Chapter 240 - 238: Fixing the Car

Words : 1668 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

After the fracture was set, Chen Xin’s injuries were finally properly treated, although the pain from setting the bone was so intense that Chen Xin had to rest for quite a while before he could recover. He told Zeng Liu that they would stay for a day, not because he was waiting for Zeng Liu and the others to pack up, but because he planned to use this time to repair the antenna that was damaged in the avalanche. Meanwhile, Chen Xin also planned to perform some maintenance on his vehicle. Although the system’s self-check didn’t reveal any issues, having gone through an avalanche and being completely buried in snow, it was only right to do a comprehensive check and maintenance to avoid potential problems. Moreover, on this journey, Chen Xin found that although the vehicle was good in many aspects, it still lacked refinement and tuning; some areas still needed adjustments. Of course, these adjustments refer to tweaking the vehicle’s parts and status, and it wouldn’t require Chen Xin to spend survival points. But such adjustments require specialized knowledge and understanding of the vehicle, and Chen Xin only knew the basics, so he could only make some minor tweaks. Previously, because Chen Xin was injured in the arm and was in a wilderness environment, he couldn’t repair the car conveniently, so the radar antenna remained broken. But now that his arm has been treated, and the underground parking environment is relatively quiet, Chen Xin can naturally take the opportunity to repair the damaged radar antenna. He climbed up from the living quarters’ stairs to the second level, which was technically a half-level used as a second double bed, where people could sleep or sit on the floor, but there wasn’t enough space to stand up, and there was an exit to the rooftop. The rooftop exit was designed for easy maintenance of the vehicle’s top, so even with one injured hand, Chen Xin could easily climb to the roof. However, seeing a layer of snow on the roof made Chen Xin a bit puzzled. After some thought, he returned to the vehicle, retrieved the three drones, leaving one with a spotlight for illumination, and then fetched a broom before heading back up to the roof. After sweeping the snow off the roof with the broom, Chen Xin finally reached the location of the antenna. Seeing the radar antenna obviously bent and twisted, even without mechanical knowledge, Chen Xin knew the antenna was beyond saving. Though one half was relatively intact, the other half had twisted into a tangled mess. Fixing it would require either replacing it with a new one or rebuilding it entirely. For Chen Xin, however, this wasn’t too difficult to solve. Spending a hundred survival points to upgrade the "damaged radar antenna" to an "improved radar antenna" made the repair job complete. With the antenna repaired, Chen Xin returned inside, retrieved the last drone, and reactivated the radar. Watching the radar come back online, resuming its operational state, Chen Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief. The radar’s malfunction over these past two days had made him quite uncomfortable. Now that the radar was back to monitoring the surrounding environment, Chen Xin felt much more at ease. At least, he wouldn’t have to navigate in the dark, relying solely on drones to scout the road conditions. Under the current pitch-black environment, the infrared-equipped drones had a very limited detection range. Compared to a radar that could scan a radius of five kilometers, the information they could gather about the surroundings was indeed too little. If he had a radar, Chen Xin wouldn’t need to install a life detector on a drone; he could directly use the radar to search for Zeng Liu and the others’ life signals. After repairing the radar, Chen Xin scanned the surroundings and indeed made new discoveries. This county town was indeed nearly abandoned, but within the five-kilometer radius of the radar’s scan, there were other survivors besides Zeng Liu’s group. About three kilometers from Chen Xin’s location, he picked up other life signals. Other survivors? Chen Xin couldn’t say for sure, but he had no intention of contacting them. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Zeng Liu’s group helped Chen Xin treat his arm; since he promised to take them to the next shelter, Chen Xin felt it was better to keep his word. But he wasn’t so altruistic that he felt a compulsion to save everyone. So Chen Xin just sent one drone to fly over and take a look at their situation. Seeing that they seemed to be doing slightly better than Zeng Liu’s group, Chen Xin decided not to meddle further and stopped paying attention to them. As for whether these people could survive, Chen Xin felt it wasn’t really his concern. In this world full of people needing saving, Chen Xin didn’t think he could—or wanted to—save everyone. He neither had the ability nor the desire. If he tried to save everyone he encountered, he would eventually get himself into trouble. If he happened upon people who needed a hand, Chen Xin wouldn’t hesitate to help. But actively seeking to assist others wasn’t something he planned to do. No longer focusing on those survivors, Chen Xin set the radar to alert mode, then retrieved a toolbox, intending to adjust the vehicle’s condition. Driving all this way, although the vehicle’s performance pleased Chen Xin overall, there were still areas needing adjustment. So he pulled out his toolbox, planning to use this opportunity to make some improvements. However, when Chen Xin opened the cabinet housing the toolbox, he unexpectedly found it stuffed with three spacesuits and a handgun left behind by Zhang Chengguang and his group. Under the handgun was a piece of paper, apparently a note left by Zhang Chengguang. Chen Xin picked up the paper. It contained a message from Zhang Chengguang, stating that the three spacesuits and the handgun were gifts for Chen Xin as thanks for helping them along the way. It also kindly reminded him that the spacesuits could be used as protective suits for adequate life support, while the handgun should be kept for emergencies as a life-saving weapon. In addition, the paper thoughtfully included instructions on how to wear the spacesuits, check them, and replenish oxygen, among other precautions. Holding the note, Chen Xin felt touched to some extent, feeling that saving these three people hadn’t been in vain. Yet, confronted with the items in the cabinet, Chen Xin was a bit puzzled, unsure of how best to handle them. The gun, at least, was easy to manage; it wouldn’t take up space if kept in the cabinet, and he just had to find a safe spot to store it. But the spacesuits seemed a bit unnecessary. Using spacesuits as protective suits was an option. These outfits designed for outer space were excessively protective when used on Earth. However, using them as protective gear came with a major issue: weight. A spacesuit weighs at least twenty to thirty pounds, and that’s not counting the external backpack and thrusters. In space, this weight is negligible—in zero-gravity, any weight is imperceptible—but on Earth, this twenty to thirty-pound weight can feel quite burdensome. Wearing it for a short time might be fine, but over longer periods, it feels like wearing full armor while doing strength training, consuming more energy. More energy consumption means a greater need for food to recover, which is crucial in this post-apocalyptic world where every bit of conservation counts. Moreover, although the environment is harsh, a spacesuit isn’t truly necessary as protective gear—it’s both wasteful and unnecessary. But this was a sincere gesture from Zhang Chengguang and his group. Despite seeming superfluous now, a spacesuit is valuable. Regardless of the materials or the attached machinery, even before the disaster, their cost was astronomical. Even for the relatively normal inner spacesuit, a single one still cost two billion RMB. Thus, Zhang Chengguang’s group leaving three spacesuits for Chen Xin was a genuine, substantial gesture of gratitude, presenting him with a very generous gift. Yet this gift was a bit too generous, leaving Chen Xin unsure of how to handle it. To upgrade them, perhaps turning them into more advanced technology spacesuits? That thought crossed Chen Xin’s mind but he quickly dismissed it. To upgrade them wouldn’t be to use them as spacesuits again. Currently, Chen Xin had no way to go to space, where he wouldn’t need space-level protection. When he had the ability to travel into space, he’d surely have no shortage of spacesuits. So the best use for these three spacesuits seemed to be upgrading them into protective suits—something like the Power Armor Chen Xin always wanted could be achieved through these suits. However, for now, that’s just an idea. Chen Xin had no urgent need for protective suits, nor did he desire new equipment. So, after checking over the three protective suits, he locked them back in the cabinet and grabbed his toolbox to adjust the vehicle. While Chen Xin was adjusting his vehicle, Zeng Liu and the others were packing their belongings in the parking garage. Because Chen Xin had told them to bring only their essential personal items, Zeng Liu and the others were going through and organizing their belongings one by one. Although they wanted to take everything, ultimately Zeng Liu was choosing only the most important or absolutely necessary items. Perhaps it’s because they were about to leave, everyone—Zeng Liu, Old Tang, even Ning Jie who was still sick—felt happy. Little Ye, especially, was too excited to stay still, moving around, picking things up and putting them down, unsure of what she was supposed to do. In fact, even Zeng Liu and Old Tang were secretly excited, although they tried to maintain composure while preparing their things and didn’t act as aimlessly as Little Ye. But even so, inside, their hearts were leaping with joy at the prospect of finally leaving this place. """

Chapter 240 - 238: Fixing the Car

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