"The Drought Fiend should only be nearby, but the actual distance ought to be quite far. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the rise in temperature we've felt."
Feeling relieved, he glanced at the experience points for the Safe House, a look of delight spreading across his face.
"Finally full."
[(Pseudo) Portable Safe House LV.1: 6/5 (Upgradeable)]
"Upgrade!"
A flash of light appeared.
In less than a second, the upgrade was complete.
[Portable Safe House LV.2: 1/10 (A portable house built with embedded blocks, suitable for sheltering against wind and rain, but its safety is moderate)]
"The description has changed. It's no longer counterfeit?!"
Yang Yuan hurriedly approached to examine it closely, discovering that the original embedding seams between the modules now seemed to have transformed into some kind of mortise and tenon structure.
This structure, for the unaware, could not be dismantled at all.
"I can't even dismantle this now. How am I supposed to carry it?"
He circled the Safe House, carefully inspecting it, and noted that the number of modules in the Safe House had increased.
Many places that should have been a single unit had now split into multiple sections.
"What use do these changes have? Could it really transform into what I imagine, something that can collapse into a suitcase, or even something smaller, at the push of a button?"
He thought expectantly.
But with people inside now, it was inconvenient to try.
"There's already some experience now; the next upgrade takes five hours for two people, only three hours for three people."
So he'd wait for one more upgrade to find out.
"Now my Power Armor can scan the area within a hundred meters, making it unnecessary to keep watch outside."
Thinking this, Yang Yuan extinguished the campfire, entered his small compartment wearing the Power Armor, closed the door, and sat on the bed to wait patiently.
During this time, he tried pressing the button on the wall and discovered the LED lamp overhead emitted only a very faint glow, providing no illumination.
It seems without sunlight, this solar-powered lamp couldn't function.
An hour later, the Safte House experience increased by three points.
"Just as I suspected, the increase in experience is related to the number of people."
Yang Yuan took note of this; different items must gain experience differently, possibly even related to the number of people and other factors.
Perhaps due to the tripled upgrade earlier, his energy and concentration had increased significantly, and he didn't feel sleepy at all.
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room of the safe zone five hundred meters away.
A group of people, with grim expressions, were fixated on the images captured by the balloon satellite.
"Those Drought Fiends are seven hundred miles away and already affecting here! They're continuing to move in this direction, and nearby some of the female mutant beasts are showing signs of mutation; they're numerous and can't be eradicated. This area is no longer safe, Chief. Should we evacuate?"
A soldier asked with a grave expression.
The elder nearby, imposing even in silence, pondered momentarily before speaking in a deep voice, "Stop all construction work, extract all groundwater, have the Space Carriers pack it up, and prepare to evacuate early tomorrow morning."
"But will it be too late by tomorrow? There might be large-scale mutations of nearby female mutant beasts, and then this area could become an inferno, and ordinary people would find it impossible to travel long distances," the soldier asked worriedly.
The elder replied solemnly, "Use the Marvel 'Cloud Soaring.' Fortunately, we've drawn plenty of groundwater this time, enough to last for a while."
Reinvigorated, the soldier quickly asked, "Should we inform the populace now?"
"No need, there's still time. Tell them at dawn so they can rest well for one night."
The elder, with a very grim expression, felt dismayed that just as they'd found some stability, they were again compelled to flee for survival.
But against a creature capable of forming natural disasters, there was nothing they could do but retreat.
"Oh, and tomorrow morning, sell some basic supplies. For those Superpower Users not in the safe zone, whoever buys water should be given a cooler so their water doesn't evaporate," he added.
Unable to help himself, the soldier muttered, "In my opinion, those Superpower Users who don't listen should just fend for themselves, cause trouble, and waste resources."
The elder glanced at him coldly, causing him to immediately fall silent.
The elder sternly admonished, "Before they commit unforgivable crimes, they are still our people, potential allies we need to unite. Never underestimate any Superpower User; our enemies are not just those monstrous reversals of yin and yang. Don't say thoughtless things like this again in the future!"
"...Yes, Chief!"
...
Time passed.
As a streak of pale light appeared in the sky outside, the experience of the Safe House reached maximum capacity once again.
Yang Yuan eagerly chose to upgrade.
Two seconds later, the LED lamp overhead suddenly lit up, startling him.
Because the LED's brightness was now comparable to a cellphone's light.
Fortunately, the lights in Zhao Jiayan and Jiang Yiyi's adjacent compartments hadn't turned on; otherwise, they would have been woken up by the glare.
"This brightness is decent!"
Yang Yuan marveled, standing up and exiting the Safe House to check the information on the upgraded Safe House:
[Solar-Powered Portable House LV.3: 0/20 (Portable Safe House with built-in solar-powered lighting, now offering a certain level of security)]
"The name changed?"
Yang Yuan was mildly surprised.
Just then, Zhao Jiayan and Jiang Yiyi woke up.
"Why is it so hot?"
Zhao Jiayan got up, fanning herself with her hand, and asked in confusion.
Suddenly, she noticed the bright light in Yang Yuan's adjacent compartment, walked over to have a look, and exclaimed in astonishment, "Why is your light so bright?"
Before Yang Yuan could answer, Jiang Yiyi also emerged, "Big brother, it's so hot."
Yang Yuan also felt very hot, but seeing the safe zone was still calm, he patiently said, "It should be the Drought Fiend approaching here. Did you sleep enough? If you have, let's go to the safe zone and buy some necessities, we might have to escape again."
He recalled that two nights ago, the very night he arrived in this world, the temperature was only seven or eight degrees Celsius.
Yet now, the temperature had reached twenty or thirty degrees.
This was definitely abnormal.
Zhao Jiayan and Jiang Yiyi turned pale upon hearing this.
To be on the run again?
"We've slept enough; let's go buy some necessities quickly then."
Despite her reluctance, Zhao Jiayan quickly picked up her luggage for the sake of survival.
There wasn't much for her to carry, only her handgun, bullets, a kilogram of water, and ten kilograms of jerky.
After the two women left the Safe House, Yang Yuan circled it once before discovering a button at the entrance.
He tentatively pressed this button.
Something magical happened— the Safe House rapidly shrank, automatically folded, and within moments, turned into a box about one meter long and wide, only thirty centimeters thick.
The box also featured a convenient handle for carrying.
"Wow!!"
"This is..."
Zhao Jiayan and Jiang Yiyi watched in shock at this scene.
Waking up to an advanced Safe House was unexpected.
Yang Yuan lifted the box, his face suddenly lighting up with joy, as the box weighed only about forty pounds, or twenty kilograms, significantly lighter than the previous fifty kilograms.
"No time to explain, let's go buy supplies quickly."
He strode towards the safe zone.
"Oh, right. Yiyi, hurry up and follow."
Zhao Jiayan, understanding the seriousness of the situation, swiftly followed, bringing Jiang Yiyi along.
The two women weren't fools and speculated that the transformation of the Safe House had something to do with Yang Yuan's abilities.
But they knew not to dig deeper, as they also benefited.
Soon, they were within a hundred meters of the safe zone.
By now, other Superpower Users camping outside recognized that something was amiss, gathering at the safe zone entrance, which was blocked off, all seemingly intending to buy supplies and escape.
Yet, the soldiers at guard dutifully kept them out, preventing entry.
Standing on the outskirts, Yang Yuan and the others frowned, looking in.
"The military isn't preparing to evacuate? Did we make a wrong assumption? Is the current temperature rise not caused by the Drought Fiend?" Zhao Jiayan asked in confusion.
"The military has balloon satellites monitoring the ground, surely they're aware of the Drought Fiend's movements. We just have to follow them,"
Yang Yuan, thinking this, wasn't too rushed.
An unsanctioned escape could lead them into a powerful beast's territory, rendering the effort futile.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly placed the portable Safe House box on the ground, whispering to Zhao Jiayan, "This box is inconvenient to bring inside; there might be scanners. If the safe zone opens, you should buy supplies, mainly water and handgun bullets, as bullets might not have risen in price. Just buy two more boxes (a box of 100) and spend the rest on water."
As he spoke, he handed Zhao Jiayan his remaining two Spirit Monster Cores, saying, "Also, hand me your handgun so I can fix it for you."
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[Last day of the month, votes about to expire, asking for votes! Recommendation starts this Sunday!]