As expected, when the gate was installed, I received the message that the main quest to create a base had been completed. Although I still thought this base was too simple and that there was still a lot of work to be done here to improve it, the basics were done. And now it was time to move on to other objectives.
[Main Quest Completed!]
[Build a base within the next 30 days]
[Obtained a Level 3 Mutant Crystal]
[Base Management Menu Now Available] +
[New Side Quests Issued:]
[Improve Pineview Village Base]
Reward: 1 Survival Ticket for Level 3 Shop
[Build a Second Base in a Town]
Reward: 1 Survival Ticket from Level 3 Shop
The base management menu was a new feature of the system. It was quite useful and had many interesting functions. The first of these was a list of all the survivors inside the base. I could learn a lot of details about any of them. Their data, health status, their professions, and even their mutant levels. There was also a "monster counter" inside the base in case of invasion. This was a very valuable new feature, because it would allow me to monitor the bases I built even from a distance.
The second advantage of this menu was a mini map of the base perimeter. It showed the real-time status of the walls I built, places where I needed to reinforce, and even details of the structures and houses inside the base. It also had our stock of food, ammunition, water and medical supplies.
As for reinforcing the houses in the village, of course they also needed to be reinforced.
The wall only solved the problem of zombies and animals, but we still had the problem of flying mutant animals. A cover would have to be made to protect the houses, and without this function in the system this would have to be done manually by the survivors. There was a lot of manpower here, so it wouldn't be a problem.
Back to the new missions, there were details of the improvements the village needed to be considered completed. Reinforce internal structures, expand the area by building a second wall, and dig a moat around the second wall. All of this would take several days, since we would have to explore and clear all the houses to make sure there were no surviving threats inside them. The lumberjacks also needed a few more days to collect enough materials for a second wall…
Building a second base in the city was extremely important to continue collecting survival resources and also more crystals, but the city I would choose needed to take many factors into consideration, such as location, number of inhabitants, groups of survivors, and available resources…
Still speaking of missions, I managed to complete the other secondary mission "Expert Survivors". I was able to confirm through the base system that the woman I saved on the first day along with her daughter was a computer technician… I was very surprised to learn this, karma really did me good this time, and the 7000 survival points were welcome at this time…
It was still early morning, as I walked through the base heading back to my house, I felt the cold night breeze, it was getting colder, and I looked up at the dark sky where the moon was no longer visible. These clouds blocking everything, including sunlight, would cause a drastic drop in temperatures, bringing Jyera into a new ice age. Last time it took a few months before this winter hit us, but I could feel that due to the greater density of the clouds we barely had a month this time… The system message about creating a base in 30 days was another sign that I took into account…
This meant that the first base needed to prepare for a long and terrible winter, and the second base needed to be in a place with good defenses since we wouldn't have much time to build anything there.
After returning to my house I went straight to my old room, looking nostalgically at some personal belongings and photos from my childhood. Among the photos, I picked one to look at more closely. It showed me and my father on a fishing day. He had left us when Rhayra was still too young to remember him... It was a simple car accident on the way home from work...
I was only 7 years old at the time, but I could see how losing him affected all of us. My mother put on a tough front to keep up appearances, but I still know how hard it was for her... This time, I won't let anything happen to her. And I will make this base a fortress where she can live a quiet and peaceful life in the house my father built...
I took the level 3 crystal out of my inventory and swallowed it. I was finally ready to gain the power I had before during the apocalypse... As a warmth spread through my body, I felt my physique improve again, this time, the physical improvement was average. What stood out most about level 3 mutant humans were their senses. I could hear almost everything within the perimeter of the house, smell the leftovers from the kitchen on the first floor. And when I looked out my bedroom window, I could see the streets even in the darkness.
I clenched my fist tightly, feeling an old, familiar energy pouring through my crystal and flowing throughout my body. With a single thought, the portrait in my hand returned to the dresser next to my bed in a flash of silver light…
After confirming in the system that I was now a level 3 mutant, and also the new level unlocked in the survival shop, I decided to sleep and get some rest… Tomorrow I would go on a trip alone, one that would explain the origin of this level 3 crystal to Joe and my new allies. It was also a trip to test my new powers, and hopefully help me get my hands on another level 3 crystal…