The collection drone flew much faster than the drones of the Doomsday World, and at that altitude, the noise it made was practically negligible.
Lin Qi waited on the rooftop for less than half an hour before the drone successfully returned.
'My programming is as solid as ever.' He mentally patted himself on the back for his technical skills.
He set down the collection drone, removed its panel, and reviewed the situation at the conflict zone.
The conflict zone was quite far, over thirty kilometers away in a straight line from Lin Qi's position.
If Lin Qi hadn't been a Wizard, he would have been completely unable to hear any sound from such a distance.
Fast-forwarding the footage to the destination, Lin Qi finally saw the full picture of the battlefield.
The first thing that came into view were several collapsed high-rises. The ruins and rubble revealed just how brutal a shelling the area had endured.
In the footage, Lin Qi didn't see any sign of rescue personnel, but plenty of weapons and equipment lay scattered about.
As the footage zoomed in, Lin Qi saw the opponent the rescue team was facing.
A giant, two-story-tall humanoid creature.
The monster's head was riddled with holes from shelling. In a massive gash at the back of its head, a huge Crimson Crystal Stone could be seen.
The light around the Crimson Crystal Stone was distorted, and according to the data collected by the drone, the temperature there exceeded four hundred degrees.
'A Crimson Crystal Stone? No, that's not it. This and a Crimson Crystal Stone are two different things. Maybe it's a new Extraordinary Item.'
Based on the footage alone, Lin Qi couldn't discern its true nature, or even judge its Level.
A two-story-tall giant Zombie... This thing probably wasn't a Tier One Extraordinary Item. It was most likely Tier Two, but not as high as Tier Three.
Tier Two Extraordinary Items correspond to the L-Class designation for Prosthetic Bodies. A Tier Two Extraordinary Professional without a Prosthetic Body would likely be no match for an opponent with a complete L-Class Prosthetic Body.
If Lin Qi were to face the giant Zombie himself, he at least wouldn't be in any real danger.
'Facing a large monster like that, I'm afraid I'd have trouble dealing effective damage. I really do need heavy weapons.'
Lin Qi felt a pang of nostalgia for the firearms of the Cyber World.
At the Cyber World's level of technology, the firepower of its guns would be enough to take care of this kind of monster.
But the problem was that Lin Qi could only carry a limited number of items across worlds. Right now, it seemed he could only bring the form-fitting Exoskeleton.
'Should I modify the Exoskeleton to expand its capacity?'
Lin Qi didn't dare to try it rashly. If the volume of what could be brought through the dimensional crossing was limited, it could damage the Exoskeleton.
Repairs would be troublesome, and they would leave traces on Red Fruit City's network.
'I'll still have to rely on technology from the Cyber World and build things from scratch here in the Doomsday World.'
Fortunately, Lin Qi hadn't wasted his many years in the Cyber World. All the knowledge was still in his head.
As long as he had enough time, Lin Qi was fully capable of building stripped-down versions of any sub-L-Class weapon from scratch in the Doomsday World.
The reason they had to be stripped-down versions was mainly due to the Doomsday World's insufficient industrial base.
Building industrial machinery from scratch was also part of Lin Qi's plan.
'Next, I need to head to the school's experimental workshop. First, I'll build some equipment from scratch.'
'The danger level of the Doomsday World is rising a bit too quickly. I need to speed things up.'
With a course of action set, Lin Qi moved immediately.
He put away the collection drone and returned to the room downstairs.
While the collection drone packed up the Crimson Crystal Stones Lin Qi had gathered, Lin Qi went over to Xia Chu.
"I need to go to the school's experimental workshop to make some equipment. We need to leave immediately," Lin Qi stated simply.
Xia Chu was slightly puzzled. "Won't it be a little risky?"
Although Xia Chu had awakened her Extraordinary Power, she was, after all, an ordinary person who had grown up in an era of peace.
In Xia Chu's mind, when faced with a crisis, one should wait for rescue from the official authorities.
Lin Qi detached the collection drone's panel and handed it to Xia Chu. "This is footage I captured with the drone. The rescue team is in trouble. We need to save ourselves."
A few minutes later, Xia Chu's expression shifted from confusion to bewilderment. When she looked up at Lin Qi, she took a deep breath and said just one word: "Okay."
Xia Chu had limitless trust in "Lin Qi."
Lin Qi knew that the person Xia Chu trusted wasn't really him, but he wouldn't abandon her.
She was, after all, "his" girlfriend. Deep down, Lin Qi still had some semblance of morality; the Lin Qi of his past life had been a university student and received a proper moral education.
The Cyber World hadn't completely eroded Lin Qi's morals yet.
Xia Chu didn't have much to pack. She just opened Lin Qi's closet and changed into a set of clothes that were easier to move in.
When Lin Qi saw what Xia Chu was doing, he casually looked down and started fiddling with the collection drone's panel.
Poking here, tapping there, he made a show of looking very busy.
Only after Xia Chu had finished changing did Lin Qi install the panel back onto the collection drone.
Xia Chu didn't seem to notice Lin Qi's fidgeting. She grabbed a backpack, stuffed a few bottles of drinking water and some instant noodles inside, and picked up the small hammer she'd brought from downstairs. With that, she was ready.
Lin Qi had nothing he needed to prepare.
There would be no shortage of supplies in the early days of the apocalypse, especially in a prosperous city like Modu.
Supplies were in every building. If you had the guts, you could get them.
"Follow me. We'll go downstairs first and find some transportation."
Calculating the time, he had more than ten hours to get to the experimental workshop before he had to return to the Cyber World.
"Mm," Xia Chu nodded, asking no more questions.
The two of them moved quickly, taking the stairs down to the first floor.
Lin Qi had already cleared the building of Zombies, so they encountered no trouble along the way.
Reaching the ground floor, they were still inside the residential complex.
All sorts of vehicles were parked illegally along the internal roads.
As one of the most prosperous cities in the Doomsday World, even a seemingly ordinary residential complex in Modu would occasionally have luxury cars on its internal roads.
Lin Qi didn't recognize the brands, but he recognized the types of vehicles, like sports cars and SUVs.
Glancing around, Lin Qi's gaze was precise, locking onto a target.
An electric scooter, parked in the electric vehicle charging bay.
The parking space was printed with the brand logo "Electric Vehicle No. 10." Lin Qi walked over, saying to Xia Chu at the same time, "Wait for me inside the building entrance."
Lin Qi's reasoning was simple.
The city was too prosperous, which meant that when the apocalypse broke out, the streets were clogged with too many vehicles.
Cars would likely have trouble navigating the roads, so it was better to find something small.
As for why an electric vehicle?
Naturally, a motorcycle would require gasoline and be incredibly noisy.
An electric vehicle was different. His own micro-nuclear powered heart could supply electricity directly.
All Lin Qi had to do was modify the electric scooter slightly.
First, he removed the battery to reduce the weight. Then he modified the electric motor, creating an interface and increasing its designed rotational speed.
Next, he took some redundant parts from his leg Exoskeleton and used them to reinforce the vehicle's frame, preventing it from falling apart at speeds over 350.
In just half an hour, using only the parts on hand, Lin Qi had scratch-built a cyber-custom "Electric Vehicle No. 10." This was the scratch-building ability of an L-level Researcher.
He got on the electric scooter. A protruding interface on the seat connected to his lumbar Exoskeleton, supplying power directly.
Gripping the handlebar with one hand, Lin Qi pulled up to the building entrance and shouted to Xia Chu, "Get on!"
A slight breeze blew through Lin Qi's hair, revealing a faint yellow tinge to its color.