Su Mo uncovered the small hole and the smell that was contained within drifted out without control. Su Mo managed to determine its composition almost immediately. 

It's gunpowder!

Or to be more accurate – black gunpowder! 

Carefully, he poured the black particles out from the wooden stick onto the table. The pungent smell of sulfur filled the place. 

"Do the Kobolds need black gunpowder to release the so-called fireball technique?"

Su Mo was surprised to learn of this news. 

The Kobold Mage had waved his wooden stick before unleashing his fireball technique at Shelter Number Two. 

At that time, So Mo had thought it was a magic spell or the attribute of his wooden stick.

He never imagined that the Kobolds would use science to produce a fireball.

"So… the Kobolds are actually looking for black gunpowder?"

Oreo heard Su Mo muttering to himself. It gave Su Mo a quick nod to acknowledge that his theory was correct. 

As Su Mo poured out the gunpowder, the Kobold who was tied up in front of the table appeared to have accepted his fate. He continued chattering noisily. 

Su Mo ignored the interaction between Oreo and the Kobold. 

He clicked on the game panel, selected the resource scan, and ticked the raw materials for the preparation of black gunpowder under the resource section.

[Record]: A tiny sulfur mine has been detected in the southeast direction, at a distance of 465 meters from where the player is now. 

[Record]: 2/3 times today

"So it's true. They're here today to search for natural sulfur mines."

Su Mo's expression went blank as his thoughts began to drift.

In the modern world, the technology to extract sulfur had been re-invented countless times. The series of steps must be completed for atmospheric and vacuum distillation, catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, and delayed coking processes before the sulfide in the petroleum could be separated to create sulfurized sewage that could be recycled to produce the finalized sulfur.

However, such technology was not available in ancient times. The process of producing sulfur goes as follows. 

The first step was to find a way to extract natural sulfur from mines, such as those near the shelter.

The second step was to smelt the pyrite to extract the sulfur.

The Kobolds could assess sulfur mines and discover them. This proved that they had reached the pinnacle of science.

They had, it seemed, found out that by mixing these materials in a certain proportion, enhanced gunpowder could be created. Once catalyzed by spells, the power of the fireball would increase.

"Woof?"

Su Mo was deep in thought when Oreo walked back. He had completed his conversation with the Kobold. 

Oreo pointed to the black gunpowder which Su Mo had poured out. He then pointed far away, and finally, he pointed at the Kobold again.

"Are you saying that he's willing to lead us to the Kobold's mine?" 

Oreo nodded. 

"I've got sulfur mines over here. To prepare gunpowder, sufficient potassium nitrate is required, and that's the main component of saltpeter. Maybe the Kobolds have discovered a large-scale saltpeter mine." 

"Should we go..."

Su Mo contemplated this in his heart. To make thermal weapons, black gunpowder was the key material.

Even if the small thermal weapon machine could be repaired, there would still be a shortage of raw materials for ammunition.

The Kobold was still chattering nonstop. Su Mo glanced at him, walked over decisively, and without a word, delivered a Vertigo's Fist to the Kobold.

"We're definitely going. Just obtaining the Kobold's treasure chest will be worth the effort over everything else."

"Moreover… we'll have to explore their lair. Otherwise, they would remain in neighboring areas, and that would be like a ticking time bomb."

After a brief thought, Su Mo made up his mind.

The sky had become dark by this point. After inspecting the surroundings of the shelter, Su Mo walked over.

After double-checking the ropes, Su Mo dragged the Kobold to a corner of the cave. He instructed Oreo to pay extra attention to the Kobold at night and returned to his bed.

It was doomsday. Basically, you could only stay in the shelter when it got dark.

He pulled the light bulb toward him and switched it off. Su Mo gradually fell asleep to the low rumble of the generator.

…

[Doomsday, 7th of January]

[You repaired a generator. Your civilization technological skill level has improved. (Survival points +10)]

[You discovered an underground ruin. (+5)]

[You defeated the enemy when exploring the underground ruin. (Survival points +10)]

[You created your first electric weapon. Your combat skill has improved tremendously. (Survival points +5)]

[You killed five Kobolds effortlessly and obtained a lot. (Survival points +5)]

[You captivated a prisoner for the first time. (Survival points +5)]

[The host's living environment had been scanned. Survival points were evaluated. You obtained 62 survival points today.]

…

Final total: Survival points +102

Survival points remaining: 175

Not only did the system deliver good news this early morning, but Shen Ke's private message was also blinking on the game panel.

Su Mo sat on his bed. He looked at the Kobold which had been disciplined by Oreo and breathed a sigh of relief. 

For the first time, a stranger had spent a night in the shelter, and that stranger was a Kobold. 

He could not sleep well the entire night. He was afraid that the Kobold would burn down the shelter during the night.

Su Mo opened Shen Ke's message on the chat panel and read it intently.

[Shen Ke: Su Mo, my uncle has already drawn the design for you. You can use this link to trade. Just take a photo of it when you wake up. Feel free to ask if there's anything you don't understand about the design.]

There was an item for transaction at the bottom of the message which was only visible to the two of them. 

After two disaster points were paid out, lights flashed and the design appeared in his inventory. 

Su Mo leaned against his bed. He opened the diary which recorded messages for the dead and began writing.

"Today's the 7th day of January on the Doomsday calendar. It's been seven days at the wasteland, it could be considered a week."

"If civilization still exists, it'll be the 29th of December. Two days till New Year's Day!"

"Sigh. This year's Minor Spring Festival will probably fall on my sister's birthday? It looks like she won't be able to celebrate. I wonder if mom and dad will celebrate with her elsewhere..."

Currently, the supplies at the base are sufficient. It will be enough to last Oreo and me for half a month. Unfortunately, we used up a lot of flour yesterday, and the leftover is likely enough for two more meals of noodles. I think that should be kept aside for family members to use when they visit."

"There are almost 20 liters of psychic energy water available, but the express fee is expensive now on the trading system. To open more storage space, we won't be trading points."

"The Kobold that was captured has been very honest. I'm planning to deal with the sulfur mine near the shelter today. I'll try to extract some sulfur. If the Kobold can lead us to the saltpeter mine later on… I'll be able to produce black gunpowder. Safety would then be guaranteed!"

"Oh right, the Vegetable Culture Medium today is still…"

"Wow! The garlic seed had sprouted, and the cabbage too! I see bits of green beneath the soil. Definitely a day to remember!"

Su Mo lifted his head subconsciously and saw a tiny green sprout emerging from the Culture Medium.

The green surprise was like a Godsend. It erased Su Mo's lethargy from waking up early that morning.

Su Mo changed into his clothes and quickly walked over to the Culture Medium. Squatting down, he carefully examined it.

In the place where the garlic seeds were pressed, a tiny green sprout had appeared.

In the cities, very few people grew garlic from seeds. Most people would bury their cloves of garlic in the soil, which grew quickly and required little care.

Therefore, this was also the first time Su Mo saw a garlic seed sprout.

On the other side, the cabbage grew even more impressively. It had a thin green stem, and two little leaves about the size of a fingernail.

It looked like a pocket-sized cabbage, white and tender. 

"At this rate, it will be a stubble in less than a month!"

"That's almost half the time saved!"