Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76 The Freeze Purge Begins

Chapter 76 The Freeze Purge Begins

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Neeko had shifted back to her human form by then. She clutched the iron candlestick tightly, her expression tense as she stared at Riley.

“Outside… it’s bad,” Neeko whispered, a trembling finger pointing toward the door. Her eyes held that raw, instinctive fear only a true catastrophe could bring.

“It’s all right.”

Riley brushed the ice crystals from her sleeves and moved to the fireplace, holding her numb hands toward the flames. “We’re not going out today. We’re taking a snow day.”

Her tone was calm, but her face told a different story.

She walked over to the couch, sat down, and opened the Server Channel.

One glance was all it took to freeze her in place.

The channel, usually buzzing around this time with trades, jokes, or the occasional plea for supplies, was now flooded with wave after wave of suffocating despair.

“WildElder: MY ROOF JUST FLEW OFF!! Someone–anyone–help me! I don’t wanna die! I can’t feel my hands…”

“SnowFox: @WildElder No one’s coming. This wind’s insane. Tried to grab more firewood earlier–got thrown six feet back and slammed into a pine tree. I’m just curled under my blanket now, shaking.”

“Nobody: So cold… My campfire’s barely hanging on. Doesn’t feel warm like it used to. Feels like my blood’s freezing in my veins.”

“Listen up! If you make it through tonight, Nightfall’s recruiting! But you gotta survive first! This ain’t just some snowstorm!”

“Anonymous: You all hearing that? In the wind…”

“GloomyHusband: I hear it… Ghouls! They don’t care about the storm! They’re beating on my door! It’s just a basic wooden door–1 can’t–AHHH–!!!”

The message cut off there.

No follow–up.

Everyone could picture how that ended.

Riley watched as grayed–out profile pictures kept popping up–each one marking another player gone.

This wasn’t just regional bad weather. This wasn’t some random climate shift.

This was a purge.

The system had decided there were too many survivors. Or maybe it figured those still stuck in Levell shelters, with their flimsy walls and empty cupboards, didn’t deserve to reach the next phase of this game.

So it had unleashed this disaster.

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Chapter 76 The Freeze Purge Begins

The extreme cold was sucking the warmth right out of campfires.

The brutal winds were tearing through weak structures.

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And right when people were at their most vulnerable, the Ghouls got some kind of environmental boost–turning them even more aggressive.

This was a massacre targeting the “weak“.

“Survival of the fittest,” Riley murmured under her breath.

It was harsh, but that was the core rule of this world now.

If she hadn’t stockpiled stacks of wood ahead of time, hadn’t built stone–reinforced walls, hadn’t secured that electric heater… she’d probably be just like those voices in the chat right now, waiting to die in the dark.

“Ding”

A private message notification popped up.

It was Tartking.

“TartKing: You okay?! This is insane! Something was clawing at my wall earlier–thank god I listened to you and upgraded to stone- and–wood mix or I’d be done for!

“TartKing: My wood stove’s going too, so it’s warm in here. But the chat… so many gone already.”

Riley typed back.

“SpicyBurger: I’m fine. Stay inside. Barricade the doors and windows. Probably won’t last too long.”

Then a message from PineappleBeer came through.

This reborn player clearly knew today was coming.

“PineappleBeer: First ‘freeze purge‘ is here. Happening earlier than I remember. Looks like someone’s progress triggered the system to crank up the difficulty.

“PineappleBeer: Don’t go out for the next few days. Temp’s gonna nosedive. Low–tier campfires won’t cut it. After this wave, whoever’s left standing are the real players.”

Riley sent back a simple thumbs–up.

Since going outside wasn’t an option, she might as well accept this forced downtime.

“Neeko, you hungry?”

Riley set the tablet aside and glanced toward the corner of the sofa, where Neeko was curled up.

The girl was clearly still spooked by the chaos outside. Even though the cabin was warm, she’d wrapped herself up like a burrito in the wool blanket Riley had given her.

At the word “hungry“, Neeko’s ears perked up. Instinct quickly overrode fear, and she nodded vigorously.

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