Train Survival: You're really trying to survive!

Chapter 172 Preparation before Exploration

That's why Challenge Level 2 means you must possess extraordinary powers to survive.

The methods available in a world without magic are simply ineffective in dealing with such a dire situation.

"What's most annoying is this kind of weird mechanism. If you can't get past it, nothing you do will help." Su Li rubbed her temples, then asked the most important question, "How strong is the elemental field?"

“Not high.” Song Mingyu opened her notebook and tapped on a number. “With our resistance, if we stay in an elemental field for 10 hours, we might experience elemental imbalance and freeze to death. If the outside temperature is too low or the wind is too strong, it will increase the accumulation of elemental damage. Physical cold and elemental damage are complementary.”

“Ten hours is a bit short,” Sofia said, frowning.

"There's more trouble." Song Mingyu turned to another page, which had a picture tucked inside. "The previous problem was about energy; now it's about biology."

The picture shows something that looks like a small snowball.

After looking at it for a while, Su Li asked with some doubt, "Is this some kind of elemental creature?"

"Oh, as expected of Su Li, who specializes in monsters, she actually figured it out." Song Mingyu clapped her hands. "That's right, it's some kind of elemental creature, I prefer to call it elemental bacteria."

The moment the name "elemental bacteria" appeared, Zu Li felt a headache coming on.

“Elemental bacteria? It can’t be the kind of elemental organisms the size of bacteria that I’m thinking of, can it?” Ivan asked incredulously.

Song Mingyu gave him an approving look, but Ivan was not happy at all.

"Ice element creatures are similar in size and appearance to common bacteria. They can enter the body of organisms through respiration, food, etc. When a certain degree of icy element erosion accumulates in the body of an organism, these ice element bacteria will directly erupt and instantly condense a layer of ice crystals on their body surface."

"Ice crystals forming on my own skin? The elemental bacteria live inside the body, right? That means..." Ivan's mouth dropped open.

"That's right, it will pierce your heart with ice."

As soon as Song Mingyu finished speaking, it was as if a gold-level ice spell had been cast, freezing the entire operations room.

As if that wasn't enough, Song Mingyu added, "When you go out to explore, elemental bacteria are everywhere. Even if you wear a gas mask, they can still enter your body through your eyes and other places. Unless you wear protective clothing all the time, you have to be prepared to get infected with elemental bacteria."

After a long while, Su Li slapped her head in anguish, "Why is this so difficult?"

Su Li originally thought that as the world's energy level increased, their exploration life would gradually change from struggling to survive against nature to fighting against various monsters, and from a survival game to a cooperative hunting game.

But reality slapped him in the face, telling Su Li that he was still the boss.

Energy level boosted? Come and experience the upgraded power of nature!

"Sigh, thinking about it, it makes sense. Magic energy is equal to all things. When magic energy becomes strong, magical disasters will naturally occur."

Song Mingyu picked up her notebook and said, "Now let's talk about how to deal with this kind of extreme weather."

Exploration is definitely necessary.

To upgrade the train to level 6, it needs elementalized magical metal, as well as titanium and platinum, which only appear in worlds of energy levels 1 and 2.

Upgrading the train to level 6 is a crucial milestone, as the factory will unlock numerous upgrade options, greatly helping Zuli and his team improve their strength.

"It seems we need to find a way to resist the corrosive effects of external elements."

Su Li took two items out of her personal inventory and placed them on the table.

"These are the support items for this mission: 6 [Insulation Stones] and 3 [Ice Melting Potions]"

[Insulating Stone: The insulating stone can be charged with fire-attribute magic. It slowly releases fire element to dispel the cold.]

[Ice Melting Potion: When used, it dispels the surrounding ice elements]

The support items from the leader are still very effective.

Su Li handed the insulating stones to a few people, saying, "The insulating stones can extend our time outside. We'll have to experiment to see exactly how long they can extend it. These four are already full of fire element; I only have less than one-tenth of my magical energy left."

The team members accepted the insulating stone. This item could be activated simply by stimulating it with their own magical energy.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Su Li looked at her teammates.

Ivan shook his head. As a blacksmith who couldn't even forge magical equipment himself, it was unlikely he would achieve anything significant.

“I could try making a hot drink to dispel the cold,” Sofia suggested. “Don’t we have a hot spring fruit?”

"Yes, you can try it. It's okay if you can't make it; eating it directly will be just as effective."

At this moment, Zuli was very glad that she had stocked up on hot spring fruits with heat-preserving effects and bubble fruits with cooling effects.

He looked at his younger brother: "How many hot spring fruits do we have?"

"There are 23. The yield of hot spring fruit is quite high."

"23... I don't know if that's enough, or how effective it will be. Ivan, go and get the stuff... Oh, and while you're at it, keep an eye on the greenhouse, make sure the crops don't freeze."

Ivan responded and left.

Su Li continued, "Afterwards, let's explore the outside. I just glanced outside, and there are some tall trees in the distance. These elemental bacteria treat everyone the same. Since these plants can grow, they must have a way to resist elemental erosion and the outbreak of elemental bacteria."

"In addition, we can actively hunt monsters that venture out. Local monsters may also have ways to deal with these two types of environmental damage. We should collect their fur, blood, and meat."

Su Li looked at Sophia, "I'll be relying on you later. You have experience in snow hunting."

"Understood. By the way, if we happen to hunt a wild beast, don't use the system's decomposition ability first. Let me decompose it; we can keep more parts for research."

The three of them discussed the details for a while longer until Ivan returned from the growing room.

"How is the situation?" Su Li asked.

"The crops are all wilting; the temperature dropped too quickly, and we're not used to it. Luckily, the heating has already raised the temperature."

“Brother-in-law, I also brought some fire element fragments from the warehouse and made a simple activation device that can continuously emit fire element to prevent these crops from dying due to elemental erosion.”

Plants exchange elements more slowly, making them more resistant to elemental erosion from the elemental field. Combined with the protection of the planting room and the train itself, they can likely survive, though yields will probably decrease. Especially those extraordinary crops, whose inherent magical energy also helps them resist erosion.

"Sure, I trust you with this." Su Li patted her little brother's head.