, the entire surface of the lake was frozen into a thick layer of ice, covered in a vast expanse of white snow.

Qin Lin parked the car by the lakeside and first measured the temperature.

Outside the car: -45°C.

Edge of the lake: -46°C.

Towards the center of the lake:

-48°C, -50°C, -53°C... Sure enough, there was an anomaly.

He slowly drove the car onto the ice.

The RV's all-terrain tires had decent grip on the ice, but Qin Lin still drove very carefully.

The vehicle slowly moved toward the center of the lake.

The temperature continued to drop.

-55°C, -58°C, -60°C... finally stopping at a spot slightly east of the lake's center: -62°C.

“It should be right here.” Qin Lin stopped and got out of the car.

The ice at the center of the lake was different from elsewhere.

It wasn't transparent, but a cloudy milky white, seemingly containing Impurities inside.

Qin Lin tapped it with his Entrenching Shovel; the ice was very hard, but it could be smashed open.

He went back and forth between the RV and the outside several times, finally managing to dig a pit half a meter deep.

Then he saw a light.

A faint blue light shone through from deeper within the ice.

The fourth fragment.

It was buried deeper than the previous ones.

Qin Lin continued to dig.

The ice became harder and harder, eventually feeling almost like concrete, with each shovel strike only chipping off a small piece.

His arms ached, and his breath condensed into ice inside his mask, clogging his nose and mouth.

Finally, the tip of the shovel hit something hard.

It wasn't the brittle sound of ice, but the crisp clink of a crystal.

Qin Lin cleared away the surrounding crushed ice and saw the fragment.

It was slightly larger than the previous ones, and its purity was higher as well.

【eternal frozen marrow fragment detected】

【Purity: 95%】

【Convertible Energy: 950】

He carefully took out the fragment and returned to the vehicle.

【Current Fragments: 4/5】

Only one last piece to go.

But the temperature anomaly at the lake's center was still there.

Qin Lin measured the spot where he had dug the pit:

-60°C, only two degrees higher than before.

“There's more?”

He rested for a while, drank some hot water, and then got out of the car again.

Sure enough, five meters away from the first pit, the temperature dropped to -63°C again.

The fifth fragment.

And the final piece.

Qin Lin dug even harder than the last time.

His hands were already numb from the cold, and the cracks in his palms bled again, instantly freezing into ice crystals.

But he didn't care; there was only one thought in his head:

Collect them all, upgrade, and get stronger.

The shovel finally hit a crystal.

This piece was the smallest, only the size of a thumb, but it had the highest purity: 92%.

【Fifth fragment acquired】

【Current Fragments: 5/5】

【RV upgrade conditions met】

“Upgrade now?” Su Yuran asked.

Qin Lin shook his head; although there were no people here, the environment was wide open and easy to be spotted in.

He decisively returned to their base to perform the upgrade.

He pulled up the RV interface and selected upgrade.

【Doomsday RV is about to upgrade from Lv1 to Lv2】

【The upgrade process will last 30 minutes; please ensure the vehicle is stationary】

As soon as the words fell, the vehicle began to vibrate.

This time it was more violent than the upgrade from Lv0 to Lv1.

It wasn't just a reorganization of parts, but the entire structure of the vehicle was expanding and restructuring.

The sound of metal deforming was like the skeleton of a giant beast growing, low and shocking.

Su Yuran gripped the seat tightly, her eyes wide.

This was truly miraculous.

If it weren't for the fact that this disaster had come so suddenly, she would have suspected she was dreaming.

The first thing to change was the size.

The vehicle became much longer.

The width also increased, expanding outward by half a meter from both sides.

The entire vehicle body developed sharp, tough lines, resembling a large armored bus.

The paint changed from matte dark gray to a deeper ink blue, reflecting a metallic luster under the snow-light.

All the window glass was replaced with thicker multi-layer laminated glass, with heavy metal edging.

A metal bull bar was added to the front, and the side mirrors were replaced with a combination of cameras and display screens.

Even if the side mirrors were knocked off, one could still see behind through the cameras.

The most obvious change was at the rear:

A small storage hatch had been added.

The external changes lasted for about ten minutes.

Then, the interior began to restructure.

First was the cockpit, which became more high-tech.

Qin Lin and Su Yuran could hear various sounds coming from the living area:

Walls moving, floors rising, furniture being assembled... it was as if an invisible construction crew was busy at work.

Finally, thirty minutes passed.

Everything returned to silence.

【Upgrade Complete】

【Doomsday RV Lv2 (Climate-Adapted Type)】

【New functions unlocked】

【System Store activated (independent space, does not occupy RV space)】

Qin Lin took a deep breath and pushed open the car door.

The scene before him left him stunned.