System Announcement: "Attention, all survivors: the Level Leaderboard has been updated."
Hearing the announcement, survivors across all the regions around the world opened the leaderboard.
The survivors in Region 174 were no exception.
However, the rankings were beyond everyone's expectations.
[Region 174 Level Leaderboard] [First place: Cao Xing (Level 4, 1%)] [Second place: Wu Xinghu (Level 3, 25%)] [Third place: Zhou Bo (Level 3, 14%)] [Fourth place: Ren Yixu (Level 3, 10%)] [Fifth place: Fang Long (Level 3, 7%)] [Sixth place...] ...
Seeing the leaderboard, the entire Region 174 chat channel fell silent for a moment.
Then the messages flooded in.
Chen Hua: "Holy crap! It wasn't Fang Long or Wu Xinghu. The one in first place is actually the big shot Cao Xing!"
Tao Mumu: "I really didn't expect the big shot Cao Xing to be in first place. He's so strong!"
Liu Dashu: "How did the big shot Cao Xing manage that?"
Everyone was expressing their shock.
A survivor named Du Rong said, "I don't think everyone needs to be so surprised. The big shot Cao Xing is the man who killed a bear. It's no surprise he took first place."
"Haha, I think the big shot Cao Xing deserves it too. Thanks to his bear meat, my whole family improved their attributes. We've not only made it through the life-or-death crisis, but have also gradually developed our territory."
"That's right, that's right. I'm convinced the big shot Cao Xing deserves first place."
In the chat channel, nearly all the comments about Cao Xing were positive.
After all, the bear meat he sold really had helped a lot of people.
Meanwhile, Fang Long, Zhou Bo, and the others all looked rather grim.
"Damn it! How did that guy get first place?"
Fang Long's face showed a trace of anger and disbelief.
But he quickly regained his composure.
Fang Long slowly let out a breath and said, "At least he's only one level ahead. There are still three days until the Newbie Protection Period ends. That's more than enough time for me to catch up!"
Elsewhere, an interested smile appeared on Zhou Bo's face.
"Interesting. I originally thought that guy had just gotten lucky, and that offending Fang Long meant he was finished."
"Now it seems he really does have some ability."
Zhou Bo opened his friends list, then clicked on the private-message option and said, "Go find out where this Cao Xing came from."
At that moment, inside the Lord's Hut.
Outside the window, snow reflected the light, and the cold wind howled.
Inside the room, the warm furnace radiated heat.
The small wooden bed creaked as the temperature beneath the blankets rose rapidly.
The beauty's face was flushed. She turned her head away, not daring to look Cao Xing in the eye, and clutched his neck tightly with both hands.
"A Xing... A Xing..."
The beauty's calls were long and ethereal.
The room was filled with the sweetness of their lovemaking.
A little while later, after a long, ethereal, and alluring cry, the sounds in the room gradually died down.
Liu Muxue lay limp in Cao Xing's arms, her eyes hazy.
Just then, they heard the system announcement too.
Liu Muxue arched her swan-like neck, her eyes bright with excitement. "A Xing, you're in first place! You're so amazing!"
Cao Xing shook his head, unconcerned. "It's only first place for now. Until we claim the reward, we can't let our guard down."
Liu Muxue gazed at him admiringly. "That's still amazing. There are tens of thousands of people in Region 174!"
Cao Xing smiled. "Tomorrow we'll keep working hard and see if we can get you a top-ten reward too."
Liu Muxue gave a slight nod and clenched her little fist. "Mm-hmm! I'll do my best!"
Perhaps because she'd moved too vigorously and touched certain parts, Liu Muxue's face reddened again.
She glanced cautiously at Cao Xing, only to find him watching her too.
Cao Xing lowered his head and kissed her again.
"Mmm..."
The beauty was gentle and tender. Her body, stiff at first, gradually relaxed.
Her body writhed like a water snake, and she wrapped herself around Cao Xing of her own accord.
The temperature outside began to drop rapidly as night fell.
Yet the temperature in the room continued to rise...
The two of them spent a wonderful night together.
Early the next morning.
Cao Xing saw several system notifications.
[Your territory building: [Small Shelter] has been completed...] [Your territory building: [Lesser Elemental Arrow Tower] has been completed...]
Cao Xing's eyes lit up. "The arrow tower is finished!"
Through the window of the Lord's Hut, Cao Xing saw a fifteen-meter-tall hexagonal tower at the edge of the Campfire.
The tower was built entirely of stone, and the faint elemental fluctuations coming from it were imposing.
If an enemy came within six hundred meters of the camp, the arrow tower would attack automatically. It was incredibly powerful!
Cao Xing said with satisfaction, "Good. Now we don't have to worry about safety around the territory, and the Polar Folk can go out to gather resources more safely."
At the same time.
A knock came from outside the door.
Cao Xing and Liu Muxue got dressed, then looked toward the door and said, "Come in."
Sihua, one of the residents, carried in a bowl of bear bile soup and a serving of roasted bear meat.
The rich aroma of meat wafted over.
Sihua said softly, "My lord, the bear bile soup and roasted bear meat you asked me to make are ready. Please enjoy."
Cao Xing nodded. "Put them on the wooden table."
Both of these ingredients could improve attributes.
Bear bile could directly increase maximum health by 200 points, while bear meat could increase strength and constitution by 2 points.
For Cao Xing and Liu Muxue, that was a considerable improvement.
That was what Cao Xing had instructed the residents to do the day before.
Sihua nodded, then withdrew respectfully.
Cao Xing, meanwhile, brought Liu Muxue to the dining table.
He started by eating a few bites of bear meat.
In an instant, his mouth was filled with the savory flavor of meat.
Cao Xing praised it. "A professional chef really does make a difference."
A system notification appeared.
[Successfully consumed bear meat (blue). Attributes increased: Strength +2, Constitution +2.]
He had indeed gained an attribute increase.
Then Cao Xing began picking up the bear bile in the bowl with his chopsticks.
What puzzled him was that even after eating several bites, he still hadn't received a system notification for an attribute increase.
"Hm?"
Cao Xing was a little confused, but continued eating the bear bile.
He kept eating until he was nearly full before the system notification finally appeared.
[Successfully consumed bear bile. Maximum health increased by 200.]
Cao Xing's expression brightened. "So I have to eat half the bear bile before I get the attribute increase."
"That means the other half can increase attributes one more time."
Then he looked at Liu Muxue beside him and said, "Muxue, come over too."
"There's half of the bear bile left. It should be enough for you to get an attribute increase too."
Liu Muxue obediently came over, picked up the chopsticks Cao Xing had used, and started eating.
The bear gall soup was delicious, and it took Liu Muxue a few minutes to finish it.
Then, she looked at Cao Xing excitedly and said, "A Xing, my health has increased too."
Cao Xing nodded.
One bear gall had increased their health by 400 points. That was pretty good.
Unfortunately, this food only worked the first time they ate it.
Just then, a system notification sounded.
[Survivors, congratulations on making it through the third night of the Icebound Era.] [Time remaining in the Newbie Protection Period: 2 days, 22 hours.] [Weather forecast: There will be light snowfall tonight, and the temperature will drop to a low of -70°C. Please take care to stay warm.]
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