Chapter 74
There is a distance of more than a hundred feet between the ice and the land, but this section of the glacier without ice cover has become the biggest obstacle for the players to escape.
The closer to the ice sheet, the sparser the vegetation; the fires and beast tides haven't yet spread here. Lightning strikes frequently, but there are many things that attract lightning. You can place lightning-attracting materials or items in a certain area to draw the lightning to one place.
More and more players in the chat channel found the Ice Plains, but they were all blocked by the glacier. Some players who didn't believe in the danger jumped into the glacier, but they were swallowed up instantly, without even a trace, as if they were directly melted by the glacier.
“I have a flying pet. How about we use it to place metal plates on the ice and the ground, or build a rope bridge? Even if cars can’t cross, we can store them in our space. As long as people can get across, it’s fine. If we hold out until midnight, we’ll be safe,” one player suggested.
Actually, as long as the storage space is large enough, even a car, which is an inanimate object, can be stored in a storage item. Ordinary storage backpacks cannot store cars, but mid-range and high-end storage backpacks can.
Storage items are not rare; they can be bought in any server area, and every player has some in stock.
"That's a good idea, but I'm afraid something might go wrong during the process. This glacier is so blue it's almost black, it gives me the creeps."
At the same time, thousands of players were trying to cross the glacier using various methods, but without exception, they all failed.
No matter what it is, once it flies onto the glacier, it is as if there is a suction force pulling it, and it will soon be pulled into the river and melt.
Building a bridge or relying on pets to carry passengers is simply not feasible.
"How about we gather ice-type ability users and try to freeze the water in these rivers?" Pei Jing suggested.
Ice-type ability users are relatively few; water-type and metal-type are the most common. Other types are rare. However, there are still over 300,000 people, so there should be at least a thousand or eight hundred ice-type ability users.
The premise is that this method is feasible.
There was an ice ability user in the convoy, just like Qiao Ning, but the strength of their ice abilities was completely different.
Qiao Ning had advanced many times through cultivation using beast cores and energy stones, which already placed her far ahead of ordinary ability users. After absorbing the evolution crystal this time, she herself was unsure how strong her ability would be or what she could achieve.
Of the original convoy of over a hundred people, only about ninety remain; the rest perished during the escape for various reasons.
Of these people, only three are ice-type ability users.
Qiao Ning and Pei Jing exchanged a glance, and the latter immediately understood her meaning, saying, "Old Gao, An Ran, Xiao Lin, the three of you should try first."
Old Gao was a tall, dark-skinned, burly man, over 1.9 meters tall. He had a fierce look, but he was a bit simple-minded. He was usually taciturn and didn't know how to talk much. When others complained or scolded him, he would just laugh foolishly.
As soon as Pei Jing spoke, Lao Gao immediately nodded and stepped forward. Everyone releases their superpowers in different ways and with different effects. Lao Gao was like an iron tower, his feet apart, and he slammed his fist into the ground. Gravel and dirt flew everywhere, and then a layer of frost quickly formed on the ground, spreading rapidly towards the glacier.
The closer you get to the glacier, the slower the frost condenses. By the time it reaches the glacier, it takes quite a while before a thin layer of ice begins to form on the surface at an extremely slow rate.
The glacial river had a strange suction force, so people dared not get too close to the shore and could only stay a few meters away.
Seeing that the ice on the glacier had only frozen into a thin layer less than a finger joint long and the width of a palm, Lao Gao suddenly let go. His lips were pale, and he sat down on the ground panting. After a while, he reported to Pei Jing, "No, Captain Pei, this is too exhausting. I can only do this much even if I use up all my abilities."
Li Musheng pushed up his glasses and said, "To freeze an ice layer on a glacier that can withstand the weight of a human body, we would probably need more people with superpowers to continuously supply their abilities."
Pei Jing pointed to the glacier where the thin layer of ice was no longer visible: "Once the energy supply is lost, the ice that was previously formed will melt rapidly in a short period of time."
"Even if hundreds or thousands of ice ability users can conjure an ice bridge to allow others to cross to the other side, how will the ice ability users get across? Can they reach the other side before the ice bridge disappears?"
Qiao Ning then spoke up: "The ice bridge shouldn't disappear immediately. Even if it does, the remaining ice ability users can be transported to the other side with the help of Ice Scale."
With hundreds of thousands of players, it's definitely not feasible to have Ice Scales being transported back and forth repeatedly. But if it's only a few hundred or a thousand, then it can be transported out in a few more trips.
She had just privately asked Icescale if it could grow larger and swim in the glacier. It said no, its size and strength were directly proportional, and growing larger would increase its strength. An excessively large size would instantly cause anomalies in this section of the glacier, leading to the ice layer in front of it breaking and melting.
The same applies to Ice Scale's water-based abilities; they can't be used on glaciers, as even a little force could cause the ice to collapse. It's possible that its power clashes with the glacier's. It's not afraid of the glacier, but the glacier seems to be very afraid of it.
Ice Scale's current size is the maximum size that this section of the glacier can withstand.
It can only carry a maximum of 3-4 people at a time.
Icescale didn't really want to carry others, but it knew that everyone had no choice in the current situation. Anyway, it would do anything to help its master.
With Ice Scales around, there's no more worry. The most important thing now is to gather all the surviving players and persuade the Ice Ability User to do everything in their power to create an ice bridge.
Pei Jing and her friends exchanged glances, sighing inwardly. It was time again for a test of character, unity, and trust—precisely the very things most lacking in this awful game.
There are hundreds of thousands of people, not just a few hundred or a few thousand. With so many people, even a slight mistake could cause unrest, since they are just survival players with their own agendas, not a highly obedient army.
These are things that outsiders might not want to think about, but as the leaders of the team, they couldn't help but consider. Pei Jing and the others didn't look too good; they had a real headache.
"Regardless, let's first confirm whether the ice layer condensed by the superhuman will melt instantly."
Lao Gao, An Ran, and Xiao Lin all used their supernatural abilities to condense an ice layer at the same time. This time, the condensation speed was slightly faster, and the ice layer was not as thin. Perhaps because there were more of them, it was much less effort than when Lao Gao condensed it alone. After the three of them used up their supernatural abilities, they condensed an ice layer about the size of an ordinary door and 2 centimeters thick.
This time, after they cut off the energy supply, the ice remained frozen for a few seconds before slowly showing signs of melting. Imagine if hundreds or thousands of people were to freeze at the same time; it might very well form an ice bridge hundreds of feet long.
“The ice didn’t melt immediately, this method works! I’ll go and gather all the players right away.” Yuan Heng and Li Yangxing acted immediately, posting a message in the chat channel.
Pei Jing also sent the coordinates to the entire region, so that all surviving players could teleport there as soon as possible. Additionally, she offered a paid recruitment offer to all ice-type ability users.
Other players are struggling to survive, so it's impossible for everyone to contribute to this reward. Pei Jing, Qiao Ning, and the others can only pool their resources to create a set of rewards.
Rewards motivate everyone to work. Although the ice ability user is also working hard to get through this hurdle, it's unfair to let them work so hard without any compensation.
The ice-type ability users eventually numbered 1,536. Qiao Ning gave each of them a set of purple equipment and 100 skill cards.
Pei Jing and her team contributed scarce and valuable supplies such as wound medicine, warming water balloons, vehicle repair cards, and gasoline.
With plenty of rewards, the more than a thousand ice ability users were naturally not dissatisfied. Only a fool would refuse something given away for free; it only required a little effort.
The rewards will be provided by Pei Jing and her group, but the energy consumed by the ability user in condensing the ice bridge will have to be replenished by all the players. Those with beast cores can donate beast cores, those with energy stones can donate energy stones, and there will also be energy recovery agents and other items that can replenish energy.
If hundreds of thousands of people each contribute a little, it should be enough. If it's really not enough, those who want to survive won't hold back.
Just as everyone had finished discussing and were preparing to implement their plan, an ice-elemental user suddenly spoke up: "Your idea is excellent, but I have a question."
The speaker was a young man in his early twenties. He was tall and thin, with sunken cheeks, looking as if a single punch could knock him down.
"Meng Cheng, don't say anything..." One of his companions kept tugging at his sleeve, trying to keep him quiet.
But Meng Cheng grinned, his pale, emaciated face giving him a creepy look: "Why can't I say it? I'm going to say it anyway. We worked so hard to get everyone to the other side, but who will save our lives?"
As he spoke, he turned to point at the Ice Scale floating in the icy river, its two paws resting on the bank watching the spectacle: "Is this all it takes to survive, this beast?"
"These scaly beasts are cold-blooded animals. Isn't it incredibly frivolous to entrust so many of our lives to them?"
His companion, seeing he couldn't stop him, got annoyed and scolded him. Then, he turned to Qiao Ning with a sheepish smile and said, "Sister Qiao, don't be angry. Meng Cheng had a girlfriend before who was killed by a reptile covered in scales. Ever since then, his personality has changed drastically; he hates all scaly creatures. He really didn't mean to target you; he used to be a very nice person..."
Qiao Ning believed that this person said Meng Cheng was a good person in the past, otherwise he wouldn't still have friends who sincerely spoke up for him at this point.
"Ice Scale is my pet and my most trusted comrade-in-arms. If you trust it, you trust me. I would never harm myself."
Some people trust Qiao Ning and believe in the loyalty of pets, but... others have doubts—because pets are not absolutely loyal to players, and in some situations, there is a high probability that they will turn against their owners.
Pei Jing and Miao Qinghe were both well-mannered, but the sudden appearance of this person made them want to curse.
They were so close to getting through this, but some people just didn't want to live and wanted to drag everyone down with them.
So what if Binglin is covered in scales? She seems much more emotionally stable than Meng Cheng. He betrayed everyone, but Binglin would never betray anyone.
What kind of time is this to be doing this? They're practically asking for trouble. Is it possible that by staying in this stalemate, we won't all die?
Seeing that some of the ice ability users genuinely disagreed, Qiao Ning had no choice. In reality, Meng Cheng might genuinely dislike scaled creatures, while the other ice ability users who sided with Meng Cheng might not necessarily disbelieve in ice scales.
More likely, they were unwilling to work hard to benefit others, or risk crossing the glacier last.
Qiao Ning and Pei Jing were well aware of this, but they couldn't say it outright, lest they start arguing and make things even more complicated.
Seeing that the problem could not be solved, Qiao Ning lost her patience. She frowned and said, "Ice ability users who have concerns and are unwilling to help, please join the team of ordinary players. Those who are willing to contribute and receive rewards can start condensing ice now."
"If there are any energy replenishment items provided by all players, they will be divided equally among the players who contributed. If there are no items left, or if there are less than 3,000 left, I will personally contribute 10,000 energy stones to distribute to everyone."
She had mined energy stones before, so she wasn't short of energy stones.
As long as the problem can be solved, everything else is negotiable; dragging it out indefinitely is not a solution.
Her words startled some of the ice ability users who supported Meng Cheng. Qiao Ning and her group were very generous, offering rewards that were so lucrative that it would be a huge loss if they weren't allowed to participate.
One player joked, "I really don't understand what you people are thinking. I hate that I don't have ice powers, but you guys are so lucky that you can push away opportunities that fall into your laps."
The girl's words resonated with many players.
Seeing that the others had wavered, Meng Cheng's face turned ashen. Then, as if he had thought of something, his expression softened, but his eyes were still unfriendly when he looked at Bing Lin.
Icescale was incredibly perceptive and naturally sensed his malice, but it never cared about the likes or dislikes of others; it only cared about its master's opinions and commands.
Its tail splashed the water in the glacier, making a loud slapping sound, like a happy big dog playing in the water.
Qiao Ning couldn't help but smile as she looked at it. In any case, no matter what Meng Cheng thought, he wouldn't do something so reckless as to get himself killed.
As everyone expected, so many ice-elemental users gathered together and condensed ice at an incredibly fast speed, creating an ice layer more than a meter thick, enough to support a large number of players crossing the icy river.
To conserve energy and ensure the ice bridge successfully connects to the other side, the ability users only condensed a width of about three meters. Any wider, and the ice ability users would find it too strenuous and might not be able to hold on for long.
Once the ice bridge connected with the ice on the opposite bank, Pei Jing and the others maintained order, allowing all the players to run across one by one.
Qiao Ning planted vines on both sides of the ice bridge to prevent players from being affected by the suction or falling into the icy river due to crowding.
Everyone wanted to reach the other side as quickly as possible, so congestion during the crossing was inevitable and uncontrollable. Even with Qiao Ning and others helping out, it was no use; people still fell into the icy river.
Of the more than 300,000 players, tens of thousands perished after they all crossed the bridge.
In the modern world, stampedes can easily occur in some event venues when there are many people. This is a life-or-death struggle to cross a bridge, with a dangerous icy river nearby. The fact that so many players are still alive is already much better than Qiao Ning had expected.
"Run faster, we can't hold on much longer!" Even though ice ability users have energy stones to replenish their energy, their energy absorption rate is limited, and the repeated consumption and replenishment of energy will cause intense fatigue. In the end, almost everyone is relying on willpower to keep going.
"Run! Don't look back!"
Finally, the last group of players crossed the ice bridge, and the ice ability users instantly collapsed to the ground.
"Get up quickly, the beast tide is catching up, and there's a huge fire!" Pei Jing pulled up the ice ability users who were nearby one by one.
Qiao Ning shouted, "Bing Lin! Quickly take them and leave first!"
Ice Scale turned to look at its master, as if asking, "What about her?"
Qiao Ning understood its meaning and said, "I'm fine, you take them there first."
This glacier is a terrifying thing that could melt ordinary players, but for her... it doesn't seem to pose any danger, and is even somewhat nourishing.
She had only touched it tentatively before, but found that the glacier seemed to be sentient, with the water flowing towards her.
She wasn't afraid of the glacier and could cross it on her own at any time. Seeing the ice scales begin to work, she sat down near the shore, closed her eyes, and tried to feel the flow of the glacier water and absorb its energy.
Ice Scale transported the ice ability users to the other side time and time again. Not all players were as afraid of it as Meng Cheng was. Most players trusted the silent beast more than humans.
After some players reached the other side, they gave Ice Scale a lot of food, energy stones and other supplies, which Ice Scale kept.
Binglin thought that once it was done with its work, it would definitely let its master take a good look at its "wages," so that it could also support its family and earn money.
Now only Meng Cheng and two other people were left to cross to the other side. Bing Lin carried them all on his back. When they were about halfway across, Meng Cheng suddenly attacked, taking out a red weapon and stabbing it at Bing Lin's neck!
Ice Scales are incredibly sharp; although that thing couldn't hurt it, it was still very angry.
Binglin roared and threw Meng Cheng and the other two people on his back off.
However, the other two were lifted high by its tail and didn't fall into the icy river. As for Meng Cheng, he didn't even have time to cry for help before the ice melted him.
When the unexpected happened, Qiao Ning jumped into the icy river and transformed into an undercurrent. She has now arrived beside Bing Lin and reformed into human form.
Her face was cold, but her movements were gentle as she lightly stroked the spot on the ice scale where it had been stabbed, even though there wasn't even a mark there.
The two ice-powered individuals on Ice Scale's tail were nearly scared to death. "Is Meng Cheng crazy? He wants to die, why is he trying to harm us?"
They were just unlucky guys dragged down by Meng Cheng, and they were completely unprepared before being thrown off the Ice Scale Back.
The fear now is that Binglin will get angry and take it out on them.
One of the ice-powered girls tentatively approached Ice Scale and said, "Captain Ice Scale, how about you take me to the other side? I'll give you my entire salary later."
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