Chapter 160: Cold Disaster Ended
The last days of the extreme cold passed even faster than expected.
January 29th.
Today was the day before the extreme cold ended. For this, Vikram’s Shelter even prepared a hot pot feast.
Although it wasn’t particularly extravagant, considering this was the Wasteland World, being able to eat hot pot with vegetables and meat was a symbol of strength.
Compared to the last time he enjoyed hot pot alone, this time, not only were the ingredients much richer, but there were also more people to share the meal with.
The only unbearable loneliness in the Shelter was also resolved.
Like a whirlwind, they finished the ingredients one by one, and this dinner concluded successfully.
In fact, not only were they celebrating in the Shelter, but in the small group chat, and even the public chat channel, everyone was cheering excitedly.
The six-week, nearly one-and-a-half-month extreme cold disaster was finally over.
No matter what the next disaster was, all Survivors had gotten a chance to catch their breath.
Of course, it was worth celebrating.
On the sofa, the three of them were also following various messages in the channel.
[Brothers, today is the last day of the extreme cold. We’re finally free.]
[Yeah, no more enduring this damn cold. Now, my whole body is covered in chilblains; it’s killing me.]
[Sigh, although we survived the disaster, many people still died in the channel. Several people I added as friends before, their avatars are all grayed out.]
[Eh? Speaking of dead people, wasn’t it said that the deceased Survivors would reunite with me? Does anyone still remember?]
[Heh heh, to still be so naive after surviving this long, I’m truly impressed.]
[If the Wasteland World were really that considerate, it wouldn’t be for us to survive here, but for a vacation. Who knows how the dead are being tormented?]
[Today is such a joyful day, why do you have to say such discouraging things? It just makes you stand out.]
[Exactly! You probably don’t have family, which is why you say such inauspicious things. What’s wrong with me believing that the deceased Survivors will be resurrected?]
—
Seeing this, Vikram also felt pity for the survivor.
Among so many people in the chat channel, the one person who managed to be clear-headed was drowned out by a flood of criticism.
Fortunately, he and others had learned the news ahead of time, so they didn’t have to harbor false hopes and be kept in the dark like the rest.
Many people commented on the topic of deceased Survivors, and similarly, the topic of what the next natural disaster would be was just as heated.
One concerned the lives of deceased Survivors, and the other concerned their own lives, so of course, no one would be inactive.
"Brothers, according to internal sources, the next natural disaster is very likely to be extreme heat. I suggest you prepare for it in advance."
"What internal source? Don’t tell me, your grandma told you."
"Exactly, without any proof, you need to show evidence. Who can’t say irresponsible nonsense?"
"Don’t listen to him, everyone upstairs. The next one is an earthquake. I feel the tremors from the previous land area reduction were a warning."
"Well, if you say so, extreme heat is the opposite of extreme cold, so shouldn’t it be extreme heat then?"
Not only were there these two conjectures, but the Survivors in the channel were also debating, each judging the upcoming risks based on their own intuition.
"It’s not that I’m saying it, but what are you guys blindly guessing for? Is there a prize if you guess correctly?"
"What do you know, kid? When the natural disaster really hits you, it will be too late to cry for your mom."
"Who are you calling a kid? What if you guess correctly? The Survival Platform will explain everything clearly at 12 AM tonight. Is it your turn, you fools, to guess blindly?"
"Finally, there’s someone sensible. Watching them argue until their faces were red, I was going crazy with amusement."
At these words, the channel fell silent. The avatars of several Survivors who had been arguing fiercely dimmed, clearly indicating they had chosen to leave quietly.
"Hehe, everyone ran away."
"I really don’t know how those people managed to survive until now."
"If you say they’re foolish, they all seem to be doing well. If you say they’re smart, it doesn’t seem to be the case either."
"Damn it, you’re quite good at playing the hindsight expert. Weren’t you among those arguing just now? Now you’re jumping out to show off?"
"Oh crap, I’ve been recognized. Gotta run, gotta run."
Seeing this scene, Vikram rubbed his forehead, exited the channel, and let out a chuckle.
He had originally wanted to see if he could pick up some scraps, gathering information by catching wind of their messages.
Now it seemed he had simply overthought it.
The two of them had an unknown talent for shooting. After several days of practice, targets within 20 meters were basically no problem.
As long as the target’s physique wasn’t faster than their reactions, hitting the body was easy, not to mention headshots.
That’s right, the reaction attribute could also be applied to shooting.
Vikram had personally tested this by tossing metal into the air.
In other words, even powerful thermal weapons needed to be combined with physique to achieve better results.
Of course, this excluded large-scale destructive weapons like grenades or RPGs.
Looking at the nearing end of the extreme cold, Vikram stepped out of Territory 2, it was still covered in the white snow.
He found the snow depth had already reached his chest. This showed the terror of the extreme cold.
Fortunately, his territory did not have any issue like this, and it remained warm as spring inside.
Sitting on the snow, he gazed into the distance. Since the land area had shrunk, the surrounding environment had become quite unfamiliar.
Even he, a Survivor who had lived at the foot of the mountain for so long, could barely recognize it.
The reason he came out was to check the snow situation.
With this much snow, let alone riding a motorcycle, even walking out was difficult. Actually, there was another real reason for him to come out.
He wanted to see how the game-rollback-like changes at the end of a natural disaster actually occurred.
Although he had seen the system’s power many times, he was still curious about such a rare transformation.
No matter what, this was a rare sight that happened once per natural disaster.
The time in the upper right corner of the Survival Platform was ticking by, minute by minute.
Finally, the time froze at 12:00 AM... The sound had just begun, but the changes outside happened first.
The falling snow instantly stopped. In fact, just a moment ago, a snowflake was about to land on his palm.
But at the exact moment the time reached 12:00, the snowflake vanished without a trace.
Shaking his head, he knew this wasn’t an illusion.
Not only that, but the snow he was sitting on had, at some point, become only ankle-high.
Although everything seemed unchanged, with the Wasteland World still covered in white snow, Vikram was somewhat surprised.
This was because the method and manner of the change were very similar to the scene of his Plants system constructing a building.
Both were extremely fast and silent.
Just as he was still immersed in the changes, the voice in his mind had already sounded.
Standing up, he brushed off the snow clinging to his backside and walked back into his territory.
The coldness throughout his body quickly dissipated as the warmth from the territory enveloped him.
"Congratulations to all Survivors for surviving the second natural disaster, Extreme Cold."
"Due to the impact of Extreme Cold, the Wasteland World will permanently maintain a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius until it experiences other temperature-changing natural disasters."
"The next natural disaster is Black Fog, which will begin in seven days."
"There will now be a peaceful period of seven days. It’s time to explore the even more beautiful Wasteland World."
"In addition, the number of participants in survival is now drastically reduced. Regional survival channels will be merged from multiple adjacent regions."
"Last but not least, here’s some good news."
"After the Extreme Cold ends, some new resources have appeared in the Wasteland World. Keep developing, Survivors!"
"Should I say this is truly the complete change brought by the thorough end of the Extreme Cold?"
"The amount of information is much greater than before," he murmured after carefully listening to the voice in his mind.
Turning his head, he saw that Divya, Sophia and Anjali, like him, also had tightly furrowed brows and solemn expressions.
He decided to first check the reactions in the chat channel.
"What the hell is going on? What about the end of the natural disaster?"
"It ended, but it still leaves a -20 degree temperature for whom to see?"
"Exactly, what’s the difference between this temperature and the beginning of the natural disaster? Will my frostbite never heal?"
In the channel, many people were still lingering on the lingering effects of the extreme cold, unable to let go.
Vikram actually found this quite normal.
In fact, the first natural disaster, Acid Rain, also had similar lingering effects.
It just appeared in the Wasteland World in the form of Crimson Creatures.
However, the appearance of Crimson Creatures was not a big deal; it not only increased food sources but also introduced new ways to improve strength.
It was more beneficial than harmful, so no one complained.