That space-hogging television had been sitting in the Storage Space ever since he brought it back from the ruins. After the Storage Space was upgraded, it was dumped in a corner to gather dust.
After being carted across so many places, it was finally about to prove its worth.
With the Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery, the base had more than enough power to meet the demands of the big-screen television.
He hurried to where the miscellaneous items were stored, collected it into the Storage Space, and brought it beside the generator. Then Su Mo focused his mind.
The big-screen television appeared neatly beside the battery.
Looking closely, he saw a line of illusory text appear beside it:
32-inch Color Television (Excellent) Description: A technological product from an unknown era, mainly composed of five parts: a power supply circuit, common channel, audio channel, color decoding circuit, and color image display system. The image displayed twenty-five frames per second, with 625 lines per frame. Special Ability: Once placed and powered inside a shelter, it could monitor an area within one kilometer of the shelter and zoom in or out to change the viewing angle. Upgrade Direction One: Modify the television's material, improve its clarity, add audio equipment, and build an independent personal cinema. Required Survival Points (1550) Upgrade Direction Two: Modify the television's material, improve its clarity, expand the range of its special ability, and possibly add a second trait (limited technology). Required Survival Points (6520) Evaluation: In front of this television, you, me, and her! Have no privacy (righteous and stern!)
Ignoring the astronomical number of Survival Points needed to upgrade the television, Su Mo confirmed that it was undamaged, then forcibly took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions surging in his heart.
He quickly connected the television's power supply to the battery. As he did, Su Mo's heart gradually cooled, while countless thoughts raced through his mind.
After transmigrating to the wasteland world, he had only wanted to be a good person and work hard to survive here.
Raise some chickens, play with the dog, grow some vegetables, and do his best to develop the place into a thriving shelter. Once his family arrived, they could live a stable life together in the wasteland.
Yet the more he wanted to stay out of things, the more shortsighted fools appeared, always trying to destroy his life and send him to his death.
"I'm just an ordinary person, a good five-star citizen who received a complete education from my motherland. Even if I learn the ruthless decisiveness of the protagonists in novels, I'll still panic when a truly powerful enemy comes."
"But you don't want me to live! So I can only ask you to die!"
Crash!
The big-screen television switched on automatically after being connected to the power supply. It seemed that it had not been shut down properly last time.
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt~ With no signal coming in, the screen displayed constantly flickering black-and-white stripes.
After fiddling with the buttons below for a while, Su Mo found the AC1 channel that represented the special ability.
The instant he pressed the switch button, an illusory wave burst rapidly from the television's rear casing, even causing the air to tremble.
Vrrrrr~ The big-screen television began to vibrate violently. Seeing that it was about to jump into the air, Su Mo hurriedly pressed it down with one hand, preventing the shaking from growing worse.
Feeling the vibration coming from the big-screen television, Su Mo's heart—and everything below it—hung in midair.
He was terrified that the thing might accidentally blow itself apart! Fortunately, after more than ten seconds, the trembling finally began to ease. The television's shaking changed from a violent seven or eight times per second to a gentle two or three times per second.
The chaotic screen, previously filled with black-and-white lines, also began to change.
A smear of sunset gradually appeared on the screen, and then more and more details came into view.
Potholes left behind by the acid rain after the storm.
A few patches of shrub forest that Su Mo had hacked into an unrecognizable state.
And the Kobolds searching beside the shrub forest.
"Damn it! This thing doesn't have a remote, so I can't even change the viewing angle. It's way too limited."
Su Mo tried using the buttons below to control the screen's rotation, but after frantically pressing them, there was no reaction at all.
"I could go into the trading area and get a remote now, but damn, this thing is way too unreliable."
"Hm? Trading?"
As something suddenly occurred to him, Su Mo turned three steps into two and hurried to the Storage Room, where he pulled out a tablet-shaped object.
Three red, yellow, and blue adapter cables were still connected to the back of the tablet.
It was none other than the Mechanical Controller Shen Ke had sent him in their previous trade.
"Shen Ke, Shen Ke, you've really done your big brother a huge favor!"
Delighted, he took the controller and plugged it into the port of the big-screen television. When the image shuddered, Su Mo pressed a button on the controller, and sure enough, the picture began to move.
It was like playing a motion-sensing game. As long as something was within a kilometer of the shelter, it could not escape the big-screen television's surveillance.
He moved the view to the Kobold group beside the shrub forest and zoomed in.
Su Mo could even see the scraps of meat that a Kobold Warrior had failed to pick from between its teeth.
"One, two, three, four. There are four Kobold Warriors carrying spears in total."
"The ones carrying clubs should be Kobold Warlocks. There are only two of them. It looks like Warlocks have fairly high status among the Kobold race."
The two Warlocks each led two Kobold Warriors, carefully searching the ground.
From their expressions, Su Mo knew that his shelter had already been exposed.
But for some reason, the Kobolds had not chosen to launch a direct assault. Instead, they had run to this shrub forest to search for something.
"Are they sick?"
After repeatedly confirming that these idiots really were looking for something, Su Mo immediately began putting on his armor.
His raincoat had already been burned through. After spending 10 Survival Points to repair it, he put on both layers of armor.
He grabbed the Electric Crossbow from the ground, tested the switch, and loaded five acid-rain bolts. Then Su Mo carried the crossbow toward Passage Two.
Oreo hurried after him.
"Stupid Kobolds. Although they've evolved human behavioral patterns, their movement speed is even slower than that of a running adult. At this distance, they're dead."
After opening the shelter's back door and letting Oreo out, Su Mo began formulating a battle plan.
The shrub forest was located on open plains without cover, and it was not yet dark. An ambush was therefore impossible.
So he said, "Oreo, you'll cut in from the flank later. Yes, go from the left. Use your barking to draw their attention, and keep running. Don't give them a chance to hit you. Try to widen the distance and create an opportunity for me to approach them."
"If I'm in danger, don't come back to save me. They're slow, so we can circle around and wear them down slowly. Do you understand?"
Seeing Su Mo's serious expression, Oreo also became focused.
"Woof!"
Obediently, Oreo gave a soft bark and pawed at the ground, signaling that he was ready.
"Good. Get ready to charge. You go over there first, and I'll follow. Remember to keep your distance. Don't give them a chance to hit you, and watch out for those two with clubs. They can cast the same fireballs that burned you today!"
After hearing this, Oreo no longer hesitated and immediately shot off the ground.
On the ochre earth, the black-and-white Oreo began sprinting.
Before the countless puddles could react, the one trampling through them had already dashed several yards away.
As a medium-sized dog, the husky was compact and sturdy, with outstanding endurance. When wearing a harness and dragging a light load at a moderate speed over a long distance to perform the most primitive of tasks, it displayed its exceptional abilities best.
Its body proportions and shape reflected a fundamental balance of strength, speed, and endurance.
Seeing Oreo cover a full hundred meters without slowing down, Su Mo nodded. He stored the Electric Crossbow in the Storage Space, bent down, and also began jogging across the hill.
This time, every Kobold had to stay behind!
Before you continue