The transaction notification faded, but the Regional Channel was still vibrating with the aftershocks of the "Kung Pao Chicken Incident."
Chen Chen sat on the edge of his newly upgraded fireplace, the warmth seeping into his bones. The stone hearth was now enclosed, radiating heat efficiently rather than letting it escape up the chimney.
Outside, the wind howled like a banshee, slamming against the thick pine logs of his Level 1 Shelter. But inside? Inside, it was a cozy 12 degrees Celsius.
He opened the chat, curious to see the fallout.
"He sold it. He actually sold it."
"Who bought it? Who had 10 Stone and 10 Wood? That's impossible for one person to gather in a day!"
"It was a group! The 'Mountain Union' pooled their resources. I saw them talking about it. Five guys working together bought the chicken."
"Five guys? For one box of rice? That's barely a mouthful each!"
"You don't get it. It's not about the rice. It's about the heat. They were freezing to death. That heating pack alone probably saved a life."
"I'm eating snow... my tongue is numb..."
Chen Chen closed the chat window. He felt a pang of sympathy, but it was fleeting. In this frozen wasteland, sympathy was a calorie-burning emotion he couldn't afford.
He turned his attention to his new domain. The Level 1 upgrade hadn't just fixed the walls it had unlocked a new piece of furniture in the corner of the room: the [Basic Workbench].
It was a sturdy wooden table covered in crude tools a hammer, a saw, and a chisel.
Chen Chen walked over and placed his hand on the table. A holographic menu sprang up.
[Workbench Level 1]
Allows for the crafting of advanced tools and the refinement of materials.
[Craftable Items:]
[Reinforced Wooden Shield]: Wood x5, Iron Scrap x2
[Stone Skin Poncho]: Leather x2, Fiber x2
[Simple Wooden Bed]: Wood x10, Hay x5
[Iron-Tipped Spear]: Wood x2, Iron Scrap x2 (Requires: Spear Blueprint)
Chen Chen's eyes lit up.
"A bed."
He looked at the frozen dirt floor. Even with the room temperature rising, the ground sucked the heat right out of his body. If he slept on the floor tonight, he'd wake up stiff or not wake up at all.
He checked his inventory. After the massive sale, he had:
Wood: 19 units
Stone: 4 units
Iron Scrap: 2 units
Hay/Dry Grass: 10 units (gathered from the initial shack demolition)
"Craft [Simple Wooden Bed]."
Ten seconds later, a rustic wooden frame appeared, fitted with a mattress of woven dry grass.
"Now for the weapon."
He looked at the [Iron-Tipped Spear]. His current weapon was just a sharpened stick with a rusty piece of metal jammed onto it. The system-crafted version would be far superior.
"Craft."
[Iron Scrap -2, Wood -2]
A sleek, balanced spear materialized. The shaft was smooth pine, and the tip was a triangular piece of refined iron, honed to a razor edge.
[Weapon: Iron-Tipped Spear]
[Quality: Common (White)]
[Attack: 15-20]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Attribute: Piercing (Ignores 10% of target armor)]
"Piercing damage," Chen Chen muttered, testing the weight. "This changes things."
He felt a surge of confidence. With a warm house, a bed, and a real weapon, he was miles ahead of the curve.
But the Glacial Era had a way of humbling arrogance.
A sound came from the door.
Chen Chen froze. He gripped his spear, his knuckles turning white.
He crept to the door. The Level 1 Cabin had a small peephole covered by a sliding wooden slat. He held his breath and slid it open just a crack.
The world outside was pitch black, illuminated only by the faint, eerie glow of the snow reflecting the moonlight.
And there, sniffing at the gap under his door, was a beast.
It looked like a wolf, but it was massive easily the size of a pony. Its fur was matted white and blue, blending perfectly with the snow. Its eyes glowed with a pale, hungry blue light.
[Mutated Creature: Frost Stalker]
[Level: 3]
[Threat Level: High]
[Note: A nocturnal predator. Its saliva freezes blood on contact.]
Chen Chen's heart hammered against his ribs.
Level 3.
He had been killing Level 0 bugs and Level 1 slimes. This thing was a predator.
The Frost Stalker let out a low growl, steam billowing from its jaws. It rammed its shoulder against the door.
The cabin shook. Dust fell from the ceiling.
[Shelter Warning: Door Integrity 95%...]
Chen Chen stepped back, lowering his center of gravity, aiming the spear at the door. If that door broke, he was dead. The cold would rush in, and the wolf would follow.
[Door Integrity 88%...]
"Get lost," Chen Chen hissed.
He couldn't fight it inside. The cabin was too small; the spear was too long to maneuver effectively.
He waited, sweat trickling down his back despite the cold.
After a third hit, the wolf paused. It sniffed the air again, then let out a frustrated huff. It seemed to realize that the wood was too thick to break through easily, or perhaps it smelled easier prey nearby.
It turned and trotted away into the darkness, disappearing into the snowstorm.
Chen Chen didn't move for five minutes.
"The night isn't just cold," he whispered, finally letting out a breath. "It's an active hunting ground."
He re-checked the shelter stats. The door held. The upgrade had saved his life. If he was still in that drafty shack, the Stalker would have walked right in and eaten him along with his Kung Pao Chicken wrapper.
He sat on his bed, the adrenaline crash leaving him exhausted. He opened the System Interface again.
He needed a reality check.
He looked at the survivor count.
[Survivors: 9,412 / 10,000]
Chen Chen rubbed his eyes.
"Six hundred people," he said softly. "Gone."
It had only been... what? Ten hours?
He scrolled through the death logs in the announcements.
[Player 4421 died. Cause: Hypothermia.]
[Player 8902 died. Cause: Mutated Beast Attack (Frost Stalker).]
[Player 1102 died. Cause: Freezing.]
[Player 331 died. Cause: Freezing.]
The word "Freezing" appeared over and over again.
People weren't dying of thirst yet. They weren't dying of hunger. They were simply running out of heat.
He looked at the Regional Chat. It had slowed down significantly. People were conserving energy. The messages that did pop up were grim.
"My brother... his icon went grey. He said he was just going to close his eyes for a bit."
"I can't feel my legs. I think this is it for me. Good luck everyone."
"Why did the temperature drop so much? It must be -30 out there."
"I saw a monster. Big eyes. It took the guy in the shelter next to me. I heard him screaming."
Chen Chen pulled his wool blanket tighter around himself.
The disparity was terrifying.
While others were writing their last wills in the chat, Chen Chen was sitting on a bed, belly full, in a 12-degree room.
"Resources are life," he affirmed. "And the drop rate is the filter."
Most people faced a deadly paradox: To get wood and food, they had to go outside and hunt. But going outside meant freezing and facing monsters like the Frost Stalker. If they fought and got nothing (because of the abysmal drop rate), they expended calories and heat for zero return. That was a death sentence.
Chen Chen, however, got a return on every single action.
One stomp = one crate.
One swing = one meal.
"I have to snowball this advantage," he thought, his strategic mind taking over. "Tomorrow, I need to clear the area around the cabin. I need to level up myself, not just the shelter."
He lay back on the dry grass mattress. The fire crackled soothingly.
He closed his eyes, but his hand remained wrapped around the shaft of the Iron-Tipped Spear.
Day 2. 07:00 AM.
Chen Chen woke up to a notification chime.
[System Announcement: Day 2 has begun.]
[Weather: Clear Skies. Temperature: -25°C.]
[Warning: The stench of death from the first night will attract scavengers. Be vigilant.]
He sat up, stretching his limbs. He was warm. He was rested. He ate a chocolate bar for breakfast.
He walked to the door and unlatched it. He pushed it open.
The morning sun was blinding. The snow reflected the light like a sea of diamonds. The storm had passed, leaving the world silent and pristine.
Except for the massive claw marks gouged into his door.
Chen Chen stepped out, his boots crunching on the fresh snow. The air was crisp and painfully cold, but the sun offered a psychological warmth.
He looked at the snow around his cabin.
It was littered with tracks. Not just the wolf. Smaller things. Scavengers.
And about fifty meters away, digging near a frozen bush, was a creature resembling a wild boar, but covered in jagged ice crystals instead of fur.
[Mutated Creature: Ice-Armored Boar]
[Level: 1]
Chen Chen grinned.
A Level 1 Boar. That meant meat. That meant leather. That meant bones.
And for him... that meant a guaranteed Treasure Chest.
He tightened his grip on the Iron-Tipped Spear and stepped off the porch.
"Hey, bacon," he called out.
The boar turned, snorting a cloud of mist. It charged.