Volume 2: Winter’s End
Shu Xun wrapped his clothes around himself, astonished to find that his attire had changed its appearance. He was now wearing a simple and thin black casual outfit, without even a pair of shoes. No wonder it felt so cold. Shu Xun lifted his small feet, looking at his slightly reddened toes, feeling the decrease in body temperature. He knew he couldn’t stay like this. Surveying the vast white surroundings, Shu Xun instinctively headed toward the dense forest to his left.
The accumulated snow in this world was evidently not formed in a short time; it had acquired some hardness. Shu Xun’s steps on the snow made no imprint. Trotting along with a pitter-patter, the forest in front seemed particularly distant. The cold continued to invade his body temperature. After a moment, Shu Xun’s hands and feet had turned red from the cold.
Unable to endure, Shu Xun transformed back into his original form. A fluffy little creature appeared on the snowy ground, a palm-sized bluish-gray furball with a tail longer than its body. The little creature ran on the snow like a bluish-gray yarn ball. While running, the yarn ball still held onto its black casual outfit. Shu Xun realized that after entering the game world, the use of the spiritual space was restricted, and his clothes couldn’t be stored in the space while in animal form.
This piece of clothing was obviously the basic equipment in the “Winter’s End” game. If he lost it, Shu Xun believed that he would have to run around naked the next time he transformed back into a human.
Transforming back into his original form didn’t improve Shu Xun’s feeling much. In fact, for a demon spirit like him, there wasn’t much difference in the influence of the external environment between human and animal forms. After all, when he transformed into a human, Shu Xun’s fur simply changed into another form rather than disappearing. Therefore, Shu Xun still felt bone-chilling cold, even worse than in his human form. At least in his human form, he could wear an extra piece of clothing.
Holding onto his clothes, he swiftly ran in his animal form. The sky seemed to darken further, and the light was diminishing. A cold wind was constantly gathering, changing from a gentle breeze to a sharp, knife-like chill in just a moment. The weather was unpredictable, leaving no time for reactions or preparations.
Using his animal form’s high speed, Shu Xun ran to a gentle slope. He rubbed his two front paws and then sat under the wind-protected slope, curling up his little red paws. He held the thin clothes in his mouth, draping them over himself, hoping to temporarily relieve his body from freezing.
The sky, which had still allowed a faint light before, was rapidly darkening. The powerful snowstorm seemed to be tearing apart everything tangible. The wind in the sky transformed from a low moan to a howling wail, an extremely unsettling sound, as if the entire world was howling in desperate sorrow, sending shivers down the spine.
Shu Xun twitched his furry little ears, listening to the unsettling sounds. The unease in his heart gradually intensified. As a treasure-seeking mouse, he had a special intuition for danger and the unknown. Now, his intuition told him that continuing to stay here was not a wise decision.
Peeking his head out from the small piece of clothing, the outside view had become very dim. Shu Xun couldn’t determine if it was due to sunset or the snowstorm. When he initially entered this world, he hadn’t seen the sun through the clouds, making it impossible to judge the time.
In just a short moment, a layer of white snow had accumulated on his small clothing. Shu Xun transformed back into a human, shook off the snow on his clothes, and quickly put them on. This place was both sheltered from the wind and a spot where snow piled up. If he continued to stay, he might get buried here.
Shu Xun remembered that beyond this gentle slope was a vast forest. The trees stood tall and straight, devoid of leaves, appearing desolate from a distance. Shu Xun’s goal was to find a sturdy and reliable tree trunk to dig a tree hole.
Step by step, he climbed the gentle slope. The footprints behind him were quickly buried by the snow, disappearing without a trace. In the moment of climbing the slope, the strong wind almost blew Shu Xun over. Fortunately, the wind near the ground was relatively gentler. Stumbling, bending forward, he strained to distinguish the landscape ahead. The vast expanse of snow and the gradually dimming light made Shu Xun only able to see blurry tree shadows.
Locking in a direction, facing the fierce snowstorm, the little furball tightly wrapped in thin clothes trudged forward, head down. Every step seemed to make people worry that he might be blown away by the wind.
At the same time, the conditions for most of the first batch of 30 billion players entering the game were worse than Shu Xun’s. The extreme snowstorm, along with the harsh initial conditions and restrictions, plunged most players into a cold predicament. While Shu Xun could at least find a tree as a shelter, the taller players among them could only survive by finding houses or caves.
In the official room of the live platform, the holographic images kept changing, but in every scene, there was a howling and almost catastrophic snowstorm. In the audience seats, viewers experiencing the immersive scenes almost instinctively shivered and then tightened their clothes.
In the commentary booth, the expression on commentator Xiyue’s face appeared very solemn. “The game background of ‘Winter’s End’ is inspired by the Frost Period in the Ice-Cold Galaxy, a medium-sized spiral galaxy revolving around a medium-mass star at its core. However, under the invasion of some mysterious force, the Frost Period suddenly arrived, leading to the ultimate ice-cleansing of the life planets, culminating in death. When people discovered it, the life fluctuations of this planet were already very weak. StarPlay Entertainment, in collaboration with other galaxies, obtained the development rights to the galaxy. They set the real game teleportation point on one of the frozen planets. Even before the game started broadcasting, not even we, the broadcasters, had seen the real scenes of the game. Now it seems that the difficulty of this game far exceeds our imagination. At least one-tenth of the players will die within three days.”
“One-tenth!” Purple’s tone was slightly surprised. “Isn’t this number too high? Most players with AA+ level nutrient pods are experienced players. Isn’t three days too short?”
“Low temperatures, lack of food, storms, insufficient energy, and many other factors, coupled with the highest difficulty conditions, one-tenth is a conservative estimate. I have a premonition that this game will definitely make history!” Xiyue’s tone had already taken on a touch of excitement, but he quickly adjusted his state. “Next, we will randomly track and observe the game players, synchronizing with the players’ perspectives.”
The scene around them changed, and in the sight of everyone, a player appeared. The player was wearing a thin coat, tall in stature, with a pair of animal ears on their head, evidently an adult beast race. At this moment, they were running rapidly in the snowstorm, seemingly searching for shelter. However, it was clear that their luck was not very good, as the landing point was plain with no tall coverings in sight.
After a moment, the scene switched again. This time, it was a Zerg with antennae on their heads. They were in a mountainous area, which had already been quickly turned into a shelter made of rocks, and they swiftly entered it.
The holographic image continued to switch several times, revealing that most players landed in the wilderness, with the majority searching or preparing for shelter to escape the snowstorm and survive the night.
“You can see that most of the players this time are experienced players with a high adaptability to survival games. There is no newcomer’s confusion and hesitation. I believe that at this moment, a large part of the players have found a place to settle down, while those with bad luck are still struggling in the snowstorm…” Xiyue summarized the observed scenes. The holographic image switched again, revealing a white rock forest. The towering and straight white rock trees almost blended with the snowstorm. Even if the leaves had withered, they still stood tall amidst the raging snowstorm.
The commentator Purple’s antennae curled slightly in puzzlement. “Wait, why are there no players in this scene?”
Xiyue observed for a moment and indeed found no trace of anyone. The snowstorm and the sunset not only affected the players’ visibility but also posed a challenge to the audience and commentators. After switching angles several times, still, no figures were spotted.
“Maybe there’s some deviation in the tracking system, but this mountain forest seems to have a high utility rate. The resilience and upright posture of the white rock trees are well-known among the vegetation. Also, other characteristics can be effectively utilized. This is an opportunity. The scene tracking system can search nearby to see if there are any other players around.” Xiyue naturally shifted the topic, and the scene switched again.
At this moment, Shu Xun happened to be in that white rock forest. The change of tracking angles did not find the player, primarily because they did not anticipate such a small-sized player.
After climbing the hill, the sky had become quite dark. Relying on night vision, Shu Xun quickly found a tree, ran to the windward side, and began digging a tree hole. However, to his surprise, the claw’s effectiveness was minimal. Shu Xun was slightly puzzled by the tree’s hardness, but with no time to dwell on it, he swung his two chubby claws, mobilizing the little remaining spiritual power in his body, and quickly dug a small tree hole.
Only when he burrowed into the tree hole did his stiff body slightly ease. Shu Xun huddled in the tree hole, holding his little claws, panting, hoping to quickly raise his body temperature. Since entering the game, he hadn’t encountered any major crises, but it was precisely this gradual and pressing pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Now, with a chance to catch his breath, Shu Xun’s brain relaxed a bit, and the little figure mumbled, “Why is it so darn cold!”
The fact that Shu Xun had started speaking in the Northeastern dialect was enough to illustrate how bad his current situation was. Although Shu Xun had self-taught Northeastern dialect, daily communication was mostly in Mandarin. Only when his emotions were unstable or thoughts were confused would he subconsciously speak in the Northeastern dialect.
Shu Xun took off his clothes and stuffed them into the opening of the tree hole. The temperature inside the tree hole was not particularly high. Shu Xun transformed back into his original form, rubbed his little claws, and curled up into a ball, fluffy like a plush toy. As his body gradually warmed up, Shu Xun’s head began to function again.
In just a short afternoon, Shu Xun realized that this world was different from Earth—extreme cold, blizzards that obscured the sky, trees as sturdy as rocks, and many more unknowns waiting for them to discover. In constant contemplation, Shu Xun slowly sank into slumber.
Outside the tiny tree hole, night fell, and the howling wind and snow mixed in the icy wilderness. Despite the ice and snow, countless players were still seeking shelter. On the first night of the game, numerous players would lose their way in the blizzard, and many would quietly perish in their sleep due to the cold.
The extreme cold became the greatest threat to players’ survival, just like the name of the game suggests—Winter’s End. Yet, those who had just entered the world of Winter’s End had not yet grasped the meaning of this chilling winter.
The next day, Shu Xun woke up from a dream. The temperature inside the tree hole was still not high, but at least there was no danger of frostbite. Shu Xun crawled to the opening of the tree hole and quietly poked out his little head. However, as soon as he opened a gap, a biting cold rushed in. The howling wind echoed low over the mountain forest, and the world was blanketed in white. Not even another white rock tree, not far away, was visible.
The author has something to say:
The cruel survival game has begun. Little Shu Xun is both cute and trying to survive~ (Old Xuan suddenly feels a bit guilty, why does it feel like this is the only protagonist in Old Xuan’s works who is constantly hungry?)
Translator’s note:
I agree with you, author… At least Shu Shuishui has his foodsssssssssss. Yeah, a lot of ‘s’ HAHAHAHHAHHA But Shu Xun… Poor little Shu Xun huhuhu
