Chapter 130: Land of the Yeti 6
After digging for a while longer, Moira Lynch stopped what she was doing once again.
Her spiritual power detected that a battle had apparently just taken place not far ahead.
Moira emerged from the snow. Looking around, she saw the ground was covered in traces of combat—pitted and uneven, with small, scattered icebergs strewn about.
Based on the color of these small icebergs, Moira determined they must have fallen off an Erqii. The ice from a Zidra wasn’t this pure.
Moira extended her spiritual power, collecting all the icebergs within her sight into her storage space. She also picked up quite a few snowballs while she was at it.
As Moira was continuously extending her spiritual power to collect the icebergs, she suddenly noticed a large number of players gathered in a spot several hundred meters away.
She roughly estimated there were several dozen people, perhaps even more.
Her spiritual power had reached its limit, so she couldn’t probe any farther.
Moira had originally intended to avoid such a large gathering of players. The more people, the more trouble. Right now, she just wanted to complete her mission as quickly as possible. That was the most important thing.
Just as she was about to leave, a familiar mechanical voice sounded in her mind:
[Side Quest Triggered: After a year of rest and recovery, the fish in Lake Iluna are at their most plump and delicious. Capture them, and you will receive unexpected benefits.]
’Unexpected benefits?’
Moira’s gaze shifted to the distance. ’No wonder so many people are gathered there.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Moira decided to go and check it out. But before she went, she needed to disguise herself.
She took off her hat and glasses and pulled on a ski mask, leaving only her eyes exposed. She changed her pupil color and took off two layers of clothing.
This was to prevent anyone from shamelessly getting ideas about her clothes if they saw how warmly she was dressed.
Once she was ready, she headed toward Lake Iluna.
Meanwhile, over at Lake Iluna, all the gathered players were pale from the cold, yet not a single one wanted to give up or leave. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but that they couldn’t.
Although side quests were voluntary, the one at Lake Iluna was special. It could only begin once enough people had assembled.
Right now, ninety-nine people were gathered, and they were just one person short of being able to officially start the quest.
Just then, someone in the crowd pointed to a figure in the distance and exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Look over there! Someone’s coming this way!"
Hearing this, Redlight shot to his feet. He looked into the distance and, sure enough, saw someone striding toward them.
Before Moira even reached Lake Iluna, she could feel several intense gazes on her.
The moment she arrived at the lake, two groups of people immediately came up to greet her.
One of them was Redlight, whom Moira had met before.
’I can’t believe I’m running into an acquaintance here.’ Moira subtly withdrew her gaze and looked at the other group, which was led by an elegant man in a black overcoat.
The man wore a gentle smile. Seeing Moira’s thin clothes, he stepped forward and said softly, "You must be cold dressed like that. I happen to have a thick coat here, you should wear it. My name is Zephyr Murphy. Welcome to our team."
Watching the man approach with the coat, about to drape it over her, Moira took a few wary steps back.
Although the man had projected a gentle and refined demeanor—like a pleasant spring breeze—since he appeared, Moira recognized him.
She had encountered him during the third game in Mocha Forest.
Back then, she had only caught a glimpse of him from afar before immediately leaving. Now it seemed her decision had been correct. This man was extremely dangerous.
Moira caught faint ripples of spiritual power emanating from the man and determined his talent was likely also from the Spiritual System.
Seeing Moira retreat, a flicker of displeasure crossed the man’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He returned to his gentle expression. "Don’t be nervous. I’m not a bad person."
’As if I’d believe you.’
Moira took a few more steps back and, without hesitation, turned and walked toward Redlight’s group.
In that short time, she had already figured out the rules of this game. Simply put, it was a competition between two sides, which could only begin when exactly one hundred people were present.
However, the game system didn’t require the two teams to have an equal number of players.
The competition would last for one hour, and any means were permitted. During that time, the side that caught more fish would win. The winning side might also trigger a hidden quest.
The rewards for the hidden quest were generous. It seemed everyone was here for that.
Zephyr Murphy watched Moira’s unhesitating departure, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.
Redlight looked at Zephyr Murphy and snorted coldly. "Looks like not everyone falls for that deceptive act of yours."
Hearing this, the man replied coldly, "It’s just one person. Do you really think she can change the final outcome? Our side has well over ten more people than yours."
After hearing that, Redlight glared, but he knew Zephyr Murphy was telling the truth. Their opponent had sixty-nine people, while their side, even including the newcomer, only had thirty-one.
Moira walked into the crowd. Due to the low temperature, the players were huddled together for warmth.
Seeing Moira approach, one of them scooted over to make space. "Come on, it’s warmer over here," he said.
Moira shook her head and didn’t go over.
She wasn’t cold and didn’t need to huddle for warmth.
When she didn’t come, the person didn’t insist.
Seeing how little she was wearing without even shivering from the cold, they guessed her talent might be ice-related, which was why she wasn’t afraid of the cold.
With all players from both sides in position, the first step was to break through the thick layer of ice.
This kind of task was usually handled by those who had awakened physical enhancement abilities.
Zephyr Murphy’s side had already started smashing the ice.
A dozen or so people with physical enhancement talents took off their clothes. Their bodies began to swell dramatically as they balled their fists and slammed them violently onto the ice.
Seeing this, Moira assumed her side would follow a similar procedure, but then she saw Redlight call over a few teammates.
The men pressed something at their waists. Immediately, their bodies were covered in black armor, drawing shocked gasps from the surrounding people.
It wasn’t just them; even Moira was shocked. She knew they were wearing Exoskeleton Armor, but the armor she had sold didn’t look like this, and the color was wrong too.