Grayish-white snow drifted down slowly.It was the ashes of the Ice Nest Worms, burned to death.The Nyxstar had been just about to break free — but fate had other plans.The Ice Nest Worms returned and froze everything again!As if nothing had ever happened, the Nyxstar was once more trapped in the glacier, only at a slightly different angle.Five minutes later, the last of the worms had been completely incinerated.Yang Yi and Suna returned to the deck, while the skeletal arm busied itself sweeping away the thin layer of ash left behind.“Do you think the Twilight Veil could hide us from the Ice Nest Worms?” Yang Yi asked.“Probably not.I checked — the Ice Nest Worms don’t have visual sensors at all. They seem to be drawn by signals.Too many of their kind have died here, so to them, this place must feel like an unquenchable volcano.As for how exactly they sense high-temperature objects... that’s still a mystery,” Suna replied.Hearing that, Yang Yi frowned.That meant the Ice Nest Worms would keep returning to harass the Nyxstar periodically.Escaping this glacier... was nearly impossible.Even if they melted the surrounding ice, it would take days of cannon fire to carve a passage out — plenty of time for the worms to refreeze everything.So there were only two options.The first: wait until every Ice Nest Worm was completely burned away — gamble that their numbers weren’t infinite and that only a few remained.Then, after a few days, with no worms left, they could finally break free unhindered.And the second option...Yang Yi’s eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he chose the second.He disliked being passive — he preferred to shape his own fate.“I’m going to check out the northeast,” he said to Suna.“Alright, I’ll go too.”Suna had clearly been expecting that — her reply came instantly.Yang Yi hesitated for a few seconds but didn’t refuse.In his eyes, Suna was also fighting to survive.He had no right to force her to stake her life entirely on him.If his plan failed, she would likely die too.So her wanting to join him made perfect sense — he had no grounds to object.Whether that was truly her reasoning, though, was anyone’s guess.Either way, she seemed rather excited.And so, their plan was set.They would head northeast to eliminate the Ice Nest Worm threat at its source.Meanwhile, the skeletal arm would continue digging without rest, twenty-four hours a day if possible, so that once they returned, freeing the ship would be easier.Once the orders were given, the clanging and pounding resumed across the deck.Suna’s stitched-together abomination joined in too, using its tentacles to scoop and toss rocks aside...Yang Yi and Suna began preparing supplies for their journey — some to be purchased, like tents and sleeping bags, and others to be crafted, like incendiary bombs.***At nearly the same time, elsewhere in the Frozen Sea—Here lay the New World Fleet.Nearly three thousand ships were interlinked, forming what resembled a small floating village.Each vessel was connected with riveted planks, and if the number were doubled again, it would practically become an oceanic city!The arrangement was highly organized — sectors divided between agriculture (led by the Farmer), residential zones, ports, and an administrative district.This was the embryonic form of Shen Guanquan’s sea empire.At that moment, aboard the flagship Hope in the administrative district—Zhao Tietou ignored the guards and strode straight into the captain’s quarters.“Boss, you called for me?” he asked.Shen Guanquan didn’t look up. He was reading a newspaper.After a long silence, he finally spoke.“What do you think — how did the One-Eyed handle the Ice Nest Worms?”“Reporting, boss — no idea!” Zhao Tietou answered honestly.Shen set the paper aside and got to business.“What about that newly appeared Lost Ones’ fleet? Any chance they’ll merge with us?” he asked.“They refused.”“Did they say why? Were our terms too low, or did they have special demands?”“Neither.They just said something weird, and then blocked me.”“What did they say?”‘We already have enough to eat.’”At that, Shen’s brow furrowed deeply.“Forget it then. You can’t force a rotten melon to be sweet.Try to locate the One-Eyed instead. Find out who he really is — see if we can recruit him. All terms are negotiable.”“Boss... I don’t think it’ll work,” Zhao admitted cautiously.“Why not?”“I noticed something — all the strong ones, more or less, have something wrong up here.”He tapped his temple.The meaning was obvious: most of them were nuts — mentally unstable.“Still, give it a shot.We may have plenty of people, but we’re short on real fighters — especially the elite kind.”With that, Shen waved him off and buried himself back in his work.But Zhao didn’t leave right away.He glanced around the captain’s cabin — at the mountain of papers, and at Shen Guanquan sitting amid them — and felt a chill.Truth be told, when he’d said “mentally unstable,” he’d been including Shen Guanquan in that list.The man had changed too much — as if he’d poured his entire being into the word “leader.”It was as though he’d forgotten who he truly was.After all, Shen Guanquan had started out as a bandit.***The next day.Aboard the Nyxstar.Yang Yi and Suna were making their final preparations for the expedition.The Book of Scorching had already been taken by Suna — she said she wanted to read it.She even dragged the large wooden bathing tub into her cabin, apparently intending to heat some water and soak while reading, as per Yang Yi’s suggestion.Yang Yi, meanwhile, was browsing the world chat channel, buying supplies like tents and sleeping bags.He bought three sleeping bags for a total of 2,800 conch Coins.They had originally cost 1,000 each, but he’d haggled a bit.[Name: Cold-Resistant Cotton Sleeping Bag][Type: Treasure][Quality: Good][Description: A commonly used sleeping bag for outdoor travel in low temperatures; provides decent warmth.]As for the tent, that cost 2,000 conch Coins — not many people bought them, so the price was low.[Name: Field Tent][Type: Treasure][Quality: Fine][Description: A foldable tent designed for survival in the wild. Wind-resistant, easy to set up, includes a moisture-proof pad, and provides moderate warmth.]The distance wasn’t too far, but they had to prepare for possible rest stops — tents and sleeping bags were essential.Meanwhile, Suna had heated the bathwater and tested it with her toes.A bit too hot.So she added some cold water until it felt just right.Once everything was ready, she stripped off her clothes, eagerly sank into the tub, and opened the Book of Scorching (Vol. I).Just like Yang Yi, once she opened it, she couldn’t tear her eyes away.But unlike him, every /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ page she finished reading immediately turned to ash.At the same time, waves of heat radiation burst forth from the book.Fortunately, because she was wet and surrounded by water, she wasn’t burned — her skin only turned slightly red and warm.Finally, she reached the last page.The entire Book of Scorching (Vol. I) ignited completely before her eyes and burned to nothing.[You have fully read The Book of Scorching (Vol. I). Sanity -20. You have gained knowledge of fire.][You have created the spell — Heat Orb.][Heat Orb: Gathers ambient thermal energy into a concentrated sphere of heat, which can then be launched. Consumes 5 mana units.]

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