38: Can I go in?

"Yuran, you're right," Qin Lin took a deep breath.

"My thinking was too rigid. I saw the low temperature and thought of eternal frozen marrow, but crystal stones can have many attributes, and the corresponding phenomena differ."

He re-observed the snow waterfall outside the window.

If the crystal stone's ability was "precipitation manipulation" or "ice and snow control," then creating this localized snow waterfall would make sense.

Furthermore, because it didn't directly release low temperatures, the surrounding temperature remained normal.

But this raised a new question: how to find it?

Previously, when looking for eternal frozen marrow, they relied on temperature anomalies to locate it.

Now that this crystal stone didn't lower the temperature, how could they locate it?

Did they have to rush into the snow waterfall and dig inch by inch?

That wasn't realistic.

Visibility under the snow waterfall was almost zero, and the accumulated snow was over twenty meters deep.

Going in meant certain death.

"Are we... going in?"

Su Yuran asked, her voice tinged with fear.

Anyone seeing that snow waterfall wouldn't want to get close.

It was no longer a natural phenomenon, but some kind of... manifestation of a disaster, like divine punishment.

Qin Lin shook his head: "We can't go in; it's too dangerous."

He pulled up the RV System and began searching through its functions.

Since the crystal stone might be at the center of the snow waterfall, was there a way to detect it remotely?

The System interface was very simple, with few functions.

Besides the known survival points shop, passenger management, and vehicle status, there was a grayed-out "Environmental Scan" function labeled "Locked."

Qin Lin tried clicking it.

[Environmental Scan Function: Can detect energy anomalies, Life Signals, and Danger Sources within a 100-meter radius]

[Unlock Conditions: Lv3 RV or pay 20 survival points to activate temporarily (one-time use)]

Temporary activation?

Qin Lin's eyes lit up.

Paying 20 points was painful, but it was worth a try.

If the scan could confirm the crystal stone's position or even analyze its type, those 20 points would be well spent.

But the problem was that the scanning range was only 100 meters.

The area covered by the snow waterfall was at least two hundred meters wide; the center point could be a hundred meters deep.

If the crystal stone was in the center, they would have to drive the car to the edge of the snow waterfall to scan it.

That meant getting close to that wall of snow.

Qin Lin looked out the window.

The sound of the snow waterfall pouring down could be faintly heard even through the car window, like a continuous low growl.

Snow blocks constantly collapsed from the surface of the snow wall, crashing onto the snow pile below and kicking up even higher clouds of snow mist.

Dangerous.

But worth the risk.

"Sit tight," Qin Lin said. "We're going to get a bit closer."

He shifted into a low gear and lightly stepped on the accelerator.

The RV moved forward slowly.

Five meters, ten meters... when they were only three meters from the edge of the snow waterfall, outside visibility plummeted.

It wasn't that the snow had gotten heavier, but that the snow mist kicked up by the snow waterfall drifted over, surrounding the car like a thick fog.

The front windshield was quickly covered with snow particles; even with the wipers on full speed, they could barely clear it.

The temperature was still -44°C.

But the sound of the wind changed.

It was no longer a distant howl, but a continuous roar right by their ears.

It was the sound of billions of snowflakes hitting the ground and rubbing against each other, like the breathing of a giant beast.

Inside the car, all three held their breath.

Su Yuran gripped the handrail.

Lin Wanwan's face turned pale, and she instinctively leaned toward Qin Lin.

Qin Lin steadied the steering wheel and parked the car two meters from the snow waterfall.

He couldn't get any closer; any closer and they might be hit by falling snow blocks.

"I'm going to start the scan," he said.

He pulled up the System interface, clicked "Environmental Scan," and chose "Pay 20 survival points to activate temporarily."

[survival points deducted: 20]

[Current survival points: 330]

[Environmental Scan function temporarily activated (Remaining time: 10 minutes)]

[Please select scan mode: Energy Detection / Life Signal / Danger Source / Comprehensive Scan]

"Energy Detection," Qin Lin chose.

[Energy Detection mode activated]

[Scan radius: 100 meters]

[Scanning...]

A circular radar map appeared on the System interface, with the RV at the center, as green ripples spread outward in circles.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... a red dot suddenly appeared on the radar map.

Directly ahead, at a distance of about... 50 meters.

[High-purity energy source detected]

[Energy property: Ice and snow manipulation]

[Energy Rank: Intermediate crystal stone (Complete)]

[Name: constant temperature ice crystal]

[Status: Releasing steadily]

[Can be used for Lv3 RV upgrade]

Qin Lin's breathing quickened.

constant temperature ice crystal!

A complete Intermediate crystal stone!

Just one could upgrade the RV!

And it was only 50 meters away.

"Found it!" he growled. "It's exactly 50 meters ahead."

Su Yuran and Lin Wanwan both looked at the snow wall in front of them.

50 meters, right under the snow waterfall.

How to get it?

Qin Lin's heart sank.

If a person went in, they would not only face issues with snow accumulation and visibility but might also be affected by the crystal stone's own energy, instantly freezing into an ice sculpture.

"A person can't go in," he concluded.

"Can we only... use the car?"

He looked at the RV.

A Lv2 climate-adaptive rv with reinforced armor and a temperature control System that could handle -80°C to 80°C.

If the crystal stone's energy field "manufactured snow" rather than "releasing extreme cold," then the temperature control System should be able to withstand it.

But the prerequisite was that the car could drive in.

Ahead was a pile of compacted snow over twenty meters high, not flat ground.

The wheels would sink, slip, or even get buried.

But... "Sit tight," Qin Lin said. "I'm going to drive in."

"Go in?!" Su Yuran exclaimed. "But it's all snow ahead..."

"It's the only way."

Qin Lin's gaze was determined.

"The crystal stone is inside, we must get it. We should be able to drive in a bit. If it really doesn't work, we'll back out."

He started the RV.

Qin Lin took a deep breath and shifted into low-speed four-wheel drive.

Then, he stepped on the accelerator.

The RV moved forward slowly, the front of the car first making contact with the snow pile at the edge of the snow waterfall.

The soft snow was pushed aside, but the snow deeper in was compacted, and the wheels began to slip.

Qin Lin steadied the accelerator, keeping the car at a slow but steady thrust.

Bit by bit... the front of the car squeezed into the snow pile.

Snow surged up from both sides, covering the hood and climbing up the windshield.

Vision completely vanished; Qin Lin could only rely on the images sent back by the external cameras.

But the cameras were also quickly obscured by snow.

Inside the car, only the creaking sound of snow pressing against the chassis and the low roar of the engine could be heard.

And the heartbeats of the three people.

The RV was like a stubborn steel beast, squeezing into the snow pile inch by inch.

The front windshield was now completely covered in snow.

Even with the wipers on full, they could only scrape two brief arcs on the glass before being filled again by new snow particles.

Qin Lin had to switch to the external camera view.

The feeds from the four cameras were projected onto the main screen in the cockpit, but they were also blurry; snow particles constantly hit the lenses, causing the images to jump and distort.

He had to rely on feeling.

The resistance from the steering wheel was immense, like wading through a swamp.

The accelerator was already one-third down, but the car's speed remained slow; the speedometer showed only 3 km/h.

The sound of snow being compressed and scraping against the chassis constantly came from the undercarriage, making one's teeth ache.

"Can... can we get in?"

Su Yuran's voice was tight.

"We can."

Qin Lin stared at the energy scan map on the screen.

It was real-time guidance provided by the System, with a green arrow pointing straight ahead and the distance numbers constantly decreasing:

45 meters, 44 meters, 43 meters... the car was moving forward.

Slow, but moving.

But soon, a new problem arose.

Qin Lin glanced at the energy interface; it usually consumed 2 points per hour, but now it had jumped to 3, and was still slowly increasing.

The temperature System was also increasing its power to resist the energy field of the external snow waterfall.

That wasn't even the biggest trouble.

After the RV had gone about 40 meters deep into the snow pile, Qin Lin felt the texture under the wheels change.

It was no longer soft snow, but... ice?

No, not pure ice, but a "snow-ice mixture" formed by snow being repeatedly compacted and then frozen; its hardness was extremely high.

The wheels began to slip severely; even all-terrain mode was struggling to keep up.

"We're going to get stuck." Qin Lin frowned.

He tried to reverse, but the rear wheels were also slipping.

The car was like it had fallen into a swamp; the more it struggled, the deeper it sank.

The energy scan showed the crystal stone was only 10 meters away.

But the car couldn't move anymore.

"What should we do?"