Chapter 76: A Thorny Problem

Facing Lin Yu’s cautious inquiry, the burly uncle chuckled.

“I’m just like you, a prospector here in the mountain searching for treasure.”

“Just didn’t expect such heavy snow to close off the mountain so quickly.”

The burly uncle exhaled warm breath into his hands and continued.

“Even the ‘Abandoned Village’ marked on this map as a temporary resting spot has been crushed under the snow. Looks like we need to find a new base where we can light a fire as soon as possible.”

“There should be other camps or caves around here.”

“It’s fine during the day, but at night, the wind and snow get even worse. Plus, you might run into a ‘Chate,’ and that would be really bad!”

Lin Yu frowned slightly.

“What’s a ‘Chate’?”

The uncle looked at Lin Yu in surprise.

“You came here to the ‘Extreme Winter Mountain’ to hunt for treasure without even knowing that?”

“Besides the extreme climate, the ‘Chate’ is the scariest thing you’ll face in the mountain.”

He answered seriously.

“Legend has it that various snow monsters dwell in this Extreme Winter Mountain, preying on humans.”

“The leader of these monsters, the strongest one, is called the ‘Chate’!”

“No one knows exactly what the ‘Chate’ looks like. Everyone who’s seen it is dead...”

“Those who haven’t seen it directly have gone insane from fear. Some say it’s ten meters tall, with sharp claws and teeth. Others say it’s a moving block of ice and rock—but one thing is certain, the ‘Chate’ is definitely not something humans can fight against.”

The burly uncle said this, and Lin Yu, surprised and frightened, asked again.

“Snow monsters? The Chate? What should we do then?!”

The burly uncle fell for it.

“Only burning firelight can keep humans safe from the ‘Chate’ at night.”

“Also, it’s not recommended to travel in groups in Extreme Winter Mountain. More than three people increases the chance of being targeted by the ‘Chate’ or other snow monsters. Within one base, it’s best not to have more than two people.”

The burly uncle said this, then looked at Lin Yu with some puzzlement.

“How did you come to Extreme Winter Mountain to hunt treasure without knowing anything?”

Lin Yu said embarrassedly, “Actually, I’m not here to hunt treasure. I just got lost and accidentally entered here... Are there really treasures in this mountain?”

Lin Yu asked sincerely.

Looking at Lin Yu’s earnest and curious face, the uncle was momentarily stunned, then somewhat surprised.

“You got lost all the way into the depths of Extreme Winter Mountain? The wind and snow haven’t stopped here at all. Just one look and you’d know you shouldn’t go any deeper!”

But soon, the uncle relaxed.

“Forget it. You look so dumbfounded, you don’t seem like a very clear-headed person anyway.”

“Every year, during the worst snowstorms in Extreme Winter Mountain, you can dig up a kind of black paste in the snow. That stuff is top-quality fuel, called ‘Black Gold Oil’ by the big shots, and we common folk just call it ‘Black Oil.’”

The burly uncle said this, his eyes full of longing: “With a bit of refining, it can also be made into an ointment that heals all kinds of wounds.”

“No one knows where this black oil comes from. They only know it appears in the snowy areas of Extreme Winter Mountain—and every time it’s found, it’s packed in wooden boxes or chests, which is quite strange.”

“That’s why the process of hunting for black oil is called ‘treasure hunting.’”

“Some say it’s a gift from the gods to mortals; others say it’s a relic of an old civilization brought by the wind and snow; and some say... it might be related to the ‘Chate.’”

“But the origin doesn’t matter. What matters is that a whole box of this stuff can really secure you wealth and glory!”

The burly uncle said this, his expression growing excited.

“Alright, since this base is already destroyed... I need to hurry and find the next one!”

Saying that, the uncle took out a crumpled map from his pocket.

“If you just die here in the mountain, that’d be pitiful. Here, take this map and find a base yourself—just don’t go in the same direction as me.”

“Our current position is the spot marked ‘B6’ in green ink.”

“The more people there are, the higher the chance of being targeted by snow monsters and the ‘Chate.’”

The uncle said this, then waved goodbye to Lin Yu and left in one direction.

Lin Yu unfolded the map and glanced over it.

Although the map was simple, he still understood it.

The map was densely filled with many small codes in different colors.

There was a legend in the bottom right corner.

Red represented areas with frequent snow monster activity.

Green represented temporary bases where one could light fires and rest overnight.

Black represented areas where large amounts of ‘black oil’ had been found before.

The abandoned ‘B6’ base where Lin Yu was located lay slightly left and downward in the middle of the map.

Comparing it to the real terrain, the uncle had gone east to the right.

There were far more bases than expected—almost a hundred on the map.

In contrast, red and black areas were fewer.

There were only eight regions with high snow monster activity. Even though their circled areas were larger than the bases, together they covered less than a quarter of the map.

As for the black areas, there were only three tiny circles—and all were inside the red regions.

However, according to the map’s notes, ‘black oil’ could be found everywhere, and snow monsters were not limited to those marked dangerous red zones.

“So, the first step in this game is to find a base... If you have time, you can look for ‘black oil,’ which probably grants some item rewards after clearing.”

Lin Yu thought, understanding something.

This ‘survival dungeon’... wasn’t that hard.

Although the environment was extremely cold and there was a certain powerful monster that couldn’t be confronted directly,

the abundance of ‘bases’ and the monsters’ movement patterns—where lighting a fire and traveling alone greatly reduced the chance of attack—made clearing this dungeon not that difficult.

However, Lin Yu’s concern was not just about ‘clearing’ it.

He still had two ‘Promotions’ tasks to complete.

“I originally thought the hardest part of the first task was how to lie to everyone without being exposed. But now it seems I was wrong...”

Lin Yu sighed, exhaling deeply.

Although this dungeon had thirteen players, apparently to avoid ‘many hands make light work,’ it deliberately made survival in the extreme environment require division of labor by using the monster called ‘Chate’ to force all players not to stay together too long.

For Lin Yu, although having two people corroborate each other lowered the chance of his lies being discovered,

finding other players had become more difficult—how to find people was a thorny problem.

“I have to find a way to locate the other players!”

If he couldn’t meet anyone, what was the point of lying?

Thinking of this, Lin Yu realized something and hurried after the burly uncle who had just left.

“Hey, uncle, wait a moment!”