Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87 Looting and a Warning

Chapter 87 Looting and a Warning

Death Decay.

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+30 Free Coins

The thought suddenly struck her–that Silver Chest she’d stumbled upon out in the wilderness. Could it be that those randomly appearing chests were actually leftovers from survivors who’d died long ago? After their camps completely decayed, maybe the system just bundled up whatever remained and tossed it somewhere across the world?

The more she turned it over in her mind, the more it gave her chills.

“Alright, got what I needed. Whether I live or die isn’t your concern. You’re the one who’s done for.”

Riley rose to her feet, her gaze steady once more.

This squad leader was too far gone–brainwashed beyond reasoning. Keeping him around served no purpose. As for that mysterious guild leader, Nightshade, well… they were enemies now. She’d handle whatever came her way.

The squad leader seemed to read the finality in Riley’s eyes.

“No… you can’t do this! You can’t kill me!”

As Riley lifted her axe, the fanatical gleam in his eyes finally faded, replaced by raw, primal fear. “I’m one of Nightfall’s elites! If you kill me, the pauldron will mark you! They’ll hunt you down–endlessly!”

“Marked?” Riley let out a cold, humorless laugh. “Yeah, whatever.”

First off, she had no idea if this “mark” was even real. And before the next terrain shift, it wasn’t likely these guild types would get their hands on more tracking cards anyway.

“You can’t kill me!”

“What’s wrong? You can go around hunting others, but can’t handle someone coming for you? Take your loss like you meant it.”

Riley didn’t waste another breath. She brought the axe down.

“Thud.”

The blow landed.

And then, silence.

Riley looked over the four bodies scattered on the ground.

This was the first time she’d tat

a life out here in the frozen world.

But she didn’t feel much of anything–just a cold, clear understanding: to survive, you couldn’t afford to

be soft.

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Chapter 87 Looting and a Warning

She knelt and began to search the bodies.

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Just as Rat had warned, the moment its wearer died, that crimson pauldron corroded like it’d been doused in acid, crumbling into a pile of reddish slag. No chance of collecting it.

Riley shook her head. A real shame. She’d wanted to study it, maybe ask Pineapple Beer if she knew anything about cursed gear.

But the rest of their equipment was still salvageable,

That “Deep Blue Greatsword (Rare)” lay quietly beside the leader.

“Item: Greatsword

“Quality: Fine

“Stats: Strength +2, Constitution

“Effect: Heavy Strike (attacks have a chance to stun the target)”

Even though Riley was used to her twin axes, this greatsword had solid stats and looked seriously impressive. Even if she didn’t use it herself, it’d trade for something valuable. The only catch: a weapon this distinctive couldn’t be posted openly on the exchange. Someone might recognize it.

In a straight one–on–one fight, Riley wasn’t really afraid of anyone these days. But drawing too much attention and ending up with a target on her back? That was still dangerous.

Aside from the greatsword, Riley found a few low–grade healing potions on the woman, and a quiver of steel–tipped arrows on the archer.

The rest was just basic supplies. Too bad that tower shield got wiped by the system—it looked seriously sturdy, and she’d actually wanted to keep it.

This whole “reverse robbery” not only secured the mine, but had scored her a decent haul.

“Neeko. Time to work.”

Riley packed away the loot and was about to tell Neeko to deal with the bodies, but as soon as she stripped the remaining supplies from their backpacks, the corpses simply vanished.

“Works for me. Saves me the trouble of looking at them.”

After making sure no one had slipped away, Riley picked up her hard hat and nudged Neeko to continue deeper into the mine.

“Were they… bad people?” Neeko asked.

“Yeah, they were bad people. Anyone who goes out of their way to hurt others is bad.” Riley answered.

“Riley… good person!”

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