"A Xing, Big Brother is dead!"
"I heard it was because he owed construction payments. A few workers beat him to death at the construction site!"
Inside an office building in Xiangjiang.
Cao Xing heard someone calling his name and glanced over indifferently. It was a young man in a suit with his hair slicked back.
Then Cao Xing lowered his head again.
He was playing a survival adventure game on his tablet called Icebound Era. It had a fairly realistic art style and was considered a relatively hardcore survival game.
At the start, players appeared beside a campfire. Because of the world's extreme cold, they could only move around safely within the fire's range.
If they stayed outside the campfire's range too long, their characters would freeze to death.
Players needed to build shelters and unlock various basic structures.
They could also upgrade these structures by collecting materials. For example, a campfire could be upgraded into a large bonfire, then a furnace, and in the later stages, even an Energy Tower.
Besides that, players could unlock different playstyles by developing their forces or the technology in their territory...
According to the developers, a team mode would be added later.
However, since the game was still in closed beta, Cao Xing hadn't seen anyone around him playing it, and he couldn't find anything about it online either.
Just then, a notification appeared on the tablet screen.
[The public beta for this game will begin in two hours. The game is about to enter maintenance.]
[More content is being unlocked. Stay tuned...]
The public beta was finally about to begin?
Cao Xing's heart stirred. Just then, the young man with slicked-back hair casually sat down beside him.
Wu Jiahui put an arm around Cao Xing's shoulders. "A Xing, you followed Big Brother for a while, after all. He was your boss, too."
"He's dead. Aren't you upset?"
Cao Xing put down his tablet, glanced at him, and said, "Come on. After he founded the Everlasting Prosperity Group and went legitimate, he cut ties with us."
"I spent all those years working for him, and all I did was be his personal driver. It's not like we had any real bond."
"Besides, he was a heartless man to begin with. Getting beaten to death wasn't surprising."
"Fair enough." Wu Jiahui nodded.
A knowing smile appeared on his face. "It's a shame, though. Big Brother chased after Liu Muxue for so many years. He finally won her over, and they were even planning to get married, but then this happened."
"Speaking of which, Liu Muxue really is a rare beauty!"
"That figure, those long legs-tsk tsk, anyone who sees them would lose their head."
"Too bad Big Brother didn't get to enjoy them..."
Cao Xing didn't pick up that thread, because his phone began to vibrate.
After reading the message, Cao Xing stood up from the sofa and turned to leave.
"A Xing, where are you going?"
Cao Xing shrugged. "I'm a driver. Where else would I go? I'm going to pick someone up, of course."
Cao Xing went to the Everlasting Prosperity Group's underground parking garage. Among a row of luxury cars, he found a dark brown Maybach with practiced ease.
When he opened the door, he saw an extremely luxurious interior.
The car, including its interior, was worth at least seven million.
Of course, the car definitely wasn't his.
Cao Xing was alone and had no one to rely on. Just making a living in a city like Xiangjiang was difficult enough.
Never mind having enough money to buy a luxury car like this.
Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped outside a five-star hotel in the city.
Cao Xing took out his phone and sent a message.
"Madam, I'm downstairs."
She replied:
"Okay."
A few minutes later, a tall woman in a long black dress walked out of the hotel.
She carried herself with poise. Her tight dress outlined her perfect figure, and as her long legs moved, they looked like exquisite jade.
This woman was Liu Muxue.
Cao Xing didn't get out of the car. Liu Muxue naturally got into the back seat of the Maybach.
"A Xing, take me to the funeral home."
Cao Xing nodded, and the car pulled away.
On the way, Liu Muxue took a phone call. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if something was troubling her.
"I told you, I agreed to marry into the Everlasting Prosperity Group because you asked me to. Chen Jiang is dead now, and I have nothing to do with him."
"Don't think you can use me as a bargaining chip again!"
She seemed very angry, but because she had received a good education, she quickly calmed herself down.
"Sorry, A Xing," Liu Muxue said softly.
Cao Xing shook his head.
He knew what Liu Muxue was like. She wasn't the kind of person who would throw her weight around and berate those beneath her.
On the contrary, she had always treated her subordinates well, and people outside the company spoke highly of her, too.
After Liu Muxue rose to fame in a short time, the media had also reported in detail on her family and personal history.
Her birth family wasn't 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 the Everlasting Prosperity Group and Cao Xing's Big Brother, was one of them.
Soon, the car arrived at the funeral home.
Before getting out, Liu Muxue did her best to put on a grieving expression.
She knew that no matter how much she hated that man, she still had to put on an act.
Cao Xing stayed in the car and waited.
An hour later, Liu Muxue returned to the car.
It was clear that she had cried. Her makeup was a little smudged, giving her a faintly smoky look.
Her elegant air carried a hint of melancholy, lending her a different kind of beauty.
Back in the car, Liu Muxue's expression settled into calm again. Then she said, "A Xing, take me back to the hotel."
"Okay."
Cao Xing nodded.
Just as he was about to start the car, everything suddenly went black before his eyes.
Then everyone heard a mechanical, synthesized voice in their ears.
"The new version of Icebound Era has finished updating. The era of the public beta for all humanity has officially begun. In one minute, all humans on Blue Star will be sent into this game."
"Game instructions: This is a world untouched by sunlight. It is vast beyond measure, but shrouded in bitter cold all year round. Your task is to do your best to survive in this world."
"Once the game begins, you will appear beside a campfire. This is your survival fire. Remember! Do not leave the area lit by its flames lightly!"
"Your goal is to gather more supplies, expand your territory, and develop more units."
"The new version is Family Survival Mode. Families will be the units, with a maximum of four people per group."
"Those without relatives will be randomly grouped with people nearby."
"Now, I wish you all the best as you strive to survive in this new world..."
When Cao Xing's vision returned, he suddenly found himself in a frozen wilderness.
The world stretched out before him, a vast expanse of white. Everything was covered in ice and snow.
"Holy crap, where's my Maybach?"
Before the words had even left his mouth, a bone-piercing chill swept over him.
Cao Xing felt as if he would freeze stiff on the spot in an instant.
"Brr!"
Cao Xing sucked in a breath and instinctively hurried toward the campfire burning in front of him. Only then did he feel a little warmth.
At that moment, a character panel appeared before him.
[Name: Cao Xing]
[Race: Blue Star Human]
[Level: 1, 0/100]
[Class: None]
[Health: 100]
[Strength: 4, Agility: 3, Spirit: 5, Constitution: 5]
[Lord Interface: Unavailable]
[Current Status: Cold]
[Current Temperature: -31°C]
"Whoa... This system panel looks exactly like the one in the game I used to play on my tablet!"
Then a second system notification appeared.
"All survivors, please choose your class as soon as possible."
"There are currently five classes: Cold-Iron Mechanist, Polar Warrior, Frost Mage, Aurora Knight, and Snowfield Hunter."
A flicker of delight crossed Cao Xing's eyes.
He could choose a class!
Clearly, these classes were the same as the ones in the game he'd played before.
Of course, Cao Xing knew that none of the five classes had much combat power in the early game.
Take the Cold-Iron Mechanist, for example. Its early skill summoned a small robot that exploded on impact. It wasn't even as powerful as the firecrackers we used to throw into outhouses as kids.
The Polar Warrior, meanwhile, only had one simple slash.
The Frost Mage was a little better, with an Ice Orb Spell to start with.
As for the Aurora Knight and the Snowfield Hunter, their starting skills were Purification Spell and Hunter's Sense, respectively.
To truly gain extraordinary power, you had to keep developing and acquire more skills.
Cao Xing thought, "I've tried all five classes before, back when I played this game."
"The strongest is naturally the Mechanist, but it's a late-game class, and it uses way too many materials."
"In the early game, the Polar Warrior and Snowfield Hunter are both strong, but they fall off badly in the late game."
A look of sudden understanding came over Cao Xing's face.
"So that's it. This so-called Family Survival Mode was introduced so that survivors like us can distribute our classes sensibly, make it safely through the early, mid, and late game, and then survive better."
But Cao Xing glanced at his side.
Apart from him, there was only Liu Muxue.
He didn't know why he'd been grouped with her, but now wasn't the time to think about that.
At that moment, she was staring at the bonfire in confusion, seemingly trying to process the information in the system notification.
Cao Xing understood. "Looks like a four-person co-op isn't going to happen."
Then... which class should he choose?
After a moment's thought, Cao Xing chose the Frost Mage.
A system notification appeared.
"Congratulations! You have successfully chosen your class: Frost Mage. Elemental Affinity has been unlocked, and your starting equipment has been placed in your storage chest."
Cao Xing let out a breath of relief. Just as he was about to look for his starting storage chest, a second system notification appeared, solemnly!
[Survivor "Cao Xing" has been detected to have a fate compatible with this world. Personal talent: Eternal Power has been activated.]
[Eternal Power (Hidden Unique Talent)]: All allied units within your territory who receive a temporary enhancement will instead gain a permanent enhancement.
Cao Xing froze for a moment, then cried out, "Holy crap! I've got cheats!"
New writer, new book. Please add it to your collection and keep reading! Sob sob.
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