Su Qingqian Was Stunned: You Can Even Shower Here?

Lin Hui glanced at the reactive armor on the front of the RV. A bone spike from the mutant White Thorn was embedded in it.

That single bone spike had reduced the RV's defense by 2%.

Rather than get out to deal with it, Lin Hui first drove over to the White Thorn's corpse and used [Auto-Pickup] to sweep the pile of loot into his storage space.

Then his gaze settled on the stranded main battle tank.

Now that was a juicy prize!

Its tracks were broken and its turret was damaged, but those dozen-plus tons of military-grade armor steel were still very real!

If he could dismantle it, he could add a substantial amount of special steel to his storage dimension!

Lin Hui parked beside the tank and was just about to issue the "dismantle" command.

Creak-

A grating screech of metal suddenly rang out.

The hatch on top of the tank slowly opened a crack.

Then a fair-skinned hand reached out and laboriously pushed the hatch open.

A girl in a padded jacket, her face smeared with grease, clambered out in a sorry state.

She coughed violently, clearly having suffered in the stuffy heat inside the tank.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

The girl looked about eighteen or nineteen. She lifted her head, and her eyes met Lin Hui's through the RV's window.

"Someone's still alive in there?"

That came as a surprise to Lin Hui.

He had assumed everyone inside had long since been killed by the White Thorn's concussive attacks or starved to death.

The girl glanced at the imposing black, heavily armored RV parked before her, then at the still-hot autocannon on its roof. Finally, her gaze landed on the dead tier 3 White Thorn, and shock flashed in her eyes.

"You killed that tier 3 mutant?"

"Are you... Lin Hui?"

She had seen the screen-wide announcement earlier, too. She hadn't expected the player it named to be so young.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Lin Hui considered whether to make her leave so he could dismantle her tank.

The young woman braced herself against the tank's turret and barely managed to straighten up. Her voice was a little hoarse.

"My name is... Su Qingqian. Thank you for saving me."

Su Qingqian?

Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.

The name sounded familiar.

Then he remembered. The player who had traded ammunition for an axe-gun for his antibiotics in the trading channel seemed to have had that name.

No wonder she had escaped the abandoned arms factory. She had been driving a tank!

"No need to thank me."

Lin Hui's voice remained cold, and he showed no intention of getting out.

"I was only here to kill that tier 3 mutant. Your tank happened to catch my eye, too."

"Since you're still alive, I won't dismantle it."

With that, Lin Hui moved to shift into gear and leave.

To dismantle a vehicle, its owner had to be dead.

Or the player had to willingly consent.

Seeing that Lin Hui was about to leave, Su Qingqian panicked.

"Wait! Don't go!"

No longer caring how she looked, she slid down from the tank and staggered over to the RV, spreading her arms to block its path.

"My tank's broken! The tracks snapped, and the drive shaft's busted, too! I can't move at all right now!"

"Please, give me a ride! I can pay you!"

Lin Hui stepped on the brake and looked down at her from above.

Though Su Qingqian's face was smeared with grease like a little grubby kitten, her eyes were unusually bright. Rather than the pleading look of someone helpless, she wore the expression of someone negotiating as an equal.

"Pay me?"

Lin Hui smiled and lightly tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"What do you think you can offer me?"

"I'm not short on food, water, or universal fuel..."

"If you're thinking of trading your body or your looks..." Lin Hui looked her up and down. "Sorry, I don't need a pretty ornament."

Su Qingqian bit her lip and spoke quietly.

"I'm not a pretty ornament!"

Su Qingqian took a deep breath, as though she had made up her mind.

"I've awakened a specialization!"

"A specialization?" Lin Hui repeated under his breath. He had seen the four major guilds recruiting players with awakened specializations in the regional channel earlier.

What exactly was a specialization?

At that moment, Su Qingqian showed Lin Hui her system panel.

[Name: Su Qingqian]

[Specialization: Machinery (tier 1)]

[Ability description: Possesses an extraordinary innate affinity for mechanical structures-a born mechanic. Greatly increases the efficiency of vehicle repairs, modifications, and dismantling.]

"Machinery Specialization?"

At last, a flicker of interest appeared in Lin Hui's eyes.

This specialization... was rather interesting.

Seeing his interest, Su Qingqian immediately pressed her advantage.

She looked at the bone spike embedded in the reactive armor on the front of the RV and said,

"Your RV's defenses have been damaged. I can fix that!"

Su Qingqian walked to the front of the RV and pointed at the pit the White Thorn had just corroded into the armor.

"This tier 3 mutant's toxin keeps working. If you don't deal with it, it'll slowly seep into the armor. This plate will be ruined in three days."

As she finished speaking, light flashed in her hand, and a toolbox appeared.

Then she took a wrench and a bottle of some unknown spray and worked on the pit for a moment.

Ssssss.

A cloud of white smoke rose.

The pit, which had still been bubbling green, rapidly dried. After a few taps of her wrench, it actually regained its metallic sheen!

[Notice: Vehicle defense restored to 100%.]

Lin Hui looked at the system notification, a little surprised.

Her skills really were far better than those "mechanics" who could do nothing but turn screws.

Besides, as the monsters he encountered grew stronger, his vehicle would suffer combat damage more and more often.

He didn't know how to repair vehicles, either.

Having a top-tier mechanic for support... might not be so bad.

"You've got some skills."

Lin Hui nodded, but rather than open the door right away, he pointed at the stranded tank.

"That tank is part of the payment, too."

Su Qingqian sighed. "No problem."

The tank's core was broken. She could repair it, but she didn't have the materials.

Lin Hui dismantled the tank, obtaining 150 units of special steel and 30 sets of electronic components.

Click.

The RV's heavy armored door finally popped open a crack.

"Get in."

Afraid Lin Hui might change his mind, Su Qingqian hurriedly climbed onto the step.

But then-

The instant she climbed into the cabin, she froze.

It was like...

Stepping straight from hell into heaven.

The door closed, shutting out the cold wind and the stench of rot.

A warm wave of air washed over her, comfortably maintained at a constant 26 degrees.

There was none of the wasteland's nauseating reek of blood in the air. Instead, a faint lemon fragrance lingered.

This wasn't a cramped, stifling cabin full of the smell of engine oil like the tank.

What lay before her was a spacious, brightly lit living area.

Leather booth seating, a clean, tidy floor, and even a water dispenser giving off steam!

On the table beside it sat a half-finished can of cola and an opened bag of chips!

Su Qingqian looked down at her grease-covered hands, then back at the surroundings, which looked like a five-star hotel.

She felt as though her brain had short-circuited.

"What I went through before... was that any way for a human being to live?"

Sitting in the driver's seat, Lin Hui watched the dumbstruck Su Qingqian through the rearview mirror, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Stop staring."

"Go take a shower and wash all that grease off. I don't like the smell of gasoline in my RV."

"A... a shower?"

Su Qingqian's eyes widened as she stared at the separate shower stall in the corner, with its frosted-glass door.

"You can... even shower here?!"

Lin Hui didn't answer. He simply shifted into drive and continued onward.