Underneath the sturdy wooden table was an opening about a meter wide and long.
Lin Yue put the wooden table into the item bar and his feet already stepped onto the descending staircase.
On his shoulder, Xiaobai had already jumped over, as if it was quite interested in the underground space that suddenly appeared.
The staircase was a bit steep, Lin Yue held the torch and carefully walked down step by step.
After ten steps, there was a very small platform. After a turn, he walked down another ten steps, finally reaching a flat surface.
He held the torch, carefully observing.
Square-shaped, and completely identical to the shelter above. However, this place was relatively cooler and much drier, and it was extremely well-sealed.
Xiaobai chirped excitedly, seemingly liking the environment a lot.
"Haha, it's a bit like stepping into a coffin, and the air here seems a bit off," Lin Yue assessed the environment, quickly spotting its shortcomings.
However, it was still much better compared to the other two options.
If it doesn't work out, it can simply serve as a warehouse.
[Detected entry into underground shelter. Due to lack of foundation on the upper level, the upper structure might collapse. Would you like to spend 10 stones to lay the foundation?]
At this moment, the system suddenly spoke.
Darn, there's a whole rigmarole, and now I have to lay a foundation?
Although Lin Yue complained, he still promptly confirmed the foundation construction.
It's a stone shelter up there; if it collapses while he's inside, that would be quite interesting.
Soon, with a white glow shining above the basement, the foundation seemed to be completed.
Lin Yue took the torch and went back upstairs, storing heavier, space-occupying, currently unused items like engines and batteries extracted from the Secret Realm into the item bar, then moved them to the basement for storage.
After a while of fussing, everything was finally sorted out.
Once done, the shelter above returned to its clean and tidy state, and the space became spacious again.
Feeling better, Lin Yue, with Xiaobai, stepped outside once more.
After doing all that, he needed to figure out how to survive the global disaster—the snowstorm, happening two days later.
Wearing wooden armor, holding a small round shield in his left hand and an iron spear in his right, Lin Yue was fully equipped.
With this gear and the help of Xiaobai, who was already looking like a capable assistant, dealing with those little mutant creatures nearby was a walk in the park.
Looking toward the spots where he buried the mutant sheep's remains yesterday and the day before, Lin Yue spotted more beetles and other critters, currently digging up the buried remains of the mutant sheep for a feast.
There were far more of them than before.
Lin Yue suddenly had a thought.
This... feels a bit like a bait trap.
At the beginning, searching for these small mutant creatures required considerable effort and time, just to find a few in the desert.
Now, thanks to these carcasses, he could easily spot them around.
These scavengers had very little offensive power; as long as he didn't provoke them, they wouldn't attack.
These bugs were precisely Lin Yue's key to popping open Wooden Treasure Chests, getting food and water.
For the past few days, he kept killing mutant sheep, extracting enough materials and then burying them, and the next day he would find a lot of these mutant bugs...
As long as he eliminated bugs and small lizards, Wooden Treasure Chests would appear, providing water and food.
If he kept burying large mutant creatures here, these bugs would continue to appear.
Seems like a positive cycle?
Thinking about this, Lin Yue continuously harvested big beetles and small lizards with his iron spear.
Before long, the number of Wooden Treasure Chests in the item bar reached 30!
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiaobai on his shoulder chirped incessantly, seemingly eager to join the fight.
"Thirty, that should be enough. Xiaobai, I'll leave the remaining few to you."
Lin Yue sensed Xiaobai's desire to battle.
This little guy seemed quite combative; this was a great way to train it.
In the previous battle against the big rat in the Secret Realm, it could only help out with that one move.
But if they encountered stronger foes, Xiaobai's current strength was far from enough.
It was necessary to train it well, so it could become an even more important helper.
Moreover, Xiaobai needed growth; this little guy was still classified as juvenile by the system yesterday.
Would it become stronger once it matured?
Lin Yue's gaze fell on Xiaobai, which was pouncing on a large beetle.
The big beetle was still gnawing on the rotting innards of a mutant sheep, paying little attention to its surroundings, and soon paid the price!
As Xiaobai exhaled a white mist, the green beetle's body was instantly covered in white frost!
The beetle's black jointed limbs froze in place, no longer moving, as Xiaobai opened its mouth and crushed its head!
This sequence of moves flowed like water; Xiaobai was like a born hunter, completing a kill with swift speed!
Afterward, Xiaobai, seemingly unsatisfied, set its sights on the remaining bugs.
Double kill, triple kill, quadruple kill, pentakill, annihilation!
Dominating the match, unstoppable!
This white shadow transformed into the reaper in the desert!
Not bad!
Lin Yue was quite surprised.
Didn't expect this little guy to be so fierce!
[You have obtained a Special Treasure Chest]
After taking down the last beetle, the system voice suddenly rang out.
Hmm? Xiaobai killed the bug, yet the treasure chest was given to him?
Moreover, what exactly is this Special Treasure Chest?
Lin Yue looked at the special treasure chest.
It was generally the same as the original Wooden Treasure Chest, but it had a yellow star on it.
What does this mean?
He opened it.
[You have obtained Elemental Necklace X1]
Hmm? Another item appeared that doesn't belong in the normal range.
[Elemental Necklace, when worn by mutant creatures, can enhance their elemental attack power]
This is something else.
Is this even serious in a post-apocalyptic survival scenario, I wonder.
Lin Yue took the necklace with a pale yellow star embedded on it out of the treasure chest and looked at Xiaobai.
The little guy seemed very interested in the necklace in his hand, staring at it intently.
"You like it that much? But it seems a bit too big for you." The necklace was indeed not small and would fit a large dog without issue.
However, as Lin Yue pretended to put it around Xiaobai's neck, the necklace magically shrank to a perfectly fitting size!
Indeed, there are things in this world that defy common sense.
If you ask, it's just advanced game technology.
With Xiaobai wearing it, there was no discomfort, and Lin Yue gently tugged, finding it easy to remove.
However... since the description mentioned it could enhance elemental attack power...
"Xiaobai, use Frost Breath on that bug again."
"Chirp!" Xiaobai seemed to understand, quickly spraying a white mist on a bug.
And this mist range was twice as large as before, covering not only the bug's corpse but also the surrounding dry grass with a thick layer of frost!
"This... did it go from air conditioner to refrigerator?" Lin Yue marveled.
...
Thanks to 08a for the 100 coin reward! Thanks to Dongpo Meat More for the 100 coin reward!
Newbie asking for comments, please leave your thoughts and follow~