Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Of course, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished by the harsh, freezing weather outside, reducing both its duration and coverage. Still, it was the best solution they could devise.

On the bright side, the extreme cold was accompanied by dry air. This increased atmospheric density meant radio waves attenuated far less than on a humid, rainy night, significantly boosting the range of radio broadcasts.

This was, of course, a great boon for public morale.

Ever since the entire city had been transported, they had been without internet or a stable power grid. With few entertainment options left, listening to the radio to pass the time had become the go-to choice for most people.

Besides the popular channels dedicated to Rune strategies, many private stations playing pop music or featuring DJs were also highly regarded.

Just then, Su Chen tuned to FM 98.5, the Rune Knowledge station. The male announcer was just starting the ten-minute countdown to the broadcast of the fourth batch of Rune Formulas.

Since nearly all of the city’s experts had been mobilized today, the release of this batch of Rune Formulas, which should have happened earlier, had been delayed until now.

Taking advantage of this window of time, Su Chen stepped out of his RV to inspect the camp. He sealed the doors and windows with a shadow curtain. In addition to providing defense, it created a spatial barrier that effectively blocked the cold air from seeping in.

He quickly used the Shadow Jumping Skill to pass unimpeded through the floors, arriving on the third-floor rooftop.

The night was dark, and a light snow had begun to fall.

Aside from the ice-blue trail of a star, the Broken Star Ring in the northern sky was still prominent. It was a region of dead, gloomy silence. Even starlight seemed to lag as it passed nearby, as if light itself was shunning its existence.

Its appearance, as if it were about to collapse and fall to the earth, created a powerful visual impact and an inexplicable, faint sense of spiritual pressure.

Hm?

Su Chen frowned slightly. As he stared, his intuition told him the Broken Star Ring had drawn closer, that it had shifted forward from its previous position.

This wasn’t an illusion.

The Intelligence Attribute wasn’t the same as IQ.

Beyond boosting Rune efficiency and Divine Power, it also enhanced one’s comprehension, memory, insight, and subconscious acuity on a deeper level.

’It really is closer.’

He trusted his subconscious judgment.

He didn’t know if this dilapidated, deathly silent Star Ring would directly affect the climate as the icy star trail had.

One thing was for certain: this broken celestial body had nothing to do with Elemental Power, so there would be no corresponding attribute boosts.

And his Jade Pendant, currently undergoing a transformation, no longer reacted when he stared at the sky as it had in the past.

Not dwelling on it, Su Chen swept the area with his Elemental Resonance Perception, then summoned Xiaolin on the third floor.

A cold light glinted, and a crisp white form materialized from the Void, landing softly on the rooftop.

As soon as Xiaolin appeared, it pressed its cool forehead to his neck and nuzzled him affectionately.

”On a cold night like this, I’ll have to trouble you with night watch.”

Su Chen gently stroked the soft, downy feathers on the back of its neck. This climate was a perfect, comfortable environment for the creature, so staying outside long-term wasn’t a problem.

CHIRP!

Xiaolin tilted its head back and let out a clear, ringing cry. It flicked its tail feathers, as if to say, ’Leave it to me.’

To allow it to come and go freely on patrol, Su Chen left the retractable gate to the third-floor rooftop unlocked.

It was just after eight in the evening, so Su Chen had plenty of time before bed to see how things developed. After giving Xiaolin a few instructions, he silently returned to the first floor.

”Xiaoye, you’re on guard duty on the first floor for now.”

Su Chen summoned the Soul-devouring Dog. The simple doghouse he’d set up by the door last night was still there. With a powerful physical body far different from a human’s, Xiaoye would have no trouble enduring the extreme cold for now.

If the temperature dropped to -20°C, he would recall it immediately. To keep it comfortable, he piled more thick, windproof cloth around the doghouse and added two extra blankets over the cotton pad.

The reason for all these precautions was, of course, to guard against a potential night raid from the human-beast chimeras.

He wasn’t sure if the Bloodthirsty Fungus would fight its natural aversion to the cold and come to Dongfu City anyway.

It never hurt to be cautious.

After finishing all this, Su Chen glanced at his watch and returned to Unit 13.

「...」

Ten minutes passed. No more, no less.

The heater had steadily raised the temperature inside the RV to a comfortable 26°C. In a corner under the table, a humidifier hummed quietly, moisturizing the dry air until the temperature and humidity reached the perfect level for human comfort.

The brutal, apocalyptic cold of the outside world was sealed away from this little sanctuary.

Just then, the announcer’s steady voice came over the radio.

’...And now, the fourth batch of Rune Formulas. There are 100 Runes in total. We’ll start with the offensive Runes. The first is the Fire Snake Skill. Compared to typical Fire Element attack Magic, this one offers more dexterity.’

’At the user’s command, the Fire Snake can turn to bypass obstacles, slither along the ground, and even climb walls in pursuit of a target. At Lv. 4, it unlocks three Fire Snakes. At Lv. 5, it unlocks a new tracking trait.’

’The formula is: Fire + Water + Metal = Fire Snake Skill.’

’Sounds decent. It would have been a great starting Rune for the early exploration phase. At the very least, its casting accuracy would be high.’

’It wouldn’t be bad in the mid-to-late game either. Most magical attacks don’t have any kind of aiming assistance; you have to rely entirely on your own senses.’

’Take the Fireball Technique, for instance. You might hit something five meters away, but at twenty meters, you’d likely miss the target entirely.’

’It doesn’t matter how much firepower you have if you can’t hit your target.’

Su Chen wasn’t particularly interested. He was used to aiming for the head and didn’t need a tracking trait to help him. Besides, there were always trade-offs. A skill like the Fire Snake Skill, which was so dexterous and easy to control, would naturally have less raw destructive power.