4: In this life, I will live on.

It really worked.

But it wasn't enough.

The furnace needed continuous fuel, and what he could burn was limited.

Unless...

Qin Lin looked at the vehicles waiting for repair in the workshop.

Their owners probably weren't coming back.

He got up, picked up his tools, and walked toward the most dilapidated Van.

Dismantle the car, take the gas tank.

Gasoline was excellent fuel.

Night fell exceptionally early.

It was only four in the afternoon, but the sky had already completely darkened.

Without electricity, the city was plunged into darkness.

Only scattered flickers of fire dotted the landscape.

Those were people burning anything they could to keep warm.

Qin Lin sat by the furnace, tossing in a piece of wood plank.

The temperature in the workshop was maintained around zero degrees, much better than the -30℃ outside.

His car had been 'activated' for three hours.

Some new information appeared on the interface:

【Energy Accumulation: 23/100 (Engine Running + Ambient Heat Absorption)】

【survival points: 5】

【Unlock Preview: Lv1 will enable 'Basic Temperature Control System,' 'Air Filtration,' and 'Energy Conversion'】

It hadn't been explained what the survival points could be used for.

But Qin Lin wasn't in a hurry.

He had 72 hours to wait.

The furnace crackled, the firelight dancing on his face.

He recalled where he was on this night in his previous life.

It seemed he and Su Yuran were hiding in a hotel room, wrapped in bedsheets, listening to the constant screams in the hallway.

Su Yuran kept crying; he held her, his mind utterly blank.

Back then, he feared death, feared the cold, feared tomorrow.

Now, he still feared them, but alongside the fear, there was a strange sense of calm.

Because he had a car.

A car that was still very shabby now, but one that was about to change everything.

Faint sounds of a Siren drifted from outside the window.

Very distant, very sparse.

Government rescue forces had indeed been deployed, but it was a drop in the bucket.

Qin Lin knew that in a few more days, even the sound of Sirens would disappear.

It wasn't that the government had given up; it was that the entire System had collapsed.

The Extreme Climate was only the beginning.

Next would come the loss of water, power, and food.

Then disease, violence, and the complete disintegration of order.

Finally, humanity would reveal its most primal face in the struggle for survival.

Qin Lin tossed the last piece of wood plank into the furnace.

The flames flickered, reflecting the determined light in his eyes.

"In this life, I must survive."

"Not just survive, but live very well."

He returned to the car and closed the door.

The heater was still working, keeping the interior temperature around five degrees.

He wrapped his coat tighter and closed his eyes.

In his ears were the crackling sounds of the burning fire, distant cries, and—

In his mind, the cold System prompt:

【Activation Progress: 6/24 Hours】

【Please survive until the countdown ends】

...The second night at the auto repair shop, the temperature dropped to minus thirty-five degrees.

Qin Lin was woken up by the cold at three in the morning.

The furnace had gone out, and the workshop temperature had fallen back to minus ten degrees.

The breath he exhaled condensed into thick frost inside the car, covering the entire windshield.

【Warning: Vehicle temperature too low, risk of freezing exists】

【Current Activation Progress: 18/24 Hours】

Only 6 hours left.

Qin Lin rubbed his frozen hands and pushed the car door open.

The cold air sliced his face like a knife.

He hurried to the furnace and reignited the fire.

Last night, he had dismantled the seats of that Van; the foam and leather were excellent fuel.

The flames rose again.

He squatted by the stove to warm himself, staring blankly at the firelight.

His phone had died long ago; now he could only estimate the time.

But the System interface had a countdown, very precise:

5 hours, 42 minutes, and 17 seconds.

Almost there.

But the world would only get worse.

He walked to the workshop door and peered out through the crack.

The alley was deathly silent.

The accumulated snow was already past his calves, and the sky was a strange, dark red.

No starlight, no moonlight, just a heavy, seemingly solidified blood color.

A dog barked in the distance, quickly turning into a mournful cry, and then silence.

Probably frozen to death, or perhaps caught and eaten by someone.

Qin Lin returned to the furnace, took a pack of Compressed Biscuits from the car, and slowly ate them with melted snow water.

The biscuits were very dry and hard to swallow.

But he ate very carefully, licking up every crumb that fell onto his hand.

Food had to be rationed.

Although he knew there was a small supermarket nearby, going out for supplies now was too dangerous.

And no one would be selling anything anyway.

The low temperature alone could kill, not to mention the possibility of encountering other survivors.

In the Early Stage of the apocalypse, people were more terrifying than the weather.

Morning.

If it could still be called morning.

The sky had brightened slightly, but it was still that oppressive grayish-white.

Qin Lin checked the car's status.

【Energy: 41/100】

【survival points: 19】

【Activation Progress: 19/24 Hours】

The Energy was increasing slowly, likely because the car was automatically absorbing ambient heat.

Although the efficiency was low.

survival points accumulated at 1 point per hour, automatically tallied.

But what the survival points were for hadn't been unlocked by the System yet.

Qin Lin wasn't worried either.

He took out a piece of paper and started making a record:

Food: 20 bags of Compressed Biscuits, 5 boxes of Instant Noodles, 30 chocolate bars, 15 packs of Beef Jerky, 10 boxes of bottled water. Rationing them could last a month.

Tools: Hydraulic Cutters, Entrenching Shovel, Multi-Tool Knife, High-Powered Flashlight, rope, lighter, spare batteries.

Fuel: Three barrels of Diesel (approx. 150 liters), about 50 liters of Gasoline siphoned from other cars.

Medicine: Only the Emergency Kit bought from the supermarket, containing Gauze, Alcohol, and Band-Aids.

Medicine is the weak point.

If he got injured or sick, it would be very troublesome.

Qin Lin put an asterisk next to 'Medicine,' planning that the first thing he would do after the car was activated was to find medical supplies.

At noon, he cooked a packet of Instant Noodles.

He used a small iron pot to boil snow water on the furnace, added the noodles when it boiled, and then the seasoning packet.

Steaming hot noodles were an absolute luxury in the severe cold.

He ate very slowly, chewing each bite carefully.

After eating, Qin Lin started organizing the storage area.

In a corner, he discovered some useful items:

A bundle of Cables, several car batteries, and an old-fashioned Gasoline Generator.

Although rusty, it looked usable.

If he could fix the generator, he would have electricity.

With electricity, he could charge his phone, use an Electric Heater, and maybe even find a Radio Signal.

Because, as he knew from his previous life,

even though the world was in disaster,

certain things could still function.

Nothing had completely shut down.

He spent two hours cleaning the generator, replacing the Spark Plug, and adding fuel.

Then he pulled the Starter Cord—

"Chug-chug-chug..."

The Engine coughed a few times, spewing black smoke, and actually started!

Qin Lin's eyes lit up.

He connected the Electric Heater, and the moment the plug went into the socket, the heater's light turned on, and the heating element began to glow red.

Warmth!

Real, stable warmth!

The temperature in the workshop rose at a visible rate.

Qin Lin moved the Electric Heater next to the car, letting the hot air blow directly onto the vehicle body.

【Ambient temperature increased, Energy accumulation speed +20%】

【Current Energy: 58/100】

Effective!

Qin Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

With electricity, the difficulty of survival dropped sharply.

He heated his phone by the fire to recharge it.

Although there was no signal, it could at least be used as a flashlight and a timer.

After the phone turned on, dozens of missed calls and text messages popped up on the screen.