Steamed fish head with chopped chili peppers is fine, it's a gold entry for every level.

Shen Wen looked at the reactions on the world channel, and some people even questioned him, but he didn't have any intention of explaining.

He had his own reasons for releasing this information.

Humans are social animals.

Although everyone is fighting their own battles now, it's obvious even to a fool.

This path to survival will inevitably lead to gathering places, trading markets, and even the formation of powerful forces.

In fact, the more people there are, the more resources can be traded and exchanged.

Without infringing upon its own core interests.

This kind of trivial intelligence meant nothing to Shen Wen.

However, he has no intention of revealing his name for the time being.

Now is the time to make a fortune quietly. It's okay to expose yourself, but you have to consider whether there are any benefits.

He did see Liu Min. Shen Wen frowned slightly. He remembered that he had driven a BMW X5 on the way here.

Could that be Liu Min?

This made Shen Wen suddenly realize that the survival path was divided into different areas via the regional channel.

And now, even if they communicate, it's only within specific areas?

"In that case... the end of this road to survival is probably farther than I imagined."

Shen Wen put his thoughts aside for the time being, at least for now, as the most immediate danger was to him.

Neither low-level monsters nor black mist mattered to him, who possessed the Kunpeng Dharma Body.

But Shen Wen couldn't let his guard down; who knew what kind of monsters he might encounter next?

After all, this is a survival challenge, not a resort, and certainly not the kind of "seven-day challenge without electricity" scenario you see on Douyin.

After thinking about it, he decided to prioritize upgrading the vehicle.

Even if the Kunpeng Dharma Body can amplify the power, the base of the chopped chili fish head is still too weak.

This is like putting Schwarzenegger's muscles on a kindergarten child. It looks intimidating, but in a real fight, the child's foundation is unstable, and he will still be beaten to a pulp.

Moreover, after leveling up to level 2, he can draw a new affix, which will greatly enhance his strength.

Shen Wen took out the green experience card from his pocket.

The card feels warm and smooth to the touch, with a faint green glow. The "50" on it is much more refined than the "10" on the white card, and there are fine lines along the edges, giving it a high-end feel.

"use."

[Experience +50]

Current vehicle experience points: 80/100

Shen Wen then took out the two white experience cards he had obtained from the frilled lizard and slapped them on one by one.

[Experience +10]

[Experience +10]

Current vehicle experience points: 100/100

The conditions for vehicle level upgrade have been met...

[Enable the abandoned vehicle dismantling function!]

Shen Wen's eyes lit up. Here they come!

He rubbed his hands together, waiting for the system to pop up that familiar notification sound like "Congratulations on your successful upgrade."

however--

[Ding—Vehicle level upgrade requirement detected. Please meet the following upgrade conditions:]

[Steel: 100 jin]

Rubber: 100 catties

Current holdings: Steel 120/100, Rubber 0/100

[Tip: Upgrade materials can be obtained by killing monsters, opening treasure chests, dismantling unclaimed vehicles, picking up materials, or trading with other survivors.]

Shen Wen: "...?"

He was stunned for three seconds.

"So," his voice was a little hoarse, "even with all my experience points, I still have to find the materials myself?"

"What the hell is this? I thought I could level up directly once I had enough experience, but you're telling me I still need to collect materials?"

"So this survival game is just a reality simulator disguised as a game? Leveling up has to follow the law of conservation of mass? You can't just conjure things out of thin air?"

Shen Wen felt that his worldview had been refreshed once again.

He recalled the mobile games he had played in his previous life, where once he had enough experience, he could simply tap to level up, causing his attributes to skyrocket—it was so satisfying.

In this lousy game, experience is just "qualification," while materials are "strength."

"Alright." Shen Wen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Thinking about it carefully, this makes sense. If you could level up directly just by accumulating experience, wouldn't all those people tied to trucks have already taken off?"

"A Jiefang heavy truck, loaded with several thousand kilograms of cargo, kills a few monsters, and once it has enough experience, it can directly transform into a tank?"

"Then what's the point of playing? I might as well just self-destruct on the spot with my chopped chili fish head."

"But after killing so many zombies, no steel appeared. Should we dismantle the vehicles?"

Shen Wen looked at one of the explanations in the introduction.

Since the vehicle can be disassembled, there's nothing to worry about.

At least in front of him, there shouldn't be many people who can compete with him.

Shen Wen first stuffed all the edible and drinkable items into the trunk.

Self-heating hot pot*3, mineral water*5, compressed biscuits*5, plus the zombie meat and lizard meat from before.

Wait, zombie meat?

Shen Wen picked up the grayish piece of meat with strange patterns and fell into deep thought.

"This thing... is it really edible?"

He examined it carefully for a long time, and finally stuffed it into the deepest part of the trunk.

"Forget it, if I'm really starving, I'll eat tree bark, let alone zombie meat. For now, I'll be a civilized person with some principles."

Then his gaze fell on the [White Vehicle Modification Blueprint - Bumper Bar Reinforcement].

The drawing shows a sturdy-looking safety bar, with the required material listed as 100 jin (50 catties) of steel.

Shen Wen looked again at the 120-pound piece of steel that he had just received.

"This is getting interesting." He stroked his chin. "Given the way the system is, upgrading requires 100 jin of steel, and modifying it also requires 100 jin of steel..."

It's simply a choice between two options.

Shen Wen thought for a moment, then looked at his own crispy chopped chili fish head.

With a defense rating of 10 and an attack rating of 5, I'm embarrassed to even show those stats to anyone.

Even if you accumulate enough materials to upgrade to level 2, you still have to wait until you draw a new affix before you can see a substantial improvement.

But what if the safety lever is changed first...?

"Attack power +5, that's doubled! Although going from 5 to 10 still doesn't sound very powerful, at least it's evolved from just tickling to being able to swat a mosquito."

"and……"

Shen Wen narrowed his eyes, revealing a sly glint.

"Who said those 120 pounds of steel are gone after they've been used?"

"Those abandoned vehicles on both sides of the highway are like mobile steel ATMs!"

"It's just like playing a game. When resources are scarce in the early stages, you have to spend them when necessary. Only by investing can you achieve faster development."

"Playing defensively to develop your character? That's for those who haven't died yet."

"I have the Kunpeng Dharma Body, why would I still play it safe? Then what's the point of having this cheat code?"

Shen Wen thought about it more and more and felt that there was nothing wrong with his line of thinking.

He picked up the blueprints for modifying the safety bar.

[Should we use the white vehicle modification blueprints and reinforce the bumper?]

【Materials needed: 100 catties of steel】

Current holdings: 120 catties of steel

"use!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Wen saw the pink and white Wuling Hongguang MINI in front of him, and the front of the car suddenly began to gleam with a faint metallic luster.

It was a very strange feeling.

It's like someone is using an invisible 3D printer to gradually build a completely new structure on the front of the car.

First comes the skeleton, then the outer shell, and finally the overall shape.

In just over ten seconds, a gleaming, heavy-looking bumper appeared out of nowhere in front of the car.

[Modification complete]

[Bar Reinforcement: Attack Power +5]

Current vehicle attack power: 10 (originally 5+5)

[Note: This modification is for basic structural reinforcement and does not occupy modification slots.]