◎A Suitable Weapon◎
【A player has used a Mute Card. Sha Renfan has been banned from the group chat.】
Not only Yan Lan, but the other players were also baffled.
This was the first time a prop card had been used on such a scale, and everyone found it quite novel.
“What just happened? That Mute Card is awesome!”
“Man, not having to see that disgusting psycho is such a relief!”
“Even his previous messages are gone. This card is so humane!”
“Yan Lan, was that you? Great job!”
“You’re my idol! Beautiful and fierce!”
Yan Lan, still completely confused, replied: “It wasn’t me!”
Other players: “Then who was it?”
Yan Lan: “I have no idea!”
Regardless, the oppressive atmosphere from before had dissipated, and everyone’s mood gradually recovered.
Meanwhile, on some unknown stretch of highway, a tough female player running through the snow glanced away for a few seconds before diving back into action.
With only a small amount of wood available today, Yan Lan had nothing much to do after selling out her charcoal. She took two pomelos and went to the driver’s seat, taking over from Xueqiu.
Outside was a world of ice and snow. She drove cautiously, the RV was heavy, and if the tires lost traction, even the vehicle’s momentum could leave her crippled. She drove very slowly; a journey that normally took an hour now took a full two hours.
Not only did it take more time, but the supplies she detected were also greatly reduced. Most importantly, she didn’t find a single piece of wood.
A thick layer of snow covered the highway, stretching out as a vast expanse of white. There wasn’t even a trace of wood in sight.
Maybe there was some, but it was buried under the snow. It wasn’t like she could just take a shovel and dig it up piece by piece.
Around noon, the sun briefly appeared, but with it came a troubling issue.
Yan Lan felt a stinging sensation in her eyes, she was developing symptoms of snow blindness!
She quickly stopped the car and went inside the RV to rest.
Snow blindness, also known as “solar keratitis,” is an acute light-induced eye condition caused primarily by sunlight reflecting off the snow, resulting in thermal burns to the eye tissues and reduced vision.
Symptoms include stinging pain, spasms, redness, light sensitivity, and tearing. In severe cases, the cornea may even detach.
Yan Lan pressed a cold towel to her face, closed her eyes to rest, and mentally ran through her to-do list.
Preventing snow blindness is simple. Aside from avoiding direct staring at the snow, wearing sunglasses or tinted protective eyewear can also protect the eyes.
Making glasses requires glass, rubber, and metal, all materials she had. All she needed now was a blueprint for glasses.
So far, she still hadn’t collected blueprints for snow chains or a roof canopy. Now she had to add glasses to the list. It was only the fourth day of the disaster, and already so many things needed to be handled.
She had considered drawing her own blueprints, but she didn’t understand the physical structure or design principles of these items. One small mistake, and protective eyewear might turn into plain glass.
She couldn’t just copy the appearance, she still had to rely on collecting blueprints. The thought gave her a bit of a headache.
Between the slippery roads and snow blindness, her efficiency that afternoon was extremely low. The number of treasure chests she found was less than half of what she usually got.
Most players in the group were in the same boat, leading to a flood of complaints.
“I’m dying, I’m dying. My eyes are starting to feel hot.”
“That’s snow blindness. You need to protect your eyes!”
“I don’t have anything to cover them with. But I can’t just not look for chests. I only opened one all afternoon. How am I supposed to survive tomorrow?”
“At least breaking down chests gets you a few pieces of wood. I haven’t moved from my spot all day!”
“Haha, I have to say, I’m so lucky! During the beginner phase, I traded a blueprint with Yan Lan and got 80 rolls of toilet paper and 80 pieces of charcoal. Back then, I thought charcoal was useless crap. Now, that crap smells pretty damn good.”
“Holy crap, 80 pieces of charcoal? You won’t even use all of that before this disaster ends! Hey buddy, want to trade? I’ve got some good stuff!”
“Private chat.”
“I want in too!”
“Damn, just saw the message. Probably too late for me. Tomorrow it’ll be -10°C, won’t it? Life is hard!”
“Charcoal’s gone. In a few days, food will be gone too. So depressing.”
Just then, the long-unheard system announcement rang out.
【Dungeon Mission Notification!】
【The random dungeon will begin tomorrow on schedule. Please prepare accordingly. Required item: One Dungeon Card. Duration: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.】
The announcement repeated three times, waking even those who had been sleeping.
The group chat erupted once again.
“Oh my god, hearing the word ‘dungeon’ makes me want to cry!”
“Great! Finally, we can temporarily escape this freezing weather!”
“We need a Dungeon Card. Does anyone have one?”
“I happen to have one.”
“I don’t have one yet! Anyone have an extra? Willing to pay a high price!”
Yan Lan’s heart raced with excitement. Tomorrow’s dungeon mission might just be a turning point. They wouldn’t give up so easily.
To prepare for tomorrow’s dungeon, she organized her backpack slots. Anything she didn’t need immediately, she stored inside the RV.
Everything else, except for her upgrade materials, she placed in the large wooden crates, freeing up several slots. If she found supplies tomorrow, she’d have space to carry them.
She also crafted a few handy tools on the crafting table: a shovel, a pickaxe, an axe, and so on. They weren’t the most refined in appearance, but they were durable and practical.
Just as she finished organizing, the system let out a “Didi didi didi” message alert.
It turned out to be an old acquaintance. Come to think of it, she hadn’t chatted with her ever since they became friends.
Yan Lan opened Yuan Zhou’s chat window. The other person’s message was concise and to the point: “Do you have an extra dungeon card?”
Yan Lan: “Yes, why?”
Yuan Zhou: “I’d like to trade you for a dungeon card.”
Yan Lan pursed her lips: “That depends on what you’re offering.”
Yuan Zhou sent a picture: “Is this valuable enough?”
Yan Lan opened the image and zoomed in.
It was a stunning, ice-blue curved bow called the Frost Moon Bow. The bow’s body was crafted entirely from ice crystals, shaped like a crescent moon. Embedded in the center was a glowing blue gemstone, and the entire bow radiated a chilling aura that perfectly matched the icy, snowy landscape.
It was a bow that captured her heart completely, both in appearance and practicality. Yan Lan fell in love with it at first sight.
Before entering the game, she had often gone to archery ranges and was skilled in archery. This bow would be perfect for self-defense.
Still, Yan Lan was a bit curious: “Where did you get this bow? Why aren’t you keeping it for yourself?”
Yuan Zhou didn’t try to hide anything: “I ran into a snow monster today. After I defeated it, this dropped. I’m not using it because it’s too delicate-looking. It doesn’t suit me.”
A snow monster? Were monsters already appearing now?
Yan Lan accidentally typed that question out loud.
Yuan Zhou: “Yes. It was hiding behind a treasure chest. I almost got ambushed. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and took care of it.”
The way she said “took care of it” so casually made Yan Lan curious about her identity. She clicked on Yuan Zhou’s profile picture.
The profile showed a short-haired young woman, dressed in form-fitting gear, with resolute eyes and a straight, upright posture.
【Name: Yuan Zhou | Age: 23】
Aside from these two details, everything else was hidden.
Yan Lan didn’t press further. “Alright then. This treasure is too valuable to trade just for a dungeon card. Is there anything else you’d like to exchange for it?”
Yuan Zhou thought for a moment, then sent a message: “Would charcoal be okay? I haven’t been able to collect any wood these past few days, and I’m a bit cold.”
Without a second thought, Yan Lan transferred 1 dungeon card and 50 pieces of charcoal to her: “OK, no problem.”
She had 3 dungeon cards, so trading one away was fine.
The bow also came over to her. Yan Lan held it in her hands, overjoyed.
The bow came with a quiver, and inside the quiver was a blueprint for arrows, likely so that she could make more arrows if she ran out.
It had to be said, this trade was very much in her favor.
The crafting table’s performance had been enhanced by a prop card. Not only was production time halved, but there was also a 0.1% chance of obtaining attribute-enhanced items. This probability could be accumulated and converted into extra attempts.
Yan Lan had saved up several such attempts from making charcoal and hadn’t used them. Now was the perfect time to use them all.
Making one attribute-enhanced arrow required 1 metal and 1 glass. She placed the materials on the table and clicked to add attributes. This time, crafting took a full 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, a sharp arrow glowing with silver light appeared before her.
【Arrow 1: Skill – Stun. Inflicts a brief freezing effect on enemies. Cooldown: 1 hour】
This was an arrow that could be used indefinitely, it would automatically return to the quiver after use.
Next, she made another one.
【Arrow 2: Skill – Pierce. Deals lethal damage to enemies from a long distance. Cooldown: 1 hour】
As for the one-hour cooldown, Yan Lan felt it was a bit long, so she made two arrows for each type of skill, using up all her attribute chances.
At the same time, she also made 20 bow arrows. Each ordinary arrow required 1 metal. These would not automatically return and would be consumed upon use.
With all this, she felt fully prepared for tomorrow’s dungeon mission.
All players stood ready. Finally, the long-awaited dungeon mission arrived the next day.
【Author’s Note】
Note: “Snow blindness, also known as ‘solar keratitis,’ is an acute light-induced eye condition caused primarily by sunlight reflecting off the snow, resulting in thermal burns to the eye tissues and reduced vision.” — From Baidu Baike