Liu Muxue was stunned by the sight of four Polar Folk appearing out of nowhere in the snow,
while Cao Xing wasn't surprised at all.
Anyone who had been a lord knew this was perfectly normal.
At that moment, the four Polar Folk were staring at Cao Xing with wide eyes, watching him expectantly.
Cao Xing began checking their attributes.
[Polar Folk: Afanasy (renameable)] [Level: Level 1, 0/100 (experience can be gained through combat and other means)] [Detailed attributes: click to expand]
[Polar Folk: Zach (renameable)] [Level: Level 1, 0/100] [Detailed attributes: click to expand]
[Polar Folk: Mamado (renameable)] [Level: Level 1, 0/100]
The four Polar Folk had similar attributes, though one of them, Zach, had slightly higher Constitution.
Since their names all had a Western style, Cao Xing didn't want to go to the trouble of remembering them.
So Cao Xing pointed at the Polar Folk named Zach and said, "From now on, your name is Dazhuang. You'll be the captain of this squad."
"The other three will be called Erzhuang, Sanzhuang, and Sizhuang."
"Is that clear?"
Liu Muxue burst out laughing beside him, seemingly unable to hold back her amusement at Cao Xing's blunt naming style.
Yet joy appeared on the hairy faces of the Polar Folk.
"Understood!"
"Thank you for granting us names, Lord!"
[You successfully named a Polar Folk. Dazhuang's loyalty to you increased by 5...] [You successfully named a Polar Folk. Erzhuang's loyalty to you increased by 5...]
Cao Xing was taken aback. That could increase loyalty too?
A loyalty of 75 was already quite high. At the very least, they wouldn't disobey Cao Xing's orders.
After recruiting the Polar Folk, he had to put them to work.
Cao Xing opened the [Buildings] interface and started checking which buildings could be constructed.
[Level 1 Simple Furnace: Can be placed indoors to raise the temperature by 15-20°C.] [Cost: 20 minutes / 1 wood] [Materials required: Stone*6] Note: If you don't want to freeze to death tonight, I suggest you build one immediately!
[Level 1 Simple Stove: Can be used for cooking, boiling, and other tasks.] [Materials required: Stone*8, wood*4.] Note: Old friend, this is what keeps you fed. I think you know how important it is, right?
[Level 1 Logging Mill: Can be used to process logs.] [Area: 30 square meters] [Materials required: Stone*30, wood*50.] Note: If you want to get rich, start by chopping trees. I suggest you put a logging mill on the agenda right away.
[Level 1 Sewing Workshop: Can be used to make simple cold-resistant clothing or armor.] [Area: 30 square meters] [Materials required: Stone*40, wood*60.] Note: Lord, you don't want your subordinates going into battle naked, do you?
[Level 1 Ore Processing Plant: Can be used to smelt and sort ore collected outdoors.] [Ores that can be processed: coal, iron. (Upgrade the processing plant to smelt higher-grade metals!)] [Area: 50 square meters] [Materials required: Stone*80, wood*150.] Note: A processing plant is essential if you want to make higher-level equipment.
[Level 1 Blacksmith: Can be used to forge weapons or tools.] [Area: 30 square meters] [Materials required: Stone*100, wood*200, iron*20] Note: Listen, old friend. Soldiers without weapons are like tigers without teeth.
There were many kinds of Level 1 buildings. Besides the ones above, there were also the [Infirmary], [Small Shelter], [Wall], [Gate], and so on.
But these buildings needed a lot of Stone and wood, as well as the more advanced material, Refined Iron.
Obviously, Cao Xing didn't have a single piece of Iron.
Besides, the Stone and wood near the Campfire had already run out.
Were there any places to gather resources in this icy, snowy wilderness?
Cao Xing looked around, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
About one or two hundred meters away, he could see a small grove buried under snow and several large rocks.
Those should be the early resource points.
So Cao Xing took four Stone Axes and four Iron Pickaxes from his backpack and handed them out to the four Polar Folk.
Then he said, "Dazhuang, Erzhuang, form a squad and go chop down the trees over there."
"Sanzhuang, Sizhuang, take your tools and gather more Stone."
The four Polar Folk immediately stood up straight and said respectfully, "Yes, Lord!"
With that, each of them took their tools and headed out across the snow beyond the Campfire.
Because of their talents, they could spend longer outside the Campfire than Cao Xing and the others.
Cao Xing sent all four Polar Folk out to gather supplies.
Liu Muxue blinked her lovely eyes. "A-Xing, what should we do now?"
Looking at her skin, which was red from the cold, and her face, which was gradually turning pale,
Cao Xing knew that if things continued like this, Liu Muxue might not freeze to death, but she would come down with a serious illness.
Getting sick in the snow was a real nuisance.
Cao Xing said, "Sister-in-law, go work indoors now. Set up the indoor furnace and stove first."
"Mm."
Liu Muxue answered softly and didn't insist on staying outside. She walked gracefully into the building.
Cao Xing checked the supplies he had left.
[Food*50, wood*27, Stone*17.]
"The material we're most short on right now is probably Stone. We'll need wood too, especially for heating tonight."
"At the current temperature, we can probably make it through the first night, but it's still not safe."
"In that case, let's upgrade the Campfire again."
A system prompt appeared.
[Spend Stone*10 to upgrade the Campfire?]
Cao Xing selected "Yes" and began hammering away.
A little over ten minutes later.
Han Xing saw that the Campfire before him had been built up with Stone to more than a meter high, gradually taking on the shape of a furnace.
Blazing flames burned.
[Campfire upgraded successfully. Current level: 3.] [Campfire: Level 3] [Campfire effect: Raises the temperature by 10-20°C within a 40-meter radius.] [Cost]: 10 minutes / 1 wood.
[Materials required for the next level]: Stone*20, Wood*10.
"Great. The temperature still hasn't risen, but the heating range has doubled!"
But, at the same time, the consumption had increased too. One piece of wood was used up every ten minutes.
At this rate, the wood in the camp wouldn't last long.
Once the wood ran out, they would lose their source of heat and have to face the harsh weather, which was at least sixty degrees below zero.
It wouldn't be long before they froze to death!
Cao Xing frowned. "I hope the Polar Folk are having an easy time collecting wood..."
After working outside for so long, Cao Xing felt as though he was about to freeze solid.
So he ducked into the Lord's Hut too.
Inside, with no lighting, the hut was rather dim.
A graceful figure was building a stove in the corner.
She bent over, her long, slender legs in white stockings straight as could be. His gaze moved upward to the roundness beneath her dress...
That pose made her look even more rounded, like a bowling ball.
"Whoa... That's huge," Cao Xing couldn't help exclaiming.
Liu Muxue thought Cao Xing had come to supervise the work. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and said softly, "A Xing, the stove will be finished soon."
Cao Xing shook his head. "Sis-in-law, I came to help you."
"Mm..." Liu Muxue replied softly.
With Cao Xing's help, construction of the stove progressed much faster.
A few minutes later, a system notification appeared.
[Level 1 Stove constructed successfully...]
But this time, Cao Xing didn't hear a reward notification either.
He understood.
It seemed basic buildings like the [Stove] didn't trigger rewards.
Of course, it was also possible that another survivor team had already built one.
This time, more than seven billion people around the world had descended into the icy world together. Naturally, there would be plenty of people with amazing adaptability among them.
"Crackle!"
As the wood caught fire, the stove gradually gave off an orange-red glow, lighting up the entire Lord's Hut.
At the moment, the Lord's Hut was completely empty. Apart from a stove, it was bare as could be.
Beside the stove, warmth washed over the two of them in waves.
Cao Xing glanced at the indoor temperature.
[Current temperature: -16°C]
It was still very cold, but much better than the subzero temperatures of several dozen degrees outside.
Liu Muxue curled up, her whole body trembling.
She hadn't felt much while she was working, but now that she'd come to her senses, she realized her body had already turned purplish blue from the cold.
Cao Xing frowned and thought,
Looks like we need to get the Sewing Workshop up and running as soon as possible. With the thin clothes we're wearing, we might as well be naked.
At this rate, not just Liu Muxue-I'll freeze to death too.
A powerful sense of crisis rose in him again.
Cao Xing began exploring the other functions of the Lord interface.
He opened the [Crafting] interface, and a whole host of basic tools appeared.
Things like Stone Axes, Stone Hammers, Stone Pickaxes, wooden bowls, wooden tables, wooden chairs, wooden beds, and so on...
After looking through them, Cao Xing understood.
I can use these to make simple tools or furniture.
Then he began checking out the [Chat Channels] function. Four options immediately appeared.
[World Channel: Server-wide. Each person is limited to one message per day.]
[Regional Channel: This is a 500 × 500-kilometer square area. All survivors within the area are included. No limit on messages.]
[Team Channel: Only survivors who join your territory can post here. No limit on messages.]
[Private Chat Channel: Unlimited one-on-one chat.]
Cao Xing opened the World Channel, and a huge number of messages appeared.
Zhao Shengbing: "Oh my god! How did I suddenly end up in this hellhole? I'm freezing to death!"
Chen Erya: "Help! It's so cold, so cold!"
Zhang Qiang: "Didn't the system say we'd be assigned according to our families? Who are these people? I don't know any of them!"
Bear Grylls: "A survival game? I like it. This is an unprecedented challenge for me!"
Tetsuya Yamagami: "Let the male gun shine again!"
Ma Dong-seok: "Shibal! If I find out whose prank this is, I'll squeeze his balls till they burst!"
Before you continue