Kingdom of Corrosion

Lin Wu brought the pumpkin sweet soup upstairs, where the lights of the bonfire room were already on, and everyone was tidying up their bedding, preparing to add two more mahjong tables. They hadn’t set up like this before because it was too crowded, and there was always someone going out to do chores. Now the temperature confined everyone to the bonfire room, where entertainment was very limited: either play cards or read books.

Everyone could borrow a book from the library, which didn’t stock popular novels, only classics or specialized literature. Aside from Maya, who could immerse herself in a book all day, no one else could.

The card games had already been played many times, and although the stakes were always an issue, it was still better than having no entertainment at all.

The newly arranged dormitory had changed from a dartboard setup to a row of large communal beds. The size of the dorm hadn’t reduced much, as dartboards took up a lot of space. Their advantage lay in fairness, distributing the same temperature to each bed. However, with winter clothing varying in Cold Resistance Value, this was not truly fair.

Lin Wu had no complaints and he and Maya were assigned spots along the wall at the edge. Lin Meng, with the second-lowest Cold Resistance Value, was Lin Wu’s neighbor, while Shana was next to Maya.

All the hustle was to find something to do, reducing the amount of time everyone slept, as there were far too many hours to fill. As soon as Snow Egg and Little Knife, who had gone to the first floor to move tables and chairs, returned, they rushed to the bonfire to warm their hands, causing some alarm among the others: "Is it really that cold?"

Snow Egg described the chill: "It was bearable at first, but once we got to the first floor, it felt like our blood was freezing." After speaking, he touched his face and brushed off some frost bits.

Little Knife agreed, "I’m from the Ice Region, where winter temperatures can drop to minus forty degrees. This feels completely different."