Three Function Modules!

Just as Wu Jun had said, Su Ye encountered four more groups of their own people afterward, fifteen people in total.

Twelve of those fifteen dropped highly valuable items, while the remaining three contributed some fuel.

Seven of those twelve dropped Storage Rings.

After Su Ye fused all seven Storage Rings, the space inside his own Storage Ring expanded dramatically again, reaching a full 150 cubic meters.

That was equivalent to a huge warehouse with fifty square meters of floor space and a height of three meters, enough to hold plenty of good loot.

Aside from the Storage Rings, the items dropped by the other five were also extremely useful.

Three of them each dropped a function module.

One dropped a shield.

What surprised and delighted Su Ye most was the last person, who actually dropped a bed.

Besides that, he had also cleared out three groups of other Civilization Monsters along the way today and opened seven Supply Crates.

His luck with those seven Supply Crates was fairly average, though. They contained nothing special, only some fuel, purified water, timber, and basic survival supplies.

"Not a bad haul today. Since I'll be resting tonight anyway, I can upgrade the Vehicle again."

"With these three function modules and the materials I've already saved up, I can take the Vehicle straight to level nine."

With that thought, Su Ye took the three function modules he had obtained today out of his Storage Ring.

[Function Module · Temperature Control]: Once activated, the player can freely adjust the temperature inside the Vehicle to suit their needs, regardless of extreme heat or cold outside.

"This function module is pretty good."

With this [Temperature Control] module, he would no longer have to suffer if he encountered extreme cold or heat.

More importantly, this function would work not only in the cab, but also in his rear compartment.

That meant he could sleep in the rear compartment without worrying about the temperature.

Next, he looked at the second module.

[Function Module · Camouflage]: Once activated, applies a layer of visual and aura camouflage to the Vehicle, blending it into its surroundings and greatly reducing the chance of detection by monsters or other players.

"Nice. The perfect feature for a sneaky bastard."

On this highway, an open attack was easy to dodge, but a hidden one was hard to guard against.

If he encountered other players or monsters he couldn't afford to provoke in the future, this function would greatly improve his concealment and chances of survival.

Finally, his gaze fell on the third module.

[Function Module · Weather Forecast]: Every morning, provides an accurate forecast of that day's highway weather, giving advance warning of extreme conditions.

"This one's pretty useful too."

Su Ye nodded in satisfaction.

Knowing the day's weather in advance meant he could prepare earlier than all the other players.

In particular, if acid rain, hurricanes, or similar weather might occur, he could find ways to avoid them beforehand.

Then Su Ye stood up and walked over to the Vehicle. Since he wouldn't be driving tonight anyway, he might as well raise its level first.

As before, Su Ye chose to upgrade its speed, then fused the [Camouflage] module into the Vehicle first.

[Player use of Function Module · Camouflage detected. Confirm fusion upgrade?]

"Confirm."

As soon as he spoke, a brilliant white light enveloped the Vehicle.

[Vehicle upgrade commencing. This upgrade will take 35 minutes. Please wait patiently.]

Su Ye was in no hurry. He turned and returned to the warm campfire.

Just thirty-five minutes-enough time to grill some meat and sort through the rest of his haul.

Then Su Ye took out a heavy shield.

[Steel Shield]: First-tier equipment.

[Effect]: Forged from hard steel, this item can withstand full-power attacks from most first-tier monsters. However, please don't blindly trust it and challenge a tier-two monster with it raised, or both you and the shield will be torn to pieces.

Su Ye lifted it with one hand.

The shield felt extremely heavy in his hand. Rough hammer marks covered its surface, and its edges were sharpened. He could even use it as a bludgeon to smash someone.

"Not bad either. This could definitely save my life in a pinch."

Su Ye silently assessed it.

Although his physique already far surpassed that of an ordinary person, no one could guarantee that he wouldn't encounter a surprise attack or an unexpected situation.

Having a first-tier shield to defend himself would give him much more room for error in close combat.

After putting the shield away, Su Ye flicked his wrist, and a seemingly ordinary single bed with a soft mattress appeared on the empty ground.

[Can't Get Out of Bed]: First-tier item.

[Effect]: A bed that will never leave you sleepless. Resting on it can accelerate recovery from mental exhaustion to a certain extent.

"The higher-ups in Great Xia really know how to pick them."

Su Ye laughed.

Long hours of driving and constant vigilance inevitably depleted mental power.

Excessive mental exhaustion would slow a person's reactions and could even cause hallucinations.

He now had ways to heal internal and external injuries, but none to restore his mental energy.

This bed had arrived at just the right time, solving that problem while also making him more comfortable.

"I've been sleeping curled up in the cab these past few days. The seat reclines flat, but I still can't stretch out properly."

Su Ye patted the soft mattress. "Once the Vehicle finishes upgrading, the rear compartment will definitely be bigger. I'll put this bed inside, and tonight I can finally sleep comfortably in a proper bed."

After inspecting today's haul, Su Ye had nothing else to do, so he opened the chat interface.

Night had fallen, and most players didn't dare travel in the darkness. They stopped their vehicles to rest, leaving the chat channel as their only outlet for easing their fear and exchanging information.

Countless messages scrolled madly across the light screen like a waterfall.

Some people tearfully recounted what had happened to them that day, some shared the weaknesses of monsters they had encountered, and others offered high prices for urgently needed supplies.

Su Ye didn't rush to speak. Instead, he habitually glanced up at the population count at the top of the channel.

[Current survivors in this region]: 931,587

"Nearly seventy thousand people have already died."

That number might not seem especially large, but it represented only the region he was in.

Applied to the enormous population of the entire Fivefold Race, it meant that over nine hundred million people had died in just three short days.

And this was still only the beginner period.

During these first seven days, the main goal was to let players adapt to their surroundings, and the strength of the monsters introduced remained manageable.

Once the seven-day beginner protection period ended...

The true apocalypse would descend, and the death toll would inevitably skyrocket.

"I have to pull as far ahead of the other players as possible during the beginner period."

Just as Su Ye was pondering this, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that quite a few people in the chat channel were frantically tagging his name.