The Secret of the Variable, Super Core! (First Update)

Hot water not only helps the body's blood circulate quickly, but it also releases Dopamine, which makes people happy and accelerates mental activity.

Soaking in the bucket of water, Su Mo's thoughts became increasingly clear.

Currently, the only enemies that can directly threaten us near the shelter, after eliminating Maeda Kento, are the kobolds, the people in the Saltpeter Camp, and the lionmen.

Based on the information revealed by Maeda Kento in his few words, Su Mo knew that the Lion-man's situation was not good.

At the very least, their camp was definitely not defended. They were chased by the angry kobolds and probably blasted to the ground.

The kobolds have suffered a major blow this time, and due to the disaster, they probably won't be able to get back on their feet for a while.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll deal with the bastards in the Saltpeter Camp, and while we're at it, we'll grab some saltpeter to concoct a large batch of Picric Acid, hoping to get rid of this big problem of the kobolds as soon as possible."

With such a formidable enemy by his side, Su Mo could not allow it to continue developing.

As long as enough Picric Acid is prepared, even without finding a supporting pillar, as long as the quantity is large enough, the Kobold Castle can be razed to the ground in a few breaths.

When there are no more enemies, you can focus on Farming Genre and gradually develop in the apocalypse.

By leveraging the advantages of Psionic Water and wells, they traded back large quantities of goods, upgraded their shelters, and remained ahead of disasters.

"After sacrificing the second floor of the Deep Sea Shelter this time, the Underground Shelter will also have a second floor. At that time, we will definitely need to increase the first floor to 220 square meters to ensure maximum benefit."

"But will the layout of this shelter need to be changed again?"

Looking at the familiar structure of the shelter, Su Mo pondered whether he should change its internal layout.

Whether it's easy to use or not, we'll only know after it's designed.

After living in the bedroom for several days, Su Mo finally discovered some flaws in the previous design drawings.

Firstly, the Energy Room and the master bedroom are too close. Once the Diesel Engine is turned on, the noise is too loud and makes it difficult for people to sleep at night.

Secondly, the back door for escape was placed in the Breeding Room. If the enemy broke in, the weapons room was at the door, and the escape distance was too long, so they would be surrounded and killed.

Without a buffer against the enemy, if we want to upgrade to 220 square meters, we must definitely consider making a lot of buffer zones to ensure internal security.

As for minor details, the lack of a simple weapons cabinet in the bedroom, the absence of a kitchen and a bathroom in the base, these issues will all be taken into account during this renovation.

Not being an architecture student and lacking relevant experience, Su Mo was the first to rule out the dangerous idea of bothering Shen Yitian.

"I wish some big shot could slap a perfect design in my face and tell me, 'Is this it? Is this it?' (subtle hint)"

With his hands clasped together, Su Mo gazed "devoutly" at the Treasure Chest Wall, his mind wandering.

Professional matters should definitely be handled by professionals!

"With so many cores, I can figure out a way to build an underground parking garage and Cold Storage storage for food, connecting them directly to the Game Panel. That way, I can save on the materials and Survival Points I would have to upgrade again!"

Su Mo had to temporarily set aside the few modules that the shelter urgently needed until it could unlock Maeda Kento's Shelter Core.

We can only make plans after we burn down the refuge of these villains tomorrow.

Half an hour later, the Oreo was completely soaked and dizzy.

Oreo's dog head drooped on the edge of the Bath Bucket, its tongue hanging limply, its eyes glazed over, looking like it was in ecstasy.

The Big and Little Spark and small, were soaked to the bone and lay comfortably in the bucket.

"If I had this skill on Earth, I could make a fortune selling these all-natural Temperature Control."

It doesn't require much hot water to maintain a certain temperature. At first, Su Mo even had the time to browse the world chat panel and gather some information.

Later on, he simply lay down in the bathtub and took a nap.

The nap was short, only about half an hour, but after it was over, the fatigue from the day was greatly reduced.

If it weren't for the private message notification, Su Mo might have slept until the water cooled down.

"Whose private message is this so late at night?!"

In a daze, Su Mo opened his eyes and brought up the Game Panel.

Looking at Shen Ke's message on the private message panel, Su Mo added half a bucket of hot water and immediately perked up.

[Shen Ke: Hello, Su God. Your intelligence came at just the right time today. We've also found the cause of the disaster through the clues.]

[Shen Ke: First, regarding the issue of "number of people," after a series of urgent and thorough tests, we have found that it should not be significantly related to the number of people. The number of people does not affect the severity of the disaster. Of course, currently only seven shelters have responded to the sample data, which is the result based on the sample data.]

[Shen Ke: However, in the process, we did discover a "variable" that can affect the severity of the disaster. As the variable increases, the disaster expands accordingly; as the variable decreases, the disaster diminishes accordingly.]

After sending three messages, Shen Ke surprisingly didn't reveal what this variable was, instead keeping it a secret.

After thinking for a moment, Su Mo tentatively asked:

[Su Mo: How many Shelter Core?]

As soon as the message was sent, Shen Ke on the other end sent a message simultaneously.

The speed was as fast as if it had already been typed in the chat box and was ready to be sent.

[Shen Ke: As expected of Su God, you guessed right! From a macro perspective, although every area has countless shelters, there will always be a hierarchy. Higher-level shelters will suppress lower-level shelters, forming a subordinate relationship. Whenever a lower-level shelter that does not belong to a player is added, or when someone carrying Shelter Core enters the area, it will cause a corresponding change in the degree of disaster.]

Seemingly afraid that her words weren't direct enough, Shen Ke made a video call as usual. Su Mo didn't think much of it and, following his previous habit, answered the video call directly.

After a piercing buzzing sound indicating signal activation, the image began to be transmitted clearly.

As soon as Shen Ke looked up at the screen, a blush immediately spread across her face.

In the video, Su Mo lies lazily on the edge of the bathtub, with steam rising and gathering above the edge of the tub, as if some strange force is binding the steam and causing it to gather inside the tub.

After being repaired and strengthened by the Psionic Water, the body was clean and white with distinct features.

His broad shoulders, paired with his muscular but not exaggerated chest, were faintly visible in the mist. His messy, damp hair, which hadn't been trimmed for over ten days, and his face with a ring of youthful stubble made him look incredibly delicate.

Especially when paired with a nonchalant and carefree expression, he resembles a warlord's son from the Republican era in this apocalyptic world.

"Huh?" After a moment, seeing Su Mo's stunned expression, Shen Ke smiled, her crescent-shaped eyes were very charming.

"Ahem, let's get down to business. I understood what you just said, so how do large-scale shelters deal with this problem?" Su Mo frowned, flicked his hair, and coughed twice.

Su Mo immediately thought of more things after hearing what Shen Ke had just said.

Meanwhile, based on Maeda Kento's Tortoise Shell and the fact that the tall man's pistol was empty, all that was left was for Shen Ke to state that conclusion to verify what he had in mind.

On the other side of the screen, Shen Ke hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, looked at the notebook in front of her, and began to say, "Yes, now that we know about this problem, the shelter is indeed facing a lot of trouble."

"Currently, there are two main types of cores. One type is the one that hasn't been placed yet, which is the complete Shelter Core. This is easy to handle. The person holding the advanced core just needs to take it and place it on their behalf. This will then be considered the advanced core owner's second shelter. Having more such shelters will not affect the level of the disaster, nor will it affect any functions of the player's Game Panel!"

"All functions?" Su Mo glanced at the functions above his Game Panel, his expression suggestive.

"Yes, including chat, Storage Space, crafting, and all other panel functions, the person who placed the item on behalf of the user should not have any viewing permissions."

"This is the second issue I want to address. 80% of those who join our Tundra Shelter have left the Shelter Core, either by abandoning it or by destroying it. What remains inside them is the damaged Shelter Core."

"In other words, as long as they are within the range of the advanced core shelter, they will amplify the severity of the disaster. The more people there are, the greater the amplification. This is the 'variable' that you mentioned Su God!"

To express herself clearly and directly, Shen Ke spoke three long paragraphs in one breath, and then took a deep breath.

Seeing Su Mo deep in thought on screen, Shen Ke didn't disturb him, but simply watched Su Mo quietly in the camera, her big eyes blinking.

"There must be a solution, right? I bet you've already found one!" Understanding the meaning behind Shen Ke's words, Su Mo asked directly.

"Yes, we've found the method!"

What's the price?

Hearing Su Mo's words, Shen Ke shook her head as expected and continued, "This is a message from the Chief. He also said that as long as you are willing to share any news with us as soon as possible, Su Mo, our information will also be open to you. We will share information with each other and there will be no concealment of intelligence!"

Seemingly fearing that Su Mo would refuse this favor, Shen Ke cleverly continued, "Actually, this method isn't very mature yet. There's a lot of protest in the shelter right now because, to avoid this catastrophic change, the people below need to mark their damaged cores with the mark of a high-level core user."

"However, once marked, if a senior core user wants to view a subordinate core, they do not need the subordinate's consent and can directly view it through their own core operations."

"For people in the apocalypse, this is practically handing over their right to privacy. Even if we guarantee we won't peep or steal, many of our subordinates still disagree."

Does this mean that all panel functions can be accessed and viewed freely?

"Yes, everything, including chat and Storage Space. If a superior wants to take something from a subordinate's space, they don't even need the subordinate's consent."

Hearing Shen Ke's words, Su Mo did not press further. Instead, he asked a question that Shen Ke considered very basic, "Can the core be summoned? Isn't it only released when it dies?"

"Huh? No, to get the physical core, you need to be in your own shelter. But with the illusory marker core, as long as you're within 50 kilometers of your shelter, you can see your own core by silently reciting 'Collect Core'!"

Admittedly, the intelligence exchange was very fruitful. After receiving this information, Su Mo had no further questions. The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then hung up the video call.

"Can I see my Shelter Core by silently reciting 'Collect Core'?"

Looking at the core of Maeda Kento's Shelter Core in the Storage Space, Su Mo suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction with the appearance of his own core.

The next second, Su Mo silently recited in his heart.

Suddenly, a "turtle" larger than a human head appeared in the field of vision and fell down in a real form.

Boom! Dust billowed up as the tortoise slammed into the air, dancing in the air!

"Holy crap. This is my core?"