38 Chapter 38: Dividing the Spoils
Luke wandered around the yard in amazement, astonished by the variety of impressive items he saw.
He had always thought he was advancing rapidly, thanks to his ability to hunt wild beasts and acquire resource boxes far beyond other survivors.
His intention to help James, the young man who had saved his daughter's life, was genuine and born from a sense of friendship and care.
He thought that with James's daily routine of chopping wood, the speed of his development and food storage couldn't be much. Thus, he had bought an ally scroll at a great cost to help James—first, to clear dangerous beasts nearby, and second, to help him store food.
But now, he realized he might have been wrong. James's development seemed to be on par with, if not better than, his own. James might not be strong, but he was lucky! His journey had been smooth, with a constant supply of resource boxes.
Seeing Luke's naive expression, James smiled helplessly, "Big brother, it's getting dark. Let's divide the spoils quickly."
"Oh, right, the spoils!" Luke slapped his forehead, remembering the task at hand. He had planned to leave all the food to James if the haul was small. But now, it seemed unnecessary.
They sorted out all the day's haul. First and foremost was the most important—food. There were 21 ordinary meat pieces and 40 high-quality ones, two of which were smaller, collected from wolves. From the two mountain pigs, they had gathered 6 blood essences, 8 large bones, 15 jin (approximately 7.5 kg) of pork fat, 3 wolf teeth, and two young mountain pigs.
After a discussion, they decided to split everything equally. James got 11 ordinary meat pieces, 20 high-quality ones, 3 blood essences, 4 large bones, 8 jin of pork fat, two wolf teeth, and one young mountain pig.
For all odd-numbered items, Luke generously gave James the extra share. They turned the blood essences into healing potions on the spot, each taking three bottles.
After distributing the food, all that remained were the resource boxes—14 wooden and 2 bronze, evenly divided between them.
As they were immersed in the joy of their haul, daylight ended. Almost instantly, the remaining light in the sky was swallowed up, and heavy clouds descended like mountains, shrouding the sky of the foggy world.
Not just here, but all survivors were plunged into darkness at that moment.
Apart from faint light inside the houses, the outside was terrifyingly dark, with no light or scenery visible. The air seemed to freeze, and the cold air invaded the nostrils, piercing the skin. Even in heavy clothing, it felt like falling into an ice cave.
James shivered and looked out the window, his eyes revealing unease.
Luke frowned, "I have to hurry back. I'm worried about Katrina being alone at home." He disappeared in the teleportation formation with his share of the spoils.
James then began the final preparations before the cold wave.
The animals in the yard, including the bees that had retreated to their hives and the chickens that hid in their coop, were relatively protected by the walls, reducing the impact of the wind and snow.
The beehives had strong cold resistance and should barely survive in low temperatures, but it was still difficult. So, James built a windbreak wall around the entire beehive to reduce the impact of the wind and snow.
The chicken coop already had thermal insulation cotton, and he added some dry straw for extra warmth.
The only concern left was the young mountain pig.
This untrained animal was still a bit dangerous, so James placed it in the basement to avoid disturbing other animals.
The crucian carp in the pond, protected by the Qingyue algae, miraculously maintained a water temperature of 0°C, just enough to prevent the pond from freezing.
The guardian thorns had strong cold resistance and didn't need much attention from James.
After taking care of the plants and animals, James felt relieved.
With the snowstorm intensifying, he couldn't stay outside and returned to the house.
The temperature kept dropping, even indoors, reaching -20°C, making it a struggle for James. He had to retreat to his bedroom and quickly lit the fireplace, adding five pieces of charcoal to increase the heat. The sound of the burning wood contrasted sharply with the howling snowstorm outside, making the shelter feel like a different world—a warm and cozy refuge.
Feeling the warmth of the fireplace, James's frozen body began to recover, but he still felt extremely cold. He got into his 12-layer cashmere quilt and stayed under it for several minutes before feeling less cold. He then took out the "Fog Survival Manual" to check the information of other survivors.
The first to appear was a message from Nancy, sending 23 vines, likely today's collection.
Nancy: "Here are the vines I collected today, sent them to you."
Nancy: "It's gotten dark here, and the temperature has dropped a lot. The snow outside is huge, even freezing the small river. James, how is it on your side?"
James quickly replied that the temperature drop was rapid and the change seemed to affect all survivors.
Nancy opened the message, clearly panicked about the cold wave.
Just as James was about to offer comfort, the system issued an announcement:
[Fog Announcement]
"Survivors who have made it this far, congratulations on successfully passing the seven-day beginner period! Now you will face your first challenge—the Cold Wave. We believe you are all prepared to face this disaster! Also, the beginner protection mechanism will be completely canceled after today. Changes include:
First, the Fog Protection Zone will disappear. No more division into no fog, light fog, and dense fog areas. Beasts will no longer be restricted by the fog. Survivors, prepare to face stronger beasts. Of course, many strong survivors have already started confronting and even hunting them, so keep it up!
Second, the cancellation of item information prompts. Survivors will no longer receive system prompts about the name, grade, and function of resources encountered in the wild.
Third, silver resource boxes will appear, bringing high-quality and rare-grade resource items. Survivors, be ready!
Also, at 12 tonight, there will be a comprehensive evaluation of all survivors' development, with rewards given. Criteria include shelter level, facilities, total resource acquisition and rarity, item quantity and quality, resource box amount and rarity, shelter strength, and exploration degree in the foggy world. Please be prepared."
