Compared to conventional ordinary shelters, the farmhouse courtyard is a typical example of maximizing construction with minimal resources.
Although it seemed somewhat risky at first, like putting all eggs in one basket, it meant that if something went wrong, all achievements would be lost.
In reality, the so-called dispersed construction only brings a false sense of security.
In the face of a large-scale natural disaster, no matter how many ordinary shelters there are, they can collapse in an instant.
On the contrary, the farmhouse courtyard, which utilizes limited resources to concentrate and strengthen, has a greater chance of survival.
Seven hours after the earthquake, the area around Qinling Mountain, where Su Wu was located, began to tremble again.
Although the intensity was not as fierce as at the beginning, the duration was particularly long.
At this moment, in the spacious command cabin of the Pioneer-class Land Destroyer, which resembled a hall, Su Wu sat in the command seat, carefully observing the holographic projection ahead.
This was a simulated scene of underground activities in the canyon, constructed from data transmitted by reconnaissance drones located thousands of meters below.
From the scene, it could be seen that more and more magma was surging out from the depths of the earth along spiderweb-like cracks.
As the magma gradually rose, the external pressure began to decrease.
A large amount of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor began to separate from the magma, rushing towards the surface at a speed faster than bubbles in soda.
However, not all separated gases could be released successfully.
Some gas pockets remained trapped underground, and as the gas accumulated, the internal pressure and thrust gradually reached their limits.
Eventually, they exploded with a loud bang, forcing the magma to break through the rock layers above, creating spectacular streams of lava on the surface.
"It's getting more dangerous down there."
After some consideration, Su Wu instructed the reconnaissance drone to increase its cruising altitude by several hundred meters to avoid being hit by the high-speed ejected magma.
However, this meant that the data the drone could gather would significantly decrease, limiting Su Wu to observing only the surface of the canyon and the dynamic changes in its shallow underground layers.
But Su Wu didn't mind; he was just taking a casual look and had no intention of delving into the internal principles.
As long as he could ensure that these geological activities wouldn't threaten his safety, that was enough.
Just as he thought this, a violent tremor suddenly came from the ground.
In a certain section of the canyon, a massive magma column, with a diameter of over twenty meters, shot up from the ground at a speed of nearly 100 meters per second.
Half a minute later, this magma column emerged from the crack, soaring into the clouds above, and then continued to transform into a rain of magma, scattering in all directions.
In an instant, even the command cabin where Su Wu was located was faintly illuminated red by the intense magma.
"Warning, a heat source is approaching at high speed."
"Activating air defense system."
On a small screen beside Su Wu, icons representing lasers, anti-aircraft guns, and rockets lit up simultaneously.
Then, through the destroyer's onboard radar, further detection and data analysis were conducted.
Ultimately, rockets were chosen for defense.
Subsequently, dozens of rockets were ignited and launched in succession from the Rocket Launch Pod at the rear of the destroyer, targeting the falling magma and various rock fragments from above.
Amidst the booming sounds of the rocket explosions, Su Wu, trusting the destroyer's air defense system, didn't pay much attention to the interception results.
His focus shifted back to the canyon.
He noticed that something unusual seemed to emerge alongside the magma that had just erupted like a volcanic explosion.
"Begin scanning and modeling."
"Abnormal substances marked."
The footage of the moment of the magma eruption was played back repeatedly dozens of times.
The destroyer's intelligent computer successfully identified the anomalies and rendered them all in bright red, displaying them in the projection.
These abnormal substances varied in size, but their surfaces were mostly covered with a protective layer resembling a transparent film, shielding them from the high temperatures of the magma and the high pressure underground.
At the moment the magma broke through the underground rock layers, these abnormal substances scattered like seeds, some landing on the canyon floor and walls, while others surged into the sky with the magma, scattering in all directions.
"These things seem to have vitality."
Tracking a portion of the marked abnormal substances, Su Wu observed for a few minutes.
He quickly noticed that they began to shed their protective layers and melt away on relatively safe rocks and ice surfaces, until they blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment.
After some thought, Su Wu activated a Spider Robot, equipping it with various devices to head to the nearest landing point of the abnormal substances for more detailed analysis and detection.
Braving the falling magma and rock fragments from above, the Spider Robot nearly malfunctioned after being splashed by a mass of deep red magma but managed to reach its destination.
It was only about 200 meters away from the Pioneer-class Land Destroyer.
The robot conducted tests on-site.
In the following minutes, increasingly detailed reports began to appear before Su Wu's eyes.
He discovered that the main components of these abnormal substances seemed to originate from the earth's surface a hundred million years ago and were rich in nutrients.
"Is another super virus about to emerge?"
The overly similar characteristics led Su Wu to some unsettling associations.
But he quickly dismissed them.
The birth of a super virus is not that easy; it requires the sacrifice of an entire planet's species and a long period of evolution to succeed.
Given Earth's evolutionary history, it is nearly impossible for a second super virus to appear.
And since it wasn't a virus, it was likely the new biological species mentioned in the system task.
Carefully collecting a sample, Su Wu instructed the Spider Robot to return without further actions.
According to the task description, the most challenging part of the entire mission should be resisting the harsh environments brought by the magma eruption.
Aside from that, he only needed to act as an observer.
Ten hours after the earthquake, the continuously erupting magma had transformed the canyon floor several kilometers deep into a true sea of lava.
Occasionally, bubbles of various sizes would rise in that sea of lava.
The intense heat, accompanied by magma that could occasionally shoot up thousands of meters high, was transmitted to the upper canyon, gradually melting most of the ice and snow in the area where Su Wu was located.
In this relatively warm environment, the first weak bud quietly broke through the still partially frozen ground.
Then, it began to grow rapidly at a visible speed.
At this time, magma continued to overflow from the cracks in the canyon.
To ensure that this newly sprouted plant was not affected, Su Wu directly maneuvered the Pioneer-class Land Destroyer to block it from the cracks.
He temporarily constructed a small iron shed made of thick metal plates above it to prevent falling rocks from the sky from causing harm.
Under Su Wu's careful protection, nothing unexpected occurred.
The new species safely grew over the last two hours into a plant about 40 centimeters tall, topped with a pure white flower resembling a tulip.
[Successfully recorded the birth process of the Underworld Flower.]
[Mission completed.]
[Mission reward: 225 Survival Points.]
The mission completion prompt appeared right on time in Su Wu's system log at the last second.
"225 Survival Points."
"They're quite generous this time."
Su Wu's gaze lingered on the mission reward for a moment, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
This gain was 2.25 times higher than the guaranteed 100 points of Survival Points from a blue elite mission.
Moreover, his total earnings didn't stop there.
During the past 12 hours of stay, the danger level of the environment around Su Wu had reached as high as 2.7 at one point.
On average, it was around 1.5.
This meant that, supported by the characteristics of concurrent natural disasters, Su Wu could earn an additional 90 Survival Points.
That was almost equivalent to the guaranteed reward of a blue mission.
"So many Survival Points."
"I can give the farmhouse courtyard another significant upgrade."
Through the cockpit's window, looking out at the surroundings, Su Wu commanded several Spider Robots to quickly excavate the first Underworld Flower he had carefully protected, along with the frozen soil beneath it, and transfer it all to the destroyer.
Then, feeling somewhat impatient, he set off on the return journey.
Upon returning to the farmhouse courtyard, Su Wu tossed the Underworld Flower into the biological laboratory for Chen Yue to oversee the research.
As for himself, he began a critical upgrade of the entire farmhouse courtyard using Survival Points.
"Upgrade—"
"Anti-gravity Array."
Facing the magma canyon that had been born under his watchful eyes several dozen kilometers away, the first issue Su Wu needed to consider was how to resist the invasion of magma.
This matter had already been addressed by thickening the outer wall of the farmhouse courtyard with Rapid-setting Cement to a full meter, equivalent to a 20-meter thick concrete wall.
Solving it was quite simple.
He only needed to seal the ventilation openings and access passages additionally.
The secondary issue, resisting earthquakes, still had many areas needing improvement.
Su Wu's solution was to spend a large amount of Survival Points to directly upgrade the Anti-gravity Array laid on all load-bearing walls and columns of the farmhouse courtyard.
The upgraded Anti-gravity Array could be regarded as the first-generation super-large anti-gravity engine.
In addition to reducing the overall weight of the farmhouse courtyard, it could also offset a considerable degree of physical impact and shock, taking on the role of the original shelter's buffer zone.
"If the original defense strength of the farmhouse courtyard was 1,"
"after spending 330 Survival Points to enhance the Anti-gravity Array,"
"the overall defense strength could reach over 12 at most."
"However, the Anti-gravity Array is not a basic material."
"Its operation requires a large amount of electricity."
"At full power, it consumes over 1,000 tons of coal per second for power generation."
"Basically, it can't be used unless it's a critical moment."
Su Wu assessed the effects and usage costs of this expensive tool, feeling a bit pained.
But no matter how expensive, its existence was very necessary.
It was truly a pillar that could significantly increase the safety of him and all residents in the farmhouse courtyard.
On January 14, in the underground sixth-floor simulation testing ground of the farmhouse courtyard, Su Wu stood side by side with Liu Qianqian, who wore a light yellow long dress and had a pure neighbor girl vibe, in the observation room.
They watched the first actual test of the new high-frequency oscillator in the testing ground.
In the arena, the activated high-frequency oscillator probes fell one by one into ice blocks, soil, and rocks.
Without exception, they easily cut them in half as if they had been inserted into water.
Then, the probes changed mode.
In the next moment, the surfaces of these tested objects began to show dense cracks.
Within just a few seconds, they shattered into a pile of powder like sand.
"The effect is outstanding."
"It's almost close to the original version."
"Just the power consumption is a bit high."
Su Wu's tone of appreciation made the girl standing beside him, Liu Qianqian, gently press her lips together, her mood lifting.
As the first player Su Wu had sent to fetch from Changming City, Liu Qianqian not only possessed unique talents but was also surprisingly powerful beyond Su Wu's expectations.
With the same Spirituality enhancement, she could quickly analyze technologies with reference products that she hadn't mastered at a speed exceeding Su Wu by 1.5 times.
On the second day after implanting the biological chip into Liu Qianqian and letting her take over the reverse engineering, she completed the task of analyzing the engineering robot's high-frequency oscillating cutting tool, leading to the current scene.
"Can I apply for a reward?"
"I want to go see my brother."
Liu Qianqian mustered her courage to ask Su Wu for credit.
"I'll give you two days off."
"You can go anywhere in Jianghe City."
"But you have to take a bodyguard and come back to sleep every night."
Su Wu nodded.
To him, Liu Qianqian was a precious research tool.
From the moment her talent was confirmed, it was destined that she could never easily leave the core area of the farmhouse courtyard for the rest of her life.
Although forcibly separating the girl from her family and controlling her for the rest of her
life was quite domineering, Su Wu didn't care.
Having become accustomed to influencing the fates of millions with a single word, he only focused on whether a few ordinary people had any value for use, without caring about their own thoughts.
(End of Chapter)