Chapter 63: Beneath the Snow
Chapter 63: Beneath the Snow
"..."
"Such a low ceiling."
On the third morning in the snowfield, Lin Sai opened his eyes beneath the thick snow that had buried him.
He hadn't been foolish enough to sleep directly on the snowy ground overnight.
So, before the sky turned dark, he dug a snow shelter in the deep snow, creating a temporary haven from the cold wind.
But before falling asleep, Lin Sai distinctly remembered that the ceiling of his snow shelter was about half a meter from his face. Now, after a night's sleep, the gap had shrunk to less than half a meter, a change of only a few centimeters, but noticeable nonetheless.
"Haa—"
Lin Sai sat up and exhaled warm breath towards the snow-covered ceiling, which indeed started to show signs of melting.
"Is every snow shelter destined to eventually collapse?"
After this realization, Lin Sai stepped out of the snow shelter.
The edge of the entrance, which he had dug out as a set of steps, led to the now three-meter-high snow surface. The wooden sled he had made the day before was also here, but after a night, it was covered in a layer of snow.
Lin Sai retrieved the wooden sled and brushed off the accumulated snow.
He wasn't in a hurry to set off immediately; instead, he planned to replenish the energy he had expended.
"As usual, I'll start a fire to cook."
After walking in the snow all day yesterday, Lin Sai's socks were already soaked.
While the meat was roasting, he took the opportunity to dry his socks, which he didn't want to wear wet while traveling across the snowfield.
Staring at the flames, Lin Sai began organizing his plans for the day:
"Two days..."
"According to my agreement with Dan, considering the time it might take to return, I have two days left in the snowfield. If I'm lucky, I might even find some more wild crops."
Lin Sai's purpose for heading to the border of worlds was clear.
First, he needed to confirm the information revealed by the Treant's goods interface, which was crucial for the safety of the hidden frontier.
Second, Lin Sai wanted to see what the Black Mountain world was like.
Even with his current strength, he knew it would be challenging to break through. But conducting reconnaissance before taking action was never a bad idea.
"I hope to gain something... Hmm?"
Suddenly, Lin Sai smelled an unsettling burnt odor.
The ice hare leg roasting over the fire, protected by his cooking skill, shouldn't have burned. So, this smell...
"My socks!"
Lin Sai quickly removed his socks.
He acted quickly, but unfortunately, a hole had already burned through them.
Lin Sai hadn't learned sewing skills, and even if he had, he didn't have the materials to repair his socks.
"I... this... drying socks, can't be protected by cooking skills?"
Lin Sai felt like crying, but he could make do with the damaged socks.
He ate his breakfast, sensing a lingering sock odor, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
Living in the snowfield was much more challenging than his previous adventures.
Lin Sai didn't plan to waste much time at noon, so he prepared the midday roast and stored it in his bag, ready to eat later.
Half an hour later, Lin Sai set off again.
In the vast, white snowfield, he continued his journey on the homemade wooden sled, his figure soon disappearing from the area where he had camped the night before.
In the lifeless snowfield, everything was blanketed in white.
Lin Sai would often travel hundreds of meters before spotting a pine tree crown emerging from beneath the snow.
Usually, navigating in such an environment was easy to get lost.
Even with his sense of direction, Lin Sai couldn't guarantee he hadn't taken a wrong turn.
But he was no longer the same person he had been before.
As long as Lindsay activates the 【Map】 skill and confirms the arrow symbol that represents her, always facing due east, she will never get lost!
Time passed, and it was already afternoon.
Lindsay was still studying the map at this moment.
Following the directions, she resolutely headed east.
But just then, Lindsay suddenly felt her spear, which she was using as a ski pole, hit something hard beneath the snow.
"What is this?"
Lindsay was very curious.
When she set out in the morning, the snow was already three meters deep. Now, after traveling for most of the day, the weather had become colder, and the snow beneath her feet was even thicker.
What could it be?
What could be blocking her spear at this moment? Lindsay was suspicious and immediately took action. She dug through the snow to see what was underneath.
Soon, she found her target.
It was a corpse.
Not a human, but a fox, noticeably larger than a normal animal, with a beautiful bright red fur that still shone as vibrantly as it did in life, despite being frozen to death in the snow.
"A beast..."
Lindsay slowly revealed the identity of the enormous fox.
Without hesitation, she switched modules and examined the information of the corpse before her:
【Corpse: Fire Fox】
【A beast's corpse, frozen in a panic.】
【Frozen for over two years, with only the fur remaining to be sold.】
"..."
Lindsay furrowed her brows slightly.
The corpse before her seemed to hint at a potential crisis ahead.
However, she didn't want to waste resources. Instead, she tried to use her skill to collect prey materials.
The skill didn't activate successfully.
The Fire Fox corpse before her was not a prey she had hunted, so it didn't meet the requirements for material collection.
As for taking the whole Fire Fox into her bag...
Unfortunately, the size of the fox, combined with Lindsay's existing supplies, exceeded the weight limit of her portable bag.
And the most valuable part of the corpse, the fur... Lindsay didn't have the time to deal with a corpse that was frozen solid in the snow.
"Never mind, I didn't see anything that I must take with me."
Lindsay shook her head slightly, knowing what was important. She decisively abandoned the Fire Fox's corpse and continued on her journey.
As expected, as she continued east, more and more corpses appeared beneath the heavy snow.
At first, Lindsay would brush away the snow to identify the corpses.
But as the number of corpses increased, and with no change in the consistent findings, she stopped brushing away the snow.
None of the beasts buried in this snowplain were ordinary.
They were all beasts fused with essence, and in Lindsay's young hunter's eyes, these beasts varied in strength, some as weak as the Ice Boar, but the powerful ones were on par with the Treants.
Such a number of beasts could not have been born in the Hidden Frontier.
The only answer was the Black Mountain World, brewing a massive crisis. This caused these beasts to flee desperately, only to meet their end in this snowplain.
That afternoon, at dusk.
Suddenly, an extremely cold wind blew.
Lindsay looked ahead and saw that the distant snowplain, seemingly endless, had finally reached its end before her.
And this cold wind...
It was blowing straight up from the ground that had disappeared.
"I've finally arrived!"
In that moment, Lindsay's heart was filled with clarity.
Less than 100 meters ahead of her was the border between the Hidden Frontier and the Black Mountain World!
(End of Chapter)
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