Frozen Era Public Beta Begins

"Xing, Big Brother is dead!"

"They said he was beaten to death by several workers at the construction site because he owed them wages!"

Good riddance, hahaha. Hong Kong, inside an office building.

Cao Xing heard someone calling his name and glanced at the other person indifferently. It was a young man in a suit with slicked-back hair.

Then Cao Xing lowered his head again.

He was playing a survival adventure game on his tablet called Frozen Era. Its visuals leaned toward realism, and it was considered a fairly hardcore survival game.

Damn it, I watched its ads every day. Now it was time for those ads to support me!

Players would begin beside a bonfire. Because of the extreme cold in this world, they could only move around safely within the fire's range.

If they stayed outside the bonfire's range for too long, their game character would freeze to death.

Players needed to build shelters and unlock various basic structures.

These structures could also be upgraded by gathering different materials. For example, a bonfire could be upgraded into a large bonfire or a furnace, and later on, even into an energy tower.

Besides that, players could also unlock different paths by developing military forces or advancing the technology within their territory...

According to the official announcement, a team mode would be released later.

However, because the game was still in closed beta, Cao Xing had never seen anyone around him playing it. He could not even find any information about it online.

Just then, a notification appeared on the tablet screen.

This game will begin open beta in two hours and is about to enter maintenance mode.

More content is currently being unlocked. Stay tuned...

Was the open beta finally about to begin?

Cao Xing's heart stirred. At that moment, the young man with slicked-back hair casually sat down beside him.

Wu Jiahui slung an arm around Cao Xing's shoulders. "Xing, you followed Big Brother for quite some time. He was your boss, after all."

"Now that he's dead, aren't you sad?"

Cao Xing put down his tablet and glanced at him. "Give me a break. After he founded Yongsheng Group and went legit, he cut ties with us."

"After all these years, I was nothing more than his personal driver. There wasn't much emotion between us."

"Besides, his heart was black to begin with. It was perfectly normal for someone like him to get beaten to death."

"That's true." Wu Jiahui nodded.

Then a meaningful smile appeared on his face. "What a pity. Liu Muxue was the woman Big Brother had chased for so many years. He finally got her, and they were even preparing to get married, but then this happened."

"Speaking of which, Liu Muxue is truly a rare beauty!"

"That figure, those long legs... tsk, tsk. Anyone who saw her would be dazzled."

"Too bad Big Brother never got to enjoy her..."

Cao Xing did not respond, because his phone began vibrating.

After reading the message, Cao Xing rose from the sofa and turned to leave.

"Xing, where are you going?"

Cao Xing spread his hands. "I'm a driver. Where else could I go? Of course I'm going to pick someone up."

Cao Xing arrived at Yongsheng Group's underground garage and skillfully found a dark brown Maybach among the many luxury cars.

After opening the door, he saw that the interior was exceptionally lavish.

Including its interior, the car was worth at least seven million.

Of course, the car was not his.

Cao Xing was alone and had no one to rely on. In a city like Hong Kong, simply staying alive was difficult enough.

Let alone having the money to buy such a luxury car.

Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped outside a five-star hotel in the city center.

Cao Xing took out his phone and sent a message.

"Madam, I'm downstairs."

A message soon came back.

"Mm."

A few minutes later, a tall woman in a black evening dress emerged from the hotel entrance.

Her manner was dignified, and her fitted dress outlined the perfect curves of her body. As her long legs moved, they looked like a pair of exquisite jade carvings.

This woman was Liu Muxue.

Cao Xing did not get out. The woman naturally took a seat in the back of the Maybach.

"Xing, take me to the funeral home."

Cao Xing nodded, and the car started moving.

Halfway there, Liu Muxue took a call. Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, as though something was troubling her.

"I already said it. Back then, I agreed to marry into Yongsheng Group because you demanded it. Now that Chen Jiang is dead, I have nothing to do with him anymore."

"Don't even think about using me as a bargaining chip for your interests again!"

She seemed furious, but because she had received a good education, she quickly calmed the anger in her heart.

"Xing, I'm sorry," Liu Muxue said softly.

Cao Xing shook his head.

He knew Liu Muxue's personality. She was not the kind of person who would berate those beneath her just because of her status.

On the contrary, she had always treated her subordinates well, and the public spoke highly of her.

After Liu Muxue rose to fame so quickly, the media had also reported extensively on her family and personal history.

Her family had not been particularly wealthy.

But because of her outstanding looks and figure, she quickly became famous after reaching adulthood.

Naturally, that drew the attention of many people with ulterior motives.

Chen Jiang, the chairman of Yongsheng Group and Cao Xing's Big Brother, was one of them.

Soon, the car arrived at the funeral home.

Before getting out, Liu Muxue tried her best to put on a sorrowful expression.

She knew that no matter how much she hated that man in her heart, she still had to put on an act.

Cao Xing remained in the car and waited.

An hour later, Liu Muxue returned to the car.

It was obvious that she had cried. Her makeup was slightly smudged, giving her a faint smoky look.

Amid her elegant temperament was a hint of desolation, creating a different kind of beauty.

After Liu Muxue got back into the car, her expression became calm again. Then she said, "Xing, take me back to the hotel."

"Okay."

Cao Xing nodded.

Just as he was about to start the car, his vision suddenly went dark.

Then everyone heard a mechanical synthesized voice by their ears.

"Frozen Era's new version update has been completed. The era of worldwide open beta has officially begun. In one minute, all humans on Blue Star will enter this game."

"Game notice: This is a world untouched by sunlight. It is vast and boundless, yet eternally shrouded in bitter cold. Your mission is to do your best to survive in this world."

"After the game begins, you will appear beside a bonfire. This is your fire of survival. Remember! Do not casually leave the area illuminated by its flames!"

"Your objective is to gather more resources, expand your territory, and develop more units."

"The new version uses Family Survival Mode, with families serving as units of up to four people."

"Those without relatives will be randomly grouped with the people around them."

"Then, may all of you strive to live on in this brand-new world..."

When Cao Xing regained his vision, he suddenly discovered that he was already standing amid a vast expanse of ice and snow.

Everything before him was blank and endless. All things in the world were covered in snow and ice.

"Fuck, where's my Maybach?"

Before his words faded, bone-piercing cold swept over him.

Cao Xing felt as if he would freeze solid where he stood in an instant.

"Gasp!"

Cao Xing sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively hurried closer to the burning bonfire in front of him. Only then did he feel a trace of warmth.

At that moment, a character panel appeared before him.

Name: Cao Xing Race: Blue Star Human

Level: Level 1 0/100

Class: None Health: 100

Strength: 4, Agility: 3, Spirit: 5, Constitution: 5

Lord Interface: Not Unlocked Current Status: Cold Current Temperature: -31°C

"Damn... this system panel is exactly the same as the one in the tablet game!"

Then, a second system notification appeared.

"Please choose your class system as soon as possible, all survivors."

"There are currently five major systems: Cold Iron Mechanic, Polar Warrior, Frost Mage, Aurora Knight, and Snow Hunter."

Joy flashed through Cao Xing's eyes.

He could choose a class!

Clearly, these classes were also the same as the ones he had played before.

Of course, Cao Xing knew that these five classes had little combat ability in the early stages.

For example, the Cold Iron Mechanic's early skill was summoning a small self-destruct robot. Its power was not even as strong as the firecrackers they used to blow up latrine pits with when they were children.

The Polar Warrior only had a simple chopping attack.

The Frost Mage was a little better, with an initial Ice Ball spell.

As for the Aurora Knight and Snow Hunter, they respectively had Purification and Hunter's Perception.

To truly possess extraordinary power, one still needed to continuously develop and acquire more skills.

Cao Xing thought, "When I played this game before, I tried all five classes."

"The strongest was naturally the mechanic, but it was a late-game class and consumed far too many materials."

"In the early stages, both the Polar Warrior and Snow Hunter were strong, but they became weak in the late game."

At that moment, a look of realization appeared on Cao Xing's face.

"So that's it. The reason this game introduced this so-called Family Survival Mode was to let survivors like us distribute classes reasonably, safely make it through the early, middle, and late stages, and survive better."

However, Cao Xing glanced to his side.

Other than himself, there was only Liu Muxue here.

Although he did not know why he had been assigned to the same group as her, this was not the time to think about it.

At the moment, she was staring blankly at the bonfire, seemingly trying to process the information from the system notifications.

Cao Xing understood. "It looks like forming a four-person cooperative team won't be possible."

Then... what class should he choose?

After thinking for a moment, Cao Xing directly chose Frost Mage.

A system notification appeared.

"Congratulations! You have successfully chosen the Frost Mage class. Elemental affinity has been unlocked, cold resistance has slightly increased, and your starting equipment has been placed in your storage chest."

Cao Xing let out a breath. Just as he was about to look for his starting storage chest, a second system notification solemnly appeared!

Detected that survivor 'Cao Xing' has a fate compatible with this world. Personal talent: Eternal Power has been activated.

Eternal Power (Hidden Unique Talent): Causes all allied units within the territory to permanently retain any temporary enhancement effects they obtain.

Cao Xing froze for a moment, then cried out, "Holy shit! I got a cheat!"