4: Chapter 4 Energy Level Oner

Leaving the cesspit area, Lin Qiming chose an upward-sloping passage.

According to Hephaestus's analysis, going upward often meant getting closer to abandoned Old Era structures, where he might find a relatively dry and stable space.

The passage wound upward, and the trash piled on the ground gradually shifted from household waste to industrial parts: broken gears, twisted metal plates, and blocks of dried grease.

After walking for about half an hour, a fork appeared ahead.

To the left was a downward-sloping entrance blocked by half a rusted iron door. On the door, a gaping steel jaw was crudely painted in red paint, with the words beside it: "Iron Tooth Gang territory, trespassers will be killed."

[Scanning the left passage... There is a larger space about 15 meters behind... Life signals: None... Energy readings: Weak, unstable fluctuations...]

Lin Qiming weighed his options and decided to take the risk.

He carefully pried open the half-door and squeezed inside.

Inside was a space of about thirty square meters, resembling an abandoned pump room.

In the center were several large metal tanks with rusted-out bottoms, and in the corners were piles of broken wooden crates and metal barrels.

Most striking was the back of the room, where a waist-high metal cabinet with a severely rusted exterior stood against the wall. The cabinet door was ajar, and a faint, dark blue glow emanated from within.

[Old Era emergency backup power unit detected... Remaining energy: approx. 3%... Can attempt contact absorption or disassembly to obtain parts...]

"Energy unit!" Lin Qiming's eyes lit up.

He did not rush to approach, first checking other corners to confirm there were no hidden threats.

Then he picked up a rusty nut and threw it toward the cabinet. With a "Clang," it triggered no traps.

The disassembly process required extreme caution. He found an old pair of pliers with worn jaws that were still usable. Under the guidance of Hephaestus's scanning, he avoided potentially live circuits and bit by bit separated the connection points that hadn't completely rusted shut.

[Mechanical Affinity] talent gave him a vague intuition regarding the transmission of force and the weak points of structures, avoiding multiple misoperations that could have caused damage.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, and the pain in his left arm intensified due to the continuous exertion, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.

About an hour later, he finally separated the dark blue energy core crystal intact.

[Successfully disassembled the old energy unit core. Obtained: Damaged low-purity energy crystal × 1, several basic circuit components...]

[Can attempt to contact the crystal directly to guide residual energy into the stc core... or craft a simple 'energy guidance/buffer device' to improve absorption efficiency... Success probability approx. 17%...]

"17%... Better than zero."

He sat down and began to organize the parts he had disassembled: a few metal sheets, some copper wire, and several electronic components of unknown purpose.

He didn't have any ready-made blueprints in his head, but he understood the basic principles of energy transmission: it required conductors, insulation, voltage regulation or current limiting, and a safe contact interface.

"Let's give it a try."

Using the pliers, he bent the metal sheet into a trough shape to serve as the crystal base.

He stripped the copper wire, connecting one end to the crystal electrode and the other to a cylindrical component—it "felt" more stable to the touch, and he hoped it would act as a buffer.

The entire "device" was incredibly ugly; the connections were wrapped in cloth strips for insulation, and it looked like it could fall apart or short-circuit at any moment.

[Simple energy guidance device (extremely crude) crafting complete. System judgment: Success (thanks to talent bonus).]

[Acquired skill: Basic Manufacturing Lv0]

[Item evaluation: It's a miracle this thing works; it is recommended to use it before it explodes.]

"Shut up." Lin Qiming placed the crystal into the metal trough, pressed his right index finger onto the output end of the device, and gripped the metal pipe with his left hand.

"Let's begin."

A faint, tingling itch accompanied by a stinging sensation came from his fingertips.

The dark blue crystal suddenly flared, and tiny electric sparks burst from the cracks!

The cylindrical component on the device instantly overheated, emitting a wisp of blue smoke!

Lin Qiming's heart skipped a beat.

But the stinging sensation did not intensify; instead, it gradually weakened.

A warm current, faint but relatively stable, flowed along the copper wire into his fingertips and was slowly absorbed by the stc core within his body.

The process lasted about three minutes.

The crystal flickered one last time, then extinguished completely, turning into a dull, ordinary stone.

[Energy absorption complete.]

[Energy reserves: 3 → 22 ENU!]

[stc core repair level: 0.04% → 0.07%!]

[Energy level: 2.8 → 3.5 ona]

"22 points of energy... 0.07% repair level..." Lin Qiming let out a long breath.

The energy jumped from a single digit to a double digit, and the repair level had also risen a small amount.

More importantly, he had unlocked the [Basic Manufacturing] skill.

He collapsed to the ground, exhaustion washing over him, yet his spirits were somewhat lifted.

Just then, a sound came from the passage outside.

Squeaking sounds and the sound of rapid running and scratching against the ground. It was getting closer, and there were many of them!

A few seconds later, a group of black shadows surged in through the crack in the door! Hive Mutant Rats! They were larger than the ones he had seen in the cesspit, their eyes glowing red in the dim light.

There were six or seven of them, and they seemed to have been attracted by the faint energy dissipated during the energy absorption just now!

"Damn it!"

The rat pack immediately scattered and began searching.

A larger rat ran straight toward the metal tank where Lin Qiming was hiding!

Lin Qiming suddenly flashed out from behind the tank, smashing down hard with the metal pipe!

The rat agilely jumped away, baring its yellow fangs and hissing.

Other rats also gathered around.

"Hephaestus, scan for weaknesses!"

[Target creature: Hive Mutant Rat... Weaknesses: Head, spine... Energy reserves can support one low-power energy pulse (disruptive), but it will deplete the reserves...]

A rat lunged at his lower leg!

Lin Qiming swung the pipe and knocked it away, but another one darted up from the side and bit his ankle!

Health points dropped by 2.

More rats surged up. Stamina was depleting rapidly.

This wouldn't do.

"Hephaestus! Energy Pulse! Target: The ground in front of me, create a shockwave and bright light interference!"

[Command confirmed. Consuming 20 ENU. Executing.]

"Hum—!"

An invisible wave spread out, the ground vibrated slightly, and a burst of momentarily blinding white light exploded in the air!

The rat pack immediately squeaked in panic, falling into chaos.

Now was the time! Lin Qiming spotted the largest alpha rat, gathered all his strength, and threw the metal pipe like a javelin!

"Thwack!" The tip of the metal pipe pierced the alpha rat's flank, pinning it to the ground!

Seeing this, the other rats fled in terror and soon disappeared.

[Killed 'Hive Mutant Rat (Alpha)']

[Energy level: 3.5 → 4.1 ona]

[Unlocked skill: Basic Combat Lv0]

[Current status: HP 17/68, Stamina 12/100. Wound at risk of infection.]

"Struggling this much just to fight rats..." He looked at the rat carcass on the ground and gave a wry smile.

Energy was almost depleted, his injuries had worsened, all for a few points of energy level and a Lv0 skill. But he had survived. Once again.

He struggled to his feet. He couldn't stay here; the smell of blood might attract more things.

Walking out through the crack in the door marked by the Iron Tooth Gang, he chose to continue upward.

On the panel, stc core repair level: 0.07%. Energy reserve: 2 ENU. Energy level: 4.1 ona.

A transmigrator who couldn't even beat rats was still struggling.