Escape Route and Defense System-Flamethrower
Yesterday's haul had been substantial. The twenty 100-liter barrels of fuel alone were worth a fortune. Fuel was even scarcer than cigarettes, as valuable as guns and ammunition, and no one had a reliable way to obtain it.
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that other players had access to such resources but were stockpiling them for personal use instead of listing them for sale.
Just like him. He had no intention of putting those twenty barrels of fuel up for sale anytime soon.
Two thousand liters of fuel sounded like a lot, but it could run out fast.
The Hideout would inevitably need a great deal of electricity, and if he acquired vehicles someday, their fuel consumption would be no small matter.
Selling the fuel now would be easy. Getting more later would be next to impossible.
Aside from the fuel, his biggest haul was twenty-five bundles of homemade explosives, each fitted with a mechanical timer.
[Homemade Timed Explosive] Quality: Common Weight: 2 kg Condition: Extremely stable Timer: 1–30 minutes Destruction/lethal radius: 0–3 meters Severe damage/serious injury radius: 3–10 meters Casualty/impact radius: 10–30 meters
Yu Yuan carefully packed the twenty-five bundles of timed explosives into a storage box. After sealing it, he placed it in a corner of the passage, far from the fuel barrels.
They were valuable, but the danger they posed was just as great. Unpleasant possibilities kept flashing through Yu Yuan's mind. Fortunately, the explosives' stability let him breathe a little easier.
With the two most valuable—and most dangerous—types of supplies dealt with, he turned to the guns, ammunition, and equipment he had seized from the Burning Fortress.
They were also what Yu Yuan needed most right now.
Unlike the Black Shield Police Department's equipment, the Burning Fortress's weapons were mostly from the AK series: two AK74s, one AK-74U, one AKM, and finally, one AK-12.
There was plenty of ammunition, too. He had several hundred rounds each of 7.62×39mm and 5.45×39mm, enough to last him a while.
Then there were the throwables he had deliberately kept: eight F1 grenades, five Stun Grenades, and three sticks of dynamite fitted with detonators.
For now, they made up for his shortage of throwables.
Of all the gear carried by the Burning Fortress's Flame Riders, Yu Yuan had brought back only a pair of military binoculars. He simply couldn't carry any more at the time. Taotao Cave had been stuffed full, and hauling back what he had taken had already been an enormous struggle.
But he had brought back the most valuable spoils: everything the Flame Priest had been wearing and carrying.
Yu Yuan hadn't forgotten hearing more than one mechanical notification when he had begun looting the Flame Priest.
Anything that triggered a notification was bound to be valuable.
His heart racing, Yu Yuan tipped everything out of the Oxford Backpack onto the floor. The moment the contents spilled out, notifications sounded one after another in his ears.
They sounded like the sweetest music in the world.
[Ding... High-value supplies discovered!] [Special construction path for a Hideout facility discovered. Add this path to the Hideout Facility Management Log?] [Ding... High-value supplies discovered!] [Special construction path for a Hideout facility discovered. Add this path to the Hideout Facility Management Log?] [Ding... High-value supplies discovered!] [Optimization Path for a Hideout facility discovered. Add this Optimization Path to the Security and Wall construction lists?] [Ding... High-value supplies discovered!] [Rare Grade equipment discovered—Flame Priest Robe (Damaged)]
Yu Yuan's grin nearly reached his eyes. Three Hideout construction Blueprints! Two of them were even special construction paths the Hideout didn't have. He immediately added them all to the Hideout Facility Management Log.
As the Blueprints vanished, two new construction paths and two Optimization Paths appeared in the Hideout Facility Management Log.
[Ding... Defense facility construction path detected. Hideout Defense System Management Log unlocked.]
On the [Survival] Light Screen, a new page called [Hideout Defense System Management Log] had appeared alongside the [Hideout Facility Management Log] and [Hideout Resource Management Log].
Yu Yuan eagerly examined the two newly available facilities.
—[Escape Route] (Special) Quality: Unknown Description: This remarkable Blueprint allows the construction of a special Escape Route connecting the Hideout to Safehouses, enabling escape or safe evacuation in an emergency. It can connect to up to three Safehouses, but a necessary condition for construction appears to be missing. Construction requirements: Escape Key ×1, Safehouse ×1–3, door with a lock ×1 —[Defense—Flamethrower] Quality: Rare Description: Up to twenty Flamethrower units can be built within 100 meters of the Hideout to protect it. Be warned: when activated, this facility will scorch the surrounding area. Leave a safe distance between it and the Hideout during construction, and prepare adequate protection. Construction requirements (per unit): Required materials: Fuel 10 L, high-pressure gas cylinder ×1, Pressure Relief Valve ×1, steel ×1, spring ×1, 9V battery ×2, resistance wire ×1, metal water pipe ×1, metal nozzle ×1. Additional materials: Rubber gasket ×2, metal pin ×1
"This... this..."
Yu Yuan didn't know what to say.
They were incredible!
The Escape Route gave him an overwhelming sense of security. If he ever needed to use it, the Hideout would probably already be in grave danger. Having a way to flee could only be a good thing.
As for its construction requirements, he had no idea where to find two of the three items. Only the door with a lock was within his reach.
Still, the construction path had been added. At least he now knew what to look for.
[Defense—Flamethrower] confirmed something Yu Yuan had suspected about the Hideout.
What exactly was its Defense Level?
He had built quite a few Hideout facilities by now. Its Safety Level, Comfort Level, Hygiene Level, and Energy Level had all risen, but its Defense Level remained at zero.
He had wondered whether he needed to upgrade the [Wall]. Now he had his answer.
And the defensive facility could be built around the Hideout. Yu Yuan was ecstatic.
What worried him most was what would happen after the Beginner Protection Period ended. What if other players invaded, found the Hideout, and destroyed it?
Now he had a solution.
These were Flamethrowers!
And they could be built anywhere within a hundred meters of the Hideout, giving Yu Yuan plenty of room to work with.
The Hideout was built in a passage on the Air-Raid Shelter Level. If he positioned the Flamethrowers cleverly, those passages could become a fiery killing ground where invaders had no way out.
At least five suitable locations for Flamethrowers sprang to Yu Yuan's mind at once.
"This Blueprint came at just the right time! There are still more than twenty days before players can invade. That's enough time to turn the Air-Raid Shelter Level into a death trap."
A cold, ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.