A cold wind blew by, and there was no living creature around. The lake water was frozen into ice, and the surrounding mountains, land, and houses were covered with snow. Crystal-clear icicles hung from the frozen tree branches.

The houses covered by heavy snow were long gone, except for one or two caves deep in the mountains where a few people still lived.

Seeing the increasingly cold environment and dwindling food supplies, the people here decided to leave—to the north of the continent—and seek a way to survive elsewhere.

But are there other places where one can survive?

The south, opposite to the north, has been experiencing torrential rains for an unknown period of time. Many places have been flooded. Those who could escape have already left, while those who didn't either drowned or fled to the mountains, barely surviving.

On the eastern battlefield, soldiers took up arms and fought each other. There was no disaster here, so those in power all wanted to take over this place, and the war made this place chaotic and turbulent.

The soldiers not only fought, but also plundered the people's food. When their soldiers suffered heavy casualties, they would forcibly conscript people, going door to door to arrest them.

Many people, fearing the war, fled the area, with some heading west.

The plants on the parched land had all died of thirst; the soil, devoid of moisture, had turned into sand and gravel, and the trees had withered. The entire land was devoid of even a trace of green.

A group of refugees who had fled from the east walked along the yellow gravel road, forming a long line.

The people walked listlessly, their straw sandals worn through, some even bleeding from their feet. Their chapped lips showed that they hadn't had water in a long time.

As the procession moved along, people's eyes had become numb. They walked the road like zombies. Suddenly, someone fell down on the road. Upon closer inspection, the person on the ground was already lifeless. Some people around saw this and pulled the person away.

No one stopped them, and no one was curious. This scene had played out countless times before, but a little girl on the road still asked her mother curiously why these people were dragging the fallen person away. As before, her mother did not answer her question.

What else could they do but eat meat and drink blood? The woman looked at her daughter, whom she was holding, and thought to herself that she must not fall, otherwise the two of them would also suffer the same fate of being eaten.

Just then, I heard my daughter look up at the sky and exclaim, "What's that?"

Not only them, but the people around them also stopped and looked up to see several strange-looking things flying overhead, which frightened everyone so much that they dared not move.

The aircraft swept across the sky, and Xu Anran and the others looked down at the refugees without stopping; they were searching for a suitable place.

After three days of searching, they finally found a plain. The terrain was flat and there was no water source, but it was not far to the south, where there were rivers and the sea. They decided to stop there and develop outwards from this plain.

Once they find the location, everyone needs to act quickly. They only have one year. After that, any items or abilities that don't conform to the rules of this world will disappear. Therefore, they must complete the construction as soon as possible and create the most basic system.

Five aircraft were parked on the plain. Xu Anran and his group had discussed how to arrange things after finding a suitable location while they were looking for a place.

They first split into three teams. The first team stayed on the plain to clear the ground, remove hazards, and handle initial construction. The second team used aircraft to find rivers and then dig waterways to connect the area and solve the water problem. The third team conducted scientific research to improve the technology here.

Xu Anran, Fan Yunfei, Yi Yi, and the others stayed behind as part of the team. The three of them were responsible for patrolling the plain to see if there were any dangerous areas and to deal with them in advance. Shen Xuanyi, along with Mai Sui and Mo Mo, stayed behind to set up a tent and wait for Xu Anran and the others to return.

Shen Xuanyi will then plan how to construct the site based on the terrain recorded by Xu Anran and the others using the tools they used during their patrol.

Yang Ru, along with her Wind Chime Squad and the classmates who came with Shen Xuanyi, stayed behind. They divided the guild's more than eighty members into four groups and set off from the central tent, heading in four different directions to cut down trees, clear the ground, and collect plants to prepare for the construction later.

The plants they collected were handed over to a large tent set up in the center of the plain, which served as a temporary laboratory. This was the most unique team formed this time. Luo Xi, Zhao Chang'an, and White conducted their research here. Song Mingda, who had the ability to heat objects, and Xu Jia, who could turn waste into treasure, were their assistants. Xiao Feng and Xiao Yue also helped out in the laboratory.

While Team One and Team Three were preparing for their operation, Team Two also set off to find a water source. Qi Ziqi, Sister Lan, Song Mingzhu, and the rest of Liu Yong's team, along with the rest of the guild members, boarded two aircraft and headed south.

Xu Anran and his two companions patrolled the plains in a spiral pattern, checking for potential dangers while recording the terrain map with their instruments to hand over to Shen Xuanyi. In addition, Xu Anran carried a groundwater detector; if they found any potential sources of groundwater, they would note the location. After clearing the ground, the team would then use the equipment to drill wells in these areas.

As Xu Anran and her two companions walked and looked around, they encountered some small animals along the way, indicating that the plain was in a good location and there should be supplies nearby that would allow these animals to survive.

Halfway through the inspection, as dusk approached, they marked the area and prepared to head back. Just then, they heard noises from behind. It turned out several wolves were chasing a deer and had come up to their vicinity. Xu Anran's eyes lit up as she looked at the animals, and she promptly killed them, carrying them back with Fan Yunfei and Yi Yi as a treat for everyone.

Back at the camp, the team had already cleared a large open space and set up many tents. Zhao Chang'an was in the middle, leading a few people to prepare dinner.

Xu Anran and the others handed over the animals they had hunted to a few people in the first team, who then cleaned them. Zhao Chang'an selected half of the venison to roast that evening, and used the other half, along with some plants he had gathered from this world, to make a hot soup dish, which they served with the rice they had brought, making for a hearty meal.

Some plants from this world have survived, and they taste quite good. After the team finished collecting them, they handed them over to Zhao Chang'an. After checking them and finding them edible, he cooked them into a dish for everyone to eat.

While the first and third teams were enjoying their meal, the second team also found a water source and set up camp on a nearby mountain, waiting to start work the next day.

"Brother, look what that is?" A boy dressed in coarse linen clothes and covered in dirt asked the young man next to him, pointing to the second team's tent.