Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 127

The Beast Egg Awakens

Chapter 127 The Beast Egg Awakens

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“Pineapple Beer: Right now, in this whole merged zone, there are some serious heavy hitters who built up in other regions. A few guilds are already forming up–we’re talking over a hundred members each.”

“Who cares!” LoneWolf shot back. “We’ve got the big girl SpicyBurger on our side! @SpicyBurger Say something to fire us up, girl!”

Riley glanced at the notification tagging her, thought for a second, then started typing.

“SpicyBurger: Glad to see everyone still here.

“SpicyBurger: Doesn’t matter how crazy it gets out there. We hold down what’s ours. You’ve all got the ‘Brave and Unyielding‘ title–means you stood your ground when it counted. Share intel, watch each other’s backs. We don’t start fights, but we sure as hell finish them. Run into something you can’t han Drop a pin. I’ll see it.”

The group exploded.

“That’s what I’m talking about! So badass!”

“Is this what having backup feels like? Girl, I could cry. Burger for life!

“We’ll protect our home turf till the end!”

“SpicyBurger: Also, from now on, I’ll put good loot in the group channel first. Any of you come across anything weird or rare, hit me up before you trade it off.”

Just those few lines were enough.

The chat went absolutely wild.

“With that, I can actually sleep tonight. Region 8 is home!”

“First dibs for the crew? Hell yeah. I’m gonna go scavenge right now. Anything good goes straight to the boss.”

Riley wasn’t the type to posture, and she honestly didn’t love hanging out in group chats. After sending her message, she closed the window.

She geared up fully, intending to scout outside and get a read on the new layout.

“Neeko,” she called over her shoulder, “we’ll tidy up the base in a bit. Keep watching for now.”

Sylvie–curled up on the rug with a tablet playing Tom and Jerry–pricked her ears up. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen, giggling as Tom took another comical fall, but she nodded obediently, her leopard tail giving a little flick.

Riley adjusted her gear, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and climbed up to the watchtower built into the stone wall. She powered up the terminal for the Eagle Eye surveillance system.

13

Beast Egg Awakens

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On the display, four high–definition camera feeds panned slowly, covering every angle around the territory.

The outside world had definitely changed.

The frozen lake that used to stretch south of the base was gone, replaced by thick pine forest.

To the north, the open plains had rolled into snowy foothills.

Riley’s first check was west.

She let out a long, slow breath.

The Abandoned Mine was still there.

It had shifted a few hundred yards, but it was intact–her lifeline, still within reach.

“Lucky break. The real estate made it.”

But then…

Riley squinted, adjusting the zoom on one of the cameras.

Where there used to be just woods, the terrain had shifted. A low hill had risen up, and on its sheltered side, clearly visible, was a new base she didn’t recognize.

It wasn’t small–probably Level 3, surrounded by a ring of stone walls, with the faint glow of firelight coming from inside.

“Neighbors, huh…” Riley murmured, her fingers tapping lightly on the cold railing.

It was only about a mile from her own gates.

Out here in the snow, that was basically right next door.

“Better mind your manners,” she said quietly to herself.

She wasn’t looking for trouble, but if this newcomer decided to reach too close to what was hers, she wouldn’t hesitate to reduce that base to rubble.

Satisfied that the immediate area was secure for now, Riley headed down from the watchtower.

She made her way straight to the small cabin near the campfire. Pushing the door open, a wave of warmth washed over her.

Inside, Neeko was crouched in front of the large incubator, muttering under her breath. Her hands glowed with a soft emerald light as she pressed them gently against the gray, stony surface of the beast egg.

“How’s it looking?” Riley asked, keeping her voice low.

Necko turned, her cheeks flushed with focus. She pointed at the egg, and though her words were still

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Chapter 127 The Beast Egg Awakens

halting, her excitement was clear. “Hot… moving!”

Riley leaned in closer, and her eyes brightened.

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The “Unidentified Beast Egg“, which had been dull and inert as a rock, now showed dark red veins across its surface, like lava flowing beneath stone.

When she held her hand near the shell, she could feel a strong, steady rhythm pulsing from within.

“Thump… thump… thump.”

A heartbeat.

“Finally showing signs of life,” Riley said, a grin spreading across her face.

She’d started to wonder if this egg was just a dud, sitting completely still since she’d found it. Looks li energy surge from the region merge had kicked something awake inside.

“Now for this…”

Riley’s gaze shifted to the side.

Under a black cloth cover sat an Indoor Growing Box. Inside were the three Strange Black Seeds. The living area hadn’t been dark enough, so Riley had Neeko move them in here.

She lifted the corner of the cloth.

The soil in the planter was just… soil. The seeds buried within hadn’t given her the time of day–no sprout, no change, nothing.

“Tch. High maintenance, aren’t you?” Riley shook her head, letting the cloth fall back into place.

“Grass,” Neeko spoke up suddenly, pointing toward the hay bedding beside the beast egg. She made a gathering motion with her hands. “Not enough.”

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