Volume 2: Winter’s End
Nuan Dong set down his enormous travel bag, preparing to start a fire. Shu Xun was rummaging through his small backpack, then found Ye Qian’s clothes and handed them to him. Ye Qian held the clothes in his mouth and walked toward the depths of the cave. Shu Xun tugged at the wolf’s ears, signaling Ye Qian to put him down. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Qian lowered his head, allowing Shu Xun to smoothly slide down along the soft wolf fur. Ye Qian set down the little dumpling and continued inside to change clothes.
Once Shu Xun landed, he took small steps and walked to Nuan Dong’s side, who was starting a fire. Watching Nuan Dong skillfully light the fire, soon, a warm yellow glow leaped up, gradually expanding and brightening the surroundings.
After the bonfire was fully ablaze, Nuan Dong cleared a spot next to the fire and sat down. He glanced at the little dumpling by the fire, then picked up a palm-sized, round, smooth stone from beside him, wiped it, and placed it at Shu Xun’s feet. “Have a seat.”
Looking up, Shu Xun saw the faint smile in Nuan Dong’s eyes. Seating himself on the small stone, Nuan Dong’s once again echoed.
“My spawning point was quite decent; it landed near this cave. Found it on the first day. However, I later chose the wrong direction and ended up circling Baiyan Town. After finding a map, I realized I had gone in the opposite direction. Then, the extremely low-temperature blue light suddenly arrived, trapping me in Baiyan Town. After that, I encountered you guys. But it seems your luck is pretty good too.” Nuan Dong’s voice was unhurried, giving off a sense of leisure.
Shu Xun pointed at his small backpack. “You mean this? I found it!” Shu Xun proudly tilted his little head. While doing so, he pondered Nuan Dong’s words. They sounded flawless, providing a perfect explanation for his precise discovery of the cave. Most importantly, Nuan Dong’s expression and tone carried a casual air, as if he was just casually mentioning it, indifferent to whether others believed him or not.
At this point in their conversation, Ye Qian inside the cave had already dressed neatly. His long legs carried him to the side of the bonfire. The warm yellow light seemed unable to soften Ye Qian’s sharpness and icy demeanor, as his hawk-like eyes remained as sharp as ever.
Nuan Dong glanced up at Ye Qian, raising an eyebrow. “Indeed, worthy of the name.” Although he said this, his tone lacked much reverence or admiration. It was a casual compliment, indicating that he knew about Ye Qian but didn’t seem particularly concerned.
As for Nuan Dong’s identity, Shu Xun could currently only define him as an awakened high-level player, a formidable one who was difficult to decipher. At least for now, Shu Xun could only guess what Nuan Dong wanted him to deduce. That was the conclusion Shu Xun reached after summarizing his speculations.
Ye Qian naturally did not react to Nuan Dong’s praise. He walked to the other side of Shu Xun and sat down without any intention of speaking, seemingly transferring all communication to Shu Xun, who was sitting on the small stone.
Meanwhile, Shu Xun was feeling the stone beneath him. To his surprise, the initially cold stone had become comfortably warm under the warmth of the bonfire, not too hot, just perfect.
“Feeling warmer, right?” Nuan Dong watched Shu Xun’s fumbling actions and said with a smile, “Consider it a gift for you, a welcome present.”
Slightly surprised, Shu Xun hadn’t fully processed this when Ye Qian’s gaze shifted, his voice cold. “Are you a Phantom?”
Among the five major races, members of the Spirit, Beast, and Zerg races retained some racial characteristics in their humanoid forms. Only the Phantoms, or the Phantom race, had an entity similar to humans, differing mainly in their overwhelmingly powerful psychic abilities. Only Phantoms could swiftly alter the properties of a stone in a short period. Although the change in attributes wasn’t significant, the speed of this manipulation indicated that Nuan Dong was also a powerful figure among the Phantoms.
“Yes, but I’m not interested in slaughter, and we are just fellow travelers.” Nuan Dong didn’t show any particular reaction to Ye Qian’s icy demeanor. He seemed indifferent and clarified that their current relationship was merely that of companions on the same journey, not true companions.
In the ever-changing world of the game, players choose different approaches under the limited resources of survival games. Players like Nuan Dong opted for peaceful development, avoiding combat unless absolutely necessary. On the other hand, some players resorted to hunting and killing others to plunder resources and clues, achieving their goals more quickly.
In the gaming world, no one could provide a clear definition to distinguish between these two styles of gameplay. However, when it came to ultimate success or failure, there was a consensus: completing the game was paramount.
Despite receiving a clear answer, Ye Qian maintained his indifferent demeanor. He harbored no friendliness toward the race that had once pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Of course, so far, the only thing that seemed to elicit friendliness from Ye Qian was the little dumpling.
Shu Xun tilted his little head and glanced at Nuan Dong again. Judging solely by appearances, the physical form of the Phantom race indeed had no difference from humans. However, considering Nuan Dong’s identity explained his initial reaction, it was challenging for a powerful individual of one race to feel admiration for another powerful individual of a different race. This was especially true for someone like Nuan Dong, with strong psychic abilities, who could effortlessly control their emotions.
Since they had met and both parties weren’t inclined toward a predatory stance, it was apparent that collaboration between powerful individuals favored survival. Moreover, barring any unexpected events, they would likely reach Micro City tomorrow. Facing an entirely unknown city at the end of the journey, strength equated to safety. However, in contrast, the unfamiliarity of Nuan Dong also represented a variable. Shu Xun’s little brain worked quickly, calculating the pros and cons of traveling with Nuan Dong. After pondering for a moment, Shu Xun blinked and directly asked, “Are you a bad person?”
Nuan Dong visibly paused for a moment, then quickly responded. The little dumpling clearly understood that Nuan Dong could easily discern his thoughts and hesitations, so he decided to be open and ask straightforwardly. In response to Shu Xun’s intelligence and adept problem-solving skills, Nuan Dong indeed felt a bit surprised. Most adults would find it challenging to possess such a broad-minded attitude. Nuan Dong couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “When not jeopardizing my own safety, I am a good person and can be a decent companion. However, when being calculated or forced into a desperate situation, I become a bad person—one who repays an eye for an eye.”
Shu Xun, with a serious expression on his chubby face, responded, “Very well, I am the same. It seems that we will be suitable companions. We can travel together when appropriate, and when it’s not, we can openly communicate and part ways. What do you think?”
Nuan Dong’s smile deepened. “Sounds good.”
Completely ignored, Ye Qian: “…”
As the temperature in the cave gradually rose, Shu Xun and Nuan Dong continued their pleasant conversation. It was evident that a communicative little dumpling and a calm, highly intelligent Phantom got along well. They understood how to maintain a certain distance between each other, neither pushing too hard nor withdrawing.
Meanwhile, the speechless Ye Qian just sat there (╰_╯).
Seated on the comfortably warm stone, Shu Xun explained the journey he and Ye Qian took through the Micro Lake villa area. Nuan Dong agreed with most of Shu Xun’s speculations. However, regarding the white wolf, Nuan Dong believed it wouldn’t fear starvation or freezing to death. The urgency of the white wolf’s attack might be driven by something more than a small amount of food—it could be a cry for death. Wolves are intelligent beings, and the white wolf, as the top predator in the jungle, might be fleeing something more fearful than hunger and cold. Thus, the sudden appearance of the blue light might signify more than extreme cold.
Shu Xun earnestly nodded his little head, finding Nuan Dong’s reasoning very logical. It could also explain to some extent the attacking rabbit, maybe it, too, was seeking death? However, the rabbit’s lack of intelligence and the disappearance of its body raised questions. When leaving Micro Lake, Shu Xun had seen the body of the white wolf. The limited clues didn’t allow Shu Xun and Nuan Dong to deduce more answers, but the two remained enthusiastic.
“Not only the Micro Lake villa area but also the situation in the Baiyan Town is quite bizarre. And you guessed it right, there is not a single person in the town, no corpses, scarce food supplies, and severe depletion of combustible materials. However, we can’t find the exact time and basis for the departure of the town’s residents. One valuable finding is a transcript discovered at the meteorological department, documenting the temperature changes in Baiyan Town and speculating…” After Shu Xun recounted his experiences, Nuan Dong also shared his findings in Baiyan Town.
Despite Baiyan Town being much larger than the Micro Lake villa area, not a single indigenous inhabitant was found. The entire town was deserted, and according to the meteorological records, the appearance of low temperatures leading to the approaching winter matched perfectly with the time recorded in the Notebook. This indicated that, despite taking medication, Qing Mo’s mental state was normal, and everything recorded in the notebook was real and reliable.
Apart from the past records, the meteorological transcript also included a segment speculating about the future. It predicted that this extreme cold would gradually intensify and spread from north to south, eventually freezing the entire world. The planet’s ultimate fate would be an ice-bound state, lasting for decades, even centuries.
The facts proved this speculation to be reasonable. Judging from Qing Mo’s time of death, they arrived in this winter world six months after the apocalypse. The duration of the blue light and the temperature had signs of worsening compared to the records in Qing Mo’s notebook. As for the situations in the north and south, they couldn’t make judgments yet, but it was confirmed that, without any surprises, their next route would take them through Micro City, heading directly south.
Amid their pleasant conversation, time passed quickly. Shu Xun attentively listened to Nuan Dong’s speculations when suddenly a canned drink was handed over. Shu Xun looked and found that it was handed by Ye Qian, and feeling a slight thirst, Shu Xun immediately hugged the drink can and started drinking. However, what surprised Shu Xun was that Ye Qian unexpectedly handed a bottle of water to Nuan Dong next.
Nuan Dong expressed his thanks with a calm expression, then drank directly from the bottle without hesitation.
Shu Xun contemplated, thinking that in a certain sense, Ye Qian and Nuan Dong had also acknowledged each other. While observing, Shu Xun suddenly felt a bit familiar with the water bottle Nuan Dong was using. His big eyes shifted, and the drinking action suddenly paused. Then, pretending not to have noticed anything, Shu Xun continued drinking as if nothing had happened.
In the live broadcast room:
“Look what I found. It seems that Nuan Dong is drinking snow water that Ye Qian melted and boiled.”
“I remember God Ye once said he wanted to try boiling snowwater when there’s a chance. Hahaha, let’s mourn for Nuan Dong for three seconds.”
“I guess God Ye has been unhappy for a long time, the bitterness of watching his own little dumpling being abducted and not being able to say a word…”
“But Baby Shu’s communication skills are indeed strong. Maybe I can try this style of communication in the future.”
“Upstairs, the premise is that you have to have a bun face that melts everything.”
