Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Fortunately, Su Chen’s team had an agricultural expert. After flipping through the pictures on his phone, he slapped his thigh.

”I’ve got it!”

Out of professional habit, Du Rui always photographed any strange or unique herbaceous plants while exploring the forest. He never expected to get good news from the urban district as well.

”I took these in the large lake area to the north.”

If it releases a faint red mist like the broadcast described, then that should be it.

Du Rui shook his head and chuckled. ”Looks like we can start a garden next to the base.”

As one of the minority who had voted against staying at the campsite, he had ultimately followed the group’s decision and stayed. On further reflection, he realized he’d been feeling a little dejected because he hadn’t been able to apply his professional expertise.

Now, he finally had a chance to shine.

”’Looks like staying here was the right choice,’ Du Rui remarked with sudden emotion.”

It was worth noting that this third batch of Rune Formulas also included many useful Runes closely related to daily life.

One was the Light Storage Skill.

Light + Light + Earth = Light Storage Skill.

The effect was simple: it drew in Light Energy and infused it into crystalline objects, ceramics, or even a steel plate or a rock, causing it to provide continuous illumination for at least three hours.

In practice, crystalline objects were the best for storing the light. At Lv3, the skill could provide ten hours of efficient illumination.

Compared to the short-lived, wide-area Lighting Skill, this Rune was undoubtedly a great help for households without power.

Upon closer inspection, however, it couldn’t power any appliances. Still, it was better than nothing and a major boon for anyone without candles.

Additionally, there were:

Wind + Light + Wood = Constant Temperature Skill

Metal + Wood + Earth = Separation Refining Skill

As its name suggested, the first skill could maintain a fixed temperature in a given area, making it an excellent choice for dealing with drastic day-night temperature shifts.

The latter skill had materials experts ecstatic. It was a godsend, practically capable of turning scrap into treasure. Using Rune Power, one could quickly separate and extract metals like gold, silver, and copper directly from things like ore slag, electronic waste, and alloy scraps.

”’Gong Jun is going to love this.’”

’This Rune will drastically increase his work efficiency,’ Su Chen thought. ’All the tedious refining processes can be skipped. The abandoned vehicles and other equipment around the base are practically a treasure trove.’

’Plus, it’ll make processing Soul Sand Ore much easier.’

”’There’s also an Earth Element skill: Solidification Skill.’”

Su Chen noticed another good Rune. It would be very useful for reinforcing the stability of foundations and strengthening the walls of buildings. In combat, it could also increase the defensive strength of his Earth Armor.

Liao Dahai, a former construction foreman who also specialized in the Earth Element, listened to the broadcast and patted his chest. ”Leave this to me,” he declared.

As a middle-aged couple, they naturally had to take on more responsibilities to integrate into a team of young people who possessed both combat prowess and high-level technical skills.

’Good,’ Su Chen thought, nodding.

Le Yuxuan, who also specialized in the Earth Element, smiled and said, ”Fun fact: most conventional missiles can’t bring down a modern, steel-reinforced concrete building. Even tank shells can only cause localized external damage. If we can reinforce the building’s main structure, it could absolutely become a fortress.”

The first part of his statement was no exaggeration.

The speaker may not have meant anything by it, but the listeners read into it.

Cao Yutang and Pang Peng had witnessed the devastating move Su Chen unleashed after his class change. They wondered if his triple-composite Technique, ’Core Collapse Meltdown,’ could completely obliterate this building.

Even if the Technique’s area of effect wasn’t large enough, its terrifying power could likely collapse and melt everything from the third-floor ceiling straight down to the foundation.

Without realizing it, boosted by some unknown, hidden class Authority, they were getting a glimpse of the level of destructive power Runes could already achieve. If things continued to develop at this pace, in a year or two, there might even be individuals who were essentially walking nuclear warheads.

The only problem was that their physical bodies couldn’t remotely keep up with the power of the Runes.

Of course, not everyone needed to listen to the replay. Yu Ziyuan, the team’s biologist who had stayed behind, had recorded the entire broadcast. Her phone had an offline speech-to-text function, and it had no trouble transcribing the announcer’s clear diction.

She had listened in real time and corrected many of the transcription errors as they appeared.

”Brother Chen, take a look and see if there are any Rune Formulas you need. I also compiled the officially announced class Authorities and even made a list of the latest items in the Rune Store.”

Yu Ziyuan walked over, holding out her phone. She was dressed fashionably in a cream-colored, V-neck blouse and hot pants.

She had abstained from the vote on accepting Su Chen’s leadership, taking a neutral stance to help balance the team’s differing opinions. In reality, as someone who appreciated good looks, she didn’t mind working for Su Chen at all.

”Thanks.”

Su Chen took the phone and scrolled through it. She had categorized everything by Rune attribute, which made it very convenient for those who specialized in a single element to find information.

As he glanced over the list, he saw that his Gravity Skill had been publicly announced. A fellow Earth Element skill, Vibration Wave, caught his eye. It released a shockwave along the ground that could knock enemies back and stun them.

There were also plenty of offensive Earth Element techniques, unlike his own defensive ones, such as Flying Rock, Earth Spike, and Dust Burst.

The Earth Perception skill wasn’t bad either. It allowed the user to establish a mental link with the ground and identify targets by sensing distant vibrations. Compared to his own Resonance ability, however, it was completely insignificant.

In the Wood Element category...

...a hypnotism skill seemed rather interesting. It released a hypnotic powder to put enemies to sleep, making it a crowd-control ability.