Chapter 1: The Open Beta of the Ice Age Begins

Chapter 1: The Open Beta of the Ice Age Begins

"A-Xing, Big Brother is dead!"

"Word has it that because of unpaid construction funds, he was beaten to death by several workers at the construction site!"

Inside an office building in Hong Kong.

Cao Xing heard someone calling his name and glanced indifferently at the other person. That was a young man in a suit with a slicked-back hairstyle.

Then, Cao Xing lowered his head again.

He was playing a survival adventure game on his tablet called "Ice Age". Its art style leaned towards realism, making it a relatively hardcore survival game.

Players would start out next to a campfire. Because of the extreme low temperatures in this world, they could only move around safely within the coverage area of the fire.

If they left the campfire's range for too long, the game character would freeze to death.

Players needed to build shelters and unlock various basic buildings.

These buildings could also be upgraded by collecting various materials. For example, a campfire could be upgraded into a large campfire or a smelting furnace, and in the later stages, it could even be upgraded into an Energy Tower.

Besides that, players could also develop military forces or research technology within their territory to unlock different factions…

According to the officials, a team-up mode would also be introduced later.

However, because the game was still in the closed beta stage, Cao Xing hadn't seen anyone around him playing this game, and it couldn't even be searched for online.

Right at this moment, a prompt appeared on the tablet screen.

[This game will open its open beta in two hours and is about to enter maintenance status.]

[More content is being unlocked, please stay tuned…]

Is the open beta finally starting?

Cao Xing's heart stirred. At this moment, that young man with a slicked-back hairstyle naturally sat down beside him.

Wu Jiahui threw an arm around Cao Xing's shoulder. "A-Xing, you at least followed Big Brother for a period of time, and he was still your boss."

"He's dead, aren't you upset?"

Cao Xing put down his tablet, glanced at him, and said, "Give it a rest. After he established the Yongsheng Group and went legit, he cut ties with us."

"Having mixed around for so many years, I was just his exclusive driver; it doesn't count as having much emotional attachment."

"Besides, his heart was pitch-black to begin with. Being beaten to death by someone is the most normal thing in the world."

"That's true." Wu Jiahui nodded.

At this moment, a meaningful smile appeared on his face. "It's just a pity that Liu Muxue, whom Big Brother chased for so many years, was finally won over and they were even preparing to get married, when this kind of thing happened."

"Come to think of it, Liu Muxue is truly a rare stunner!"

"That figure, and those long legs—tsk tsk, truly anyone who sees them would be mesmerized."

"Pity that Big Brother didn't have the fortune to enjoy it…"

Cao Xing didn't pick up on that topic because his phone vibrated.

Seeing the message, Cao Xing sat up from the sofa and turned around to leave.

"A-Xing, where are you going?"

Cao Xing spread his hands. "I'm a driver, where else can I go? Of course, to pick someone up."

Cao Xing came to the underground parking garage of the Yongsheng Group and skillfully found a dark brown Maybach among a pile of luxury cars.

After opening the car door, the interior decoration inside was extremely luxurious.

The value of this car, plus the interior, was at least over seven million.

Of course, this car definitely wasn't his.

Cao Xing was all alone and had no one to rely on. In a city like Hong Kong, just staying alive was already very difficult.

Let alone having the money to buy such a luxury car.

Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped at the entrance of a five-star hotel in the downtown area.

Cao Xing took out his phone and sent a message over.

"Sister-in-law, I'm already downstairs."

The other side replied with a message.

"Mhm."

A few minutes later, a tall woman dressed in a long black dress walked out from the hotel gates.

Her demeanor was dignified, and under her tight-fitting dress, the perfect curves of her body were outlined. As her slender legs strode, they were like a pair of exquisite jade artifacts.

This woman was Liu Muxue.

Cao Xing didn't get out of the car, and the woman naturally sat in the back seat of the Maybach.

"A-Xing, go to the funeral home."

Cao Xing nodded, and the car started.

Halfway there, Liu Muxue answered a phone call, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed as if she had encountered something vexing.

"I said it before, agreeing to marry into the Yongsheng Group back then was also what you demanded. Now that Chen Jiang is dead, I have no relationship with him whatsoever."

"Don't even think about using me as a bargaining chip for benefits again!"

She seemed to be very angry, but because she was well-educated, she quickly calmed the anger in her heart.

"A-Xing, I'm sorry," Liu Muxue said softly.

Cao Xing shook his head.

He knew Liu Muxue's personality; she wasn't the kind of person who relied on her status to berate subordinates at every turn.

On the contrary, her attitude towards subordinates had always been quite good, and the outside world's evaluation of her was also very high.

Ever since Liu Muxue rapidly rose to fame, the media had also made detailed reports on her family and personal experiences.

Her original family wasn't considered wealthy.

But because of her outstanding appearance and figure, she quickly rose to fame after reaching adulthood.

Naturally, she also attracted the attention of many people with ulterior motives.

Chen Jiang, the chairman of Yongsheng Group and Cao Xing's Big Brother, was also one of them.

Soon, the car arrived at the funeral home.

Before getting out of the car, Liu Muxue tried hard to put on a sorrowful expression.

She knew that no matter how much she loathed that man in her heart, she still had to put up an appearance.

Cao Xing remained sitting inside the car waiting.

An hour later, Liu Muxue returned to the car.

It was evident that she seemed to have cried a session; her makeup was somewhat smudged, carrying a faint smoky look.

Amidst her elegant temperament, she exuded a hint of decadence, possessing a unique aesthetic appeal.

Returning to the car, Liu Muxue's expression calmed down again, and then she said, "A-Xing, send me back to the hotel."

"Alright."

Cao Xing nodded.

Just as he was about to start the car, his vision suddenly went black.

Then, everyone heard a mechanical synthesized voice in their ears.

"The new version update of 'Ice Age' has been completed, and the era of public open beta is officially launched. In one minute, all humans on Blue Star will be cast into this game."

"Game Notice: This is a world where sunlight does not reach. The territory is boundless, but it is shrouded in severe cold all day long. Your task is to strive to survive in this world."

"After the game starts, you will appear beside a campfire. This is your fire of survival. Remember! Do not easily leave the range illuminated by the firelight!"

"Your goal is to collect more supplies, expand your territory, and develop more units."

"The new version is a family survival mode, taking families as units, with a maximum of 4 people per group."

"Those without relatives will be randomly grouped with people around them."

"So, I wish you all strive to live on in this brand new world…"

When Cao Xing recovered his vision, he suddenly found that he had already appeared in a world of ice and snow.

Everything before his eyes was a vast expanse of whiteness; everything in the world was covered by ice and snow.

"What the fuck, where is my Maybach?"

Before the words fell, a bone-chilling cold struck.

Cao Xing only felt that he was going to be frozen stiff in place instantly.

"Hiss!"

Cao Xing took a deep breath, and subconsciously hurried closer to the burning campfire in front of him, only then feeling a trace of warmth.

At this moment, a character panel appeared in front of him.

[Name: Cao Xing]

[Race: Blue Star Human Race]

[Level: Level 1 0/100]

[Class: None]

[Health Points: 100.]

[Strength: 4, Agility: 3, Spirit: 5, Constitution: 5]

[Lord Interface: Not Unlocked]

[Current Status: Chilly]

[Current Temperature: -31℃]

"Holy shit… This system panel is exactly the same as the one I played on my tablet!"

Then, the second system prompt appeared.

"Please all Survivors choose your class system as soon as possible."

"Currently divided into five major systems: Frost Iron Mechanic, Polar Warrior, Frost Mage, Aurora Knight, Snowfield Hunter."

Joy flashed in Cao Xing's eyes.

He could choose a class!

Obviously, these classes were also the same as the ones he had played before.

Of course, Cao Xing knew that these five classes didn't have much combat power in the early stages.

For example, the Frost Iron Mechanic's early skill was to summon a small self-detonating robot, and its power was even worse than the firecrackers we used to blow up outhouses when we were kids.

As for the Polar Warrior, it only knew a simple slashing move.

The Frost Mage was slightly better, having an initial Ice Ball spell.

As for the Aurora Knight and Snowfield Hunter, they were Purification and Hunter Perception respectively.

To truly possess extraordinary power, one still needed to continuously develop and acquire more skills.

Cao Xing pondered, "When I played this game before, I experienced all five classes."

"The strongest is naturally the Mechanic, but this is a super late-game class, and it consumes way too many materials."

"In the early stage, the Polar Warrior and Snowfield Hunter are both very strong, but they become very weak in the late stage."

At this moment, a sudden realization appeared on Cao Xing's face.

"So that's how it is. This game introduces the so-called family survival mode precisely so that us Survivors can reasonably allocate classes, safely get through the early, middle, and late stages, and then survive better."

However, Cao Xing glanced to his side.

Aside from himself, there was only Liu Muxue here.

Although he didn't know why he was assigned to a group with her, now wasn't the time to think about these things.

At this moment, she was looking at the campfire with a blank expression, seemingly trying hard to digest the information prompted by the system.

Cao Xing understood in his heart, "It seems that realizing the four-person cooperation mode won't work."

Then… what class should he choose?

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing directly chose 'Frost Mage'.

The system prompt appeared.

"Congratulations! You have successfully selected the class: Frost Mage. Elemental affinity has been unlocked, and initial equipment has been placed in the storage box."

Cao Xing let out a breath of relief. Just as he was about to look for the initial storage box, a second system prompt solemnly appeared!

[Detected that Survivor 'Cao Xing's fate matches this world. Personal Talent: Eternal Power has been activated.]

[Eternal Power (Hidden Unique Talent)]: Causes all friendly units within the territory to permanently gain buff statuses when they receive temporary buff statuses.

Cao Xing was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "Holy shit! There's a cheat!"

New author, new book, begging for collections, begging for engagement wuwuwu