Official operation begins!!! Fortress, hot spring, igloo...

"Captain, Miaomiao's legs are already frostbitten. If we don't find a place for her to rest, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on."

Yang Xueling supported Sheng Miao, who could barely stand, and looked anxiously at Ye Hai who was walking in front of her.

Everyone was resting peacefully in their respective shelters last night, but the weather outside suddenly changed drastically in the middle of the night.

The originally peaceful night was completely broken by a sudden snowstorm. The wind and snow were like a disaster from the sky, covering the entire area without any warning.

When they first saw the snowstorm coming, they weren't overly concerned.

After all, since the beginning of the game, there have been several blizzards of varying sizes, and they have experienced quite a few.

After the shelter was upgraded and strengthened several times, they could stay inside and avoid the bad weather safely.

After a while, however, some players began to realize that something was wrong.

The snowstorm brought unprecedented low temperatures, and the cold almost froze the air.

Yang Xueling and her teammates watched the temperature on the game panel drop rapidly from -57 degrees and finally to -80 degrees.

Soon, more and more players found that their shelters were simply unable to withstand the severe cold.

Many people were woken up by the cold in their sleep, the shelter began to creak under the weight, and the walls were quickly covered with thick frost.

Some lower-level shelters were even directly collapsed by the blizzard, and the players inside were instantly buried under the snow.

The valley where Yang Xueling's team lived was not spared.

The snow soon covered the entire valley, leaving almost no shelter.

Fortunately, Captain Ye Hai reacted quickly and immediately led the team members to escape, avoiding the fate of being buried alive by the blizzard.

This valley has a geographical advantage, and many players choose to live here. As the blizzard rages, many other players have to flee from the shelter in a hurry and try to find a new shelter with Yang Xueling and others.

During the journey, as the blizzard continued, some players gradually collapsed due to exhaustion and disappeared forever in this land of ice and snow.

Ye Hai was walking in the front. When he heard his teammates calling him, he immediately stopped and turned to walk towards Sheng Miao who was slumped on the ground.

As the priest in the team, Sheng Miao has the weakest physique.

At this moment, her legs had completely lost feeling and she had almost no strength to stand up. Her face showed a look of pain.

The rest of the team was also exhausted.

In addition to Yang Xueling and Sheng Miao, there are also the tall and thin Zhao Jun and the strongest Liu Yang. Both of them are in a miserable state, full of anxiety and fatigue.

Seeing his teammates' condition getting worse and worse, Ye Hai couldn't help but feel a deep regret and annoyance in his heart.

If they had not coveted the rich resources and monsters in the valley and had set up camp near the hot pot restaurant as planned, perhaps the situation would have been much better.

After all, that is the only safe zone in the game, and they might be prepared for tonight's extreme weather.

The strong wind mixed with blizzard swept across their cheeks like a knife blade. Everything around them was white. The blizzard made the whole world seem to fall into a cold chaos.

"Stop for a moment, we can't go any further," Ye Hai said in a deep voice, "We must find a place to avoid the cold."

His voice was drowned out by the wind and snow, but the team members could still barely hear it.

They also knew that Sheng Miao's condition was critical, and if they delayed any further, she might not be able to survive.

But when everyone looked around, there was only endless snowfield in front of them, and there was not even a tree or a rock to be seen.

"Captain, how about seeing if there are other players in the group who have posted some survival tips or other information?"

Yang Xueling is a D-level herbalist. She has distributed all the warmth-related potions and even semi-finished herbs that she had traded with pharmacists to her teammates, but the cold is still not effectively relieved.

As she watched her teammate and friend's face grow paler and paler, anxiety surged in her heart.

Although the potion temporarily maintained the physical condition of the teammates, Yang Xueling understood that this was only a stopgap measure and could not completely resist this terrible blizzard. If they could not find a safe shelter as soon as possible, these potions would only delay their eventual death.

"Group chat is useless." Ye Hai looked at his teammates' eyes that were filled with hope and shook his head helplessly.

He opened the group chat as soon as the temperature began to drop sharply, but found that everyone was busy escaping and asking for help, and there was almost no effective way to deal with it.

The entire group chat was filled with confusing messages, and he quickly gave up looking for help.

He also checked the trading floor, and the results were even more disappointing.

The spicy hot pot base had long been sold out, and all the potions, equipment, and herbs with cold-resistant effects were either sold out or were ridiculously expensive, which they simply could not afford at the moment.

He didn't tell the bad news to his players.

Everyone is now exhausted and on the verge of mental collapse. More negative news will only increase the burden on the team and make it more difficult for them to hold on.

Just when everyone was in despair, Zhao Jun suddenly shouted, "Look, what is that?"

Everyone followed his gaze and saw a few faint spots of light flickering in the distance in the wind and snow, like some kind of signal.

As they watched, the light spots gradually formed glowing arrows to guide them.

"Those arrows..." Yang Xueling's eyes were filled with confusion and surprise. "How did they suddenly appear? We have been walking for so long, why didn't we see them?"

"I don't know." Zhao Jun was also confused, and the other players behind them also had confused looks on their faces.

"Captain, should we try going in that direction? It looks like the route indicated by the arrow is not far away." Liu Yang suggested in a low voice.

No matter where the road leads to, they have no choice at this moment and can only give it a try.

No matter what, the situation can't be worse than it is now.

Thinking of this, Ye Hai did not hesitate any longer. He squatted down and carried Sheng Miao, who was unable to walk, on his back. He led the team members to follow the guidance of the arrows and move forward carefully in the wind and snow.

Not long after walking, a strange light appeared in the snow and wind ahead.

As the distance got closer, the glowing object gradually became clearer - it was a teleportation array.

The blue halo flowed across the surface of the formation, and even the surrounding snowflakes seemed to slowly melt under the temperature of the light.

This scene seemed to have opened up a warm path in the cold hell, and the teleportation array was at the end of this path, quietly waiting for their arrival.

What surprised the players even more was that there was a huge billboard hanging above the teleportation array, which read in eye-catching fonts: "Ice and Snow Fortress, Warm Shelter, 80 gold coins per teleportation, can accommodate up to 50 people."

"Ice and Snow Fortress? When did such a place appear in this instance?"

Although this advertisement sounds tempting, most players still retain a trace of caution.

"Look at the game map!"

Someone exclaimed, and everyone immediately opened the map on the panel subconsciously.

The maps provided by the game usually only show the most basic geographical features such as valleys and rivers, and each person's location is marked on the map. Apart from this, there is nothing special about the map, so players rarely click to check it out.

However, this time when the players opened the map, they were surprised to find that four conspicuous aperture marks suddenly appeared on the originally ordinary map, and they were standing on the edge of one of the apertures.

"Captain, could these light circles be the teleportation array in front of us?"

Not only Yang Xueling thought so, mainly because this matter was too much of a coincidence.

There were no light circles on the map when everyone was on the road just now, but with the appearance of arrows and teleportation arrays, the map was also updated synchronously.

Liu Yang: "Wait, I see someone in the group chat has entered the teleportation array."

Yang Xueling asked: "How about it, where will the teleportation array teleport people to?"

"Let me see, those players said they were teleported to the safe zone! And they said a new building appeared in the safe zone. It's the 'Ice Fortress' written on the billboard. Many players chose to go in to avoid the blizzard. I saw the photos they sent in the group. That place is very impressive."

Liu Yang had a loud voice. In addition to the members of their team, the players behind him also heard what he said and opened the group chat to check.

When they saw the content of the chat, the whole team immediately started a commotion.

Ye Hai kept scrolling through the messages in the group. After seeing more and more players coming out to confirm that the teleportation array was not a scam and that a place to avoid the cold had indeed been updated in the safe zone, his brows relaxed slightly.

"Captain, it should be okay for us to teleport there now," Zhao Jun breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Ye Hai. "The photos in the game can't be faked. I think that fortress should be safe."

Ye Hai's eyes fell on the teleportation array again. Although the cost of 80 gold coins was not cheap, it was completely affordable for their team, especially in the current critical situation. The blizzard was getting more and more violent, and continuing to be exposed in the snow would only make the situation more dangerous.

"You're right." Ye Hai said, "We don't have much time. Once more players find this place, the teleportation array will become more and more crowded. Let's go there quickly now."

Yang Xueling also echoed, "Yes, when we get to the fortress, Miaomiao's frostbite may be cured, and everyone can take the opportunity to rest and recover their strength."

Everyone quickly reached a consensus and several people quickly gathered the gold coins.

Before the other players behind him could react, Ye Hai's team had already walked into the teleportation array.

After everyone was ready, the teleportation array started to activate, and the blue halo slowly spread out, surrounding them.

In a flash, the entire team disappeared in the blizzard and was teleported towards the ice and snow fortress indicated on the billboard. All that was left behind was the wind and snow and the gradually fading light.

**********

Time goes back to one hour ago.

Zhu Yu stood in front of the city wall that suddenly rose from the ground, staring blankly at System 996 floating in the air.

"996."

"I am here."

"Do you know what's going on?" Zhu Yu recalled some vague hints that System 996 had given her before.

"Host, this is a major system update, and it is also to cope with the game update."

"Game update?" Zhu Yu was stunned. Could it be that this time the system update and game update were carried out separately?

As if seeing her confusion, System 996 patiently explained:

"That's right, the updates of the survival game and the safe zone are two different things. The survival game has its own rhythm and rules, and our safe zone has an independent way of operating."

“This time, we completed the update of the safe zone one hour before the game update.”

"From now on, you, the host, will have all the permissions in the fortress. No matter what you want to do, there will be no restrictions."

Hearing this, Zhu Yu lowered his eyes slightly and pondered over what 996 had just said.

These two sentences contain a lot of information - the safe zone, which is the hot pot restaurant and ice fortress in her camp, actually has no direct connection with the survival game.

Considering 996's previous cautious attitude towards game monitoring, worried that the actions it gave her prompts would be discovered, this further confirmed her guess - the safe zone in the game only came into existence after 996 appeared, and was not originally a part of the survival game.

Whether 996 has some kind of partnership with the game, or it sneaks into the survival copy and binds to her, these have no direct connection with the game itself.

She glanced at the increasingly bright and expanding ball of light in front of her - unlike usual, this time after giving such an important reminder, 996 did not immediately hide back in the system space as it did before.

This is either like what 996 said before, as her level increases, the energy it gains also increases, and the constraints of the rules of the game on it become less; or if the content of her inquiries is not related to the game, it will be subject to fewer restrictions.

Zhu Yu secretly decided in her heart that after 996 accumulated enough energy to materialize, she would personally ask him about her many doubts.

She gathered her thoughts and focused back on reality.

Zhu Yu opened her personal panel and found that originally her NPC panel only had sections related to the hot pot restaurant, but now there was a new section with a line of small words written on it: Ice and Snow Fortress.

"It turns out that this wall is the outer wall of the Ice and Snow Fortress."

Zhu Yu raised her head and looked up and down again at the building which she had initially mistaken for the "Great Wall of the North".

"Host, there is a small white house in the lower right corner. Click it and you will see the thumbnail of the Ice and Snow Fortress. Click it and take a look."

Zhu Yu clicked on the blue house as promised, and a 3-D thumbnail immediately popped up on the screen, showing the full picture of the fortress.

At the center of the fortress is a huge main tower, surrounded by a circle of smaller buildings.

Zhu Yu looked at the thumbnail and couldn't help but feel curious. She simply followed the instructions of the thumbnail and walked towards the fortress gate, ready to go in and find out what was going on.

In the thumbnail, the only entrance to the Ice and Snow Fortress was located right in front of the entire fortress. After Zhu Yu walked around the city wall for a while, he finally arrived at the gate of the fortress.

The entrance to the fortress is a huge ice door with intricate ice runes carved into it.

Zhu Yu went forward and pushed the door, only to find that it didn't move at all.

She took a few steps back and noticed a stone tablet at the door that was glowing with a pale blue light. A few lines of text appeared on the tablet:

[Please show your pass to the Ice and Snow Fortress before you can enter. ]

Zhu Yu frowned slightly, and just as he was about to check further, the voice of System 996 sounded in time: "Host, as the owner of the fortress, you do not need a pass. Just approach the stone tablet, it will automatically recognize you and open the gate."

Zhu Yu stepped forward, and then a gentle voice sounded: "Master's identity confirmed, welcome to the ice and snow fortress."

As these words were spoken, accompanied by the sound of slight collision of ice crystals, the huge ice door slowly opened.

The scene inside the door gradually became apparent. Inside the thick ice wall was a road leading to the center of the fortress.

As soon as Zhu Yu stepped into the fortress, a blue box immediately appeared on the gate behind him:

[Please set the fee for players to enter the fortress. 】

She looked down and found that if she long pressed the gate on the 3D thumbnail, the same prompt would appear.

Zhu Yu speculated that as a newly updated building, there might be other places inside the fortress that required her to set up relevant expenses.

In this case, she decided not to set an entrance fee at the gate for the time being, and it would not be too late to set it up after she had visited the entire fortress.

Then she walked along the avenue to the central hall of the fortress.

As shown in the thumbnail, this place is located in the core area of ​​the entire ice and snow fortress, and the base of the main tower is right in the center of the hall.

The hall was an unusually spacious space, surrounded by tall icicle support columns carved with intricate patterns.

Above the dome, a glass skylight embedded in the ice wall allows for an unobstructed view of the snowy scenery outside.

A crystal chandelier hangs below the skylight. The faint light and shadows reflected by the crystal dance slightly on the icicles, making it look particularly dreamy.

"What is this?"

After Zhu Yu entered the hall, he took a quick glance and his sight was immediately attracted by the huge screen in the center of the hall.

System 996 flew to the display screen and explained, "This is the task bulletin board. Players can post their needs as tasks. The system will automatically classify the tasks according to their difficulty. The difficulty level is the same as the job level, divided from A to F, with F being the easiest and A being the most difficult."

So that's how it is. Zhu Yu touched his chin and felt that this task bulletin board was indeed a good update.

Although there are group chats between players, the information in the group of thousands of people is really mixed. She has seen many players who often want to find partners or seek help, but cannot find the right person for a while.

Now with this task bulletin board, any player can post a task on it, whether it is looking for teammates or requesting help, the requirements and commissions can be clearly listed here. This not only saves time, but also avoids information confusion.

Just as Zhu Yu was standing in front of the task bulletin board thinking, a blue box suddenly popped up in front of her, prompting:

[This is a blank area that can be set as a public rest area. Players can rest, communicate, trade or form teams here. You can spend gold coins to buy matching sofas, tables and chairs to provide players with a comfortable rest environment. ]

"Oh my goodness, it turns out that 996 asked me to save money just to spend it here."

After seeing the contents in the box, Zhu Yu murmured.

She glanced at her current balance - 65,980 gold coins. If she just wanted to buy some tables and chairs, it would definitely be enough.

She clicked on the system mall in the lower right corner of the blue box, first spent 1,500 gold coins to buy four long tables and matching benches, and then spent another 1,670 gold coins to buy other items.

After confirming the purchase, the new public lounge was born!

Four long wooden tables are neatly placed in the center, and warm-toned velvet sofas and armchairs with comfortable pillows are scattered around the rest of the place.

The floor of the lounge is covered with a thick carpet with an interwoven pattern of beige and light gray. It is warm to step on and is resistant to dirt.

Zhu Yu stood on the carpet and looked around, always feeling as if something was missing - yes, how could we rest and communicate without eating and drinking!

Although there is a drink bar in her hot pot restaurant, it is quite a distance away from here, and it seems that outside food cannot be brought in.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu opened the system mall in the blue box again.

Unexpectedly, she actually found something good!

There are vending machines in the mall in the common room!

The vending machine cost 5,000 gold coins, and Zhu Yu spent 10,000 gold coins to buy two without hesitation.

One is for drinks and the other is for snacks.

The portions of food in the vending machine were not large, so she set the price to 1 gold coin.

She believed that with the snacks and drinks inside, she would be able to make back her investment quickly.

After arranging the public rest area, Zhu Yu turned and left the central hall, and walked towards the residential area according to the instructions on the thumbnail.

She couldn't help thinking along the way. The thumbnail showed that the residential areas were located on both sides of the fortress, which were specially designed to provide players with a place to shelter from the cold and rest.

But doesn't every player in the game have their own shelter? So why does this fortress have these special rooms?

But before she could figure out the reason, she was slightly stunned by the sight before her - the residential area was full of ice houses of all sizes!

Each igloo has a simple appearance, an arched top, and a smooth and crystal clear surface, just like an exquisite ice sculpture.

Zhu Yu walked to the ice house closest to her and gently pushed open the ice door, making a slight friction sound.

The temperature inside the room was unexpectedly warm. Although the walls and ceiling were still made of ice bricks, there seemed to be some special insulation barrier inside to keep the cold out.

The layout inside the igloo is very simple. The ground is covered with a thick white blanket, there is a round ice crystal table in the center, and several small ice chairs are placed around it. There is even a faint ice lamp on the table.

There was a small bed in the corner, covered with soft animal skin bedding, which looked warm and comfortable.

There is also a simple locker and wardrobe next to the bed, which players can use to store personal belongings and clothes.

Seeing this, Zhu Yu became even more confused.

What was the point of the system going to so much trouble to build these rooms? When she first stepped into the residential area, she saw a blue box pop up. As expected, these igloos also required players to pay to rent them before they could move in.

But the question is, why would players who already have their own shelters be willing to pay to live in these igloos?

Unless... Zhu Yu's eyes darkened and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

She recalled what 996 said when the Ice Fortress appeared, which seemed to mention that the safe zone was updated an hour earlier than the game update.

It seems that something major might change in the game in an hour.

Zhu Yu came out of the ice house, glanced at the time, and found that more than half an hour had passed since the safe zone was updated.

She immediately quickened her pace and headed towards the training base of the fortress. This was the place she had been looking forward to the most since the beginning.

The training base is located behind the main tower and the entire base consists of three floors.

The first floor is the most basic training area. The spacious venue is divided into several functional areas, including a practice area without equipment and a fitness equipment area. It is equipped with various endurance training facilities, including benches, dumbbells, treadmills, etc. The ground is made of a special flexible material, which is convenient for players to exercise.

The second floor is a slightly more private area, which provides players with small training rooms for use by multiple people or teams.

Each room is well soundproofed, and a display screen at the door lets you see whether the room is currently occupied.

She quickly passed through the first and second floors, walked to the top floor, and finally arrived at the simulated battle area she had been looking forward to for a long time.

The simulated battle area consists of multiple closed rooms. There is a control panel at the door of each room, which displays the monster types and levels available for players to choose.

Zhu Yu stood in front of one of the rooms and gently touched the control panel beside the door. The screen first loaded the usage rules.

After reading all the rules, she found that the types of monsters that players could challenge had to be those they had defeated before.

No wonder the next step on the panel required her to enter her player number and undergo facial recognition before starting the simulated battle.

In addition, each monster she chose was marked with detailed levels and prices.

The higher the level of the monster, the more difficult and expensive the challenge will be.

After facial recognition, Zhu Yu saw, as expected, the highest-level monster she could choose, which was the B-level Frost Lizard that she had defeated not long ago.

Looking at the monitor lizard that popped up on the screen, she logged out reluctantly and closed the control panel.

When she has free time in the future, she will definitely practice this level of difficulty!

Zhu Yu quickly walked downstairs, left the training base, and ran towards the last destination of the fortress - the underground hot spring.

As soon as she walked into the hot spring area, she smelled a faint scent of sulfur in the air.

She discovered that the space was much larger than she had imagined, covering almost the entire bottom floor of the fortress.

No wonder, judging from the thumbnail, there is more than one entrance to the hot spring.

System 996 followed her, acting as a narrator dutifully:

"Thanks to this underground spring, areas inside the fortress - such as the igloo and the central hall - are kept warm. The spring provides a natural underground heating system."

Zhu Yu walked along the cobblestone path. The slight touch under her feet made her slow down her pace.

On both sides of this cobblestone path, hot spring pools of various sizes are surrounded by natural rock walls. The spring water flows down from the cracks in the rock layers above, forming small waterfalls.

The water gently hits the rocks, making a gurgling sound, and warm steam diffuses in the air, enveloping the entire space.

She continued walking forward, and soon saw a familiar blue box pop up, prompting her to enter the usable hot spring area.

The hot spring area that players can enjoy is designed very cleverly, and the entire area is divided into multiple pools of different sizes. Each pool is separated by an opaque screen, which ensures privacy while not making people feel enclosed.

On the other side of the hot spring area is a small rest area with several comfortable benches neatly arranged for players to take a break after soaking in the hot spring.

The orange-yellow halo of the indoor lights shines on the bench, contrasting with the hot spring vapor. Compared with the cold and windy snow on the ground, this underground hot spring seems like a peaceful and warm paradise.

Zhu Yu steamed here for a while to moisten his skin with the vapor, then left without any more attachment.

There are only 5 minutes left before the game update mentioned by 996.

In order to prevent any accidents, she planned to leave the fortress and run outside to better find out the specific situation.

Having just come out of the warm underground hot spring, facing the temperature of more than fifty degrees below zero outside, Zhu Yu tightened the collar of her clothes and walked out of the fortress gate. She had sharp eyes and was always alert to any unusual movements.

At this moment, the system 996 prompt sounded in her ears——

"There is one minute left until the game is updated."

When the countdown reached the last ten seconds, there was a sudden violent tremor between heaven and earth. The ground beneath Zhu Yu's feet also shook slightly, and she stopped immediately.

"five……"

"Four……"

"three……"

Dark clouds gradually gathered over the game, and the sky in the distance began to take on an eerie gray-blue hue.

"two……"

"one……"

At the moment the countdown ended, the world seemed to be in a brief stillness.

But in the next second, Zhu Yu felt an unprecedented chill rising from the ground, followed by a violent cold wind that quickly swept across the entire space.

Before she could fully react, she saw the temperature displayed on her personal panel dropping rapidly at an incredible speed.

The wind howled in her ears, no longer just any wind, but a storm carrying thick ice and snow.

Those tiny ice crystals were like thousands of sharp blades, pushed across by the strong wind. Every ice crystal that hit her face and clothes caused a stinging pain.

Zhu Yu almost immediately felt her vision becoming blurred. The wind and snow had become like an impenetrable curtain, engulfing everything around her.

"Fuck! Why is it so cold?!"

She wrapped her cashmere scarf tightly around her, turned around and ran quickly back into the fortress.

As soon as you step into the tall city wall, the violent wind and snow are immediately blocked by the thick wall.

After entering the fortress, Zhu Yu was surprised to find that the temperature displayed on the panel began to rise slowly.

Now she finally understood the true meaning of updating this fortress in the safe zone.

"That's right, my players, please don't die so quickly - damn!"

Realizing the huge damage this natural disaster would cause to ordinary players, Zhu Yu immediately opened his personal panel.

After noticing that the number of surviving players had dropped from 7,555 to just over 7,000 in just 10 minutes, she and 996 exclaimed at the same time.

"996, I know that the safe zone can be updated one hour in advance, which means that your system has anticipated this situation. You must know how to get those players far outside the safe zone into the fortress, right?"

Zhu Yu quickly calmed down. She and 996 were in the same boat, and it would definitely not stand idly by.

So she shook the 996 ball of light in her hand and asked kindly.

"Stop, stop, stop shaking. I feel dizzy—"

996's mechanical voice trembled a little, "Open the thumbnail of the Ice Fortress, click on the main tower three times in a row, and a blue box will pop up with what you need!"

Zhu Yu followed 996's instructions. Sure enough, a blue box popped up:

[Do you choose to spend 10,000 gold coins to purchase and activate the teleportation array? (Note: Buying three teleportation arrays will receive a free advertisement.) ]

Zhu Yu clicked the confirmation option without hesitation.

【Please enter the number you want to activate. 】

Zhu Yu glanced at his balance and the decreasing number of players, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and decisively chose to activate four teleportation arrays.

[The teleportation array*4 has been placed in your NPC backpack. You can drag the teleportation array on the map to place them in the appropriate location. ]

As an NPC, Zhu Yu's map has a unique feature compared to the player's map - it shows the density of people. This allows her to accurately determine where rescue is most needed.

She quickly marked the most densely populated locations outside the four safe zones on the map and placed the teleportation arrays there.

Then she adjusted the number of people that could be teleported in each teleportation array to the maximum and the teleportation fee to the lowest to ensure that anyone could use it easily.

In the following time, Zhu Yu began to improve the price settings in various places throughout the fortress so that the players coming in could have a better rest.

*******

Ye Hai's team was teleported to the open space at the entrance of the fortress. Ye Hai led the team members quickly towards the entrance, but before they approached the gate, they were warned that they could not enter because they had no pass.

And then a red box popped up in front of each of them:

[You need to pay 10 gold coins to obtain the fortress pass, which is valid for 24 hours. ]

"10 gold coins?" The five people looked back at the blizzard behind them and immediately decided: "Pay it, don't hesitate, and go in quickly."

After clicking to buy, a stick figure of a "mini fortress" appeared on the arms of several people.

The moment they successfully crossed the gate, the entire team was stunned.

The interior of the fort was nothing like the harsh weather outside.

There was no chill in the air here, and the ground underfoot was not covered with thick snow like outside, but was flat and clean.

It was still dark at this moment, and torches were burning in the grooves of the walls. The flames swayed gently in the breeze, emitting a soft orange-yellow light.

"Oh my god, this all feels like a dream."

When the group walked along the wide avenue into the central hall, the sense of shock reached its peak instantly and they couldn't help but sigh.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Ye?"

Just when Ye Hai and others were still immersed in shock, a familiar voice came from behind them.

"Old Wu? Why are you here too?"

Ye Hai saw that the person coming was an old teammate and walked forward in surprise.

"I wanted to ask you something." Old Wu said with a smile, "Last time we separated in the valley, I went directly to the safe zone. This fortress has just been updated, so of course I came here. But what about you? I remember that valley is a day's journey away from here, how did you -"

Ye Hai briefly recounted their experiences along the way, but what was more important at the moment was Sheng Miao's injury. He hurriedly asked, "Old Wu, do you know any healers or pastors here? Sheng Miao's legs are frostbitten and need treatment."

Old Wu shook his head. “I haven’t met any familiar priests or healers here, but have you seen that big screen? You can post your needs on the task bulletin board, and when the healers see them, they will naturally accept the task.”

After hearing this, Ye Hai immediately wrote down the requirements and posted them on the bulletin board.

On the other side, Old Wu continued to chat with Liu Yang and the others: "If your shelter is damaged in this snowstorm, you can go to the nearby residential area and choose a suitable igloo to live in. After moving in, you will not need to buy additional passes to enter and exit the fortress in the future."

"Also, once your injuries have healed, you can go soak in the underground hot springs down below to relieve your fatigue."

"Hot spring? There are hot springs here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several other team members who were looking for an empty spot to sit down and rest came over.

Even Sheng Miao, who was recuperating on a soft chair, opened his eyes and tried to turn his head towards this side to listen.

Liu Yang asked doubtfully, "But given the geographical environment of this area, it's impossible for hot springs to appear?"

Old Wu smiled and said, "This is a natural disaster game. You have seen so many strange things. What's the big deal about an underground hot spring? If you don't believe it, go and try it yourself. Oh, don't blame me for not reminding you, you have to bring your own towels and bathrobes. If you don't bring any, remember to buy them at the entrance of the hot spring."

After hearing what Old Wu said, the team members couldn't sit still. Fortunately, the task issued by Ye Hai was quickly taken over by a therapist. After Sheng Miao's frostbite was cured, everyone heard that it was free time to rest, and they immediately cheered and ran towards the direction of the underground hot spring.

*

Yang Xueling took Sheng Miao's arm and came to the steamy underground hot spring.

After the two of them paid 40 gold coins for the double pool hot spring, they looked at the towel bathrobe purchase page that popped up in a red box, and she turned to ask her friend:

"Miaomiao, did you bring a towel and a bathrobe?"

"No, I plan to buy it directly here." Sheng Miao replied.

Yang Xueling herself only had a towel, which had become rough and cracked. Seeing that a white towel and a bathrobe only cost two gold coins each, she hesitated for a while and decided to buy one of each.

Touching the soft, comfortable towel with a faint rose scent in her arms, she turned around and emptied the old towels in her backpack to make room for the new towel and bathrobe.

After paying the hot spring fee, the two of them followed the arrow that appeared in front of them and turned right. On the right was the hot spring pool for the girls.

The two of them first came to a shower room, which looked a bit shabby, and even reminded Sheng Miao and Yang Xueling of the collective bathroom in the dormitory when they were in high school. (Zhu Yu: Stop scolding me, my balance is almost gone. I will change it to a higher-end one as soon as I have money.)

"This is really nostalgic," Sheng Miao smiled helplessly and looked around, "It's exactly the same as the bathroom in the previous dormitory."

Yang Xueling nodded and turned on the faucet. Warm water flowed from the shower head, hitting the ground with a crisp sound.

She breathed a sigh of relief: "Although it's a bit crude, the water temperature is not bad. It's much better than the ice and snow outside."

"Let's finish our shower and go soak in the hot spring. It's much more comfortable than here. Besides, the hot spring is limited to two hours. If you want to soak after the time limit, you have to pay extra." Sheng Miao urged.

"Okay, I heard that the hot springs here contain mineral components, which are especially good for body recovery." Yang Xueling responded while drying her hair.

After a quick shower, they both put on bathrobes and left the shower room.

There is a light mist in the air, and a warm breath blows on your face.

Their steps became lighter and their moods gradually relaxed as they got closer to the hot spring.

Yang Xueling walked in front. She followed the small arrow that only she and Sheng Miao could see, and soon found the hot spring pool that belonged to them.

Because they chose a double pool, the hot spring pool was quite spacious.

The hot air rises up like a layer of veil covering the water.

The pool water is a light green color, and there are several small springs inlaid on the surrounding stone walls, from which warm spring water slowly gushes out.

"It's so... beautiful here!" A hint of surprise flashed in Sheng Miao's eyes. He quickly took off his bathrobe and stepped carefully into the hot spring pool.

The warm water instantly enveloped her, and the thorough warmth seemed to reach her bones, dispelling her fatigue and coldness along the way bit by bit.

She closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and sank into the water little by little, feeling every pore of her body relax, as if a thirsty person finally saw a clear spring.

Yang Xueling also went into the water. The water temperature was just right, and the warm feeling spread from the soles of her feet to her whole body. She couldn't help but exclaimed: "This is the real enjoyment. It's completely different from the ice and snow outside."

Sheng Miao leaned against the edge of the pool, raised his hands, and was surprised to find that the frostbite left by the cold was slowly fading away in the hot spring.

She gently stroked the smooth skin that had returned to normal, and couldn't help but sigh to her friend, "It would be great if we could soak in a hot spring after every mission."

Yang Xueling laughed: "Then we have to work hard to make money. Now we have the task bulletin board. If we take more tasks, we will definitely be able to live the life you mentioned."

Yang Xueling was chatting while opening her personal panel to reply to messages from several friends.

"Sister Feng Lan is also in the fortress. She even paid to choose an igloo to stay here. She asked if we would like to stay with her later if we are free."

"Oh," Sheng Miao immediately became interested when he heard it: "Are there other players besides us?"

"She is still trying to recruit people. She even sent an invitation to the 996 boss, but he declined. She seems to be very busy now."

"That's not surprising," Sheng Miao smiled, "Boss 996 is indeed the king of scrolls. He wouldn't be busy killing monsters at this time, right?"

"Well, who knows," Yang Xueling shrugged.

"I really want to see the boss's true face. How come she is always active in the players' mouths, but seems to have never appeared in public?"

"Don't worry, I bet she's here too. You'll run into her one day."

"If you don't believe me, I'll bet you a bowl of ice jelly that she must be out there in some valley hunting monsters every day."

"Then I'll bet on a bowl of borscht."

"Wait, you still haven't returned the plate of crispy pork you owed me last time!"

"Hahahahaha, really? I forgot, I forgot."

"Yang Xueling, don't swim too far. Believe it or not, I will beat you—"

“…………”