Sorting Things Out

On the way back, the entire forest was eerily quiet.

There was no howling wind, only the deathly silence of frozen ice. The hard, brittle snow beneath his feet cracked, each step crushing a thin layer of ice, tiny ice shards sliding down his trouser legs. Lu Heng remained tense throughout, his gaze fixed on the slippery ice slope beneath his feet, while his peripheral vision repeatedly swept across the dark gaps in the forest on either side to confirm that no ferocious beasts were following him.

He had no interest in appreciating his surroundings; all he wanted was to escape the vast snowfield and return to the Shelter as quickly as possible. He walked briskly and silently throughout the twenty-minute journey.

Upon reaching the entrance to the cave, he raised his hand to push the heavy stone door inward.

The rough stone surface scraped against the ground, producing a dull, heavy sound. The moment the stone door closed completely and locked shut, the frigid, deathly silence, and danger of minus forty degrees Celsius outside were all shut out.

The Geothermal system inside the cave was operating smoothly, the air was warm and stagnant, and there was not a trace of cold wind, making it feel safe and secure.

He had already completed all the necessary procedures on the spot during the battle in the snowy plains.

He completely decomposed the entire pack of Wolf Pack carcasses using his Wristband. The ferocious beasts' bodies were dissected and stripped away, and the wolf meat, bones, hides, and tendons were all transformed into organized resources and directly stored in the Wristband's Storage Space.

The only feathers scattered among the snow pits and broken branches were the Giant Plume Eagle feathers, which could not be decomposed in batches and had to be picked up one by one by hand. There were also four Silver Moon Wolf Core stuck in the gaps of broken wolf bones, which the Giant Plume Eagle had missed. He also carefully picked them out of the wreckage by hand.

Now back in the safe Stone Chamber, Lu Heng squatted down and took out the feathers and four beast cores he had just collected from his Wristband, spreading them out on the clean stone floor.

A thin layer of ice still covered the surface of the feathers, making them feel hard, tough, and cold to the touch. The four beast cores were warm to the touch, with a matte finish, and lay quietly among the feathers.

His fingertips gently caressed the cool surface of the beast cores, and the scene of last night's battle flashed through his mind. After the Primal Giant Plume Eagle shattered the mirror image, it slaughtered the entire Wolf Pack. The behemoth needed to replenish its strength after the battle, and it devoured most of the intact beast cores. These four cores were buried deep in the crevices of the broken bones. The behemoth was too lazy to search through the remains, and the Wristband's decomposition function couldn't detect their depth, so they were left behind by sheer luck. The entire harvest didn't involve any direct combat; it was purely picking up the remnants of a ferocious beast's battle.

He stopped thinking about it and began to organize and tidy up.

The Giant Plume Eagle feathers, beast cores, and all hard, ferocious beast materials were returned to the Wristband's Storage Space and stored in separate sections.

Then, the meat reserves were processed.

He retrieved a portion of wolf meat from his Wristband, enough for his daily consumption in the near future, and transferred it to the Storage Necklace for constant temperature preservation, so he could use it whenever needed.

The remaining large quantity of frozen meat is directly stored in the Cold Storage Cellar Ecology Module. The module has a built-in constant temperature and heat-locking function, so it will not spoil during long-term storage and can be used as long-term reserve food.

In a short while, all the supplies were sorted. The Stone Chamber floor was clean and empty, without a trace of clutter. At present, the reserves of food, materials, and beast cores were sufficient, and for a long time to come, there was no need to venture out into the snowfield to search for supplies.

After tidying up, Lu Heng slowly sat down against the cold stone wall. The fatigue from the long journey gradually crept in, and his tense body slowly relaxed, though he still dared not completely let his guard down.

After sitting quietly for a short while, he raised his hand to light up the Wristband's screen and opened the Global Survivors Public Channel.

After the trial ended, the survivors were scattered throughout the Frost Forest, and the channel messages kept scrolling and refreshing.

Lines of text flashed across the screen. Most were complaints about the temperature dropping day by day, the high risk of going out, and the rapid depletion of supplies. Many people left messages in the public chat, hoping that those with sufficient resources could donate some food or warm clothing.

The speakers mostly spoke in a casual and relaxed tone, casually mentioning how tough the days were, as if they were just having a chat.

Lu Heng's gaze fell on the scrolling text, his fingertips hovering above the screen, without making any movement.

Over the past few days, as he observed things, he gradually came to realize a reality.

Those who still had the strength to wake up their Wristband and had time to type their grievances in the chat channel basically survived. Those who truly ran out of food, lacked warm clothing and supplies, couldn't withstand the continuous low temperatures, didn't survive the long nights, or were attacked by ferocious beasts while out foraging for food were too busy to have the extra energy to turn on their Wristband and send messages.

The fact that they've survived this long and can still express their emotions in the public chat suggests they still have some supplies that could save their lives.

They say they can't hold on any longer, but in reality, they're mostly just taking a chance. They casually complain without paying any price, and if they happen to run into someone willing to help, they can get some supplies for free.

In desperate situations, many people have this kind of luck mentality.

Lu Heng understood this way of life. If it were anyone else, they would most likely also cry poor and ask for help in the channel in order to have a better chance of survival.

He just couldn't do it himself.

He just couldn't do it himself.

From the start of the trial until now, all the supplies he has have been obtained through searching and countless adventures. He is used to earning survival resources through his own actions and is not used to asking others for things.

He didn't plan to say much on the channel, neither refuting nor exposing the truth. Everyone has a different way of surviving; some are willing to take risks and struggle, while others rely on the charity of others. Different choices lead to different consequences, and there's no need to get involved and cause trouble for oneself.

The messages on the screen kept refreshing, a constant stream of noisy information pouring out. The virtual channel was filled with restless voices, but the real forest was deathly silent.

Lu Heng silently browsed for a while, watching the endless stream of complaints and pleas for help on the screen. After seeing so many, he felt only numbness. Human nature slowly reveals itself in extreme environments; some people are steadfast and patient, while others always try to take shortcuts.

He left no comment, tapped his finger to close the chat interface. The Wristband's screen slowly dimmed, and the Stone Chamber returned to silence.

For the next period of time, he planned to remain in the Shelter, organizing the available materials to make arrows and reinforce protective gear, while observing the activity patterns of the ferocious beasts in the forest.

The trial is over, but the true danger of the Frost Forest is only just beginning to emerge.

The battles between mirror creatures, the territorial struggles of native beasts, and the overall disruption of the forest's ecosystem are just the tip of the iceberg.

The trial ended, and the outside survivors took root in this land.

The truly chaotic, lawless jungle began at this moment.

As his thoughts drifted to the depths of the forbidden zone, a longing arose in Lu Heng's heart. He felt an ever-growing curiosity about that mysterious, untouched area.

But reason prevailed over the restlessness.

With his current equipment, physical condition, and experience in dealing with danger, he is far from qualified to enter the Central Restricted Zone. To venture in rashly would be tantamount to suicide.

The outer perimeter is already fraught with danger, and the innermost areas are even more perilous.

He could only calm down, accumulate strength, and quietly wait for the right opportunity. No one could predict whether the ferocious beasts in the forbidden zone would slowly spread to the outer territories. When that time came, true chaos would descend.