343: Chapter 343 Three Thousand Madmen?

The day after the blizzard stopped.

3:17 AM.

The alarm in the Outer City rang.

It wasn't a false alarm.

When Zhou Tiezhu was jolted awake from his sleep, his first reaction was to curse.

His second reaction was to grab a club and rush out the door.

He saw a group of people.

Walking from the depths of the ice sheet.

About fifty of them.

They walked very slowly.

Not because the ice sheet was difficult to traverse.

It was because they were in no hurry.

It was like they were taking a stroll.

A stroll on an ice sheet at -170 degrees.

Zhou Tiezhu rubbed his eyes, confirming he wasn't dreaming.

Those people were covered in a layer of blue-white substance.

It wasn't clothing.

It wasn't armor.

It was ice.

An ice crystal shell.

From head to toe, they looked like they were encased in a layer of transparent ice.

The skin beneath the ice shell was translucent.

You could see the blood vessels.

The fluid flowing in the blood vessels wasn't red blood.

It was blue.

Like antifreeze.

Zhou Tiezhu had been a worker for half his life and had seen many strange things.

But he had never seen a person with antifreeze flowing in their veins.

The fifty "ice men" walked up to the outer city wall.

There was no shouting.

No warnings.

No lines like "You are surrounded, put down your weapons."

The first ice man reached out and grabbed the alloy wall panel.

Then—rip.

The alloy wall panel had become brittle in the -170 degree environment.

But even brittle, it was still an alloy.

Not paper.

That ice man tore a hole in the alloy wall panel as if it were a newspaper.

Zhou Tiezhu's mouth fell open.

He couldn't close it.

The refugees in the outer city surged out from all corners, but after seeing this scene, they surged back.

Running three times faster than when they came out.

Zhou Tiezhu led a few strong men to charge forward.

He swung his club and smashed it hard against the back of an ice man.

The club broke.

The ice man turned back and glanced at him.

Those eyes had no pupils.

The entire eyeball was blue-white.

Like two marbles made of ice.

Zhou Tiezhu retreated three steps.

Not because he was scared.

But because—he couldn't hurt it.

The military zone reacted the fastest.

Zhao Tieshan's soldiers were in position within two minutes of the alarm sounding.

Gunshots rang out.

Dense gunfire.

Bullets hit the ice crystal shell.

Pitter-patter.

Like hail falling.

But only white marks were left on the ice crystal shell.

They didn't penetrate.

Zhao Tieshan stood on the wall of the military zone, watching this scene.

He had been fighting for thirty years.

He had never seen a person that bullets couldn't penetrate.

"Use armor-piercing rounds!" he ordered.

Armor-piercing rounds were loaded.

Fire.

This time it was effective—the ice crystal shell was penetrated, and blue liquid flowed out from the bullet holes.

But the ice man who was hit only swayed a little.

Then continued to walk forward.

As if bitten by a mosquito.

Zhao Tieshan's expression was grim.

The armor-piercing round had pierced the shell and the body, and the opponent's reaction was just to "sway a little."

This was not human.

What was this thing?

...

The alarm in the Core Zone of the Shelter rang simultaneously.

Qin Ziyan's Special Operations Team arrived at the outer city within three minutes.

Three minutes.

From receiving the alarm to all members being in position, three minutes.

This speed was top-tier even for special forces before the Apocalypse.

Qin Ziyan discovered the problem as soon as she struck.

Her S-rank Ability slammed into an ice man, the ice crystal shell shattered, revealing the body beneath.

That body—

No.

This was not "being infected."

Victims of the frost curse would show symptoms like frostbite, necrosis, and crystallization.

That was passive and painful.

But these people's bodies showed no signs of pain.

The ice crystal shell and their skin were one.

The blue liquid in the blood vessels flowed smoothly.

Their expressions—

Calm.

Even carrying a kind of piety.

This was not infection.

This was active fusion.

They intentionally let the frost curse erode their bodies.

Not forced.

It was voluntary.

Qin Ziyan had knocked down three and was just about to continue—

Ling Shuanghan arrived.

She stood on the ruins of the outer city, looking at those ice men.

Her face turned pale in an instant.

"Ice Coffin Society."

Two words.

Qin Ziyan: "What?"

Ling Shuanghan's voice was deep:

"There is a similar organization in the Everwinter World. A group of fanatics who worship the frost curse."

She watched those ice men charge toward the Special Operations Team.

The expression on her face was not fear, but a deep disgust.

"They believe the White Frost Era is 'purification.' The frost curse is a 'gift.' Actively embracing the cold is 'sublimation.'"

Qin Ziyan: "So they are here to proselytize?"

Ling Shuanghan: "No. They don't want supplies, they don't want territory. What they want is—"

She paused.

"Warmth."

Qin Ziyan was stunned.

"They believe warmth is 'pollution.'"

Ling Shuanghan said.

"Anything that generates warmth is their enemy. Your Shelter emits heat on the ice sheet; to them, it's like a torch in the night."

"A torch that must be extinguished."

Qin Ziyan was silent for a second.

Then she said something very characteristic of Qin Ziyan:

"Lunatics."

Ling Shuanghan: "Yes. But lunatics don't fear death. That is the most troublesome part."

...

Ji Wushuang arrived.

She stood on the outer city wall.

The wind blew her hair.

She looked down.

Fifty ice men were in a chaotic battle with the Special Operations Team.

The ice crystal shells shattered and regenerated during the fight.

Blue liquid was splattered everywhere.

The scene was chaotic.

Ji Wushuang watched for five seconds.

Then she said two words.

"That's it?"

When these two words reached the battlefield below, even the Special Operations Team members who were fighting were stunned for a moment.

Ji Wushuang jumped off the wall.

The Nanming Li Fire unfolded.

The vermilion flames burned on the ice sheet at -170 degrees.

The temperature rose by dozens of degrees instantly.

The ice crystal shells began to melt.

The blue liquid began to boil.

But when the people of the Ice Coffin Society saw the flames—

Their reaction was not fear.

Not retreating.

Not running away.

It was ecstasy.

They roared and charged toward Ji Wushuang.

Like moths to a flame.

No, even crazier than moths to a flame.

Moths are at least unconscious of it.

They were conscious.

They knew it was fire.

They knew the fire would burn them to death.

But they charged up.

With smiles.

With tears.

With a kind of piety that made one's skin crawl.

Ji Wushuang's expression changed from "disdain" to "confusion."

Then from "confusion" to "disgust."

"...Are they sick?"

She did not go soft.

The Nanming Li Fire swept out.

The vermilion flames swallowed everything.

The fifty Ice Coffin Society members turned into steam in the flames.

From the strike to the end.

Less than thirty seconds.

But Ji Wushuang stood on the open ground after the flames dissipated, her expression not looking good.

Not because of the battle.

The battle was too simple.

It was because—

In the moment those people were swallowed by the flames, the expression on their faces was not pain.

It was satisfaction.

Like they had finally obtained what they wanted.

Like they had finally been "purified."

Ji Wushuang had fought many battles.

Killed Evolved Beasts.

Killed enemies.

But she had never killed people who "wanted to die."

This feeling was very bad.

She looked back at Ling Shuanghan.

Ling Shuanghan's expression was very calm.

Too calm.

That kind of calm was numbness after seeing it too many times.

"In the Everwinter World,"

Ling Shuanghan said, "The Ice Coffin Society launches a 'holy war' every year. It's always like this—charging up, being killed, with smiles on their faces."

She paused.

"It's been a hundred years. They have never won. But they have never stopped."

Ji Wushuang was silent.

She suddenly felt that fighting lunatics was much more uncomfortable than fighting normal people.

When fighting normal people, if you win, you win.

When fighting lunatics, if you win, the opponent thinks they have also won.

What kind of thing is this?

...

Qin Ziyan captured two Ice Coffin Society members alive during the battle.

They were subdued before Ji Wushuang made her move.

The two were tied up in the interrogation room of the outer city.

Their ice crystal shells had been shattered by Qin Ziyan's Superpower, revealing the pale skin beneath.

Their eyes were still blue-white.

No pupils.

But they were smiling.

Smiling the whole time.

The interrogation was handled by Luo Qinghan.

Her mental shock Superpower could directly read the opponent's memory fragments.

No need to ask questions.

No need to wait for answers.

Take it directly from the brain.

Luo Qinghan placed her hand on the first prisoner's forehead.

Three seconds later, she withdrew her hand.

Her expression changed.

Not slightly.

A drastic change.

"What is it?" Qin Ziyan asked.

Luo Qinghan took a deep breath.

"The Ice Coffin Society is not a small group."

Her voice was very low.

"They have a large stronghold in the north of Blue Star. The number of people exceeds three thousand."

Qin Ziyan's brows furrowed.

Three thousand such lunatics?

"Their 'leader' is a woman deeply modified by the frost curse. She calls herself 'Frost Mother.'"

Luo Qinghan paused.

"Her strength—"

The sense of oppression she felt from the memory fragments made her fingers tremble slightly.

"At least SS-rank."

Qin Ziyan: "These fifty people today—"

"Testing."

Luo Qinghan said. "They are confirming the location and defense level of the Shelter."

Fifty people.

Not an attack.

It was a test.

Sending fifty people to die just to see how strong the opponent is.

This kind of tactic can only be pulled off by an organization that doesn't take human life seriously.

Luo Qinghan continued to read the second prisoner's memory.

This time, she read a more crucial piece of information.

Her expression sank completely.

"Frost Mother can sense the authority fragment inside Lin Yuan."

Qin Ziyan's hand rested on her weapon.

"She calls it the 'warmest spark.'" Luo Qinghan said.

The warmest spark.

A spark that must be extinguished.

Luo Qinghan organized all the intelligence and went to the command room.

After listening, Lin Yuan was silent for three seconds.

"Three thousand people?"

Luo Qinghan: "At least."

Lin Yuan: "Interesting."

Luo Qinghan looked at him.

Interesting.

Three thousand fanatics who don't fear death.

An SS-rank leader, and the opponent can sense the authority fragment inside you.

Interesting.

She sometimes really couldn't understand Lin Yuan's thought process.

What kind of person's reaction to this news is "interesting"?

The answer is: people like Lin Yuan.

...

Command room.

Lin Yuan sat at the desk.

Ye Qingxue stood behind him.

Ling Shuanghan, Luo Qinghan, and Qin Ziyan sat on three sides.

Lin Yuan made an overall plan.

Three things. Advancing simultaneously.

"First."

He looked at Ling Shuanghan.

"Defense upgrade. The Ice Coffin Society will come again, and next time it won't be just fifty people. The outer city and the military zone are weak points—the Core Zone has frost crystal stones, so it's not afraid. But the outer areas can't withstand a large-scale attack. You are responsible."

Ling Shuanghan nodded: "I need three days."

Lin Yuan: "I'll give you five days. Do your best."

"Second."

He looked at Luo Qinghan.

"Deep in the ice layer. The mining of frost crystal stones cannot stop, but must avoid the areas with Icebound Bodies. At the same time—"

He paused.

"I am considering absorbing the energy of the Icebound Bodies."

Luo Qinghan's brows furrowed.

"Ling Shuanghan's father tried, and he died."

Lin Yuan: "He did not have an authority fragment."

Luo Qinghan opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She found she couldn't refute this statement.

Because the authority fragment was indeed a variable.

A variable that Ling Shuanghan's father did not have.

"Third."

Lin Yuan's tone did not change.

"Shen Bingtong. If she is an Ash Seed, the cleanser fragment inside her is a variable for us. It could be a threat, or it could be a resource. I will talk to her directly."

Three lines.

Defense.

Ice layer.

Shen Bingtong.

Three lines advancing simultaneously.

After assigning the tasks, Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair.

Ling Shuanghan and Luo Qinghan left one after another.

Qin Ziyan saluted and turned to leave.

Only Lin Yuan and Ye Qingxue were left in the command room.

Ye Qingxue stood to the side, quietly organizing the documents on the table.

Her movements were light.

As if afraid to make a sound.

After finishing, she stacked the documents neatly and placed them on Lin Yuan's desk.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked.

Lin Yuan: "No."

Ye Qingxue: "You always say you're not tired."

Lin Yuan: "Because I'm never tired."

Ye Qingxue looked at him.

She knew he was lying.

How could he not be tired?

Ice Coffin Society, moving Ice City, Frost Heartbeat, Ash Seed, three thousand fanatics, an SS-rank leader—

These things, pressing on anyone, would be tiring.

But Lin Yuan said he wasn't tired.

He always said he wasn't tired.

Ye Qingxue said no more.

She turned toward the door.

When she reached the door, she looked back.

"Chu Yanran said she's making braised pork tomorrow."

Lin Yuan looked up.

"Good."

Ye Qingxue left.

The door closed.

The command room was quiet.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling.

Making braised pork tomorrow.

The meaning of this sentence is not "eating braised pork tomorrow."

The meaning of this sentence is "there is still a tomorrow."

Not saying "take care of yourself."

Not saying "get some rest."

Only saying "what to eat tomorrow."

Because in the Apocalypse, the word "tomorrow" itself is the best love language.

Lin Yuan turned off the lights.

Outside the window was the pitch-black ice sheet.

In one direction of the ice sheet, three thousand lunatics were waiting for the next "holy war."

In another direction of the ice sheet, an Ice City tens of kilometers wide was moving slowly.

Deep in the ice layer, a "heart" was beating.

On the roof of the Shelter, a woman with light gray eyes stood in the cold wind.

And Lin Yuan—

Lin Yuan was getting ready to sleep.

There is braised pork tomorrow.

Tomorrow is still here.

That is enough.