Ten teams! Battle Royale!

【Arriving Soon: Glacier Research Outpost】

【Mission: Capture a geothermal core prototype (0/1)】

【Sync Status: Total people 86, Vehicles online 10/10】

【Global information sync channel temporarily closed】

【Regional Announcement:】

【1. There are three geothermal core prototypes in total. Carrying one back to the assembly area counts as a successful capture.】

【2. The temperature at the outpost is between -30°C and -40°C. absolute zero waves will erupt periodically, causing the temperature to plummet to -80°C for about 5 minutes.】

【3. geothermal ferns grow naturally at the outpost; once collected, they provide heat protection.】

【4. mutated creatures exist at the outpost; please remain quiet to avoid danger.】

【5. Upon entering the outpost, the total mission time limit is 12 hours. Exceeding this limit will result in permanent stranding.】

【The map to the outpost has been issued.】

【Vehicles are prohibited in the outpost. Please arrive at the outpost assembly area before the countdown ends.】

【Countdown: 3600...3599...3598】

In the next second, everyone saw a clear map unfold before their eyes.

Leading to the legendary "Outpost assembly area."

The information and mission for the second stop appeared so unexpectedly.

The hot pot Chen Yu and the others were eating suddenly lost its appeal.

Zhang Wanyue's face turned grim. "I'll go drive. We only have one hour..."

Chen Yu nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't look far on the map. We can eat just the same once we reach the assembly area."

Zhang Wanyue stood up immediately and returned to the driver's seat, not daring to delay for a second.

Deng Yuxin asked in a low voice, "Total people 86, online Vehicles 10—does that mean ten teams are participating?"

Li Mengyao did some quick mental math. "An average of 8 to 9 people per team, but we only have 5."

Wang Mengmeng turned pale and cried out, "And Vehicles are banned? We have to hike for 12 hours in temperatures of negative thirty or forty degrees? And we have to fight for things?"

She even started pinching her philtrum.

Zhang Wanyue had already started the Vehicle. Staring at the road ahead, she joined the discussion: "It's not 12 hours of hiking; the total mission duration is 12 hours."

"That includes searching, fighting, and evacuating."

"If we get the key item fast enough, we won't have to suffer as much."

She paused. "But those absolute zero waves... they are a fatal threat. At negative 80 degrees, without heat source protection, you'll die of hypothermia very quickly."

A brief silence fell over the cabin.

"Chen Yu,"

Li Mengyao couldn't help but ask, "In the future you see, are we still alive?"

Chen Yu leaned back in his seat and said calmly, "I am alive."

"..."

Deng Yuxin leaned over and hugged Chen Yu's arm. "Then... did we get the prototype machine?"

The corners of Chen Yu's mouth curled up slightly. "I saw that we have a new heat source in our Vehicle."

He didn't answer directly, but his words implied success.

Everyone's spirits were lifted.

Sometimes, spiritual sustenance was just as important.

"Alright,"

Chen Yu picked up a piece of steaming mutton and casually put it in his bowl, but he didn't eat it immediately.

He looked up, his gaze calmly sweeping over the girls.

"None of you noticed the truly terrifying part of this mission."

A flash of confusion crossed Deng Yuxin's face. "The truly terrifying part?"

Chen Yu shook his head, put the mutton into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed before continuing. "Yes."

"Three prototype machines, ten teams. That means... at least seven teams will be wiped out."

As he spoke, Deng Yuxin's mouth hung open, and she felt a sudden chill down her spine.

Li Mengyao and Wang Mengmeng looked at each other, both seeing the horror in the other's eyes.

They had only been thinking about how to complete the mission, never interpreting the rules from this perspective.

This wasn't an exploration mission at all... it was a brutal battle royale!

Zhang Wanyue's voice was dry. "So, the possibility of cooperation is almost zero. When we encounter anyone, the first thought won't be mutual aid, but killing them?!"

Chen Yu didn't answer, just continued eating the mutton from the pot... One had to know that different Vehicles participated in different missions. If one was lucky, they might encounter a win-win, collective survival mission.

But his luck was truly bad.

The first mission after the abandoned residential area was a "three out of ten" scenario. It was treacherous.

The bus engine roared as it sped across the ice fields.

Outside the pitch-black windows, blurred scenery flew past. Other lights could be seen in the rearview mirror.

Clearly, they were on the same route.

Ten minutes later, the silhouette of a group of buildings appeared on the horizon.

That should be the outskirts of the outpost.

The assembly area indicated on the map was in the open space in front of the buildings.

When Chen Yu's bus rolled over the last stretch of road and came to a steady stop on the ice, there wasn't another Vehicle in sight.

That's right; they were the first of the ten teams to arrive.

Outside the window were several gray buildings covered in thick layers of ice, standing silently.

Further away, the entrance to a deep rift emitted a faint blue light.

That was likely the legendary outpost—the life-and-death arena for 86 people.

"Alright, Class Monitor. Thanks for the hard work driving."

Chen Yu was still resting with his eyes closed. "Hurry up and eat. We don't have much time."

Zhang Wanyue got down from the driver's seat and nodded. "Okay."

But not long after she picked up her bowl and chopsticks... the crunching sound of tires over ice and snow came from outside the window, one after another.

One, two, three... more and more headlights pierced through the wind and snow, arriving from different directions.

Eventually, they stopped one by one around Chen Yu's bus.

On this blizzard-stricken night, it was pitch black, with only the Vehicles' headlights illuminating the glacial rift ahead.

Car doors opened in succession, and figures wrapped tightly in winter gear stumbled out.

"Holy crap! Where the hell did this take me? Is this still even in the country?"

"It's too cold. Do we have to stay in a place like this for twelve hours?"

"What bad luck. Hey? You guys are from the Directing Department, right? We're from the Fine Arts Department!"

"After all that, it turns out we really are all classmates!"

"There's still forty minutes left on the countdown. We have to wait until it's over to go in?!"

In the wind and snow, figures flickered, and their exhaled white breath merged into a mist.

Some tried to enter the buildings to escape the wind, only to find the entrances sealed by thick ice. No matter how they chipped at it, it wouldn't budge.

They could only retreat helplessly to the vicinity of the fleet, huddling together in small groups.

Inside the bus, Wang Mengmeng clung to the window, trying to identify them. "Brother Chen Yu, look at that big SUV. The people getting out are all from Performance Class 2!"

Li Mengyao also leaned over, squinting. "That minibus over there seems to be a mixed group from the Directing and Sound Recording Departments? But how can they be mixed?"

Chen Yu's tone was calm. "If they were in the same club, wouldn't that make sense?"

Li Mengyao realized, "Oh, that's true..."

As more and more Vehicles stopped, Wang Mengmeng suddenly pointed to a box truck in the distance.

A middle-aged man with glasses, wearing a bulky down jacket, was directing several students to unload things from the truck with a grim expression. It looked like clothing or something similar.

"Director Yu? Isn't he from the Administrative Office? How did he end up in Road to Survival too?"

Li Mengyao's tone was complex. "He's the genius who advocated for extending military training by a month! But look at him; he's probably the one in charge of that team. Those students seem pretty afraid of him..."

Deng Yuxin also saw some acquaintances and pointed to the other side. "Those girls over there look like they're from the Dance Department..."

Zhang Wanyue observed calmly while eating quickly. "Chen Yu, if we stay in the Vehicle the whole time, will it arouse suspicion?"