[{"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-22":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},2266448,4425,"Chapter 22: Found the Main Culprit","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-22",22,"\u003Cp>Xia Hong’s approach to the logging team was unlike any before, though built on abundant resources, those in the camp who didn’t understand had no care for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They simply assumed Xia Hong had ability—and was utterly selfless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since that night when the cold beast meat was distributed, everyone in the camp, upon seeing Xia Hong, displayed fervent expressions and respectfully called out “Leader.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Respect, admiration—even, without exaggeration, nearing the devotion of a believer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong would never foolishly stop them; this was a special environment, a special circumstance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Years of hiding in shadows, without sunlight, with insufficient food, clothes barely covering their bodies—extreme despair was still inadequate to describe the humans’ plight in the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such a world, giving them something to cling to in their hearts was not a bad thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, once they had something to rely on, hope naturally arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, all of this depended on sufficient cold beast meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After deducting seventy jin, divided in a 3-5-2 ratio, Xia Hong received one hundred and twenty jin of cold beast meat; at his current cultivation pace, this meat would last barely half a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Feng and the other four each received one hundred and twenty jin; Xia Hong had calculated that even this amount would not be enough for them to break through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, there was still a shortfall in cold beast meat—the hunting could not stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, as long as no accidents occurred, the small torches would never run out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wood collection must not cease; as long as the small torches keep flowing, hunting is merely a matter of probability. If you encounter a strong one, don’t rush in—just ensure each time you lure a cold beast, you’ll eventually reap rewards.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After distributing the cold beast meat, everyone gathered around the bonfire to roast it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the entire cave filled with the scent of meat; those in the camp who hadn’t eaten it in a long time—or had never tasted it at all—wore expressions of rapture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the satisfied expressions on their faces, Xia Hong felt something inside him gently stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A meal of meat, in his past life, was the simplest thing imaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here, it had become their greatest wish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his past life, stricken with ALS, he had once loathed the world, blamed it for its injustice, and ultimately chosen to end himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought it unfair—what of these people in the Great Xia Camp?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What of other humans living in this terrifying winter world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did they think it fair?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who were these people living in shadows supposed to blame?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps… I was brought to this world so that I could do something for them…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as the Great Xia Camp rejoiced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside Redwood Ridge, Shi Qing led twelve men of the Big Stone Logging Team, searching repeatedly across Great Xia’s territory, their expressions growing darker by the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three days straight, not a single hair found—does Old Ding’s crew not need to go out for food?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Dong, quick-tempered, had searched several rounds with no results and was growing impatient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Ming, gripping a large knife beside him, furrowed his brow, then glanced toward the eastern side of Redwood Ridge before turning to Shi Qing:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Big Brother, what if we head toward the earth mound?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Wang Ming spoke, all fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Shi Qing did not answer immediately—he sank into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For weak camps like theirs, a silent rule was universally upheld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is, they must remain hidden from one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human nature under resource scarcity is terrifyingly extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the early days, dozens of camps had existed around Redwood Ridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When food was plentiful, nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once they could no longer obtain crystal fruit or other food, when all hope was lost—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humans… were not inedible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And only those at the Logging Realm could move freely at night; a single Logging Realm man intruding into another camp would inevitably breed suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the weaker the camp, the more hidden they became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Big Stone, being neighbors with Great Xia, knew roughly where the other camp lay—even if not precisely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if, as Wang Ming suggested, they now ventured to the earth mound and pinpointed Great Xia’s location—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grudge between them would become immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It might even spiral, unintentionally, into a fight to the death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need. Old Ding helped us before. I never intended to truly harm him—just teach him a lesson, so he’ll think twice before scheming again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing shook his head, rejecting Wang Ming’s suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As fellow small camps, though competition existed, in truth, they were all merely struggling to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snow-maned beast had been taken by Great Xia—he was angry, of course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But objectively, they had not directly harmed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, when they once lacked manpower for hunting, Xia Ding had lent a hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making a scene would be unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, over there—someone’s moving. Is that Old Ding?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While lost in thought, Shi Dong suddenly pointed into the dense forest interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing and the others followed his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, over a dozen figures were slowly approaching from deep within the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing, an archer with sharp eyesight, quickly counted thirteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great Xia’s logging team, including Xia Ding, numbered exactly thirteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After closely examining the leader’s build, Shi Qing immediately confirmed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s Old Ding. Finally found him. Come, follow me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had found the main culprit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Dong, Wang Ming, and the other ten immediately followed behind Shi Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed—it was Xia Ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the leader was truly Xia Ding, the deaths of their three brothers and the theft of the snow-maned beast surged into the minds of Big Stone Camp’s members—all erupted in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Ding, after all these years as neighbors, you dare scheme against me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Shi Qing’s relatively polite rebuke, Shi Dong and Wang Ming were blunt—even excessive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xia Ding, how much of that snow-maned beast’s meat is left? Hand it all over—or don’t blame my bow for not recognizing you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We lost three brothers, and you didn’t even say a word before taking the snow-maned beast. Today, if you don’t give an explanation, you won’t leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, after the three finished speaking, neither Xia Ding nor his twelve followers reacted at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They simply stared blankly at them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, Xia Ding’s face slowly twisted into a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to the men of Big Stone Camp, the smile was deeply unnatural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a normal smile—yet somehow, it looked like a person with poorly coordinated features forcing it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing frowned, still silent, when his younger brother Shi Dong, unable to contain himself, stepped forward two paces and roared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Laugh your ass off, you deaf bastard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as he was cursed, Xia Ding’s group remained utterly unresponsive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xia Ding’s stiff expression and the twelve logging team members standing in the shadows, Shi Qing instinctively sensed something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssssshh…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp sound, like a silver needle slicing through air, suddenly rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing’s face turned pale—he leapt backward, nocked an arrow, and shouted to the group:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something’s wrong—fall back now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three slowest to retreat suddenly froze, standing motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer look, their pupils were dilated, each forehead bore a tiny red dot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From within the dot, blood slowly seeped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three corpses collapsed silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Qing and the others wore expressions of horror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1239,"2026-06-19T20:30:15.201Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d70d0329a4918a8ba22a69d66e9f1d986e73c771e35096dfe9944ec451126521","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-23","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-21",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fendless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-cover.jpg"]