Read Novel Full Chapter 594
Chapter 594
The player walking at the front stopped not far from that conspicuous color.
He twisted his neck and looked at them, seemingly using body language to indicate he was waiting for everyone.
The second player who approached also stopped, and then the third player who arrived did the same.
The six people were not far apart in distance. In about five minutes, the red-black down jacket, who was at the back, also joined the group.
In front of them was a patch of blurred red. In just five minutes, the originally clear red had been covered by wind and snow, leaving only a part visible.
In the white snow, a familiar red and yellow figure lay on its back. One of his arms had been bitten off by something, and the wound exposed to the cold wind had frozen into dark red frost.
Blood flowed down from his neck, staining the snow and his down jacket red. It was the patch of red they had seen from a distance.
The system’s voice rang out in their ears.
[Ding! Player death detected X1, currently 99 players remaining.]
This was the red and yellow player who had left the group behind and walked at the front.
Though he walked quickly, he didn’t go too far ahead. At such a close distance, they hadn’t heard any cries for help or sounds of struggle from the red and yellow player.
The player’s relaxed body posture before death also indicated he was killed suddenly and without warning.
This ruled out another player as the culprit, after all, the game’s rules prohibited attacking each other.
Excluding players, the only possibility left was a monster native to the copy.
What kind of creature could silently and swiftly kill a player in an S+ copy?
“We’ve really hit the jackpot,” a deep, indistinct male voice came from the green down jacket. “Out of 100 people, one just had to die right here with us.”
This was the first person to speak.
“We should move together,” he continued. “If you agree, raise your hand.”
Hands went up one after another, and eventually, everyone agreed.
“Judging by the angle of the wound, the monster suddenly attacked him from behind. We’ve been walking behind him, but I saw only his footsteps when I approached from behind.” The man analyzed the clues. “Either the monster moves through thick snow, or it can fly.”
“Since we agreed, I’ll act as temporary leader for now. To reach the safe house successfully, I’ll need your cooperation. If you agree, raise your hand again.”
Though the speed of hand-raising was hesitant, it was ultimately unanimous.
“There are six of us. I’ll pair us up, we’ll move back-to-back, arms linked, and we’ll move together. We will switch positions every 20 minutes. This way, we can ensure that our field of vision can cover the entire snowy area.”
“I’ll pair with you,” the green down jacket pointed to the yellow down jacket nearby.
“You two will…”
“Wait,” the yellow down jacket interrupted. “It’s hard to move in the snow, and we’re holding trekking poles. How do we walk back-to-back?”
The green down jacket aimed his goggles at the yellow down jacket, either staring or thinking.
A few seconds later, the green down jacket asked, “Then what do you suggest?”
The yellow down jacket hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know, but your method doesn’t seem right.”
The green down jacket: “Alright then, we’ll still pair up, but one person will walk backwards while the other walks normally. The one walking backwards will lead, the other will follow, watching each other’s view. Switch positions every twenty minutes.”
This time, the yellow down jacket had no objections. The green down jacket pointed his gloved finger at Bai Lixin and the black and red down jacket, “You two pair up. Let’s go.”
The reason for this method was to prevent a sneak attack by the monster.
While it covered their field of vision, walking backwards slowed them down. Bai Lixin calculated that the trip to the safe house, which was originally four hours, would now take four and a half hours.
Moreover, the group’s pace varied, and the black and red player was clearly struggling. When walking backwards, his speed slowed down significantly. So to avoid further delay, Bai Lixin simply opted to walk backwards the entire time.
Time passed minute by minute, and after two hours, the temperature display slowly appeared beside the timer.
-40 °C.
This was the current temperature of Goose Feather Mountain.
The system’s voice rang out again.
[Ding! Players have begun arriving at the safe house. There are still available spots. Please hurry.]
[The two-hour adaptation period has ended, environmental temperature display is now enabled.]
[Friendly reminder: In extreme cold, the human sensory system can become disoriented, leading to inaccurate temperature perception. In such cases, please observe the temperature display to ensure correct judgment.]
Bai Lixin glanced at his distance from the safe house, and estimated it would take another three hours to reach it.
A notification rang out in his mind.
He opened the chat window and found it was a message from Xia Chi.
Xia Chi: [Brother, I’ve entered the safe house.]
Bai Lixin: [How many spots are left?]
Xia Chi: [It shows 8 spots left, but I only see six people in the hall.]
Bai Lixin: [It seems others are hiding.]
Xia Chi: [Brother, I see people approaching. One, two, three, four, five… Five people. How long until you arrive, Brother? Hurry up.]
Bai Lixin looked at the long dashed line on the map. [I’m almost there.]
Xia Chi: [Alright, I’ll scout the safe house. From outside, it looks like a small wooden house, but inside, it’s spacious with two floors. Those who are hiding are probably upstairs.]
Leaving Xia Chi to explore the layout, Bai Lixin continued his long trek through the snow.
Suddenly, he heard someone curse nearby, “Fuck, I’m done!”
There was a rustling sound. Bai Lixin saw that the player in the yellow down jacket, who should have been walking backwards, had turned around and was now striding ahead.
While walking, he muttered indistinctly.
“Why should I listen to your nonsense?”
“The priority isn’t some monster, but the scarce safe house spots.”
“Only an idiot would stay here and play this movement game. It’s been over an hour, and we’re still fine. It should be safe now!”
“I’m leaving!”
The yellow down jacket quickened his pace and swiftly disappeared from everyone’s sight.
The green down jacket stood still, his goggles fixed on the spot where the yellow down jacket had vanished, lost in thought.
“He’s got a point. It’s been over an hour without encountering any monsters. Maybe it’s gone?” The player in the blue and white down jacket turned around. “Walking backwards really slows us down. There are limited spots in the safe house, so we should hurry.”
Though he said this, he wasn’t as hasty as the yellow down jacket. He sped up but stayed within the group.
The green down jacket didn’t say anything, silently supporting himself with his trekking pole as he moved forward.
Seeing the others change direction, Bai Lixin followed suit.
After about ten more minutes, they again encountered a blood-red scene similar to the first…
The bright yellow down jacket was now stained red with blood. Blood sprayed from a torn neck, spreading across the ground like a vivid rose in a field of cotton.
The blood froze at his chest, and he died in a manner similar to the previous player, with grotesque wounds and missing limbs.
This time, they hadn’t heard the yellow down jacket’s cries either.
Nor did they see any signs of fear, tension, or resistance in his body language.
He died instantly, without even having time to think. He just lay directly on the ground.
The group was thoroughly panicked.
The blue and white down jacket looked around in panic. “Is that monster still following us?”
The purple-red down jacket: “Should we follow the leader’s suggestion and walk backwards again?”
The green down jacket: “We can, but now we have an extra person since there are five of us.”
Bai Lixin raised his hand. “I can give up my spot for you.”
“But I don’t think it’s necessary anymore.”
Several pairs of goggles turned towards Bai Lixin.
The green down jacket: “Did you discover something?”
Bai Lixin: “I think as long as we stay close to each other, the monster won’t attack. The red-yellow down jacket player at the start and the yellow down jacket player just now were both attacked after leaving the group.”
“But that’s just my own speculation. If you’re worried, I can step back and let you pair up and continue as before.”
The blue and white down jacket: “No one would gamble with their life, right? Maybe his discovery is correct.”
“No one would gamble with their life? How did the last two die, then? The first could be said to have died out of ignorance, the second out of arrogance,” the purple-red player retorted. “I still want to walk in pairs.”
The green down jacket: “Then I’ll pair with you.”
The blue and white down jacket hesitated for a moment, then looked at the red-black down jacket. “Shall we pair up?”
It seemed the matter was resolved perfectly, but the red-black down jacket did something that surprised everyone.
He quietly walked over to Bai Lixin. “I trust him.”
The blue and white down jacket became anxious. “What about me? I’ll be left alone!”
But the red-black down jacket didn’t listen, instead moving closer to Bai Lixin and whispering through his thick mask, “Thank you earlier.”
Bai Lixin: “It’s nothing. I was walking backwards to avoid delaying the process.”
The red-black down jacket: “Not just earlier. You helped me from the start. If you hadn’t slowed down, I would’ve been left behind. I would have been the first person to die, and I would have died quietly because no one would have walked back and no one would have found my body.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
The red-black down jacket continued, “I may lack physical strength, but my eyes work fine. I can tell you could’ve been at the front based on your ability. If you hadn’t buffered between me and the second-last person, I’d have already died. You’re my lifesaver.”