Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

The Hive's base was underground, constantly needing lights for illumination.

However, during the day, people were mostly asleep, so there wasn't a need for so many light sources. Therefore, at daytime, most of the lights would be turned off, leaving only a few for minimal lighting.

The same was true for the mining area.

Cheng Ping, filled with anger, led four of his subordinates through Tunnel 19, rushing towards the mining area. He didn't even greet the mining area负责人 (fù zé rén - person in charge), heading straight for Cave 93.

Clearly, he was the one who arranged for Xia Hong to stay in Cave 93.

"That bastard dares to embarrass me in public. I want to see how precious those two sabers really are."

"That Hong Yu is someone Luo Ming brought here. He doesn't have any backing. Killing him wouldn't be a big deal."

"It's perfect that he's here and assigned to Mining Area 8. It's perfectly normal for him not to return if he encounters Silverback Rats."

"Wang Hun isn't an easy target. I bet that kid has already taken a beating."

......

Hearing his subordinates' words, Cheng Ping's expression gradually became excited.

Just then, they arrived at the entrance of Cave 93. He directly pushed the door open and walked in, a sinister smile on his face as he said:

"Wang Hun, haven't you finished playing with him yet?"

It was daytime, and there were no lights lit inside the cave, so it was pitch black upon entering. Cheng Ping and his five men couldn't see the scene inside the cave, and no one answered when he spoke, causing them to pause in surprise.

"Light the fire."

As soon as Cheng Ping spoke, the four men behind him immediately went to light the torches on the cave walls.

Boom...

As the firelight flared up, the scene inside the cave came into view.

Cheng Ping and his five men were instantly dumbfounded.

Inside the cave were six people, kneeling side by side in front of a bed. Another person was pinned to the ground by a long saber, his face flushed red. It was clear that he wanted to struggle, but he was afraid of something, and he didn't dare to move.

On that bed, sat a person cross-legged. In the firelight, a pair of bright eyes were staring at the five of them. Who else could it be but Hong Yu?

"Wang Hun, what's going on...?"

Cheng Ping subconsciously asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth, the hairs on his body stood on end, and he immediately turned around, wanting to escape.

He and his four subordinates reacted quickly. Although they didn't know why the situation inside the cave was like this, they vaguely sensed that this Hong Yu was clearly not as simple as he appeared. Their movements to turn around and escape were also quite swift.

Unfortunately, how could their speed compare to Xia Hong's?

"Didn't you want to see the saber? Here, take a look!"

As Xia Hong's voice fell, he lightly kicked his foot, and the ceremonial saber that was just pinning Wang Hun down flew directly towards Cheng Ping and his men.

Whoosh...

A gust of wind came from behind. Cheng Ping didn't even have time to react before he was slammed to the ground by a huge force. The bones in his body made several cracking sounds, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

He struggled to turn his head and realized that the two people who had been the slowest to escape had already had their bodies broken by the ceremonial saber and had died instantly. He and the other two hadn't been hit directly by the ceremonial saber, but by the force carried by the two corpses behind them.

"Cheng Ping has eyes but couldn't recognize Mount Tai! Sir, spare me! Sir, spare me!"

The long saber, kicked out with just a foot, not only killed two people with a base strength of over 20,000 jin, but the remaining force carried by the corpses could also do this to the three of them.

No matter how stupid Cheng Ping was, he could now realize that this Hong Yu was not someone he could afford to offend.

He endured the severe pain coming from the bones in his body, forcibly got up, knelt down in front of Xia Hong, and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Taking advantage of the gap, he looked back at the two people beside him and realized that they had already been killed by the remaining force, dying in the same way as the two who had been directly hit by the ceremonial saber. This undoubtedly made him even more horrified, and his kowtowing and begging became even faster.

"Shut up! You come here, and you seven go clean up the bodies!"

Wang Hun, who had just been freed from being pressed down by the saber, was the quickest to react and immediately got up to clean up the four corpses on the ground. The other six also did the same.

Cheng Ping, on the other hand, almost crawled on his knees to Xia Hong, never daring to raise his head, and not even daring to wipe the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Looking at Cheng Ping's panicked and frightened appearance at this moment, Xia Hong revealed a sneer.

If it weren't for the fact that Cheng Ping had some value in being questioned, and he had deliberately held back his strength, if he had really kicked with full force, even if there were ten more Cheng Ping, they would all be dead.

Xia Hong didn't want to waste time with such a small character and directly asked:

"I'm asking you, which camps does the Hive usually have trade relations with?"

"I know of a total of six. They are the Wu Shuang, Zhao Yang, and Han Qiong camps to the north; the Yang Lu and Yu Cheng camps to the west; and the Da Xia camp to the southeast."

Of the twelve camps in Longyou, after excluding the leader Longshan and the Hive, there were still ten left. Xia Hong's eyes lit up slightly after asking about five of the camps.

"Do you know the specific locations of these five camps?"

"This... I'm not sure. I only know the approximate directions."

Xia Hong didn't hesitate and directly took out a piece of animal skin from his package, handed Cheng Ping a piece of coal stone, and said: "Draw out the approximate directions."

Cheng Ping had obviously resigned himself to his fate, took the coal pen, and honestly marked the approximate locations of the five camps.

"How much do you know about Longshan?"

Xia Hong continued to ask after putting away the animal skin scroll.

"Longshan is located on the western side of the Pingxi Plains, about fifty kilometers away from here. The Longshan camp is the leader of the Longyou Alliance. The eleven camps on the eastern side of the Pingxi Plains all respect the Longshan camp, and so does our Hive."

Hearing this answer, Xia Hong frowned and said in a deep voice: "Tell me everything you know. I will go find other people to verify it later. If I find out that you are talking nonsense or hiding something, your little life..."

Before Xia Hong could finish speaking, Cheng Ping, anxious to save his life, had already opened his mouth.

"The Longshan camp has a total of over 70,000 people. The leader is called Li Tianhua. He is considered the nominal ruler of Longyou. The eleven camps in Longyou have to provide Longshan with one million jin of iron ore and one million jin of coal stone every year..."

"It is rumored that Li Tianhua is only one step away from breaking through the Xianyuan Realm. He has eight great vajras under his command, all of whom are Cold Resistance level experts. Each of them is no weaker than our Big Boss. The Longshan camp has hundreds of hunting teams, as well as a thousand-man army specifically used to patrol the territory. Their strength is extremely terrifying..."

"There will be a Longshan Alliance meeting in mid-April every year. The leaders of the eleven camps will all be present. I heard that there is a chance to receive personal guidance from Li Tianhua..."

"... ... ... ..."

Cheng Ping poured out everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube, but from the words he said, he often used words like "I heard", indicating that most of this content was hearsay.

This was normal. His base strength was only 29,000 jin, still a little short of the 30,000 jin limit. His status in the camp was probably not very high. It was already good that he could hear so much about Longshan.

A camp population of over 70,000, Li Tianhua who is only one step away from breaking through the Xianyuan level, eight great vajras, hundreds of hunting teams, and a thousand-man army used to patrol the territory... ... ... ...

Hearing about Longshan's terrifying strength, Xia Hong couldn't help but feel a little shocked.

The key is that this is just one family. Considering that Longshan rules the entire Longyou, the remaining eleven families would normally have to obey Li Tianhua's orders. In that case, this Li Tianhua's power would be somewhat alarming!

"What is the strength of these five camps, Wu Shuang, Zhao Yang, Han Qiong, Yang Lu, and Yu Cheng? Tell me as much as you know."

Just now, Xia Hong only asked him to mark the locations of these five camps. At this moment, he only asked about the strength of these five, only missing the Da Xia camp. Cheng Ping, who was lowering his head, obviously realized something. His body trembled slightly, but he quickly adjusted his mentality and replied:

"I'm not sure about the specifics, but the strength of four of the camps is similar to our Hive. The population is probably between 30,000 and 40,000, with two or three Cold Resistance levels each. Only the Zhao Yang camp has been developing exceptionally rapidly in recent years. Now it is the strongest, and I heard last time that Zhao Yang's Cold Resistance level experts have already exceeded ten, only a little worse than the Longshan camp."

Xia Hong raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

It seems that there is still some story inside this Longyou Alliance.

"Sir, I really only know these things. From now on, Cheng Ping is willing to serve you, sir. I only ask that you spare my life. Please, sir!"

After Cheng Ping finished speaking, seeing that Xia Hong had fallen into thought, he thought that he was thinking about how to deal with him. Fearing that Xia Hong would attack him, he immediately begged for mercy in fear.

"Shut up!"

Xia Hong coldly stopped his begging, and then continued to fall into thought.

The most important purpose of this trip was to find someone to understand the subsequent cultivation methods of the Cold Resistance level. Judging from the content that Cheng Ping had just answered, Longshan was obviously a good place to go.

"I heard that there is a chance to receive personal guidance from Li Tianhua..."

Even if it was hearsay, it must have some basis. If Li Tianhua really had such grace and was willing to guide the leaders of other camps, then Xia Hong would naturally not want to miss it.

The problem is, what identity should he use to go?

He couldn't just rush over to Li Tianhua and ask for guidance, could he?

Judging from the fact that the twelve families formed an alliance, the people here in Longyou are obviously extremely xenophobic. It would probably be inappropriate to visit as a stranger.

The alliance meeting is in April. Chen Yingyuan will definitely bring people there at that time. It would be most appropriate to go as a member of the Hive camp.

The question is, how can he make Chen Yingyuan notice him and then take the initiative to bring him along when going to Longshan?

Xia Hong looked down at Cheng Ping, and an idea quickly formed in his mind.

"It seems you really want to live!"

Hearing this, Cheng Ping lay even lower, constantly kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Seeing his posture, Xia Hong sneered, then took out a purple wooden bottle from the baggage beside him. The bottle had the words "Poisonous Flood Dragon Pill" written on it.

"Swallow this pill!"

Cheng Ping took the poison pill from Xia Hong's hand without the slightest hesitation, throwing it directly into his mouth and swallowing it into his stomach.

A sense of weakness immediately rose from within his body, but Cheng Ping felt no fear in his heart. Instead, he was filled with excitement and satisfaction, constantly kowtowing and saying: "Thank you, sir, for sparing my life, thank you, sir, for sparing my life..."

"Don't thank me so early. This Poisonous Flood Dragon Pill will take effect every ten days. Without the antidote, you will surely die with your strength. If you want to live, listen to me obediently. In the future, you must report any disturbances in your camp to me as soon as possible, understand?"

"This humble one understands."

"You're probably thinking in your heart that you can go to Chen Yingba to get the poison in your body removed. I might as well tell you directly that even if Chen Yingyuan comes, he won't be able to remove the poison in your body. You can try it with your life, but once I find out, you know what the consequences will be."

Xia Hong's words exposed his thoughts, and Cheng Ping's face was full of fear. Especially when he heard Xia Hong mention Chen Yingyuan, without the slightest hint of respect in his tone, his heart trembled even more, and he hurriedly lowered his head and said: "This humble one dare not. From now on, I will definitely serve you well, sir. If you tell me to go east, I will never dare to go west."

This is what you call a smart person!

This Cheng Ping, although he usually abuses his small power and acts recklessly, he is very sensible when faced with a life-or-death crisis.

After settling Cheng Ping, Xia Hong turned his head to look towards the entrance of the cave, his brow slightly furrowed, and said: "You've been eavesdropping for so long, it's time to come out!"

Someone is eavesdropping outside?

Cheng Ping and the other seven people kneeling on the ground were all stunned.

"Cough..."

A soft cough came from the entrance of the cave, followed by two figures, one large and one small, slowly walking in. It was Li Baihe and his nephew Luo Cheng, who had just come from Luo Ming's side.

The uncle and nephew looked at Xia Hong at this moment, their faces full of horror and shock.

Xia Hong didn't show any surprise at the two people's reaction.

He sensed very clearly that these two people came with Cheng Ping and the other five, and it was not surprising that they would react this way after seeing everything that happened in the cave.

"Brother Hong Yu, your strength..."

This is not someone who is terminally ill at all. He is clearly an extremely terrifying expert, far more than just the peak of the Earth Digging Realm. Just from the moment he kicked the knife and smashed four people to death and injured Cheng Ping, Li Baihe could deduce that the strength of the person in front of him was definitely above him and Luo Ming.

No, more than that.

At least several times that of him and Luo Ming, perhaps even the Cold Resistance level!

Cold Resistance level?

The thought popped into Li Baihe's mind, and his gaze immediately focused on Xia Hong's face, but he couldn't see a single familiar feature.

Until he met Xia Hong's eyes.

Li Baihe's expression froze, and then his face suddenly revealed a look of ecstasy.

"This Li Baihe is quite smart!"

Xia Hong's memory drifted back to the night Luo Ming left two years ago. Remembering that only Li Baihe in the twelve-man team frequently turned his head, he was not so surprised that he could recognize him.

"Did Brother Luo ask you to come and save me?"

Hearing the address to Luo Ming, Li Baihe understood and knew that Xia Hong didn't want to reveal his identity, and immediately nodded and said: "Xia... Brother Hong Yu, it was indeed Brother who asked me to come. This is my brother's son, Luo Cheng. Xiao Cheng, come and pay your respects to your Uncle Yu."

Luo Cheng was obviously still recovering from the shock. He was pulled by Li Baihe before he hurriedly walked to Xia Hong and bowed respectfully with a hint of worship on his face:

"Luo Cheng pays his respects to Uncle Yu!"

Luo Cheng.

Xia Hong looked at Luo Cheng and slightly sensed his Qi muscles, a hint of surprise rising in his eyes.

He looks to be at most just over ten years old, only one step away from the Lumbering Realm.

Just this aptitude alone would be considered very good in the current Great Xia.

No wonder Luo Ming wanted to take people away from Redwood Ridge for this young son.

"Not bad, stand up first. I'll clean up here first."

Xia Hong smiled and praised him, then signaled him to retreat to the side with Li Baihe. Then, he walked to the seven people, Wang Hun, and asked with a slight movement in his expression: "How did criminals and slaves like you get into this mining area?"

"Sir, we..."

"You don't need to speak. You two speak."

Wang Hun and the other five had just wanted to open their mouths to answer when Xia Hong directly interrupted him, signaling the other two to answer.

There were a total of seven people in the cave. Only Wang Hun and these five planned to attack him last night. The other two obviously hadn't been instructed by Cheng Ping, and even showed sympathy for him. Obviously, they weren't the same kind of people as Wang Hun.

The two of them kneeling on the ground didn't seem as afraid as Wang Hun and the others. Instead, their faces were full of hope. At this moment, hearing Xia Hong's inquiry, one of them immediately opened his mouth:

"Sir, my name is Liu Hua. I was originally from a small camp north of the Hive. Last year, when I led a team to hunt outside, I encountered people from the Hive camp. They not only robbed our prey, but also abducted our entire team of seven people here, forcing me to mine for them. I beg you, sir, have mercy and save us, please, sir..."

The other person beside him also opened his mouth and said: "My name is Zhang Jun. My experience is similar to Liu Hua, but I have been in the mining area for much longer. As far as I know, starting from No. 80, half of the people who live in the caves behind are like us, abducted here. The other part are people who have committed crimes and been exiled here. For example, this Wang Hun was also from the Hive camp before. I heard that he committed several murders and even raped and killed several women before being exiled here."

"Don't talk nonsense, I..."

"Shut up!"

Xia Hong interrupted Wang Hun's defense in one sentence, then turned his head and cast a questioning look at Cheng Ping. Seeing Cheng Ping nod, he immediately understood that there was no problem with what Zhang Jun said.

Looking at Liu Hua and Zhang Jun, who were full of desire to survive, and Wang Hun and the other five, Xia Hong stroked his chin, and quickly had an idea in his mind.

"It's always being trapped in this dark mining cave, with no hope of turning over. I'll give you a chance to escape, but you have to listen to my arrangements..."

Wang Hun and the other five, Liu Hua and Zhang Jun listened with different expressions on their faces; while Cheng Ping on the side was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he wanted to say something several times, but thinking of Xia Hong's strength just now, he finally held back.

Crack... Crack...

Not long after Xia Hong's voice fell, a series of seven sounds of shackles breaking sounded, and the expressions of Wang Hun and the other seven, who had regained their freedom, instantly became excited.

Of course, while excited, the fear in their hearts for Xia Hong also became stronger.

The shackles on their feet were all made of hundred-refined iron. Ordinary ten-refined weapons, let alone breaking them, would be hard-pressed to even leave a mark, but Xia Hong only gently chopped with his knife, and the shackles directly broke into two pieces.

No, that doesn't prove anything!

Gulu...

Looking at the long ceremonial knife that had just pressed him tightly to the ground, being carried by Xia Hong with one hand, as easily as holding a wooden stick, Wang Hun swallowed, his heart full of horror and terror.

At this moment, Xia Hong threw a dagger to Liu Hua and Zhang Jun respectively.

"Use this dagger to open everyone else's shackles. In half an hour, I will open a hole in the sky above the mining area. How far you can run by then depends on yourselves."

"Thank you, sir, for saving my life. If there is a chance in the future, Liu Hua will definitely repay you with my life, without a second word!"

"Me too, Zhang Jun, thank you, sir!"

Wang Hun originally wanted to learn from the two and thank Xia Hong for his kindness, but seeing that the two had already turned around and went out, he immediately followed out, eager to escape. The remaining four also followed behind him.

Xia Hong finally turned his head to look at Cheng Ping, raised the ceremonial knife in his hand, and directly drew a line on his arm.

Puchi...

"Acting also has to be realistic. Sorry, you won't blame me, will you?"

Blood flowed from Cheng Ping's arm. Although it hurt a lot, he still squeezed out a smile and trembled: "Serving you, sir, is this humble one's blessing."

Not bad, very obedient!

Half an hour later, at the mining area connected to the 19th passage of the Hive.

Bang...

A loud noise erupted, and the entire Hive garrison trembled twice.

In the Hive's main area, many people immediately woke up from their dreams.

"What's that sound?"

"Is it from the mining area?"

"It seems to be the mining area, it exploded."

"Damn, hurry up and go take a look."

...

People in the main building were alarmed, but as the first wave of people who went to check returned to the main area, the news quickly spread.

There was a riot in the mining area!