When everyone stood still again, the icy dizziness they felt receded like a tide, replaced by a bone-chilling cold and a deafening howl of the wind.
Xiao Jin suddenly opened her eyes.
The next second, my vision was filled with a violent, spinning pure white.
The snowflakes, as large as goose feathers, were carried by the gale and lashed her face and body like millions of sharp ice knives, making a dense crackling sound.
The biting cold penetrated the not-so-thin clothing, instantly gripping every part of the body, even breathing felt like it was burning the lungs.
Xiao Jin raised an eyebrow. Well, they don't need to go through the trouble of searching anymore.
Looking closely, the visibility around was pitifully low. Beyond ten meters, all that could be seen was a blurry, distorted white haze, and beneath one's feet was knee-deep, icy-cold snow.
What else could it be but 'Howling Icefield'?
"Holy crap! I'm freezing to death!"
"What the hell is this place?!"
"System, you son of a bitch! Couldn't you even choose a better location for teleportation?"
The cacophony of screams and curses was instantly torn apart and drowned out by the howling wind.
The hundreds of Z country players who were teleported here with Xiao Jin huddled together like ants thrown into an ice cave, their teeth chattering uncontrollably, their bodies shivering violently.
Some people instinctively tried to huddle together for warmth, but were blown about by the fierce cold wind.
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. The biting cold wind and snowflakes felt like knives cutting into her face, and it was indeed a very unpleasant experience.
She quickly took out a pair of simple black goggles from her spatial storage and put them on. Her vision became much clearer instantly, and she could at least make out the blurry figures of the surrounding players and the outline of this endless snowfield.
The cold lenses shielded the eyes from the direct impact of the wind and snow, while also providing a faint sense of warmth.
As for her body, given her current physical condition and defenses, she can withstand this bit of cold.
[System notification: You have arrived in Howling Frostfield. Countdown to the final quest "Frost Throne" begins: 9 hours, 59 minutes, and 58 seconds...]
A line of cold blue text clearly appeared at the edge of my vision, below which was a constantly jumping scarlet countdown number.
Countdown? Ten hours?
There was a moment of silence, followed by a burst of discussion mixed with relief and doubt.
"Countdown? It starts in ten hours?"
"Could it be... that they're giving us time to rest?"
"Huh? Is the system really that kind?"
"Who cares! Damn it, at least I can catch my breath! My bones are about to fall apart!"
"Can you even rest in this godforsaken place? If you try to sleep here, you'll probably freeze into an ice sculpture!"
The brief respite provided by the system quickly overwhelmed the doubts, and everyone's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, with extreme fatigue washing over them like a tidal wave.
Watching the countdown tick away, almost everyone felt a wave of exhaustion and weakness.
"Find a place! Quick! Build a shelter!" an experienced player captain shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice broken by the wind: "Bring out all the warm items in your storage space! Gather together! Keep your body warm!"
These people were basically temporary teams formed after arriving at this instance.
It has to be said that having a teammate you can rely on on the battlefield is a blessing.
The command was executed swiftly.
The surviving players braved the fierce winds that could blow people away, trudging through the snowfield, searching for relatively sheltered depressions or huge ice rocks to hold onto.
Suddenly, a strange sight appeared on this raging ice plain. Players pulled out all sorts of bizarre temporary "refuges" from their storage spaces.
The triangular tents, hastily erected with simple windproof fabric and metal frames, swayed precariously in the strong winds, requiring several people to desperately hold onto the ropes to barely keep them afloat.
With a thick, military-grade insulated sleeping bag, players can crawl inside, burrow into the snow like a worm, and bury themselves, leaving only their nose exposed to breathe.
It features a high-tech foldable inflatable insulated cabin that unfolds like a large capsule, accommodating two or three people. Its surface shimmers with a faint glow of heat, making it particularly eye-catching in the wind and snow.
Some people even took out several huge, reddish-brown ores that emitted a faint heat (possibly loot from previous dungeons), arranged them in a circle, and barely created a slightly warmer area, where a group of people huddled together, shivering.
Xiao Jin glanced at the various "snail dwellings" of the players around him, each displaying their unique skills, his face expressionless.
She raised her hand to wipe the frost off the lenses of her goggles, her gaze falling on her prop backpack.
Fingertips glide over the dazzling array of items, finally stopping on a 'little toy' emitting a soft purple light—[Single Log Cabin] (purple item).
Without hesitation, a location was chosen, and the person was released.
Buzz!
A soft purple halo spread out from Xiao Jin, instantly dispelling the wind and snow within a few meters.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the surrounding players, a small, exquisite, single-story wooden house, radiating a warm, wooden sheen, seemed to have grown out of thin air and stood firmly on the icy plain!
The cabin was small but sturdy, with a roof covered in thick, dark thatch that seemed to never be covered by ice and snow.
The walls were made of smooth, pieced-together wood, exuding a rustic and weighty atmosphere. A particularly sturdy-looking oak door was tightly closed, and next to it was even a small glass window illuminated by a dim, yellowish light!
Warm light shone through the cracks in the window frames and doors, making it seem like a warm, lonely island exuding a deadly allure in this raging, icy, pure white inferno.
"What the hell!?"
"A log cabin? And a purple one at that!"
"What the hell is this amazing gadget? A luxury villa with built-in heating? The perfect companion for any outing?"
"Hey boss! Hey boss! Please take me in! Can I sleep on the floor? I brought my own sleeping bag! It won't take up much space!"
"Heh..." A player next to him wrapped his down jacket tighter and looked at the player who was trying to get closer to the cabin, and sneered: "Go ahead if you're not afraid of being sliced into an ice pop by the big boss."
Look at their abilities, then look at yourself, do you even deserve it?
"Tch, what's it to you!" the man retorted.
The whispers, exclamations, and bitter envy and resentment were all drowned out by the howling wind.
Xiao Jin ignored all of this.
She walked to the solid oak door, which had no keyhole, only a palm-shaped groove.
She placed her right hand on it.
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