Chapter 277: The Items and the Global Event

Kai stared at the refreshed store list.

"Pain Suppression Injector, huh..."

He knew that they’d be useful for keeping fighters on their feet, but it seemed risky if they were used for that purpose. After all, it only blocks pain. It should be used in surgery or something similar instead of combat.

As for the second item, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

"Cellular Regeneration Serum... now this is rare. Cuts recovery time almost completely. If we stock these, even serious injuries won’t keep our people down for long."

Although leveling up was also a way to recover from physical injuries, it would be harder and harder to happen at higher levels. They needed such serums, medicine, or even a potion to get healed in many cases.

After all, shelters with skilled doctors wouldn’t be easy to find.

Nonetheless, Kai didn’t purchase them yet.

He scrolled further, noticing three more items now available.

[ Spirit Recovery Drink] [ 10/10 ]

[ Cost: 1 RP ]

[ Effect: A refined liquid stored in a sealed vial. When consumed, it replenishes Spirit Energy instantly, restoring 50 points. ]

***

[ Shockwave Baton ] [ 2/2 ]

[ Cost: 10 RP ]

[ Effect: A compact weapon that releases a directed electrical burst. On activation, it releases a burst in a cone up to 10 meters, short‑circuiting exposed mechanical units and disabling their systems. ]

***

[ Magnetic Pulse Mine ] [ 5/5 ]

[ Cost: 5 RP ]

[ Effect: A mine that detonates with a violent magnetic surge. On activation, it overloads circuits, fries processors, and permanently disables mechanical units within a 20-meter radius. ]

"Spirit Recovery Drink... ten vials, only one point each."

Kai paused for a moment as he saw it. "That’s quite decent for 50 Spirit Points. But isn’t this a bit too big?"

He shifted to the next entry. "Shockwave Baton... Ten points each. A close‑range weapon... but it disables circuits within ten meters. Interesting..."

Finally, his gaze settled on the last item. "Magnetic Pulse Mine for only five points. This is nice... It might work against the Diggers." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

"It’s quite destructive... It should be a proper countermeasure against these machines."

Kai felt satisfied with the current set of items being sold.

Still, the Spirit Drink, worth 1 Reputation Point each, wasn’t really worth it since he already had access to Soul Booster. It was only 10mL and provides 30 Spirit Points already. However, the Spirit Drink was about 100mL.

In the end, he decided to stick with this shelter’s potions.

So, he instead purchased one Cellular Regeneration Serum, one Shockwave Baton, and three Magnetic Pulse Mine.

[ Current Reputation Points: 70 ]

Kai then appraised the Mine and Baton once again for a complete description. After all, the ones in the store were just too short for the buyer to have an idea.

[ You have discovered Shockwave Baton! ]

[ Grade: Specialized Weapon ]

[ Description: A compact melee weapon designed to release a directed electrical burst. On activation, the baton projects a cone of high‑voltage discharge up to 10 meters, short‑circuiting exposed mechanical units and disabling their systems. It can withstand repeated strikes without degrading. ]

[ Note: Contains 5 internal charge cells. Each cell provides one full discharge before requiring replacement. Rechargeable with standard energy packs, though efficiency decreases after prolonged use. ]

"So it’s five charges, huh... Not bad." Kai muttered as he saw the description.

[ You have discovered Magnetic Pulse Mine! ]

[ Grade: Anti‑Mechanical Explosive ]

[ Description: An easily deployable mine engineered to detonate with a violent magnetic surge, mostly affecting mechanical units rather than living beings. Once triggered, it overloads circuits, fries processors, and permanently disables mechanical units within a 20‑meter radius. ]

[ Note: Single‑use device. Each mine contains a sealed magnetic core that destabilizes upon activation. Safe handling requires insulated gloves. Accidental discharge may damage nearby equipment. ]

"I see... So it works best on machines, not on mutants or other survivors." Kai muttered.

***

The next morning, Kai stood before the survivors. The memory of drills tearing through their defenses, bypassing their walls, still weighed heavily on him.

"We can’t let the Diggers breach us again," he said. "Just like what you said yesterday, if they drill into our rooms while we’re sleeping, it’ll be a disaster. First... we need a way to detect them before they break through."

He walked across the ruined yard, pointing at the shattered earth.

"Their weakness is vibration. Every time they tunnel, the ground trembles. If we can sense those vibrations early, we’ll know exactly where they’re coming from."

Kai held up a salvaged Sentinel stabilizer, stripped from last night’s wreckage.

"These stabilizers still hold energy. If we rewire them into the shelter’s foundation, they can act as seismic sensors. Whenever the ground shifts unnaturally, the stabilizers will resonate. We’ll hear it, or even see it as a signal."

Vera’s eyes widened. "So... like an early warning system?"

Kai nodded. "Exactly. A detection grid. We’ll embed the stabilizers beneath the walls and connect them to a simple alarm circuit. Even a faint tremor will trigger it."

Need to say, Kai was referring to his Superior Grade Shelter Gift Pack’s Perimeter Alarm System Set, a compact device designed to detect movement and trigger alerts through the nodes it had.

Hans scratched his head, intrigued. "That means we’ll know the Diggers are coming before they break through."

"Right," Kai replied. "And once we know, we can prepare countermeasures... grenades, barricades, traps, or even evacuations into safer tunnels. But still, the best answer would be the activation of the Disruptor Units. The key is awareness."

Well, the Portable Disruptor Field Unit couldn’t be activated automatically. Because of that, the alarm system was still necessary.

Juno felt satisfied with this. At the very least, they’d no longer be surprised.

"It’s not a weapon, but it gives us time. That’s what we lacked before."

Kai nodded. "That’s right... We don’t need to fight them underground. We just need to know they’re coming. If we can detect them, we can control the battlefield instead of being ambushed."

Soon, the group started working on the installation.

However, as Kai returned to his room and was about to use his Neural Gear to enter the Perfect World, a Global System Notification appeared!