Chapter 61: Do Not Feel Alone, Friend!
Magoo’s writing stopped abruptly after Day 433.
The thin little diary seemed to be of great importance to him.
Once he had finished recording his writings on the dozens of available pages, he continued adding more pages to the diary by sticking together different pieces of paper using tape.
Judging from the paper quality, it was easy to tell that Magoo’s quality of life was at its peak between Day 200 and Day 340 of the Doomsday Calendar.
Ever since the disaster on Day 344 began, the development graph of Magoo’s shelter seemed to drop gradually, before falling into a steep decline downward.
All 19 disasters were jotted down clearly in the notebook. Su Mo did not find ‘Nerve Acid Rain’, nor was there any record of ‘Blizzard’.
The only things found were the numbers used to measure the disasters.
“Extreme snowfall 72 hours”
“Flood 72 hours”
“Temperature (30 degrees), 72 hours”
“Alien beast stampede, 72 hours”
“Temperature (below 30 degrees, 72 hours”
“Meteorite impact, 30 meteorites”
…
“Plant disease, 48 hours”
…
“Temperature (60 degrees), 24 hours”
He briefly wondered if there was a problem with Magoo’s recording, and whether it was possible that it was an issue of both games being different versions.
There was no mention of Novice Protection for the disasters in the diary, nor were there any clear descriptors of the disasters.
All he could see from those simple words were the human lives behind those disasters.
Magoo had, more than once, speculated on the reason behind this baptism of disasters that had befallen humankind.
However, he would debunk his previous speculation every time he formulated a new idea.
Whether it was the beginning of an alien war, some prank of a high civilization, to the brain in a jar theory, or even fantastical cultivating deities, Magoo had extended his imagination to all possibilities.
At the end of it all, reality was a harsh mistress; he was unable to hold on and unravel the secrets behind these disasters.
“Magoo’s failure stemmed from his widespread planting of re-engineered crops without proper planning to prevent the start of plant disease disaster. This was the biggest mistake he made, and it was from this point onward that his acc.u.mulations from before turned into a giant joke. He had no choice but to sell all that he had stored in exchange for survival supplies.”
“From the remnants of the ma.s.s graves, he successfully used his own methods to survive to the very end. After obtaining the plans and design for the thermal weapon device, he kept a low profile and bided his time. It was only when he had successfully manufactured it that he began to rise to a higher profile.”
“He started his business by selling small-scale thermal weapon devices and became somewhat well-known. Unfortunately, he could not maintain his core business. Sigh, what a pity.”
Su Mo felt slightly bad for Magoo as he read through the regrets in the diary.
Magoo was considered quite the legend to have been able to be part of the final 1%. However, one could only say that, if a person’s luck was waning, he would not be able to last until the very end.
With the motor-pumped oil well in his hands and a superior shelter with two floors, Magoo had lived quite the life as a minor character!
Even so, at that moment, Su Mo did not feel dejected nor lose hope for the future.
Magoo had taken over four hundred days to build and manage the shelter into what it was today, but it had only taken a week for Su Mo to nearly reach the same level as Magoo.
“Besides… I have the System! When I’m at my four hundredth day, my shelter’s strength would surpa.s.s his by at least a few hundred times!”
“Who knows, I might even have upgraded it into a psychic energy shelter by then!”
After keeping Magoo’s diary in his storage s.p.a.ce, Su Mo actually felt the gloominess within him disappear and he no longer feared facing the future.
Only weaklings would fear the road ahead. They would be the ones who stopped in their tracks and lived a wretched life in search of survival.
The strong would move forward with courage!
As he groped in search of the gate in front of the cellar, he pulled twice on it to confirm that it had been damaged before summoning the System to examine its properties.
[Level One Alloy Shelter Main Cellar Door (Normal) (Damaged)]
Description: The cellar door was constructed from multiple different alloys. Currently, the hinge is difficult to operate due to the lack of maintenance.
Upgrade Option: Restoration (20), Dismantling (450), Material Upgrade (1100), Electric Altering (750)…
“Looks like it was just left unmaintained. I guess the hinge is stuck, but if all it needs is just 20 points, I can totally afford that!”
Since it only required a few points, Su Mo chose Restoration without hesitation.
Another 20 points were taken off the remaining 31 survival points he had and a green light shot out.
Two deep clanking sounds could be heard.
Once again, Su Mo tried to pull on the hinge next to the cellar door. This time, as expected, the door of the cellar began to rise slowly.
Every time the hinge turned mechanically, the cellar door was able to rise about 10cm.
He turned it again and again until it was raised up to about two-thirds of its total height. Su Mo gave it one last forceful push and the hinge clicked downwards, locking it down between the fasteners.
He waited for two or three minutes to make sure that the alloy door would not suddenly slam shut before finally feeling safe enough to return to the buggy.
“I’m finally about to drive this thing out…”
“I’m afraid everyone on earth could never have imagined that I, Su Mo, used only one week to obtain the greatest weapon to safely roam about in this world.”
He sat in the buggy as he stared at the wide-open cellar door.
Su Mo felt the urge to show off and needed to express himself.
He had obtained a vehicle in such a short time, and not being able to tell anybody about it was killing him.
Being unable to return home to show off his success was like parading great-looking clothes in the middle of the night.
He turned on the dead man’s direct message and Su Mo sent ten continuous messages of, “I’ve got a car!!!”
Satisfied, he closed the screen and fastened his safety belt.
He pressed on the start b.u.t.ton again to turn on the engine, and two smoky clouds rumbled out from the exhaust pipe.
Vroom vroom vroom vroom!
Without a sound barrier, the sound of the engine’s power could easily be heard; pouring in its entirety into Su Mo’s eardrums, which rang in rhythm with the noise.
The gear lever for the buggy was located in the center. There were only two gears.
Forward and reverse.
He stepped onto the brakes and clutched the gear lever, which was shaped like a drumstick. He gave the head push and there was a creaking noise. He had successfully engaged the gear!
It was not long before Su Mo’s left foot slowly released its pressure on the brakes.
The gradual release of the brakes caused the buggy to shudder. It was only after the brakes were released that the shuddering stopped and it began to move forward.
Right then, it was impossible for Su Mo to tolerate moving at such a slow speed. His right foot immediately stepped on the accelerator and a low roar came from the engine.
The next moment!
The buggy was like an arrow that had just been released from a bow. It shot off with great force from where it had been originally situated.
It took only one second before a dirt-yellow shadow flashed out of the cellar.
The low roar from the engine’s horsepower echoed between the confines of heaven and earth!
20…
40…
60…
Su Mo accelerated to a scary 60 yards in just an instant on the battered dirt road.
There was no barrier or window s.h.i.+eld, and the booming sound of the wind tore at the mask of the raincoat like a blade, howling loudly.
Oreo, who was standing on high ground, saw the yellow shadow flash by and could no longer control her excitement within, howling like a wolf continuously.
Su Mo drove faster and faster under the moonlight.
The buggy’s strong horsepower also brought with it a violent recoil. In addition to the strong, wind-defying howl in the air, one could not help but feel the adrenaline pumping through the veins.
However, Su Mo still recalled that…
Diesel!
There’s not much of it left!
After four or five minutes of driving in circles, Su Mo drove the buggy back to the cellar door.
Oreo anxiously paced about at the entrance of the cellar. When she saw Su Mo return, she became more excited than usual and immediately lunged toward the buggy, trying to bite its roll cage fiercely.
It was as if she was interrogating it. ‘You’re the bad person that took my master away from me!’
Su Mo laughed and immediately rubbed Oreo’s doggy head. He only stopped once the little girl’s temper had been smoothed over.
“My shelter does not have room for parking yet. Once a disaster strikes, I would still need to park it at shelter number two. That being said, the creation platform at shelter number two can still be put back together before disaster strikes!”
He strode back into the shelter and placed the cellar hinge down, closing the cellar door.
Su Mo returned to the first floor.
He took out a wooden box that had been previously created in the base. Su Mo picked up Magoo’s skull with great care and placed any large-sized bones he could find on the ground into the box.
“Big Brother Magoo, thank you for the car. There’s not much I’m able to do for you except keep your bones in a safe place. If I’m able to return to Earth alive, I will be sure to bring your diary along with me!”
He bowed three times in grat.i.tude to the wooden box before keeping it in his storage s.p.a.ce. He climbed upward using the climbing rope.
He then found the highest point of the hill and took out a shovel. He quickly dug a large hole and placed the box with Magoo’s bones into it before starting to bury it.
As he scooped up piles of dirt to cover up the box of bones under the moonlight, Su Mo muttered with feeling, “Do not feel alone, friend! This is the highest point! Enjoy the good view of the starry sky and look upon this great land from the top!”
“A day will come when humankind will take over this wasteland!”
“A day will come when humankind will have our destinies returned into our own hands!”