191: US mission fails

Shen Xiaochuan walked back to the Main Hall, the copper gear pendant on the cuff of his workwear swaying back and forth.

He was still thinking about the martial arts arena.

The look in Gou Dan's eyes when he knelt to receive the order was very bright, like fire.

This kid was reliable; he believed in him.

There were two guards at the entrance of the Main Hall.

Seeing him arrive, they immediately stood at attention.

Shen Xiaochuan nodded and walked in, heading straight to the central console.

The screens were lit, showing the status of each area in the Divine Kingdom: electricity was normal, agricultural output was stable, and the efficiency of the forging area had increased by 12%.

Everything was fine.

He pulled up the weather monitoring page.

The weather had been off in recent days; the clouds were low, and there wasn't enough sunlight.

He swiped the panel and opened the temperature curve for the past seven days.

The red line kept trending downward; yesterday was 40 degrees lower than the same period last year.

This was not a normal weather change.

"System, check the global climate warning Rank," he said.

[Current global climate risk: Rank 1 (mild fluctuation)]

"Rank 1?" He frowned.

"It's almost freezing outside, and it's still Rank 1?"

Just as he was about to manually change the Rank, a red light suddenly flashed overhead.

The entire Main Hall turned red, all the screens went black for a moment, and then a line of large text popped up, floating in the air for everyone to see:

[Server-wide Announcement] US S-Rank Legacy mission failed!

The epic-level Boss 'Snow Mountain Behemoth' has descended upon the Blue Star Domain combat zone!

Shen Xiaochuan looked up, his eyes narrowing.

The announcement continued to scroll:

Disaster impacts are as follows:

Global temperatures dropped to minus 90 degrees;

Snow monster-type exotic beasts' stats increased by 20%;

The Boss will attack all living beings;

This disaster is a permanent environmental change, irreversible.

The text flashed three times before disappearing.

The lights returned to normal, but the atmosphere had changed.

Shen Xiaochuan stared at the spot where the text had vanished, not moving.

He knew how difficult S-Rank missions were—even top-tier gods had to team up to clear them.

The US had actually messed it up and released such a monster?

He opened the Blue Star public channel.

As soon as the feed connected, the messages exploded.

"NATO, hold a meeting!"

"Japan is sealing its borders, not letting gods in!"

"Africa needs evacuation routes!"

"Who's going to rein in the US? Are they crazy?"

It was nothing but cursing.

The camera scanned the temple squares of several countries, where crowds were packed together.

Some people were hugging their children and crying; others were smashing things.

A god in a military uniform stood on a high platform shouting, "We are allies, not here to die! What do we do now? Wait to freeze to death?"

Shen Xiaochuan turned off the video and opened the god leaderboard.

He looked through the names in the top ten one by one.

"Thor," who was originally ranked third, was gone.

He checked again, and it was still not there.

He understood the rules—only when a divinity is shattered and the Soul is gone does a name disappear completely.

If a person is alive, even if severely injured, the name just turns gray.

"Thor is dead," he said in a low voice.

This meant that the core combat power of the US was gone.

Not a retreat, not trapped—they were truly dead.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping on the armrest.

He had also taken on an S-Rank mission, fighting an ancient mechanical king in the desert.

He had prepared for three months, brought all the necessary equipment, and finally barely won by channeling Lu Bu.

What about the US? No warning, no rumors, they just charged in like that?

Too impulsive.

He stood up and paced back and forth in front of the console.

Outside the window, the sky was getting darker, the clouds thick like a lid.

The air was colder; his breath was already forming white mist.

"Can't wait," he said.

He turned and pressed the communication button: "Logistics Group."

[Here!]

"Immediately stop all non-essential projects."

Entertainment, landscaping, and celebrations are all postponed.

Prioritize buying fuel, thermal insulation Materials, and high-calorie food.

Get me a list within two hours.

[Understood! But... are we going to war?]

"It's more serious than war," he looked out the window, "It's winter."

The real winter has arrived, and it won't be leaving.

The communication cut off.

He opened the resource inventory interface.

The faith points were still rising, +1 per second, the speed stable.

He couldn't spend them recklessly now.

The heating equipment and anti-cold medicine in the mall would definitely increase in price; he had to use them sparingly.

Just then, footsteps echoed outside the door.

A messenger rushed in, his face pale: "My Lord! Thirty miles outside Skydome City, the first piece of ice has landed!"

It's over two meters in diameter and has crushed a sentry tower!"

Shen Xiaochuan looked up: "Ice? Not snow?"

"It's... it's a piece of ice with black patterns. It's still spreading after landing, and the ground is starting to frost over!"

He grabbed his coat and headed out.

"Notify all legion commanders, meeting in the Main Hall in one hour."

Have the research team analyze that ice immediately; I need to know what it is."

The messenger ran off.

Shen Xiaochuan stood on the steps, looking up at the sky.

The wind was stronger, blowing his clothes against his body.

The distant mountain line was blurred, as if covered by gray fog.

He squinted and looked—there was something moving on the horizon—not clouds, but rotating pillars of snow, moving toward the center of the continent.

"If Gou Dan could Cultivate in this kind of weather..." he muttered, then shook his head, "Impossible."

In this weather, for an ordinary person, going out is just courting death."

He remembered the boy sitting in the corner meditating.

His right arm was wrapped in old bandages, eyes closed, very serious.

Such a person shouldn't die in this kind of disaster.

Returning to the console, he opened the Divine Kingdom's early warning System, found the disaster response module, and his finger hovered over the options.

Rank 1 is standard alert, Rank 2 is major threat, Rank 3 is survival crisis.

He clicked it.

[Confirm raising the "Extreme Cold Disaster Response Rank" to Rank 2?]

Confirmed.

The System prompt sounded: [Skydome City has entered a Rank 2 emergency state. Border patrols have been strengthened, resource allocation authority has been opened, and restrictions on civilian energy use have been initiated.]

After finishing this, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart still felt heavy.

Rank 2 was just the beginning.

If the Snow Mountain Behemoth moved, if the temperature continued to drop, the next step would be building underground cities, activating constant-temperature barriers, and even relocating the population.

But since the situation was unclear, he could only prepare for the worst.

He walked to the window, his hand resting on the frame.

There was a thin layer of frost on the glass; he wiped a spot clear and looked out.

The sky was very overcast.

The wind blew dead leaves spinning on the ground.

In the east of the city, a corner of the orphanage roof was still visible.

Gou Dan should still be there Cultivating.

He wondered if he had received winter clothing.

"The US..." he cursed under his breath, "They really did a stupid thing."

Just then, the console beeped.

A new message popped up: [Accumulated faith points have reached 87,452,103, current growth rate: +1 point per second.]

The numbers jumped, rising steadily.

He watched for a few seconds, feeling it was a bit ridiculous.

The whole world was freezing to death, and his faith points were still rising.

It was as if this disaster was just a System notification.

But he knew it wasn't.

This snow would bury cities, freeze people to death, and force people to fight for survival.

Some people simply wouldn't live until spring.

He sat back in his chair and opened the internal communication: "Connect to White Snow Princess."

While waiting for the connection, he looked at the ceiling, his voice very soft: "I hope we can hold on."

The communication connected.

[Shen Xiaochuan? What's wrong? I just received distress signals from three northern affiliate cities.]

"Not just them," he said, "It's everyone."

Listen, don't ask why, immediately take stock of all the thermal resources you can mobilize.

Tents, stoves, potions, energy cores—gather them all up.

I want to build an emergency reserve depot.

[Are you serious?]

"More serious than ever," he looked out the window, "A blizzard is coming."

This one, no one can escape."

The wind battered the window frame, clattering loudly.

The frost on the glass grew thicker.

In the distance, the first wisps of snow drifted down from the gray, gloomy sky, quiet yet like the beginning of a disaster.

Shen Xiaochuan didn't move, his eyes fixed on the falling line of snow.

It hadn't landed yet.