Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Valley of Snow

Chapter 28: The Snow Valley

The sabertooth squirrel darted across the snow, its four paws leaving a trail of prints in its wake, with Ye Bai in hot pursuit. One fleeing, one chasing—before they knew it, they had reached halfway up the snowy mountain. Ye Bai gathered his strength at every step, pressing footprints into the snow, the blue energy in his hands flickering as icy spikes emerged beneath the squirrel’s feet. Yet the nimble creature always managed to dodge away.

“Boss, looks like a squirrel’s running this way,” murmured the man lying prone in the snow as bait. He had just woken up to see the squirrel-like animal bounding over.

The man in high boots, bleary-eyed and grumpy on waking, snapped, “Nonsense! In this godforsaken place, you think there’d be squirrels?”

The bait—unaware that his boss had fallen asleep as well—was fortunate there had been no large predators last night, or he’d have already met his end. Rubbing his eyes, he insisted, “Boss, it’s true. There really is a squirrel coming this way.”

Now fully awake, the man in boots barked, “Shut up. I see it. Say another word and you’ll answer for it if it gets away.”

The bait immediately resumed his corpse-like stillness.

Ye Bai, chasing the sabertooth squirrel, racked his brains for a way to catch it, when suddenly the squirrel tumbled into a snow pit ahead. At that moment, a man emerged from the snow-covered ground, jumped into the pit, grabbed the squirrel, and ran off to the other side.

Barely a moment passed before a scream echoed.

“Sigh, this won’t do at all. After freezing out here all night, I’ve barely earned a point. This little squirrel is only worth 0.1 points,” a voice complained from down the snowy slope.

Ye Bai watched his almost-caught prey slip away and was irked. Standing beside the trap, he called out, “You two down there—taking what’s mine isn’t very gentlemanly, is it?”

“Yours?” Two men climbed up from below the slope. “It was Xiao Ma who fished it out of the trap—did you see your name written on it?”

Beneath the swarthy skin of the man in boots, a green energy glimmered.

Ye Bai’s expression darkened at their words—how could someone be so brazen after taking what belonged to another? His anger flared. “Oh? Maybe my name really is carved on it, only the glare of the snow has blinded you to it.” The blue energy danced between his fingers, and a yellow gleam flashed in his eyes.

“You—” The man in boots took a step forward, the energy inside him surging, but he forcibly suppressed it, replacing his expression with a forced smile.

“Haha, Brother Ye, blame my poor eyesight. I didn’t know this was your prey. If I’d known, I, Fan Xiang, wouldn’t have touched it for the world.”

Xiao Ma stood aside, dumbfounded by the sudden change in atmosphere. Moments ago, tensions had been high, and now it was all smiles and pleasantries.

Ye Bai, ready for a fight, was left wondering—what was happening here? Were they scared? They hadn’t even started fighting yet.

“Haha, Brother Ye, I know a place where you can more than make up for your loss—and even make a big haul,” Fan Xiang said, waggling his brows and shooting Ye Bai meaningful looks. He raised his hands and approached slowly, signaling he meant no harm.

Ye Bai, hearing mention of plenty of points to be earned, let the energy in his body dissipate, though he remained on guard. “Oh? Then why haven’t you gone there yourself?”

Fan Xiang reached out to slap Ye Bai’s shoulder, but felt the muscles tense beneath his touch. He smiled awkwardly and stepped back. “Brother Ye, don’t be so tense. That place is too much for one person to handle—I need your help. When the time comes, we’ll each earn our points by our own skill.”

Truth be told, Fan Xiang’s heart was bleeding at the thought. If Ye Bai weren’t dual-attribute, he’d have risked everything to test his mettle, but with twice the energy of others, a dual-attribute fighter was essentially unbeatable among their peers.

Seeing Fan Xiang’s repeated concessions, Ye Bai pondered for a moment and agreed. “Fine. Lead the way. When do we leave?”

Fan Xiang kicked Xiao Ma. “Hurry up and pack!” Then he turned to Ye Bai. “Right away. As soon as he’s packed, we go. Brother Ye, my name is Fan Xiang, from Lieyang City, a satellite of Kuangsha Main City—”

“That’s enough, save the introductions. I don’t have time for them.” Ye Bai strode off in the direction Fan Xiang had indicated.

Fan Xiang chuckled awkwardly and shot Xiao Ma a glare to hurry him along, then quickly caught up to Ye Bai.

“Brother Ye, what’s your name?”

Without turning, Ye Bai replied, “Ye Bai.”

So Ye Bai walked in front, Fan Xiang in the middle keeping up a lively conversation, and Xiao Ma trailed behind with the packs, constantly urging the others to slow down. In this way, the trio set out for their destination.

Outside the battle suits worn by Ye Bai and the others, the old man and Song Aoyang monitored the progress of each examinee.

The old man clicked on the screen showing Ye Bai’s group; blue lines appeared around the scene, and soon the trio’s image was enlarged. On the right, a 6cm display tracked their mental states, with a detailed map of the mountains at the bottom.

Song Aoyang, who had been observing other candidates, set aside his work and came over. “Teacher, based on their direction, they’re heading for Snowpine Valley. Do they have a death wish? That place is notorious for avalanches.”

The old man turned to him and explained, “Where danger lurks, so too does great opportunity. Yes, avalanches can happen there, but the valley is teeming with animals from the Ice Age. If they’re lucky, a single hunt could turn them from nobodies to heroes.”

Ye Bai and his companions stood at the mouth of Snowpine Valley, gazing at the towering mountains on either side, a faint sense of unease weighing on them. The sheer presence of the two snowy peaks was overwhelming.

“How did you find this place?” Ye Bai asked.

“Brother Ye, what’s wrong?” Fan Xiang noticed Ye Bai’s uneasy look and hurried to explain. “I first arrived here at the start of the exam, though I was caught in the middle of a mammoth herd.”

He gave a sheepish grin. “To be honest, I escaped from here. I barely had time to react before the mammoths chased me out of the valley. But as I fled, I got a good look—most of the animals inside are massive.”

Ye Bai surveyed the terrain and, after a brief acknowledgment, strode into the valley.

He soon realized how vast it was inside: the ground was flat, and every dozen meters or so stood a giant snowpine, its branches heavily laden with snow, with only a hint of green peeking through here and there.

“Where is it?” Ye Bai whispered. Even his soft voice sent the fresh snow from last night cascading down from the trees.

No one seemed to notice. Fan Xiang peered ahead and pointed. “Over there.”

Following his finger, Ye Bai spotted, beyond the snowpine grove, a plain at the valley’s bottom teeming with mammoths, Siberian bison, and herds of unknown beasts that resembled hippos—all thriving in the snowy expanse.

Faced with so many animals, Ye Bai thought to himself: With just the three of us, we couldn’t possibly handle this, even with three more men. A single mammoth charge would be the end of us. To see so many potential points and not be able to claim them was torture.

Fan Xiang seemed to sense Ye Bai’s frustration. He nudged Xiao Ma with his foot and said, “Go get to work.”

Then he sidled up to Ye Bai, grinning. “Brother Ye, are you troubled by the sight of all those points you can’t claim?”

Ye Bai turned around. “Do you have a plan?”

Fan Xiang chuckled. “Of course! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wasted time coming here—after all, we only have seven days in this virtual world.” He pointed to Xiao Ma, who was busy setting traps below.

“How are you going to lure them over?” Ye Bai asked, watching as iron spikes as thick as fingers were driven into the snow.

Fan Xiang smirked, relishing the chance to take charge again. “Do you know why that squirrel ran into my trap?”

He paused for effect, but Ye Bai pressed him. “Spit it out.”

“It’s thanks to something I brought with me—one item attracts animals, the other kills them. The attractant is called ‘Soul Lure,’ and what Xiao Ma is spreading on the traps is ‘Soul Severer.’ One lures, one kills. I got them in the Maze of Sand—came up with the names myself. Impressive, don’t you think?”

Only now did Ye Bai regard Fan Xiang seriously, but no matter how he looked, the man seemed the most ordinary sort—broad-featured, dark-skinned, short and stocky, utterly forgettable except for those tall boots.

“How did you bring them in?” Ye Bai asked.

“I have no idea. They were just on me when I entered.”

Ye Bai went down to help Xiao Ma with the traps, while Fan Xiang remained above, gazing at the animals below and calculating how many points he might earn.