Chapter 265: Silence

The blizzard in the Icefield Mountains showed no signs of weakening, goose-feather-sized snow particles whipped by the gale, hitting people and stinging painfully. Lu Ran stood in front of the ice cellar,

lowering his head to take a look at Sister Chu Yao Yao lying inside, his eyes without any ripples,

leaving only a deathly silence. He bent down to seal the entrance of the ice cellar with ice blocks, and piled thick snow on top, ensuring it wouldn't be eroded by the wind and snow, before turning to walk toward A Nian not far away.

A Nian, due to physical exhaustion and mental shock, had fallen into a coma, curled up in the snow, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. Lu Ran crouched down,

carefully picking up A Nian and holding her in his arms, his movements as gentle as if he were afraid of breaking her. He checked A Nian's breathing; it was steady yet weak, and his heart eased slightly.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, finally landing on a few mutant vines not far away.

Those vines were thick and powerful, rooted in the snow like steel bars,

not swaying in the slightest even in the blizzard. Lu Ran walked over, reached out, his enhancement ability surging instantly, and pulled those vines out of the snow.

He tied one end of the vines firmly to the ice cellar, and gripped the other end in his hand, testing the tension to confirm it was secure enough.

After doing all this, Lu Ran held A Nian and turned to walk toward the direction of the temporary camp.

His footsteps were steady, each step treading into the thick snow, leaving deep footprints.

The ice coffin behind him slid on the snow, making a "creak, creak" sound, intertwining with the whistling of the wind and snow, forming a monotonous and oppressive melody.

Lu Ran did not speak, not even maintaining a steady rhythm of breathing. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, his gaze firm, as if the blizzard and biting cold around him didn't exist.

His mind was blank, without pain, without anger, and without despair, leaving only one thought—return, return to the temporary camp.

Time passed second by second, the wind and snow grew bigger, and visibility was less than ten meters.

Lu Ran's hair and shoulders were already covered with thick snow, and a layer of white frost had formed on his eyelashes,

making him look like a snowman. A Nian in his arms was wrapped tightly, yet her body temperature was losing bit by bit. Lu Ran held A Nian tighter, warming her with his own body temperature.

His footsteps did not pause in the slightest, even though his legs were already numb, even though his lungs felt as if they were burning,

he did not stop. He knew that once he stopped, he would never get up again. He had to bring A Nian and Sister Chu Yao Yao's ice coffin back to the temporary camp alive.

On the way, they encountered a few mutant beasts driven mad by the blizzard. Those mutant beasts saw Lu Ran, let out fierce roars, and pounced toward him.

Lu Ran's eyes instantly turned cold; he gently placed A Nian on the snow,

and then charged toward the mutant beasts. With his enhancement ability fully activated, his fists were like cannonballs, slamming heavily into the heads of the mutant beasts.

There were no extra movements, no extra moves; every punch was precise and fatal.

Several mutant beasts turned into bloody corpses under his fists instantly. Lu Ran did not pay attention to those corpses, not even taking a look,

just picking up A Nian again and continuing to walk forward. His hands were covered in the blood of the mutant beasts, quickly freezing into dark red ice dregs in the wind and snow.

Twelve hours,

a long and agonizing twelve hours.

Lu Ran's physical strength had been exhausted to the limit, his legs as heavy as if they were filled with lead,

every step costing a huge amount of effort. His consciousness began to blur, Sister Chu Yao Yao's face constantly flashing before his eyes, her smile, her last sentence "Take care of yourself."

He gritted his teeth, relying on a persistent obsession to support himself to walk forward. He knew Sister Chu Yao Yao was watching him, A Nian needed him, and he could not fall.

Finally, the familiar outline of the tent appeared ahead. The temporary camp had arrived.

A trace of light flashed in Lu Ran's eyes, and his pace quickened a bit. He walked to the tent entrance, first carefully picking up A Nian and carrying her inside, placing her on the cold-proof mat, and then turned to drag the ice coffin behind him inside.

He stood in the center of the tent, looking at A Nian lying on the cold-proof mat, looking at the ice coffin parked to one side, still not saying a word. Twelve hours of trekking, twelve hours of silence, his throat seemed blocked, unable to make any sound.

The wind and snow beat against the canvas of the tent, making a "whoosh, whoosh" sound. The tent was deathly silent, only Lu Ran's heavy breathing echoing in the empty space. He slowly crouched down, looking in the direction of the ice coffin, a trace of fluctuation finally appearing in his eyes, a sadness suppressed to the extreme, yet still not shedding a single tear. ===== CHAPTER 266 =====