Chapter 18

“Although it’s not a skill book for my own use, it’s still quite good!”

Cao Xing’s face lit up with joy.

You see, the is indeed a divine early game skill for mechanics.

It only requires some iron and mechanical power to summon a robust Mark Robot that not only has ranged attack capabilities but also boasts incredible defensive power.

It significantly enhances the survival ability of mechanics in the early stages.

“This skill book, if brought to the market, would definitely cause a frenzy among the mechanics.”

Cao Xing continued to inspect his other spoils.

Having inspected the attributes of these items, Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

“That Black Iron Arm Guard is green equipment and its attributes are quite good.”

“Especially the second effect, which greatly increases my maximum attack range, awesome!”

Cao Xing didn’t hesitate to equip it, then checked his own attributes.

“Great! Great! Great! My life force and attack power have both been greatly enhanced.”

“Compared to when I first arrived in this world yesterday, my strength has more than doubled!”

A joyful expression appeared on Cao Xing’s face.

Moreover, besides the equipment, he also had a bear gall and bear meat to enhance his attributes.

Soon, Cao Xing’s strength would increase even further.

After cleaning up all his gains, Cao Xing nodded satisfactorily, then turned around and said, “Let’s go, it’s time to head back.”

They had been out for about an hour this time.

And the return journey would take at least half an hour.

Cao Xing needed to make the most of all his time to develop his territory.

Once the group returned to the camp, the warmth from the bonfire came in waves.

Stomp… stomp…

They all shook off the snow from their feet.

Cao Xing looked up at the sky, “Fortunately, it hasn’t snowed recently, if it had, moving in this horrible weather would be extremely difficult.”

He turned to Assam next to him and said, “Assam, come over.”

Upon hearing this, Assam immediately walked over with his body erect.

Cao Xing raised his magic wand, then a beam of green light hit Assam.

activated, this skill has now become permanent.]

Green +10, +10 numbers appeared above Assam’s head.

Twice the healing value compared to before!

Cao Xing was delighted inside, “Just as I thought! The same skill applied to the same target, the lower attributes will be overridden by higher attribute enhancements.”

Due to the improvement in Cao Xing’s spiritual attribute, the effect of the Ice Healing Skill was naturally enhanced.

Now, Assam could recover 10 life points per second, and combined with his terrifying defense, he was truly an indestructible force.

Then, Cao Xing cast another Ice Armor Skill, adding 8 points of armor to Assam.

He didn’t overlook his Frost Wolf either.

“Swish! Swish swish!”

A series of green lights shot out.

Cao Xing found that with the increase in spiritual power, the number of times he could cast magic also increased.

And so far, he had not experienced any dizziness.

After topping up Assam and Frost Wolf’s statuses.

Cao Xing said, “Assam, you did very well this time. Your next task is still to continue scouting the ten kilometers surrounding our camp.”

“Mark all the resource points and monsters, and make sure to return to camp before dark.”

Upon hearing this, Assam immediately responded respectfully, “As you command, Lord.”

“Your command is my destiny!”

With that, he mounted Frost Wolf Winter and charged back into the snowy wilderness.

Cao Xing then turned to Yilena beside him, “Yilena, your task is to add the effects of and to the newly recruited Polar People.”

“Remember to rest when your spiritual power is low.”

Yilena extended her hand and nodded, “As you command, Lord.”

Then, Cao Xing opened the he had just obtained from the Silver Treasure Chest.

He glanced at his territory’s resources.

Cao Xing joyfully exclaimed, “After setting up the logging field, the rate of obtaining wood has indeed increased a lot.”

“That coal mine has also started mining.”

“The next step is to construct the and the .”

Cao Xing summoned four Polar People.

He delegated the construction tasks to them.

Then, he looked around the camp.

There was already a circle of seven or eight small houses nearby.

In just one day, from an original small bonfire, so many buildings had sprung up,

giving him a deep sense of achievement.

Liu Muxue asked softly, “Axing, is there anything you need me to do?”

Cao Xing shook his head, “Not for now, Saozi, let’s go inside the house to warm up.”

Liu Muxue nodded.

Then the two of them entered the Lord’s Hut together.

Upon entering, Liu Muxue naturally squatted by the stove, stretching out her hands to warm them.

“Hoo~ It’s so warm~”

A content smile appeared on the woman’s face.

In such icy and snowy conditions, warming oneself by a cozy hearth indeed felt blissful.

A few minutes later, perhaps due to being too close to the stove, Liu Muxue’s forehead began to sweat.

She took off the wolf skin coat she was wearing, revealing her curvaceous figure once again.

Then, she squatted down next to the stove to warm up.

In this position, Liu Muxue’s striking figure was perfectly displayed.

Especially now, as Cao Xing was sitting on the bed, from this angle, he could fully appreciate her alluring body curves.

Her bust appeared larger due to the pressure of her knees, dazzling in its whiteness.

Below her slender waist were her shapely hips, tightly encased in a black skirt.

Liu Muxue possessed a mature allure with just a hint of youthful naivete, making it hard to divert one’s eyes after a single glance.

At that moment, Liu Muxue seemed to notice that her stockings might have torn.

Her dainty, adorable toes intertwined beneath her delicate feet.

She looked up, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “Um… Axing, my stockings seem to have torn…”

“Can I take them off and wash them first?”

Cao Xing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, there are a few buckets with water prepared, you can just make a new bucket.”

Liu Muxue nodded her head lightly, seeming to want to say something else but finding it hard to broach.

Then, she stood by the bed and gently slid off her stockings, lifting her slender legs.

It appeared to be the first time she performed such an action in front of another man, and Liu Muxue’s cheeks turned so red they seemed almost squeezable. She dared not meet Cao Xing’s eyes throughout the process.

When Cao Xing saw the Liu Muxue without her stockings, her upper thighs seemed slightly plump while her lower legs were slender, eschewing the extremity of stick-thin.

Simply perfect.

Cao Xing thought to himself.

Liu Muxue picked up her stockings.

Just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly noticed some small mud spots on Cao Xing’s clothes.

With her face still flushed, Liu Muxue said, “Axing, your shirt seems to be dirty…”

Cao Xing looked down and indeed, there was a patch of black mud on the white shirt he wore before crossing over.

Thinking about it, it must have come from when he was lying on the ground using “Barrett.”

Instinctively, Liu Muxue said, “Why don’t you take it off, and I’ll wash it for you?”

Then, realizing how suggestive her words might sound, her face grew even redder, and she hung her head.

Cao Xing was stunned for a moment, but he didn’t overthink it.

Before the sewing shop was built, this was his only shirt.

So, Cao Xing nodded, “That would be troublesome, Saozi.”

Cao Xing casually unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his sturdy upper body and muscular chest.

Upon seeing Cao Xing’s physique, Liu Muxue seemed taken aback and couldn’t help staring a few times.

“Here you go, Saozi.”

“Mhm…” Liu Muxue responded softly.

Blushing, she took the shirt from Cao Xing’s hands and started to scrub it at the side.

“Swish swash…”

The sound of water echoed.

Soon after, Liu Muxue had both the stockings and Cao Xing’s shirt washed and hung them beside the stove to dry.

Then, she carried a basin of steaming water over to Cao Xing.

“Um… Axing… I noticed there’s also a bit of mud on your chest…”

“How about… I help you wipe down your body?”

She had intended to suggest that Cao Xing wipe himself, but for some reason, she blurted out the sentence above.

For a moment, Liu Muxue felt utterly embarrassed.

Cao Xing also felt something was off about that sentence, but to spare Liu Muxue any embarrassment, he nodded and said, “Thank you, Saozi…”

“It’s… it’s okay…”

Liu Muxue sighed with relief, shyly responding.

At this point, Liu Muxue placed the basin beside Cao Xing, then crouched down slightly and soaked her hands.

Then, with cheeks flushing, she gently rubbed Cao Xing’s chest with both hands.

Her delicate palms, softened by the warm water, felt slippery.

In such close proximity, Cao Xing continuously inhaled the unique body fragrance emanating from Liu Muxue.

Liu Muxue’s movements were very stiff, making it obvious that this was her first time doing something like this.

The warm touch continually moved across his chest, and Cao Xing distinctly felt Liu Muxue’s body temperature seemed to be rising.

A few minutes later, with flushed cheeks, Liu Muxue said, “Axing… it’s done…”

Cao Xing absently nodded.

With her face still flushed, Liu Muxue took the basin away.

To calm the turmoil within, Cao Xing put on his wolf skin coat and said, “Saozi, I need to step out for a bit to trade some supplies at the market.”

“Okay…” Liu Muxue responded in a low voice.

Cao Xing then stepped out of the Lord’s Hut.

The icy cold outside struck him instantly.

“Phew… stay calm, stay calm.”

Cao Xing took a deep breath, gradually becoming more composed.

Then, he headed to the nearby “Market.”

“Next up, I need to sell off a batch of bear meat.”

Cao Xing knew that such food was best sold earlier rather than later.

In a few days, when food was no longer a concern for everybody, the bear meat he possessed wouldn’t fetch a high price.

So, Cao Xing opened the “World Channel.”

Takagaki Yasuko: “Wuuu… My husband was killed by a snow wolf, and now it’s just me with two children. Is there anyone kind enough to take us in?”

Yan Xiaotao: “Madame from Japan, what’s your location? I’ll come to rescue you immediately! I don’t mean anything else; I just can’t stand to see people suffer.”

Alvarez: “Damn! These recruited polar people need to eat too? Our own family doesn’t have enough food, where am I supposed to get food to give them?”

Abdul: “God! I haven’t fed these polar people for a day now, and they’re not working either, just sitting outside the house. I feel like they’re starting to give me weird looks!”

Salman Khan: “My territory seems to be near an ice river, it looks like the Ganges River back home…”

Compared to yesterday, more and more people were understanding how to play the game.

They all began building Lord’s Huts and recruiting polar people to work.

But these polar people needed to eat, and thus, most survivors were troubled by the lack of food.

At the current stage, the “Market” could only facilitate trading supplies with survivors in one’s own region.

Thus, Cao Xing accessed the “Regional Channel.”

Yang Jiaqi: “Brothers, I ventured out today and at coordinates 12743, 6507, 15231, I discovered a wild camp inhabited by a group of masked individuals.”

Wang Ziheng: “Brother above, I advise you not to go there. Those people are Ice Plain Wanderers, a bunch of crazy folks. My two polar people were killed by them.”

Chen Qian: “Is there any food available? In this heavy snow, it’s really hard to know where to find food.”

Shen Hongguang: “Exactly, in this damn place, how are we supposed to find food anyway?”