Chapter 134

Chapter 134

"Achoo! Achoo!"

The temperature had dropped. Ji Xinghai sat by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, watching the snow fall outside. The snow scene looked so real that if he didn't know the outside was a maze of shattered spaces, he might have believed it.

He rubbed the roasted potato in his hands while waiting for the chicken soup with half a chicken to bubble in the pot.

It was so cold that he didn't want to leave his room at all.

Early in the morning, he found a small note below the comfort level indicator in his room: "Plant seven plants to flexibly adjust the temperature by 7°C (increase heat or reduce cold)."

So his room had already been warmed up by seven degrees Celsius, yet it was still so cold that he didn't want to get out of bed. He wondered how those who hadn't upgraded their fireplaces or planted any plants were faring.

The danger of this instance lay precisely here—there were never any hints. It was like nature, which never gave anyone a chance to rehearse; it just struck without warning.

The sharp drop in the number of survivors also illustrated this point.

At this rate, he wondered how many people could hold on until the rescue team arrived.

He looked out the window.

Because of the existence of resource spaces, he occasionally forgot that this was an instance called 'Rubik's Cube Building.'

Their rooms existed in the crevices of space, and every night after nine o'clock, the world would shuffle randomly, ushering in new crises and challenges.

But the danger wasn't limited to that. Monsters that fed on human soul energy were growing stronger. They were born from the void and would quickly reassemble even if dispersed. The more humans sacrificed, the more powerful these monsters became.

One day, they wouldn't just peer through door cracks with red eyes; they would enter the houses that students considered fortresses and slaughter everyone inside.

That day wouldn't be far off.

After eating the roasted potato and warm chicken soup, his body warmed up, and Ji Xinghai finally remembered to open the resource door.

Warm and full, thinking about being lazy. Ah, decadence indeed.

Muttering to himself, he ate some roasted pine nuts and opened the door.

Whoa! A blast of Siberian cold wind greeted him, giving him a thorough chill.

His eyelashes trembled, shedding the frost that had formed. Ji Xinghai struggled to stuff all the pine nuts into his mouth and squinted to examine the world outside.

It was a world of silver-white, with thick layers of snow on the ground and frost-covered pines.

He immediately took a step back, found his sunglasses from the clutter, and put them on, feeling a bit more comfortable.

"Snow Mountain Winter Camp is now open~~~

"This snow mountain is located in the 'Ice Gold Latitude.' Here, you can experience fun natural ski slopes and feel the joy of traversing through pine forests and connecting with nature.

"Most importantly, there's a thousand-year-old unfrozen lake at an altitude of 2223 meters waiting for you!

"Cool winter adventures start here!"

They didn't mention what the cost would be. It looked like a pure enjoyment version of a game.

Good, it caught Ji Xinghai's attention.

He then opened the other three doors, which were relatively conventional resource spaces, providing a stable supply of food and upgrade materials but not the kind of resource space he wanted.

What choice did he have?

"It's not that I want to play; it's just that the other spaces... Okay, I do want to play. Life is short, enjoy it while you can." He convinced himself in two seconds and started packing his backpack and lunch box as if preparing for a spring outing.

Secret barbecue seasoning, multi-functional knife, flint, complete first-aid kit, telescopic hiking staff, large backpack, water bottle...

Ji Xinghai ventured out again, fully equipped this time, wearing ear-muff hats, ski jackets, and high leather boots that crunched in the snow.

Suddenly, something flashed past. His hands and feet moved faster than his mind, and he threw his axe with a swoosh, hitting the object and embedding it in a tree behind, shaking off a layer of snow.

"A rabbit?" He picked up the thing and shook it; it was a long-haired rabbit.

Perfect, skin it and eat it; lunch sorted.

Ji Xinghai unhooked a nylon rope from his belt and hung the rabbit on it, then pulled out the axe and continued walking.

This seemed to be a relatively peaceful space, with no snow monsters or wild men, only half-meter-deep snow and a pathless mountain trail blocking his way.

Once again, he pulled his foot out of a sunken pit and shook the snow off his hat.

Tired, he leaned against a pine tree behind him to catch his breath.

"Squeak squeak squeak." A brown-furred squirrel jumped around on the pine tree, seemingly mocking human clumsiness. Ji Xinghai glanced at it; it was rare to see a living creature in this icy world. He tapped the trunk, greeting it.

"Tap tap." The sound of the tapped pine tree trunk was different.

"Hmm?" He remembered something and slowly narrowed his eyes.

Bang bang bang! The sound of chopping wood.

Rustle rustle. Nuts rolled out of the gap and fell into the snow.

"Hmm, not bad."

Nothing beats the nuts chosen by squirrels. Look at these, big and plump, all top-quality, not a single bad one.

"Squeak squeak squeak!" The squirrel was furious, puffing its tail and jumping around.

What a sin!

He actually dug into the squirrel's stash?

Although the squirrel had forgotten about hiding food in this tree hollow, it didn't mean that this human could brazenly take all its precious nuts!

Feeling delighted, Ji Xinghai took all the nuts and once again set off on his journey to the mountaintop.

The mountain was truly high, and the path was truly difficult. With his parents around, Ji Xinghai was being fussy today, not at all as efficient as he was in the first scenario—until the short tail and heart-shaped bottom of a roe deer flashed quickly behind the bushes.

In an instant, his hunter instincts awakened, his eyes cold and sharp. He moved swiftly across the snow, leaving only shallow footprints less than a centimeter deep.

"Bro Hai! Your character is breaking down; hurry up and pick it up."

The viewers in the live stream were enjoying the spectacle, each sitting in their warm homes watching the students struggle to survive.

Today's scenario temperature dropped by forty or fifty degrees, and many students silently froze to death in their sleep. Those who survived were chopping tables for firewood and huddling by the fire, shivering. Only a few like Ji Xinghai, fully equipped, ventured out.

Thus, his live stream gathered viewers from various countries.

Unlike previous scenarios, this was a joint scenario involving multiple civilizations.

By nationality, Ji Xinghai might be an outsider, but by planet, he was definitely an insider.

Faced with alien races, their civilization showed unprecedented unity, even the live streams were unusually harmonious. Everyone shared a common enemy, needing no guidance from the propaganda department.

After all, their own students were always the best.

Compared to these blindly praising viewers, the work of the command units of various countries was much more complex. They were constantly gathering information about the other two academies, including their civilizations and students.

"The technological level of these two civilizations seems higher than ours; they have already begun contact with extraterrestrial life. But like us, their civilizations are also facing existential threats. This seems to be why the academy exists—to give struggling civilizations a powerful but dangerous stimulant. Survive it and live; fail and die."

"These civilizations are ahead of us; one has already undergone eleven years of academy training.

"If we follow their steps, our world should first experience massive pollution, a population crash, and a regression in civilization. Then, evolution would begin, starting with lower animals, with humans evolving last.

"In such pervasive evolution, even highly advanced worlds are helpless. How much more so for us?

"Without the Hunger Academy as a stimulant, we might not survive the darkness before dawn."

Who would have thought that the Hunger Academy, with its twisted nose and crooked eye, would actually be a good thing?

And such "good things" weren't just one; they were like the foundational parts of a vast machine, numerous and simple, serving to initially screen civilizations.

Then what kind of colossal entity created the academy?

"We can only see a glimpse now; no one knows what the real world outside looks like."

Previously, they were like a civilization shrouded in fog, stumbling forward without knowing the right direction. Now, the fog has thinned, revealing a chance to see the truth.

Beyond survival, governments of various countries harbored ambitions. They seemed no longer content with mere survival; they wanted to go further, to venture out and see the real world.

"And all of this hinges on whether we can reach the academy battle."

This time, there was no opposition or doubt; the virtual meeting room unanimously approved the plan to fight in the academy battle.

In the scenario world,

Ji Xinghai carried a rabbit on his waist, a chicken in his left hand, and a silly roe deer on his back, making his way through the snowy plains and pine forests to the highest point of the mountain.

Amidst the misty fairyland, a clear blue spring appeared amidst the snow-covered pines.

Wow!!!

A hot spring!

A living hot spring!

Viewers envied him, as after the great pollution, even home bathtubs were abandoned. The people of D country next to JiuZhou even had to change their national habit of bathing.

"Wish I could soak with Ji Sang, sniff sniff."

"Someone, please drag the guy upstairs away."

Ji Xinghai approached the edge of the lake, squatting on a black rock and reaching out his hand.

Indeed, it was warm. This snowy mountain turned out to be a dormant active volcano, and this place was likely the crater.

The edges were around thirty degrees, getting warmer the closer you got to the center?

"Ding dong, you have entered a special functional area: the Heavenly Lake.

"Bathing in the Heavenly Lake for an hour increases cold resistance by 30%, subsequent baths are ineffective.

"The Winter Camp is now open. What's the fun of having joy alone? Call your friends and get moving!

"Each student entering the Heavenly Lake area has summoning rights. One slot requires additional resources, which can be paid with ingredients, building materials, precious metals, etc.

"Do you want to summon friends to share the cool winter party?"

"Holy crap!"

"It's so sneaky! It really is sneaky!"

Deliberately setting up such an unattractive environment, nine out of ten people who opened this door chose to close it. And among those who chose it, only one made it to the end.

But!

It turns out to be a place with beneficial structures?

Ji Xinghai was somewhat surprised. He came here just for fun, mainly because he wasn't lacking in resources at the moment. He didn't expect such a discovery.

"Permanent buff?"

"Permanent, it stays even after you leave the exam hall." The Snow Mountain Space spoke meaningfully.

It's not just permanent within the instance; it remains effective even after returning to reality.

He must have stepped in dog shit and hit the jackpot.

"Once summoned, how do I go back?"

"With a thought, you can return anytime."

"How much gold for one summon?"

"Summoning one student requires 100 grams of gold."

Ji Xinghai nodded. He reached out to remove the wrist guards from his left hand, then his right, shaking them together to drop eight small gold pieces.

This still wasn't enough. He removed two black straps from his thighs, shaking out another eight gold pieces.

Even so, it was still not enough.

"There's a total of 3200 grams here. I have more in my room. You take what you need and summon all the students from the Hungry Academy."

"Huh?"

Encountering such a wealthy client was rare, so the Snow Mountain Space acted exceptionally efficiently. In a blink, a young student appeared, rubbing the ice particles on his head.

He looked around in confusion at the sudden change in environment until he saw Ji Xinghai: "Ah! You're here too, Ji..."

"You were summoned by me using 100 grams of gold. There's a buff spring here. Soaking in it for an hour gives you a permanent 30% increase in cold resistance. If you're interested, stay and soak, then help me chop trees or hunt as payment. If not, leave on your own without forcing me to send you off." Ji Xinghai rattled off like a tongue twister, then crossed his arms and looked at him, "Did you understand?"

"...Sorry, could you please speak slower?" The student's tears fell, "The translation didn't keep up."