"Chen! Yu!!!"
The familiar roar of a shrew from the wristband exploded, its piercing scream as if to pierce the eardrums, forcing Chen Yu to straighten his arm and keep as much distance as possible between him and the wristband.
Jiang Yaqing.
As if reincarnated from an explosive spirit, her appearance always brought a sobering clarity.
"Shh!"
Chen Yu held up a finger and covered his ear with his left hand.
"What are you yelling about?" Chen Yu frowned. "Were you raised by a loudspeaker? You pollute the air with noise the moment you open your mouth. I'm telling you, if you keep this up, you'll seriously disrupt the ecological balance."
"Is that so?"
Jiang Yaqing's voice from within the wristband suddenly became much calmer.
"Hey, we haven't been in contact for a while, so this is just my way of showing how much I miss you. Isn't that how they do it in idol dramas? When people who haven't seen each other for a long time reunite, they jump for joy. We can't meet face-to-face, so this is the only way I can express my inner excitement."
"You're holding back."
Hearing Jiang Yaqing's words, Chen Yu felt uncomfortable all over.
"The last time you said you were going to sleep, you went silent. I thought you'd gone to the grave. Seeing you so full of life puts my mind at ease."
"Ah, I ran into a bit of trouble," Jiang Yaqing murmured.
"What happened?"
Chen Yu was full of curiosity.
He guessed the trouble wouldn't be minor. It had been two days since Jiang Yaqing said she was going to sleep, and even with the deepest sleep, one day would have been enough.
If she couldn't spare even a day to bother him, it must be something significant.
"I ran into a beast tide," Jiang Yaqing said solemnly. "Don't even mention it. While I was sleeping, the camp was almost destroyed. Then, I was chased by them all the way to an extremely cold region, and I still haven't gotten out."
"Extremely cold region?"
"Here, look..."
As she spoke, Jiang Yaqing suddenly switched from audio to video, and a picture appeared on the wristband's projection.
White snow stretched as far as the eye could see.
In the distance, there seemed to be frozen icebergs.
A biting cold wind howled incessantly, causing Jiang Yaqing's long dress to dance in the wind, her temples' hair also becoming disheveled.
"Aren't you cold?!"
Chen Yu exclaimed, and Jiang Yaqing in the video immediately widened her eyes.
"Of course I'm cold, I'm freezing to death," Jiang Yaqing retorted impatiently, rolling her eyes. "I'm just showing it to you."
With that, Jiang Yaqing scurried into the camp tent and sat down by the fireplace.
She held out her fair hands to warm them.
Even after entering the room, Chen Yu could still hear the howling wind outside rustling through the windows and doors of Jiang Yaqing's camp.
"Your environment is truly harsh,"
Chen Yu exclaimed in a low voice.
Just looking at that world of ice and snow, Chen Yu felt a piercing chill.
"Isn't it!"
Jiang Yaqing, warming herself by the fire, also frowned.
"I'm so unlucky."
"Then why don't you just leave there?" Chen Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, then a mischievous smile appeared in his eyes. "I have a return scroll here that can take you back to the nearest city in the dungeon. I'll sell you one for 500,000 resource points, how about it?"
"No need!"
Jiang Yaqing shook her finger.
"You don't want to leave this icy wasteland?" Chen Yu frowned slightly. Jiang Yaqing stretched lazily, her alluring figure fully exposed to Chen Yu's view.
Seeing this, Chen Yu involuntarily swallowed.
She really didn't consider him an outsider.
"Why should I go back? Isn't it great here?" Jiang Yaqing shrugged. "There are no potential beast threats, and even monsters are reluctant to come to this desolate land. As for resources, I have subordinates providing them, and I'm planning to set up camp here. I'll build a city here, and then I'll be the ruler of the Extreme Cold Domain, the Ice Queen!"
Jiang Yaqing placed her hands on her hips, pointing out the window with a chuunibyo-like expression.
Something was off.
Although what Jiang Yaqing said seemed reasonable, it was actually very unreasonable. It wasn't that building an ice city or setting up camp in an extremely cold region was impossible.
The problem was, it was unnecessary!
This was still the early stage of the dungeon exploration, and Jiang Yaqing was in the absolute top tier. She clearly had better options.
It wasn't as if all the desirable territories were already occupied, forcing her to choose this place.
Setting up camp in an extremely cold region...
Either it was because even the surrounding areas were taken, leaving no other choice, or the tribe or clan preferred to live in an ice-attribute environment.
For example, if you asked a polar bear or a penguin to survive in the tropics.
They definitely wouldn't make it.
Jiang Yaqing was human, and her subordinates were also human. There was no reason for them to prefer living in a desolate land.
"You... you didn't happen to find any rare resources, did you?" Chen Yu tentatively whispered. "Yaqing, we're good partners. Do you still need to hide things from me?"
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Yaqing's expression instantly became vigilant.
"Hey, I'm just curious. We're tens of thousands of miles apart. Do you think I can crawl through the wristband and steal your resources? No way!" Chen Yu shrugged. "I'm purely curious about what you found there that makes you so reluctant to leave."
"I..."
"Think carefully," Chen Yu in the video suddenly took out the Adventurer's Gale Sword and the Adventurer's Three-Piece Set. "Think about it, you still need the equipment, right?!"
"Damn it, you're threatening me with equipment."
Jiang Yaqing pointed at Chen Yu with her finger and glared. After venting her anger for a while, she sat down cross-legged.
"Alright, I'll tell you," Jiang Yaqing said with a look of disdain. "Honestly, you're just like Xu Nuo. She figured it out when I told her. I did find something valuable. You see that iceberg just now? It can be mined."
"Oh?"
"The ore extracted is Ice Crystal Ore. I don't know its specific use yet, but I have a feeling it's good stuff. I plan to stay here and mine more to take back."
"Let me see one."
Chen Yu didn't hesitate, and Jiang Yaqing didn't hold back, directly sending over one unit.
Ding.
You have received a gift from Jiang Yaqing.
Ice Crystal Ore +1
[Ice Crystal Ore: An ore produced from the veins of the Eternal Icefield]
"You're in the Eternal Icefield then."
Chen Yu exclaimed. He looked down at the cold-emanating Ice Crystal Ore in front of him.
The ore was about the size of a palm. As soon as his hand touched it, a bone-chilling coldness seeped into his marrow. Within half a minute of being placed on the ground, the surrounding ground was covered in a thick layer of frost.
"This cooling effect is amazing!" Chen Yu exclaimed. "I just don't know what it's used for. It'd be good for relieving heat, though."
"Who knows."
Jiang Yaqing shrugged and wrinkled her pretty nose.
"Anyway, I think this is definitely good stuff, worth spending more time here. It's just that my mining efficiency is too low," Jiang Yaqing said with frustration. "It's freezing outside, and I'm digging with a broken pickaxe, ding-ding-ding, but I can't mine it. At best, I can only mine 400 units a day, and I can't even chip off a corner of the iceberg."
"Is that so..."
"What do you mean, 'is that so'? Yes! I'm so annoyed right now. I want to mine this whole mountain, but it's delaying my exploration efficiency. I'm really frustrated."
After hearing this, Chen Yu pondered for a moment and said.
"Is it because you can't break through the mountain that your efficiency is so low?"
"Yes!" Jiang Yaqing said helplessly. "Maybe my pickaxe is too low-level, or maybe my strength is too weak. I..."
"I can help you!"
Before Jiang Yaqing could finish, Chen Yu suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.
"Do you... need help?!"
--
Author's notes:
Good evening, my little darlings~