A Pleasant Surprise
As the faint light from the trading panel faded, Lu Heng picked up the newly acquired Lighting Building Module between his fingers, feeling the cool, hard metallic texture against his palm. He sat by the fire, looking down at this hard-won infrastructure material, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
There are no unified rules for transactions in this world. No one can figure out the true value of the items they have. Whether it's a rare infrastructure module or a life-saving pill, the exchange depends entirely on the balance between the two parties. There are no standards whatsoever.
He wasn't good at bargaining to begin with. If he were to haggle and negotiate with someone, he would only feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, and annoyed. In the old days, stores had clearly marked prices, and you could pay directly, which was convenient and hassle-free. But in this chaotic mountain forest, there were no rules or regulations, and every exchange required careful consideration of the other party's needs, which was truly exhausting.
Lu Heng sighed softly. It seemed that there would be many more transactions involving various goods in the future, and he would probably have to deal with many similar troublesome matters again.
Putting aside his distractions, he raised his wrist to activate the Wristband's architecture function, selected the Lighting Building Module in the Storage Slot, and confirmed its activation and installation.
A pale blue data stream instantly appeared on the Wristband's light screen, and a mechanical notification sound slowly rang out.
[Lighting Building Module detected, simultaneously scanning Shelter facilities...]
[A host-held Energy Device has been detected. All installation requirements have been met. Construction loading procedure initiated.]
As soon as he finished speaking, the module floated up from his palm, transforming into tiny, silvery-white streams of light that rose upwards, spreading out intricate patterns along the ceiling of the Shelter. Moments later, a row of neatly designed Recessed Lighting Fixtures was evenly embedded in the entire roof, their metal bases firmly attached to the stone walls, simple and sleek.
[Hint: Lighting Building Module installation complete, Infrastructure Recipe permanently unlocked.]
Lu Heng opened the module's full description, and when his gaze swept to the latter half of the function introduction, his eyes suddenly lit up.
The module comes with a special modification mechanism, with pre-reserved filling slots inside the Lighting Fixture that can be filled with various Special Ore, gems, pearls, and other precious stones as light sources. Different filling materials result in completely different projected light colors and special effects, unlocking multiple sets of different light and shadow effects for switching.
"Damn, there's an unexpected bonus!" Lu Heng was overjoyed.
The ability to freely adjust various Lighting Effects far exceeded his expectations, making the exchange of pills a truly worthwhile opportunity.
But this joy didn't last long; he calmed down again, his brows furrowing slightly.
To unlock special lighting effects, you need to possess special ores. The few ores he had were obtained from a special environment-exclusive treasure chest; their production was extremely low, acquisition methods were very limited, and they had already been used for upgrades.
Thinking about it this way, all kinds of gems and rare minerals are scarce. To unlock and collect all the Lighting Effects, it would probably take a very long time to collect them slowly, which is not so easy.
With that thought in mind, Lu Heng reached out and added half a bundle of firewood to the fire pit, and the flames shot up several degrees.
No matter how good the Lighting Fixture modules are, they are ultimately just infrastructure items that can only be looked at but not used to fill an empty stomach. They are definitely great items in the late game, but right now we are still in the early survival stage, and we can't realize their full value in a short time.
He stopped thinking about it and turned to make the bed. The animal hides stored in the room were piled up in layers, one of which was thick and warm, except for the hide of the Tusked Wild Boar he had just hunted that day—the leather was hard and rough, and its high hardness made it suitable for forging into armor, but it was too uncomfortable to be used as a blanket. The other soft animal hides were laid out in layers, which were soft and thick to lie on, and insulated him from the cold air from the ground.
After days of running around, his tense muscles and bones completely relaxed, and warmth enveloped his body. Before long, drowsiness overwhelmed him, and Lu Heng leaned against the fur bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, as dawn broke, Lu Heng woke up and went straight to the second-floor platform of the Shelter.
Looking up at the mountains and forests, he was suddenly struck by a jolt: this snowfall was far more severe than yesterday's, with heavy snowflakes falling like rain, blanketing the sky. Just moments before, he hadn't been able to clearly hear the wind from his bedroom downstairs, but standing on higher ground, the howling wind was clear and piercing, its force terrifying. Countless tree trunks throughout the mountains and forests were bent and drooping under the weight of the thick snow, and some thin branches, unable to bear the weight, had broken off and fallen to the snow-covered ground.
Judging from the snowstorm, we definitely can't go out to explore today.
Lu Heng raised his hand and opened the Regional Channel. The screen was instantly flooded with messages, all about the disasters brought by the snowstorm:
[Oh no! The roof of my makeshift Shelter collapsed under the weight of the snow, and all my belongings are buried in the snow!]
[This wind is ridiculous! The whole mountain is howling; I'm afraid the walls will crack open!]
[Luckily, we built the Shelter in a depression in the giant rock; it's very stable against snow and wind!]
[I originally tied my Shelter to a century-old tree, and I'm glad I chose the right spot today, otherwise it would have been washed away by the snowstorm long ago!]
One distress call and a message of relief after another popped up, clearly showing the suffering of countless survivors from the lowest rungs of society under the extreme blizzard.
Turning off the channel, Lu Heng looked around his safe and Shelter, secretly relieved that the Stone Gate Stone House were located in a secure location.
Unable to go out today, sitting idly waiting is a waste of time. In the Survival World, physical strength and combat skills are the foundation for survival, and strengthening them should always be the top priority.
He immediately made up his mind to stay in the Shelter all day, honing his Basic Breath Cultivation Method to solidify his physical foundation, while repeatedly practicing the Flowing Water Blade Art to continuously refine his swordsmanship and improve his combat skills.