Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Glacial Realm 17
As a native of this world, the Little Ferret was, of course, very familiar with the area.
Although it wasn’t clear why the search for prey had shifted to a search for those big brutes, the Little Ferret made it clear that as long as there was food involved, it would look for anything.
Thinking of the delicious roasted meat from before, the Little Ferret decided that regardless of whether it was looking for prey or the big brutes, it wanted the rewards for both.
Besides, it was all convenient to do.
Thus, under the Little Ferret’s guidance, Perry Yates first encountered a herd of white mountain goats.
To survive and withstand the cold winds, the animals of this world had all evolved thick, snow-white fur.
Perry Yates stroked the mountain goats’ fur. It felt even softer than down, and it was also extremely light and insulating.
After stowing all the mountain goats in her Space Backpack, another hour of searching finally led her to a familiar structure.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK."
The Little Ferret squeaked excitedly, as if to say, ’Ten pieces of roasted meat, secured.’
According to Perry Yates’s earlier promise, each prey animal was worth one piece of roasted meat as a reward, while finding a Snow-Ox Clan village was worth ten.
Perry Yates observed the Snow-Ox Clan village from the sky.
The village wasn’t large—about the same size as the first one she’d encountered—and contained a little over a dozen members of the Snow-Ox Clan in total.
Perry Yates took out her Spiritual Ability Gun and aimed at one of the Snow-Ox Clan, but a long time passed and she still hadn’t fired the first shot.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to. She was wondering, ’Should I get my hands on the cards inside the village first?’
But after searching for a long time, she found no trace of any cards.
Not only were there no cards, but there weren’t even any captured players.
The entire village contained only some food and firewood; there wasn’t even a single spare article of clothing.
This was very strange.
Sensing that something was off, Perry Yates put away her Spiritual Ability Gun and started observing the village.
’Are they moving house?’
Perry Yates saw a large pile of items in the center of the village. Most of them were household goods, like bedding and cookware.
After confirming that the Snow-Ox Clan was indeed preparing to move, Perry Yates decided to wait.
She was determined to see where the Snow-Ox Clan was moving.
She knew how to tell the difference between a major opportunity and a minor one.
In fact, by the time Perry Yates found the village, the Snow-Ox Clan was nearly done packing.
She watched as seven or eight powerfully built members of the Snow-Ox Clan easily hoisted mountain-like piles of luggage onto their backs and followed the main party out of the village.
Perry Yates and the Little Ferret trailed them from a distance.
Soon, one of Perry Yates’s earlier questions was answered.
Namely, why did the Snow-Ox Clan rely on clothes from treasure boxes to get by when there was clearly large prey like Snow Elk and mountain goats around?
After all, based on her observations, the pelts from Snow Elk and mountain goats were far warmer than those patched-together clothes.
And as for those patched-together clothes, no matter how warm they were, patched was patched. Not to mention their craftsmanship was crude, so the garments tore easily and were certainly no match for a whole animal hide.
The Snow-Ox Clan clearly saw these prey animals as they traveled, and with their strength, capturing them wouldn’t have been difficult. Yet, they remained completely indifferent.
’Could it be because they’re vegetarians?’ she wondered. ’Is that why they’re indifferent to the prey?’
However, she quickly dismissed the thought.
In such cold weather, a purely vegetarian diet would be impossible. Besides, most of the food from the treasure boxes was meat, which the Snow-Ox Clan ate with great relish.
Just then, a young one from the traveling Snow-Ox Clan in the distance suddenly darted away.
When he reappeared a few minutes later, he was holding a struggling rabbit.
The rabbit was nearly the size of a small goat, but the Snow-Ox Clan were so large that even their children stood over two meters tall.
From a distance, Perry Yates saw the young Snow-Ox had a boastful look on its face, like a child showing off a perfect test score to their parents.
The next second, however, an adult from the Snow-Ox Clan delivered a heavy blow to the young one.
The sound of the slap was so sharp that Perry Yates could hear it clearly even from her great distance; the adult had clearly used its full strength.
The little Snow-Ox let out a loud "WAH!" and burst into tears.
But the adult ignored the child’s crying. With an expression like it was tossing out garbage, it snatched the rabbit from the young one’s hands and threw it away.
The rabbit rolled twice in the snow before scrambling to its feet and quickly fleeing.
Perry found the Snow-Ox Clan’s reaction to the rabbit bizarre, and her brow furrowed in thought.
However, she wasn’t one to get bogged down in minutiae. Besides, what did the affairs of the Snow-Ox Clan have to do with her?
She decisively put the question out of her mind and continued to tail them.
She didn’t have Claudia Vance follow too closely, however, just keeping enough distance to stay in sight.
Before she knew it, the sky had grown dark.
Before night fell completely, the Snow-Ox Clan found a place to make camp. Perry Yates didn’t remain idle; led by the Little Ferret, she began searching the surrounding area for prey.
She discovered that, compared to previous nights, this one seemed unusually lively.
The once-endless white snowscape had transformed into something else entirely after nightfall.
Under the cover of darkness, Perry Yates watched as twinkling specks of light appeared on the snow. There were even insects dancing in the air.
’Wait, is this even the same snowfield?’
’I was only away for a few days. How could it have changed so much so suddenly?’
She took out her Identification Device and snapped a picture of the scene.
[Snow Grass: A plant unique to the Glacial Realm. An annual herb that thrives in the cold. It possesses tenacious Life Force, allowing it to take root and sprout in the snow. After maturing, the next cold current carries its seeds to other places.]
[Snow-crawler: These insects lay their eggs on the leaves of the Snow Grass, then travel with the seeds to new locations.]
’Looks like these two have a symbiotic relationship.’
Perry Yates watched as countless creatures emerged from beneath the snow. Some ate the Snow Grass seeds and hatching insects on the ground, while others hunted the Snow-crawlers flying in the air.
It was a rare feast, and every creature was frantically busy.
After all, in an environment like this, an opportunity to eat their fill was rare. Of course, they had to seize it. They wouldn’t just eat—they would gorge themselves. And when they were done, they’d pack some up to go.
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