Chapter 21: Extreme Cold Ice Fishing

Mu Jiu elegantly and calmly finished her bowl of lamb noodles.

Since she started drinking the spirit spring water while training her body, her appetite had increased a lot.

But her weight didn’t change; her figure became much fitter, with greatly improved energy, strength, and agility.

The oppressive cold of the extreme cold zone had no effect on her body.

Even wearing a heavy polar cold-protection suit, she could move lightly and swiftly without any restrictions.

After the meal, the Gu siblings looked much healthier; the huge bowls were licked cleaner than their faces.

The two hurriedly helped clean the dishes. Since the villa had a continuous water supply thanks to the hot spring water system, washing up was always convenient.

Mu Jiu left all the cooking utensils she had brought, making it easier to prepare tomorrow’s lunch.

Afterwards, Mu Jiu drove with the siblings deep into the mountains to find a feng shui spot to bury the dead.

In the following days, Mu Jiu’s life returned to its usual peaceful rhythm.

The only difference was that she now had two very talkative little comrades to chat and play cards with!

The Gu siblings had probably been well protected by their mother, so they had gentle and optimistic personalities.

Their light-hearted conversations brought a sense of simplicity and ease, without deep or complicated thoughts—something Mu Jiu really liked.

Every evening, Mu Jiu provided dinner for the three of them to gather and enjoy in the hall of Villa 048.

During the day, Mu Jiu stayed at her own villa to tend flowers and feed chickens, and to keep watch.

The siblings, as before, would go up the mountain to look for useful supplies.

They also used a chainsaw to cut large logs for firewood, usually giving most of it to their “big sister” Mu Jiu and keeping some for themselves.

Mu Jiu never shirked their goodwill just because she had enough.

Favor and kindness flow both ways; owing each other makes relationships closer.

Because the Gu siblings often went up the mountain, the other desperate resort residents also realized there was a way to survive up there and quietly started going up the mountain too.

Some gathered firewood for warmth; others tried to find food to supplement their supplies.

As for the butler department—

Since the incident of dumping bodies at the service hall, even the butlers had backed down.

Mu Jiu had already killed more than thirty of them!

And all of it was with fists and knives—imagine how strong she was in hand-to-hand combat!

Plus the godlike defensive modifications to her villa…

There used to be a rule among the butlers: don’t mess with the big sister at Villa 050.

Now there was another rule added: don’t mess with those two little brats from the Gu family, because they’re the big sister’s people!

With no worries at the back, and more people going up the mountain to forage, the Gu siblings started venturing deeper into the mountains.

They aimed to reach the other side of the mountain, distancing themselves from the ordinary folks to seek new chances of survival.

Mu Jiu tacitly approved.

Every evening, she added small amounts of spirit spring water into their meals to quietly boost their physical abilities.

Plus the weapons and tools she had given them—taken from the butlers—meant they were well prepared for long journeys.

After many explorations, the siblings discovered something wonderful in the back mountain.

They rushed back immediately to tell Mu Jiu.

“Sis, in the valley where the hot spring mountain connects to several other big mountains, we found a frozen lake!

The lake is quite large, stretching beyond the mountain ranges!

We carefully observed it—although the surface is thick ice, through some clear spots we can vaguely see fish swimming beneath!”

Mu Jiu was instantly interested. She had been pondering how to develop more sustainable means for the siblings to live on.

After all, this was extreme cold; mountain resources were limited. Taking even a little would limit the ability for resources to regenerate.

More people were going up the mountain now, so the siblings’ current survival route would eventually be cut off—but the extreme cold would last a long time…

If there was a lake, things would be much easier!

Mu Jiu asked for detailed info about the lake and its location, then immediately told them to prepare food and set off at night.

She packed a big backpack to be able to pull out large supplies from her spatial space at any time, to avoid revealing its existence.

As soon as night fell, Mu Jiu followed the siblings, who knew the mountain paths well, up the mountain.

Before leaving, she remembered to turn on all the lights and power grid in her villa, creating the illusion that she was still home—to protect her hideout.

Their pace was quite fast. They walked from 8 PM to 4 AM—eight whole hours, their feet numb and frozen—before finally crossing Hot Spring Mountain and reaching the lake the siblings had described.

One could imagine how difficult it was for them to find this place!

But in the dawn light, looking out over the endless ice, Mu Jiu felt it was all worth it.

Standing by the lake, she had already checked the space flower room’s teleport mirror.

The lake was very deep—the shallowest spot was about 5-6 meters below the ice surface, and the deepest spots could reach 20-30 meters.

The ice was on average over 2 meters thick, so there were plenty of fish beneath!

Now they had something to work with!

Though they knew there were fish, catching them was a huge challenge.

First, they had to drill a hole through the 2-meter-thick ice.

Second, they had to figure out how to get fish out of the water.

The first was relatively easier—they could use an electric drill or chip the ice manually.

The second was very difficult.

In extreme cold, entering the water was nearly impossible; even if you survived underwater, you would likely die from severe hypothermia as soon as you got out.

Mu Jiu’s initial idea was to fish with lines, but none of the three had any real experience with ice fishing.

They recalled watching ice fishing videos online and brainstormed ideas.

First, they found a spot not far from shore and set up a high pot on the ice to start a fire for warmth.

Near the pot, they began drilling holes in the ice.

The ice was so thick and hard that it took them most of the day to carve a three-tiered circular pit, each layer deeper than the last.

Next, they researched what bait to use.

Since fish’s appetite was low in extreme cold, they needed strong-smelling bait to attract them.

After discussion, they chose the mealworms Mu Jiu raised to feed chickens!

Finally, they had to figure out fishing rods and lines.

Luckily, Mu Jiu had high-quality imported gear in her spatial space!

These were originally obtained for free from a warehouse supermarket in Brown Bear Country—a place famous for being icebound most of the year and having rich ice-fishing experience.

With everything prepared, the three sat patiently at their holes, each with a fishing rod, ready to begin ice fishing!