In a frigid apocalypse, I went on a shopping spree with the reborn.

Quanshui City became Nangong Zhao's domain, which had little impact on Jiang Qingyue.

First, the two had no enmity or grudge against each other; second, she was strong enough, and most importantly, she was strong enough.

With her current strength, she wouldn't like being the boss; otherwise, she could easily wipe out Nangong Zhao eight hundred times over.

After asking the other party to take good care of the cousin she had never met, Jiang Qingyue's life returned to normal.

There are only 18 days left until the third cold wave arrives.

Even though they had been preparing, Jiang Qingyue and the others couldn't help but feel anxious.

They abandoned all other activities, collected large quantities of clean ice, and even stopped chopping firewood.

It wasn't that there was enough firewood, but rather that Jiang Qingyue had calculated that, given her and Long Jiuxing's current physical condition, even if the third cold wave really came, the two of them would have a hard time withstanding it.

In extreme cases, Yanbao and Zaizai can stay in the shelter and not come out, since they won't go hungry or cold.

But you can't do without water; even the strongest fighter needs to drink water.

Jiang Qingyue would rather not use the ice she has now than suffer from a lack of clean water in the future.

Jiang Qingyue had no idea what preparations the others had made.

Jiang Qingyue's little nest ranks first on the power list, but Jiang Qingyue and his group live a life almost completely isolated from the world.

The eighteen-day countdown is going by quickly.

After harvesting the vegetables she had carefully planted, Jiang Qingyue stored them in her spatial dimension to keep them fresh. Apart from cooking some to satisfy her cravings during the first harvest, she hadn't been able to bear eating any of these vegetables since.

After all, this is not just food; it could very well be the antidote to the poisonous fog.

December 18th was the last day of the third cold wave. Jiang Qingyue and the others finished work early and returned to the shelter.

Due to limited information, Jiang Qingyue did not know what the poisonous fog was all about.

Therefore, they found the gas masks they had prepared before the apocalypse.

Since Yanbao and Zaizai's faces were too small, Jiang Qingyue simply put the two little ones inside gas masks and then put them in plastic bags to ensure that every breath they took was filtered and purified by the gas masks.

He repeatedly instructed, "We don't lack the essence of Dr. Plant now; I've collected a whole jar of it. If you feel unwell, don't worry about whether it's poisoning or not, just take one, understand?"

"Um."

"grumble."

"Hiss!"

Seeing that the three of them obediently agreed, Jiang Qingyue felt half relieved.

After thinking about it, he realized it wasn't enough, so he dragged out a few more stoves from the pile of supplies.

Three of the stoves were lit with smokeless charcoal, but there was only enough for three stoves.

Of the remaining stoves, Jiang Qingyue chose firewood over coal.

Coal is too dangerous if ventilation cannot be guaranteed.

Wood is much safer. Although the smoke is thick and choking, it's bearable. Plus, with a gas mask on, the smoke is filtered and doesn't affect breathing much.

"Sister Xiaoyue, do we really need to burn so many stoves?"

Long Jiuxing felt that the temperature in the shelter was already high enough; she even felt a bit hot. Adding a few more stoves would make her sweat even more.

"Better safe than sorry." Jiang Qingyue placed the stove around the group. "The first cold wave was minus twenty degrees Celsius, the second was minus fifty degrees Celsius. Who knows what this third cold wave will be like? What if it's minus one hundred degrees Celsius? We might be able to withstand it, but Yanbao and Zaizai definitely won't be able to."

"These two little guys are still cubs, especially the cubs. Snakes are cold-blooded animals and are most afraid of the cold."

Time flew by amidst everyone's tension.

Both the world channel and the regional channels were unusually quiet.

Jiang Qingyue stared at the personal terminal, waiting for midnight to arrive, but what came first was an announcement.

[Congratulations to Wang Longhua, captain of the Frost Squad, for completing the hidden quest: Walking naked on ice. A reward of 6 Transaction Coins and a special item—Life-Extending Candy—is hereby given.]

"I'll go."

Jiang Qingyue's initial tension due to the impending third cold wave completely crumbled upon seeing this hidden mission.

Putting aside the 60,000 transaction coins, the key item is that special item, the "Centennial Life-Extending Candy," which, as the name suggests, adds a hundred years to one's life.

A hundred years! Those who are quick to reincarnate have already visited the human world several times over.

Jiang Qingyue regretted it so much that she slapped her thigh.

"It's all ice outside. I walk on ice every day. Why should I? Just because I'm wearing clothes?"

"You should have said so earlier, or I wouldn't have had to wear it."

Jiang Qingyue felt like she was about to get conjunctivitis.

This task is too easy. With her physical condition, walking around naked is no problem at all.

As for shame?

In this desolate mountain forest, not a single bird can be seen. I'm just wandering around. What's wrong?

Clearly, Jiang Qingyue wasn't the only one whose defenses were breached.

The previously quiet world chat channel was suddenly flooded with the word "regret" after three seconds of silence.

Keep in mind, this is not the early stages of the apocalypse.

When the apocalypse first arrived, the temperature was minus twenty degrees Celsius. It might be a little better in the north, but for the south, minus twenty degrees Celsius was already quite cold. You would never dare to go out without being bundled up like a ball.

After that, at minus fifty degrees Celsius, regardless of whether you're in the north or south, daring to walk naked on the ice is tantamount to suicide.

Back then, if someone had completed this hidden mission, everyone would have said they were truly amazing.

But now, there are quite a few people who have obtained special items, and there are also quite a few who steal quantum computers to become stronger.

Many people have improved their physical fitness and can now move around outdoors even in temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius.

Wang Longhua practically got 60,000 trading coins and a hundred years of life for free; anyone would be envious.

Before everyone could dwell on it for long, a new announcement came.

[Congratulations to all players who successfully weathered the second cold wave! You are all excellent players and deserve a reward. All players will receive a +10 bonus to their Constitution. Of course, even the best will face even harsher challenges.]

The third cold wave has arrived, with temperatures dropping to -70 degrees Celsius, adding two new challenges.

[Firstly, in a world filled with poisonous fumes, fresh, juicy green leaves are the best antidote.]

[Secondly, how can there be no zombies in the apocalypse? One hundred billion zombies have been deployed. Good luck to everyone.]

[Fourth cold wave: 360 days from now.]

Are you trying to kill us?

After reading the announcement, everyone burst into curses.

With the exception of a few individuals, the general expectation for the third cold wave is that temperatures will continue to drop.

This is already a serious problem; not everyone can become stronger.

Many people have only become slightly stronger than before the apocalypse, a slight improvement that is barely enough to keep them from freezing to death.

With supplies dwindling, even surviving in temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius is extremely difficult.

But the temperature continued to drop, reaching minus seventy degrees Celsius.

Even those who have heating supplies will face great hardship.

Fortunately, the Dog God probably knew this, so he increased the constitution of all humans by ten points.

People who haven't used constitution-enhancing drugs might not know, but Jiang Qingyue knows very well that when she increased her constitution by two points, she could wear thin pajamas and feel the temperature was just right without needing a blanket.

Adding ten points to one's constitution would definitely allow everyone to go out freely.

Even at minus seventy degrees Celsius, with a ten-point increase in physical fitness, going out shouldn't be a big problem.

The most dangerous things are the poisonous fog and the zombies.

"Thank goodness." Jiang Qingyue patted her chest after carefully reading the announcement.

After confirming that he felt no discomfort, he took off the gas mask.

I reached the doorway again and took a breath of fresh air through the crack in the door.

Upon taking a breath, I discovered that things had indeed changed.

The air used to be cold, now it smells bad.

It wasn't that kind of foul stench, but rather the kind of stench that was pervasive and murky.

It was as if the air quality had suddenly dropped several levels from excellent to murky and viscous.

With her current physical condition, even a single breath makes her feel slightly nauseous.

Jiang Qingyue carefully examined the changes in her body and found that the poisonous fog was not as harmful as she had imagined.

She opened the shelter door again, peering through the crack to make sure there were no zombies or danger outside before pulling the door open.

Instantly, cold, foul-smelling air rushed in.

Jiang Qingyue felt like a fish out of air; taking a few more breaths made her dizzy and lightheaded. She quickly took out a fresh, crisp bok choy from her spatial storage and started eating it raw.

After just two bites, the dizziness and headache disappeared instantly, as if the root of the problem had been removed.

"It works so well?" Jiang Qingyue asked, her mouth full of cabbage, her words muffled.

However, they did manage to ascertain the dangers of this poisonous fog.

He closed the door, turned back, and gave each of Long Jiuxing and the others a cabbage.

Then, Long Jiuxing and the two little ones opened the door of the shelter and went outside.

While munching on cabbage, he stared curiously at the vast darkness in the distance.

"Where are the zombies? Should we go look for them?"

Jiang Qingyue felt that this zombie probably had some treasure on it, and it wouldn't be too powerful.

The basis for this claim is, of course, that the zombies are too powerful for most people to defeat.

The experimental zone set up by the main god was clearly not for the purpose of exterminating humanity, otherwise they would not have increased the physical condition of the humans and given them various special items.

Therefore, the strength of zombies, at least the newly released zombies, should be comparable to that of humans. They are dangerous, but within the range of those that can be killed.

For Jiang Qingyue and Long Jiuxing, whose combat power was over 20,000, it was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

As for why she felt there was treasure, Jiang Qingyue believed that the number of special items was too small, and she was considered quite lucky to have obtained so few special items.

It's easy to imagine that relying solely on special items and stealing quantum computers would make human progress far too slow.

Moreover, everyone is staying at home to keep warm and not producing anything.

If we don't introduce some other valuable resources, humanity won't last long.

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that I am right.

He pulled Yanbao from his shoulder into his arms, took out two headlamps, gave one to Long Jiuxing, and put the other on himself.

"Let's go. While the zombies are still in a daze after being released, let's take the initiative and catch them off guard. We might even get the hidden mission reward for the first kill."

Long Jiuxing's eyes lit up when he heard about the hidden mission.

Hidden quests not only offer generous rewards in trading currency, but more importantly, they guarantee a special item.

Quickly put on the headlamp, adjusting it a little tighter to prevent it from falling off during the fight.

Jiang Qingyue picked up his Snow Concealment Bow, and Long Jiuxing also took out his Burning Heaven Fire Staff.

It got a little bigger, from a fire poker to 1.5 meters.

This was the length that was found to be most suitable for Long Jiuxing after many practice sessions with Jiang Qingyue, based on Long Jiuxing's height, arm length, and fighting style.

The two, along with the two little ones, first searched the area around the shelter, but didn't see a single zombie, so they could only explore a little further out.

"Just to be on the safe side, let's not separate. In case my judgment is wrong, and the zombies are incredibly powerful, we can save each other..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Qingyue smelled a foul stench, like the fishy smell of a fish that had been dead for a long time during the hottest days of summer.

Following the direction from which the stench wafted, the light shone.

There was a ragged, ashen-faced, bloodshot-eyed, drooling humanoid creature there.

Even though she knew she was strong, Jiang Qingyue was still a little nervous when facing zombies for the first time. Without saying a word, she raised the Snow Concealed Bow with her left hand and hooked the bowstring with her right.

In an instant, the icy air between heaven and earth transformed into a sharp, ice-blue arrow.

With a flick of his finger, the arrow shot out silently, without a sound of it cutting through the air or any killing intent, as if a tiny snowflake were falling from the sky.

Its speed is so fast that it is difficult for the naked eye to perceive.

In Long Jiuxing's eyes, it was as if Sister Xiaoyue loosened her finger and the zombie five meters away cracked into a pile of ice shards.

Jiang Qingyue turned her head and met Long Jiuxing's bright, admiring gaze.

"Sister Xiaoyue..."

"I'll praise you when we get home," Jiang Qingyue quickly reassured him.

Ever since the first time she practiced with the Snow Concealment Bow, Long Jiuxing had said she was incredibly cool, and that the bow was made for her.

Jiang Qingyue was flattered by the praise.

The little girl realized she was falling for this, so she praised her even more, using different ways to compliment her, almost turning her into an embryo.

She usually loved listening to it, but now was not the time.

[Congratulations to Jiang Qingyue, the leader of Xiaowo, for completing the hidden mission: First Zombie Kill Must Be Cool! Reward: 6 Transaction Coins, Special Item - Furry Slippers]

"really."

Jiang Qingyue's smile stretched almost to her ears: "The first kill really does come with a reward."

At the same time, Nangong Zhao from Quanshui City, Liu Yuyao from Yunyou City, and others were stunned for a second when they saw this hidden quest.

The world channel and all the regional channels were in an uproar.

"First kill already? I just finished reading the announcement."

"I've only just figured out the changes in the third round, and I haven't even dared to leave the house yet."

"Jiang Qingyue, please say something. Did you give a gift to the Supreme God?"

"Zombies seem easy to kill, I'll give it a try."

"That's what you call a 'kill in seconds'."

"Holy crap, which zombie was so unlucky to die right after landing?"

"..."

Jiang Qingyue didn't look at the light brain, but she knew that there would definitely be a lot of discussion about herself.

However, ever since she made the list, there has been no shortage of discussion about her, and people have gradually gotten used to it.

After confirming that there were no other zombies around, Jiang Qingyue approached the unfortunate zombie.

Due to the characteristics of the Snow Concealment Bow, the target will be quickly frozen and shattered upon impact, causing the zombie to become countless fragments encased in ice and snow.

Visually, it's not that scary.

"Let's see if we can find any treasures like crystal cores."

As soon as Sister Xiaoyue spoke, Long Jiuxing consciously picked up the fire poker—oh, no, the Heaven-Burning Fire Poker—and rummaged through a pile of broken ice.

They quickly found a red crystal the size of a jujube in a small piece of ice.

Jiang Qingyue picked it up and looked through the ice crystals that were wrapped around it; there were some bones next to it.

"Which part of the body is this?"

Long Jiuxing, who was standing to the side, said, "The frontal bone is part of the skull."