She understood that principle all too well.
Back on Blue Star, her family had controlled all her appearance fees and finances.
Liu Muxue had wanted to refuse, too, but under her parents' constant emotional pressure, she had silently endured it all.
Now that she had come to this world, it seemed to offer her a chance to escape her family of origin and start over.
A moment later, Liu Muxue nodded solemnly. "I will, A Xing."
After that, they each sat down on the bed.
But after what had happened earlier, neither of them felt sleepy.
Just then, Liu Muxue seemed to remember something. She suddenly stood up and went over to the stove.
The stove was lit, and hot water was heating in the iron pot.
Before long, Liu Muxue carried a small bucket of hot water over to Cao Xing.
A shy expression crossed her face as she said softly, "A Xing... your feet look a little red from the cold. Soaking them in hot water before bed will make you feel more comfortable."
Cao Xing was taken aback. His feet really were almost numb with cold. "All right, sister-in-law."
He was just about to reach out for the bucket.
But then Liu Muxue said softly, "Let me help you..."
Her voice was so quiet that Cao Xing even wondered if he had heard her wrong.
However, Liu Muxue had already crouched down and set the small wooden bucket beside the bed.
Blushing, she clumsily lifted Cao Xing's feet and placed them by the bucket.
It was the first time Cao Xing had let another girl help him soak his feet, and he felt a little strange.
"Sorry for the trouble, sister-in-law."
Liu Muxue said shyly, "N-no trouble..."
The warm water touched Cao Xing's cold feet, and steam rose steadily.
Liu Muxue crouched down, her rounded bottom lifted and the curves of her waist on full display. She had a figure worthy of the name "hourglass."
Her delicate hands kept brushing over the tops of Cao Xing's feet. Each touch sent a tingling jolt through him.
The steam continued to rise, and Cao Xing could clearly feel both their body temperatures climbing.
"Sister-in-law."
At his call, Liu Muxue lifted her lovely face, mist veiling her features.
"Mm..."
Then she noticed Cao Xing's face drawing closer.
Liu Muxue seemed to realize what was happening. Her face flushed bright red, and she lowered her head.
But it wasn't long before she looked up at Cao Xing again.
Along with the shyness on her delicate face, there seemed to be a trace of anticipation.
From this angle, Liu Muxue's flushed cheeks looked so alluring, and her slightly trembling lips made him want to taste them right then and there.
They drew closer and closer, until they could feel each other's warm breath.
Liu Muxue was nervous, yet she also seemed a little expectant.
"A Xing..."
Liu Muxue was about to say something, but the man's face had already rapidly filled her vision. He pressed his lips against hers...
"Mmm... mmm..."
Liu Muxue let out a tempting moan, her mind going almost completely blank.
A moment later, after being slow to respond at first, Liu Muxue began to return his kiss shyly.
The night burned like fire.
The temperature in the small room gradually rose.
A few minutes later, Liu Muxue's chest rose and fell as she collapsed into Cao Xing's arms, breathing softly.
Then she stood up from his embrace and, her face full of embarrassment, slipped under her own little blanket...
After Liu Muxue hung up the call,
Liu Muxue's father and mother were instantly furious.
They tried to call Liu Muxue again and again, but she rejected every call.
Liu Muxue's mother slumped and said, "Old man, what are we supposed to do now?"
"That girl Xiaoxue won't give us any food. Dabao and Xiaobao are crying from hunger, and we don't even know what we'll eat tomorrow..."
Liu Zhenjie was thinking it over, too.
Then, as if he had remembered something, he suddenly said, "Yunlan, don't you think that kid who's with Xiaoxue looks familiar?"
Hearing this, Liu Muxue's mother fell into thought as well.
A moment later, she exclaimed, "I think I remember!"
"That kid seems to be a driver for Chen Jiang's company. He used to be sent to pick up our daughter all the time!"
The two of them were both taken aback.
Liu Muxue's mother fumed. "The nerve! Some lowly driver dares to curse at us!"
"Just let me get the chance. I'll teach you a lesson!"
Liu Zhenjie calmed down and said, "Don't rush. I just saw Fang Long say something. He seems to be in the same area as us."
Liu Muxue's mother was startled. "Fang Long? The Fang Long from the Three Heroes Association?"
Liu Zhenjie nodded. "Yes. He seems to have started bringing other members of the Three Heroes Association together. Looks like he's doing pretty well."
Liu Muxue's mother immediately beamed. "That's wonderful. I remember Fang Long was once one of Xiaoxue's ardent admirers, too. 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 made it through the first night of the Icebound Era.]
[Newbie Protection Period remaining: 4 days, 22 hours.]
"Five more days of safety."
Cao Xing opened his eyes and immediately saw the beauty lying beside him.
A faint fragrance seemed to linger on his lips.
They hadn't crossed the final line last night.
It was their first day in this world, and neither of them had been mentally prepared.
Cao Xing shook his head, casting aside his jumbled thoughts.
Then he glanced at the Regional Channel.
[Region 174 Regional Channel]
[Online: 38024/40173]
Compared with yesterday, more than a thousand people had died.
They hadn't made it through their first night in this world.
The World Channel and Regional Channel were filled with cries for help.
Liu Muxue woke up just then, too. She seemed to remember what had happened last night, and immediately became shy again.
She poked her head out and asked softly, "A Xing... what are we doing today?"
Cao Xing said, "Today, we'll upgrade the Polar Folk Hut first, then recruit four more Polar Folk to work."
"Then we'll get the Tailor Shop, Blacksmith, and the rest up and running, though we won't need to do those ourselves."
"For now, let's go outside and assign work to the Polar Folk."
"Mm..." Liu Muxue replied 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, they rarely saw sunlight.
The four Polar Folk were already waiting outside the bonfire's light.
"Greetings, Lord!"
"Good morning, second lord!"
The four Polar Folk greeted them respectfully.
Cao Xing nodded and assigned work to all of them.
He split the four Polar Folk into two groups of two and had them upgrade the Polar Folk Hut at the same time.
A system notification appeared.
[Spend materials: Wood*50, Stone*30 to upgrade the Polar Folk Hut to level 2?]
"Yes."
[Upgrading [Polar Folk Hut], time remaining: 27 minutes...]
The Polar Folk got to work.
Cao Xing, meanwhile, took the recruitment scroll that had dropped yesterday from his backpack.
[Frostwolf Knight Recruitment Scroll (Blue): You can use this scroll to recruit a level 10 Frostwolf Knight.]
The reason he hadn't recruited one yesterday was that it had already been getting late, and he didn't need one to fight.
Besides, powerful creatures like this consumed a huge amount of food every night. He wanted to save what he could.
A system prompt appeared.
[Use the scroll to recruit a Frost Wolf Knight?]
"Yes."
Cao Xing clicked Confirm.
The next moment, a massive Hexagram Formation appeared beneath his feet.
Then, the Hexagram Formation began to shine with an even more dazzling light.
"Whoa, this seems even more terrifying than when I summoned Ilena!"
Cao Xing's eyes were filled with delight.
Through the dazzling curtain of light from the teleportation array, Cao Xing could just make out a towering figure over two meters tall, radiating an oppressive presence.
A powerful aura emerged.
Then the light faded.
A massive white wolf appeared, its entire body covered in snow-white fur and its body alone nearly three meters long.
Its powerful, sturdy limbs and bared fangs displayed the beast's formidable strength.
Cao Xing looked up.
A Frost Wolf Knight sat on the white wolf's back, clad in white armor and holding a longsword!
The Frost Wolf Knight pulled on the reins.
The Frost Wolf beneath him raised its head and let out a long howl.
"Awhoooo!"
The sound was powerful and loud, carrying for several kilometers.
Its oppressive presence was more than twice as powerful as that of the Snakefolk Priest!
When the Frost Wolf Knight noticed Cao Xing below,
he removed his helmet, revealing wild, dark brown hair like a tangled mass of weeds.
Then he leaped down and gave Cao Xing a standard knight's salute.
"I am Asam, Frost Wolf Knight, at your service!"
Cao Xing stared in astonishment at the man-and-wolf pair.
Then, their attributes appeared before him.
[Frost Wolf Knight: Asam (Unpromoted)]
(Note: Once his level reaches 10, he can advance to a Tier 2 creature using 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]
[Skills: Masterful Horsemanship (While fighting on a mount, Strength and Agility increase by an additional 10%)
Frost Wolf Swordsmanship (Attacks against enemies with swords deal an additional 20% damage.)]
[Talent: Polar Physique]
[Hunger: 72]
[Loyalty: 71]
[Frost Wolf Winter (Unpromoted)]
[Race: Beast]
[Level: 10, 273/10000]
[Health: 1540]
[Attack: 134-138]
[Armor: 12-14]
[Attributes: Strength 67, Agility 71, Spirit 57, Constitution 77]
[Skills: Frostbite (When an attack hits, it applies 1 stack of Frost to the enemy. When Frost stacks reach 5 or more, the enemy's blood freezes throughout their body, leaving them frozen for 3-5 seconds.)
Frost Claw Strike (When an attack hits, it applies 1 stack of Bleed Effect to the enemy, draining Health equal to 0.3 times Agility 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 the two colossal creatures, delight bright in his eyes.
"Good grief, it's buy one, get one free?"
"And they're both such powerful creatures. This is a huge win!"
Cao Xing hadn't expected two level 10 creatures to appear at once.
The Frost Wolf Knight still held his salute, seemingly waiting for Cao Xing to give him an order.
Cao Xing thought for a moment and didn't rush to give the Frost Wolf Knight an order.
Instead, he first applied four permanent buffs to Asam and the Frost Wolf beside him: [Ice Armor], [Ice Healing], [Scale Armor], and [Snakefolk Frenzy].
The Frost Wolf Knight felt four strange energies suddenly appear within him, greatly enhancing his ability to survive and fight.
Asam immediately dropped to one knee, stunned. "You are the greatest lord I have ever met, with the mightiest power. Asam is willing to pledge his loyalty to you!"
[You helped territory member Asam improve his strength. His loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 80]
Asam's loyalty surged.
Cao Xing was thrilled.
This SSS-grade talent was so useful. From now on, he could give a round of buffs to any troops he recruited.
Then, Cao Xing looked at the Frost Wolf Knight and said, "Asam, I have an exploration mission for you."
"Head northeast from the camp. Mark any resource points or wild creatures you encounter along the way."
"Once you've explored a radius of ten kilometers, come back and report to me."
The Frost Wolf Knight stamped his feet and replied respectfully, "I will obey your orders, my lord!"
With that, he leaped onto the wolf's back, then raised his longsword and pointed it ahead.
"Frost Wolf Warriors, move out!"
Before you continue