Chapter 59: Vehicle Upgrade to Level 5
The public chat lobby was buzzing with excitement as players who had claimed tournament rewards came online to celebrate their good fortune.
[Universe’s Number One Poop Scooper]: Hahahaha! The liberated serfs are finally singing!
[Flying Dog Hair]: We low-tier survivors have finally turned our luck around!
[Unloving Suggestion Expert]: Hey, upstairs, you drive a Level 2 car—what kind of low-tier survivor are you? It’s players like me with Level 1 beaters who are truly turning things around! I finally upgraded to Level 2! Ahhh, I’m so excited—I can survive for another month!
[Face-Flipping Artist]: Yeah, surviving in a Level 1 ride was absolute torture. Thankfully, our new leader doesn’t demand heavy tributes, so ordinary folks finally have a chance to upgrade.
[Tchaikovsky Driver]: Well said! My daily prayer of thanks goes to Boss Bone Ash! Amen!
[Edamame Doesn’t Eat Pineapple]: I have to admit, the system’s design is pretty fair. Lower-tier drivers still have opportunities to catch up. Wait… should I be worried? Are they about to overtake me?
[Preserved Egg Match-Up]: My car just hit Level 2! Does that mean I qualify for the Elite Group now? Big boss, please look at me!
[Honey Blood Ice Orange]: My car is already Level 3 and nobody has scouted me yet. Level 2s need to wait in line!
Before the chatter could slow down, a dazzling system notification exploded across every screen in the game:
[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player ‘Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice’ for becoming the first survivor to upgrade a vehicle to Level 5! Reward: Bone-Crushing Box x3.]
Lin Huai had barely closed her menu when bright celebratory fireworks burst across her visual field.
Right on cue, Old Hei’s mocking electronic voice echoed throughout Zone 444:
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Still patting yourselves on the back? Someone out there has already hit Level 5! Look at the lot of you—can’t you show an ounce of ambition?]
[Hey, rookies, have you finished your daily driving quota? Step on the gas! Entering dungeon events doesn’t exempt you from your mileage! Fail to hit the quota, and you’ll drop dead just the same!]
Groans and wails erupted across the chat immediately.
[Preserved Egg Match-Up]: I was so naive… I thought while we were upgrading, the big boss would be taking a break… Who knew she levels up even faster than us?!
[Honey Blood Ice Orange]: Another server-wide broadcast! Boss Bone Ash is simply god-tier!
[Cute and Sparkling]: First across the whole server! Keep it up, Boss!
[Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: Level 5 already? Huge congratulations!
[Old Wang from Building Materials]: …I literally just hit Level 4 five minutes ago… I didn’t even get the chance to brag to the Boss before being completely outclassed again…
[Jiangzhehu Inheritor]: To celebrate our Boss hitting Level 5, I’m dropping a lucky red packet for everyone! Fastest fingers win!
The young heiress sent out a red packet containing ten thousand underworld coins, split randomly among 444 lucky players. The entire pot was snatched clean in under a minute.
The lobby flooded with endless messages of gratitude, but Lin Huai had no time to read through them.
Her full attention was locked onto the transformed war machine standing before her.
The pale celadon stone lining the green jade coffin had deepened into an intense, translucent emerald hue. The evil-suppressing barrier glowing around it radiated a richer green light, now sturdy enough to block the approach and direct attacks of mid-tier monsters with ease.
Lin Huai tapped open the attribute panel to inspect the casket’s updated stats. Along with enhanced recovery during sleep, boosted environmental shielding, temperature control, soundproofing, and expanded storage space, both [Yin Energy Conversion] and [Purification] had received substantial buffs.
Even better, a brand-new ability had unlocked:
[Summon: Within a 50-meter radius of the coffin, the user can instantly teleport inside the casket. Within a 100-meter radius, the user can summon the coffin directly to their current position.]
This meant her coffin had taken another massive step toward becoming a supreme offensive and defensive artifact.
The vehicle itself had undergone an even more radical transformation. The crude, utilitarian profile of the original hearse was completely gone, replaced by a massive double-decker mobile fortress that looked like a heavy armored motorhome.
High above the reinforced cab, a bright white neon sign glowed through the rain. The words Spirit Vehicle cut cleanly through the murky downpour and the dark river mist. Even with the dramatic overhaul, the glowing sign left no doubt about the vehicle’s true nature.
The swinging double doors at the rear had been removed, replaced by a double-paned sliding picture window. The inner layer was crafted from reinforced tempered glass, while the outer layer featured a heavy steel blast shutter that could slam shut in emergencies, sealing the cabin off from outside hazards.
The defensive armament had received a complete overhaul as well. Gun ports lined both the upper and lower decks of the armored hull. Their engineering was remarkably clever: every turret was built on a retractable mount concealed behind motorized blast plates. The shutters kept out corrosive rain and road dust, sliding open only when combat engaged.
The fixed golden light cannon on the roof had been dismantled, replaced by a mechanized, retractable canopy. When extended, the upper deck became an open-air observation platform with an unobstructed panoramic view.
The primary heavy weapons were redeployed to the chassis: retractable heavy cannons were mounted at both the front and rear bumpers, tucking flush into the armored bodywork when not in use.
The section above the driver’s cab had been redesigned into an enclosed observation lounge with panoramic glass walls, offering sweeping views of the road ahead.
Inside, the living space had expanded dramatically. Two additional axles improved shock absorption, and reinforced layers of acoustic and thermal insulation made the cabin feel like a secure, whisper-quiet sanctuary.
Lin Huai set to work customizing the layout, using lightweight partition walls to organize the interior into distinct, functional zones:
The lower deck housed the crafting workshop, the modern bathroom, and a staging area for newly acquired supply crates. Thanks to the integrated water-recycling and purification unit, the bathroom finally moved past the primitive “direct discharge” setup, featuring a proper flush toilet and a hot shower stall to replace her old bucket washes.
The upper observation room was fitted with one-way privacy glass. Lin Huai furnished the space with plush sofas, a soft woven rug, and a low tea table, turning it into a comfortable lounge where she could dine or enjoy a quiet moment between long drives.
Situated behind the lounge was her private sleeping quarters.
Tucked between the bedroom and the front lounge was a small spiral staircase leading up to the roof deck.
With the clock ticking, Lin Huai only had time for basic staging.
Holding onto first place was vital; staying alive remained her primary objective, and luxury would have to take a back seat for now.
At the moment, what Lin Huai needed most was an autonomous driving module and an automated mechanical crane to scoop up roadside crates.
Aside from the ten-zone collaborative dungeon scheduled for the end of the month, the only other place to find those two components was at specialized roadside service hubs.
Lin Huai reached into her pocket, pulling out the three metallic feathers given to her by the Nine-Headed Bird mechanic. Studying the sleek plumes, she wondered if a dedicated service outpost might stock automated driving systems and robotic collection arms.
Right on cue, the calm mechanical voice of the Yellow Springs Road Guide spoke through the cabin:
[Service outpost detected 100 meters ahead: Repair Shop. Driver, please prepare to dock.]
The familiar crossroads materialized through the mist. Lin Huai steered smoothly across the intersection and brought the armored fortress to a halt directly outside the repair garage.
Seeing a customer arrive, a humanoid mechanic with a bird’s head strode out from the bay. He walked a full circle around Lin Huai’s armored vehicle, inspecting it up and down, front and back, with a bewildered look on his feathered face—one eye opened wide while the other squinted in sheer confusion.
