Chapter 37 The sound of the hot pot sizzling filled the air, and a huge pile of things...
The cold wind chilled me to the bone.
The outlines of the snow wolf pack gradually became clear, their eyes cold and fierce, as they crouched down and let out low howls towards the front.
Fang Zhiyi slammed on the brakes.
A quick glance back revealed a frenzied swarm of golden-toothed rats screeching and snarling as they tumbled down the slope in a white torrent, one on top of the other, resembling an avalanche from afar—a sight that sent chills down one's spine.
Beset by wolves in front and rats behind, he is caught in a dilemma.
Fang Zhiyi broke out in a cold sweat.
He hesitated for only a moment, and seeing that he was about to be caught by the pack of golden-toothed rats, he made a decisive move and charged towards the pack of snow wolves.
"Make way!"
"Don't let them bear the consequences—"
The alpha wolf let out a cold laugh, a human-like mockery appearing on its face.
Instead of retreating, they drove the wolves below to surround and attack from both sides.
Their backs are raised high, ready to attack at any moment.
"Waaah—"
At a command.
With a powerful leap from its hind legs, the snow wolf sprang up from the snow like an arrow, its protruding fangs flashing with a cold light, its bite force immense. The wolf's mouth loomed large before our eyes, and we could clearly see its throat contracting violently.
Fang Zhiyi's speed increased instead of decreasing, and he faced the oncoming snow wolf head-on.
Just as the two were about to collide, he rolled to the side, kicking up a cloud of snow mist.
Bang!
The snow wolf landed heavily on the ground, bent its forelegs to steady itself, and turned around to look, but all it could see was a vast expanse of white snow.
"Waaah!"
A long howl.
Before the snow wolf could even search for Fang Zhiyi's whereabouts, it saw a torrent of snow rushing uphill ahead.
An avalanche?
No, it wasn't an avalanche, but rather a massive swarm of golden-toothed rats.
The snow wolves had never seen anything like it before, and they froze in place for a moment. When they came to their senses, the alpha wolf let out a threatening howl.
In the snowy food chain, the golden-toothed rat is the lowest of the low and is food for snow wolves; anyone can step on it.
Normally, the golden-toothed hamster would definitely back down due to its instinctive fear.
Now the golden-toothed rats had long since gone mad, completely unaware of fear, and charged recklessly towards the snow wolf pack.
The snow wolf was not to be outdone and bit down hard.
For a time, the mining area was in complete chaos.
The culprit hid in a crevice in the quarry, panting heavily. Hearing the howls of wolves and the squeaks of mice, it quietly peeked out from behind the rocks.
Fang Zhiyi, always eager for excitement, took out a roasted apple from his backpack and ate it while watching with great interest.
The snow wolves were very strong, but they couldn't withstand the sheer number of golden rats. Wave after wave of them surged up, almost flooding the entire mining area.
Fang's meaning: Hit harder.jpg
No matter which side wins, he won't lose out.
Ideally, both sides would be severely injured, thus eliminating the threat of the snow wolf and freeing him from the pursuit of the gold-toothed rat.
However, things didn't go as planned. After fighting for a while, the snow wolf realized it was no match for the golden-toothed rat pack. The alpha wolf let out a short howl, and the other wolves followed suit and retreated in an orderly fashion.
The snow wolf pack came and went like the wind, leaving behind a trail of golden-toothed rats. The rats, having lost their target, scurried aimlessly, the bloodshot in their eyes fading, and slowly retreated back into the snow mist.
Soon, the mining area returned to calm.
Fang Zhiyi observed for a while, then emerged from his hiding place.
The snow wolf and the golden-toothed rat left, leaving behind a pile of props.
The items were all scraps of fur and bones shed from the golden-toothed rat, along with some minerals. Fang Zhiyi accepted them all without hesitation and put them in his bag.
Fang's meaning: Thank you for the gifts of nature!
After cleaning up the battlefield, it was almost time. As darkness fell, Fang Zhiyi headed back with his backpack full of stuff.
By the time they returned to camp, it was completely dark.
The north wind howled, passing through the stone walls and fences, making a sound like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
Fang Zhiyi shook off the snow from his clothes, and the first thing he did upon returning was to add firewood to the campfire. The faint flames were rekindled, flickering, and he sat down beside it, opening his backpack to look at the spoils of his trip.
There was a huge pile of scraps of fur and bones, along with stones, gold, and iron. After scanning through the scattered materials, my gaze finally settled on a shimmering silver square—a silver treasure chest.
Fang Zhiyi rubbed his hands together and took out the silver treasure chest.
The silver treasure chest landed in my arms, heavy and jingling as I shook it, not knowing what was inside.
He held his breath, twisted the clasp, and slowly opened the box.
A flash of silver light, a "whoosh" sound, and a whole bunch of things exploded out.
[Received 1 Automatic Lumberjack, 1 Mouse-Down Vest, 1 Windproof Earmuff, 1 Winter Seed, 1 Bow and Arrow, 20 Burning Arrows, 1 VIP Upgrade Ticket]
More VIP upgrade vouchers available!
Without a second thought, Fang Zhiyi used it to upgrade the supermarket.
Survival in the new world is more difficult, resources are scarce in the icy wilderness, and the daily pickups at the fresh food supermarket are far too few to meet demand.
However, before upgrading, he had one more important thing to do.
Open the supermarket page and grab things from the shelves without any restraint.
After the last upgrade, the daily pickup count was reset. If you don't use it now, you'll waste 5 pickup opportunities.
Fang Zhiyi had already decided what to bring: hot pot base (spicy clear oil), sliced beef, shrimp paste, a vegetable platter, and a bottle of cola.
Let's have hot pot tonight!
Bags of ingredients appeared in front of me.
The temperature has dropped to -30°C tonight, and the snow has piled up to our calves. It's perfect for storing food in the snow so it won't spoil.
If you've used up your pickup attempts, choose to use a VIP upgrade voucher.
Ding! Upgrade successful!
[A Fresh Food Supermarket Lv.3 (Bound)]
【Today's pickup count (8/8)】
The number of pickups has indeed been updated.
Fang Zhiyi wasn't in a hurry to use it; he wanted to see what else came out of the silver treasure chest first.
Automatic logging machine.
As the name suggests, once placed next to a tree, it can automatically cut down trees and collect wood into your backpack.
nice one.
In snowy weather, wood is the most consumed material. With this, you won't have to waste time collecting wood every day.
Fang Zhiyi placed the automatic logging machine in the grove next to the camp.
As soon as it was placed down, the buzzing sound of the chainsaw could be heard, and the tree fell down. A pile of wood and fiber appeared in the backpack.
Let's keep looking for something good.
The fur vest and earmuffs are for keeping warm, and the bow and arrows and incendiary arrows will come in handy later... Hmm? Winter seeds?
Fang Zhiyi took out the winter seeds. He looked at them from left to right but couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, so he tried planting them at the entrance of the camp.
The seed was successfully planted, and a small mound rose up in the frozen soil. A tender sprout emerged from it, its leaves pale blue, as clear and translucent as ice crystals.
[Winter Seeds & Seedling Stage]
Nutritional deficiencies
[Requires 10 wood, 10 stone, 10 iron, and 10 gold to continue growing]
Fang Zhiyi smacked his lips.
Raising this winter seed is too resource-intensive. He doesn't have enough materials to upgrade the camp buildings, let alone feed this seed that he doesn't know what use it is.
Set the winter seeds aside and prepare to use the materials collected today to build structures.
Fang Zhiyi encountered a pack of snow wolves in the mining area during the day, which gave him a strong sense of crisis.
The snow wolves are cunning and vengeful; they might attack his camp at any time. He must upgrade as soon as possible and make his camp as impregnable as possible.
Fang Zhiyi chose to create trench spikes.
Trench Spikes
Requires 5 iron ingots
Fortunately, we went deep into the mining area today and collected some of the various ores. Fang Zhiyi put the iron ore into the furnace for purification.
Sizzle—
Flames leaped from the furnace, continuously scorching the iron ore and removing impurities. The molten iron flowed into a container and slowly solidified into a rectangular shape.
[Obtain 5 Iron Ingots]
[Consume 5 iron ingots to construct trench spikes?]
【yes】
Ding-dong!
A cold glint flashed in the trench, revealing rows of iron spikes buried beneath. The spikes were sharp; anyone who slipped and fell into the trench would surely be impaled and bleed profusely.
With the stone wall and the spiked trench as defensive structures, Fang Zhiyi felt a little more confident and turned to build living quarters.
The list of Tier 2 residential buildings includes a luxury tent, a furnace, a trading post, and a Tier 2 campfire.
The furnaces had already been built, and he opened them one by one to see what materials were needed.
[Luxury tent]
[Requires 10 wood, 10 cloth, and 10 fur]
Exchange
[Requires 15 wood, 15 stone, and 5 iron ingots]
Level 2 Campfire
[Requires 15 wood and 15 stone]
Each one requires a lot of materials.
Fang Zhiyi's efforts today were not in vain; his backpack contained 64 pieces of wood, 51 pieces of stone, 16 pieces of gold, 19 pieces of iron, and so on, which he could use to upgrade his camp.
First, the wood was stuffed into the furnace. With fuel, the fire was reignited, and the iron ingots clattered and burned.
While waiting for the iron ingots to be made, I stood in front of the primary crafting table and took out the scraps of fur that had fallen from the toothed rat.
5 scraps of fur = 1 fur
All the scraps of fur were used to craft 10 pieces of fur. Combined with the fabric made from the fibers, all the materials needed to upgrade the tent were available.
The original triangular tent has been transformed into a pyramid tent, doubling the interior space, so you no longer have to bend over to get in.
Lifting the curtain, you can see that the inside of the tent is covered with a thick layer of felt, which looks warm and comfortable.
It truly lives up to its reputation as a luxurious tent.
After upgrading the tent, I also upgraded the campfire to level 2.
The materials were thrown in, and flames shot upwards, instantly illuminating the camp.
The wood was stacked into the shape of a small cabin, and the flames flowed onto the snow, illuminating a wider area, lasting longer, and making the view brighter.
Turning around, he saw that the iron ingots had been forged. Fang Zhiyi walked to an open space on the other side of the camp and placed the trading post there.
Ding-ling-ling-ling-ling
A white light surged and flickered, and a bulletin board appeared in front of us, with notes pinned to it and a delivery box next to it.
He stepped forward and, by the light of the fire, could see the words written on the note.
[Entrustment]
[Needs 0/3 chili peppers]
[Compensation: □□×1]
[Entrustment]
[Requires wolf tail (0/5)]
[Reward: Shelter Blueprint x1]
[Entrustment]
[...]
Fang Zhiyi's brow twitched, and she vaguely understood something.
[Level 2 Residential Building (3/3)]
[Level 2 defensive building (2/2)]
[Level 2 Campfire (1/1)]
You have met the requirements to upgrade your camp.
[fzy's Level 3 Camp]
[Building Value: 6]
[Decorativeness: 3]
[Evaluation: Your camp has the necessary functions, but—isn't it still too hasty to use it to withstand a blizzard?]
Fang's meaning: ...
It's still not enough.
It needs to be upgraded further.
Fang Zhiyi looked down at the upgrade requirements.
[Camp level 3, upgrade requires constructing level 3 residential buildings (0/3) and level 3 defensive buildings (0/2)]
The upgrade requirements have been given, but the option to build level 3 buildings is not available in the camp list. Looking at the commission rewards posted on the exchange, it's clear that building blueprints can only be obtained by completing commissions, which adds another layer of difficulty to upgrading the camp.
It's already the second night, and the blizzard that's expected to arrive on the seventh day is just around the corner.
Fang Zhiyi sensed the urgency of time and began to review the commission again.
The requests were varied and required all sorts of random things, none of which he had in his inventory. He could only complete one: submitting three chili peppers.
Before going out today, Fang Zhiyi had planted a chili pepper plant, and now it's harvest time.
【Calicorn Fruit x6】
Fang Zhiyi put three chili peppers into the delivery box.
A "ding-dong" sound.
The task was marked with a red checkmark, meaning the task has been completed.
The delivery box was gently shaken; the chili peppers inside were gone, replaced by a [missing item].
Fang Zhiyi looked around again, but still couldn't find a commission he could complete. Looking at the generous rewards, he felt like he was sitting on a mountain of gold but couldn't get his hands on it, and his heart was itching with envy.
Taking a deep breath, Fang Zhiyi withdrew his gaze.
Although upgrading the camp is urgent, this is something that cannot be rushed.
There's nothing to do at night, so I might as well get some rest and do it tomorrow.
Fang Zhiyi suppressed his eagerness and forced himself to sit down in front of the campfire.
The firelight was warm and cozy. My shoulders gradually relaxed, and my body, which had been tense all day, finally got some rest. Suddenly, I felt incredibly hungry.
I didn't get to eat anything good all day; it was either baked apples or spicy stewed apples that tasted awful and made me lose my appetite.
Now that I've relaxed, I suddenly feel incredibly hungry.
Fang Zhiyi suddenly remembered the hot pot base and side dishes she had taken from the supermarket. She dug in the snow for a while and found that the side dishes were still fresh and juicy, but the hot pot base was frozen solid.
Snowflakes fell softly, leaving a speck of white in my hair.
Fang Zhiyi filled a pot with snow water, boiled it until it was bubbling vigorously, and then painstakingly stuffed the hot pot base into it. As the heating went up, the butter melted in the water, and the bright red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns floated to the surface, releasing a strong aroma.
I opened the package and dumped all the beef rolls, shrimp paste, and vegetable platter inside.
In no time, the beef rolls turned brown, and the shrimp paste lined up to emerge from the water. Picking up a piece, the aroma of the meat was irresistible, and the shrimp paste was bouncy and tender. Even though it was so hot that my tongue hissed and I gasped for breath, I couldn't bear to spit it out.
He swallowed it whole, the spicy flavor rising up his throat, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Camping, campfire, snowy day.
At times like these, a hot pot meal is the perfect treat.
When eating hot pot, Fang Zhiyi still prefers vegetables the most. The potato slices are cooked until soft and flavorful, the lettuce is crisp and tender, and the spinach is refreshing and delicious... He was so spicy that he kept spitting out spiciness, and even on a snowy day, he was sweating profusely while eating.
This is the perfect time to have another sip of cola.
The cola had been chilled in the snow for half a day, condensing into tiny ice crystals. Taking a sip, the pungent gas shot out instantly, the spiciness vanished, and I felt completely refreshed.
"belch."
Fang Zhiyi burped.
While eating hot pot, I suddenly discovered that I had gained a "Blazing" effect.
[Fiery]
[Warmth 04:59:59]
Fang's meaning: ...This works too?
But then I thought about it again, the purpose of chili peppers is to keep warm, and with so many chilies in the hot pot, it's normal for the effect to be doubled.
Does this mean that eating spicy snacks and spicy chicken feet also helps him?
Fang Zhiyi took out a packet of spicy strips and tried it.
After eating the spicy snack, I noticed that my body's warmth retention time had indeed increased.
I felt warm all over and full of energy. However, my stamina suddenly dropped. I glanced at the notification and realized that I had eaten too much spicy food, resulting in a stomachache.
Fang Zhiyi didn't take the minor issue to heart.
Since the items in the supermarket can keep out the cold wind, he could simply use the warm items in his backpack to exchange for materials from other players.
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