Chapter 155 - 112: As Long as It’s Not the Ice Field
Most of these Haiqiu Clan People had a decent level of education and scientific literacy. In the future, once they adapted to life in the territory, some could be chosen to join the research institute and work on tech projects. For now, though, they would focus on developing the Glacier World.
Besides the two original life forms of the Glacier World, the jungle was now home to numerous little sprites. They were all newborns or recent recruits, clinging to the plants of the Ice Crystal Jungle and generating Spiritual Energy for the territory.
On the Ice Crystal Trees, there were also more than ten Great Elves. As leaders of the little sprites, they were responsible for teaching them.
In addition, a number of fairies, elves, dwarves, and some relatively cold-resistant animals had come over from the territory.
They would establish a new settlement here, centered around the Ice Crystal Tree.
...
Once all preparations were complete, Yuan Xiaobo’s expedition team set off again. This time, they had two new members: Dong Lin and Aburara.
Dong Lin was a formidable fighter, serving as both a heavy hitter and a tank, while Aburara took on the role of guide.
The purpose of their expedition was to find the source of the world’s mutation—the giant creature that was, in all likelihood, already dead.
Following the direction Aburara pointed out, the team once again set out across the ice plain, though in a different direction from Xijing City.
Along the way, the team members glided swiftly over the ice on their own sleds and snowboards.
Other than the wind blowing in their faces, the ice plain remained unchanged. It was the same ice, the same snow, everywhere they looked.
More than ten days passed during the monotonous journey.
"Yaaawn~"
Mirus yawned, sitting up on Lin Kong’s shoulder.
"Are we there yet? I’m sore all over from sleeping!"
Lin Kong rolled his eyes. "Mirus, that’s from sleeping too much. How about you take a turn skiing?"
"But I’m little! Besides, you don’t have a sled that small!"
"Who says? I brought all sizes of sleds this time."
Mirus didn’t doubt Lin Kong’s claim for a second. His backpack was always full of unexpected things.
Her eyes darted playfully, and with a small giggle, she leaned over and planted a kiss on Lin Kong’s cheek. "Oh, I was just kidding! Here, let me give you a massage. You’ve worked so hard!"
With that, she started kneading his shoulders.
"Now that’s more like it!"
"A little lower..."
Just then, a snow owl swooped down from the sky, landing on Lin Kong’s sled and transforming into Lin Yan.
She then shouted to the team, "The ice plain is changing up ahead! Keep it up, we might be close to our destination!"
"Really? Sister Lin?"
"Yes. When I was flying just now, I saw a dark, raised shadow on the horizon. I don’t know what it is, but at least it’s not more ice plain."
"Yeah, anything’s better than more ice plain."
...
Another day passed. The distant landmark seemed to never get any closer, a perfect illustration of the saying that a watched mountain will run your horse to death.
But after a full day of skiing, the team finally reached the changed landscape Lin Yan had seen.
The vast ice plain ended abruptly. Ahead of them was a sea of clouds and fog—no land, no icebergs, just an empty sky.
A cliff sliced across the entire ice plain, as if a blade had cut it in two and stolen the other half.
Below the cliff was a profound silence, filled with billowing clouds and mist that seemed to swirl in welcome.
"How do we get down?"
"Jump?" Yuan Xiaobo suggested. Niu Armor and Dong Lin immediately agreed. The three brutes, confident in their high defense, had developed a taste for this sort of thing ever since they leaped into an ice pit.
"And how do we get back up?" Lin Kong rolled his eyes.
"Well, I can turn into a bird, so flying up and down is no problem for me," Lin Yan said nonchalantly.
"I can too, but the main problem is..." Lin Kong paused.
Aburara understood the unspoken words and said apologetically, "I’m sorry, Mr. Lin. It’s all my fault. I’m too useless, causing you all this trouble."
"Don’t worry about it. I was the one who wanted to bring you."
"Anyway, do you recognize this place? Are we far from our destination?"
"I’ve read about this place in a book. The destination should be down below," Aburara said with certainty after a moment of recollection.
"This is the famous Great Fault. According to scientists, it was formed by the collision of tectonic plates. The ice plain we were on is part of our planet’s high plateau, which is already several thousand meters higher than the plains below. After the world changed, the plateau was covered with another few-thousand-meter-thick layer of ice, making the distance to the plains below even greater."
"You’re saying the ice below isn’t as thick as it is up here?" Lin Kong asked, surprised. He had assumed the entire world was covered in kilometers of ice.
"Before we entered the Underground City, according to the data we collected, no, it wasn’t!"
"Now that’s interesting. Maybe we’ll run into more of your Haiqiu Clan People down there!"
"Ahem... that’s not very likely," Aburara said regretfully. "Before we entered the Underground City, most of the Haiqiu Clan People outside of the Floating City had already perished."
"Although the temperature is higher and the ice is thinner down there, it’s teeming with mutated creatures. Most of our people were driven up to the plateau..."
Aburara gazed down from the cliff with a melancholic expression, recalling the catastrophic scenes from books and video recordings of when the world changed.
"It’s okay now. You can rebuild your home with our help. Things will get better from now on."
"Yes!" Lin Kong’s words pulled Aburara from his sorrow. After joining the Divine Wood Territory, they had not only received the territory’s protection but had also learned to absorb and manipulate Spiritual Energy. With Spiritual Energy, the hard ice was no longer an unbreakable barrier.
"Mr. Lin, I remember the terrain on the map. If we head that way, there should be a gentler slope. We can go down from there instead of jumping. It would be much safer."
"Great! See? I told you it was useful to bring you along!" Lin Kong clapped Aburara on the shoulder, then looked at Yuan Xiaobo, who had also heard him.
"Let’s go. We’ll take the slope down..." Yuan Xiaobo’s voice held a trace of regret, but for the safety of the team, he decided to go with them.
The team followed the cliff’s edge for a day before finally reaching a less steep area.
"This is it. The slope will get even gentler if we go further," Aburara explained.
From here, they could use their sleds and snowboards to slide straight down to the plains below. So, they stopped following the cliff and chose to slide directly down the slope.
"Ready? Hold on tight!"
"I’m holding on, Mr. Lin."
"Alright, here we go~"
"Woohoo~"
Skiing downhill was extremely fast, especially on a near-vertical descent like this. It was only slightly slower than a free fall.
In no time, the team was halfway down the mountainside, where the slope became more gradual.
"That was awesome! Next time I get a break, I’m going to try that first cliff. I bet that’ll be even better!" Yuan Xiaobo said excitedly.
"Only high-level, high-grade heroes with high defense like you guys can get away with that. If I tried it, you’d probably have to visit me back in the territory."
"Visit you at the Vein of Life, you mean?"
"Don’t worry, Lin Kong. If you end up at the Vein of Life, I’ll take good care of you," Rose said earnestly.
"You guys are the worst~"
"Hahaha~"
...
"Look, quick! What’s that up ahead?" Mirus, perched on Lin Kong’s head, shouted, pointing at a large shadow at the foot of the mountain.
"It doesn’t look like ice!"
As they drew closer, the team discovered a vast jungle stretching across the plains at the foot of the mountain.
These native plants had also mutated, adapting to the frigid environment. Unlike the pure ice-type plants catalyzed by the Ice Crystal Tree, they retained some of their original colors. Their ice-blue leaves had hints of green, red, and purple shining through from within.
"Yay! Something new, finally!" Mirus cheered.
"Don’t get too excited. They’re mutated, so there could be some aggressive ones," Lin Kong said, raining on her parade.
"What’s there to be afraid of? Our team is so strong! As long as it’s not more ice plain, it’s fine!!"