On the snowy plain, four figures trudged forward in the wind and snow.

The city no longer resembled a city, as the streets and buildings from memory had all disappeared, replaced by endless snow-capped mountains and ice.

It usually takes millions of years for an iceberg to form, but it only took thirty-five years for this land.

If it weren't for personal experience, it would be hard to imagine that this place, which resembled the extreme northern cold lands, was once a bustling city.

The road to the Bell Tower was much more difficult than everyone had imagined.

Shortly after they set out, the sky changed color.

The sky was covered in dark clouds, obscuring the sun. The light became dim, and the strong wind howled, blowing snowflakes the size of palms into their faces. It made it almost impossible for them to open their eyes, and their vision was limited. They couldn't even see the road, let alone have a sense of direction.

At this time, the other purpose of the cart became apparent.

The tracks left by the wheels on the snow would quickly be covered by the wind and snow. It was impossible to return the same way, but at least before the tracks completely disappeared, they could judge whether they were walking in a straight line, so as not to get completely lost.

"Whew... This wind feels so damn refreshing!" Jiang Niao didn't know if it was really refreshing or if he was comforting himself.

But with such a heavy snowstorm, ordinary people rarely had the chance to experience it.

"I... I can't go on anymore..."

After walking for nearly five hours, Mustard Soup was exhausted.

His lips turned pale, and as soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed in the snow.

His weak voice was scattered by the wind and snow, and no one heard it. Fortunately, Gu Chi, who had been paying attention to the back, noticed the commotion.

"Lift him onto the cart!" Gu Chi shouted.

"Okay!"

Mustard Soup had been gritting his teeth, trying not to trouble everyone, but unfortunately, his body wouldn't allow it.

The three of them lifted him onto the cart. Mustard Soup, who had just taken a bite of snow, felt his throat go numb and couldn't speak. He could only look at everyone with grateful eyes.

Gu Chi returned to the front to lead the way.

They didn't have a map, and the terrain here was completely different from before. Even if they had a map, it wouldn't be of much use. They had to rely on Gu Chi's memory of the distribution of city buildings in his mind to roughly find a direction.

Gu Chi wasn't sure if this direction was correct. He had been trying to verify his memory along the way, such as...

"Shh!"

Gu Chi struck the ice wall on the left side of the road with a shovel, scraping away the snow on top, revealing the ice layer. In the ice layer, the outline of a building could be vaguely seen.

It was like a giant specimen frozen in ice. Despite the passage of time, one could still feel a hint of civilization from it.

This wasn't the one Gu Chi was looking for, but the good news was that he had an impression of this building.

If he remembered correctly, they should be close.

There was an uphill road ahead.

Gu Chi looked back and saw Ling Mao and Jiang Niao dragging Mustard Soup behind them, not falling behind. Gu Chi tightened his hat and face scarf, slightly quickened his pace, and followed his memory to the front. Another shovel...

Not it.

Gu Chi moved to another spot and shoveled again.

Not it.

The fourth shovel... not it.

The fifth shovel... not it.

It wasn't until the sixth shovel that Gu Chi saw a "1" in the ice wall.

His heart skipped a beat, and he was about to shovel away the snow on the surface to clean it up, but his head suddenly became dizzy, causing his feet to go weak, almost losing his balance.

"Gu Yuan!" Ling Mao was startled and quickly handed the rope in her hand to Jiang Niao. She rushed up and supported Gu Chi step by step.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine, just a bit weak."

Gu Chi shook his head.

His physical condition wasn't high either. He was just an average healthy adult male. After trekking through the wind and snow for hours and constantly shoveling, his half-buried body couldn't take it anymore. He needed to rest for a while.

But before resting, he wanted to confirm what was inside this ice fossil.

"Let me help you!" Ling Mao saw Gu Chi grip the shovel tightly again and knew what he was going to do.

She first went back to the rear with Jiang Niao to drag Mustard Soup up, found a rock to stabilize the cart, then took out a small shovel from her body and started scraping the snow layer on the ice wall with Gu Chi.

Two people working together were much faster than one person. They quickly saw the complete appearance of the frozen building.

Or rather, not the complete appearance. This building was truly half-buried.

Thirty-five years of heavy snow had raised the road surface, and Gu Chi stood there, his height level with it. The signboard at the top of the building was right in front of Gu Chi's eyes. Ling Mao also recognized it—

1663.

Search "pawread dot com" for the original.

They found the hotel where they originally stayed!

Ling Mao was overjoyed.

Finding the hotel meant they hadn't taken the wrong path and had already entered the city. The Bell Tower was in the city center, so no matter which direction they went, it wouldn't be too far.

In other words, they had already succeeded halfway!

"Gu Yuan, you're amazing!" Ling Mao shouted loudly. It was windy, so her voice was too small for Gu Chi to hear.

Gu Chi also felt relieved at this moment. It was good that they found the hotel. The rest of the journey would be much simpler.

He leaned against the ice wall and squatted down, which could partially shield him from the wind and snow.

Gu Chi picked up the water bottle hanging from his waist, ready to take a sip of water and rest for a while.

But just as he tilted his head back, a gray shadow appeared at the edge of his vision on the slope.

The visibility was extremely limited in the blizzard, and he couldn't see what it was.

Gu Chi's alertness instantly peaked. He let go of the water bottle without even closing the lid, allowing the water to slowly freeze on the ground. He quickly took out the hunting rifle from behind him and loaded it.

"Be careful, everyone!"

Jiang Niao followed Gu Chi's gaze and quickly picked up his gun.

Ling Mao saw the unexpected guest on the slope and felt a slight tension. She didn't know whether she should go up and provoke it.

Before she could ask Gu Chi, he pulled her behind him.The enemy was on higher ground and was huge. Charging forward at this point wasn't called luring the monster, it was called courting death.

"Roar!"

A grey shadow charged down!

It wasn't until it was within twenty meters that everyone could see clearly. It was a gigantic bear.

Its head was small, its neck long, and its fur was as white as snow.

Only because of the angle and the shadows did it initially appear to be grey.

The white bear was extremely fast. The ground seemed to tremble as it charged, like a truck speeding towards them. Judging by its body length, it must be at least three meters tall when standing up.

Jiang Niao had already cursed Neil a hundred times in his heart, his hand holding the gun was shaking.

He had thought that they might encounter monsters on the road this time, but he hadn't expected such a big one.

Where was the "cute little guy" they were promised??

Perhaps it sensed his fear, or perhaps it thought that the man and woman were not easy to provoke. The charging white bear gave up on Gu Chi and his companion, who were closest to it, and chose Jiang Niao as its target.

"Roar!"

Jiang Niao: "!!! Fuck!"

Bang!

Gu Chi pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the white bear's forelimb, bringing up a splash of bright red blood, but this was not enough to stop the bear's charge—it had already left the ground, pouncing towards Jiang Niao.

Jiang Niao only felt the light in front of his eyes dim, his first reaction was to run, he really wasn't good at fighting.

But there was someone behind him. If he ran, what about Mustard Soup on the cart?

"Damn fatso, you owe me a life!"

All considerations of pros and cons, protecting the majority or the minority, were all bullshit at this moment.

Jiang Niao didn't have any extra time to think, he could only follow his instincts, curse loudly, then close his eyes and raise his gun.

...