The snow season has arrived; this is the clan of Lan.
Jiang Yunlan took stock of the food the orcs had stockpiled. The food in the cave was enough for the orcs to live comfortably for four months, and should last until the end of winter.
She thought to herself that if this food was not enough, she would go out with the beastmen to find food in the winter.
As the temperature dropped, the beastmen stopped going out and stayed in the cave to do the things Lan had assigned them.
A new earthen kiln was built on the semi-circular platform, larger and more stable than the first one. Cotton and maple syrup were fired kiln after kiln to make earthen bricks, gradually building up small, pyramid-shaped earthen brick mountains.
The beastmen had stockpiled too many items, and the cave couldn't hold them all. Jiang Yunlan planned to build a shed on the platform using mud bricks and wood to store the items, so that the snow blowing in during winter wouldn't bury them.
The temperature in the forest dropped over time, as if it were about to snow.
Halfway up the mountain, a mixed-race clan had placed two stone campfires on a platform outside the cave. Orcs, dressed in animal skins and grass skirts, with their arms bare, were lifting mud bricks to build a wall, seemingly oblivious to the cold.
The beastmen filled the gaps between the bricks with a mixture of black soil and a riverside plant.
Logically, cement mortar should be used for bricklaying, but Jiang Yunlan didn't know how to make it. After thinking it over, she used plants unique to the Beast World to mix her own bricklaying mortar.
It snowed the night the shed was completed.
Jiang Yunlan woke up and looked out of the cave. The swirling snow came into view. As a child from the south, she had only seen light snow once or twice. Seeing the snow falling heavily, she couldn't help but get up and go outside.
The semi-circular platform was covered with a layer of pure white snow. She stepped onto it, raised her hands, and used her fluffy gloves to catch a snowflake that just happened to fall.
The snow in the forest was beautiful; each falling snowflake was about half the size of her palm. She could clearly see the shape of the snowflakes. The snowflakes really did resemble flowers, flowers that only bloom in winter.
She looked at the crystal-clear snowflake petals, exhaled a breath of cold air, and smiled happily.
Ah Bai also came out. He wasn't wearing a furry coat like Lan, but like Lan, he smiled broadly as he looked at the snow-covered forest. Most beastmen disliked snow, but he loved it.
His skin and hair were white, and when he stood with his eyes closed in the snowy forest, it was as if he had hidden himself in nature and been accepted by it.
The two orcs, one large and one small, exchanged a glance. Jiang Yunlan held up a whole snowflake and showed it to Ah Bai, who, as expected, smiled faintly.
She knew that any orc who would emerge from the cave at this time must also be one who loved snow. Looking at Ah Bai's smile, she smiled even more broadly, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
"022, look, it's snowflakes." Jiang Yunlan carefully moved the snowflakes in front of 022, her black eyes shining brightly, as if they were glowing.
022 didn't understand what was so great about a single snowflake, but she still nodded to her and said, "022 saw it."
It was unaware that its attitude towards Jiang Yunlan was becoming increasingly gentle, just as its predecessors had treated their partners. But it was a recorder, not a participant.
Hearing its response, Jiang Yunlan happily pulled Ah Bai back to the cave. The snow was beautiful, but it was too cold; she needed to take the lightly dressed Ah Bai back to the fire to warm up.
Maple, nestled in the cave, watched as Lan carefully carried a snowflake in, a smile on her face that would soften the hearts of any orc. She stared intently at Lan's smile for several seconds, watching as Lan touched the snowflake with great care.
Feng Hong took a deep breath, abruptly stood up, and walked outside the cave, trying to catch a whole snowflake. Behind her, Yan Lin also came out, his hands also raised to the sky.
It's just a snowflake, nothing special. The beastmen of the forest and rocky areas often see it during the snowy season. Some even dislike the snow that brings cold and hunger.
But the snowflakes made Lan smile like that, making the snowflakes that the orcs hated less hateful.
Ordinary snow isn't special, but Lan likes it, so it becomes special.
"Feng Hong, Yan Lin, what are you doing standing outside?" Mo Rong asked, looking at the backs of the two orcs.
"I want to give Xue to Lan," Feng Hong said.
Mo Rong wasn't stupid; she immediately understood their thoughts and pulled Hei Tu along to catch the snowflakes. The other orcs, including Feng Tang, also understood and silently got up.
Jiang Yunlan stared blankly as the beastmen emerged from the cave one by one, her expression vacant. Why was even Maple Syrup coming out? Did they all also love the snowy scenery…?
She glanced at Qiuguo, who was sitting by the fire, smiling gently at her, then at Abai, who was walking out beside her with Mianhua, and felt helpless. She freed one hand to take a torch from the stone campfire, preparing to build a fire on the semi-circular platform. The adult beastmen didn't yet have furry clothes to wear, and they were prone to catching colds if they stayed outside for too long.
Jiang Yunlan had just taken a torch out of the campfire when she heard Feng Hong shouting her name loudly.
"Lan!"
She turned around abruptly, and before her eyes appeared snowflakes carried by Feng Hong.
Yanlin walked over quietly, without saying a word, and offered a whole snowflake. To his left, Heitu, just as quietly, offered a snowflake.
"Lan".
"Lan".
"Lan!"
Maple Syrup, Rock, Cotton, Ah Bai, and Mo Rong called her name as they walked in from outside, each holding a whole snowflake that was gradually melting.
They weren't wearing woolen gloves; they were holding snow in their bare hands, the heat of their palms almost melting it.
Jiang Yunlan couldn't help but look away, blinked quickly twice, put down the torch in her hand, turned around, and slowly walked over to catch the snowflakes they offered.
One piece, two pieces, three pieces...
There were twelve snowflakes in total. Because Qiuguo, who was unable to walk, and the three elderly deer-beastmen also wanted to give Lan a snowflake that Lan liked, the beastmen caught their share of the snowflakes on their behalf.
Jiang Yunlan held the snowflakes that almost overflowed her hands, lowered her eyes and exhaled deeply. She then smiled brightly at them, but dared not meet the gaze of any of the orcs. "It's too hot in the cave. The snowflakes will melt. I'll take them outside."
After she finished speaking, she hurriedly walked out of the cave, only slowing down when she reached the semi-circular platform. 022 followed her out, staring at her with eyes full of curiosity. Her emotions were too complex for 022 to describe.
But there's one thing 022 can understand: she's very happy.
Jiang Yunlan stood outside the cave, scanning the entire semi-circular platform, and saw the ice crystal stone that was not covered by the heavy snow. The ice crystal stone sat there cleanly, surrounded by a ring of snow.
She stepped over and placed thirteen snowflakes beside it. By placing them here, she could recognize them at a glance, and even if they were covered by other snowflakes, she would still remember they had been there.
If a human who doesn't understand her saw her actions, they might think she didn't like the snowflake gift, but she just wanted the thirteen snowflakes to melt a little slower, a little slower. It didn't matter if she couldn't see them, as long as she knew they were still there.
The beastmen who witnessed this scene didn't understand why Lan did this, but they didn't dwell on it. Lan's happy smile was enough.
"It's snowing today. Do you like snow?" Jiang Yunlan said, taking off a fleece glove to touch the ice crystal.
Over the past few days, she realized something: when she touched the ice crystals, she not only wouldn't get frozen, but she could also sense the emotions of the ice crystal spirits. The spirits didn't like to talk, so this was the only way she could communicate with them.
Sensing the joy emanating from the ice crystal, Jiang Yunlan understood that it loved snowy days. No wonder it's a spirit associated with ice and snow; it certainly loves snow.
"Don't worry, I'll make you a wooden frame in the next couple of days. You won't be covered by the snow while you're on it, and you can keep looking at the snowy scenery outside," Jiang Yunlan said.
If it were covered by heavy snow, its vision would be blocked, just like going back to a dark cave.
The elf didn't understand what a wooden frame was, but it could understand the second half of what the squirrel-beastman cub said, and it happily blinked.
Sensing the emotions emanating from the Ice Crystal Spirit, Jiang Yunlan knew that it was eagerly anticipating the appearance of the wooden frame.
"Then I'll go back first." After she finished speaking, she withdrew her hand, put on her gloves, and went into the cave.
The beastmen were spinning woolen garments, their skills gradually becoming more proficient. They already knew how to knit a sweater and no longer needed Lan to guide them.
Jiang Yunlan knew they had completed their apprenticeship, so she let them fiddle with the yarn on their own and turned to get a piece of tree trunk. She planned to make a round tray and a rectangular tripod. Later, she would put a plush mat in the tray so that the ice crystal sprites could land on it.
"Click, click, click."
Jiang Yunlan was chiseling at the tree trunk with a stone axe when she suddenly realized that the axe in her hand had become dull. She paused for a second, then switched to another stone axe.
She missed iron tools. If they could use iron tools, they wouldn't have to change tools so often, and the orcs could obtain more powerful cold weapons.
First, she needed to find iron ore. Jiang Yunlan's thoughts wandered, and she suddenly remembered that after winter ended, she had to go to find the original owner's clan, so she didn't have the time or energy to look for mines.
The forest was vast, and she wasn't sure how long she would have to search to find traces of the original race, or how much time it would take to locate them.
Jiang Yunlan had to admit one thing: she dared not let the beastmen accompany her on her search. She cared about the beastmen, and she valued the life of each and every one of them. She no longer considered herself a stranger as she had before, and therefore dared not let them risk their lives with her.
"I need to come up with a road sign," she murmured.
She knew that humans in primitive societies used stones to build road signs to indicate the way back to the clan. If she could come up with a road sign that was not easily destroyed and was easy to identify, and give it to the beastmen, then once she fulfilled the original owner's wish, she could find them by following the road signs left by the beastmen.
Is it better to use stones as road signs, or symbols?
Jiang Yunlan suddenly remembered that there was one thing in this world that she would never mistake: the Chinese language.
Chinese, the script of her homeland. In the future, it will take her to the orcs she cares about.
That was her clan, her people.
A note from the author:
----------------------
The little angel "Nan Shige" threw out 17 bottles of snowflakes, which fell fiercely, and Jiang Yunlan caught one of them.
The little angel threw out 5 bottles of snowflakes, which fell fiercely. One of them was caught by Feng Hong and given to Lan.
A new novel with no romantic pairing and focused on infrastructure development is currently available for pre-order and is being highly recommended.
The Only Safe Zone in the Sea
One day, when Zhu Xu'an opened the game, two options appeared in his field of vision.
Please select [Raft] [Land Surface]
He subconsciously chose the [land surface], which was obviously bugged.
[Game, start.]
Zhu Xu'an stood on a 2x1 meter "land surface" with a blank expression.
I've been transported into a game? Wait, this bug isn't complete. Is the land surface like this? (Sound) Damn it, watch me grind it into a moving island!
*
One day, Earth suddenly became a game and transformed into an ocean world.
People can only rely on the game system to survive, but the raft provided by the system will not protect the players.
Monsters leaping onto the raft relentlessly, endless extreme weather, and scarce resources... players are forced to stick together and guard against danger day and night.
They wanted to live.
Even as they struggled to survive, they did everything in their power to stay alive.
The remaining hope in their eyes gradually faded, turning them into mere living corpses.
One day, the desperate players unexpectedly discovered a moving island in the sea.
The transparent protective shield blocked the monster's invasion and gently embraced them, who were covered in wounds.
The cheerful and sunny island owner extended his hand to them, "Hello, players. Welcome to my island. This is the safe zone, a mobile island that will never sink."
At this moment, all the players abandoned their rafts and excitedly rushed onto the island.
Building after building appeared on the ever-expanding island.
A bright lighthouse dispels the darkness and guides lost players to the island, while turrets standing on the island's edge continuously kill monsters and protect the players who are soundly asleep on the island.
More and more laughter filled the moving island, and the eyes of the players coming and going shone with anticipation for the future.
Players who voluntarily became island residents ventured outwards, warmly greeting their newly encountered compatriots: "Welcome to Moving Island, the only safe zone in the world."
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