Before long, evening arrived.
The setting sun on the horizon looked stained with blood, casting an eerie, dark red glow and stretching a long shadow across the road.
The workbench finally stopped humming, and Su Ye completed all five large orders.
Looking at the enormous stockpile of supplies in his trading tab, Su Ye felt thoroughly reassured.
His afternoon of driving had not been fruitless, either. He had found three more Zero-Tier supply crates along the way and encountered eight monsters, all of which he had killed.
Unfortunately, he had not gotten anything particularly good. Aside from some food and water, the best item was a Zero-Tier machete.
The vehicle slowly came to a stop.
Su Ye took out some wood and built a simple frame, then poured a little fuel over it. The dancing flames carved out a warm pocket of safety in the darkness.
Next, Su Ye took out the meat he had obtained from killing the Mutant Wild Boar earlier.
He skewered all ten pieces of Mutant Wild Boar meat on sharpened branches and set them over the campfire to roast.
Fat dripped into the flames with a sizzling hiss, and an enticing aroma began to fill the air.
Su Ye sat beside the fire, looking at the huge quantity of resources he had yet to withdraw from his trading tab, feeling rather helpless.
When he had first arrived that morning, he had worried about having no resources. Now he was worried about having too many.
Although his vehicle had been upgraded to a Speedster, the cargo bed had not grown any larger. It still could not hold so many supplies.
Even with the Storage Ring on his hand, he did not have nearly enough room.
"If I don't withdraw all this within three days, the system will forcibly destroy it."
"I either need another Storage Ring to drop, or I need to upgrade my vehicle."
Su Ye weighed his options. Even if it meant missing out on a functional module, he could not bear to let the system reclaim so many resources.
While Su Ye was thinking, the meat had nearly finished roasting.
Its surface had turned an enticing golden brown, crisp outside and tender within, giving off a rich aroma.
Su Ye immediately pulled a small bottle of barbecue seasoning he had found in a crate earlier out of his Storage Ring and sprinkled it evenly over the meat.
The scent of cumin and chili powder mingled with the aroma of meat, instantly whetting his appetite.
Su Ye wasted no time taking a huge bite.
It tasted pretty good. The meat was a little coarse, but satisfyingly chewy.
After swallowing it, he also felt a distinct warm current coursing through his body.
The warmth slid down his esophagus into his stomach, then rapidly spread through his limbs and the rest of his body. It felt as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.
By the time he finished one piece of meat, the exhaustion from a full day of driving had vanished.
"This really is good stuff. It even restores stamina."
Su Ye nodded in satisfaction. Just then, a game notification sounded.
[Ding! Player has consumed Mutant Wild Boar meat. Physique increased by 0.5.] [Player]: Su Ye [Nickname]: Never Checks the Fuel Gauge [Race]: Humanity [Status]: Healthy [Tier]: 0 [Physique]: 1.4 (a normal adult has 1 point) [Spirit]: 2.1 (a normal adult has 1 point) [Talent]: Unawakened
His physique had risen from 0.9 to 1.4, already surpassing that of an ordinary adult on Blue Star. He now felt brimming with strength from head to toe.
Nine pieces of Mutant Wild Boar meat remained, and Su Ye had no intention of eating them all at once.
Even if only the first three pieces could improve his stats, the remaining seven could still restore his stamina in an emergency.
Su Ye wrapped the remaining roast meat in leaves and placed it in the most prominent spot in his Storage Ring.
Time stood still inside the Storage Ring anyway, so he did not have to worry about the meat going cold or spoiling.
Once he finished, the game system's cold, mechanical voice sounded again.
[Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to all surviving players. You have successfully made it through your first day on the Survival Road. The Novice Period Mileage Rankings are now officially live! These rankings will track every player's mileage in real time. Final results will be calculated separately for each region in seven days. At the final tally, the top ten players on the Mileage Leaderboard will receive extremely generous system rewards. The higher your rank, the rarer your rewards. Keep up the good work, everyone, and race to your hearts' content along the road. Oh, one friendly reminder: the road at night will be ten, even a hundred times more dangerous than during the day. All kinds of bloodthirsty monsters will roam the darkness.] If you lack sufficient strength, staying inside your vehicle with the doors locked will be your safest option. Good luck!]
As the voice faded, light flickered.
A brand-new translucent interface appeared before Su Ye.
It was the Novice Period Mileage Rankings.
Countless names were densely packed across the rankings, but the few at the very top shone with dazzling golden light.
Su Ye took a closer look.
To his surprise, he knew every one of the top five players.
In first place was none other than Ling Yue, the extravagantly wealthy young chief of the Feather Tribe.
[1st place: Ling Yue, 2,600 kilometers]
As for second through fifth place, they were the four members of the Fivefold Race who had bought hand crossbows from him that day.
Even the lowest of those five had traveled 2,350 kilometers.
"They've actually traveled that far."
Su Ye raised his eyebrows.
Ling Yue in particular had covered a full 2,600 kilometers in just one day.
What did that mean?
At his vehicle's current speed, even ten hours at full throttle would only get him 2,400 kilometers.
And that did not account for the time he had to spend during the day collecting supplies, killing monsters, and handling all kinds of unexpected situations.
"His vehicle has to be at least level three. It might even be level four."
"I just don't know whether he used a functional module for every upgrade."
The resource requirements for vehicle upgrades did not explicitly mention functional modules. The system would only ask whether a player wanted to use one if they already possessed one.
It was a hidden upgrade condition.
Su Ye only knew about functional modules because Zhou Chang had told him earlier. Otherwise, he would not even have known such things existed.
"If he upgraded without using functional modules, that means his vehicle missed several chances to gain special effects."
Then Su Ye checked his own mileage ranking. Between doing business and opening crates that day, he had traveled a total of 1,625 kilometers.
He ranked 5,711th.
"I control the only arms business in the entire region, and my vehicle is already level two, yet I didn't even make the top thousand."
"I bet quite a few people have upgraded their vehicles to level two or three, but they definitely didn't use functional modules. Even if some did, there can't be many."
"By that reckoning, my vehicle actually has the greatest potential."
That was the only consolation Su Ye could offer himself.
With all the resources he now possessed, he could upgrade straight to level four or even level five if he really wanted to. But he was unwilling to miss out on functional modules.
"I wonder how the discussions on Humanity's side are going."
Su Ye rubbed his chin, his eyes flickering.
"If my fellow humans come through for me and get some functional module drops tomorrow, I'll be able to upgrade my vehicle quickly."
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