The snow flew across the sky.
The endless snow fell heavily, covering every Shelter in this Otherworld in a layer of white, but within the white, there was a hint of pale red.
The bone-chilling cold wind raged across the entire Otherworld, and the temperature kept dropping.
The previously summer-like heat had vanished without a trace, like a phantom.
Meanwhile, the snow silently reaped lives.
Countless mutant creatures, sensing the firelight from the direction of the Shelters in the snow, rushed in crazily, leaving the Survivors, who had just started to warm up, to forever grow cold.
Some Survivors ran outside to eat snow voraciously, only to lose consciousness in pain and confusion.
There were also Survivors who burned too much fire, setting their Shelters ablaze, adding a blaze to the snow...
The snow, showing no sympathy or mercy, continued falling relentlessly.
From a few centimeters, it piled up gradually to tens of centimeters, half a meter.
Some Shelters collapsed in a thunderous crash, unable to bear the weight of the snow!
The sky brightened, the blizzard fell like rain.
But in the Desert, one Shelter stood out in stark contrast to the others.
Steams rose one after another from the stone roof, and a long wisp of smoke ascended from the chimney, reaching high into the sky.
There wasn't even a hint of accumulated snow on the rooftop.
Around the Shelter, dozens of slightly larger mutant creatures huddled against the outer wall, shivering, almost pressing their entire bodies against the wall for warmth.
Beside them were innumerable corpses of mutant creatures, some barely alive after stepping into traps, others torn apart while fighting for warmth around the Shelter.
On these corpses, numerous mutant bugs were continuously gnawing away.
Lin Yue stretched with a big yawn.
Last night's sleep was alright, though it was too hot. If not for the basement's cool air, the temperature might have been higher.
It seemed that too much firewood was placed in the fireplace, a detail to beware of tomorrow, lest he sweats to the point of fainting.
"Baji! Baji!"
Bai, also just waking up, continued barking at the door in a battle-ready stance.
"What's up, Bai? Is there an enemy?" Lin Yue hastily dressed, donned the wooden armor, and picked up the Fine Iron Spear.
"Baji!" Bai continued to bark at the stone door.
Lin Yue knew well that this little guy always had a strong sense for enemies; previously in the Secret Realm, it could even sense the winged dragon with tendrils in the sky. Going by its current behavior, there must be some mutant creatures outside the door!
"Bai, prepare yourself too!"
"Baji!" Bai took a defensive position by the door, its small body swelling with energy.
With a deep breath, Lin Yue grabbed the stone door's handle with his left hand and gently pulled it open a crack. At the same time, Bai blew a Frost Breath through a gap just under twenty centimeters wide!
"Awooo!!"
A howl echoed, a strong impact hit the stone door, and simultaneously, Lin Yue thrust forward with the Fine Iron Spear!
In an instant, a thud sounded, and a frozen, severed wolf head appeared at the door's crack!
[You have obtained a Copper Treasure Chest]
Indeed, there was a mutant creature!
Lin Yue immediately shut the stone door, bolstering it with a large stone.
Almost simultaneously, a pounding sound reverberated through the stone wall!
Wow, how many of them are there outside?
Lin Yue pondered, piecing together why this might be happening.
Outside was likely exceedingly cold, driving these mutant creatures to gather at his Shelter for warmth!
"Baji!"
Bai continued barking towards outside, seemingly urging Lin Yue to reopen the door, refusing to budge an inch away.
"Bai, can you manage another Frost Breath?" Lin Yue pulled out a skewer of mutton, handing it to Bai to replenish its strength.
The inventory is a far superior alternative to a fridge, holding the meat overnight and keeping it steaming hot even now.
Bai blew a small frost breath to cool the meat skewer before gulping it down, instantly looking much revived with enhanced battle ardor.
Lin Yue decided not to hesitate, gently opening the door again, and in that instant, the shadows outside were frozen stiff by Bai!
[You have obtained a Silver Treasure Chest]
The Fine Iron Spear of Lin Yue chopped off the head of a mutant creature trying to rush in, and the dropped treasure chest was a Silver Treasure Chest indeed!
Oh, not bad!
Once more, he shut the stone door, with the banging noise immediately resuming behind it.
Wow, this is like exploiting a glitch.
"Bai, can you keep going?"
"Baji!"
"Then let's go once more!"
This process was repeated twice more by Lin Yue, leaving Bai exhausted, and himself also significantly depleted in strength.
There were still many mutant creatures outside.
Lin Yue wanted to step outside to see for himself, and to collect the three Copper Treasure Chests and one Silver Treasure Chest there.
The door's pounding continued while Lin Yue saw the Shelter's endurance dwindling rapidly.
Upon checking the Shelter's status, Lin Yue noticed a new label had appeared.
[Materials can be invested to restore Shelter's durability]
Was this prompt here before?
Lin Yue invested a piece of stone, instantly restoring 10 points to the durability.
After throwing in five pieces in a row, it seemed to temporarily hold up.
However... the supply of stones was running low.
If these wall-damaging, Shelter-destroying mutant creatures continued striking from dawn till dark, procuring stones seemed necessary.
Bam! Bam!
How bothersome.
Lin Yue fed Bai some meat chunks again: "Can you manage anymore?"
"Baji..." Bai seemed worn out, lazily sprawled on the ground.
Repeated usage of Frost Breath has indeed pushed it to its limits.
However, relying solely on Bai was undoubtedly unsustainable.
Despite Lin Yue's urge to go out and drive away these persistent mutant creatures, reason told him it was absolutely inadvisable.
Being rash requires having the means to back it up.
Currently, he's just an ordinary person wielding a weapon, not someone with prior military experience or formal training - charging out blindly would only result in death.
He had no idea how many mutant creatures were out there or what they even looked like...
Wait, wasn't there something that could reveal the appearance of those mutant creatures outside?
Lin Yue went down to the basement, retrieving something he had obtained from the Secret Realm.
Organic glass!
He then glanced towards something he had previously crafted and left gathering dust — the wooden window frame.
Could these two things combine to create a window?
Aligning the two.
[You have obtained the Design Blueprint for a Wooden Framed Window (Organic Glass)]
It seemed feasible!
Lin Yue promptly used the design blueprint.
[Wooden Framed Window: Wooden frame X1, Organic Glass X1]
Clicking on manufacture, Lin Yue's inventory now contained a new item of about one square meter!
The next task was to decide where to place it.
He returned to the ground, surveying his surroundings before looking upwards.
Fighting on the rooftop seemed to be his forte?