Chapter 46.2: Collecting Item Cards
The soldiers’ adrenaline surged.
Just moments ago, trudging slowly through the snow, they had still felt the biting cold.
Now…
They weren’t cold anymore.
They weren’t moving sluggishly anymore.
It felt as though their blood itself was boiling.
If there had been an energy bar hovering over their heads, it would have read Energy +100.
They reached the snow beast.
It remained ferocious, baring its fangs and roaring in an attempt to intimidate its enemies into keeping their distance.
The intimidation failed completely.
These humans seemed born without the instinct to fear.
Whenever they spotted an opening, they simply grew more excited and drove their spears forward.
Through her connection with the three believers, Cheng Qisheng could sense the thoughts racing through their minds.
Well…
“Thoughts” was perhaps too generous a description.
There was really only one sentence, repeating over and over like a broken record.
This is amazing! This is amazing! This is amazing! Hahahaha!!
Cheng Qisheng: “…”
I’m used to this by now.
As Blue Sea had developed, most of the younger generation had grown up in cities.
Very few of them had ever had the chance to hunt dangerous wild animals.
So it was understandable that facing a deadly beast for the first time filled them with overwhelming excitement.
“ROAR!!!”
“Rrraaaagh!!!”
Across the endless snowy plain, only the snow beast’s agonized cries echoed through the air.
Gradually, the roars weakened…
Until they faded into silence.
A Tier 1 Black Item Card slowly materialized above the beast’s corpse.
Only then did the three soldiers finally stop, breathing heavily.
Every so often, one of them would nudge or pat the carcass almost instinctively, already estimating how much edible meat it contained and how much warmth and energy it could provide.
Cheng Qisheng gently stroked each of their heads through the divine connection.
That simple gesture triggered another wave of excitement.
The soldiers checked their injuries.
Because their heavy winter gear had slowed their movements slightly, they had suffered a few scrapes and sprains during the fight.
One soldier had dislocated his shoulder.
He simply grabbed his arm, gave it a sharp twist—
Crack.
The joint popped back into place.
Through the faint connection of the divine revelation, they sensed the Creator God asking about their condition.
All three answered almost in unison.
“We can keep going!”
“That was incredible!”
“That was so much fun!”
Well then.
Out of the thirty small squads, seven had encountered snow beasts.
Three of those squads had also run into Red Bears—which seemed to confirm that they really were the most common species.
The remaining four squads encountered only small snow beasts.
The larger ones were about the size of an ordinary dog.
The smallest were no bigger than rabbits.
But their offensive power was nothing like that of normal animals.
One rabbit-sized snow beast was even capable of biting straight through a steel plate.
After a series of fierce battles, only the rabbit-sized snow beast managed to escape.
In the end, including the squad from earlier, the teams obtained a total of four Tier 1 Item Cards.
Three of those had been dropped by Red Bears.
The rewards consisted of:
— Two White Daily Necessities Cards,
— One Black Weapons Card,
— One Green Medical Card.
The most serious casualty occurred when one soldier fought a Red Bear.
To drive her spear through its abdomen, she deliberately chose not to dodge as it lunged at her.
She succeeded.
She effectively solo-killed the Red Bear.
But the beast’s collapsing body came crashing down on top of her, instantly breaking her arm.
Now her teammates were escorting her back to Blue Sea.
Through her divine connection, Cheng Qisheng could hear the injured soldier muttering resentfully the entire way.
“It’s only a minor fracture. It won’t affect my fighting.”
“You don’t need to send me back.”
“I’ve dealt with this before. I can tell it’s a closed fracture.”
“Just set the bone, splint it with a rigid board or a metal plate, strap it tightly, and it’ll be fine.”
“Really—I think I can kill another one.”
“I’ve got experience.”
Cheng Qisheng decided not to wonder exactly where that “experience” with broken bones had come from.
After witnessing the combat ability of the Red Bear—a creature rated as upper-middle tier—she was finally able to put her worries to rest.
“Aether, have you finished drafting the wording for the mission announcement?”
Aether, who had become thoroughly addicted to television dramas over the past few weeks and had consequently gained a much deeper understanding of human society, immediately replied,
“City Lord, everything is ready.”
“I’ve also reviewed the archived footage and assigned every resident a basic combat rating. This should allow us to quickly identify the people best suited for the first wave of expansion missions.”
Cheng Qisheng smiled.
“Nicely done.”
“Tonight, your reward is an extra hour of watching TV.”
She had noticed that Aether would never increase its own leisure time.
Unless she, the City Lord, explicitly approved it, Aether would rigidly stick to the previously established schedule of one hour of entertainment per day.
So whenever she found an opportunity, Cheng Qisheng deliberately granted it a little extra free time.
Aether immediately floated happily above her head.
Cheng Qisheng’s gaze shifted to the President, the Marshal, and the Pope.
Eeny, meeny, miny…
Hmm… let’s pick the President.
—
The President, who was quietly working through a mountain of paperwork while sipping coffee mixed with starfruit juice, suddenly received a divine revelation.
Qin Zhi’s eyes lit up.
He immediately bowed respectfully toward the heavens.
“Yes, my God.”
“Blue Sea will obey Your divine will.”
Zhang Xiongyuan had just arrived at the laboratory.
Earlier, when Blue Sea had urgently begun constructing heated shelters, he had also been assigned work.
Blue Sea was extremely fair when distributing tasks.
Except for children, every resident who was physically capable of working received an assignment whenever the entire city mobilized.
Because Zhang Xiongyuan was elderly, the work assigned to him had been relatively light.
Even so, knowing that the world outside had fallen into extreme cold, and that Blue Sea had called on everyone to work so people could survive the freezing temperatures, he had thrown himself into the task with complete dedication.
This was his first time experiencing a world transfer, and deep down he was still somewhat uneasy.
As soon as the shelter work was finished, Zhang Xiongyuan hurried onto a city bus and headed straight to the laboratory.
He wanted to continue contributing to Blue Sea in this new world.
But the moment one foot crossed the laboratory doorway—
Ding.
His phone chimed.
The sound was already a familiar one.
Every time the Safe City issued an important announcement, that was the notification tone it used.
He immediately did the same as everyone else in the laboratory and pulled out his phone to check the notification.
[Attention, all residents—
Expansion Mission for the Extreme Cold World is now available.
Mission Difficulty: Extreme Danger
Possible Hazards: Extreme cold, snow beasts. (Tap to expand for detailed information.)
Tip: Defeating snow beasts has a chance to drop Item Cards. (Tap to expand for detailed information.)
Residents who wish to volunteer for this expansion mission may register using the link below. Please note: this mission involves encounters with snow beasts. During the first phase, only residents with a combat rating of 70 or above are eligible to apply.
Upon successful registration, you will receive a Blue Sea polar protective suit on loan before departing from the temple to carry out the mission. Any surplus Item Cards should be turned in at the temple, and you will receive contribution points as a reward.
There is no time limit and no mandatory objectives. The only requirement is that you survive in this world.
Go forth and build your own new home in this frozen world. May our God watch over you.]
Zhang Xiongyuan stared blankly at the announcement.
…What does this mean?
Does this world require the residents to go out and live on their own?
Leave the warmth of the Safe City…
And head out into a world that’s −70°C…
Me?
Zhang Xiongyuan was completely bewildered.
Meanwhile, the native Blue Sea residents in the laboratory instantly sprang into action.
Most of them barely bothered reading the full announcement before frantically tapping the registration link.
“Ahhh! Registration’s already full! I knew it would be!”
“That took, what, forty seconds? Their reflexes are insane!”
“I got into the application page! I actually got in! But then it said my combat rating was too low and rejected me! Aaah! Why?! I only lost one arm! This is discrimination!”
Still standing there, completely lost in thought, Zhang Xiongyuan looked utterly out of place among his coworkers.
…Did none of you notice that the mission is literally labeled Extreme Danger?
They just… signed up without a second thought?
Although Zhang Xiongyuan had gradually grown accustomed to the way Blue Sea’s people behaved, moments like this still left him feeling dazed.
He decided to find where his combat rating was displayed.
It turned out to be easy enough.
After closing the message, he noticed that his phone’s interface had changed at some point.
Beneath the clock, where there had previously been nothing, was now a combat rating display.
Resident: Zhang Xiongyuan
Combat Rating: 3
Zhang Xiongyuan: “…”
Three?
Not even in the teens?
Just… 3?
He glanced back around the laboratory.
Those who had successfully registered were celebrating excitedly.
Those who hadn’t were busy reopening the information on snow beasts and Item Cards.
Others, unwilling to give up, were checking their own combat ratings.
“Why is my combat rating only 55?”
“I’m only 54. I guess it’s because I’ve been so busy working that I never have time to exercise. I need to start working out. Great God above, please bless me so I can raise it to 70 within three months!”
“I got 69!! Waaaah! I’m just one point short! Damn it! I’m obviously in great shape!”
“I’ve got the lowest score—only 46. Damn. I need to eat more Starfruit vegetables to improve my health. Even Tu Zhang, who lost an arm, still scored 47.”
The entire laboratory erupted into complaints about everyone’s combat ratings being too low.
At the same time, people enthusiastically discussed training plans and fitness routines, trying to figure out how they could quickly raise their ratings to the minimum qualifying score of 70.
A student who had also come from Velvet Star approached Zhang Xiongyuan with a miserable expression.
“Professor, what’s your combat rating? Mine’s only 30. I’m too embarrassed to tell the others.”
Zhang Xiongyuan: “…”
He looked once more at the glaring 3 displayed on his screen.
Then, without a word, he quietly slipped his phone back into his pocket.
Keeping a perfectly serious expression, he said,
“We’re researchers. Combat rating isn’t important.”
“As long as we do our jobs well, that’s what matters.”
“All right, let’s get back to work.”
The scene wasn’t unique to the laboratory.
The residents’ offices throughout Blue Sea were filled with the same chorus of lamentation.
Those whose combat ratings were too low…
And those whose ratings were high enough but who had failed to grab one of the limited registration slots…
All of them were groaning in disappointment.
Wang Moning looked at her successful registration and let out a long sigh of relief.
Her combat rating had landed at 71, just barely above the cutoff.
It was probably because she had awakened a supernatural ability that her score had been boosted so much.
If it had been before that, she definitely wouldn’t have qualified.
Thank goodness my fingers were fast.
She had only skimmed the announcement before immediately scrolling down and furiously tapping the registration button.
Otherwise, she’d be among the crowd lamenting their bad luck right now.
Hahaha!
I’m in the first wave of pioneers!
To conserve resources, the city’s AI had changed the housing arrangements.
Instead of assigning one resident to each cave dwelling, every cave now housed at least three people.
Wang Moning currently shared one with Song Xi and another member of their squad.
She looked up happily and saw that Song Xi was grinning as well—
wearing her trademark crooked smile.
Wang Moning: crooked grin.
The third teammate: crooked grin.
Song Xi took one look at their expressions and immediately knew the outcome.
That only made him happier.
“Looks like all of us got in!”
“Awesome! Let’s go buy some chicken drumsticks to celebrate!”
Wang Moning became even more excited.
“Yes, yes! I’m getting a chicken mini drumstick!”
We’re so lucky!
We actually grabbed one of the limited slots for an Extreme Danger mission! Hahahaha…
…Huh?
As she laughed, Wang Moning suddenly realized something.
She used to be quite afraid of danger.
And yet now…
Simply securing a spot on an Extreme Danger mission had filled her with genuine happiness.
I guess your environment really can change your personality.
Meanwhile, Song Xi was already reading through the detailed mission description, her imagination running wild.
“This is an Extreme Danger mission! There are snow beasts! We can really sharpen our combat skills.”
“And these Item Cards—I knew it!”
“I just knew that the more dangerous the mission, the better the rewards!”
“How about this?”
“Let’s set ourselves a small goal first…”
“Let’s save up enough for a down payment! What do you think?!”
Wang Moning blinked in surprise.
“A down payment? The rewards are really that generous?”
“You see? Item Cards can be exchanged for contribution points. Kill a snow beast, and you have a chance of getting an Item Card.”
Song Xi had clearly thought this through.
“According to the briefing, there are plenty of snow beasts out there.”
“So earning enough for a down payment is only a matter of time!”
“We managed to get into the first wave, so we only have to repay the loan for Blue Sea’s own protective suit.”
“But by the time the second wave heads out, they’ll have to pay contribution points to rent the insulated suits that come from Item Cards.”
“Those cost three times as much.”
“And we can even make money as middlemen.”
“We can open the Item Cards ourselves. If we get insulated suits, we can rent them out to other residents.”
“If we’re lucky, we’ll earn even more.”
A moment ago, Wang Moning had been wondering whether she’d become a little too reckless.
After hearing Song Xi’s analysis…
She no longer thought so at all.
The greater the danger, the greater the opportunity.
Blue Sea really doesn’t lie to us!
“Then let’s pack up and head out!”
This time, however, Song Xi was the calmest among them.
After all, he was the squad leader.
“Hold on.”
“Let’s wait for the AI to assign our departure schedule.”
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the city’s AI sent another notification.
Their departure route and assigned time slot for leaving the city had all been arranged.
“…Why do we have to wait another three hours?”
Back in the previous world, they had also needed to queue up before going out to hunt zombies, so Wang Moning was already used to waiting.
Still, this was the first expansion mission.
She had assumed there wouldn’t be that many participants.
The third teammate guessed, “Maybe opening the city gates in this weather requires extra preparation.”
Wang Moning nodded.
“As long as there aren’t too many people.”
In the previous world, competing with everyone else to hunt zombies had been utterly exhausting.
Song Xi laughed.
“There probably won’t be that many.”
“Although…”
“If the government wants our first batch to bring back lots of Item Cards, then use those cards to equip more residents so they can head out too…”
“…then there really might end up being a lot of people.”
She had only meant it as a joke.
But the more she thought about it, the quieter her voice became.
…Wait.
That might actually happen.
The mission briefing had explicitly stated that this world wasn’t suitable for everyone staying inside the temple. Residents were expected to venture out, obtain building Item Cards, and establish homes of their own in the wilderness.
If that was the plan…
Then the size of the first expedition probably wouldn’t be small at all.
Wang Moning’s expression stiffened.
The memory of the previous world—where three people had competed over a single zombie—flashed through her mind.
She coughed awkwardly.
“…The protective suits we’re borrowing can’t be taken too far from the temple, right?”
“So… they probably won’t issue them to that many people?”
The third teammate rubbed her face.
“But if we obtain Item Cards…”
“…then we can move farther away from the temple, can’t we?”
Wang Moning tried to estimate.
“So maybe… one hundred thousand people?”
“Two hundred thousand?”
As the squad leader, Song Xi dared to guess even higher.
“Maybe… three hundred thousand.”
The instant the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
“Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!”
“May our God protect us!”
“I take it back!”
“Please, anything but three hundred thousand!”
—
The gates of Blue Sea Safe City slowly opened.
Cheng Qisheng watched as the residents boarded the buses that had already been assigned to them.
The buses sped along the spiraling ring roads that wound downward layer after layer, racing toward the city gates.
These were Blue Sea’s first pioneers.
And they were also the seeds being scattered across this frozen world.
How many Item Cards Blue Sea would ultimately acquire…
How many residents would eventually be able to leave the temple and establish lives of their own…
Everything depended on these 1.5 million pioneers.
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