Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Next, more offensive Magic appeared, such as Flaming Dart, Pulse, Water Blade, and Water Cascade.

Just then, Yan Ruoruo emerged from her shower. She had changed into a fresh, preppy white shirt, its collar slightly open and the cuffs rolled up to her forearms, revealing her slender wrists.

Enveloped in steam, her skin looked as pristine and cool as a water lily. She sat on the edge of the large bed, leaning slightly to one side, gathering her wet hair with one hand while gently drying it with a plain towel in the other.

”Just toss your dirty clothes in the washing machine. I’ll wash them with mine in a bit,” Su Chen said.

Generally, when an RV is in extremely cold weather, most owners completely drain their water tanks and pipes to prevent them from freezing and bursting, or the valves from getting stuck. Su Chen, however, wasn’t willing to sacrifice his quality of life, so he had installed a heating tape system on his RV.

After drying her hair, Yan Ruoruo put the clothes from the hamper into the washing machine. Then, she and Su Chen sat side-by-side on the loveseat.

The antelope ribs and leg meat, heated in the microwave, were already on the table.

A glossy sauce coated the tender, steaming-hot meat, which glistened temptingly under the warm light of the RV’s interior.

”Let’s eat.”

More than four hours after their last meal, the two of them ate again while listening to the radio.

Su Chen had a big appetite and ate a lot, but Ruoruo didn’t eat much.

After the meal, the broadcast of Rune Formulas had reached the Support Element category. Among them were several practical Gold Element Runes.

Metal Sensing: the premier Rune for detecting ore veins. It could also be used in combat, resonating with any metal gear the user was wearing or wielding to provide a buff.

’It’s decent, I guess.’

Su Chen’s own Resonance ability could also find ore.

The next one, however, was far more interesting—even astonishing.

Gold Touching Skill: It could change the properties of an object, turning it into metal.

The ’Gold’ in the name didn’t just refer to gold bullion, but also to other metals like iron, copper, and aluminum. At Lv. 5, it could even turn the flesh and blood of an organic being into particulate metal, causing them to disintegrate and die.

’What a shame,’ Su Chen sighed to himself.

There were two significant drawbacks. First, it couldn’t currently be used to create all the known Magic Metals on the market.

That was the part he personally found disappointing.

Second, it had to be cast through direct physical contact. This made it severely limited in combat, making it better suited for logistical and industrial applications.

”It would be very useful for recycling scrap and reinforcing buildings,” Yan Ruoruo commented.

He had a point. Urban infrastructure projects would undoubtedly see massive progress. Waste plastic and wood could be turned into recyclable metal ingots. The surfaces of city walls, watchtower bunkers, and other structures could all be rapidly reinforced.

As a brief aside, in the early days of the disaster when Essence Crystals hadn’t yet been established as the definitive hard currency, some wealthy people had actually used gold to buy up a lot of them.

Gold—a product of supernovae and the most sought-after treasure in times of chaos—was now as common as dirt in this world. It was probably about to become dirt cheap.

Closely related to the Gold Touching Skill was another one: the Metal Repair Skill.

As the name suggested, it could repair completely severed metal components and even revert corroded metal to a pristine, un-rusted state. This was a major boon for both weapon maintenance and infrastructure upkeep.

’This is really good.’

Su Chen could hardly imagine what Dongfu City would look like in half a month.

According to the city’s plans, not only would an epic-scale wall be constructed around the city’s perimeter, but residents would also be allowed to reinforce the walls of their own communities, turning each one into a veritable fortress.

The entire city was being woven into a deeply-layered, interlocking defensive network.

It wouldn’t be easy for monsters to fight their way in.

Su Chen didn’t listen to the entire broadcast. At one point, he stepped out of the RV to check the conditions outside. The extreme cold was worsening, with the temperature having already dropped to -20°C.

Meanwhile, Yan Ruoruo had fully taken on the role of a secretary. She was using her phone’s voice-to-text function while simultaneously entering all the data they had previously collected into the computer.

The 27-inch monitor, mounted on a desk arm, was already on.

With Su Chen’s approval, she imported the files they had compiled on Rune Formulas and Class Authorities, an anatomy study, a forest resource map, and numerous related photos from her phone.

This served as a backup and also made it much more convenient for her to take notes.

It was the clear hallmark of a top student.

When the broadcast reached the Summoning Element Runes, one in particular—a Ghost Summoning Rune—made Yan Ruoruo’s slender fingers pause on the keyboard. Its primary form granted the Wall-penetrating Stealth ability, and its next evolution unlocked a Death Shriek Skill that could silently induce cardiac arrest. The methods perfectly matched the series of locked-room murders from that time.

A single Rune made it easy to kill in the dead of night.

Now, that threat had long since vanished.

’It was hard to define the force that had brought her here, to this seat. But her instinct for absolute rationality told her this was the best choice for survival in the current environment. Besides, setting his Power aside, his physique and appearance were in the top 0.001% of the human population.’

’Even assessed purely from the standpoint of procreative compatibility, he was a perfect choice.’

’To her, emotions were a redundant expenditure of energy.’

’Feelings like joy and sorrow—strong chemical fluctuations that interfered with judgment.’

’And yet...’

Looking at the video icons on the computer’s desktop, especially the file labeled ’K2 Peak Speed Descent · Second Anoxic Trial,’ a strange sense of curiosity stirred within Ruoruo.

’She was very curious.’

’If she just clicked on it, she might get a glimpse of a hidden side of that cold, stern man—his craziest side.’