Chapter 94: Icy Realm

    For dinner, the players received energy bars and a bag of dried fruits, nuts and seeds for each of them. Though unappealing, this kind of food was high in vitamins and minerals, and was very suitable to replenish their lost energy. It was only then that they could force themselves to chew and swallow.

    Jin Jiuchi, on the other hand, found them utterly unpalatable in the face of beef jerky Shen Nianzu had promised him.

    Alas, Shen Nianzu could not just whip it out in front of the other players lest they would get suspicious of him, and thus he could only try to appease Jin Jiuchi in a low voice, "Later. I will give you when we’re alone later. For now, eat this." He nudged the chocolate energy bar to Jin Jiuchi’s mouth, silently urging him.

    "Aroo..." Jin Jiuchi let out a miserable sound. However, he also knew that he had to protect his beef jerky if he did not want them to be robbed by others. Hence, he could only restrain himself for now and open his mouth to chomp down on the energy bar. He also licked Shen Nianzu’s fingers for good measure, earning him a dark glare from the jade doll.

    Luo Qing, who caught sight of this scene, let out a surprised cry, "Wait! Dogs are not allowed to consume chocolate, are they?!"

    Her words succeeded in drawing the other players’ attention who were focused on their food.

    Xinxin was secretly flustered. Oh no, what should he do? What if Da Shen’s identity was exposed in front of everyone?! He chewed on his dried fruits anxiously, but before he could come up with a good excuse, Jiang Shun beat him to it,

    "Even if you feed it poison, it will not die. After all, it is a creature from the Cycle. Of course, unless the skill card itself is destroyed..." he trailed off, and upon seeing the sharp look Shen Nianzu gave him, a brief laugh escaped his lips. "Don’t be afraid, little brat. I am not cruel enough to go against a child. How old are you, by the way?"

    The line of Shen Nianzu’s body was tense. Not out of fear, of course, but because he was desperately trying to rein in Jin Jiuchi who wanted to pounce on Jiang Shun. He could feel the vibration of Jin Jiuchi’s growl against his back and he secretly squeezed the man’s huge paw, giving him a silent warning not to act out of line.

    He had no idea why Jin Jiuchi would be provoked just with that sentence. It was not like Jiang Shun had any malicious intention when he said it, so why was he getting so aggressive?

    Keeping the doubt inside his mind, he replied to Jiang Shun’s inquiry with an innocent look, "I am eight this year."

    "Eight..." Jiang Shun clicked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head. "So young."

    Around him, Zhang Lei, Fatty and Luo Qing also had an expression of pity as they regarded Shen Nianzu. No wonder he kept clinging to his familiar all this while, he was still so young and vulnerable! The Nightmare was truly ruthless when it came to choosing its victims!

    "Oh well, who am I to talk?" Jiang Shun added with a sigh. "Isn’t the number one player in the leaderboard a little child as well? I heard rumors that they are turning ten or eleven this year. Wait, is it twelve?"

    "No way..." The others were astonished and horrified in equal measure. "The number one in the leaderboard? Meaning the strongest player in the entire country?! And a little child at boot?!!" They wanted to press Jiang Shun for more information, but in the next moment, one of the NPCs approached them and announced,

    "A basin of water has been prepared for each of you. Go and cleanse yourselves. After that, you shall take shelter in the tents alongside us. As for those tasked with guarding the temple tonight," his gaze locked on Zhang Lei and Luo Qing, who visibly paled at the reminder of the danger that awaited them tonight. "Be mindful of your duty. Remember, no matter what happens, you must exhibit utmost respect in the presence of God."

    Having seen what happened to the intermediate player this morning, Zhang Lei and Luo Qing did not dare to take the NPC’s words lightly. "W–Wait!" Luo Qing cried out. "Excuse me... can you, can you please elaborate more on—"

    "That’s all," the NPC acted as if he heard nothing and turned around, expecting the players to catch up with him.

    "What should we do?" Luo Qing grabbed onto Zhang Lei’s arm in extreme panic. "Zhang Lei, will we die tonight?!"

    Zhang Lei’s expression twisted horribly, "I don’t know either..."

    Cloaked in this somber mood, the players trailed behind the NPC to the outskirts of the temple where six simple tents had been erected in a half circle. Laid out before them were ten basins brimming with crystal-clear water and the players quickly claimed one for themselves, leaving only two behind – the ones reserved for the dead player and Jin Jiuchi.

    One of the six tents belonged to the two NPCs, whereas the players were free to occupy the rest. The tent was quite small in size, looking as if it could only hold two people at most.

    Shen Nianzu took the initiative to say, "I will stay with my dog."

    Jiang Shun pointed at himself and Lang Zhenya, "Me and her." It was a given, thus no one raised an objection.

    As Luo Qing and Zhang Lei had to stay inside the temple tonight, Fatty, Xinxin and the quiet female player were left to claim the remaining three tents for themselves.

    Everyone took turns to wipe their body inside the tents, while Shen Nianzu simply poured the water in the basin over Jin Jiuchi’s body, letting him to shake the water off himself afterwards.

    After washing up, it was time for Zhang Lei and Luo Qing to go to the temple, and under the NPC’s lead, they departed with a depressed look.

    It was unknown whether this would be the last time the players would see them.

    Lang Zhenya shuddered and leaned closer to Jiang Shun in search of warmth, "Don’t you think..." faint mists floated out of her lips when she spoke. "...it’s getting cold all of a sudden?"

    By now, the sun had almost fully sank into the horizon, splashing the desert with a dark purple hue. Jiang Shun took out his phone to check the temperature – that feature was still working at the very least. "You’re right. Earlier in the day, it was almost 45 degrees Celsius. Now it’s getting below twenty degrees, and it will still continue to lower as the night deepens. We should go inside the tents and take a rest now. Tomorrow will still be a long day."

    Everyone nodded in agreement, and Shen Nianzu climbed into his tent with Jin Jiuchi in tow.

    Now without the prying eyes of others, he could finally take out the beef jerky – a Valuable prop that cost him 500 experience points. He was rendered speechless when he saw Jin Jiuchi eating ravenously still in his animal form, his fluffy tail wagging in delight.

    "You really don’t have any plans to change back?" Shen Nianzu pressed on his temple, feeling an ache throbbing on his skull. "Well, Jiang Shun already thought that you’re my familiar, so if you appear all of a sudden, it will only make things more complicated. For now, just stay in this form."

    "Woof!" Jin Jiuchi nodded and accepted the arrangement happily. Either way, it was no different whether he was a human or a dog. He was still feeling marvelous over his new form and was reluctant to switch so soon.

    With a helpless sigh, Shen Nianzu retrieved his sleeping bag from the common prop – ’Basic Necessity’. He carefully nestled himself inside, shivers racing down his spine when a cold breeze caressed his face and neck. He had not expected the temperature at night would be so low, and it certainly did not bode well for him, whose body was particularly vulnerable to the cold.

    "Awoo?" Jin Jiuchi nudged the jade doll with his wet nose when he saw him curling into a small burrito.

    "Go away," Shen Nianzu swatted him with annoyance. His eyelids began to grow heavy in lethargy, and he murmured sleepily, "It’s so cold..."

    As the night pressed on, the desert transformed into an icy realm. The once scorching air now turned frigid, seeping through the flimsy fabric of the tent, creeping into every nook and cranny, leaving an uncomfortable chill in its wake.

    Some time during the night, Shen Nianzu began to shiver uncontrollably.

    He had read about this before. Travelers who were not careful in keeping themselves warm would freeze to death ten minutes after falling asleep in a low temperature environment. Once the body temperature dipped below 28 degrees Celsius, it was already considered dangerous and could lead to severe hypothermia.

    Alarm bells rang shrilly in his mind, and he knew that he had to do something before the same tragedy struck him. Alas, he found himself unable to move a limb. His eyelids stuck together like glue, and his consciousness was scattered, making him dazed and confused.

    Oh no, he could not fall asleep... he had to...

    Amidst his desperate struggle to keep himself awake, he suddenly felt himself being plucked out of his sleeping bag and cradled in an overly warm embrace. It was like someone had draped a heated blanket over him, dispersing the relentless chills in his body. Unable to help himself, he instinctively snuggled closer to the source of the warmth, eliciting a low chuckle from the other person. A large hand landed on his head, caressing his hair in a gentle and comforting motion.

    "... Jin..." he mumbled inaudibly.

    Jin Jiuchi held the jade doll tighter to himself, whispering in mirth, "Goodnight, Nian’er."

    Jin Jiuchi himself, however, stayed wide awake as he stared at the direction of the temple with a curious look on his face.

    Following the instructions Shen Nianzu had taught him before, he closed his eyes and accessed the player’s profile in his mind, before he focused on reading his skill card’s description.

    Skill Card: Yin Yang Beast

    Skill Type: Transformation

    Skill Level: Joker

    SAN Value required to activate this skill: 20

    Current SAN Value: 48

    And as he continued to stare, the number went down to 47.