A field of white, a field of white, a field of white.
This was Long Yuehong's only feeling after the "Old Task Force" had trekked across the ice plains for three days.
Here, besides the light blue of the sky, the darkness, and the various colors of the "Old Task Force" itself, he could only see a field of white.
During this season, the few creatures on the ice plains had not yet entered their active state.
If it weren't for the sunglasses, Long Yuehong would have suspected that he had already gone blind.
"Where are the bandits? Can't we get some bandits?" Shang Jianyao, who was driving, muttered while staring ahead with his eyes tightly protected by sunglasses.
At this moment, not even music seemed to be able to make him forget the monotony outside.
Jiang Baimian, in the passenger seat, pushed up her sunglasses and sneered:
"Where would bandits come from on the ice plains?
"Being a bandit here would only result in starving or freezing to death."
Human settlements on the ice plains were pitifully few, and there were no caravans coming here, so they couldn't support many bandits at all.
Only during the summer months, when the ice and snow melted and the weather was no longer cold, would many relic hunters come to explore the abandoned cities in this area, to obtain the corresponding supplies, and this place would become a bit lively, and bandits would appear.
The "Old Task Force's" current route was planned by Genaeva. They would not go deep into the ice plains, but rather stick to the southern edge of the ice plains to the east, heading towards the area near the "White Knights," to find the ruins of the city where Shang Jianyao's father had last appeared.
In this way, they could avoid many extreme weather conditions, and the surrounding temperature would not be exaggeratedly cold, which would be beneficial to their team's jeep, which used high-performance batteries.
Shang Jianyao deliberately ignored Jiang Baimian's words and glanced at the rearview mirror, saying:
"Little Red, why don't you go and play bandit?"
If the scenery outside wasn't so boring, Long Yuehong wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to this guy:
"Why not you?"
The shock brought by the icy world had already faded from him.
"Okay, okay!" Shang Jianyao answered without hesitation.
This made Long Yuehong not know how to respond.
Fortunately, at this time, Bai Chen, who was next to him, looked ahead and said:
"There seems to be ruins over there."
"Yes." Genaeva gave a definite response.
Shang Jianyao then looked over and found that in the area to the front and side, where the sky and snow met, there were black shadows that looked like high-rise buildings rising from the ground.
They were all covered in snow, but there were always parts that were exposed, otherwise Bai Chen would not be so sure that they were ruins, and not snow mountains.
"Go take a look?" Shang Jianyao looked at Jiang Baimian and suggested eagerly, "It's on the way anyway."
It was just a slight detour.
Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said:
"Okay, camping overnight in the city ruins is much safer than in the wilderness."
Those high-rise buildings could help the "Old Task Force" block the wind and snow, while camping in the wilderness of the ice plains, if they encountered a blizzard, the jeep might be directly buried, which was a force of nature that Jiang Baimian and the others could not resist.
Of course, in general, city ruins often had other dangers, but for the "Old Task Force," those dangers were mostly of the type that they could solve.
"Ura!" Shang Jianyao shouted, imitating the old world entertainment materials, to express his excitement.
Long Yuehong cautiously asked Genaeva:
"Are you sure that's not a mirage?"
"Theoretically, it's not, but if we really encounter a large-scale illusion created by an Awakened, I won't be able to tell the difference for the time being," Genaeva answered very honestly.
"Wouldn't that be even better?" Shang Jianyao became even more excited.
Near dusk, the jeep finally arrived at the city ruins.
The top of each building here was covered with thick snow, and icicles hung down, both covering part of the outer walls and creating a crystal-clear feeling.
In addition, the ground, pools, protruding parts of the houses, iron railings, and abandoned vehicles were all covered with snow. At first glance, this city seemed to be frozen in time.
This was completely different from the scenery of all the city ruins that the "Old Task Force" had visited before. It was more shocking and had a more desolate feeling of the end of the road.
"It looks like the ice and snow forest we passed by before." Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze and expressed his opinion.
Long Yuehong noticed that the abandoned vehicles on the street were crowded together in a chaotic manner, as if they had completely blocked the traffic arteries in a state of panic, and there were protrusions that looked like skeletons everywhere.
Those skeletons were buried in the snow, most of them only showing a certain outline, and only a few were exposed for various reasons, decayed and dilapidated.
No matter how many times she saw similar scenes, Jiang Baimian couldn't help but feel down and a sense of emotion arose spontaneously.
This was not the ending that humans should have.
Whether it was a natural disaster or a war, it was not what humans, or rather, the vast majority of humans, wanted to see.
Hu, Jiang Baimian exhaled and said:
"Find a place that can block the wind and snow to park and camp."
She didn't plan to go to the high-rise buildings in this city to enjoy the protection of the walls, so as to avoid accidents and lose the vehicle.
Being in the ice plains, without the vehicle, without the supplies loaded on it, no matter how strong the "Old Task Force's" individual abilities were, they wouldn't be able to last many days.
Genaeva was the same.
Soon, under the survey and calculation of the intelligent robot, the "Old Task Force's" jeep drove to the rear of a high-rise building and stopped next to the collapsed wall.
The whistling of the wind was blocked by the buildings and bypassed them from both sides, no longer invading them.
"Eat, eat!" Shang Jianyao eagerly pushed the door open and got out of the car.
"Why are you so active?" Long Yuehong, who followed him out of the car, asked casually.
After passing the excitement of arriving at the ice plains, he hadn't seen Shang Jianyao in this state much.
Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up and he replied:
"Only when you're full can you go exploring."
"Rest well." Jiang Baimian, on the other side of the jeep, stopped this guy's wishful thinking.
Bai Chen had just pushed the door open when she suddenly saw a pale figure leaping from the thick snow-covered top of a high-rise building to another in the distance, and then disappearing from her field of vision.
"There seems to be some kind of creature over there." Bai Chen pointed in the corresponding direction.
Jiang Baimian stared and saw nothing. Genaeva and the others were the same.
"What is it?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
Bai Chen pursed her lips and said:
"A white leopard, or some other feline creature."
"An ice plains creature with strong cold resistance?" Jiang Baimian nodded lightly.
Shang Jianyao was concerned about another question:
"What does this creature usually eat?"
"Other ice plains creatures." Long Yuehong thought, what was there to ask?
Did you think that if it didn't have anything to eat, you would feed it?
Jiang Baimian clapped her hands and said:
"Okay, everyone knows about the existence of ice plains creatures. Let's do our own things."
Except for Shang Jianyao who had some opinions, no one else objected.
Soon, the "Old Task Force" split into two teams. One team prepared dinner, and the other team broke doors and pried windows nearby, collecting a large amount of firewood.
The bonfire was lit, and the dancing flames gave people a sense of warmth.
Long Yuehong hadn't seen flames for several days, and now he was quite moved.
He spat out a mouthful of white air and said:
"I used to think that compared to the company, places like the Blackmarsh Wilderness were not places where humans should live, but now I think that compared to the ice plains, places like the Blackmarsh Wilderness are like heaven."
This time, Shang Jianyao rarely refuted him.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao wrapped themselves in thick clothes, got out of the jeep, and replaced Bai Chen and Long Yuehong on watch.
The bonfire swayed gently, bringing light and warmth, as well as shadows and silence.
Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were both experienced warriors, and they did not reduce their vigilance due to the harsh environment. They walked slowly around the bonfire, observing and sensing the surroundings.
After nearly an hour, Jiang Baimian suddenly frowned and cocked her ear:
"Is there a sound?"
Pa pa pa, Shang Jianyao clapped his hands:
"Your ears are much better than before."
He used this answer to indicate that there was indeed a sound.
The sound was a low, rumbling hum, coming from afar, carrying some of the wind's howling.
Jiang Baimian concentrated and distinguished for a while, muttering to herself:
"The sound of an engine? And more than one, even more than single digits..."
"A convoy?" Shang Jianyao guessed excitedly.
Jiang Baimian frowned:
"In the middle of the night, what convoy wouldn't rest?"
More importantly, what convoy would come to the ice plains in this season?
"You'll have to ask them that." Shang Jianyao said righteously.
Jiang Baimian listened for a while longer and said:
"The sound of the engine is getting farther and farther away, it shouldn't have anything to do with us.
"Maintain basic vigilance, and don't go meddling."
"Okay." Shang Jianyao didn't act up this time.
More than half an hour passed, and the sounds disappeared completely.
When it dawned, Jiang Baimian informed Genaeva, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong about this matter.
Then, they had breakfast, got into the jeep, and prepared to leave the city ruins and continue to the area where their destination was located.
The jeep drove along the streets on both sides of the road towards the outside of the city.
After passing an intersection, Shang Jianyao, who was taking a nap in the back row, suddenly opened his eyes and said excitedly:
"There are people over there, there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..."
He kept counting until Jiang Baimian interrupted him:
"An approximate number."
Shang Jianyao had to stop counting:
"Less than a hundred, but not much less."