338: Chapter 338 Capital Exemption! 500,000 Shatters the Causal Ice Coffin

When the teleportation light dissipated, Lin Chen and Arrogant Dragon were standing in a world of ice and snow.

This was the Frozen Secret Realm.

The scene before them made even Arrogant Dragon, who was used to grand spectacles, gasp—endless ice plains stretched out in all directions until the edge of sight. Large snowflakes, each bigger than a fist, drifted from the sky, causing a slight sting upon impact. The temperature was so low that even breath could freeze; the white mist exhaled by Arrogant Dragon solidified instantly in the air, turning into tiny ice crystals that rustled as they fell.

Even more terrifying were the ice sculptures.

At least a hundred humanoid ice sculptures stood on the ice plains, each lifelike. Some were frozen in a running posture, faces filled with terror; some knelt on the ground with hands pressed together as if begging for mercy; others were embracing, trying to use body heat for warmth—but all had been frozen into eternal statues.

Arrogant Dragon walked to the nearest ice sculpture, looked closely, and his expression changed.

“Boss, this person is alive.”

Lin Chen walked over.

Inside the ice, the player's eyes were open, and his eyeballs could still move slightly. Seeing Lin Chen, a flicker of desire for survival flashed in his eyes; his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

“Frozen, but not dead,” Arrogant Dragon said. “This place... is too eerie.”

Lin Chen didn't answer.

He just stared into the depths of the ice plains.

There, a massive ice coffin stood between heaven and earth.

The ice coffin was about a hundred zhang high and completely transparent, emitting a faint blue light under the dim sky. Its surface was covered in complex runes, each flashing with an eerie red light. Those red lights spread like blood vessels, covering the entire coffin and pulsing with a regular rhythm—like the beating of a living heart.

Through the ice, a familiar figure could be seen.

Morgana.

She was sealed in the very center of the ice coffin, hands reaching forward as if trying to push something away. Her expression was frozen between shock and anger, her eyes wide, staring straight ahead. The light reflected by the ice cast mottled shadows on her face, making her look both divine and desolate.

Arrogant Dragon gripped his broken sword, about to rush forward.

Lin Chen held him back.

“Don't rush.”

He stared at the runes, his eyes narrowing.

“This is an ice coffin reinforced by causality. It uses the same set of laws as the Causality Law Controller who trapped you.”

Arrogant Dragon was stunned.

“Then what do we do? We don't have any more interferers. The last one was given to Morgana, but she was frozen before she could use it.”

Lin Chen remained silent.

He opened the system and pulled up the intel given by Faceless.

The intel showed: The player who trapped Morgana is named 'Flame Demon,' ranked 8th, with the ability of Flame Laws. That karma interferer was given to him by the Causality Law Controller who owed him a favor. The ice coffin itself isn't valuable; what's valuable are those reinforced causality runes—they are the key that prevents Morgana from breaking free.

“No interferer,” Lin Chen said. “But there is something else.”

Arrogant Dragon's eyes lit up.

“What else?”

Lin Chen opened another interface.

It was the 'Hidden Rule Manual' of the True Game.

He flipped to page 233 and pointed to a line of text:

“capital exemption clause: When a player's accumulated assets in any division exceed 1 million game coins, they may apply for a temporary immunity from any law's influence. The scope of immunity is limited to the current division, the duration is 24 hours, and the cost is 50% of the total current assets.”

Arrogant Dragon was stunned after reading it.

“1 million? You have 1 million?”

Lin Chen nodded.

“At the Novice Village settlement, I had 1.032 million.”

Arrogant Dragon opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Three seconds later, he asked:

“The cost is 50%? Doesn't that mean spending over 500,000?”

Lin Chen looked at him.

“Spending 500,000 to save Morgana. Do you think it's expensive?”

Arrogant Dragon fell silent.

Then he shook his head.

“Not expensive. She's worth the price.”

Lin Chen smiled.

He opened the system and began to operate.

Three seconds later, a golden light descended from the sky, landing in front of Lin Chen and transforming into a virtual document.

The title of the document was:

“capital exemption clause Application Form”

【Applicant: Lin Chen】

【Player ID: Lord of Capital】

【Current Total Assets: 1,032,000 Game Coins】

【Applied Immunity Content: The reinforcement effect of causality laws on the 'Eternal Ice Coffin'】

【Immunity Scope: Frozen Secret Realm】

【Immunity Duration: 24 Hours】

【Immunity Cost: 516,000 Game Coins (50% of current assets)】

【Application Status: Pending Confirmation】

Lin Chen pressed the confirmation button.

The document turned into golden light and shot straight at the ice coffin.

The moment the golden light hit the ice coffin, the whole world went silent.

The falling snowflakes stopped mid-air, the flashing runes froze, and even the wind stopped howling. Only a dead silence remained between heaven and earth, as if time had been paused.

Three seconds later.

Those blood-red runes began to tremble violently.

The trembling grew more intense and frenzied. The red light of the runes flickered, like the heartbeat of a dying man. Fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the ice coffin, spreading along the veins of the runes and making crisp cracking sounds.

Bang!

The ice coffin exploded.

Countless shards of ice flew in all directions; the largest pieces crashed onto the ice plains with a deafening roar, causing the ice sculptures to shake.

Morgana fell out of the ice coffin.

Arrogant Dragon dashed forward and caught her in his arms.

She was still covered in a thin layer of ice, her face as pale as snow and her lips frozen purple. But her eyes opened, reflecting Lin Chen's figure in her pupils.

She looked at Lin Chen, her lips moving:

“You... came.”

Lin Chen walked over and looked down at her.

“Nonsense. You haven't paid back what you owe me yet, how could I let you die?”

Morgana smiled.

In that smile, there was frost, but also warmth.

Just then, a figure descended from the sky.

It was a man whose entire body was wreathed in flames.

He was two zhang tall with a ferocious face and blazing fire burning in his eyes. His skin was crimson, covered in magma-like patterns. His hair was flickering flames, and every breath he took exhaled a scorching heat wave.

He landed on the ice plains, and the snow beneath his feet melted instantly, revealing scorched black ground.

He stared at Lin Chen, his eyes full of rage.

“It's you?! You broke my ice coffin?!”

Lin Chen looked at him and said leisurely:

“It was me. Is there a problem?”

The Flame Demon's face contorted—if he even had a face.

“Do you fucking know how much that ice coffin cost?!”

He opened his arms, pointing at the surrounding ice sculptures.

“These people, every single one of them took me months to refine! I froze them here to absorb their life force and strengthen my Flame Laws! That ice coffin was refined using the lives of a hundred players! The Causality Law Controller only helped me reinforce it because he owed me a favor! You fucking broke it just like that?!”

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

“A hundred players? Just to refine a thing like this?”

The Flame Demon was stunned.

Lin Chen opened his asset panel and projected it into the air.

“How much did it cost? Let's hear it.”

The Flame Demon stared at the number, his eyes bulging like copper bells.

“1... 1.03 million?!”

Lin Chen nodded.

“Right. I earned it in the Novice Village.”

The Flame Demon fell silent.

Lin Chen continued:

“Your ice coffin, what was the cost?”

The Flame Demon hesitated for a moment and said:

“...Three hundred thousand. With the causality reinforcement, five hundred thousand.”

Lin Chen smiled.

He pointed to his asset panel.

“I have 1.03 million here. How about I compensate you?”

The Flame Demon was dumbfounded.

Lin Chen continued:

“Three hundred thousand to buy your anger, is that enough?”

The Flame Demon remained silent.

“If it's not enough, I can increase the price,” Lin Chen said slowly. “Five hundred thousand to buy you never bothering Morgana again. One million to buy you joining my team. Two million to buy you calling me 'Boss.'”

The Flame Demon's face turned bright red—redder than his flames.

He was a master of Flame Laws, an 8th-ranked powerhouse, a being that made countless players tremble in fear.

How could he be bought with money?!

Three seconds later.

“Boss.”

Arrogant Dragon almost burst out laughing nearby, forcing himself to hold it in.

Leaning in Arrogant Dragon's arms, Morgana weakly rolled her eyes.

Lin Chen patted the Flame Demon's shoulder.

“Good employee. Now, take us to find Alpha.”

The Flame Demon was stunned.

“Alpha? He's in the Data Maze, ranked 12th.”

Lin Chen nodded.

“I know. Lead the way.”

The Flame Demon hesitated.

“Boss, there's something I have to tell you in advance.”

“Speak.”

“The rules at the Data Maze are different from here.”

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

“How so?”

The Flame Demon's expression became strange.

“The Data Maze prohibits any capital methods. Your money won't work there.”

Lin Chen was silent for a second.

Then he smiled.

That smile made a chill run down Arrogant Dragon's spine—although he didn't know what the boss was going to do, he knew that Alpha was going to be saved.

“It won't work?”

The Flame Demon nodded.

“Correct. Only logic can be used. Any form of currency transaction, asset mortgage, or insurance hedging will be automatically blocked by the system.”

Lin Chen thought for a bit and asked:

“What about causality laws?”

“They won't work either.”

“Frost Laws?”

“Won't work.”

“Force?”

“Carrying weapons is prohibited.”

The Flame Demon looked at Lin Chen with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

“So Boss, that place is a pure logical battlefield. None of your flashy maneuvers will work there.”

Lin Chen remained silent.

Three seconds later, he smiled.

“Logic? I have that too.”

He turned and looked at Morgana.

“Can you still walk?”

Morgana tried and nodded.

“I can.”

Lin Chen waved his hand.

“Let's go. To the Data Maze.”

The teleportation light flared up.

The four of them disappeared from the Frozen Secret Realm.

Behind them, the ice sculptures still stood in place. But strangely, the eyes of a few sculptures seemed to turn slightly.

As if watching the direction in which they had departed.