Chapter 329:Purchase.

Chapter 329: 329:Purchase.

Silver allowed himself to rest for another hour before opening the system shop.

He didn’t sleep during that time. His body was tired enough that he probably could have, but the cavern still didn’t feel safe enough for deep sleep, especially with the queen’s tunnel only a short distance away.

Instead, he remained seated with his back against the stone, his handgun resting across his thigh and his eyes closed while he concentrated on breathing slowly and allowing the medicine to work.

The reopened wound along his side gradually stopped aching as badly, the stiffness in his shoulder eased, and the exhaustion left behind by hours of walking through tunnels became a little more manageable.

Every few minutes, Silver opened his eyes and looked toward the queen’s passage; nothing emerged. That silence was both comforting and worrying.

He would have preferred knowing exactly where the queen was. If he could somehow confirm that it was resting inside its nest several kilometers away, he could plan around it. Instead, he had to assume that somewhere above him was a Rank Six creature capable of killing him with a single clean attack.

He wasn’t interested in fighting it again. The first encounter had been more than enough. He eventually opened his eyes properly and stretched his legs.

His body responded considerably better than before.

"Alright." He immediately frowned at himself. "I really need to stop talking to the walls, I feel psychotic. I am going to go crazy from all this quiet? Shit, I need to stop talking to myself."

He’d been alone for less than two days and was already having conversations with an underground cavern. He decided that was another reason to get out quickly.

He opened the system shop.

The newly acquired points were still there.

[Available Affection Points: 2,578]

Silver stared at the balance for a moment.

The exact number included the miserable remnants he’d had before Ravenna’s milestone reward, but the important part was the two thousand five hundred.

A few hours earlier, he’d been worrying about whether he could afford another meal if things became worse,bow he had options.

That didn’t mean he intended to waste them. Silver had learned something important since receiving the system. Points disappeared frighteningly quickly when he was desperate.

The three Tier Three space cores alone had nearly destroyed his previous balance. If he started buying expensive equipment simply because it looked useful, Ravenna’s unexpected gift would disappear before he even entered the queen’s tunnel.

He switched to the survival section.

"Basics first."

The shop displayed hundreds of items. Silver immediately filtered out anything unnecessary.

Luxury survival tents?

No.

Portable cooking equipment?

No.

He wasn’t planning a holiday beneath Death Row Valley. He selected food first.

[Emergency Field Meal ×10 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 210.]

Silver nodded. He added more water.

[Purified Drinking Water — 1.5L ×8 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 80.]

He considered buying more before remembering the spring wasn’t far away. Eight bottles plus what he already had would be enough.

If he somehow consumed all of that before finding another water source, he’d have much bigger problems.

Next came medical supplies. Silver browsed more carefully. He already possessed advanced medicines for severe injuries. What he lacked were the ordinary things people usually ignored until they needed them.

Silver added them.

[Basic Medical Supply Kit ×1 selected.]

[Includes: Sterile bandages, antiseptic solution, wound dressing, pain relief medication, compact splint, burn dressing and basic trauma supplies.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 180.]

Silver looked at the description again.

"Should’ve bought that months ago."

He’d spent more AP on individual emergency medicines than this entire kit cost. The system naturally didn’t point that out, clearly it was also just as opportunist.

Silver moved on.

Lighting.

His phone had a flashlight but that wasn’t enough. He selected a compact Contractor headlamp designed for underground operations.

[Contractor Headlamp ×1 selected.]

[Impact Resistant.]

[Water Resistant.]

[Low-Light, Standard and High-Intensity Modes Available.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 18.]

Then spare power cells.

[Universal Power Cell ×4 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 32.]

Silver retrieved the headlamp immediately and tested it. Light flooded the cavern making him squint.

"That’s better."

He switched to the lowest setting. There was no reason to announce his presence to everything in the mountain.

The next category was ammunition. Silver checked what remained. The burrower fight hadn’t consumed much, but he didn’t know how many worms he might encounter above.

He purchased another hundred rounds.

[Compatible Handgun Ammunition ×100 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 500]

Silver hesitated, then purchased two additional magazines.

[Compatible Handgun Magazine ×2 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 160.]

He loaded them immediately. That gave him several ready magazines instead of loose ammunition.

Silver continued browsing.

Rope.

He stopped.

The queen’s passage climbed and he didn’t know how steep it became. Some sections might be almost vertical after the collapse.

Rope wasn’t optional.

He selected a compact climbing package.

[Contractor Climbing Kit ×1 selected.]

[Includes: 50m reinforced climbing rope, lightweight harness, eight climbing anchors, four locking carabiners, compact ascender and descent device.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 70.]

Silver retrieved the rope. It was lightweight and strong. He pulled experimentally.

"Useful."

The system description claimed it could comfortably support several times his body weight. Silver hoped he wouldn’t need to test the upper limit.

He stored it again.

Next came breathing equipment.

He hadn’t encountered any serious air problems yet, but underground environments could change quickly. A sealed cavern, poisonous spores, dust from another collapse or gases from whatever lived beneath Death Row Valley could become dangerous without warning.

He bought a respirator.

[Compact Environmental Respirator ×1 selected.]

[Filters: Dust, spores, smoke and common airborne contaminants.]

[Warning: Does not generate oxygen.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 100.]

Silver read the warning.

"So if there’s no oxygen, I die."

[Correct.]

Silver just stared at the screen. He hadn’t actually expected an answer.

"Thank you for the encouragement."

The system returned to silence. He shook his head and stored the respirator.

He purchased several marking sticks next. They were cheap, highly visible under low light, and could be attached to stone without carving into every wall.

[Luminescent Route Markers ×20 selected.]

[Purchase Confirmed.]

[AP Deducted: 40.]

Silver stopped there.