Chapter 66: The Scheming Team-Up Phase (25)

Plan A had been to fight the sixth-round boss alone.

But the environment was too harsh.

He Yu no longer wanted to keep climbing.

So he switched to Plan B.

Plan B was to borrow the abilities of some new teammates.

Those new teammates happened to be Eugene and the others currently chasing him.

Unfortunately, the Frost Beast descended from the summit ahead of schedule and launched an attack before they arrived.

Looking at the Frost Beast, He Yu could only activate a hastily invented Plan C.

At that moment, the Frost Beast was extremely excited.

It bounded around, swiping its paws at He Yu and the broom.

Cats shared certain universal traits.

One of them was a love of playing.

And during the qualifiers, He Yu had already discovered something—

The boss attributes set by the system were not immutable.

For example, giant fish didn't eat giant fish.

They ate humans.

But in reality, that wasn't particularly reasonable.

After He Yu led the “He Yu Giant Fish” to start eating giant fish, it had immediately opened the door to a new world and moved toward a far more logical lifestyle.

The Frost Beast was the same.

The system had designated humans as food.

But eating humans wasn't especially reasonable either.

As long as it was given an arrangement it could accept more readily, its attributes could change.

—There was no need for a giant beast like this to fight.

—Wasn't it just an oversized cat?

Not hard to pet.

Just as the Frost Beast opened its mouth excitedly, preparing to launch another barrage of ice arrows, He Yu stood up.

Riding the broom through the air, he began gliding and dancing.

He couldn't figure skate.

But he had spent ten grueling years training before debuting as the center position of an idol group.

He could dance.

Blue Star classical dance.

One of the oldest, most elegant, and most beautiful dance forms.

Raise the leg.

Leap.

Spin.

Land atop the broom.

The movements were gentle without appearing feminine.

Every lift of his leg.

Every step.

Effortlessly graceful.

His chin tilted slightly upward.

His flawless profile was mesmerizing.

His slender frame looked perfectly suited to the performance.

The broom spun through the sky at high speed.

Combined with He Yu's movements, the spectacle was impossible to ignore.

The Frost Beast paused.

The ice arrow it had been preparing vanished.

Its mouth closed.

Then it began bouncing around even more excitedly.

Its enormous body hopped across the snowfield with obvious enthusiasm.

The Frost Beast wasn't the only one fascinated.

The audience was equally stunned.

“Is... is that dancing?”

“He Yu's body is ridiculously flexible. How can someone be that soft?!”

“I knew he was flexible before, but I didn't know he danced this beautifully.”

“Damn. That's gorgeous. I've never seen this style of dance before, but it's amazing.”

“Seriously. I can't explain it. The elegance is unreal.”

“I'm recording this and watching it on repeat.”

“If He Yu weren't in <Top Talent Show>, couldn't he become a Federation celebrity?”

“The dancing is beautiful, but... does it actually help?”

“The Frost Beast is staring at him right below!”

“He still has time to dance?”

“Has he gone insane??”

...

Inside the transit station.

Wanrenzhan's eyes widened as he stared at the screen.

Nearby, Zhante sighed emotionally.

“That's beautiful.”

“Honestly, He Yu is basically the perfect man.”

“If I'd met him before the competition, I probably would've pursued him.”

Wanrenzhan instantly jumped up.

“Pursue him?! Zhante, are you blind?”

“A weakling from a garbage planet, and you're actually—”

Zhante interrupted him strangely.

“I want to pursue He Yu. What does that have to do with you?”

“Why are you so worked up?”

Wanrenzhan choked.

His mouth opened.

Then closed.

After a long pause, he finally muttered,

“I just think you're blind.”

Zhante looked confused.

“But He Yu is objectively attractive.”

“Let's ask everyone else.”

“Qiao Yuan, Duan Yuchen, Siya, Qiong. What do you think?”

Qiao Yuan nodded.

“To be honest, He Yu has always been exactly my type.”

Duan Yuchen hesitated.

“...I don't like men.”

“But He Yu's forging techniques are incredible.”

“If we'd met outside the competition, I probably wouldn't dislike him.”

Siya crossed her arms.

“He Yu's combat power is too low. He isn't my ideal partner.”

After a pause, she added,

“But if He Yu pursued me, I'd definitely consider it.”

Qiong didn't answer.

She simply tapped her cheek with a finger, raised her hat slightly, and continued appreciating the dance.

Zhante spread his hands.

“See?”

“Who exactly is blind?”

Wanrenzhan nearly choked again.

And this time it felt even worse.

Watching the dancing He Yu on the screen, he darkened his face.

Then muttered under his breath,

“All he knows is attracting attention and seducing people...”

 The Frost Beast continued bouncing and swiping its giant paws.

It didn't fly.

Nor did it launch ice arrows.

Even so, it created plenty of obstacles for the dancing He Yu.

Eventually, He Yu lowered his hands.

After a spin, he directed the broom straight toward the Frost Beast.

【Barrage: “HOLY SHIT! What's he doing?!”】

He Yu wasn't doing anything dramatic.

He didn't even draw a weapon.

The Frost Beast seemed to understand they were playing.

Rather than swatting him from the sky, it allowed He Yu to land on its head.

Then He Yu slid down its spine.

Circled around its rear.

Ran along one foreleg.

“Awwooo—!”

The comfortable massage-like sensation and playful interaction made the Frost Beast even more excited.

It rolled over onto the snow.

Snow exploded into the air.

Its legs kicked happily.

He Yu rode the broom from one foreleg to the other.

Jumped onto its belly.

Then sprinted beneath its chin and up to the tip of its nose.

The giant cat felt slightly uncomfortable.

It reached out to smack him.

He Yu jumped away on the broom.

Floating before its face, he raised a leg and began spinning.

A classic movement from traditional dance.

Rapid single-leg rotations in place.

His clothes had been burned ragged in the previous round.

Now the torn fabric flared dramatically around him.

The effect was unexpectedly beautiful.

The Frost Beast stared with its huge blue eyes.

Watching intently.

Then the instant He Yu finished the spin—

It pounced.

Its claws remained sheathed.

Two enormous paws reached out to grab him.

Just before they closed together, He Yu leapt away from the center.

He flew upward.

Landed atop the Frost Beast's head.

Then slid down its back once again.

“Awwooo—!”

The Frost Beast was thrilled.

Its paws clapped together like applause.

It spun around.

Its tail whipped through the air.

Excitedly looking toward He Yu.

At that moment, He Yu was drinking the remaining half of a potion.

—This cat was genuinely difficult to entertain.

—A little exhausting.

After finishing the potion, strength returned to his body.

Even the wound on his arm began healing.

When the Frost Beast pounced again, he jumped up and continued playing with it.

Half an hour later.

The Frost Beast had finally had enough.

He Yu sat on its shoulder.

Sweat covered his forehead.

“Rrrr...”

The Frost Beast was panting too.

But it was clearly in an excellent mood.

Its beautiful aqua-blue eyes looked toward the food sitting on its shoulder.

Conflict flashed through its gaze.

Clearly—

It was debating whether to eat him.

Not eating him felt wrong.

He was food.

But eating him felt wasteful.

It didn't really want to.

He Yu put away the broom.

Then threw himself against the Frost Beast's chin.

Nearly disappearing into the white fur.

His fingers scratched beneath its jaw.

Ruffling the fur until it puffed up.

The giant cat immediately began purring.

A deep rumbling sound.

It rolled onto its back in the snow.

Eyes narrowed happily.

Ten minutes later.

He Yu's arm was sore.

He lowered his hand.

The scratching stopped.

The Frost Beast opened its eyes and looked at him.

He Yu didn't move.

Didn't run.

The Frost Beast extended a paw toward him.

【Barrage: “!!! Is it finally attacking He Yu?!”】

【Barrage: “RUN, HE YU!!”】

【Barrage: “He has enough votes. It depends on whether he uses them!”】

【Barrage: “Was dancing for the Frost Beast actually useful?”】

Reality quickly answered.

Very useful.

The Frost Beast's paw stopped in front of He Yu.

He Yu jumped onto it.

The soft pink paw pads were absurdly cute.

Completely different from the savage Frost Beast itself.

He sat on the paw.

Allowing the giant cat to lift him.

The Frost Beast stood.

Then carefully placed its toy atop its head.

Yes.

Its toy.

—Food existed everywhere.

—But toys were rare.

The giant beast had made its decision.

It would not eat He Yu.

Instead, it would keep him.

Raise him.

Use him as a toy to play with forever.

He Yu was returned to the top of its head.

Exhausted and weak, he hugged one of the black ears and sat down.

The Frost Beast twitched the ear awkwardly.

But restrained itself for the sake of the toy.

It looked forward.

Shook snow from its body.

“ROOOAR—!”

Then it leapt toward the summit.

At incredible speed.

Meanwhile, atop its head, He Yu buried himself in the white fur.

Warm.

Comfortable.

Despite living in a frozen wasteland, the Frost Beast possessed an astonishingly warm body.

After enduring endless cold, the warmth felt heavenly.

He Yu yawned.

He pulled more fur around himself like a blanket.

Hugged the warm ear.

Closed his eyes.

—Too tired.

—Time for a nap.

The barrage exploded.

“???”

“!!!”

Inside the transit station, Qiao Yuan jumped to his feet.

“Holy shit!”

“He actually tamed the Frost Beast!!”

Duan Yuchen pointed furiously.

“He's cheating!”

Even Qiong couldn't understand.

“I don't get it.”

“Why did the Frost Beast spare He Yu?”

“Because his dancing was beautiful?”

Wanrenzhan suddenly thought of something.

His voice became gloomy.

“So...”

“The sixth-round boss has become He Yu's mount.”

“Just like during the qualifiers.”

“Meaning he'll use it to wreak havoc across the entire sixth round?”

Everyone froze.

“!!”

—Damn.

The memory of being dominated by He Yu and the Giant Fish suddenly resurfaced.

The audience thought the same thing.

The discussion forum for <Top Talent Show> exploded.

1L: History repeats itself.

2L: I'm genuinely afraid to imagine what happens next...

3L: The Frost Beast is smarter and stronger than the Giant Fish. The Giant Fish never even knew someone was riding it. The Frost Beast knows. Once it gets bored, it'll definitely eat He Yu!

4L: Honestly, He Yu keeps changing my opinion of him. I kind of admire him now.

5L: I just want to know what expression Zhen Xing and Eugene will make when they see this.

6L: ...From another perspective, He Yu is probably about to give them another nightmare. All the teammates are gone. Only opponents remain.

...

--

At present, Zhen Xing and the others had no mood to think about that.

They arrived at the location where He Yu had first encountered the Frost Beast.

Snow was no longer falling.

And they weren't far behind.

Evidence remained everywhere.

Even some ice arrows hadn't fully melted.

Gedai's expression darkened.

“The Frost Beast came down here.”

“A battle definitely occurred.”

Cheng Zhao frowned.

“It should have fought someone from Team One.”

“But there are only traces of the Frost Beast.”

“No traces from Team One.”

Yuan Ze crouched down.

Examining the ground carefully.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

“No.”

“There are traces.”

“Footprints.”

Looking at the faint imprint, Zhen Xing spoke calmly.

“Only one person remains in Team One.”

“He Yu.”

Federation contestants were generally much larger.

Their footprints were larger and deeper.

Only He Yu's were small and distinct.

—As expected.

—He Yu was alive.

—And completely alone.

Eugene rubbed his chin.

“Incredible.”

“He Yu is really that strong?”

“He survived a confrontation with the Frost Beast?”

“Maybe he died here afterward?”

Gedai snorted.

“What would be strange about that?”

“He Yu being alone and dying would be completely normal.”

Cheng Zhao frowned.

“He didn't have enough votes?”

Gedai replied coldly,

“The audience doesn't like wasting votes on weaklings.”

Only Zhen Xing remained calm.

Certain.

“He Yu isn't dead.”

“And he won't die.”

Gedai's mechanical face turned toward him.

“You're saying He Yu defeated the Frost Beast?”

The sarcasm was obvious.

Zhen Xing didn't answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the footprints.

Eugene scratched his mechanical arm.

“Speculating is pointless.”

“Let's head to the summit.”

Yuan Ze shivered.

“This damned Ice and Snow Paradise.”

“Paradise my ass.”

“It's freezing.”

Cheng Zhao breathed warm air into his hands.

“We need to reach the summit.”

“If we stay here much longer, we'll freeze to death.”

Zhen Xing stepped lightly across the snow.

Taking the lead.

The higher they climbed, the colder it became.

The slopes grew steeper.

The snow grew deeper.

Even experts like them struggled.

Every step required effort.

—He Yu was alone.

—What exactly was he planning?

 Meanwhile, the group struggled upward.

Climbing was difficult for humans.

But Ice and Snow Paradise truly was paradise for the Frost Beast.

It had already reached the summit.

And even taken a nap.

As darkness approached, the Frost Beast opened its eyes.

It was bored.

Its head rested upon pristine snow.

The snow here was incredibly thick and perfectly clean.

As it absentmindedly pawed at the ground, it suddenly froze.

As though remembering something.

Its head lifted.

A paw reached upward.

Soft paw pads searched around.

Then it grabbed—

He Yu.

He Yu was still asleep.

Being suddenly lifted, he lazily opened his eyes.

He didn't move.

The Frost Beast's eyes flashed with anger.

【Barrage: “HOLY SHIT! The Frost Beast is getting angry!!”】

【Barrage: “Move, He Yu!”】

【Barrage: “Living with a tiger is terrifying. He Yu has to stay alert every second!”】

【Barrage: “HE YU! WHY AREN'T YOU MOVING?!”】

He Yu really didn't want to move.

Lazily leaning against the fluffy paw, he remained draped across it.

The anger in the Frost Beast's eyes deepened.

Its teeth appeared.

Its grip tightened.

Only then did He Yu slowly raise a hand.

From his inventory, he pulled out a crystal sphere.

—The reward from the first round.

—A transformable decorative item.

The crystal sphere slowly transformed.

Growing into a giant blooming flower.

Bright.

Brilliant.

The blossom opened toward the Frost Beast.

Holding the stem, He Yu shook it gently.

The flower seemed to wave hello.

The Frost Beast froze.

In this endless world of white snow—

It was the first pink color it had ever seen.

Its anger vanished instantly.

Lying flat upon the snow, it carefully extended another paw.

Tap.

The flower trembled beautifully.

In a lazy, hoarse voice, He Yu said,

“A little flower for you.”

The Frost Beast's eyes widened.

It remained lying there.

Staring at the flower.

He Yu stretched.

Then placed the flower directly onto its paw.

After letting go, he climbed down toward its neck.

Giving it a push.

His strength was tiny.

But the Frost Beast understood.

It rolled over.

Lying on its back.

Holding the flower.

Staring at it with huge aqua-blue eyes.

Curiously.

He Yu successfully climbed onto its stomach.

The warmest.

Softest fur.

Lying down happily, he smiled.

“The fur here is much more comfortable.”

“The fur on your head is a little stiff.”

Then he buried himself inside the fur.

And closed his eyes again.

【Barrage: “???”】

【Barrage: “...Nobody saw this coming.”】

Wanrenzhan ground his teeth.

“This He Yu.”

“He's even seducing the Frost Beast!”

Zhante: “???”

Duan Yuchen: “???”

Qiong: “...How exactly is that seduction?”

Wanrenzhan jumped up.

“He gave the Frost Beast flowers!”

Everyone: “...”

This one was hopeless.

Moving on.

 Another half hour passed.

As darkness deepened, the Frost Beast grew bored of the flower.

It picked He Yu up again.

Placed him in its palm.

Its huge blue eyes moved close.

Its nose nearly touched his face.

The eyes were filled with expectation.

Clearly asking—

What surprise do you have next?

He Yu woke up again.

But wasn't angry.

After all.

Could he really get angry at a giant monster capable of eating him?

Getting angry generally required the ability to win the fight.

He stretched.

Then flew out from the giant paw atop his broom.

Just as the Frost Beast prepared to pounce—

He raised a hand.

“Stop!”

“Don't move!”

—He had no desire to become a moth being swatted from the sky.

—He wanted to sleep.

The Frost Beast was surprisingly intelligent.

It immediately stopped.

Not angry.

Just curious.

If the toy wasn't going to play with it, then why was it flying?

Ignoring the giant cat, He Yu transformed the decorative item into a pair of gloves.

Then—

He started building a snowman.

The giant cat lay back down.

Completely confused.

Building a snowman wasn't easy.

Especially when constructing a gigantic one.

But He Yu worked with complete seriousness.

The transformable decoration became gloves.

Then a shovel.

Then gloves again.

Extremely useful.

As the Frost Beast watched, confusion gradually transformed into excitement.

It jumped to its feet.

Running circles around He Yu and the snowman.

Its tail whipped wildly.

“Awwooo!”

“Awwooo!!”

The giant beast grew increasingly excited.

Clearly unable to wait.

—Because He Yu was building a Frost Beast.

An identical Frost Beast.

How could it not be excited?

The Frost Beast paced anxiously.

Its blue eyes constantly moved between He Yu and the growing sculpture.

Again and again it approached.

Interfering with the work.

When its head intruded once more, He Yu pressed a hand against its nose and pushed it away.

Helplessly saying,

“Move back a little.”

“It'll take a while.”

The giant cat refused.

It moved away briefly.

Then immediately returned.

After some thought, He Yu rolled up a large snowball and pushed it toward it.

“Go play with this first.”

“Wait a bit.”

The Frost Beast examined the snowball.

Looked at He Yu.

Looked at the unfinished snow statue.

Then obediently wandered off.

“Awwooo!”

“Awwooo!!”

It rolled the snowball happily through the snow.

Leaving massive craters everywhere.

And countless tracks.

Soon, it began intentionally making the snowball larger and larger.

“RUMBLE—”

The noise became enormous.

The snowball became enormous.

And then—

It lost control.

Rolling straight toward He Yu.

He Yu didn't move.

The Frost Beast reacted instantly.

Leaping over the giant snowball.

Landing beside He Yu.

And headbutting the snowball away.

“Awwooo!”

It seemed proud of itself.

The redirected snowball shot down the mountain.

Still not satisfied, the Frost Beast chased after it.

Then shoved it with all its strength.

“RUMBLE—!”

The gigantic snowball accelerated like lightning.

Growing larger and larger.

And directly smashed into a group of people who had just reached the summit.

Sending them all tumbling back down the mountain.

 Eugene's group had finally reached the top.

Gedai collapsed.

“I'm done.”

“Absolutely done.”

His breathing was heavy.

The extreme cold severely affected Mechanical Planet inhabitants.

They didn't necessarily feel cold.

But the temperature reduced mechanical efficiency.

Cheng Zhao was in no better shape.

Leaning on his weapon, he gasped.

“Just climbing up here is lethal.”

Yuan Ze nodded.

“There's no way I'm climbing this mountain a second time.”

Suddenly, Eugene jumped.

“What's that sound?!”

Zhen Xing frowned.

His eyes sharpened.

Everyone turned.

Then all their expressions froze.

A gigantic snowball was charging toward them at lightning speed.

Directly at them.

Everyone:

“!!!”

Eugene screamed,

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!”

They scattered instantly.

Too late.

The snowball was enormous.

And after the Frost Beast's shove, unimaginably fast.

Before anyone could escape—

CRASH.

They were all swept away.

Wrapped inside the giant snowball.

Rolling from the summit all the way back down.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!”

At the summit, the Frost Beast tilted its head.

Watching the distant snowball disappear.

Then looking at its paw.

Silence.

—Did it hit something?

—Whatever.

Not important.

Turning around sadly, it looked at He Yu.

“Aw?”

Its expression clearly said—

My snowball is gone!

At that moment, He Yu attached the final pair of ears to the snow sculpture.

Unfortunately everything here was white.

The ears had to be white too.

Good enough.

Completely unaware of the chaos the Frost Beast had just caused, He Yu clapped his hands and beckoned.

“Come here.”

“Done.”

The Frost Beast immediately forgot its sadness.

Excitedly bounding over.

Standing before the life-sized snow sculpture of itself.

Jumping around in delight.

He Yu flew back onto its head.

Then lay down again.

—Finally.

—I can sleep.

Holding the fur and leaning against the black ear, he closed his eyes peacefully.

Meanwhile, the Frost Beast looked at itself.

Then at the snow sculpture.

Suddenly struck by inspiration.

It grabbed a small pile of snow.

Carefully placed it on its own head beside one ear.

—Can't forget the toy.

Just before falling asleep, He Yu suddenly opened his eyes.

Murmuring,

“Those guys are way too slow.”

“Based on my calculations, they should've reached the summit by now.”

“Why haven't they arrived yet...”

But sleep was more important.

After muttering that single complaint, He Yu stopped thinking.

And fell asleep.