The screwdriver must have been mixed in with the clutter under the sofa, and the little fellow had dug it out as a toy.
"Good job."
Su Wei took the screwdriver and tried it. It was exactly the right size.
He reached out and rubbed the fox's smooth fur. It felt thick and warm.
Encouraged, Cotton Candy instantly forgot his earlier grievance. He turned and burrowed into the shadows beneath the stairs, then came back a moment later with a rusty nut in his mouth, depositing it on Su Wei's foot as if presenting a treasure.
The man and the fox had developed something of a rapport in the silent snowbound house.
When the last rag had been wrung out,
the house looked completely different.
Though the furniture was old, sunlight streamed through the clear glass onto the dust-free floor. The smell of decay had finally given way to faint scents of pine and soap.
Flames danced in the fireplace, casting a red glow over the clean hearth.
Su Wei felt much more at ease.
Now it finally looked a little like home.
At the edge of his vision, a line of pale blue text suddenly appeared.
[Ding!] [Achievement attained: Clearing Away Old Grime] [Evaluation: In this forgotten corner, you have personally cleared away the dust of the years. A clean house is the first step toward a new life.] [Congratulations, host. Life Module (LV1) activated]
Su Wei's gaze sharpened, and he immediately pulled up the panel.
Sure enough, there was a new module.
Its icon was a simple drawing of a cabin and a campfire.
[Life Module (LV1): Learning to live is the first step in life.] [Fatigue Removal: While resting at home, stamina recovery speed increases by 15%, mental fatigue dissipates 15% faster, and injuries heal slightly faster.]
Su Wei stared at the line about recovery speed.
He hadn't expected the Life Module's effect to be quite good. With it, Su Wei could at least get a good night's sleep every day.
Besides, the muscles he had strained while fleeing for his life yesterday still ached faintly.
With this buff, a good night's sleep might be enough to restore him most of the way.
"Grrr..."
His stomach protested.
Su Wei pressed a hand to his stomach.
The system could give him modules, but it couldn't give him calories.
The little liquid food he'd had yesterday had long since been used up. His body urgently needed a high-calorie refill.
The kitchen cabinets were cleaner than his face.
He had to go into town.
Su Wei went to the table, pulled out a damp notebook and half a pencil, and sat down to make a list.
First, food.
Rice, flour, salt, sugar, and oil.
These were the basics of survival. He couldn't keep living on compressed biscuits as hard as rocks.
Second, fuel.
The generator needed diesel, and a kerosene stove would also be useful if he went hunting away from home for an extended period.
Third, weapons and ammunition.
Su Wei's pencil paused, and he drew a heavy circle around the words.
The old Browning rifle was a classic, but against a six-hundred-kilogram behemoth like a Kodiak brown bear, its stopping power was too weak.
If he hadn't been lucky, he and Cotton Candy would already have been that bear's snack.
He had to stock up on large-caliber hunting ammunition, or even get a different gun.
If his budget allowed, he also wanted a shotgun or a large-caliber revolver for self-defense.
There were also trapping tools, a medical kit, hardware...
The pencil moved across the paper.
Cotton Candy jumped onto the table and lay down beside the notebook, quietly watching as his tail brushed Su Wei's hand now and then.
Ten minutes later.
Su Wei tore out the page, folded it, and tucked it into the pocket closest to his body.
With money in hand, there was no panic in his heart.
Now that he had the [Life Module] for support, the next time he went into the mountains, he couldn't go just to pick a few mushrooms.
His goal was clear.
Unlock the [Hunting Module].
Only with a firm grip on a gun would he be qualified to gain a foothold on this land.
Su Wei got up, put his outdoor jacket back on, and pulled the zipper all the way up to cover his chin.
"Come on, I'll show you something big."
He patted Cotton Candy on the rump.
The little fox immediately jumped off the table and pressed close to Su Wei's waterproof boots.
He pushed open the back door. The wind was as cold as ever.
Su Wei trudged through the crunching snow, circling the cabin until he reached the separate building behind it to the side.
The large garage was built of logs, and the bottom edge of its roll-up door had frozen fast in the ice and snow.
The padlock had long since rusted into a solid lump of iron.
Su Wei couldn't be bothered to look for the key. He grabbed a nearby rock and smashed it hard against the latch.
Clang!
Rust flew, and the latch snapped.
Su Wei tossed the rock aside, gripped the roll-up door's handle with both hands, and heaved it upward with the strength of his thighs.
Creeeak!
A piercing scrape of metal rang out.
The roll-up door rose, and dust billowed in the backlight.
A smell of engine oil, rubber, and dust rushed toward him.
Light flooded in.
When the dust settled, the long-neglected pickup truck was finally revealed in full.
It was a Dodge Ram pickup from the 1990s.
Its army-green paint was long since mottled, exposing the gray-white primer underneath. There were several dents in the bumper, though there was no telling what it had hit.
The four wide off-road tires were cracked but still full, and the enormous grille gave it a rugged, savage look.
In this godforsaken place, where the land was vast and people were few, he couldn't get anywhere without it.
Su Wei walked over and ran his fingertips through the thick dust on the hood.
The metal felt cold to the touch.
He pulled open the door. The seat foam had yellowed and was exposed, but the steering wheel was still sturdy.
Su Wei climbed into the driver's seat. It felt both a little unfamiliar and familiar.
He felt inside the sun visor's pocket and pulled out a car key with a black plastic head.
Whether this old buddy could still start was entirely down to luck.
The key went into the ignition.
Su Wei's fingers tightened slightly.
Please start...
He turned it.
Chapter 11: The cause of his parents' deaths and the insurance company's possible payout!
Rooom!
A muffled roar came from the engine compartment, and the truck began to shudder continuously.