"Damn it, I finally managed to explore the town ruins today, and I almost got ambushed and killed by some beast! Don't let me find out who you are, or I'll fight you to the death!"
"Heh, if you're not strong enough, then shut up. If you really die out there, you can only blame yourself."
"Stop talking nonsense, let's fight like dogs."
"Stop arguing, settle things privately, don't waste public resources here." "
Sigh, the town ruins aren't easy to explore either. I went today, and not only did I not find any useful resources, but I was also chased by more than a dozen zombies. They're still outside the shelter, I don't know what to do!"
"Brother, you have to think positively! With zombies guarding the shelter, your safety is guaranteed!"
"...There's no need for that."
"..."
"Brothers, does anyone have extra food? Could you share some with me? I... I can move into your shelter, I'll be very obedient! (170cm tall, long-legged school beauty.)"
"Don't be ridiculous! Everyone's struggling to meet their basic needs, who'd be interested in you? Food is far more precious than you!"
"Hehe, I want some! Come here, little sister, I have plenty of food!"
"Hehe, right! You're my biggest food reserve!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, brother, your thoughts are too dark!"
"..."
In just a few days, Lu Shen could clearly feel that the relationships between survivors had undergone subtle changes under the pressure of survival.
At first, they were relatively friendly, still maintaining the morals and ethics of a peaceful society, even helping each other, and their relationships were relatively clear.
But now, the hostility had increased several times over, and desires were spreading.
Moreover, he was certain that some of the existing survivors had plundered other survivors, which was not uncommon in the post-apocalyptic environment.
He couldn't help but sigh; this change was inevitable. Competition among survivors for limited survival resources would become increasingly fierce.
Especially in the next few days, many survivors were running out of food, and even if they didn't want to leave their shelters, they had to go out to find food.
And, town ruins were undoubtedly the best choice!
At that time, the town ruins would inevitably gather many survivors, making it extremely easy for conflicts to break out, and the danger level would increase dramatically.
He had already made up his mind that tomorrow might be the last time he went to the town ruins; after that, he would have to stay away from there and survive mainly in the shelter.
...
"Slap!"
In the middle of the night, Lu Shen woke up with a start and slapped his face.
"Why are there bugs in the shelter?"
By the light of the fireplace, Lu Shen frowned and looked around, only to see that he had swatted a bug that looked similar to an ant .
He immediately became alert; if it was a mutated creature, it could be as dangerous as the black stick insect, and a slight mistake could result in serious injury.
Fortunately, after checking, he found that it seemed to be just an ordinary ant.
But... how could ants suddenly appear in this freezing weather?
Lu Shen got up and checked, finding that there were many small insects in the shelter, many of them huddled around the fireplace, seemingly trying to keep warm.
This phenomenon was somewhat similar to that of the black stick insect.
Many creatures struggle to survive in cold environments, so they hibernate. However, upon sensing warmth, they all awaken and approach.
In the icy wilderness, only the temperature inside the shelter remained above zero, a veritable paradise for these tiny insects! They all swarmed together.
However, this situation was quite unpleasant for the survivors.
If it weren't for their thick clothing preventing the insects from crawling in, it would likely have been even more of a nuisance.
"Sigh, living in this mud pit isn't a long-term solution,"
Lu Shen had considered many times whether to renovate the shelter or relocate it to a more suitable place.
But he had only thought about it, without taking any real action.
However, if conditions allowed, the shelter issue could indeed be put on the agenda.
Half-lying in the shelter, influenced by the insects, he lost the will to sleep.
He added some firewood to the fireplace, poured himself a small half-bottle of white wine, and pondered his future plans as he drank.
"Food remains the top priority, and we must find a stable and continuous food source, preferably one we can grow ourselves..."
"We also need to continue searching for resources..."
"The shelter is also a big problem. As resources increase, our needs for living also rise, and this place is still too cramped..."
"And then there's the relationship with other survivors—cooperation, trade, competition..."
Thoughts kept popping into his mind, and Lu Shen wrote down all the important ideas to make plans for the future.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
The shelter was silent except for the sound of pen scratching against paper, besides the howling wind outside.
For many survivors, due to various factors, sleep at night is very light, and they often wake up like this in the middle of the night.
...
The next day, around 2 PM.
[Weather]
Temperature: -12.4℃.
Climate: Moderate snow, wind speed 10.
Radiation: Moderate (If you go out for more than 73 minutes today, radiation will invade your body, and the radiation level will continue to rise as night falls.)
Today's weather is much worse than the previous few days, and the time spent exploring outside has been reduced accordingly.
However, even with the 30 minutes from the gas mask, his exploration time would still reach about 100 minutes.
He was considering where to explore today.
If he continued to the town ruins, time might be tight, and if something unexpected happened, he might not be able to return in time.
But if he went to the withered forest, the resources there would be scarcer, and the harvest would be correspondingly less.
More importantly, more and more people would be exploring the town ruins in the future, and if he couldn't gain an advantage, the remaining supplies would be looted by other survivors, leaving him with nothing.
After much deliberation, Lu Shen finally gritted his teeth, put aside his greed, and chose the safest plan—to go to the withered forest.
Little did he know that this choice would save him from a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Just then, Shi Lei's communication came through: "Brother Shen, are we meeting at the town ruins again today? Let's pull off another big heist."
"No thanks," Lu Shen refused. "Today's too rushed, I don't have enough time to get there and back, I can't go."
"Not enough time to get there and back? Brother Shen, you live really far away!" Shi Lei said with some regret, then added, "Then I'll go by myself this time. If I find any useful resources, I'll save some for you, Brother Shen."
"Okay, be careful then. There might be a lot of people heading to the town ruins today. If there's any danger, prioritize your own safety,"
Lu Shen reminded him. Although their relationship wasn't extremely close, in this apocalyptic blizzard, they could barely be considered half-friends.
Shi Lei nodded in agreement and didn't say anything more.
Lu Shen put on his equipment and stepped into the snowstorm, heading towards the withered forest.
This time, in addition to the [Survival Radio] and spear, Lu Shen also carried two other pieces of equipment:
a backpack and a burlap sack.
The backpack and burlap sack were all supplies he had obtained yesterday.
He had just crafted the axe this morning, using the sheet metal he had obtained yesterday, combined with the "Condensation" talent, to make it into the shape of an axe, and then adding a wooden handle.
Crafting this axe almost exhausted all his energy; he had to eat two cornbreads to gradually recover.
The density and strength of iron were simply too high; modifying it using his talent was extremely difficult.
Even the axe in his hand wasn't very compressed; it looked like coils of steel mixed together, lacking a natural, seamless feel.
However, it was more than enough for chopping wood.
Upon reaching the dead forest, he checked the animal traps as usual.
As expected—completely empty, not even a single hair was visible.
Lu Shen shook his head helplessly. He hadn't had any food for many days, and his health was deteriorating. Unfortunately, the animal traps weren't working.
Not only today, but perhaps for a long time to come, the traps wouldn't bring him any food.
Lu Shen didn't force it, focusing instead on gathering wood, which was his main purpose for coming today.
Because he hadn't gathered wood in the past few days, his firewood was severely depleted; he hadn't even dared to light the fireplace during the day.
Today, with nearly 100 minutes, he could collect as many hard branches as possible.
Using the axe, he chopped through the snow, finding the buried hard branches and collecting them all.
With the axe, even the harder snow was easily chopped, significantly increasing his efficiency.
However, after several days of collection, the number of hard branches buried in the snow was extremely small, and they were all gone after a short time.
Therefore, Lu Shen turned his attention directly to the dead trees.
Actually, it would be more convenient to directly cut down the trees and obtain a large amount of wood quickly, but he hadn't done so before.
One reason was that he didn't have tools like axes, and cutting down dead trees with considerable hardness was extremely difficult.
Another reason was for sustainable development considerations.
There was only this one patch of dead trees around the shelter, and if it was all cut down at once, where would he get wood in the future?
The scarcity of resources forced him to carefully manage every usable resource.
As for now, it was out of necessity; there were too few hard branches on the ground, and a large amount of wood was needed for heating, so he had to cut down the dead trees.
He found a relatively small dead tree, about the thickness of a bowl and about two meters tall, looking rather slender.
Lu Shen swung his axe and cut off the thinner branches from the dead tree.
The dead tree itself is extremely hard, even harder than hard branches, making it very difficult to cut down. It often requires seven or eight consecutive strikes to barely break it.
However, compared to digging through 1.8 meters of snow, digging out hard branches bit by bit is much faster and yields a greater harvest.
Excluding travel time, he had about an hour to collect wood today, plenty of time. For
those sixty minutes, Lu Shen dared not stop for a moment, working at high intensity, chopping continuously.
Finally, four large bundles of hard branches—that was all his harvest for the day!
He tied them with cloth strips, stuffing three bundles into a burlap sack, barely enough to hold them all, and carrying the remaining bundle on his back.
Just as he was about to head back with the branches on his back, his gaze suddenly turned to the snowstorm to the north. With just a slight glance, something caught his attention.
To the northwest, there was a trail left by a survivor, stretching towards the ruins of the town.
Lu Shen couldn't help but raise his eyes. He usually made sure to cover his footprints when he went out, as his talent was very useful in the snow.
But other survivors weren't so lucky!
A clever person using a relatively large, homemade "ski" would leave shallow footprints that could be quickly buried by the wind and not easily discovered.
However, if someone walked on foot through snow over a meter deep, they would leave a very obvious trail, extremely easy for others to spot.
And this person was in that situation.
Lu Shen narrowed his eyes. Through this clear trail, he could easily find the other person's shelter!
Whether it was plundering resources, seizing shelter, or even killing for treasure, it would be easy.
This wasn't a peaceful era; there was no need to consider morality. If obtaining a large amount of supplies quickly would increase their chances of survival, these things weren't out of the question.
After a deep look and memorizing the route, Lu Shen picked up the hard branches and returned to the shelter.
If anyone were there, they would witness an incredibly magical scene.
Lu Shen dragged the firewood forward, leaving deep drag marks behind him, but after he passed, the snow automatically reset, becoming indistinguishable from before.
This was the benefit of his talent, allowing him to move like a ghost in the snow, making him difficult to spot.
...
Upon returning to the shelter, he immediately began sorting through his day's harvest.
Hard branches weren't just firewood; they represented a large amount of survival coins!
The extremely dangerous black stick insects had become his primary source of survival coins.
For other survivors, obtaining survival coins was extremely difficult, requiring the sale of supplies in exchange—truly a rare commodity in the apocalypse.
But for Lu Shen, the withered forest was a vast treasure trove, providing him with a large amount of survival coins!
Of course, this path to obtaining survival coins was one he had risked his life for.
Crouching at the shelter entrance, he used the back of his axe to break open the hard branches one by one, extracting the dormant black stick insects and exchanging them for survival coins.
This time, the quantity of hard branches was substantial, so the number of black stick insects he extracted was also considerable.
Compared to hard branches in the snow, most black stick insects preferred to inhabit withered trees.
Although Lu Shen called it a withered tree, the tree was not actually dead; it was just rather withered and decaying.
This means that if the black stick insects live in dead trees, they can utilize the sap in the branches to create a more favorable environment for their hibernation, and the temperature will be higher than on hard branches covered in snow.
Therefore, after opening all the hard branches, a total of 28 black stick insects were harvested, which were then exchanged for a huge sum of money—a full 90 survival coins!
Logically, 28 black stick insects, each worth 3 survival coins, would only amount to 84 survival coins.
However, one black stick insect was exceptionally large, the size of a billiard ball, likely having absorbed more radiation, and was worth a whopping nine survival coins!
Adding this to the nine survival coins he already had, he now possessed a total of 99 survival coins, instantly becoming wealthy.
It's no exaggeration to say that even among all survivors, he considered his wealth to be among the top tier!
And he only needed one more survival coin to upgrade his shelter!
So far, he's been learning about other survivors' situations daily through the [Survival Radio], but he's never heard of any survivor upgrading their shelter.
After all, collecting 100 survival coins isn't easy for anyone.
But precisely because of this, Lu Shen doesn't know what changes will occur after upgrading the shelter. Will it have a larger area? Or will it add more facilities?
These unknowns make him hesitant about whether to upgrade.
Spending 100 survival coins with unsatisfactory results would be disastrous, severely impacting his survival rhythm!
After a moment's thought, he decides to use today's shop refresh opportunity.
If valuable items appear, he'll buy them.
If the items aren't valuable and he's not in a hurry to use his survival coins, upgrading the shelter won't hurt.
After all, [Shelter Upgrade] occupies a separate page, so it's unlikely to be useless and may have significant value.
Clicking the shop refresh button, three items appear before him.
[Name: Coffee x3, 10 Survival Coins.]
[Name: Axe x1, 12 Survival Coins.]
[Name: Overalls, 100 Survival Coins.]
Good luck! Besides the unique overalls, two other valuable items refreshed.
Coffee, similar to cigarettes and alcohol, has a relaxing and mood-relieving effect, and while valuable, its practical use is limited.
This is because, in the short term, neither cigarettes, alcohol, nor coffee have the significant effect one might imagine.
For most survivors, even basic sustenance is scarce, so how can they relax?
Only after a while, when survivors have sufficient supplies to maintain a basic standard of living, will the value of hard currencies like cigarettes and alcohol truly become apparent.
Therefore, Lu Shen is unlikely to trade cigarettes and alcohol in the short term, nor will he stockpile them. Even for him, food and other items are still more valuable.
These three packets of coffee, while decent, are not in high demand, and he doesn't intend to buy them.
As for the axe, it's an essential tool for any survivor, requiring no hesitation.
However, for Lu Shen, the value of such an iron tool is significantly reduced.
After all, with materials like iron sheet, his "Condensation" talent allows him to easily craft these tools.
The iron axe he made yesterday is a prime example!
He's even considering specializing in tool crafting and trading with other survivors once things stabilize.
These tools are absolute rarity in the post-apocalyptic world!
Not only are they valuable, but every survivor needs them, and they're a monopoly.
Therefore, all three items seem worthless and unnecessary.
Looking at his 99 survival coins, Lu Shen gritted his teeth and decided to upgrade his shelter.
The rusty iron cup was worth exactly one survival coin; after selling it and collecting 100 coins, Lu Shen pressed the upgrade button.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
He looked around; nothing had changed.
Upon reopening the [Shelter] page, the content had changed.
The original shelter description was for the initial shelter:
[Initial Shelter]
[Shelter Range: 5.32 square meters (Within this range, you will not be affected by radiation.)]
[Upgrade Requirements: 100 Survivor Coins.]
However, the information had now changed.
[Independent Shelter]
[Description: The initial shelter cannot be moved or its size changed, and it can be occupied by other survivors.
An independent shelter possesses a "Shelter Core," allowing survivors to choose its location. The
"Shelter Core" covers an area of 10 square meters, within which you will be unaffected by radiation.
Later, there is a chance to find items to expand shelters and shelter facility blueprints in the shop. (Special items and special refresh cards have a higher probability of appearing.)]
Looking at the table in front of me, I saw an ancient-looking stone, seemingly unremarkable, which was likely the so-called Shelter Core.
Based on the information, the so-called shelter upgrade doesn't refer to upgrading from level 1 to level 2, or from level 2 to level 3...
Essentially, it involves spending 100 survival coins to purchase a "Shelter Core," allowing you to choose the shelter's location and potentially modify and expand it using other items later.
This offers significant potential for future development, preventing you from being trapped in this small shelter.
Although it didn't offer the expected surprises, Lu Shen wasn't disappointed.
Currently, this small shelter isn't very suitable for survival. Resources are scarce, consisting only of a withered forest; once depleted, even firewood won't be available.
Moreover, the shelter is located on an open plain, with nothing to conceal it except a small hill, making it easily discoverable by other survivors.
The interior is drafty, only 5 square meters in size, already filled just for storing supplies, let alone planting corn or setting up other living facilities.
Given the opportunity, he would like to change the shelter's location, and the "Independent Shelter Core" provides just that opportunity.
However, he probably won't consider relocating the shelter anytime soon, as the project is quite extensive and cannot be completed quickly.
He just hadn't anticipated that unforeseen circumstances would force him to bring many of his plans forward...
The communication device suddenly vibrated; a message from Shi Lei had arrived:
"Brother Shen, I'm in trouble!"
Upon hearing the message, Lu Shen frowned, a bad premonition creeping in.
"What happened?" Lu Shen asked in a low voice.
He knew Shi Lei's strength well; nearly two meters tall, and possessing an awakened talent—a physical type—his strength was definitely not weak.
Anything that could cause him trouble was no ordinary matter.
Soon, Shi Lei's slightly low and cold voice came through.
"Brother Shen, today I went to explore the town ruins and encountered other survivors!"
"Other survivors?"
Lu Shen thought for a moment, vaguely guessing what was going on, and asked, "A conflict broke out?"
Shi Lei took a deep breath and said, "That's right. Three survivors who have awakened their talents have joined forces to occupy the town ruins and are hiding in the shadows, ambushing other survivors who approach."
"As soon as I got close, they attacked me together. If it weren't for my strong physical abilities and my awakened talent, I'd probably be dead today."
Shi Lei's tone was clearly filled with anger and lingering fear; anyone would be upset in such a situation.
Lu Shen asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure there were three of them? Are there any other survivors around?"
"There should be three," Shi Lei replied thoughtfully. "Only three people came out to attack, so there's probably no one else around. However... I saw several other survivor corpses. They must have been exploring and were... killed by them."
In his low voice, Lu Shen could deeply feel the oppression in Shi Lei's voice.
After all, he was just a 19-year-old youth. When he truly experienced the cruelty of the apocalypse and witnessed the life-and-death struggle between survivors, his heart was greatly shaken.
Lu Shen felt the same way. Living in a peaceful era, how could he have ever witnessed such a thing?
Although he had long expected that due to the scarcity of food and various resources, a fight would inevitably break out between survivors, when the situation was actually unfolding before his eyes, fear still arose in his heart.
Shi Lei remained silent for a few minutes before speaking, "Brother Shen, I'm no match for them alone, but if the two of us team up, we can definitely take them down. How about we do it tomorrow..."
Shi Lei didn't finish, but Lu Shen immediately understood his meaning and directly countered, "Can you guarantee 100% that they don't have any other accomplices? And can you guarantee that the two of us can easily take them down without getting hurt?"
"Uh... no."
"Since you can't, you'd better be rational."
Lu Shen's tone became more forceful, firmly refuting his opinion.
If it's about competing for resources, conflict is undeniable. But if it's just about venting anger, then such an approach is far too naive.
Moreover, even when competing for resources, it must be based on safety.
Lu Shen took a deep breath and said meaningfully, "Shi Lei, the problem you need to consider now isn't whether or not to get revenge, but something else that's more important!"
"What is it?" Shi Lei asked, puzzled.
"When you escaped, you didn't deliberately hide your escape route, did you?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Lei froze, speechless for a long time.
Lu Shen immediately followed up with, "Is it possible that the other party could find your shelter's location by following your escape route?"
"Damn it! I forgot about that! I was only focused on escaping!" Shi Lei cried out.
Lu Shen was also exasperated; this was a common mistake many survivors made.
Or, more precisely, it was a problem almost all survivors struggled to solve—the tracks left by walking in the snow!
With such deep snow, every step would leave a trace, and these tracks were impossible to hide, making it easy for someone to follow them and deduce the shelter's location.
More importantly, due to time constraints, everyone's exploration time was limited, and they wouldn't consider taking detours, mostly going straight.
This meant that from a high vantage point or a distance, the shelter's location was almost immediately visible.
"Shi Lei, let's consider relocating the shelter first! We can talk about other things later," Lu Shen advised.
"Sigh..." Shi Lei couldn't help but sigh, saying, "I understand, but my injuries are quite severe. Forget about relocating to a shelter; even going out to explore tomorrow is a problem."
Then, as if remembering something, Shi Lei added, "Moreover, only shelters can block radiation. Once I leave a shelter, there's no chance of survival."
"The first problem is more troublesome. As for shelters... there is a solution," Lu Shen muttered to himself.
"What do you mean?"
Lu Shen didn't answer, but continued, "Are you badly injured?"
"Quite badly!" Shi Lei nodded. "That beast over there, I don't know where he got a kitchen knife, and he slashed me with a large gash. I'm still bleeding."
"But I have good physical constitution and the influence of my talent. If I rest for a while, I might recover."
Shi Lei spoke lightly, but Lu Shen knew the situation was definitely dangerous, and in the current environment, where would he find time to rest? After
pondering for a long time, Lu Shen spoke up: "Shi Lei, if you trust me, I can give you some advice. Of course, it's up to you whether you listen or not."
Shi Lei was silent for a moment before sending a message, his voice low and hoarse: "Just tell me, I'll definitely consider it seriously."
Lu Shen nodded slightly and said, "First of all, there's the issue of the shelter. I think it's necessary to relocate!"
"There's a high probability that the other side has already discovered your shelter. Even if they haven't determined the exact location, they've determined the approximate location, and they might come knocking on your door any day." "
However, you don't need to worry about that. After spending 100 survival coins to upgrade your shelter, you'll get an 'Independent Shelter Core,' at which point you can leave your original shelter and find a new place to live." "
So the most important thing now is to treat your injuries first, try to recover as quickly as possible, and gather 100 survival coins as soon as possible."
Shi Lei was quite surprised to hear this and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Shen, you know so much about this, have you already successfully upgraded the shelter?"
"You should take care of your own problems first." Lu Shen raised an eyebrow, secretly relieved that he had been farsighted and hadn't gone to the town ruins, otherwise he wouldn't have gained anything.
Shi Lei said bitterly, "This is really difficult for me! Even if I sell all my resources, I still can't gather 100 survival coins! And I don't have any medicine..."
Lu Shen fell silent, his gaze falling on the "Purple Vine Juice".
This juice has the effects of stopping bleeding, protecting wounds, inhibiting bacteria, and repairing injuries, and it would definitely be effective for Shi Lei's injuries.
But, is it necessary to give such a precious medicinal resource to an outsider?
"A small amount of 'Purple Vine Juice' in exchange for a relatively reliable ally might not be a bad deal, and... I might even get some other supplies along the way." Lu Shen thought to himself, having already made his decision.
"Shi Lei, what direction is your shelter in?"
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"Uh..." Shi Lei hesitated for a few seconds before finally saying, "About 1.5km northeast of the town ruins."
Lu Shen's eyes flickered slightly as he took out a piece of paper and drew a simple map on it.
With the town ruins as the center, Shi Lei was 1.5km to the northeast, while his shelter was about 2.5km directly east of the town ruins.
So the straight-line distance between the two was approximately two kilometers.
Shi Lei asked, "Brother Shen, why are you suddenly asking for my address? Are you planning to come over?"
Lu Shen nodded slightly, "I have some medicine, a small amount, but it'll be good for your injuries. I'll send some over tomorrow."
There was a long silence on the other end before two solemn words came through: "Thank you!"
Shi Lei had expressed his gratitude many times, but these two words were particularly sincere.
"Take care of yourself and try to collect as many survival coins as possible. I can help you this time, but if you encounter this kind of problem again, you'll have to solve it yourself."
Although Lu Shen was determined to help him, he still intentionally reminded him.
...
Late at night.
On the [Survival Radio].
An emotional, electronically-tinged voice came through.
"Damn it, some bastard ambushed me in the ruins today and almost killed me. Don't let me find out who you are, or I'll never let you get away with this!"
"That's nothing! I saw three people occupying the town ruins, with several corpses lying nearby, blood staining a large area. I didn't dare go near them!" "
Has it gotten this bad?" "
These bastards, don't let me find out who they are."
"Hey, I went to the town ruins today too, but I didn't see anyone else!"
someone replied. "There should be quite a few town ruins of varying sizes in this area, in the outskirts of the city. The town ruins you're talking about are probably not the same one."
"Indeed, there seem to be town ruins to the south and north of my shelter! But it seems like there was bloodshed at both places today. I wonder which bastards did it!"
"Hehehe, don't you guys want to occupy the town ruins? This is a world of survival of the fittest. Survival resources are limited, but the capable live in it. If you're not strong enough, don't talk nonsense." "
Heh, you said it yourself. You'd better not regret it when you die."
"You think I'm easily scared?"
"..."
The atmosphere in the communication grew increasingly tense, and the relationship between them became increasingly strained.
When people are not in contact with each other and cannot meet in real life, things are naturally peaceful; they can joke and chat freely, even offering useful information with good intentions.
However, once a conflict of interest erupts, things immediately become tense, and killing becomes ruthless!
In less than a week, in the cruel environment of post-apocalyptic survival, humanity has undergone a drastic change.
The law has completely collapsed, and morality is no longer restrained; in order to survive, killing and plundering are rampant.
Lu Shen turned off the [Survival Radio], and the arguing stopped abruptly, making the entire shelter much quieter.
"The situation is getting more and more tense; it seems necessary to make more preparations..." Lu Shen muttered to himself.
Today's events undoubtedly revealed two extremely important pieces of information to him.
First, incidents of competing for resources, plundering, and killing are constantly increasing, and the trust between survivors is gradually disappearing.
Second, some survivors have already formed alliances and begun to seize important resource points.
The deteriorating overall living environment will pose a significant challenge to survival.
The threat posed by survivors may be even more dangerous than the rotting corpses and mutated creatures, requiring serious attention.
Besides concealing their movements when venturing out, the concealment and protection of the shelter are paramount.
"It seems I need to renovate the shelter to ensure safety as much as possible,"
Lu Shen pondered, opening the "Weather" app to check the current external conditions.
[Weather]
Temperature: -19.9℃.
Climate: Heavy snow, wind speed 13.
Radiation: Severe (If you are outside for more than 2 minutes today, radiation will invade your body; the radiation level will continue to rise as night falls.)
It's currently evening, and the weather hasn't reached its worst yet, but the radiation level is already severe, the snowfall and wind are extremely strong, and the temperature remains consistently low.
One can imagine how terrible the environment will be at midnight.
However, disregarding the radiation effect, it's still possible to go outside at this time.
Lu Shen put the "Independent Shelter Core" into his pocket. A 10-square-meter area around it was radiation-free.
Lu Shen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. If the external environment allowed, he could take the "Independent Shelter Core" and travel far away to find shelters elsewhere, living a nomadic life.
Unfortunately, the extremely low temperatures and terrifying blizzards meant that even without radiation, he couldn't leave the shelter for long.
At this moment, Lu Shen, carrying the core, carefully stepped out of the shelter and took a breath of fresh air.
Sure enough, there was no irritating smell of radiation!
"Effective!"
A smile appeared on Lu Shen's face. Although he couldn't leave the shelter, he could still do more than enough work around it.
This meant he could do more things and didn't need to waste all his time in the shelter.
Especially after the Shi Lei incident, his sense of security had greatly diminished.
So this time, he planned to use his talent to transform the shelter into a fortress!
A fortress made of ice bricks!
After wrapping himself up as tightly as possible to avoid frostbite, Lu Shen stepped into the thick snow.
He placed his hands on the snow, activated his "Condensation" talent, and began to compress and condense it. In just a few seconds, the loose snow was compacted and shrunk to about half its original size, becoming a snow brick.
However, Lu Shen didn't compact the snow bricks to the point of forming ice blocks, because ice is very hard, and compressing it using his talent would be extremely taxing on him.
Conversely, simply pouring water on them would cause the snow bricks to freeze into ice blocks in a short time, which was much easier.
He planned to use his talent to create uniformly sized snow bricks from the snow surrounding the shelter.
Then, using these snow bricks as the core, he would build a semi-circular fortress, approximately 10 square meters in area, completely covering the shelter.