Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Iceman
"It’s fine. We’re in the same guild."
Long Ming said with a smile, then picked up the automatic pistol and handed it to Tang Yue.
"Okay. So, Mr. Long Ming, where are we going next?"
Tang Yue took the pistol and breathed a sigh of relief. The fourth and fifth groups of the Rat Group had never gotten along, and they had clashed more than a few times. She had been genuinely afraid that Long Ming would turn on her and leave her behind.
"We’re going to find the others."
With that, Long Ming led Tang Yue out of the small supermarket.
「A little over an hour later.」
「On the silent street.」
The howling, frigid wind blew without end.
Long Ming and Tang Yue trudged forward, shoulders hunched against the cold.
"Tang Yue, have you found anything valuable on the way?"
Long Ming asked as they walked.
"Nothing particularly valuable. It’s so cold here that many things shatter the moment I touch them. I’ve only found two small, blue-quality items."
Tang Yue replied, her lips trembling.
"Hmm."
Long Ming couldn’t help but shoot Tang Yue another glance. ’This girl’s search skills are pretty impressive,’ he thought. ’After all, I haven’t found a damn thing yet.’
Just then, Tang Yue’s eyes lit up, and she spoke with excitement in her voice.
"Mr. Long Ming, look! There’s a shopping mall up ahead!"
Long Ming looked up and saw a circular shopping mall in the distance.
He thought for a few seconds, then raised his automatic pistol and said,
"Let’s go check it out."
"Okay!"
Tang Yue raised her automatic pistol as well.
A moment later, the two of them crept up to the mall’s main entrance.
The glass doors were shattered all over the ground. Next to the entrance, a promotional poster was plastered to the wall.
Long Ming glanced at the poster. It depicted a peculiar, ring-shaped metal building with a slogan printed underneath.
Humanity’s final hope, the last sanctuary.
"Mr. Long Ming?"
Tang Yue asked uncertainly when she saw Long Ming standing completely still.
"It’s nothing."
Long Ming snapped out of it and carefully led Tang Yue into the mall.
The entire mall was in disarray, with toppled counters scattered everywhere.
As he walked deeper inside, his eyes quickly scanned past the counters.
Tang Yue looked at Long Ming, confused.
"Mr. Long Ming, why aren’t you stopping to search?"
"There’s nothing worth searching for yet. First, we need to check for danger. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to find monsters or people hiding in a mall this big."
Long Ming continued forward, remaining vigilant.
"Oh."
Tang Yue replied nervously.
A moment later, Long Ming led Tang Yue up the stairs to the second floor.
Long Ming came upon a tightly shut door. He reached out and turned the knob, but it was locked.
He turned and headed down the left corridor.
Just then, Tang Yue asked in a quiet voice,
"Mr. Long Ming, can I search for things now?"
"You can, but be careful."
Long Ming didn’t object.
"Okay."
Tang Yue excitedly ran back to the locked room.
Long Ming glanced back instinctively and saw Tang Yue take out a thin metal card and swipe it in the crack of the locked door.
CLICK!
The door swung open.
Long Ming was surprised when he saw this. ’No wonder she was chosen despite being so timid. She really has a trick up her sleeve.’
He didn’t pay it too much mind, however, and continued his search.
「One minute later.」
Suddenly, a scream rang out.
"Aah, a monster!"
BANG! BANG!
The ear-splitting gunshots followed immediately.
Hearing this, Long Ming’s expression faltered. He immediately spun around and ran toward the sound.
When he rounded a corner, he was met with the sight of a frozen figure that had shattered into countless pieces, now scattered across the floor.
Only then did Tang Yue, still shaken from the shock, stop shooting.
Long Ming walked over to the shattered remains and crouched down to examine them. He then glanced at the broken window at the end of the hall, his brow furrowing.
’If I’m not mistaken, these must be the remains of one of the original inhabitants.’
’But for an inhabitant to be frozen solid like this... it means the temperature right now isn’t even at its lowest point.’
’The temperature here can drop even further, maybe even to the level of liquid nitrogen. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be possible.’
’That means we don’t have much time left. I certainly don’t think I can withstand that kind of extreme cold.’
As this thought crossed his mind, Long Ming slowly stood up and cautioned Tang Yue,
"Don’t fire recklessly. It’ll give away our position."
"I’m sorry, I thought it was a monster."
Tang Yue apologized profusely.
Just then, a faint sound drifted over. Long Ming immediately raised a hand, gesturing for silence.
Tang Yue immediately fell silent.
Long Ming listened intently for a moment before saying with conviction,
"There’s someone upstairs. Follow me."
"Okay."
Tang Yue quickly agreed.
Long Ming led Tang Yue to the stairs, and they rushed up to the third floor.
But when they arrived on the third floor, there was no one in sight.
However, Long Ming heard another sound from the floor above, which quickly vanished.
Long Ming immediately led Tang Yue up to the fourth floor. Following the direction of the sound he had heard, he headed to the right.
Soon, they came to a closed storage room.
Long Ming reached out and tried the doorknob. It was locked from the inside.
He looked at Tang Yue and made a lock-picking gesture.
Tang Yue gave him an "OK" sign, then stepped forward and swiped her metal card.
Long Ming burst into the room.
"Ah!"
A figure inside, holding an automatic pistol, fired in a panic.
Long Ming shot out a hand, grabbing the pistol and forcing it toward the ceiling.
BANG! BANG!
Bullets slammed into the ceiling.
"Cloud Fish, don’t shoot! It’s me!"
Long Ming yelled to Cloud Fish.
Cloud Fish froze. When she came to her senses and realized it was Long Ming, she grabbed his hand in delight.
"Long Ming, it’s you! This is wonderful."
"Ahem."
Long Ming cleared his throat pointedly.
Cloud Fish immediately understood, quickly letting go of his hand. She said, a little embarrassed,
"I was just so happy, I got carried away for a moment."
"It’s fine. Have you seen Xiaoqi and the others?"
Long Ming asked calmly.
"No, I got separated from everyone when I landed. I couldn’t find anyone, so I’ve just been hiding here."
"I see. Have you searched this mall?"
"I’ve given it a quick look, but there’s nothing of value. Everything is either frozen solid and broken or too bulky to carry."
Cloud Fish replied with a helpless sigh.
"Then let’s go find the others."
Hearing what Cloud Fish said, Long Ming decided to abandon the search and lead her out.
Soon, the three of them were back out on the street.
Just then, the wind outside picked up, growing even colder.
"It’s so cold."
Cloud Fish was shivering uncontrollably.
Long Ming glanced at her, then took off the extra padded jacket he was wearing and tossed it to Cloud Fish.
"Here, wear this."
"Huh? But what about you?"
"It’s fine. Wearing too many layers is bulky and slows me down,"
Long Ming replied nonchalantly, trying to ignore the cold.
"Thank you."
Cloud Fish, deeply touched, put it on.
Just then, however, a howling gust of wind swept by, and Long Ming immediately let out a sneeze.
Achoo!
Cloud Fish and Tang Yue both gave Long Ming an awkward look.
"It’s nothing. Let’s go."
Long Ming acted as if nothing had happened and led the two of them onward.
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