How could she not understand that?
Back on Blue Star, all her appearance fees and even her funds had been controlled by her family.
Liu Muxue had wanted to refuse too, but under her parents' constant psychological pressure, she had silently endured it all.
Now that she had come to this world, it seemed she had been given a chance to break free from her family and start over.
After a moment, Liu Muxue nodded solemnly. "I will, Xing."
After saying that, the two of them sat on their respective beds.
But because of what had happened earlier, neither of them felt sleepy.
Just then, Liu Muxue seemed to remember something. She suddenly stood up and walked over to the stove.
The stove was lit, and water was heating in the iron pot.
Before long, Liu Muxue carried a small bucket of hot water over to Cao Xing.
With a shy expression, she said softly, "Xing... I saw that your feet were a little red from the cold. Soak them in hot water before sleeping. You'll feel more comfortable."
Cao Xing froze for a moment. His feet really were nearly numb from the cold. "All right, Sister-in-law."
He was just about to reach out and take the wooden bucket.
But then Liu Muxue softly said, "I'll help you..."
Her voice was so quiet that Cao Xing almost thought he had misheard her.
Yet Liu Muxue had already crouched down and placed the small wooden bucket beside the bed.
Blushing, she awkwardly lifted Cao Xing's feet to the edge of the bucket.
It was the first time Cao Xing had ever let another girl soak his feet for him, and he felt strangely unsettled.
"Sorry to trouble you, Sister-in-law."
Liu Muxue said shyly, "N-No trouble..."
Warm water splashed over Cao Xing's freezing feet, steam continuously rising.
Liu Muxue crouched there, her hips full and perky, her slender waist displaying every curve of her figure. She had a devilish body.
Her delicate hands repeatedly brushed over the tops of Cao Xing's feet, and every touch sent an electric sensation through him.
As the steam continued to rise, Cao Xing could clearly feel both their body temperatures rising as well.
"Sister-in-law."
Hearing him call out, Liu Muxue lifted her head, her face veiled in a hazy mist.
"Mm..."
Then she noticed that Cao Xing's face was gradually drawing closer.
Liu Muxue seemed to realize something. Her face instantly turned crimson, and she lowered her head.
But before long, she raised it again and looked at Cao Xing.
Other than shyness, there seemed to be a hint of anticipation on her delicate face.
From this angle, Liu Muxue's flushed cheeks looked so tender and alluring, while her slightly trembling lips made one want to taste them on the spot.
The distance between them gradually closed, until they could even feel each other's warm breath.
Amid her nervousness, Liu Muxue seemed to be filled with anticipation as well.
"Xing..."
Liu Muxue still wanted to say something, but the man's face before her rapidly filled her vision.
A moment later, Liu Muxue went from sluggish at first to offering a clumsy, innocent response.
The night burned like fire.
The temperature in the little room gradually rose.
A few minutes later, Liu Muxue's chest rose and fell rapidly as she collapsed into Cao Xing's arms, breathing out a fragrant sigh.
The author was pretty honest, unlike the others who only knew how to brag.
Then she stood up from Cao Xing's embrace and, her face full of bashfulness, burrowed into her own little blanket...
After Liu Muxue hung up the call.
Father Liu and Mother Liu immediately flew into a rage.
They tried many times to call Liu Muxue, but she rejected every call directly.
Mother Liu dejectedly said, "Old man, what should we do now?"
"That girl Xiaoxue refuses to give us food. Dabao and Xiaobao have been crying from hunger nonstop. We don't even know what we'll eat tomorrow..."
Liu Zhenjie was deep in thought as well.
Then, as if recalling something, he suddenly said, "Yun Lan, don't you think that kid staying with Xiaoxue looked familiar?"
Upon hearing this, Mother Liu's eyes also fell into recollection.
A moment later, Mother Liu exclaimed in surprise, "I think I remember!"
"That kid seemed to be a driver from Chen Jiang Company. He was often sent to pick up our daughter before!"
The two of them were immediately startled.
Mother Liu said furiously, "Fine! A mere driver actually dared to insult us!"
"Just wait until I get the chance. Let's see how I teach you a lesson!"
Liu Zhenjie calmed down and said, "Don't rush. I just saw Fang Long speaking. He seems to be in the same area as us."
Mother Liu was startled. "Fang Long? Fang Long from the Three Heroes Association?"
Liu Zhenjie nodded. "Yes. He seems to have started gathering the other members of the Three Heroes Association. It looks like he's doing quite well."
Mother Liu immediately beamed. "That's wonderful! I remember Fang Long used to be one of Xiaoxue's most fervent admirers. Let's contact him first and see if we can get some food from him."
The next day...
A system notification appeared.
Attention, all survivors. You have survived the first night of the Frozen Era. Novice protection period remaining: 4 days, 22 hours.
"Five more days of safety time."
Cao Xing opened his eyes and immediately saw the beauty lying beside him.
There still seemed to be a faint fragrance lingering on his lips.
Last night, they had not crossed the final line.
It was only their first day in this world, and neither of them had been mentally prepared.
Cao Xing shook his head, casting aside his chaotic thoughts.
Then he checked the regional channel.
Regional Channel 174 Online: 38,024/401,731
Compared to yesterday, another thousand or so people had died.
They had failed to make it through their first night in this world.
The world channel and regional channel were filled with cries for help.
Liu Muxue also woke up then. She seemed to remember what had happened last night, and immediately became bashful again.
She poked her head out and asked softly, "Xing... what are we doing today?"
Cao Xing said, "Today, we'll first upgrade the Polar People Hut, then recruit four more Polar People to work."
"Then we'll get the tailor shop, blacksmith shop, and the rest up and running. But we won't need to do that ourselves."
"For now, let's go outside and assign work to those Polar People."
"Mm..."
Liu Muxue responded softly.
Then the two of them got up from the small wooden bed and walked out of the lord's hut together.
The sky in this apocalyptic world was still gloomy. Even at daybreak, sunlight was rarely seen.
The four Polar People were already standing outside the bonfire, waiting.
"Good health to you, Lord!"
"Good morning, Second Lord!"
The four Polar People called out respectfully.
Cao Xing nodded and assigned work to all of them.
He split the four Polar People into two groups and had them begin upgrading the Polar People Hut at the same time.
A system notification appeared.
Consume materials: Wood x50, Stone x30. Upgrade the Polar People Hut to Level 2?
"Yes."
[Upgrading Polar People Hut. Time remaining: 27 minutes...]
The Polar People all began working.
Meanwhile, Cao Xing took out the recruitment scroll he had obtained yesterday from his backpack.
Frost Wolf Knight Recruitment Scroll (Blue): This scroll can recruit a Level 10 Frost Wolf Knight.
The reason he had not recruited it yesterday was because night was approaching, and he had no need for it in battle.
Besides, such a powerful creature consumed an enormous amount of food every night. Saving what he could was better than nothing.
A system notification appeared.
Use the scroll to recruit a Frost Wolf Knight?
"Yes."
Cao Xing directly selected confirm.
The next moment, a massive six-pointed star array appeared beneath his feet.
Then the six-pointed star array began to radiate an even more dazzling light.
"Damn, this looks even more terrifying than when I summoned Elena!"
Cao Xing's eyes were filled with delight.
Through the dazzling curtain of light from the teleportation array, Cao Xing vaguely saw a huge figure over two meters tall, brimming with pressure.
A powerful aura emerged.
Then the light faded.
A giant white wolf appeared, covered from head to toe in snow-white fur, its body alone nearly three meters long.
Its thick, powerful limbs and exposed fangs all displayed the giant wolf's formidable strength.
And higher up.
Sitting atop the white wolf's back was a Frost Wolf Knight clad in white armor and holding a longsword!
At that moment, the Frost Wolf Knight tugged on the reins.
The Frost Wolf beneath him immediately raised its head and let out a long howl.
"Awooo!!!"
The sound was thunderous and forceful, carrying for several kilometers.
Its oppressive presence was more than twice as powerful as that of the Snakefolk Priest.
Upon noticing Cao Xing below.
The Frost Wolf Knight removed his helmet, revealing a head of dark brown hair as wild and unkempt as weeds.
Then he flipped off his mount, leaped down, and gave Cao Xing a standard knight's salute.
"Frost Wolf Knight Assam is at your service!"
Cao Xing stared at the man-and-wolf pair in shock.
Then their attributes appeared before him.
Frost Wolf Knight: Assam (Unadvanced) (Note: After reaching Level 10, can advance into a Tier 2 creature through a Heart of Strength!) Race: Human Level: 10 1722/10000 Health: 1020 Attack: 137–146 Armor: 24–27 Attributes: Strength 57, Agility 54, Spirit 48, Constitution 51 Skill: Riding Mastery (When fighting while mounted, Strength and Agility are additionally increased by 10%) Frost Wolf Swordsmanship (When attacking enemies with sword-type weapons, deal an additional 20% damage.) Talent: Polar Constitution Hunger: 72 Loyalty: 71 Frost Wolf: Winter (Unadvanced) Race: Beast Level: 10 273/10000 Health: 1540 Attack: 134–138 Armor: 12–14 Attributes: Strength 67, Agility 71, Spirit 57, Constitution 77 Skill: Frostbite (When an attack hits, applies 1 stack of Frost to the enemy. When Frost stacks reach 5 or more, freezes the enemy's blood and inflicts a frozen state for 3–5 seconds.) Frost Claw Strike (When an attack hits, applies 1 stack of Bleeding to the enemy, causing them to lose Agility x0.3 Health per second for 3 seconds.) Talent: Pack Will (When more than 10 Frost Wolves gather together, movement speed increases by 20% and attack increases by 20%.) Hunger: 65
Cao Xing looked at the attributes of these two massive beings, and intense delight flashed in his eyes.
"Good lord, was this a buy-one-get-one-free deal?"
"And they're both such powerful creatures. I've made a killing this time!"
Two Level 10 creatures had appeared at once, something Cao Xing had never expected.
At that moment, the Frost Wolf Knight still maintained his saluting posture, seemingly waiting for Cao Xing to issue an order.
Cao Xing pondered for a moment and did not rush to give the Frost Wolf Knight an order.
Instead, he first bestowed Assam and the Frost Wolf beside him with four permanent buffs: Ice Armor Technique, Ice Healing Technique, Scale Armor, and Snakefolk Berserk.
The Frost Wolf Knight felt four strange energies suddenly appear within him, greatly enhancing both his survivability and combat ability.
Assam immediately dropped to one knee and said in shock, "You are the lord with the greatest power I have ever seen. Assam is willing to offer you his loyalty!"
You have helped a territory member: Assam, improve his strength. Loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 80
Assam's loyalty soared.
Cao Xing was thrilled.
This SSS-rank talent was truly useful. No matter what kind of troops he recruited in the future, he could give them all a round of buffs.
Then, Cao Xing looked at the Frost Wolf Knight and said, "Assam, I have an exploration mission for you next."
"Head northeast of the camp. Mark any resource points or wild creatures you encounter along the way."
"Once your exploration range reaches ten kilometers, return and report to me."
The Frost Wolf Knight stamped both feet and said respectfully, "I obey your command, my lord!"
With that, he flipped onto the wolf's back, raised his longsword high, and pointed it ahead.
"Frostwolf Warriors, move out!"
Before you continue