Tracing the Source, Searching for the Chameleon
The morning sunlight peeked in through the cracks in the wooden house and fell on the floor.
The fresh air was also floating slightly in the air, carrying dust particles that danced up and down.
"Call"
"I slept so well. The weather in the wasteland was really nice the past few days. I had been ignoring it!"
Stretching, Su Mo sat up in bed and habitually opened the System Panel.
It was already past 8 a. m. in the wasteland, but the daily notification from the system had not yet arrived.
This is both bad news and good news.
"It seems the system's checks are calculated based on the real world, and time within the ruins is not taken into account."
Stroking the stubble that had sprouted on his chin, Su Mo nodded slowly.
Time in the ruins cannot be used to farm Survival Points.
Similarly, as long as you can obtain enough Time Currency, you can completely offset the time flow penalties of the ruins and the real world with the currency.
"Today's task is..."
After closing the System Panel, as usual, Su Mo opened the chat panel, ready to record today's tasks in his diary, when he suddenly slapped his forehead.
"We're already inside the ruins, who cares about missions now? Of course, we can do whatever makes us comfortable, hehe!"
Lifting the covers, stretching with satisfaction, and opening the door, Su Mo lazily walked out, stretching his body as he went.
There's no Oreo guarding the current temporary base. Before going to bed yesterday, he worked until midnight to tidy up the area around the cabin.
Incidentally, they also erected a neat row of Wooden Fence around the area, enclosing Zhong Qingshu and her wooden house to ensure that any restless mutated monsters would not break in.
During the busy process, Zhong Qingshu went from being wary at the beginning to being indifferent later on, and even came out to help move things for a while.
On the First Day, without Psionic Water to restore their strength, both of them were exhausted and didn't talk much before returning to the shelter to lie down.
However, on one side were luxurious bedding and a sturdy, spacious bed.
On the other side was a bare wooden floor. As soon as Su Mo stepped out, he bumped into Zhong Qingshu, who was standing guard at the door, with dark circles under her eyes, seemingly hesitating about something.
"Ah!"
When she saw Su Mo leave, Zhong Qingshu was clearly startled and shrank back nervously.
"What are you afraid of? I told you we're old friends, and besides, I forgot to tell you last night."
"You confessed your feelings to me and have been pursuing me, but I just haven't accepted you yet!"
With a shrug, Su Mo spouted nonsense in a serious manner, leaving Zhong Qingshu stunned on the spot.
No, you didn't agree?
Zhong Qingshu became even more nervous, her face turning pale, a mixture of white and red, with a hint of blue.
"Relax, I was just kidding." Making a scare gesture, Su Mo watched as Zhong Qingshu took another step back and burst into laughter.
In the Time Ruins, there's nothing to worry about; it's all about idealism. As long as you have the power, you can do whatever you want.
Ignoring Zhong Qingshu's inner turmoil, Su Mo went straight to the Trading Market.
They only spent six or seven bottles of water to trade for several dozen units of Iron Block, as well as some basic food and drink supplies.
With resources, manufacturing things doesn't cost Disaster Points.
Sitting on the stool that had been made, Su Mo made a selection of items, and countless items began to be made spontaneously.
With such incredible resource acquisition, it didn't take long for items that were considered top-tier luxuries in the wasteland to appear.
Iron Stove, Iron Pot, two large ceramic bowls, an Iron Grill, an Iron Table— one by one, these items for enjoyment were made and placed in the small courtyard surrounded by a fence.
Many of these things were things that Su Mo hadn't had time to enjoy in the real world, but they were all arranged for him to experience now.
After taking out the beef he had acquired in the transaction, Su Mo began to take out various bottles and jars from his Storage Space and start tinkering with them.
"Okay, first cut the beef into small pieces, then marinate it with Cooking Wine, add scallions, ginger, and garlic to infuse the flavor, and then add some barbecue sauce."
"As for soup, let's make seaweed and egg drop soup today!"
The taste of food mostly comes from refined seasonings. With these seasonings, as long as the quantity and steps are guaranteed, even if it tastes terrible, there is a bottom line.
Given Su Mo's gourmet nature, these items were naturally made extremely fragrant and delicious. As the aroma of the egg drop soup spread, and with a sprinkle of cumin on the golden-brown, juicy beef skewers, the aroma exploded... Gurgle! His parched stomach made a sound just like the roar of the Big and Little Spark!
Delicious food isn't scary; what's scary is sitting there waiting.
Watching the food slowly take shape, smelling the aroma wafting into my nostrils...
That feeling was simply amazing!
Before long, the beef skewers began to change color. When they were taken out and rolled in Chili Powder, glistening oil immediately burst out.
Strangely, Zhong Qingshu remained there, lost in thought, as if she hadn't smelled the fragrance.
"Um... you're not still thinking about what I said before, are you?"
Su Mo turned his head and immediately burst into laughter.
"Okay, if you're willing to take it seriously, I can refuse you right now."
"."
This guy! How can he say something so infuriating!
Zhong Qingshu gritted her teeth and immediately became impolite, walking over and picking up a skewer to eat.
There was no initial awkwardness.
The two ate and drank their fill.
Su Mo didn't skimp on the large piece of beef he had acquired in the transaction; he turned it all into skewers and stored them in his Storage Space for later use.
The two devoured the remaining egg drop soup, finishing off a whole pot that was originally enough for four or five people.
Touching his round belly, Su Mo simply sat down on the ground, leaning back in his chair, enjoying the gentle breeze of the wasteland.
On the plains of the Candlelight Shelter, the grass grows tall and the birds sing. Sitting in such an environment, the fatigue and tension of the past few days begin to ease quickly.
On the other hand, Zhong Qingshu was not idle.
After finishing the meal, she carefully cleaned up the stove and pan after grilling the meat, collecting all the spilled seasonings.
Next, scrape off any remaining egg bits from the bottom of the pan and set them aside for safekeeping.
This cautious demeanor reminded Su Mo of the awkwardness and trepidation he felt in the first few days after arriving in the wasteland.
"Huh, what was I doing on the second day of the wasteland? I think I was..."
"Chameleon!!"
Recalling those days, the chameleon that once brought a fortune resurfaced in my memory.
Having spent a month in the wasteland, Su Mo now understands just how incredible the treasure chest dropped by that chameleon really was.
Psionic energy! Pet Egg! Blueprint!
Su Mo managed to obtain these three items only after destroying a kobold sanctuary that housed over two thousand people.
But at the time, it was highly suspicious that a chameleon with a combat power of only 5 could drop such an item.
"Based on the timeline, I should be upgrading my Beech Spear in the wasteland right now, waiting to go hunting at noon!"
While trying to recall the details, Su Mo stood up.
Since we have plenty of time now, why not go to the Underground Shelter and take a good look at what this chameleon is all about?
"Zhong Qingshu, I need to go out for a bit, do you want to come?"
"No... no, I'll go!"
Watching Su Mo take out the rifle and sling it over his shoulder, and then looking at the seemingly calm but extremely dangerous surroundings, Zhong Qingshu's body and mouth were very real! Staying by Su Mo's side, there was no need to worry about food, water, or safety.
Even with such a super "bodyguard," more and more strange images flashed through his mind.
"Have we met somewhere before?"
As she straddled the back of the motorcycle, her face stiffened for a moment, but she still stubbornly asked the question.
"Have you seen him?"
"Of course we've met."
A gentle breeze blows, a wisp of spring wind passes by.
Su Mo's heart skipped a beat, and with a squeeze of the throttle, the motorcycle roared off.
"Hold on tight, or you'll fall!"
A tan storm began to gather at the tail of the motorcycle.
With powerful dynamic vision and increasingly terrifying balance, the motorcycle can easily reach speeds of 60 miles per hour.
Along the way, he easily dodged all the obstacles, which made Zhong Qingshu in the car stare at him with admiration.
"I've driven this road many times. This is the farmland we're about to build!"
Slowing down, and looking at the Great Plains beside him, Su Mo continued talking to himself, regardless of whether Zhong Qingshu could understand him.
To directly remind the humans in the Time Ruins that their world is fake and that they have already failed once, Su Mo does not intend to reveal the truth directly to the highly intelligent Zhong Qingshu this time. Instead, he subtly plants seeds of "hope" in Zhong Qingshu's heart within this space-time.
"There should have been a huge Kobold Castle here, but unfortunately, there won't be any more!"
"This is a natural Saltpeter Camp. We can also find sulfur later, which will allow us to easily manufacture Black Powder and develop explosives Technology Tree."
"This is Ma Gu's refuge. That's right, his refuge is level five. It belongs to humans from our parallel Earth world, and he was also a player who participated in the ruins last time."
"This is my refuge, the refuge of Su Mo. Remember this well!"
"In the future, I mean if there's another opportunity in the future."
"You can come find me."
Pointing seriously at the open space, Su Mo's face was full of pride, completely ignoring Zhong Qingshu's increasingly puzzled gaze, and he made a mark on the location of the Underground Shelter.
On the mark, Su Mo drew an Oreo dog head with a very wicked sense of humor.
Following the location of the Underground Shelter, after a little observation, the chameleon was indeed found sitting obediently on a tree in the bushes in the distance.
The position hasn't changed even slightly!