novelslam Chapter 99 [Snowy Plains, Wolf Packs, and God's Intentions]
Chapter 99 [Snowy Plains, Wolf Packs, and God's Intentions]
With the heavy creaking of the winch, the cold, pale world outside the door came into view for the four of them.
A fierce, cold wind, carrying heavy snowflakes, swept towards us, whistling sharply.
The four-person team bid farewell to Blackrock Fortress and officially stepped into the vast snowfields of the Weeping Mountains.
The climate here is harsh, a stark contrast to the warmer river valleys.
The wind and snow pounded on Chen Kai's [Scholar's Barrier], and an invisible energy fluctuation rippled across the surface of the rune plate armor. All the snowflakes melted before they even touched the armor.
The cold weather did not bother Aija at all; the excellent insulation of her Prospector leather armor allowed her to move freely in the low temperatures.
The [Guardian Heart] amulet on Li Yao's chest emitted a warm glow, and a continuous flow of life energy coursed through her limbs and bones, counteracting the slight discomfort caused by the [Seed of Chaos] within her body in the cold environment.
The group moved forward in silence, the only sound being the crunching of their feet on the thick snow.
Several hours later, they had penetrated deep into the heart of the snowfield.
"Stop." Chen Kai, who was walking at the front, suddenly raised his hand.
His spear, named "Fang of the Wind," emitted a faint humming sound at its tip in the wind and snow.
Wang Xuan and Ai Jia immediately stopped and went on high alert.
Behind the surrounding hills, pairs of eyes glowing with an eerie green light lit up.
There were at least a dozen of them.
Those were the first wave of native monsters in this mountain range: the Icefield Wolves.
They are a whole size larger than the wolves in the valley, and their gray-white fur blends almost into the snow, making them run silently.
A low growl.
The wolf pack launched an attack.
They pounced from all directions, their movements coordinated and orderly, clearly those of experienced hunters.
Chen Kai, wielding the [Fang of Wind], took the lead. With a simple thrust of the spear, he easily tore through the hard fur of the Ice Wolf, which was strong enough to withstand knife cuts.
The spear's [sharpness] property demonstrated an overwhelming advantage against such low-level creatures.
The largest wolf bypassed Chen Kai and attacked Wang Xuan, the weakest member of the group, from the flank.
Wang Xuan raised his arm to block, and the moment he made contact with the alpha wolf, the rune on the chest of the [Scholar's Barrier] lit up.
[Stable] Runes are automatically activated.
The impact, powerful enough to break a large tree, was completely neutralized, turning into a negligible tremor.
Confusion was evident in the alpha wolf's eyes.
Chen Kai seized the opportunity, turned around and thrust his spear, the tip of which pierced precisely into its eye socket.
Aija did not participate in the direct combat; she moved to the body of an ice wolf that Chen Kai had killed.
She took out a specially made airtight blood collection tube from her leather pouch, skillfully collected a wolf blood sample, and then cut off a piece of tissue with a small scalpel.
After doing all this, she retreated to the back of the group and took out a portable alchemy analyzer.
Just as she was analyzing the situation, a previously overlooked dire wolf silently pounced out of the snowdrift behind her.
"Watch out!" Wang Xuan exclaimed.
Li Yao, who was in the corner, raised her head.
Her eyes no longer held fear, only calmness.
She reached out her hand to the dire wolf that was lunging at Ayja.
An idea took shape within the Seed of Chaos.
【slow】.
The dire wolf froze in mid-air.
Its every movement was slowed down tenfold.
Chen Kai's spear struck first, piercing its throat.
Li Yao's face was slightly pale, but this time, the consumption of her mental energy was minimal.
She didn't even feel the hunger and backlash emanating from the Seed of Chaos.
The battle ended in less than ten minutes.
An easy victory greatly boosted the team's confidence.
"The sample analysis results are in." Ai Jia stood up and waved the portable instrument in her hand.
"Their auditory systems are defective and cannot tolerate high-frequency sound waves in a certain band. Next time we encounter them, we won't even need to take action."
The team's collaboration is becoming increasingly seamless.
……
In the real world, Xu also leisurely observes everything that happens in the terrarium.
"Not bad." He was very satisfied with the growth of the first generation of the Disaster Squad.
"Their equipment upgrades, teamwork, and tactical skills are already at the level of a near-top-tier adventure team."
"It's just a pity..." Xu Ye's face showed a slightly regretful expression.
The evolution data of a single elite squad is too "clean" and too linear.
This team's problem-solving approach is efficient, rational, and logical.
But this lacks breadth.
He craves more chaos and unpredictability.
I want to see how a team of brutes can use sheer force to fight a boss that requires solving a puzzle.
I want to see how a team full of "i-people" can complete a great adventure by hiding and stealing.
I want to see how a team of con artists, thieves, and speculators stir up trouble on the continent of Ashem.
For Xu Ye, this four-person team is a well-made drama.
But now, he wants to see more fun, more "eye-catching" stuff.
"It's time." Xu also named this plan "Natural Disaster Plan 2.0".
He went to the computer desk and brought up the technology database belonging to the Kaz civilization that he had previously separated and stored.
Using the information technology, he anonymously logged into the dark web forum hidden in the deepest part of the internet.
A brand new post was quietly published.
[Title: "Asem Online" Ver 0.2 "100-Player Closed Beta" Global Recruitment Open!]
Do you feel that the so-called open world is just a giant, meticulously designed cage filled with invisible walls?
Are you tired of following quest guides and running around the map, becoming a puppet of the storyline?
Do you want to experience true freedom? A... real, alternate world where you can survive by any means necessary.
This time, Xu Ye quietly replaced the core selling point of the recruitment copy.
"This is more than just a game."
"This is another, even more exciting chapter in my life."
"The key here is authenticity!"
At the end of the post, in addition to the official application link, there was an extra line of small, blood-red text.
[Warning: The death penalty in this closed beta is extremely severe. Permanent damage or deletion of your character is normal. Those with weak mental fortitude should not attempt this.]
After posting the message, Xu stretched and leaned back in his wicker chair.
He poured himself a cup of hot tea and waited quietly.
next second.
The encrypted server, specifically designed to receive requests, was displaying a rapidly scrolling number representing the number of emails.
Ten letters.
One hundred letters.
One thousand letters.
In less than a minute, tens of thousands of beta testing application emails from all over the world completely overwhelmed the server's temporary mailbox.
……
at the same time.
Deep in the snow-covered plains of the Weeping Mountains.
Chen Kai raised his hand again, signaling the team to stop.
"What's wrong? Another wolf?" Wang Xuan looked around warily.
"No." Chen Kai shook his head.
He pointed the tip of the [Wind Fang] spear at a snowy patch not far ahead.
All eyes were drawn to it.
There were several huge and deep footprints there.
Each footprint was larger than the entire team combined.
They do not belong to the direwolves, nor to any known creatures in this mountain range.