Chapter 49
"Ice Scale! Be gentle, you're going to knock me over!"
Qiao Ning brushed the frost off her body. Luckily, the Silver Frost Wolf didn't shed fur, otherwise she would be covered in fur right now.
Qiao Ning fainted last night and didn't see Bing Lin, but she was sure Bing Lin had come to see her because there were claw marks from animals on the icy road outside the car, which Bing Lin had clearly dug out in his haste.
The giant wolf circled Qiao Ning again and again, almost making her dizzy. Finally, Qiao Ning said helplessly, "Stop looking, I'm really fine, I'm all better now."
The ice scales let out two soft moans, which Qiao Ning couldn't understand, but that didn't stop her from understanding its worries.
"You're really fine. But you, after I left yesterday, you didn't get into any fights with other beasts and get hurt, did you?"
Icescale obediently shook its big head and sat down obediently, meaning that it had been waiting for Qiao Ning in the same spot all day, afraid that she wouldn't be able to find it if she went back. It didn't leave that area until night fell and it was able to reach the highway.
Qiao Ning didn't know what to say, so she vigorously rubbed its fluffy head. Binglin obediently lay down and lowered its head to let her pet it.
Ten gold chests and five diamond chests have been refreshed.
The coordinates only show the approximate location of the treasure chest, but players need to find the exact location themselves.
Qiao Ning certainly couldn't miss this event. She might not lack basic supplies, but to protect them, she needed to constantly become stronger. The rare items in the treasure chests could make her even stronger.
Being backward invites aggression, especially for someone like her who possesses abundant resources and wealth. If she falls behind, the consequences could be dire.
You should never miss any opportunity to become stronger.
Qiao Ning glanced at the system map; there were a total of fifteen rare chests, surrounded by red and green dots. The red dots represented red-named players, and the green dots represented white-named players.
There are many red dots around the diamond treasure chest, even more than half as many green dots.
Clicking on the coordinates will teleport you directly to the area where the treasure chest will spawn, or you can choose to drive there.
This event seemed to temporarily piece together the road world where all the players were, with roads crisscrossing each other. Every time Qiao Ning drove a certain distance, she would see other players also driving towards the treasure chest coordinates.
It's inevitable that players will clash with each other on the road, but no one dares to mess with Qiao Ning, even though her car looks big, imposing, and luxurious, and you can tell at a glance that it's of a high level. Such a car means that the owner is rich and powerful.
The very few who wanted to take the risk of robbing Qiao Ning were deterred by the giant silver frost wolves that suddenly appeared near her car before they even got close.
With Binglin around, Qiao Ning was spared countless troubles, saving her a great deal of time and energy.
Direct teleportation is convenient, but not all players are willing to use this method. What if a player with a white name is teleported into a group of players with red names? Wouldn't that be like a lamb being led to the slaughter? Or vice versa.
Nobody wants to become another player's kill points.
The battle for the treasure chests has only just begun, and the number of online players in the server has already dropped by several thousand, demonstrating just how fierce the competition is between players.
When it comes to survival, all players must work together. However, when it comes to significant personal interests, many people become like wild beasts unleashing their inner malice, disregarding everything else.
The treasure chest was located in a very hidden place, and it would be difficult to find it by oneself. Qiao Ning teamed up with Pei Jing, Tao Tao, and Miao Qinghe to search for nearby rare treasure chests.
Li Yangxing and Yuan Heng are too far away, so there's no news about them for now.
The treasure chest event has a time limit; after 9 hours, all unfound or unopened treasure chests will disappear. Furthermore, players must return to their original road before the event ends; otherwise, once all players' road worlds are disconnected, players who haven't returned to their original locations will be permanently stuck at their starting point when the event closes.
If they're on another player's road, that's fine, but what if they're unlucky enough not to be on a road? They'll lose the chance to return to the road forever, and death will be their only fate.
Qiao Ning noticed an energy bar on the teleportation channel icon displayed on the system map. Many players would overlook this, but she had played too many games and paid the most attention to these inconspicuous and easily overlooked details.
The presence of an energy bar means that the energy may eventually run out. If the teleportation portal runs out of energy and the player is too far from the road, will they be able to get back in time before the event ends?
Don't forget that there are obstacles on the player's journey, such as being robbed by other players, being attacked by wild beasts in the ice field after the road barriers disappear, and increasingly heavy snow, all of which will hinder the player's return to the road.
Cautious players avoided treasure chest areas that were too far away from them, including Qiao Ning.
She and Pei Jing each chose a direction to search for the treasure chest, and the exact coordinates of the found treasure chest would be displayed on the map.
Qiao Ning found one diamond treasure chest and two gold treasure chests. Miao Qinghe found one gold treasure chest, while Pei Jing and Tao Tao did not find any treasure chests.
The coordinates of all nearby treasure chests have been displayed, and their locations change as the owner moves.
Pei Jing and Tao Tao didn't want to search far away, fearing that if they found it, no one would help them protect the box, and they were also afraid of being surrounded and robbed, encountering danger, or not being able to return to the highway in time.
Treasure chests represent both good fortune and great trouble and danger for players.
The two of them simply followed Qiao Ning and Miao Qinghe, helping them get through the one-hour treasure chest lockdown period.
After finding and picking up a rare treasure chest, players cannot open it immediately; they must wait an hour before unlocking it.
The player who gets the treasure chest is essentially a sitting duck; it would be strange if no one coveted it.
Just like now, at least dozens of cars have started following Qiao Ning and her group's car, and according to the player distribution on the map, a large number of red-named and white-named players are rapidly converging on their location.
"What should we do, Qiaoqiao? Should we hand over the treasure chest first? Even if we have enough gasoline, we can't fight off their numbers. If they surround us and we can't drive the car out, we'll be in trouble."
Qiao Ning looked at the messages from Miao Qinghe and the others in her private messages, thought for a moment and replied, "I have a plan, it might be a bit risky... but we can't worry about that right now, it's better than being surrounded and robbed like a fat sheep."
"Now that the road barrier is gone, not many of the wild beasts on the ice field venture into the road area. The ice field is very dangerous in the eyes of players. Perhaps we can leave the road and drive onto the ice field."
Miao Qinghe: [Is this feasible? What if the event ends and we can't get back to the highway? Wouldn't we be stuck on the ice field forever?]
"That's why I said this method is rather risky. The ice field is vast, and it will be very difficult to surround them even if there are many of them. Moreover, with the wild beasts of the ice field keeping them at bay, those players dare not venture too deep into the ice field."
Tao Tao: [I think this is a good idea; we can take the risk.]
Pei Jing: [This method does indeed carry significant risks, but we don't have a better option right now. Judging from the speed at which those players are gathering on the map, if I continue to stay on the highway, I'll be intercepted and surrounded very quickly. At that point, I might not only lose the treasure chest, but I might not even be able to save my life.]
Players with red names are not to be trifled with.
Miao Qinghe thought about it and realized there was no better way, so she agreed to enter the ice field.
As soon as the four-person vehicle left the highway, it immediately attracted the attention of thousands of pursuing players.
【No, am I seeing things? Why are those two players with the boxes running off the road?】
You've blocked their way; where else can they run if not off the road?
Aren't they afraid of the monsters on the ice plains? I just encountered a player who was attacked by an ice plains monster. I didn't dare look at the bloody scene for long; I quickly sped up my car and drove away while the beast was feeding.
The monsters on the ice plains are terrifying, but aren't the players struggling for survival just as terrifying?
Since death is inevitable, it doesn't matter where you go.
I think I understand. The logic is simple: the Icefield Monsters are terrifying, and so am I. Once you enter the Icefield area, whether you're a red-named or white-named player, everyone is in the same boat; your first priority is your own safety. When both sides have to avoid and deal with the Icefield Monsters, it actually creates an opportunity for the treasure chest obtainr—their only chance of survival.
Staying on the highway is tantamount to waiting to die.
Killing people during the event won't get you a red name (indicating you'll be banned). Those red-named players all have several lives on their hands; they won't let you off just because you hand over a treasure chest. You might end up losing your vehicle and supplies.
[I'm off to grab a treasure chest now.]
[I have a rumor that the two treasure chests that went to the Ice Plains region were obtained by Qiao Ning and her friend. Qiao Ning is not someone to be trifled with; don't let her pretty face fool you, she's ruthless when it comes to killing.]
How do you know she's pretty? Have you seen her?
[Previously at the service area, her parking spot was first in line, and there were virtual images of her on all the buildings, so it was hard not to know what she looked like.]
The more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is, especially in a survival game like this. None of the beautiful women who have survived this far are simple. Even if you want to grab the treasure chest, you'd better consider your own strength. Don't go looking for a free kill.
Aren't you guys exaggerating Qiao Ning's abilities? She's just a woman, she can't cause any trouble.
[I'm too lazy to curse you upstairs. If you're not happy, go to the Icefield and fight the monsters. What are you doing typing on the keyboard here? You can't even get a treasure chest, so stop showing off. The last person who showed off to Qiao Ning, I remember it was your server's leader, Zhang Tianye, right? You've already forgotten how perfect his sliding knee posture was?]
[Stop arguing. Qiao Ning has held the treasure chest for more than half an hour. In another twenty minutes or so, she will be able to open it.]
What are those red-named players doing? Are they really that ineffective? They haven't caught up with anyone after all this time?
[To be honest, what incredible luck Qiao Ning and her friend had! They had four treasure chests combined? Keep in mind, there are only fifteen gold and diamond treasure chests in total, and there are tens of thousands of players online across the entire server. How did they manage to get so many? I just can't understand it.]
"He's just lucky. Haven't you heard that 'Lucky King' Qiao from our region is the luckiest guy? The world of the lucky is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people."
What are four rare treasure chests? Someone secretly checked the leaderboard and suspected that the player with the lowest score of 0 on the kill leaderboard after the first natural disaster was Qiao Ning.
That man was insane. He said Qiao Ning's luck might be so good that she wouldn't encounter the treasure-guarding monster, which was why her kill points were 0! I had some dealings with this madman, and I usually just listened to what he said, but this speculation really shocked me at the time.
[Don't be ridiculous. Being so lucky that she doesn't even encounter the treasure-guarding monster isn't an exaggeration, it's too fantastical. I don't believe anyone in this world could be that lucky. Do you really think she's a reincarnated lucky charm?]
Alright, stop praising her, Qiao fans. She's in trouble now, caught between a rock and a hard place. Even if she were a lucky charm reincarnated, she'd still die there.
Snow and wind mingled on the icy plains.
Due to the heavy snow, cars could no longer drive normally. Qiao Ning's level 5 car could hold on, but Pei Jing, Miao Qinghe, and Tao Tao could not continue driving.
The players who caught up from all sides completely blocked their car from the left, right, and rear, while in front of them was a pack of ice wolves, roughly estimated to be more than two hundred.
Ice Scales had disappeared; they hadn't been following the car for a while.
After Qiao Ning took the beast core and awakened her superpowers, she was no longer afraid of wind, snow, or low temperatures.
She got out of the car, walked to the front, pointed to the pack of hungry wolves that had clearly been starving for a long time and were eager to hunt for prey, and spoke to the players.
"Are you sure you want to fight us for the treasure chest in front of these wolves? If you fight and we fight, in the end we'll all end up as wolf food."
"That's not how it works, Qiao Ning. As long as you hand over the treasure chest, we will not make things difficult for you."
Qiao Ning sneered upon hearing this; she didn't believe a single punctuation mark of his words.
Tao Tao got out of the car and whispered in Qiao Ning's ear, "Qiao Qiao, don't you have a portal? You can teleport away directly later and don't worry about us."
"This is my idea, and it's also Pei Jing's idea. We can't all... be stuck here."
Qiao Ning raised her hand to interrupt her: "It was I who suggested that you enter the ice field. Now that you are in danger, it is naturally my responsibility. Besides, we are friends. Even if I am cold-blooded, I cannot leave you here and run away on your own."
"Didn't you want to fight? Come at me all at once." Qiao Ning summoned the Iron-Eating Beast.
Perhaps sensing its master's anger, the Iron-Eating Beast did not become drowsy; instead, it was filled with fighting spirit, and its cries were not soft and cute at all, but rather like the roar of a ferocious beast.
A player's rat pet leaped up and pounced on the Iron Eater's neck, but Fat Tiger slapped it away. The flying squirrel crashed to the ground, and the snow beneath it was soon stained with blood. The flying squirrel then lay motionless.
Once one person started, the other players also summoned their pets and used skill cards to attack Qiao Ning.
Qiao Ning used the vines of the Green Wisteria to levitate in mid-air, swiftly dodging attack after attack. While Green Pearl's attack power was greatly affected by the extreme cold, it still retained its basic ability to split and grow vines. After all, it was an ultimate-level Green Wisteria, its strength exceeding all expectations.
"Just how many skill cards does Qiao Ning have?"
"Her pets are amazing, everyone, don't give them a chance to catch their breath and recover!"
As the attacks rained down, Qiao Ning found it increasingly difficult to cope. She didn't want to reveal her ice powers, but she couldn't worry about that now.
She secretly condensed an ice arrow, and taking advantage of the moment when the leader of the players was not paying attention, she suddenly pierced his throat with an arrow!
"Oh no, someone's attacking from behind! Trying to take advantage of our misfortune!"
Was it an attack by a pack of wolves?
"It doesn't seem like it... What should we do? Our leader is dead. Should we stay here? The wolves are getting closer and closer. If this continues, even if we get the treasure chest, we won't be able to escape."
"It was Qiao Ning who did it! I saw it! She shot the arrow! She must have some kind of special weapon! Brothers, if we take her, all the good stuff is ours! We can take care of any number of wolves then!"
Pei Jing and the others kept covering Qiao Ning's back, and despite the immense pressure, they prevented any attack from getting through their defenses and hitting Qiao Ning's back.
Even the death of their leader hadn't deterred the group. Qiao Ning summoned the Poison-Devouring Locust, surrounded by its king, generals, and thousands of soldiers. The wind, snow, and low temperatures greatly hampered the Locust's mobility, but as long as the queen was unharmed, the other locusts could quickly recover even if injured by the wind and snow.
The locusts have laid eggs twice in the past few days, and the locust army is beginning to take shape.
"Go ahead and eat as much as you want, just be careful not to hurt your teammates who are far away from me." This activity allows players to team up, so their pets can recognize their owners and teammates to avoid accidental harm.
The giant locust let out a sharp cry, and its swarms of locusts instantly rushed in front of their mother, devouring everything in sight, from people to vehicles.
The Poisonous Locust is extremely poisonous, and its wings can shake off scales. When blown by the wind and snow, even Qiao Ning could not escape being poisoned.
Fortunately, she had anticipated this and had taken insect eggs for herself and Pei Jing in advance, so they were not afraid of the deadly poison of the poisonous locust.
The players were blocked by the swarm of locusts, but at that moment, the pack of ice wolves surrounded them.
Qiao Ning took out the Black Flame Bone Blade, intending to fight them to the death, but before she could make a move, she heard a wolf howl.
Then a giant wolf, carrying something in its mouth, ran towards them.
When Binglin ran close and saw Qiao Ning's dangerous situation, it was furious. It dropped what it was carrying in its mouth, howled, and charged into the Icefield Wolf pack. It tore one wolf apart with one claw and killed two others with one bite. After a while, the Wolf King saw that things were not going well and quickly ordered the surviving Icefield wolves to run away.
Ice Scale wanted to give chase, but when it saw the vehicles parked around Qiao Ning and the others, as well as a large number of unfamiliar players, it stopped its claws.
Those people were already suffering terribly from the locust swarms, and many of them were poisoned.
Seeing that another giant wolf had arrived to help Qiao Ning fight, her face turned green, and she couldn't have been more regretful.
Ice Scale's icy blue eyes slowly turned red. Just as it was about to pounce and tear apart those who dared to harm Qiao Ning, it suddenly heard a voice.
"Ice Scale, come here."
Qiao Ning was calling it.
The bloodlust in Ice Scale's eyes faded, restoring its usual clear, icy blue. It leaped to Qiao Ning's side, squatted down, and nuzzled its head towards her, wanting her to pet it.
It shouldn't have left; it should have stayed close to Qiao Ning.
Two-legged creatures are too fragile. What if they encounter danger and fail to return in time?
Indeed, raising two-legged creatures is not easy.
Binglin enjoyed Qiao Ning's gentle touch for a while, then suddenly remembered the gift he had brought back for her.
It hurried off to fetch the item.
"What's this?"
Qiao Ning looked at the ice sculpture in front of her, which was about the size of her palm. It wasn't cold to the touch, but rather warm, as if... this ice sculpture wasn't inanimate, but alive.
Ice Scale raised its claws, pointed at the ice sculpture, and then at itself.
Judging from its shape, the ice sculpture is probably carved to resemble some kind of mythical beast. In short, its appearance has nothing to do with any of the Ice Scales' armor.
Binglin pushed the items toward Qiao Ning, indicating that she should accept them.
Although Qiao Ning was puzzled, she knew that the ice scale wouldn't harm her, so she put the ice sculpture into her pocket. Anyway, the thing was warm to the touch, and it didn't melt even after holding it in her hand for a long time, so it was clear that it wouldn't melt easily.
With the time to unlock the treasure chest fast approaching, Qiao Ning ignored the players who were blocking their way and drove away with Pei Jing and the others.
Pei Jing and the others couldn't drive their car in the heavy snow, so Bing Lin had to use the vines of the green vines to pull the car forward.
The scene and the trailer's appearance really did have a bit of a sled wolf vibe.
As the event drew to a close, Qiao Ning and the others returned to the highway in time.
The highway barrier gradually reassembled, and the ice scales could not cross it. They could only squat on the other side of the ice field and watch Qiao Ning. Not long after, the barrier completely reassembled, and Qiao Ning could no longer see it.
The day was full of ups and downs, and everyone was exhausted. After a brief chat, they went to rest.
Qiao Ning opened the treasure chest, but didn't bother to look at what was inside.
As she watched the snowstorm outside intensify, she couldn't help but wonder if the big wolf was still waiting for her there.
With several hours to go before 8 p.m., Qiao Ning didn't let the smart assistant drive. She just let it monitor the surroundings and then fell asleep.
When I was woken up by the smart home assistant at eight o'clock, it was completely dark and shrouded in fog.
It was the first time Qiao Ning had gotten off the bus at night and left the highway.
After stepping off the road, Qiao Ning shone her flashlight and spotted the silver-frost giant wolf that was quietly crouching and waiting.
Ice Scales immediately rushed over to her, whimpering.
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