My Post-Apocalyptic Shelter Levels Up Infinitely!

"I've finally caught up at least, but time is so tight this last day. Hopefully, after this disaster is over, the cycles will be a bit longer, otherwise, I'll be so busy and exhausted every day—where would I even have the time to quietly sit down study the technology!"

Up until now, of all the people he had encountered in the wasteland, Su Mo had, so far, not yet met anyone with genuine scientific research ability.

Therefore, without considering using the system to force the advancement of the existing technology tree, one month had passed and the development of the technology tree in the shelter was still slow.

He had to do everything on his own, so naturally, any time he had for himself was also extremely limited. All he could do was to choose between his countless tasks to make things work.

However, what was gratifying was that Su Mo's efforts had not been in vain, and the piles upon piles of excellent-quality seeds were the best gift for all his hard work.

After working all morning and watching Moore bemoaning how hungry he was, Su Mo felt a surge of hunger as well. 

Humans could not function properly on an empty stomach.

The faster one worked and the more energy one used, the more exhausted one would naturally become. Without sufficient food reserves, the body would become increasingly weaker.

After removing the seeds from the Chinese cabbages harvested that morning, Su Mo cut up three large Chinese cabbages, put them into the dough drop soup that they had not finished from breakfast, and made a simple dough drop cabbage soup.

The soup base was hearty, and the cabbage was fresh and tender. Even if they were used to eating Psychic Energy Cabbage, this was still a satisfying meal for five!

After lunch, seeing that Moore had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly, Su Mo reluctantly bestirred himself and went to the first floor to inventory the food supplies. 

This time, the spring wheat harvest was much higher than expected.

Two acres of land had yielded a total harvest of 3829 catties, and there were over 20 catties from imperfect grains that had fallen onto the ground.

A little over 30 catties of Chinese cabbage seeds had been harvested; there would be no problem planting another 100 acres. 

The yield for soybeans was quite good as well—a total of 350 catties. Calculating based on the premise that planting for one acre of land would require 6 catties, it was still possible to plant over 50 or 60 acres.

As for the remaining carrots, it was not clear whether their nutrients were being appropriated by other plants, or there was a problem in the selection and sowing of the seeds.

The yield was the least among the four crops. Only 29 catties of seeds had been harvested, which meant only about 20 acres of land could be planted.

"For breaking these evil merchants' line of defense, just the spring wheat seeds will be enough. As for the rest of the vegetable seeds, reserve them all for planting at the Candlelight Shelter to expand the shelter's reserves in the future!" 

Su Mo rubbed his rough palm over the thick stubble that had grown on his face, then pulled up the plan he had previously prepared. He sank into deep thought as he read it through.

For the refugees in the wasteland now who were on the verge of starvation, the quality of food was not their main priority—it was the availability of food!

Chinese Cabbage? Carrots? How could they be full with those?

As for soybeans, those would fill them even less.

In the event of diarrhea caused by their diet, there were no medicines or medical treatments in the wasteland. They would lose their capacity to work after their illness and would stand a very high chance of dying.

However, as far as Su Mo was concerned, he had enough capacity to reserve some good things to improve his quality of life.

After spending some time on the inventory and packaging the seeds into smaller quantities, he also piled all the excellent-quality spring wheat seeds together. Once he had put the bags of seeds on the cart that he previously made and glanced at the clock that was showing almost noon, Su Mo unhurriedly made his way to the first floor of the shelter. 

The trading ruins from last time had appeared in an extremely mysterious manner, with a beam of golden light transforming into a golden trading gate.

In the trading ruins, Su Mo, who had the authorization, had directly created Earth's Mystic City, fulfilling a small wish in the Doomsday wasteland.

Yet, this terrifying result was only the most second-rate of wood level ruins.

Among his rewards after the previous second disaster, Su Mo distinctly remembered this time that these trading ruins he had unlocked had been upgraded to iron level.

After advancing a level, Su Mo was excited about the new features that might appear in the trading market. Sitting on Earth Tiger's bonnet, he quietly waited for the time to commence.

The outside world was still covered with snow.

Except for the intense sunlight illuminating the heavens, which could make one feel a little dazed, the environment here was quite comfortable for living.

Just when Su Mo was feeling a bit sleepy from tiring himself out all morning, the anomaly finally occurred within some ten minutes or so!

It emerged in the same familiar manner, but this time the appearance of the golden light was significantly more impressive.

The light no longer radiated slowly from the horizon but gradually emerged directly from the air, loosely drifting in a "constrained" space.

Within this space, when the spots of light were densely packed enough to compete with the brilliance of the sky, a weak shock wave hit them from above. At the same time, an illusory matrix was imposed on top of the whole.

Boom!

A slight tremor reverberated from the ground. Following this, the golden gate that appeared in the air materialized completely, and a series of notifications began bombarding the ear.

[Record]: The time for the disaster has been detected and the Secret Trading Realm will be opening soon. All players, please be ready.

[Record]: It has been detected that the upgrade condition for the Secret Trading Realm has been triggered. Automatic advancement has begun...

[Record]: The secret realm has been upgraded to iron level. For more detailed rules, please access the game panel to view them.

Like all players, after hearing the system prompt, Su Mo accessed the game panel right away without any hesitation.

The upgraded Iron Level Secret Trading Realm notification was more eye-catching than last time and took up half the entire game panel.

As Su Mo focused on the game panel, the text automatically expanded and jumped to the first line for easier reading.

[Disaster Welfare - Secret Trading Realm (Iron)]

[1. The current disaster welfare level is iron level, which has been triggered by the player 'Su Mo'. All players are urged to make greater efforts to trigger more benefits for humankind.]

[2. The Secret Trading Realm prohibits any show of force or violence. Coercive trade is prohibited, and behavior that violates an individual's will is forbidden. The game does not set judging criteria for any player. If the player is discovered violating these rules, they will automatically be extracted into the secret judgment realm to be investigated, and will immediately be obliterated.]

[3. Entry time based on the 24-hour clock: 12:00 - 16:00, four hours in total. There is no restriction on the number of entries during the secret realm's accessible period. Unlimited entries and exits are allowed.]

…

[5. Jurisdiction of the Secret Trading Realm in each region will be issued on behalf of the game. The rights holder: the one with the most powerful overall abilities in the secret realm.]

[6. The Iron Level Secret Realm will automatically unlock 100 cubic meters of space for all players. This space can only be used in trading, and it may only be unlocked three times in the main world. After being used three times, everything in the space will be locked away. It may be unlocked again when the next Secret Trading Realm appears.]

[7. Contract restrictions state that during the transaction, buyers and sellers can conduct contract verification under the supervision of the game. Once the trading is completed, the contract conditions will take effect at the same time. This effect cannot be offset, therefore, please sign the contracts carefully.]

[8. The above rules do not represent all the rules in the secret realm, therefore, do not act rashly. The game is the final authority for all rights of interpretation.] 

Two new functions had been added within the familiar rules.

The first rule was easy to understand. It was equivalent to an extra 100 cubic meters of space for trading and three opportunities to exchange a total of 300 cubic meters of items.

The second rule was a bit harder to understand, but after attempting to read the lengthy explanation below, Su Mo managed to understand the terms of use for the contracts.

Assuming two people were in a transaction, they could sign a binding contract in order to resell at a profit.

Once the transaction was completed, the item would be bound to the user. Unless both parties in the contract abolished the pact at the same time, the contract would last forever with the game as a witness.

With this mysterious game supervising, one could definitely trust the effectiveness of the contract!

"I guess I can dig up more information about how to use this function, but for now..."

After double-checking to make sure he had not missed out on any information, Su Mo's mouth twitched up in a faint smile, and he stepped through the illusory door right away.

The entire world seemed to reverse itself; the color faded from the sun and moon. 

The snow-covered wasteland gradually disappeared from view and was replaced by… the Hope Plains, which had been created by the ruins of time. 

Here, the streams flowed leisurely, trees grew verdant and lush, and the earth was carpeted with green grass about a foot tall. Everywhere, one could hear nature breathing. 

Furthermore, the world in the Secret Trading Realm was still evolving as Su Mo added more details.

There were two small houses by the stream. Zhong Qingshu splashed around in the water with delight, "silently" shrieking goodness knows what.

At the mouth of the distant spring was a pond more than ten thousand meters deep, mysterious and strange.

In the cellar that had never once been tidied, countless materials tumbled out from the doorway, piling onto the ground. It was an extremely enticing sight.

Separated by a wall of light, the place Su Mo was watching began rapidly transforming.

It was like watching a movie with each scene played in slow motion.

From the time Su Mo came to Hope Plains to the developments mid-point—in the end, as the memories fractured, they froze on the image of Zhong Qingshu embracing the air.

"What a pity, I thought perhaps I would be able to use the Iron Level Secret Trading Realm to directly look into the ruins of time!"

Su Mo shook his head regretfully. As his thoughts changed yet again, the scene outside the wall of light shattered with a loud noise and faded into nothingness.

[Record]: The Secret Trading Realm of channel number "001" has been opened, and the remaining access time is 03:59

[Record]: You may now enter the Secret Trading Realm to purchase and exchange!

Time and space changed again. Su Mo had clearly stepped through the gate of light earlier, but now he was back to where he had been previously, one step away from it.

Looking through this gate, Su Mo could even use his excellent vision to vaguely make out the figures inside. 

As soon as the ruins opened, a few people had already scurried through in delight. They stood on this green plain, taking stock of their surroundings curiously.

Since many people were still preparing supplies, the people who rushed in first had already started a lively discussion on the Regional Channel.

"Hey man, is this grass filling? I'm so hungry I could pass out. Could I eat this grass for free, please?"

"Damn, is this fairyland? There's a grotto on the side that's full of supplies. Does anyone know how to exploit a bug in an invisible wall?"

"Almighty Su, where are you? I've got something good, hurry up and exchange with me!"

"Hey you swindlers inside, wait for me! Don't finish off all Almighty Su's good stuff with your exchanges, I've prepared many things today!" 

"..."

After their previous experience with the Secret Trading Realm, this time, everyone, including the shelter where they were located, had prepared batches of supplies. They all displayed excitement at being able to trade.

Su Mo did not wait any longer and immediately pulled up the storage space. He loaded in 1,000 catties of wheat seeds and stepped into the ruins.

On the Doomsday wasteland, the second trading session for humans began once more!