Volume 2: Winter’s End
The poker-faced pain in Ye Qian’s heart was evidently beyond anyone’s comprehension. After expressing gratitude once again, Shu Xun happily bounced away, leaving Ye Qian frozen with a face that couldn’t bear to look at the fish bones on the plate. Suddenly, he seemed to regret his decision.
In the live stream chat:
“Hahaha… this video segment can make us laugh for a year.”
“About the fish given to the little dumpling, I bet God Ye didn’t have such thoughts in mind.”
“Haha, probably God Ye was thinking, ‘The game is about to end, give the little one a fish to bring back to reality! This way, the little one won’t forget about me.’ But the result… it got eaten… haha…”
“I’m sure when Gray brought up the fish, God Ye internally refused to speculate!”
“The blue-colored fish looks delicious, though. The little one is enjoying it a lot.”
“The saddest part is that nobody noticed the poker-faced sadness! Haha… this is probably the most pitiful fish caught and killed by God Ye!”
“Congratulations to the little dumpling for successfully achieving the first kill in fish-raising under the hands of the Fish-raising Expert Ye Qian! Admirable courage, keep it up!”
“Maybe I’m too sensitive, still thinking about that rabbit suddenly appearing in the room! So creepy! That thing definitely appeared out of nowhere because nothing can approach God Ye without alerting him.”
“Upstairs is overthinking, anyway, whether it’s a success or failure, the game is about to end.”
With the continuous journey into Yuanhai, the discussions in the livestream room became more fervent.
Upon reaching Yuanhai, everyone’s spirits subconsciously lifted. On the icebreaker ship, Nuan Dong was once again confirming the course and coordinates. There were many large islands within the Yuanhai Sea range, and without precise coordinates, it would be challenging to find the correct destination.
Finally, in the afternoon, under everyone’s anticipation, a vast island in the middle of the sea came into view. From a distance, in the dark blue sea, the white and green colors of the island stood out prominently.
The coastline of the island was covered with a thick layer of ice. The icebreaker ship slowly approached, breaking through the heavy ice. The sound of ice cracking echoed, and after the ship docked, everyone disembarked one by one. The coastal area was covered with pristine white snow, resembling unconventional fine sand.
Continuing inward, a small modern city appeared before everyone’s eyes on the island. Neat streets were covered in white snow, and the not-so-tall buildings had a serene and leisurely atmosphere, portraying a scene of a relaxed lifestyle. Several slightly taller buildings were scattered across the island, presumably serving as administrative offices.
Upon reaching the island, the White Moon squad naturally prepared to leave. After all, they couldn’t become teammates with Ye Qian and the others. Since the traces were discovered by the Micro-Market Administrative Bureau, the White Moon Squad had been planning to ambush. However, they didn’t expect to encounter a small team consisting of Ye Qian and Lie Yang. Now, in Yuanhai, they had hitched a ride. Although they knew Ye Qian brought them along due to their flying ability to prevent unforeseen accidents at sea, it couldn’t be denied that they had caught a ride to their final destination.
Bai Yue naturally felt awkward to linger further. After a somewhat awkward farewell, he led the other six people in another direction.
Shu Xun and the others exchanged glances. Gray seemed a bit nervous, standing still for a moment, then lowered his head and turned to leave.
No one spoke to detain them. Ye Qian and Nuan Dong, as usual, maintained a poker face. Lie Yang continued to appear indifferent. The Zerg Clan had a relatively strict division of bloodlines and ranks. Apparently, as the Emperor Butterfly, Lie Yang wouldn’t bother detaining Gray, who was a Leaf Butterfly.
“Can you make other types of fish?” a childish voice suddenly sounded, stopping Gray’s steps from leaving.
Gray was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up like stars. “Yes!”
“Then… stay. Thank you for the fish you made for me,” Shu Xun said seriously. During their journey together, everyone’s meals were quite simple, and the cooking duties were rotated. Gray spent over an hour preparing that small fish, which Shu Xun had noticed. Now, Shu Xun didn’t know that this seemingly small decision today would have profound effects on him, Gray, and the entire world.
The reactions in the livestream chat were mixed regarding Shu Xun’s decision.
“Again with this, this little bun always sees the world through rose-colored glasses. Isn’t this the legendary ‘Saint’?”
“Saint? This is just a child’s perspective, okay? And from the beginning of the game until now, has Baby Shu Xun made any mistakes? Um, except for that bowl of bathwater.”
“But doing this will increase the burden on Ye Qian and Lie Yang, right?”
“Heavy burden? The Leaf Butterfly’s strength is quite decent, okay? And how many times have you all been slapped by Shu Xun? Have you all forgotten so easily?”
“Anyway, the game is about to end. Adding one more person to the team won’t make a difference. Let’s just wait for the clearance. I’ve been curious for a long time.”
“Wait, wait, wait! It seems someone got here first! Can you believe someone arrived at Yuanhai before Ye Qian and Lie Yang?”
“I saw it too. Judging by the footprints, there are quite a few people, at least more than ten. And the depth, span, and strength of the footprints are almost identical, so organized and uniform. There’s a high possibility that they’ve encountered a professional military team. The situation doesn’t look good.”
“Not just one team! I’m streaming with Bai Ya, and it seems that military professional teams from various races are participating in this game. Two teams have already arrived, including my dear Bai Ya’s stream. But I didn’t expect Ye Qian to be here too. Suddenly, I feel a bit scared.”
“Upstairs, get ready to record. Bai Ya will definitely be the first to stick to them and then get kicked away by Ye Qian with one foot!”
“No hope in life. Based on past experience, it seems the situation will develop like that…”
Bai Ya, who was fervently discussed in the public chat, was a member of the human military professional team. He was sunny and sometimes silly, but his strength was unquestionable. However, what amused people the most was that Bai Ya’s awakened bloodline was also from the wolf clan. For some reason, he had an inexplicable admiration for Ye Qian and always rushed to team up when they met in the game. However, he was always kicked away by Ye Qian with a poker face, and they never successfully teamed up. Bai Ya, exploring on the island, sneezed fiercely.
The island was large, with a main street dividing it into roughly four parts in a cross shape. Due to the urgent time, Shu Xun’s group naturally chose to explore along the main street towards the inner side. As expected, they found numerous footprints. Because the absolute freezing was imminent, and the snowstorm had subsided, the footprints were still very clear.
Nuan Dong’s eyes deepened as he looked at the footprints. Then, in an unusually calm voice, he said, “Perhaps we should choose to act separately, avoid them, and find what we want.”
Shu Xun raised his little head and glanced at Nuan Dong, pondering for a moment. “But dispersing also means our strength is divided, and we don’t know if there are players in the other direction. However, it seems highly likely now. This island is probably very lively.”
“Exactly because of that, our individual strength is undoubtedly top-notch. Once united, if the difference in numbers reaches a certain level, strength alone can’t compensate. So, we can only act swiftly and decisively,” Nuan Dong’s eyes gazed at the distant town, and his voice was resolute without a doubt.
After pondering for a moment, Shu Xun pinched his head and nodded slightly. “Makes sense. There should be about a day before the absolute freezing sets in. Let’s decide the search range based on our own strengths. Ye Qian and I will go to the central cross street, and the others can disperse around the cross street. Don’t stray too far from each other. Our individual strength is formidable, so there’s no need to search the periphery. This way, if there’s a sudden situation, we can support each other in a short time. As long as it’s not other teams teaming up, we have a chance of victory.”
After briefing everyone on the search area, Shu Xun bit his paw and continued, “Furthermore, regarding the clearance conditions, although it seems now that finding the reason for ‘Winter’s End’ is the clearance condition, I still have some uneasy feelings. Things might not be that simple. If someone finds the reason for ‘Winter’s End’ but doesn’t get the clearance prompt, return to this point. Everyone else should also be back here by tomorrow noon.”
After reaching the island, Lie Yang seemed to be in a state of fiery enthusiasm. He looked at Shu Xun’s chubby face with a serious expression. Swiftly reaching out, he poked the little meaty face and quickly withdrew his hand under Ye Qian’s icy gaze, revealing his standard Lie Yang-style smile. “Little buddy, don’t worry. Game developers won’t let players get stuck in a deadlock. So, before the absolute freezing arrives tomorrow, we’ll definitely clear the game!”
Shu Xun extended his chubby paw and rubbed his little meaty face. Mimicking Lie Yang’s usual demeanor, he nonchalantly shrugged his small shoulders. “I hope so.”
In the end, Shu Xun and the others dispersed, their figures quickly disappearing among the clustered buildings. Shu Xun also poked Ye Qian’s chest before saying, “Let’s go too.”
Ye Qian casually glanced in the direction Nuan Dong had left, made a soft sound of agreement, and then stepped towards the central cross street. With a few leaps, Ye Qian had already moved far away from the original spot, blending into the surrounding silence. Shu Xun’s two chubby paws clutched the edges of his clothes as he suddenly asked in a soft voice, “Do you think Nuan Dong is really from the Phantom Tribe?”
After a moment of silence, Ye Qian’s cold voice echoed, “At least for now, besides the Phantom Tribe, no other race possesses psychic power surpassing humans.”
Shu Xun tugged at his little head. “Oh, the Phantom Tribe exists as souls, detached from the physical body. What kind of energy is the basis for their existence?”
Ye Qian’s movements underfoot didn’t slow down, showing no signs of hesitation. Clearly, he had anticipated Shu Xun’s question, and the two seemed to have thought of the same possibility. “This should be the highest secret of the Phantom Tribe. Probably, no one, except themselves, knows. But if there’s a kind of psychic energy that can destroy a planet, even for the Phantom Tribe, the difficulty seems a bit high.”
The low conversation echoed between them. After gradually approaching the central cross street, Shu Xun stopped asking questions and instead focused on observing the surroundings attentively. He perked up his small ears, listening to every sound he could capture.
On the way to the central street, Shu Xun and Ye Qian did indeed encounter other players, and although their reactions were swift, Ye Qian easily dealt with them. Along the way, they successively handled three players. These three players seemed to be from two different factions—one from the beast tribe’s military professional team and the other from the spirit tribe’s professional team.
Being able to find the location of Yuanhai in such a short time and rush over indicated that most of them were professional teams or players. They had undergone rigorous professional training, and their teamwork demonstrated a high level of coordination.
As dusk approached, Ye Qian and Shu Xun had already completed the search for the northern half of the central cross street, but they hadn’t found the location of the research institute. Yuanhai should be an extremely concealed research area, yet the appearance of the island seemed no different from external towns. This indicated how cautious the individuals who set up the Yuanhai Research Institute were. To find the research institute on this island, it seemed they needed to put in more effort.
