Chapter 229: LCD Dashboards, Brand New Harvester!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Even the cheapest of these three upgrade options requires 9000 points… However, is this a problem?”

It was still the same familiar system panel and upgrade direction options; other than the extra psychic energy upgrade direction option that appeared due to the his possession of the psychic energy crystal, the other options were ones he could find in ordinary upgrades.

As for the points required, he glanced at the large number of basic materials next to him, not feeling anxious at all. He began to move materials into the input section to reduce the upgrade cost.

At the moment, the main body of the combine harvester had been completed. What was left was the engine, control panel, transmission shaft, and other small parts that contained the essence of human innovation.

He might not have the required technology, but there was a no shortage of materials in the shelter!

Iron: I’ll fill it up for you.

Copper: I’ll give you as much as you want.

Su Mo even brought a container of diesel and put it next to the combine harvester.

As for the remaining bits and pieces, he glanced at the prices of various electronic products on the market and tapped to select the remaining flour reserves in the shelter.

Su Mo began to trade quickly.

First of all, he purchased the various necessities for the interior of the vehicle, such as batteries, tires, wheels, and other small things. There was no demand for such things at present, and the probability of this receiving these miscellaneous items from treasure chests was not small.

Therefore, there was still a lot of inventory in the trading channel.

After the “treasure hunting”, the remaining flour reserves started to dwindle, as more odds and ends started appearing on the ground as well.

Two LCD panels, a broken engine unit, and a malfunctioning speaker…

There were a variety of items. After buying these things, without counting the disaster points charged for the courier fee, the flour reserves in the shelter were nearly empty.

“My goodness, if I can’t harvest enough food this time around, based on the shelter’s daily food consumption rate, we will be faced with a food shortage crisis in less than a week!”

After Oreo’s evolution, and the addition of Moore, the gluttonous bear warrior, the current food consumption rate of the inhabitants of the Underground Shelter was at least eight catties of flour a day. Not to mention that Su Mo’s daily increasing appetite had not been included yet.

Fortunately, after adding these items into the input section, the survival points requirement of the first two upgrade direction options finally plummeted to a reasonable number.

The cost of the strengthening upgrade direction had dropped from 9120 points to 5900 points, whereas the cost of the upgrade direction that focused on separation and collection dropped from 11350 points to 7120 points.

As for the cost of the third psychic energy direction, it remained unchanged at 18500 points.

Without overthinking things, looking at the first two items, Su Mo immediately made his choice.

The welfare disaster only lasted three days, so speed at which the combine harvester worked was a farm more vital element. Even if the efficiency of the collection and separation functions suffered as a result, harvesting speed was still his paramount priority.

At this point, just some basic calculations were sufficient to tell the difference between the two options.

“I choose… the first upgrade direction!”

Su Mo selected the first option. As he stared at the empty shell of the combine harvester in front of him in anticipation, 5900 survival points disappeared like flowing water.

Then, the long-lost emerald-green ray reappeared in the Underground Shelter.

Compared to the usual “violent” upgrade process, it seemed that after spending the largest amount of survival points ever, the upgrade process had finally become more refined.

It was as if it had merged into the night breeze, transforming the machine silently and gently.

Touched by the green light, the materials on the ground began to float up into the air, dancing in the wind as if they possessed life.

The hard iron and copper blocks also began to melt into various strange shapes, slowly attaching themselves to the shell of the combine harvester, vibrating slightly as they did so.

Gradually, as more and more materials disappeared, the combine harvester was also covered with a thick green film. It became difficult to see what “secret deals” were going on inside.

“Huh? This seems to be the first time that such a thing has happened during an upgrade!”

Seeing that the green beam of light had already dissipated, but the green film on the combine harvester still remained, Su Mo curiously walked up to it and tried to poke the film with his hands.

However, touching it felt just like the crack in the space when the three welfare items were delivered previously; extremely firm.

Fortunately, after about half a minute, the green film began to gradually shrink inward and slowly disappeared. A brand new combine harvester had finally been completed.

As the green film disappeared, the giant machine in front of him revealed its new look.

The originally varied colors of the iron sheets and its previous dilapidated appearance were no longer visible now that the combine harvester had been fully assembled.

On the silver-white painted surface, three long lines stretched from the front of the vehicle to the back, and a huge “Su” character was printed on the side of the combine harvester’s door.

The gear used for harvesting in front was shiny and sharp; it looked extraordinary.

“Is this… the power of the system? It seems that if you have money, you can create whatever you want!”

Once he examined the originally missing interior parts, Su Mo felt that the 5900 survival points had been well spent, and…

Su Mo felt the power of the system’s upgrade function!

The quality of machinery could always be determined by the precision of its construction, as poorly constructed parts could result in high maintenance costs and higher margins of error during operation.

If the combine harvester had maintained the shape of the handmade shell from before, even if it could be operated, it would not last for long and its design limitations would impede the progress and efficiency of its output.

Looking at the current combine harvester, the upgrade process had done a very good job at this point. Every joint and corner of the vehicle seemed to exude a sense of mechanical beauty.

“Its exterior looks magnificent, but I wonder how the driving and operating experience will be like?”

With a smile, Su Mo walked over, pulled open the door of the vehicle, which had a large “Su” character printed on it, and sat inside.

After adding the wolf skin that he had obtained from hunting, and the various materials he had found, although the driver’s cabin was not luxurious, it was a whole lot better than Earth Tiger’s barebones interior.

Among these, the two huge LCD dashboards on the central control panel of the harvester were the most attractive to Su Mo.

Whether it was Earth Tiger or King Kong, they were designed with the simplest and most extreme mechanical structure in mind, avoiding the addition of any electronic devices in the construction.

Although their design guaranteed durability in the wasteland, they also lost out in terms of technological augmentations and assistive aids that would have improved their functionality and ease of operation.

“Could it be that spending 5900 survival points resulted in the creation of a complete set of electronic control systems?”

Su Mo nervously sat in the driver’s seat. As he fired up the combine harvester for the first time, turning the key, its engine began to rumble.

Boom!

Boom!

When the third rumble of ignition and combustion sounded, a cloud of thick black smoke was ejected from the unique single-cylinder diesel engine of the combine harvester, filling the garage with the strong smell of diesel.

Beep… beep… beep…

The ignition was complete, the battery was switched on, and the indicator on the dashboard started to rotate as it began its self-cheking process. At the same time, the two huge LCD dashboard panels displayed a huge logo.

Su!

It was the same familiar Chinese character. When the word Su appeared, the LCD dashboard also completed its self-checking process, and two brand new operation panels popped out.

“F*ck, it built a simple electronic control system for me. Those 5900 points were well worth it!”

At present, there was no computer programming control system in the shelter, and no specific technology tree to expand the vehicle’s electronic system. To complete a milestone leap at the expense of so little survival points was a huge gain.

Su Mo tried to control the panel’s functions with his fingers. After a while, he finally understood the functions of the two dashboard panels.

The dashboard on the left was used to control the harvesting function. After clicking on the button above to automatically lower the header, the front end of the crop divider would drop to a level 5-10cm above the surface of the field. It could also control the harvesting speed.

When all this was set up, the dashboard would light up in green. At this time, pushing the main gear lever would make the machine start harvesting.

The dashboard on the right was responsible for the subsequent collection functions. At present, the grain receiving platform of the harvester was still in a vertical state.

Only once the entire platform was lowered down would the grain auger be pulled into the “open” position, and the grain bag would be hung on the grain bag hook. The button on the dashboard could adjust the efficiency and direction of the collection.

With these two dashboards, it was possible for a single person to operate the combine harvester.

“Well, being able to control thing like this saves me a lot of trouble, but tomorrow’s harvest will still have to rely on manual labor.”

The garage space was not large. After trying out the other functions on the control panel, Su Mo nodded in satisfaction and turned off the engine.

At the same time, the property panel of the combine harvester was displayed, revealing its true form.

[Micro Combine Harvester (Good)]

[Description: A combine harvester created based on a blueprint design by the unqualified mechanic “Su Mo”. Although it is small, it has a complete set of functions. All of its functions have been integrated into its semi-intelligent control system, and it can be used to good effect in the field of agriculture.]

[Harvesting efficiency: 20000㎡(30 mu)/60mins]

[Fuel consumption: 2666㎡(4 mu)/1L]

[Special Ability: Efficiency Conversion (Increasing its fuel consumption improves harvesting efficiency. Every time its fuel consumption doubles, the harvesting efficiency also doubles, with an upper limit of three times. The higher the magnification, the higher the probability of damage to the harvester.)]

[Comment: When overclocking…please remember to fill up its water tank!]

“One mu of land takes about two minutes to harvest. While this speed is not slow, and not too different from the ordinary small combine harvesters on Earth, it is insufficient to harvest the 200 mu of land near the the Candlelight Shelter!”

If it retained its original rate of harvesting efficiency, a cycle of harvesting for 200 mu of land would take more than six hours. He also had to factor in the time required to cool down the machinery to prevent overheating, which brought that number up to eight hours.

If there was no welfare disaster, this rate of harvesting efficiency would still be acceptable. However, considering his plans for four or five planting cycles, this was clearly lacking.

“Currently, the diesel reserves in the base are not enough. Even after I’ve upgraded the oil well, the amount is far from sufficient. I have to find a way to get obtain diesel elsewhere.”

There were still 72 liters of diesel reserves in the shelter. Once he collected tomorrow’s portion, he would have 90 liters, which was enough to use the combine harvester’s special ability once.

As for more higher multipliers, as well as the fuel consumption of his other machines, it would be too extravagant for him to rely on disaster points to acquire sufficient supply.

It might be a good choice to take out some materials to trade in the secret trading realm!

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