Chapter 804 - 16: Trap_2

Chapter 804: Chapter 16: Trap_2

...

Worried about the dried meat going bad, these strips of meat were salted before frying, making them particularly salty. They had the unique stench of wild animals, a tough texture, the greasiness of inferior fats, and the bitterness of salt.

The last time he ate something this unappetizing was when he first arrived on the deserted island.

Flames flickering, Chen Zhou sat cross-legged on the cart, reminded of those barrels of marinated offal and meat chunks he had buried away.

Looking back now, perhaps those meat chunks tasted not much different from the meat strips in his mouth.

Back then, he had taken the ship’s white bread and the hard flatbread that was like a brick, thinking he had ample supplies, he made what could be considered a wasteful choice.

Now, amidst the cold wilderness, reflecting on it brings a paradoxical sense of absurdity—

The things he once abandoned when he was relatively weaker, he now has to chew and swallow despite how terrible they taste, as a much stronger person.

Since he got involved with the Space-Time Administration Bureau, his life trajectory has irresistibly shifted onto an unknown path.

Feeling too salty, Chen Zhou broke a piece of ice into his mouth, without chewing, letting it slowly melt in his oral cavity, warming it with body temperature before swallowing.

The snowmelt water had an earthy taste and was a bit gritty, but compared to boiling, it was much more convenient.

Chen Zhou did bring clean water, but that was reserved for emergencies, and could not be easily wasted early on.

...

After finishing the meal, darkness quickly enveloped the land. Looking far away through the barren branches of the trees, he could only see the crimson beacon hanging in the sky with a hazy glow, like a bloody single eye watching the earth.

After gazing for a while, Chen Zhou even began to have an illusion—

Unsure whether he was observing the beacon or if the beacon was surveilling all the remaining challengers.

...

After nightfall, worried that the firelight would attract unnecessary trouble, Chen Zhou specifically used snow to put out the campfire, then climbed up a tree with bear hide, using the original shape of the branches to construct a simple treehouse.

In temperatures close to minus thirty degrees, ordinary people, even wrapped in several layers of fur, could not survive such a cold night.

But Chen Zhou had injected a genetic modification serum.

Before the injection, his endurance in extreme environments was better than ordinary people; after the injection, the effect was even better than Paul’s. If not for this, he would have had to ensure the fire burned throughout the night at the risk of exposure.

Otherwise, once the flame went out, sleeping just one night in this winter wilderness without a heat source could mean closing your eyes and never waking up again.

...

Perhaps to witness the challengers fiercely fighting over the supplies, the weather has become increasingly clear since Chen Zhou set out.

Although it still dropped to around minus thirty degrees at night, the daytime temperature remained between minus ten and twenty degrees, the skies were clear, and the warm sun shone brightly.

The ice and snow on the prairie began to melt, many animals that had hidden in caves due to the extreme cold appeared on the prairie, even Cave Hyenas, which don’t hibernate, were moving in packs, hunting.

In a scenery reminiscent of an early spring arrival, only Chen Zhou continued to sneer coldly in his heart.

He had seen the Space-Time Administration Bureau’s ability to manipulate weather and change the geographical landscape of an entire region; perhaps only naive animals would believe this warmth will last.

He clearly understood that once the supplies under that curved crimson beacon were seized, the severe cold would return to the land, and it would come back even more fiercely, killing more creatures.

...

On the first day he departed from the cave, Chen Zhou walked from dawn till dusk, covering over 60 kilometers, so he set off immediately upon waking the next morning.

Just as the sun was rising, with the air still filled with the chill, he reached the destination.

Perhaps because he arrived too early, too fast, or maybe most challengers had been tortured by the severe cold to the point of having no energy to go out, in any case, Chen Zhou saw no trace of people all the way from Mount Baihar.

When he arrived beneath the crimson beacon, it hadn’t descended yet.

Looking from below, the sky held only a giant red shadow more than ten meters long, the bright red light dyeing the snow beneath crimson.

But this time, no matter how diligently Chen Zhou observed, he couldn’t see if there were any suspicious small black dots under the red light.

Even the speed of the beacon’s descent left him unable to assess, so he couldn’t determine the best timing to make a move.

Moreover, the terrain here was quite troubling—

The beacon hung over a wide, open prairie with not even a slightly elevated Mound nearby, let alone towering trees or mountains.

In such a location, there were neither elevated platforms for observation nor trenches to hide in for launching an assault, hoping to stir up suspicion among challengers as he had during the last supply scramble was simply impossible.

On the flat prairie, just covered by a layer of snow, one could see clearly for over ten kilometers.

After nightfall, the darkness could provide some concealment; during the day, anyone wearing animal skins would stand out like black dots on white paper.

...

Releasing the rope and tossing the cart onto the snow, Chen Zhou walked in circles around the beacon, occasionally surveying the surrounding prairie, hoping to gather information in advance.

However, there was only the relentless white snow and the sound of the whistling wind, not a trace of anyone other than himself.

For a moment, Chen Zhou even felt as if only he and Paul Bi Kai were left here, while all other challengers were dead.