Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 458: Chapter 211: Elite System, Mining, and Cheng Ping’s Grudge (Part 3)

For a moment, Xia Hong could mostly guess Luo Ming’s situation at the Hive.

“Hong Yu, I agreed to bring you here at Yue Feng’s request, considering we’re both from Redwood Ridge. But as you see, I’ve only been at the Hive for two years, and my status here isn’t high. I fear I won’t be able to help you much with what’s coming. Once you register with the Hunting Team, the rest will be up to you.”

Luo Ming spoke these words, and Shang Ping beside him wanted to say something but stopped, seemingly having thought of something, finally just sighed slightly without speaking.

Seeing the troubled expressions on their faces, Xia Hong didn’t say much, just nodded gently with a smile and said, “Brother Luo has helped me this much, and Hong Yu is already deeply grateful. I don’t dare to trouble you any further. Just take me to register with the Hunting Team, thank you!”

Luo Ming nodded and said no more, leading Xia Hong inside.

The underground buildings of the Hive are arranged in a circular pattern, with the core building in the middle area. Xia Hong quickly followed Luo Ming to the door of the tallest building in the center.

“The Hunting Team is on the second floor, follow me!”

Xia Hong looked up at the five-story building, over twenty meters high, feeling a slight stir in his heart. He glanced at the top floor before following Luo Ming up.

Entering the building, Xia Hong found that the entire five-story structure was made of pure iron, with wooden flooring only on the ground level. Inside, a coal stove was lit every five meters, brightly illuminating with many people coming and going.

“Coal, iron, beast meat, beast bone, beast skin… The first and second floors should partly be storage rooms. There’s the sound of blacksmithing, cutting, and woodworking on the third floor, indicating it’s a functional layer, similar to the wooden buildings of the Great Xia… On the fourth floor, there are people practicing boxing, but not many, probably a place for members of the elite families to cultivate… On the fifth floor, the Hive should only have three Cold Resistance Levels, how come there’s an extra presence…?”

With his skin perfectly remolded, Xia Hong’s perception was unlike before—within a 200-meter radius, unless someone of the same level deliberately hid it, he could detect any subtle movements clearly.

He wasn’t much interested in most of the happenings within the building.

It was only the presence on the fifth floor, that fourth Cold Resistance Level, that piqued his curiosity.

Chen Yingyuan, Wu Tianxing, Chen Yingba, according to Yuwen Dao, the Hive was supposed to only have these three Cold Resistance Levels, who was this extra one?

Could it be that the Hive Camp had a hidden hand?

This question would have to be explored slowly later on.

Xia Hong quickly finished registering with Luo Ming. An ordinary Earth-digging Realm joining the Camp naturally didn’t require the leader Chen Yingba to appear in person; it was just a standard registration for Xia Hong by an ordinary Earth-digging Realm.

“Hong Yu, 28 years old, Earth-digging Realm, Basic Strength of twenty-six thousand. By rules, you automatically become a member of the Hunting Team. Does any Hunting Team want you?”

Hearing the inquiry from the registration clerk, Xia Hong hesitated briefly then shook his head.

“None?”

The person was taken aback upon hearing, then looked up towards the door, seeing Luo Ming and Shang Ping already walking away, and suddenly wore a strange expression.

“With no Hunting Team wanting you, you’ll have to go mining first. The iron mine is just short of people lately. You can report there tomorrow. The minimum daily quota is a hundred pounds of iron ore. Once you join a Hunting Team and complete the beast meat submission requirements, you’ll only have a ten-day mining quota each month.”

Only then did Xia Hong realize what Luo Ming meant by saying he had to rely on himself later.

It turned out he didn’t want him in his Hunting Team and thus said so.

Luo Ming must have seen that he had just offended Cheng Ping, worrying that bringing him into his Hunting Team would lead to trouble later from Cheng Ping.

Xia Hong frowned but didn’t blame Luo Ming. After all, he had managed to get into the Hive Camp with much difficulty, and he didn’t have time to waste on mining.

“Do I have to join a Hunting Team? Can I create one myself?”

The clerk was slightly stunned by the question, then looked at Xia Hong and replied with a bit of teasing, “You could, but you need to get three people, come register together with me, and then submit three low-level Cold Beasts to be considered successful. During this time, you still have to submit your required daily mining quota.”

“Understood. What about my accommodation?”

“It’s over in the mining area. Just take Passage 19 and you’ll get there. There’ll be someone in charge of supervising. Just go there directly.”

A newcomer can’t even secure a place to stay.

An Earth-digging Realm still has to squeeze into the mining area to live.

Xia Hong shook his head internally but said nothing further, turning to leave the building and heading towards the entrance.

“Kid, heading to the mining area, aren’t you?”

As Xia Hong reached the doorway, he was stopped by Cheng Ping. Seeing the malicious grin on his face, Xia Hong just frowned and moved past him, continuing outward.

“I’ll give you another chance, hand over those two knives on your back. If I speak for you, Luo Ming will definitely accept you, how about it?”

Stopped once again, Xia Hong was quickly losing patience. This time, he chose not to hold back, looked straight at Cheng Ping, and said:

“If you indeed have some big backing, why not just make a move against me here? I’m not as strong as you anyway. Kill me, and you can take the two knives. If you don’t dare, then… get out of my way!”

Those last words, “get out,” were emphasized by Xia Hong, practically shouting at Cheng Ping, catching the attention of quite a few onlookers.

Cheng Ping’s face turned a livid red, his chest heaving with anger. Even though he put his hand on his knife’s hilt two or three times, he didn’t dare draw it. Seeing more and more people watching, he could only bite his lip and move to the side, speaking in a low, sinister voice to Xia Hong:

“Scum, remember to keep one eye open while you sleep in the mining area tonight.”

“I’ll be waiting for you!”

Xia Hong replied nonchalantly with four words, stepping outside the door.

Cheng Ping stood there, glaring with a sinister and spiteful expression at Xia Hong’s retreating figure, clearly contemplating how to deal with this newcomer who had crossed him twice already.