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nTenth Layer

nThe Hell of Ice

nAs soon as the elevator doors opened and the group went out, a strong breeze made of snow and wind hit their faces. Han Ya, An Yuan, Chu Mo, and Lan She were assaulted with extreme coldness as soon as they reached the Icy Hell.

nACHOOOOO!!!

nTrembling in the cold, “W-W-What the h-hell!? I…I-It’s so c-cold~” said Chu Mo.

nOne could even hear the chattering of their teeth clashing with one another as their whole body shook in such a lower temperature land.

nLan She brought out a few fire stones and shared them with the rest. It wasn’t able to completely prevent the current ongoing blizzard that hit their faces but it was enough to lower their temperature.

nCovering himself with a thick coat, An Yuan stared at the glowing firestone in his hands.

n“So warm. So comfortable. This stone is… No, it looks like an egg. This is an egg right. If I eat this egg it wouldn’t be cold anymore right!?” said An Yuan while drooling on the firestone in his hand.

nHan Ya grabbed his hand and pulled him in a hug.

n“Not food. Don’t eat. I’ll hug you if you are cold.” said Han Ya. 𝗼𝐯𝐥.𝗻𝐭

nHearing this An Yuan happily placed his fire stone within the inner pocket of his coat and wrapped his arms around Han Ya as he suggested. He had a silly smile and a frozen snot on his face. Regardless, Han Ya didn’t feel disgusted and rubbed their cheeks together.

nLan She on the other hand placed his hands inside his lover’s clothes. His hands were as cold as ice but he was still placed directly on Chu Mo’s skin.

nHISS!

n“Carry me,” said Lan She who placed his head inside his lover’s coat slithering inside like a snake looking for warmth.

nChu Mo flinched in the cold but he didn’t pull out his lover’s hand. Lan She had slithered inside his winter coat from behind and hugged him. He is now carrying a big child on his back inside his coat. He held his lover properly, preventing him from falling.

nLan She said from inside Chu Mo’s coat.

n“Let’s go. Find the exit as soon as possible or we will die as ice popsicles in this layer,” said Lan She.

nBut An Yuan did not know what Lan She did and just heard his voice coming from Chu Mo. When turns around he saw that the back section of Chu Mo had greatly increased in size and was stunned by his distorted shape.

nAn Yuan asked, “Is Doctor Lan the one on your back?” he asked Chu Mo.

nChu Mo replied, “Yea…”

n“Doctor Lan, how does it feel there?” asked An Yuan.

nLan She replied, “Quite comfy and warm.”

nHeating this answer An Yuan’s eyes as he looked at Han Ya were glowing. He obviously wanted to do the same thing with him. Han Ya happily crotch down for him. An Yuan had easily gone behind his man’s back and got inside his winter coat and clung on his back like a koala that even his legs were encircled around his man’s waist.

nAn Yuan finally found warmth in that icy place.

n“So warm~ Let’s go!” he commented.

nSeeing the reactions of their beloved Han Ya and Chu Mo had no other choice but to carry them on their back as they ran around the land of red snow and sky. They were transported to a place near the center of the layer which is cold and even had an ongoing blizzard going on. After using a talisman bought through the abyssal store by their managers using the group platform fund on them to protect them from coldness. They started roaming around the area.

nTheir sight was almost blurred by the falling snow and they didn’t leave their vigilance lowered. Even if the layer looks desolated with no living beings, these four didn’t dare to run around without a care.

nBut the blizzard in the area is so strong that Han Ya and Chu Mo are having a hard time running in the place even walking around takes time as the blowing wind coupled with snow hinders them from roaming around.

nChu Mo spoke, “The amount of snow falling has increased. We couldn’t continue this way!”

nHe yelled at Han Ya as the sound of the blowing wind was too loud in their ears. Han Ya looked around for a place to hide for a moment but the thick snow hitting his face made him see only snow around them. There weren’t even trees nor even rocks on this land.

nHe squinted his eyes trying to look around more focused and found a quite huge dome made from snow not far from them. It was an igloo.

nHan Ya yelled back, “There’s some kind of round cave nearby. But there might be beasts or monsters inside. Let’s go check on it!”

n“Is it an Igloo? Even if there is something inside we can make it leave or eliminate it. We can’t stay out here while there is still a blizzard. It would be harder for us if hail fell above our heads.” said Chu Mo.

nHan Ya silently agreed and said, “This way! Follow me closely!”

nUnder the lead of Han Ya, the group had gone to the Snow cave they had found. Han Ya approached the dome and checked the interior just in case it was occupied but thankfully there is nothing like that inside. The four of them gladly took over the snow cave.

nThis igloo looks familiar. It was the same igloo that was created by Hei Anjing for his two Beast Gods, Snowy and Blacky. The Ice Castle he made before was destroyed by him and had forgotten about this little cave when System Yang took back those two Beast Gods of his Master’s dimensional space.

nNow this forgotten snow cave had saved the lives of this small group. Once inside the cave, Lan She and An Yuan went down on the backs of their men. They first used a cleansing talisman in the cave to clean up and started a fire in the middle.

nThe fire inside was small enough that it couldn’t melt the snow cave from the inside. The four of them surround the newly lit bonfire to keep them warm. An Yuan started bringing out a pot and ladle intending to make some creamy mushroom soup to keep their bodies warm. Brought out some cheese to grill over the fire and some bread as snacks.

nOn the other hand, Lan She and Chu Mo look around the cave to check if there are any hidden dangers. What they found was nothing but a pile of white and black fur looking familiar under their gaze.

nHolding on to those disregarded fur, Lan She said to his lover, “This… This fur had some divinity in it. Though it wasn’t pure, it was, without doubt, a God’s presence… Are the monsters on this layer at God’s stage?”

n“That’s a lot stronger than the Cerberus we killed. That dog was at least a Demigod at most. Eh!? These furs had some blessings on them. It felt familiar.” said Chu Mo.

nLan She checked the type of blessing left behind and was stunned himself.

n“The Blessing of Snow and Winter,” mumbled Lan She.

nChu Mo exclaimed, “Impossible! Didn’t Oreo leave with Young Master Xia!?”

nLan She said, “Oreo’s parents were left inside Lord Hei’s dimension. So…”

nThe couple looked at the Snow made cave they were using as shelter and had a face of wryness. They couldn’t believe they had to resort to taking shelter in an abandoned dog house of their own bosses.

nChu Mo said, “Thinking that this is a dog house and we have to live in it for a while makes it uncomfortable.”

n“Don’t say it. As long no one from Vearth learns about this we should be okay?” Said Lan She.

n“Un! Let’s keep it a secret,” said Chu Mo.

nAn Yuan yells, “Come over, please. It’s time to eat!”

nThe couple looked at each other and said, “Coming…”

nThey’ve rejoined An Yuan and Han Ya at the bonfire. They decided to keep silent at the fact that as Gods of the highest realm, the most powerful warden and a former God of Fate had to take shelter in a dog house to avoid a blizzard. Once this news got out, they would be a laughingstock in their own world.

nSurrounding the bonfire a pot of mushroom cream soup is being stirred inside with a ladle. All four of them were holding steamed bread in one hand and were roasting cheese with another. Once the cheese was semi-melted over the fire, they would spread it on the bread they have. The cheese was salty enough that it didn’t need any more extra toppings to add but on the plates near them a few slices of ham and bacon can be used as extra stoppings.

nMost of them felt the warmth and smelled the aroma of delicious food. About to partake in it, the snow cave they were in suddenly exploded. In an instant, the food on their hands was frozen and wasted.

nBut they did not care about their food at all because they saw that few Snow Onis had surrounded them. Though it wasn’t as big as a building like the one Hei Anjing had killed, the sizes of these snow onis are still twice the size of a human adult. Moreover, it is a group of snow oni. There are at least ten of them around them.

nChu Mo who failed to eat his long waited bread was in a rage, “Fuck! Who the hell is it!? Who wasted my bread!!!?”

nThe monsters roared in intimidation.

nRROOOARRRR~

nLan She spoke, “Ten. There are ten of them all. Two hiding not far. Might be the bosses.”

n“What are these things anyway?” said Chu Mo.

nAn Yuan who had just finished checking on the monsters replied, “These are Snow Oni but… If it is the same as the one Sir Hei had killed then… they might be humanoid monsters as well.”

n“Don’t kill them if you are afraid A’Yuan. Leave it to me,” said Han Ya.

nHe noticed that An Yuan’s hands were trembling, obviously hesitating in killing these monsters after knowing they were former humans themselves.

nBut Chu Mo and the rest do not care whether they used to be humans at all. They had seen these monsters treat human players as nothing but food or toys. They don’t have sympathy for monsters like that.

nLan She spoke, “Don’t hesitate, An. They might be used to being humans but they are monsters now. These are monsters that had preyed on humans. They eat and break them regardless of their race. Would you still be kind to these guys after knowing that? Or would you wait for them to kill Han Ya in front of you first before you stop hesitating?”

n“Lan She, that’s enough!” said Han Ya.

nLan She ignored Han Ya’s threat and continued speaking, “The choice is yours in the end, An Yuan.”

nAfter saying those words, Lan She and Chu Mo head to the other side and eliminate the monsters together. The other side was left for An Yuan and Han Ya to clean up on their own. They might be teammates but Chu Mo and Lan She only follow the orders of Ye Xiajie and Hei Anjing. As for the two Protagonists that Lord Hei had tied to their group, it wasn’t because he wanted to protect them but instead, it was to look and observe them as closely as possible.

nOnce the two started showing an action of going his other half as the World Plot had planned then… Hei Anjing would no longer hesitate to erase both of their existence. He was just giving them a chance to change their destined fate.

nThey fought snow onis in the middle of the blizzard. Because of that, the coldness that had faded from their bodies a few hours ago had once again assaulted their group. After moving too much to fight the Snow onis, they’ve started feeling some of their body parts had started turning stiff. Upon checking on it they saw their bodies slowly getting frozen by ice.

nThe blizzards in this Icy Hell were never simple after all. Only someone like Hei Anjing could remain unhindered by the coldness of this place. A land that eats the warmth of all living beings. This is why it was called the Hell of Ice.

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