Chapter 176: Life in the Ice House, Stamina Beans
Upon arriving at the Fifth Shelter, Su Ning and her group weren’t allowed in right away.
The management at the Fifth Shelter was much stricter than the Sixth Shelter.
Everyone had to first stay for a while in an “Ice City” built outside the shelter.
“Aiya, why won’t they let us into the Fifth Shelter yet?” Kou Dinghe was getting anxious. They had traveled such a long way just to get into the shelter—how could he not be frustrated?
Kou’s mother turned to Jiang Nana, “Nana, didn’t you say your father had arranged everything? Why aren’t we being let in?”
Jiang Nana was a bit stunned. Her father hadn’t told her everything, so even she wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll go ask around,” said Kou Dingshan, trying to comfort his visibly upset mother—and his wife, of course.
Jiang Nana was clearly upset too. Her father had worked hard to make these arrangements, and now people were doubting it—of course she felt hurt.
Luckily, Kou Dingshan was quick to smooth things over. He was a natural at mediating.
Anyway, it wasn’t just Su Ning’s group being kept out—many people were being sent to live in the Ice City for now. With that in mind, it didn’t seem like they were being targeted specifically, which helped calm everyone’s nerves.
“You guys also came here after evacuating from another shelter?”
A man inside the large ice house they’d been assigned to spoke up upon seeing Su Ning’s group.
He was closest to Su Ning, so he directly asked her.
Su Ning looked over. The man was bundled up like a rice dumpling in thick cotton clothes—not that unusual given how many others looked the same, so no one paid much attention at first.
Hearing the question and having nothing else to do, Su Ning replied, “Yes, we came from the Sixth Shelter.”
“The Sixth Shelter, huh? That’s pretty far. We’re from scattered bases nearby,” the man said, pointing to others dressed similarly.
Su Ning nodded.
The man was fairly young and clearly an extrovert. Seeing the confusion on Su Ning and her group’s faces, he began to explain:
“You might not know since you just arrived, but the Fifth Shelter is currently expanding into new areas, so they’ve implemented stricter entry and resident management protocols. Plus, the person in charge of the shelter recently obtained a special piece of equipment that can generate an energy field around the shelter to ward off many dangers.”
“Once news of that got out, tons of people came here hoping to move in and live under its protection.”
“However, due to the risk of dangerous individuals infiltrating the shelter, the leader decided everyone has to go through a screening period by staying in these ice houses outside first. Only after passing inspection can you get residency.”
“I see!” Kou Dingshan and the others finally understood why they were being kept outside.
While the man explained, the rest of the group had gathered around to listen in.
Feeling all eyes on him, the man touched his nose a little awkwardly and introduced himself, “I’m Duan Heng. I was a refugee near the Fifth Shelter before. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
Duan Heng’s gaze swept across Su Ning’s well-equipped team, and he continued:
“Honestly, there’s no need to be in such a rush to get inside. Life in the ice houses has its own charm. We’ve been staying here for several days already, and it’s not so bad.”
“Thanks for all the info, Brother Duan. Here, take this.” Kou Dingshan pulled out a compressed biscuit from his backpack and handed it over.
Duan Heng didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise, but he gladly accepted it and tucked it into his inner pocket.
“Hey, no worries. We’re all going to be in the same shelter eventually. It’s only natural I fill you in.”
Duan Heng and Kou Dingshan continued chatting, though Su Ning wasn’t particularly interested.
After days of traveling, she was exhausted. Since they couldn’t enter the shelter yet, she decided to get some rest.
Looking around, she found a quiet corner. Her companion Youyou obediently followed and laid down on the ground. Su Ning took out a blanket and leaned against Youyou to rest.
Many people had taken notice of Youyou.
Though pet monsters were frequently discussed and traded on communication channels, in reality, very few people actually owned one.
Youyou, and Jiang Nana’s small fire-cat, became instant magnets for attention the moment they entered the ice house.
That was also why Duan Heng had approached them to begin with.
He initially tried to talk to Su Ning because of Youyou, but seeing she wasn’t in the mood to chat, he turned his attention to Jiang Nana’s husband.
Meanwhile, rumors had begun circulating outside the Fifth Shelter: a girl with a tiger-like monster pet was currently staying in the area.
Youyou was like an irresistible target. Anyone who saw it couldn’t help but feel envious or want to make it theirs.
But they weren’t fools—if a girl could control a creature like that, she was definitely no weakling. And she had a team with her, so no one dared to try anything.
While Su Ning was resting beside Youyou, Zhang Li and Zhao Fuqing came over.
Previously, Su Ning had said that anyone could pet Youyou if it agreed to it. Zhao Fuqing had worked hard to gain Youyou’s approval, even offering up all the special food he’d earned in a dungeon world.
Su Ning was surprised to see what he had given Youyou—it looked like small yellow beans.
Zhao Fuqing and Zhang Li didn’t realize how rare those beans were. Though they weren’t filling, they were excellent for restoring stamina.
[Spiritual Item: Stamina Beans]
Effect: Eat one to rapidly recover stamina!
They were even more effective than Su Ning’s [Energy Soup].
Su Ning immediately offered to trade some of her food and spiritual plants from her storage space in exchange for more of the beans.
She offered up some [Spiritual Fire Chili Peppers]—bright red, spicy-sweet fruits that could be eaten alone like fruit or used in cooking. They also protected the body from cold invasions.
Zhang Li agreed to the trade right away.
Because he had fed Youyou, Zhao Fuqing now had its approval and was allowed to pet it too.
Now, he lay on the other side of Youyou, resting.
Zhang Li saw this and couldn’t help but smile.
She sat nearby, pulling out the fur from the snow-furred monster she had previously killed, and began sewing gloves and boots.
Even though people said the extreme cold disaster was nearly over, no one knew for sure. Zhang Li figured it was best to be prepared just in case.
