Chapter 324 - 314: Glacier Virus

In just a few minutes, these people had transformed into Iceborne with blue skin.

Clothes made of ice and snow formed over their once-bare bodies.

Moira Lynch froze, completely stunned by the sight.

She had originally thought the Iceborne were a new species. As it turned out, they were transformed humans.

"Patience, what in the world is going on?"

Whenever she encountered something she didn’t understand, Moira Lynch would habitually turn to Patience for answers.

This time, Patience didn’t keep Moira waiting long and quickly provided an answer.

[Glacier Virus: A virus that only manifests in environments with prolonged low temperatures and an abundance of ice and snow.

Those infected with the Glacier Virus go through two stages. Stage One, early infection: The infected gradually lose their sense of cold, creating the illusion that they have adapted to the temperature.

Stage Two, late-stage infection: The body gradually turns to ice. When night falls, they transform into terrifying Iceborne, attacking any living creature they encounter and devouring their bodies.

The Glacier Virus is extremely averse to heat and will rapidly flee from fire.]

After listening to Patience’s explanation, Moira Lynch asked, "So, is there any way to prevent infection or treat the Glacier Virus?"

[As the saying goes, all illness enters by the mouth. People who contract the Glacier Virus are typically those who regularly consume cold food and icy water. As long as you don’t eat cold food, drink hot water, and avoid being away from a heat source for long periods, you won’t get infected.

In the early stages, the infection can be cured by drinking hot water and taking hot baths. Late-stage infections are incurable.

Once they enter the late stage of infection, they are already dead. Their bodies are now merely husks controlled by the virus.]

Although she had anticipated this outcome, hearing it confirmed still made Moira Lynch feel uneasy.

However, she knew this was no time for sentimentality.

Moira Lynch recorded the transformation scene she had just witnessed, then added an explanation on how to prevent and treat the infection.

"Oh, right. And how can you tell who’s already in the late stages? How do you kill them?" Moira Lynch asked.

After all, before they transformed, those in the late stages of infection looked almost identical to normal people.

[Once the infection reaches the late stage, the virus is in control of the body, so their body temperature is very low—or even nonexistent.

To kill a creature infected with the Glacier Virus, its body must be completely melted with intense heat.]

Once Patience finished editing the video, Moira Lynch sent it directly to Redlight.

Being contacted twice in one day left Redlight feeling rather flattered.

The entire base was currently stressing over the Iceborne situation, and he was about the only one with any free time.

Redlight opened his chat panel and saw that SoySauceDrunkard had suddenly sent him a video.

Driven by curiosity, he opened it. His expression grew increasingly grave as he watched.

When he saw the people fully transform, Redlight lost his composure and hurried to find Chase Shepard.

Chase Shepard was currently at his wit’s end over the Iceborne problem. Just moments before, they had received word that more than a dozen people had been killed at once.

They had gathered together, huddling for warmth. Because there were so many of them, they didn’t feel cold and decided to save firewood by banking their stove, leaving just enough embers to keep it from going out completely.

Little did they know, that very act had cost all of them their lives.

Having been summoned, Chase Shepard asked, "SoySauceDrunkard contacted you again? What is it this time?"

Redlight didn’t say a word, instead just showing him the video.

At first, Chase Shepard was skeptical. He had a pile of other matters to attend to; what could be so important about a video? He had no time to waste.

But the moment he saw its contents, he fell silent.

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw ordinary people transform into Iceborne.

’No wonder we could never find any trace of the Iceborne,’ he thought. ’They’re hiding right here in the base.’

’Disguised as normal people during the day, only to come out and slaughter at night.’

"Captain, SoySauceDrunkard said these people are infected with the Glacier Virus. That’s why they transform—they’re in the late stages. She also included information on how to prevent it and treat early-stage infections."

"Is there a cure for the late stages?"

Since it wasn’t mentioned in the video, he was almost certain there wasn’t one, but Chase Shepard had to ask, refusing to give up hope.

"No." Redlight shook his head. "I never thought the Iceborne were just infected people. It’s a good thing we’ve been eating hot meals lately, otherwise who knows how many people would have been infected."

In contrast to Redlight’s optimism, Chase Shepard’s expression remained grim.

While they served three hot meals a day, the food didn’t always stay that way. A lot of people ended up eating their meals cold.

Furthermore, people weren’t always careful; they didn’t make a point of boiling water to drink. Some even ate snow directly.

Therefore, Chase Shepard believed that while their base might not have any late-stage Iceborne yet, there were surely quite a few people in the early stages of infection.

"Go. Notify everyone that from now on, no one is allowed to eat cold food or drink cold water. Not even boiled water that’s been left to cool. Also, start boiling more water. Everyone is to line up for a hot bath."

"Gather everyone in the base with a Fire Talent. They’ll take baths first. Once they’re done, they’ll be in charge of boiling water for everyone else."

This would save a considerable amount of fuel.

Even though they had plenty of fuel on hand, it was a critical resource that needed to be used where it mattered most. They had to conserve what they could.

After issuing his orders, Chase Shepard had Redlight and Everrise spread the news about the Glacier Virus, trying to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Almost immediately, news about the Iceborne and the Glacier Virus went viral.

No one could have ever imagined that the monsters they feared so deeply were actually transformed humans.

After learning that staying near a fire could prevent the Glacier Virus, those who had previously been focused on conserving fuel had a sudden change of heart.

What was a little firewood compared to their own lives? They certainly didn’t want to end up like the Iceborne in the video.

After all, the video had said that while those people looked alive, they were actually long dead. The only thing controlling them now was the virus in their bodies.