Chapter 192 The Large-Scale Insulation Scroll

Chapter 192: Large-Scale Insulation Array Scroll

**[Grassland Shepherd from Tibet]:** Damn, it's -59°F. Woke up this morning to find the two floors below my apartment buried under snow. Good thing I had the foresight to move to the fourth floor yesterday, or I'd have been buried alive—no need for a coffin.

**[Tianjin Frozen Stiff]:** Yeah, same here in Tianjin. Things aren't looking good. I heard a lot of people who never went out to fight monsters after the apocalypse and didn't boost their physical stats couldn't take it. A whole bunch froze to death last night. Thank god I gritted my teeth and went monster-hunting back then—my body's stronger now, or I might not have made it either.

**[Tianjin Embracing All Rivers]:** I left my dad and stepmom a high-grade Fire Stone and even set up a heating stove for them. Still, they didn't make it through the night. Went to check this morning—their bodies were already cold, but the stove was still running. Ha, serves 'em right! Those cowards holed up at home, too scared to go out, always pushing me to risk my life fighting monsters. Now they've paid the price.

**[Sichuan Succubus Lover]:** Looks like just relying on Fire Stones and warm gear isn't enough—you gotta toughen up your body too. There's this guy in our squad who's obsessed with boosting his stats. He devours all kinds of attribute-boosting berries and grinds in dungeons nonstop to level up. Last night, someone set him up, and he got buried under snow all night. Just dug him out frozen solid—but he was still breathing! A few sips of hot soup and a warm bath later, he's alive and kicking, even doing push-ups to warm up now.

**[Qingcheng Tiger Puncher]:** Proves how important it is to boost your stats. True strength comes from within.

**[Qingcheng Ice Age is Terrifying]:** Tch, it's just survival of the fittest. The heatwave wiped out one batch, now the cold's taking another. It's like the world is filtering for the strong. If you didn't go out and improve yourself early on, you're doomed.

**[Qingcheng Call Me Fitness Freak]:** Aha! Told you training pays off! Gotta go grind dungeons and pump those stats now.

......

Soon, the chat flooded with messages about monster-hunting and dungeon-grinding.

Lurkers who'd never gone monster-hunting before panicked. If the survival-of-the-fittest theory in the group chat was true, then those smugly hoarding supplies at home, thinking they'd outsmarted the system, had actually cut off their own escape routes.

Even skeptics started feeling the pressure, itching to get out there and level up.

Hua Diao turned to Xie Tingsheng, her dark, sparkling eyes gleaming. "Think the Special Operations Bureau is behind this? Finally had enough of freeloaders and decided to stir the pot, pushing them to pull their own weight?"

Xie Tingsheng smirked. "Perhaps. The Bureau’s resources are running low. Ice Age rescue operations cost too much manpower and supplies—some places can't even be reached in time. Better to let people save themselves."

Hua Diao nodded emphatically. "Sounds about right. Relying on others isn't reliable—some rescues just won't come in time."

Xie Tingsheng gazed at her earnest little face, unable to resist pulling her into his arms. His heart thudded warmly as his low, tender voice brushed her ear. "But you can rely on me. No matter what, I'll always get to you first."

Hua Diao felt like she was soaking in warm water, cozy despite the snowflakes dusting her hair. She playfully teased, "Always with the sweet talk."

Xie Tingsheng chuckled, not pressing further. "I'll prove it with actions."

Hua Diao grinned, pleased, and pushed at his chest, cheeks pink. "Alright, let's hurry to the Special Operations Bureau. Director Zhang's waiting."

"Mm." Reluctantly, he released her but captured her hand instead, lacing their fingers together as they walked.

Behind them, other squad members heading to the Bureau silently choked on this dose of PDA. Aside from the Storm Team’s captain and his wife, no couple could rival these two—every encounter was diabetes-inducingly sweet.

Some sped past, swallowing their lonely hearts' sorrow, while others lingered behind, secretly indulging in the sugar.

Ignoring them, Hua Diao and Xie Tingsheng chatted freely until they entered the Special Operations Bureau.

Director Zhang, ever efficient, got right down to business. "You've probably guessed why I called you here. It's about surviving the Ice Age. The Qingcheng Research Institute's team has developed a Large-Scale Insulation Array Scroll, used in tandem with fire-based scrolls, to maintain temperatures around ten degrees in a designated area—helping Qingcheng weather this crisis. However, it has one flaw: huge resource drain. It requires a constant supply of fire-based scrolls to sustain it."

A squad member blurted, "So you're asking us to provide these fire scrolls?"

"Correct."

"What's in it for us?"

"I have three Wisdom Dungeon slots. Any squad meeting the rescue criteria will receive four entries. You all know the rewards Wisdom Dungeons offer—like the Peanut Squad’s Captain's Wife, who obtained countless rare scrolls, precious gems, and even an epic-tier weapon from the clearance rewards..."

The room's occupants breathed heavily, eyes gleaming with greed.

The offer was irresistibly tempting. Even one epic-tier weapon was enough to whet appetites—since Hua Diao’s first epic weapon, only one other had dropped globally (also hers). Their rarity was legendary.

Especially the Qinglian Sect rep, whose eyes burned with undisguised greed.