Intelligence Exchange, Ultimately the Oriole! (Third Update)

"When the beasts rioted, Ma Gu didn't face much pressure because he was alone, and he said things like he wasn't satisfied."

"But if we extrapolate from the current situation, the number of monsters encountered in large shelters will likely increase exponentially!"

Seeing that the snow had already soaked a corner of Ma Gu's notebook, Su Mo quickly put it back into his Storage Space.

Hypothesis: The more people involved, the greater the severity of the disaster.

Now, including Su Mo himself, there are only fifteen people, yet the intensity of the wind and snow has increased so noticeably.

The conditions in large shelters housing dozens or hundreds of people would probably be even worse.

Trying to open the world chat panel, sure enough, Su Mo saw a small number of comments in the chat panel, which further confirmed his suspicions.

"The snow here is really weird, it's getting heavier and heavier. At first I was happy that I wouldn't have to worry about water anymore, but now it looks like if it snows all night, I might as well not go out tomorrow!"

"No, the snow here is quite light. And something strange happened: my brother and I went out to collect wood, and when we came back, guess what? We found that the snow near the shelter wasn't as heavy as the snow outside."

"Thankfully, the snow is quite heavy here at our shelter too. The captain just came over and was about to gather a group of people to build Snow House. Hopefully, the snow won't stop, otherwise, going out to work in this weather would be a waste of time, which would be terrible."

"."

No one noticed that the degree of disaster was gradually affected by the increase or decrease in the number of people; only a small number of people found it strange.

"No, I have to verify this information; it's crucial to the future development of the shelter!"

If current speculation holds true, the idea of building shelters for 10,000, 100,000, or even 1 million people will become nothing more than empty talk.

At that time, with so many people gathered together, the disaster they will face will likely be magnified exponentially.

Even a normal magnitude 1 earthquake can escalate to magnitude 9 or even 10 due to the large number of people involved!

Opening the private message panel, Su Mo glanced at it and found Shen Ke.

This time, Su Mo chose to make a voice call directly.

A rapid ringing sound appeared in his ear. Before Su Mo could even marvel at the magic of the Game Panel, Shen Ke on the other end had already answered the phone.

"Hey, Su God, what's up!" Although Shen Ke deliberately raised her tone to sound cheerful, Su Mo still caught the weariness in her voice.

"Hmm, how's your Tundra Shelter doing today?"

"It's alright! The snow is a bit heavy, but everyone's in high spirits right now. They're all clamoring to boil Snow Water for a hot drink. We haven't had much water these past few days, so we're very excited to see the snow."

Speaking of this, Su Mo could finally sense a trace of joy from Shen Ke, as if a long-awaited rain had fallen after a drought. Everyone regarded this snow as the mercy of the gods upon mankind.

However, this is entirely understandable, since apart from people like Su Mo who have a steady supply of drinking water every day, water is an extremely scarce resource for everyone else, even in large shelters.

When people suddenly become wealthy, everyone is naturally happy and joyful, ignoring the fatal problem of the extent of the disaster.

"Well... I have a slight guess, you can verify it. Based on my judgment, the severity of the snowstorm, or rather the severity of this 'disaster,' will most likely vary with the number of people or factors related to that number. The greater this variable, the stronger the snowstorm, and vice versa."

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Shen Ke fell silent for a moment.

Immediately, Su Mo could hear through the microphone was the heavy thud of footsteps on the snow.

About half a minute later, when the voice came from the other end of the phone, it had become a deep male voice:

"Hello, Su Mo. I was the one who negotiated the deal with you last time. You should remember me, right?"

Su Mo recognized the voice; it was the man who had brought the recorder when Shen Ke was unable to make a decision last time.

Without any attempt to conceal anything, Su Mo simply transformed the fact that someone had entered the shelter area and discovered that the snowstorm had intensified into a conclusion drawn from intelligence gathered from informants and analysis with acquaintances.

Nine parts truth and one part falsehood—it sounds perfectly plausible!

After a brief conversation, the man on the other end of the line hurriedly left to verify the authenticity of the information. Shen Ke then answered the phone again and began chatting casually.

Nothing was wrong, and Su Mo was happy to have someone to talk to.

The two chatted about snow scenes in the north and south, then about the differences in winter customs between the two regions, and then about hot pot and Warm Pot. When Su Mo got hungry, a few small dots finally appeared on the horizon.

"Wait, Shen Ke, if your intelligence verification is successful, just remember to send me a message. I have something to attend to."

"Ah? Okay!"

After quickly hanging up the phone, Su Mo shifted his body from side to side, which was a bit stiff from lying down for so long, and then picked up the binoculars to look.

This time, the creature Su Mo that appeared was not unfamiliar at all.

They were kobolds! And a whole squad of eighteen kobolds!

This squad alone has eight Warlock Kobold. Even Su Mo would have a hard time dealing with them head-on without the help of crossbows.

Not to mention the fourteen poorly equipped lackeys currently in the Underground Shelter.

"This is truly an emotional drama of the year. First there were six people, then eight, and now eighteen kobolds have joined in."

"So, my Underground Shelter has now become a glowing underground treasure trove? It's attracted everything?"

Beneath the mask, Su Mo's face was cold, and his eyes revealed an undisguised killing intent.

Su Mo still had a shred of affection for humans, but when it came to beasts like the dog-headed men, he would kill them without mercy the moment he encountered them!

In Su Mo's mind, the kobolds were far more dangerous than the lion-men.

It wasn't because they learned how to use gunpowder, a powerful weapon, nor because they brought a huge amount of supplies with them when they arrived, and even because they built a magnificent castle from scratch in just a few days!

It's intelligence!

The kobolds are much smarter than the lion-men, whether in defense or offense, or in the smallest details.

"Since you're here, there's no need to leave! Leave them all here!"

Su Mo pulled out his crossbow, his hands gripping the handle tightly Combat Suit, and replaced the ordinary crossbow bolts in the bow.

A flash of light.

Five crudely designed, ridiculously comical-looking Picric Acid Explosive Crossbow Bolts appeared in Su Mo's hands.

One by one, Su Mo carefully pressed them into the magazine.

"Oreo, is the danger coming from these kobolds?" Su Mo asked calmly, pressing the self-test button and listening to the sound of the motor working.

The next second, Oreo first nodded, then shook his head.

Oreo raised its head towards the distance, then lay down again, signaling Su Mo to continue waiting.

"Huh? There are other people?"

"None of the eighteen kobolds are the ultimate source of danger. This drama is getting more and more exciting!"

Even behind his mask, Su Mo was so angry he almost laughed.

What was initially thought to be a group of people courting death has escalated beyond recognition. Even without using his imagination, Su Mo could guess the complex emotions and grudges involved.

The path, not yet covered by snow, was once again trodden along by kobolds.

The dense footprints became a guiding light.

The kobold squad split into two groups almost without hesitation as they passed the hill of the Deep Sea Shelter, sneaking along both sides.

All of this was clearly seen by Su Mo, who was lying on the high slope with only his eyes showing.

"What a terrible performance. If I were in the shelter watching it on TV, it would be quite an experience."

Three groups of people have already gone there, and their purposes are clearly different.

Each group thought they were the last one to catch the bird, but alas, when two more people appeared at the end of their line of sight, Su Mo knew that this time, he was the only one left to catch the bird!

Oreo, still lying on the ground, had begun to bark softly, unable to contain himself.

In the snowy weather, the target was obvious: the last two were clearly the biggest threat!

Compared to the previous fourteen people and eighteen kobolds, the equipment of these two can no longer be described as merely excellent!

It wasn't until the two were within 300 meters of each other, amidst the wind and snow, that Su Mo could clearly see their faces.

The one walking on the left was wearing a luxurious Combat Suit that he had somehow acquired, with brand-new, shiny military boots. With a turn, his very warm-looking polar thermal pants peeked out from under his Combat Suit.

The face that turned around was familiar to Su Mo; it was none other than Maeda Kento he had been "longing for" for a long time!

The landmarks of the Deep Sea Shelter and the footprints on the ground did not surprise Maeda Kento. Instead, he smiled and said something to the big guy next to him.

The big guy on the right also cooperated, making a gesture in the air, and two dark objects appeared in his hands.

"They actually have guns. No wonder these two are the biggest threat in Oreo's perception!"

Under the telescope, Su Mo couldn't see clearly what kind of gun it was, but he could vaguely distinguish from its shape that it was two pistols.

The two men skillfully removed and reloaded their magazines, with Maeda Kento even picking up his pistol and pretending to aim it at something in the distance.

This action drew a burst of laughter from the big guy next to him.

In such a "harmonious" atmosphere, the two checked their equipment one last time before quickly moving forward.

"Looks like this long-awaited show is finally about to begin!"

On the hilltop, Su Mo, almost completely covered in snow, slowly stood up after watching the two figures walk away.

With a slight shake, patches of snowflakes fell off, revealing the All-Terrain Optical Combat Suit underneath.

From a certain angle, with snowflakes falling from the sky, Su Mo's figure appears even more mysterious.

After pressing the heating switch on his waist and regaining sensation in every part of his body, Su Mo slid down the hill in a half-squatting position.

The Oreo behind him imitated him perfectly, lying on the slope and slowly sliding down.

The man and his dog slowly made their way in the direction Maeda Kento had left.