Train Survival: You're really trying to survive!

“This is quite different from the chemistry experiments I’ve done before,” Su Li said softly, his gaze passing through the greenhouse and looking at the world outside, eroded by acid rain. He remembered a multiple-choice question he’d done before—sulfuric acid poured on wood would cause the trees to turn black and release heat, but the heat generated wouldn’t be enough to make the wood burn.

However, in this world filled with magic, everything seems to have changed.

He heard that one of the biggest headaches for the Blue Star government right now is that many formulas that were originally effective in a magic-free environment have become unusable due to the intervention of magic energy.

For the current Earth civilization, the condition of a "magic-free environment" is like the "frictionless" condition in a physics problem—it only exists in theory.

"After the wood was corroded by acid rain of a wood-attribute variant, the slight fire element generated by the temperature reacted with the wood element, thus producing flames. This is a simple application of wood starting fire." A hint of curiosity flashed in Sophia's eyes. "However, this is the first time I've seen makeup so silky smooth."

"Then observe it for a while longer." Su Li smiled and turned her gaze back to the raging elemental storm outside.

The main danger of this storm was the large amount of acid rain. Although the wind force remained at around level 7, or even decreased, it was unable to overcome Zuli's defenses.

Zuli returned to the train and was about to turn on the power when she discovered that the power system had failed.

"The power outage was caused by the magic storm?" He frowned, recalling the unsettling feeling from the elemental eruption earlier. "It's probably more than just a power outage."

He walked to the train's control panel and opened it. A large red warning exclamation mark appeared prominently on the screen.

【warn! 】

[Affected by the elemental storm, the entire train is plunged into elemental chaos.]

Some in-vehicle functions are limited.

"Limited functionality?" Su Li raised an eyebrow in surprise. They had been exploring the world fragments for over three years, almost four, and this was the first time they had encountered such a situation.

He quickly opened the train's detailed inventory list to check the specific problems. The power system was temporarily out of service; the radar function was still usable, but the emitted elemental waves had a high risk of causing an elemental explosion, so it needed to be used with caution; the train's acceleration function was also malfunctioning, and the high-pressure fire and water elements in the boiler might trigger an elemental explosion, so the train could not start temporarily.

"Holy crap, does that mean if I didn't extend the exploration today, after the fight in the acid rain, we'd have to push the car 100 kilometers away before we can leave?"

Su Li cursed under his breath. He picked up the manual beside the train and wrote down "[Add anti-interference facilities]". He'd definitely add this feature once the train was upgraded to LV6.

After getting off the train, Zuli shared the bad news with her companions.

As she stepped off the train, Zuli shared the news with her companions.

“Then let’s rest here for the time being,” Sophia suggested.

Su Li sighed and nodded helplessly, "That's what exploration is all about. You never know what unexpected situations you'll encounter."

The group returned to the train. Su Li checked the oxygen equipment and, after confirming it was working properly, began arranging shifts. To ensure safety, they needed to ensure that one person was always outside observing the situation, while another was inside the train to provide support.

While Zurich and his companions were resting on the train, the rainforest outside was experiencing an unprecedented disaster. Acid rain was falling continuously, and the once vibrant rainforest was gradually losing its vitality.

On the first day, acid rain fell, causing chaos throughout the rainforest.

Many unprepared monsters suffered heavy losses. Those lone wolves or monsters without elders in their groups were completely unprepared for this once-in-a-century acid rain event. Finding a safe place in the acid rain was extremely difficult. Most monsters had prepared shelters in advance.

This is a selection process for the entire rainforest; only those that pass this brutal selection are qualified to continue living in this cradle of life.

A few days later, conflicts of all sizes broke out throughout the rainforest. The monsters, having no food reserves, were plunged into despair.

In the past, thanks to the catalytic effect of the wood element's force field, plants in the rainforest grew luxuriantly, and even without meat, they could barely survive on fruit. But now, acid rain has destroyed everything.

Trees throughout the rainforest ignited under the corrosive effects of acid rain. The acid rain extinguished the surface flames, but created wisps of mist that permeated the forest. Flames continued to smolder inside the trees, causing the temperature across the rainforest to soar.

The fruit, after being drenched by acid rain, became riddled with holes and covered in black spots. Eating these fruits would only diminish the monster's vitality.

In this harsh environment, the monsters had no choice but to fight for survival in order to have a safe place to live and food.

Besides the fighting, the rainforest is also witnessing the changing of the guard between old and new life.

The jellyfish that swam upstream died one by one in the acid rain; even the silver-level jellyfish could not escape it, as their constitution was simply too weak.

However, before they die, they have already passed on their genes.

The eggs they laid were buried at the bottom of the lake.

The continuous acid rain has caused the rainforest to accumulate a large amount of acid, which flows from various waterways into the rivers.

The original water in the river diluted the concentration of these acids. Furthermore, the further upstream one goes, the less acid accumulates.

When the acid enters the water, it naturally comes into contact with the jellyfish eggs. The jellyfish eggs have an acid-resistant structure and continuously neutralize the acid and the wood element in it.

As time goes by, the outer shells of these eggs will become thinner and thinner due to corrosion from the acid.

When this disaster ends, if the eggshells are broken, the newborns will die. The unbroken eggs have shells that have been thinned considerably, enough for the fragile larvae to break them.

This is why jellyfish all fly upstream. The stronger the jellyfish, the farther it can fly. The further upstream it goes, the lower the concentration of acid that accumulates, and the higher its survival rate. It's a cruel process of survival of the fittest within the species.