Upgrading the Electric Tricycle

Chen Ye had no idea whether his current twelve hundred-odd Slaughter Value would actually be enough.

Without that muscular demon man's help, he probably wouldn't even have scraped together a thousand Slaughter Value.

Only after this experience did Chen Ye realize how valuable his electric tricycle was.

If the convoy ahead hadn't stopped, he would probably have been left behind for good.

In an apocalypse like this, being abandoned by the convoy meant only one thing awaited him: death.

Chen Ye was absolutely certain that the convoy had fled in such a desperate rush today because it had sensed some danger.

Making sure the convoy didn't leave him behind was his top priority now.

Ideally, he would modify the tricycle so it could run on both pedal power and electricity.

He could pedal it during the convoy's normal travels.

In emergencies like today's, he could use electric power.

System, can I design my own upgrade plan?

Chen Ye tried asking the system a question in his mind.

To his surprise, the system soon gave him an affirmative answer.

A 3D rendering quickly appeared before Chen Ye's eyes.

This was the upgrade plan the system had provided.

In the system's design, all three wheels of the tricycle had been fitted with tubeless tires.

All three tires had been changed to sixteen-inch ones.

Even the cargo bed looked much sturdier than before, and it was slightly larger too.

A throttle and brakes had been added to the handlebars, along with a headlight.

Chen Ye thought about it. If he ran into rainy weather later, he would get soaked without any shelter.

So Chen Ye changed the front into an enclosed cab.

He also changed all three tires to solid off-road tires.

Compared with tubeless tires, solid tires required less maintenance and wouldn't suffer blowouts.

They were also better suited to heavy loads.

Granted, they offered poor shock absorption, making the ride bumpier and putting more stress on the frame.

Even so, solid tires were better suited to this apocalypse overall.

After some thought, Chen Ye even decided to reinforce the frame.

Within the system, all it took was a thought from Chen Ye for it to put together the entire plan according to his design.

It was even more comprehensive than Chen Ye had imagined.

The system would also automatically optimize any impractical parts of the plan.

The system's original design used rear-wheel drive on the two back wheels.

After considering it, Chen Ye changed it straight to three-wheel drive.

In an apocalypse like this, three-wheel drive might not match four-wheel drive, but it would certainly be much better than rear-wheel drive.

Chen Ye even modified the vehicle's chassis.

He changed it straight to a body-on-frame design.

After all, body-on-frame construction was generally only used in serious off-road vehicles.

Its strengths were rock crawling and traversing deserts and uninhabited wilderness, features that couldn't have been more suitable for an apocalypse like this.

After all those modifications, the design before him bore no resemblance whatsoever to the original pedal tricycle. It looked like an entirely different kind of vehicle.

If he really had an apocalyptic tricycle like this, it probably wouldn't be much worse than those modified off-road vehicles.

Chen Ye clicked confirm.

The 3D model before him shimmered, and a notification appeared before Chen Ye's eyes.

[Optimizing the current plan for feasibility!]

[Optimization in progress!]

[Upgrading the electric tricycle requires 3,500 Slaughter Value. Insufficient Slaughter Value. Upgrade plan cannot be implemented.]

Wait, what?

Holy shit!

Three thousand five hundred Slaughter Value? That much?

What a damn rip-off!

Chen Ye was dumbfounded. He only had twelve hundred-odd Slaughter Value right now.

But looking at the tricycle he had designed, Chen Ye was practically drooling.

He couldn't bear to give it up just like that.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette, thought it over, and had no choice but to revise his original design.

He stripped out the features he didn't need for now, keeping only those he urgently needed.

He even removed the headlight.

All to save slaughter points.

A few minutes later.

Looking at the simplified modification plan before him, Chen Ye still felt reluctant.

But this was all he could do.

[The current upgrade plan requires 1,200 Slaughter Value. Upgrade time: 15 hours!]

[Proceed with upgrade?]

I only have a little over twelve hundred Slaughter Value right now.

Fifteen hours is acceptable, though.

Just as Chen Ye was about to click confirm, his gaze swept over the roadside nearby. He spotted an abandoned motorcycle, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

The motorcycle lay on its side by the road, covered in rust, with moss even growing in its crevices.

Scenes like this were everywhere in the apocalypse.

With enough luck and patience, Chen Ye might even find an off-road vehicle outright.

Then perhaps Chen Ye wouldn't have to settle for upgrading this tricycle.

But that wasn't a realistic option.

The only asset Chen Ye had at his disposal was the tricycle in front of him.

If he didn't make use of the upgrade system soon, he probably wouldn't survive more than a few days.

System, if I can get hold of parts, can the Slaughter Points cost be reduced?

The system soon replied.

[If suitable parts are found, the system can reduce a portion of the Slaughter Value cost as appropriate!]

Chen Ye suppressed his excitement and steadied his trembling hands, lighting a cigarette to calm the turmoil inside him.

The faint glow lit up the side of Chen Ye's face, making his eyes sparkle.

Fuck it, let's do this!

Chen Ye struggled to his feet, his whole body aching and weak.

He dragged the motorcycle from the roadside over to his tricycle.

The people nearby heard the noise and glanced toward Chen Ye, then turned away.

They didn't care at all what an ordinary man like Chen Ye was doing.

Those people had already started pitching tents.

They had even begun lighting fires and roasting meat.

As the scent of meat drifted to Chen Ye's nose, his mouth watered uncontrollably.

Chen Ye could only take two hard drags on his cigarette, force down his hunger, and focus on the system's modifications.

System, can you use this motorcycle for the modifications?

The motorcycle's tires and engine, and even many of its other parts, could all be used for the modifications.

[Yes. The current modifications require 900 slaughter points!]

That only saved three hundred Slaughter Value.

Is it really worth that little?

System, is there any other way to save some Slaughter Value?

[Yes. If the host dismantles all the motorcycle's parts and provisionally installs them on the tricycle, the cost can be reduced by 100 Slaughter Value!]

[If the host finds a third tire, the cost can be reduced by another 100 Slaughter Value.]

[If the host...]

Chen Ye understood.

The closer the target vehicle already was to the desired upgrade, the more Slaughter Value he could save.

Chen Ye didn't have any tools on hand, so this was as far as he could go.

It looked like he would need to collect a set of tools on future supply runs too.

Chen Ye had wanted to check for other abandoned motorcycles along the roadside, but it was too dark to see into the distance.

He would have to settle for this.

After these system modifications, his electric tricycle would become gasoline-powered.

There was nothing he could do about that.

It seemed he would have to join the convoy in searching for gasoline on future supply runs.

Fortunately, his tricycle would have two ways of powering it.

One was pedal power, and the other was engine power.

But after the modifications, pedaling it probably wouldn't be as easy as before.

After clicking confirm in the system.

Chen Ye saw an hourglass countdown appear over his tricycle.

The upgrade would take six hours, nine hours less than the previous fifteen.

By that calculation, the modifications would be finished by tomorrow morning.

Only now did Chen Ye have time to examine the supplies he had collected.

He had taken two large bags when he left the supermarket.

The other two bags had been snatched from the woman in yoga pants and Qiangzi.