Welter woke up early, carefully unwrapping Salme's sleeping form from around him so he wouldn't disturb her rest. He quietly slipped out of bed and walked over to his staging area. Grabbing all of his newly purchased surface survival gear, he bundled up and headed out into the corridor.
Welter made his way down to the Tunnel 36 checkpoint gate. Thanks to his credentials, he passed through the security barrier without any issues. He trekked through the dark tunnels for a bit until he reached a section of Pre-Dome ruins. Tucked away inside the crumbling architecture, he located a maintenance ladder that led all the way up to the surface.
Welter began his ascent, climbing steadily for four minutes.
At the top of the ladder, he emerged into one of the small, reinforced staging rooms that scavengers and scouts used to gear up right before stepping onto the frozen crust. Directly above him sat the heavy, sealed manhole cover leading to the outside world.
Before he could reach for the hatch, a blue screen flashed in front of his eyes.
[System: Cooldown ended. It is highly recommended that you acquire more points before proceeding to the surface.]
Welter paused, taking the System's advice to heart. He opened his interface, navigated directly over to the World Generator tab, and firmly pressed the generation prompt.
[System: Generating world...]