Chapter 26: Vehicle Upgrade, Enhanced Features!

[Ding! Vehicle core upgraded to Lv3, passenger capacity increased to 3, backpack expanded by 100.]

Wow, I didn't expect the backpack would get bigger too.

He opened the vehicle core data.

[Vehicle Core]
[Level: Lv3]
[Passenger Capacity: 3 people]

It seems that with each level up, the passenger capacity increases by one.

However, to upgrade the core, you have to devour other vehicles.

Logically, everyone should be considered an enemy.

Yet, this increased passenger capacity seems to encourage cooperation. The game certainly knows how to play with people.

He couldn't help but recall the phrase from the very beginning: "The human heart is worth exploring."

Perhaps the idea is for the weak to unite while the strong walk alone.

Lin Mu shrugged; this didn’t concern him. He preferred being alone.

If he actually had to team up with others, he would feel uneasy.

He then turned to the vehicle interface and glanced at the materials.

All present.

Upgrade!

The vehicle trembled, and a flash of light burst forth.

This time, it took longer than any previous upgrade.

Five minutes later, the vehicle upgrade was successful.

[Ding! Vehicle upgraded to Lv5, vehicle space doubled, workbench free crafting mode unlocked. Trait effects enhanced.]

Lin Mu glanced back at the car; it had indeed grown, its length doubled.

[Free Crafting]: Players can craft items as they see fit, with required materials based on the size of the item.

Lin Mu fell into contemplation as he looked at this new feature.

After a moment, he asked the interface, "Can I craft a Star Annihilator Cannon?"

[Yes, as long as the player creates all the necessary parts and completes assembly, it can be used.]

“...”

All the parts??

As expected, it wouldn’t be easy.

But for those with military engineering backgrounds, this was a huge advantage. Handcrafting an AK should be no problem.

Hiss! Lin Mu suddenly felt things were getting complicated.

Fortunately, most people were currently only at Lv2, with the better ones at Lv3 at best.

At least for now, there was nothing to worry about.

"It looks like I need to hurry up and continue modifying my vehicle. Otherwise, if someone manages to create a sniper rifle later, won’t I be left behind?"

Lin Mu shook his head.

It shouldn't happen so quickly; to reach Lv4, it would take at least a week or two.

Even if someone reached that level, they might not be able to actually make one. Ammunition alone would be a big problem.

Besides, if he did encounter such a person, he’d strike first.

Lin Mu opened the vehicle information.

[Vehicle: Garbage Collection Truck]
[Quality: Grade D]
[Level: Lv5]
[Fuel Tank: 200L/200L]
[Fuel Consumption: 1L/10km]
[Speed: 100km/h]
[Functions: Advanced cold resistance, intermediate heat insulation, intermediate defense strength, basic attack capability]
[Vehicle Skill: SSS-grade Vehicle Skill (Unique): Infinite Modification]
[Trait: [Waste Utilization]: Insert scrap into the rear recycling slot, and the garbage processor will break it down into corresponding materials. Decomposition yield increased by 50%.]
[Upgrade Requirements: Iron Ingot x50, Silver Ingot x10, Copper Ingot x10, Glass x8, Rubber x4, Vehicle Core Lv4]

Some function improvements, but what’s this basic attack capability?

He hadn’t noticed any offensive ability in the vehicle at all.

[Player’s self-installed modifications are also counted as functional capabilities.]

So basically, most of these features were things he added himself?

“Hey panel, what are the normal function specs, anyway?”

[Levels 1-2 only have basic cold resistance. Level 3 adds heat insulation. Level 4 enhances defense and attack capabilities. Specifics depend on the quality and type of vehicle.]

He agreed with this last point; a tank’s defense would naturally be maxed out, but as for attack... without shells, what kind of attack could there be?

He’d already reviewed the skill upgrades, so there was no rush to use them.

As for the trait, a 50% increase meant that eight units of scrap would now yield twelve units of material.

Still, he asked, "Hey panel, if an item only yields 5 units when decomposed, how does the bonus apply?"

[7 units.]

!!!

So 0.5 just disappears? That’s a loss! Half a unit is still material!

“Panel, that’s not reasonable. You should always round up, not down. Your math isn’t great.”

[...]

Lin Mu stroked his chin. Sure, these were free materials, but his vehicle upgrades were hard-earned.

He had to fight for his due.

"Panel, what if I put in two items at once, each yielding 5 units—how many will I get?"

[15 units.]

Lin Mu’s eye twitched. If he hadn’t asked, he wouldn’t have known—he nearly missed out.

With that thought, he had an idea.

"Panel, how many vehicles with the same trait as mine exist?"

So far, he hadn’t seen anyone buying garbage at the trading center.

Only those who had used it would know how terrifying this vehicle was.

Even without his modification skill, using it to produce items and sell materials would be immensely profitable.

Upgrading the vehicle would be a breeze.

[None.]

Huh?

Lin Mu was quite surprised. Wasn’t this just a D-grade vehicle?

"A garbage collection truck, just a D-grade vehicle—how come there are none others?"

[50% of players have C-grade vehicles, 35% have B-grade, 15% have A-grade. D-grade accounts for only 0.5%, the rest are S-grade or higher. There are only 8 garbage trucks in this world, but 7 of them have already disappeared.]

Lin Mu’s lip twitched. So his D-grade vehicle was a rare breed after all.

Incredible—he could compete with higher-tier vehicles, something unheard of.

But this was for the best. If only one vehicle in the whole world had this ability, then he was the only one!

Ha! In the future, he would become the world’s greatest... king of the road!

He looked at the final upgrade requirements. He had all the materials, only the vehicle core needed to be upgraded.

"Looks like I’ll need to keep taking action."

Lin Mu thought to himself that, at this rate, he would need to take down eight vehicles to upgrade his core to Lv4.

In the end, it all came down to fighting one another.

"Is the vehicle core only obtainable this way? No, there was also that blind box before."

Unfortunately, the odds of encountering a blind box were too low, nearly negligible.

He asked the panel again, but it didn’t give a clear answer on how to obtain the vehicle core, telling him only to explore for himself.

Lin Mu checked the time—it was already eleven at night.

He opened the trading center and checked his records.

Since he’d listed 20 pieces of clothing, one sold almost every minute.

The entire batch sold out in less than 20 minutes.

Lin Mu stroked his chin. "Seems like everyone still has plenty of materials on hand."