Chapter 39 The Mysterious Visitor By the end, his backpack was overflowing with items…

[10 Fur, 1 Wolf Head Ornament, 5 Wolf Tails, 10 Raw Meat, 5 Bones, 1 High-Grade Berserk Potion, 1 Healing Ointment Recipe, 1 Stove, 1 Miner's Hat]

[Gain the title "Snow Hunter"]

You possess excellent hunting skills, are calm and decisive, and can kill with a single strike.

[Passive skill: Tracking. Allows you to detect the tracks of prey within 10 meters. Active skill: Concealment. You can always approach your prey silently.]

Fang Zhiyi raised his hand, his shoulder scratched by a wolf's claws, the wound deep enough to expose bone, causing him to gasp in pain. While injured and bleeding, his stamina was slowly draining, almost to nothing, so he quickly searched his backpack for something to stop the bleeding.

Advanced Berserk Potion: Grants a burst of 200% strength and speed for a short period after use, but leaves the user weakened after the effect wears off.

A heater helps maintain the campsite temperature, improving comfort and environmental quality.

Miner's Helmet: Provides illumination, increases the chance of ore drops, and allows for free movement in underground mines.

My gaze fell on the last prop.

Got it!

[Treatment Ointment]

[Requires 1 apple and 1 piece of charcoal]

Fang Zhiyi quickly ate two apples to regain some strength, then endured the pain and climbed down from the watchtower. He limped to the campfire and stuffed two pieces of wood into it.

Flames engulfed the wood, sparks flew, and crackling sounds filled the air.

After waiting for 5 seconds, several pieces of charcoal fell out.

Fang Zhiyi quickly used charcoal and apples to synthesize a healing ointment.

A dark, sticky ointment appeared on my hand, emitting an unpleasant odor.

Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth and chose to use it.

The healing ointment transformed into a ball of white light and seeped into the wound. A cool sensation coursed through it, and the deep, bone-revealing wound was completely healed. He tried moving his shoulder; the negative effect of [Injury and Bleeding] had disappeared. As for the lost stamina, he could only wait to recover it through sleep.

But I don't have time to rest now; there's still a ton of stuff to pack.

Fang Zhiyi looked at the chaotic camp.

The snow wolves launched a night raid on the camp. After a fierce attack, the stone walls were torn to shreds, the catapults were dismantled, and even the tents were knocked down, with wolf footprints covering the tarpaulins.

Fang Zhiyi's brow twitched.

[The stone wall is damaged. Should we use 10 stones to repair it?]

[The catapult is damaged. Should we use 5 wood to repair it?]

The luxurious tent is damaged. Should we use 5 pieces of fabric to repair it?

Fang's meaning: ...

My heart is bleeding as I read through the series of messages.

There was no other option but to repair it. After pressing the confirm button, more than half of the materials stored in my backpack instantly disappeared.

A series of knocking and banging sounds came from the stone wall, and the tent was erected again.

Fang Zhiyi began to reflect.

The camp's current level is still too low; it can't even withstand a wolf pack attack. We need to upgrade the level and build a stronger defense system so that we won't be drenched in sweat like we are today if we're attacked again.

However, we don't have the materials on hand, so there's no rush.

In the blink of an eye, the camp was restored to its original state.

Fang Zhiyi took out a prop heater and placed it next to the tent.

With enough fuel added, flames leaped up, their warm glow flowing across the snow. In an instant, the temperature at the campsite rose by 10°C.

Separated by a wall.

Outside, the wind was biting cold and water froze instantly, but inside the camp, it was warm and cozy.

It seems these decorative props are still useful.

Fang Zhiyi then took out the wolf head decoration.

The wolf's head is lifelike, with its gaping maw seemingly about to bite someone at any moment.

At first glance, I was quite startled.

Fang Zhiyi was a little disgusted, but after seeing the effect, she thought it was really good.

Wolf head specimen

[Improves environmental values; after decoration, camp defense +10%]

Fang Zhiyi is a pragmatist; whether something looks good or not, as long as it's useful, it's a good thing. At worst, it can just hang in a corner.

After searching around, they chose a spot with horns and hung the wolf head specimen there.

With the addition of a heater and a wolf head specimen, the camp's environmental value has reached double digits.

[Environmental Value: 12]

[Comment: It seems you've put a lot of effort into decorating your campsite; it might be able to welcome unexpected guests.]

Fang Zhiyi was completely immune to this assessment.

I looked down and rummaged through my backpack to see if there were any more decorative items. I didn't find any, but I did find five wolf tails, which I could use to complete the quest.

The wolf's tail was put into the delivery box, and a design drawing fell out.

Shelter design drawings

[Level 3 Building]

[Requires 50 wood, 50 stone, 20 iron ingots, 20 hardwood, and 10 energy crystals]

Fang Zhiyi couldn't help but gasp.

I thought I wouldn't have to worry about running out of materials since I had so many stockpiled, but I was too naive. I used up most of them in just one night, and there wasn't even enough left to build a level 3 building.

I feel insecure when I don't have any materials in my pocket.

Fang Zhiyi wished he could set off to cut down trees and mine right now. However, it was already late and pitch black outside, so he had to abandon the idea and was forced to rest.

However, there was one more thing he needed to do before going to sleep.

[Youjia Supermarket Lv.3 (Bound)]

【Today's pickup count (July 8th)】

The incandescent lights on the supermarket ceiling lit up, and rows of shelves appeared in front of us, offering a wide variety of goods and a huge selection.

Fang Zhiyi picked and chose, and took out a bag of potatoes, a bag of tomatoes, a piece of pork belly, a bag of rice, peanut oil, chili powder and soy sauce.

The weather is cold enough now, it's a natural refrigerator, so the food won't spoil. Take it out in advance to avoid wasting trips to pick it up.

Fang Zhiyi stuffed a few potatoes into the campfire, then buried the other ingredients in snow to keep them fresh. After thinking for a moment and realizing there was nothing else to do, he turned and went into the tent.

The tent has been upgraded to a deluxe version, with more space inside. A thick layer of fur has been laid on the ground, and a hot water bottle has been placed underneath, so there's no need to worry about your hands and feet getting cold while sleeping.

Fang Zhiyi wrapped himself up in the blanket, feeling warm and cozy, as if he could smell the sun's warmth. He curled up, with only the tips of his hair sticking out.

They survived another day.

Fang Zhiyi slowly relaxed, and the next moment he sank into the boundless darkness.

When I woke up again, it was already the next morning.

The wind howled, making the tent shake violently and the tarpaulin flap loudly, as if it would be blown away at any moment. Fortunately, the pyramid structure of the tent was stable, and it remained unmoved no matter how strong the wind was.

Fang Zhiyi opened his eyes, and a sliver of pale light shone through the gaps in the tent, carrying a chilling cold.

Compared to the freezing cold outside, the warmth of the bed was irresistible. He indulged himself for another minute, and when the time was up, he opened his eyes, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

I don't know if it's because I just woke up, but it feels colder today than yesterday.

As soon as I stepped out of the tent, the wind and snow blew in my face, stinging my skin.

Fang Zhiyi pulled up his collar to block the wind, added wood to the campfire, and grabbed a handful of snow to boil water.

The hot water was bubbling away.

I blew on the steam, washed my face with boiled water, and then a gust of wind blew, and all my drowsiness vanished instantly.

Fang Zhiyi stretched his limbs, feeling a bit hungry. He picked up a stick and poked around in the campfire, and a few potatoes rolled out.

The potatoes were roasted overnight, and the outside was charred black. I wiped them with snow, and they were still a little hot to the touch.

Fang Zhiyi blew on it with a hissing sound, peeling off the charred outer shell. The inside was still golden yellow. When he broke it open, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

A pinch of chili powder is added, and the slight spiciness brings out the sweetness of the potatoes. The texture is soft and chewy, and the spiciness makes your nose sweat. After a few bites, not only is your stomach full, but you also get a warming effect that lasts for 2 hours.

It wasn't fully light yet.

Fang Zhiyi sat by the campfire eating roasted potatoes and casually opened the channel to take a look.

[Area] [Winter Survival] [62311/73000]

As the night passed, another group of players were eliminated, and since most players were asleep in the latter half of the night, only a handful of people were speaking.

[Damn it, my tent collapsed under the weight of the snow.]

Are you as unlucky as me? I was awakened by a wolf howling in the middle of the night, it scared me half to death, and I couldn't sleep all night.

[Hiss—How are you still alive?]

"Stop talking. I've observed them, and it seems the wolves are fleeing for their lives. They're all injured and don't have time to pay attention to me."

[Wolves are such formidable fighters, what could possibly drive them away?]

Terrifying!

Who knows? Just be careful when you go out.

Fang Zhiyi's gaze paused.

If other players encounter a pack of snow wolves fleeing in panic, it means that there are other players' camps nearby.

In the previous world, players could fight over rafts, so what about camps in this world?

Fang Zhiyi's thoughts flashed by, but she didn't delve deeper into them.

Just then, the private chat interface flashed, and a new message popped up.

[Chu Zhao: Resources are scarce in the high-temperature world, and competition among players is fierce. I only have time now.]

[Chu Zhao: How are things on your end?]

[fzy: Everything goes well]

[fzy: I've survived another day (smile)]

His situation involves surviving the harsh winter, meaning he can only move around during the day. Chu Zhao, on the other hand, faces the opposite situation: scorching sun and high temperatures, making it impossible for him to go out during the day; he can only gather supplies at night.

The two people's schedules were just out of sync, so even if they had a tool to cross the world barrier, they wouldn't have time to talk much.

Only now, during the transition between day and night, can I find the time to say a few words.

But Fang Zhiyi didn't talk for too long.

[fzy: It's dawn]

[fzy: I'm going out to collect materials]

[Chu Zhao: Hmm, be careful]

After sending the last message, Fang Zhiyi decisively closed the private chat interface.

In the world of survival, emotions are a luxury.

Only by surviving and conquering the post-apocalyptic world can one have the right to talk about anything else.

Fang Zhiyi showed no hesitation and pushed open the camp gate.

A fierce wind swept through, large snowflakes swirled and fell, a snow mist rose, and the world before us was a devastating white, so cold that every bone in our body trembled.

The snow was getting thicker and thicker, and every step I took sank deep into the snow, making it extremely difficult to walk.

Fang Zhiyi tried to take two steps, but her strength quickly waned. She took out a still-warm potato from her pocket, took a bite, and slowly waited for her strength to return.

At this rate, we'll never reach the mining area.

Fang had no choice but to return to the camp first.

Standing in front of the beginner crafting table, I breathed on my fingers, which were red from the cold, and found the recipe for skis in the crafting list.

Skis

[Requires 2 pieces of wood and 2 pieces of fur]

Take out the materials and select synthesis.

Two skis covered with animal fur appeared under my feet, increasing the contact area. With a gentle push forward, I was able to glide smoothly across the snow.

Fang Zhiyi set off on his skis. With the tools, he glided quickly across the snow, but he couldn't control his balance and wobbled all over the place, almost crashing into a tree. Fortunately, he finally arrived at the mining area without any serious injury.

You have a guest on their way.

[Countdown: 05:59:59]

Upon receiving the notification, Fang Zhiyi was taken aback.

guest?

Is it a player or an NPC?

Fang Zhiyi hoped it would be the latter.

But regardless of the type of guest, their true identity wouldn't be known for another six hours, and there was still plenty of time. He put the matter of the mysterious visitor aside and headed deeper into the mining area.

Deep within the mine lies a colony of gold-toothed rats, and the energy crystals he needs are also located here.

Fang Zhiyi had witnessed the power of the Gold-toothed Rat swarm, and if he could, he wouldn't want to take the risk. However, no one in the channel had upgraded to a level 3 camp on the second day like him, so there was no need for the materials to upgrade to level 4, and no one would specifically collect them for trading.

Fortunately, he came prepared this time. With a wave of his hand, the [Sonic Mouse Repeller] appeared in his hand. He pressed the button, and the black device vibrated gently, spreading invisible sound waves.

Such a low-frequency sound is inaudible to humans, but it is particularly jarring to mice and can be used to repel them.

Perhaps the sonic rat repellent really worked, because we haven't encountered a single golden rat deep inside the mine.

Fang Zhiyi held a sonic rodent repeller while digging for ore. He had collected quite a bit of stone, gold, and iron along the way, but there was still no sign of the energy crystal.

Fang Zhiyi frowned and sent a private message to the gluttonous girl.

[fzy: What do energy crystals look like?]

[Big Glutton: The blue crystalline ore glows]

[Greedy Girl: I only found one [Energy Crystal]]

Fang Zhiyi clicked on the item description.

A hexagonal crystalline mineral appeared before my eyes, emitting a faint blue light.

Compared to the appearance of the energy crystals, the stone ore in front of them looked dull and gray.

[fzy: Are you sure it's deep inside a mining area? Are there any other obvious features?]

[Greedy Girl: Let me think... When I found it, there seemed to be a mine nearby, but there were golden hamsters around, so I ran away without checking.]

[fzy: Okay, thanks]

Fang Zhiyi turned off the private chat and searched for the mine that the gluttonous girl had mentioned.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the deepest part of the mining area.

quack--

The hoarse, unpleasant bird calls echoed through the empty mountains, giving off an ominous feeling.

Fang Zhiyi looked in the direction of the sound and found a depression in the ground not far away, leading to a mine shaft underground.

Upon arriving at the cave entrance and looking down, the mine appears deep and dark, with faint glimpses of a pale blue light reflecting off its interior.

The unknown is frightening.

After searching the vicinity and confirming that he could not find energy crystals on the ground, Fang Zhiyi decided to go down into the mine to take a look.

The mine entrance passage was winding and narrow. Holding onto the wall, he descended step by step, and the deeper he went, the blurrier his vision became. Fang Zhiyi took off his goggles and put on his miner's hat.

Crack.

A beam of light shone from the top of the hat, illuminating the area ahead.

The mine was damp and dark, with stone walls carved by knives and axes, and winding passages leading deep into the mine, with various ores scattered all over the ground.

Fang Zhiyi tried to walk inside, his footsteps echoing in the mine, sounding particularly eerie.

After walking about ten meters, a sudden gust of cold wind blew in from the front.

A swarm of bats surged out from the depths of the mine and crashed into us.

Fang Zhiyi decisively turned off the light on his miner's helmet, leaned against the stone wall, and hid in the darkness.

Splash—

Bats flew overhead and quickly disappeared at the other end of the mine.

Fang Zhiyi turned the lights back on and continued inside.

As they walked, they picked up the ore on the ground.

What's this? Gold. Pick it up.

What's this? A glowing mushroom. Let me pick it up.

Whatever... I'll just pick them all up.

By the end, my backpack was overflowing with the items I'd collected.

The game provides a backpack with a total of 16 slots, and each type of material can be stacked up to 99 times.

Fang Zhiyi used to think that the backpack had enough capacity, but now, faced with the ore scattered all over the ground, she felt that it was simply not enough.

Stone, wood, gold, iron, fiber, apple, bow, exploding arrows, axe, pickaxe, spear, fur, bone, raw meat, cave mushrooms... I can't put them all down, I simply can't put them all down.

After some deliberation, I took the apple out of my backpack and ate it directly, which freed up a slot to store the energy crystal.

Reaching the middle of the mine, they spotted a glimmer of blue light deep within. quickening their pace, they finally found the energy crystal ore.

The ore is entirely ice-blue, and like an iceberg, it quietly radiates fluorescence.

Fang Zhiyi picked up a pickaxe and began mining.

The clanging sound echoed in the mine, and soon a pile of energy crystals was unearthed.

Clang—

The last crystal fell off, and the ore, unable to bear the weight, collapsed and separated, turning into specks of fluorescence that dissipated.

[Energy Crystals x8]

Upgrading to a level 4 camp requires at least 20 energy crystals, which is far from enough. Fortunately, there are plenty of crystal ores in the cave.

Fang Zhiyi focused intently on mining, raising his hand and dropping one energy crystal after another into his backpack.

He had collapsed three mines and collected 20 energy crystals, enough to build an intermediate crafting table and a protective shield, but he didn't stop. He decided to mine more to stockpile in case he didn't have enough and had to make another trip later.

As the crystal ores disappeared one by one, the energy crystals in my backpack finally reached 99.

Fang Zhiyi was satisfied and prepared to head back. Just as he was about to emerge from the mine, the ore fragments beside his feet suddenly began to vibrate violently, causing the ground to shake violently. Rocks kept falling from above, and he was accidentally grazed, losing a little strength.

Fang Zhiyi braced himself against the wall, dodging the falling rocks, and waited for the shaking to stop. But after a while, it not only didn't stop, it intensified, making the entire mine feel like it was being turned upside down, with rocks falling continuously.

If we stayed any longer, we would be buried alive by the stones.

Fang Zhiyi didn't wait any longer. Braving the rain of falling stones, he rushed towards the mine exit in one go.

Thump.

Knock knock!

The stone hit the miner's helmet, the lights in front of him flickered, and the sound of the stone hitting his ears was deafening.

Fang Zhiyi adjusted his hat, which had been knocked askew, and quickly walked back the way he had come, following his memory. Halfway there, he heard a loud noise coming from the mine next to him.

The sound was very loud, like a bulldozer. I don't know what kind of behemoth it was, but with each step it took, the stone wall shook.

Fang Zhiyi seemed to realize something, paused, and moved silently along the wall, afraid of disturbing the person on the other side.

Standing on tiptoe, I slowly approached the entrance. Just as I was about to reach the stairs, a loud rumble suddenly rang out, and the stone wall of the mine was directly rammed and collapsed by a tremendous force.

Smoke and dust filled the sky, and stone chips flew everywhere.

Squeak!

A magnified 100 times figure of a gold-toothed rat squeezed out from the other side of the wall, its cheeks plump and round, its whiskers swaying incessantly, and it was holding a piece of ore in its hand, which it was gnawing on with great effort.

Fang's meaning: ...

Gold-Toothed Rat King: ...

The man and the mouse stared at each other silently.