Chapter 41
Su Jing settled down on a metal bench in the "tool storage room" of the industrial zone, having just put the 20 boxes of enhanced energy bombs that Tom had given her into the "weapons area" of her space.
The system panel then displayed a light red countdown timer: [Remaining time for the instance: 1 hour and 3 minutes. It is recommended to go to a safe area to wait for teleportation, or arrive at the designated teleportation point in advance].
After the setting sun had completely sunk into the metal buildings of New Los Angeles, only the aircraft on the air routes still emitted pale blue trails of light, drawing flowing streaks of light in the darkness.
She had just gotten up to stretch her stiff limbs when the metal door to the storage room was pushed open with a bang, and the little boy in the patched coat rushed in with rapid breathing—
His bangs were soaked with sweat and clung to his pale face. A dark sweat stain was imprinted on the back of his dark blue coat. He was clutching a palm-sized silver square object tightly in his hand, and the metal bell at his waist was still jingling, indicating that he had run a long way.
"Sister! Luckily we made it in time!" The little boy ran up to Su Jing, bent over and panting heavily, handing her a silver object. His fingertips were white from gripping it so tightly. "This is a 'space compression pack.' I found it in Dad's old toolbox. It can shrink big things, hold a lot of things without taking up much space. Take it with you; it'll be convenient for storing robots or supplies in the future. Don't lose it!"
Su Jing took the compressed package—it felt cool to the touch, with fine circuit patterns engraved on the surface, and a small red button on the edge. When pressed, the compressed package would vibrate slightly and make a faint "humming" sound.
She looked down at the little boy's flushed cheeks, wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out a large, well-packaged energy bar from the easily accessible layer of her space, and handed it to him: "Thank you for coming all this way to deliver this. This energy bar is even more filling than dried fruit. You can take it as a snack. If you encounter any danger in the future, remember to hide well and don't run around."
The little boy took the energy bar, carefully stuffed it into the inside pocket of his coat, and earnestly instructed, "Sister, this compressed package can be used by pressing the red button, and it will return to its original state after pressing it again. Don't get it wet, or it won't work properly."
Also, next time you come to New Los Angeles, remember to look for me, and I'll take you to collect 'sparkling stones' (energy crystal fragments)!
Su Jing smiled and nodded, placing the compressed file into the "easy-access layer" of the space for easy retrieval. At this moment, the countdown on the system panel had jumped to "59 minutes and 21 seconds," and the faint roars of rebellious robots could be heard from outside the storage room. Clearly, as night deepened, the out-of-control mechanical entities were becoming more active.
She escorted the little boy to the door of the storage room, watching him run along the metal walkway toward the slums. His small figure grew smaller and smaller in the darkness until he disappeared around the corner. Only then did she turn around, close the door, and lean against the metal door to wait for the teleportation.
As the countdown numbers decreased, the panel's light grew brighter and brighter. When the numbers jumped to "00 minutes and 03 seconds," a warm white light suddenly surged out from the panel, instantly enveloping Su Jing's body. There was no feeling of weightlessness; instead, it felt like being wrapped in soft cotton. The mechanical roar of the cyber world and the screams of the rebellious robots gradually disappeared, replaced by the familiar sounds of wind and birdsong.
When the white light dissipated, Su Jing found herself standing in the courtyard of a villa deep in the mountains.
The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground. The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass, a stark contrast to the oily smell of the cyber world. Two silver-gray robots were still patrolling along the trenches in the yard. When their "eyes'" red scanning lights spotted her, they paused briefly, emitted a friendly "beep" alert, and then continued along their original route.
The 10 solar panels on the roof gleamed black in the sunlight, and the inverter screen displayed "Current power generation: 900W," making the energy installations in Cyber World appear even more stable.
The gasoline drums in the trench were neatly arranged, their metal caps reflecting the sunlight, showing no signs of having been disturbed.
Su Jing took a deep breath, walked to the villa door, took out her key and opened the door—the living room was exactly the same as when she left: an unfinished cup of instant coffee (already cold) sat on the solid wood table, the monitor screen was lit up, showing the real-time footage of the yard, the electric heater was still off, and a folding chair was leaning against the corner of the wall.
She put down her backpack, sat on the solid wood chair, accessed her system space, and began to check the new supplies she had brought back from the cyber world one by one:
- Ten "New Los Angeles Type 3" flying cars: neatly parked next to the metal supports in the space "energy zone," with silver, streamlined bodies and dormant blue levitation devices at the bottom.
The small radar on the roof still carried the metallic coolness of the cyberpunk world. Su Jing opened the attribute panel of one of the vehicles, which displayed "Seats 2 people, hovering height 0-500 meters, range 300 kilometers (requires energy crystals), can withstand temperatures as low as -30℃, suitable for short-distance relocation in apocalyptic times."
She thought to herself that these flying cars would be enough to move supplies in extremely cold weather, and could even quickly evacuate people from dangerous areas.
- 50 laser guns + 20 boxes of enhanced energy bullets: placed on a black metal rack in the "weapons area".
The guns gleamed with a cold light, and the red energy ring at the muzzle was closed. Each gun was accompanied by 10 boxes of ordinary energy bullets, and 20 boxes of enhanced energy bullets were placed separately in a silver box, which was printed with "1.5 times the power, can penetrate 5 centimeters of steel plate".
Su Jing picked one up; it felt heavy in her hand and was more comfortable to use than the ordinary laser gun she had used before. Thinking of the monsters in the apocalypse, she felt that these weapons would be enough to deal with the initial threat of mutated creatures.
- 10,000 energy crystals: packed in 10 sealed silver metal boxes, stacked next to the generator in the "energy zone". The orange-yellow crystals glowed softly through the transparent box walls. Each box was labeled with a handwritten note from Kyle: "Energy density 85%, moisture-proof and shockproof".
Su Jing opened a box and took out a crystal—it was warm to the touch, and the patterns on its surface were clear. She knew that these crystals could not only power the flying car, but also serve as backup power for the villa's gasoline generator. In the event of a power outage in extreme weather, they could also be converted into electrical energy through an inverter to ensure heating and lighting.
- Electromagnetic shielding sticker (1 sheet): Placed in a small box in the "Tools Area", the silver sheet still retains the slight coolness of the cyber world, the circuit patterns on the edge are intact, and the properties show "Can shield mechanical scanning, lasts for 6 hours, cannot be stacked".
Su Jing thought that if she encountered a similar threat from mechanical guards in the future, this sticker might still come in handy, so she decided to keep it safe for now.
- Space Compression Package (1): Placed in the most conspicuous position in the "Easy Access Layer", it is a silver square with circuit patterns on the surface that shimmer faintly in the dim light of the space.
Su Jing pressed the red button, and the compressed file instantly shrunk to the size of a fingernail. Pressing it again restored it to its original size. She tried putting a laser gun inside—
The gun, which was originally half a meter long, was instantly shrunk to the size of a palm and became much lighter. "It's really convenient. I won't have to worry about it taking up space when carrying tools or weapons anymore."
After tidying up the space, Su Jing walked into the yard. Looking at the patrolling robots, the neatly arranged trenches, and the solar panels on the roof, she felt a stronger sense of peace than before.
From the initial anonymous warning letter to the construction of the villa deep in the mountains, and then to the acquisition of supplies from the cyber world, she prepared for the apocalypse step by step. The technological products she brought back from the cyber world undoubtedly added a more solid layer of protection to her preparations.
Just as she reached out to touch the reflection of the solar panel, a familiar system notification suddenly rang in her mind, with a clear electronic texture, completely different from the electrical sound of the cyber world: [The cyber world instance has ended. The instance settlement is about to take place. The current ranking of participants has been locked. Rewards will be distributed according to the final ranking. Please be prepared.]
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