Road Survival, I Have a Hint System!

[Players Zhang Yongqiang and Liu Sisi have died. Cause of death: Plague, Acute Black Death.]

Zhang Tuohai was driving when he suddenly heard a system notification.

He quickly stepped on the brakes and opened the regional channel.

The game system also reported the death of the two players.

"So soon?" Zhang Tuohai checked the time. It had been less than ten minutes since he left, and those two were already dead.

"What kind of Black Death is this? It's too aggressive! It's almost like poison."

A chill ran through Zhang Tuohai's heart.

Luckily, he received a system warning and didn't open that box. Otherwise, it would have been him who died.

However, now that those two were dead, their vehicle...

Zhang Tuohai's heart warmed up.

His current weakness was vehicle upgrades. He needed a vehicle core but hadn’t found a way to get one.

Now, the opportunity had arrived.

Zhang Tuohai turned the car around and drove back the way he came.

"I hope the car doesn't disappear. Please hold on!"

Zhang Tuohai rushed to the scene and arrived just before the vehicle disappeared.

"System, is there any danger nearby?"

[Rats carrying the plague have fled. There is no danger nearby. Do not touch the bodies.]

The system kindly provided a warning.

Zhang Tuohai finally breathed a sigh of relief and approached the car in front of the two bodies, examining the scene.

Zhang Yongqiang and Liu Sisi lay on the ground with contorted faces, as if they had encountered something terrifying. Each had a wound on their body, oozing black blood, emitting a foul stench.

Not daring to get too close to the corpses, Zhang Tuohai took a detour to the car parked on the roadside.

There wasn't much inside the car: two cans of luncheon meat, a bottle of water, and about a dozen level-1 supplies. The most noticeable items were two objects resembling car models.

Zhang Tuohai picked one up.

[Vehicle Core discovered. Can be used to upgrade vehicle level.]

"This is it!"

Zhang Tuohai pumped his fist in excitement.

The last piece needed to upgrade his vehicle was finally in place.

With this item, he could upgrade his vehicle, and the mermaid statue could also be installed in the car.

The probability of obtaining blueprints could greatly increase.

Although his relationship with the Su Mu sisters was pretty good, it was still safer to keep such crucial materials in his own hands.

However, since these two had two vehicle cores, at least one of them had died at their hands.

It seemed these two weren't good people.

Realizing this, Zhang Tuohai's last bit of guilt vanished.

Keeping those two around would have harmed more players, so by dealing with them, he had performed a public service.

Transferring the supplies from their car to his own, Zhang Tuohai examined the vehicle left behind by the two.

"How exactly is the vehicle core extracted?"

As he was pondering, the game system's prompt sounded.

"Unclaimed vehicle detected. Do you want to extract the vehicle core?"

"Yes."

Creak, creak.

Accompanied by the screech of metal, the already battered second-hand car in front of him became even more dilapidated—paint peeling, glass shattered, looking like a discarded junk car.

At the same time, a shiny vehicle model appeared in Zhang Tuohai's hand.

"So, this is how the vehicle core is extracted?"

Zhang Tuohai gained some understanding.

After collecting the supplies, Zhang Tuohai returned to his car and took out a vehicle core.

"Upgrade vehicle level."

"Vehicle core detected. Upgrading level, please wait."

With a humming sound, Zhang Tuohai's vehicle underwent a dramatic transformation.

The previously dilapidated dashboard and seats instantly became new, all the instruments were spotless, and the body became much taller, with the space inside more than doubled.

The formerly old second-hand car had now turned into a brand-new minivan.

"Wow, is this some kind of high-tech?" Zhang Tuohai marveled, touching the shiny new car body in disbelief.

This car would have cost at least seven to eight hundred thousand outside, something he had always dreamed of owning.

But given his original family circumstances, it was something he could never afford.

He never imagined that his wish would be fulfilled in this world.

"Level 2 vehicle upgrade complete. Conditions to upgrade to Level 3 vehicle: 1. Install at least 2 Level 2 vehicle modification parts. 2. Have two vehicle cores."

"Upgrading to a Level 3 vehicle requires modifications?"

Zhang Tuohai calculated in his mind.

He already had two vehicle cores; now, he needed to obtain two Level 2 vehicle modification blueprints.

"Looks like I need to keep an eye out for this in the future."

After upgrading the vehicle, Zhang Tuohai took out the long-stored mermaid statue blueprint.

[Lucky Mermaid Statue: Car interior decoration. Placing it inside the car greatly increases the probability of obtaining blueprints.]

[Materials needed: 2 units of intermediate wood, 1 ordinary spirit core.]

[Placement requirement: Level 2 vehicle.]

Zhang Tuohai had met all the conditions.

"Craft!"

A flash of white light appeared, and the required materials disappeared. A palm-sized mermaid statue appeared in Zhang Tuohai's hand.

The mermaid statue was entirely made of wood, carved into a small mermaid figure.

[Lucky Mermaid Statue, Level 2 decoration, placing it inside the car greatly increases the probability of obtaining blueprints.]

[Upgrade requirements: 2 units of advanced wood, 1 elite spirit core.]

"The required materials have increased again."

Zhang Tuohai noted the required materials in his notebook and continued his journey.

Zhang Tuohai felt that the new car was different, whether it was the handling or maneuverability—it was much better than the previous second-hand car.

The only downside was that the interior parts were still the ones he had installed before.

There was no air conditioning, not even a radio.

"It looks like I still need to collect these myself." Zhang Tuohai shook his head, searching the roadside.

After driving for about 30 kilometers, Zhang Tuohai finally spotted a blue supply crate by the roadside.

[Level 2 supply crate containing four cans of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, two jars of peanut butter, and a Level 1 vehicle modification blueprint.]

"Having the statue's effect is really different." Zhang Tuohai beamed at the notification.

Before installing the statue, he hadn’t even found half a vehicle modification blueprint.

Now, he had obtained one directly; the effect was amazing.

The only pity was that the blueprint was Level 1.

Using a crowbar, Zhang Tuohai opened the box and picked up the blueprint.

[Reinforced Bumper: Level 1 vehicle modification blueprint. Once installed, it will protect against malicious collisions from any Level 1 vehicle.]

[Materials needed: 6 units of metal ingots, 8 units of metal parts, 20 units of metal scraps.]