[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades":3,"chapter-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-18":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Endless Winter: My Camp Infinitely Upgrades",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2266444,4425,"Chapter 18: Attempting the Hunt","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-18",18,"\u003Cp>Why can Dashi Camp be so certain that the Snowmane was picked up by Daxia as a leftover?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason is simple: the camps around Hongmu Ridge are all too weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only camp capable of consistently hunting and obtaining cold-beast flesh is Luo Ge’s camp, which boasts five Digging-Level Qiangzhe .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All other camps, if they want cold-beast flesh, must either trade large quantities of wood, crystal fruits, or other scarce resources to Luo Ge’s camp—or rely on luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luck, in plain terms, means picking up cold-beast corpses in the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold-beasts prefer live prey; after defeating another cold-beast, they typically stop eating once the opponent dies, so if you happen upon one, you’re almost guaranteed a find.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how often does such an opportunity arise?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the depths of Hongmu Ridge hold many cold-beast corpses, but the problem is they dare not enter; on the periphery, picking up one or two a year counts as divine favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, after years as neighbors, all the small camps know exactly how strong Daxia truly is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, limited cold-beast meat is prioritized for the logging team members; only surplus is given to the younger generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So without doubt, that Snowmane was definitely picked up by Daxia as a leftover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong was unaware of Dashi Camp’s resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After driving them away that night and taking Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng to chop down one tree each, the camp entered a relatively peaceful phase of development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the three of them venturing out every night, the camp’s wood and crystal fruit reserves rose visibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crystal fruits increased from 7,000 jin to 12,000 jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the camp’s 154 people, at one jin per person per day, even if they never ventured out, these crystal fruits would last over two months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wood rose from 87 units to 210 units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Food and heating were now secured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, the camp’s vitality began to slowly recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the cave entrance was still sealed at night, at least they no longer starved or froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet while others rejoiced, Xia Hong knew clearly: the camp had merely returned to its pre-logging-team-tragedy state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xia Ding was alive, the camp never lacked crystal fruits or wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a small camp like Daxia, the scarcest resource was cold-beast meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without cold-beast meat, they could not cultivate or grow stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maintaining the status quo would ultimately lead to either discovery by a cold-beast or attack by a Guiguai —another repeat of what happened before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, crystal fruits were not inexhaustible; they had already harvested all fruits from the three Ice-Sweet trees, and the next harvest was unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the current stock ran out and the three trees had not yet fruited again, they would starve—and without crystal fruits as their sole food source, death by hunger was possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Hongmu Ridge held more than just those three Ice-Sweet trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong believed the depths of the dense forest must contain larger, thicker Ice-Sweet trees bearing more fruit—but the problem was, he dared not enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the crux remained: cold-beast meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thirty jin of cold-beast meat from Yue Feng’s group had been used up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All five had made great progress, but they were still far from breaking through Logging Level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong’s own hundred jin of cold-beast meat was also gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his strength had increased significantly, he was still far from Digging Level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I can’t keep growing stronger, not only will the small firepit never upgrade, I won’t be able to unlock a single one of the other countless structures in the system.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I must find a way to hunt—even if it carries risk, it’s worth it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camp system still had only one small firepit; upgrading it from Level 1 to Level 2 required 200 wood and 50 iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wood was no longer lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But resources like iron—without strength, even touching them was a fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chuan, Cheng, tonight when we go out, we’ll attempt to hunt!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As night fell, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, preparing to leave, heard Xia Hong’s words and immediately widened their eyes in excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, during all previous outings, the two had already seen cold-beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, they were cold-beasts asleep on trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, they had raised the idea of hunting cold-beasts multiple times, but Xia Hong had always refused, citing their overwhelming strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Xia Hong himself had proposed attempting a hunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t get excited too soon—I told you before, cold-beasts are strong. This is only an attempt. As before, you must obey me completely outside. Daxia currently has only you two as Logging-Level fighters; I don’t want either of you hurt. Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They clearly sensed the seriousness in Xia Hong’s tone and nodded vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After instructing them, Xia Hong took two small torches from behind his back and gave one to each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They took the torches, their eyes brightening, sensing something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Leader, you’re planning to use the torches to lure the cold-beasts into fighting each other, like before, and we’ll reap the benefits, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong had already explained the torches’ function to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng’s quick understanding was expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, so it’s only an attempt—purely based on luck!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong felt slightly frustrated; using the small torches to lure cold-beasts was a waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The torches’ function, like the small firepit, was to repel and damage Guiguai .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In simple terms, the small torches were high-tier items—evident from the cold-beasts’ obsession with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Daxia Camp was currently too weak to even approach or dare confront Guiguai , so they could only use them to lure cold-beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, luring just one cold-beast wouldn’t help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They needed to lure two—and those two had to fight to the death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even then, one had to fall—or be critically wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then could they possibly claim the prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This hunting method had too many strict conditions; efficiency was bound to be extremely low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was the only method Xia Hong could currently conceive of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A last resort!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As night fell, Xia Hong led the two swiftly toward Hongmu Ridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The area under Daxia Camp’s influence was only five to six hundred meters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over many days, Xia Hong and the others had mapped it thoroughly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, there weren’t many cold-beasts on the periphery; they had confirmed and personally witnessed only four.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two Snowmanes, one Frost Wolf, and one creature resembling a mountain goat—Xia Hong didn’t recognize it, nor did he recall Xia Ding ever mentioning it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The goat’s strength is unknown; leave it alone for now. Based on previous observations, the Frost Wolf and Snowmane are roughly equal in strength—so our targets remain these two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After locating the trees where the Snowmane and Frost Wolf each resided, Xia Hong chose a spot between them, planted the torch, then had Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan dig snow pits fifty meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As before, after lighting the torch, the three quickly scattered and hid in their respective pits, silently watching the torch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong was still nervous—conditions were different now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last time, the Snowmane was a juvenile, blind and severely wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, they’d observed that both the Snowmane and Frost Wolf on these trees were adults in full health—he had no idea how their fight would unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In stark contrast, Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan weren’t nervous at all; their eyes visible above the snow were filled with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this was their first time seeing a cold-beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though their thoughts differed, time still passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The torch’s effect lived up to Xia Hong’s expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barely two minutes after lighting it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the west came a heavy, muffled sound of hooves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud… thud… thud…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1278,"2026-06-19T20:30:15.201Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0310e57c287d3dab97315b30367738c156e34e0ec2afb1924a9f37db6d65bf33","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-19","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-17",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fendless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-cover.jpg"]