Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124 A New Dawn

Chapter 124 A New Dawn

At the edge of the chasm, a few rusted chains and the remains of an old lift system were still visible.

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“So that’s how it was,” PineappleBeer muttered, peering down into the darkness. “I kept wondering where he got all those frenzied creatures from. Turns out he built this whole operation right on top of a monster nest–just dragged them up from below and pumped them full of those acceleration serums.”

“He was playing with fire,” Riley said quietly.

She kicked a loose piece of rubble over the edge. It vanished into the gloom, and seconds passed before a faint, distant clatter echoed back up.

A nest like that, burrowing deep into the earth… if you didn’t keep it contained, sooner or later the things inside would spill out and overrun everything above ground. Nightshade thought he could control it, but in the end, he’d just become another part of the horror.

“This place is way too hot for us right now,” Riley said, shaking her head. “No point pushing our luck.”

She marked the coordinates on her map and added a bold red skull icon with the label: EXTREME DANGER.

“Let’s head back. This whole area gives me the creeps.”

*****

Half an hour later, a shimmer of violet light flashed through the room as the teleport card activated.

Riley stumbled slightly as her boots touched down on the warm wooden floor of her own base.

“Meow!!”

Before she could even catch her breath, a white blur leaped toward her and crashed into her chest. Neeko shifted back into human form, wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, and buried her face against her jacket, which still reeked of smoke and dust. She didn’t let go. Her eyes were red–rimmed–she’d clearly been waiting by the

r door, scared out of her mind.

“Hey… it’s okay. I’m back now, see?”

Riley’s expression softened. She gently patted her back. “I’m not hurt. And we drove the bad guys off. It’s over.”

After soothing Neeko, she peeled off the grimy tactical vest and collapsed onto the couch.

Her body was completely drained, but her mind was still racing.

She pulled out her tablet. The group chat was blowing up.

“TartKing: DUDE!!! Are you alive?! Answer me!!

1/3

12:44 pm P P W

Chapter 124 A New Dawn

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Tartking: I saw your status updates! How bad is it? Why aren’t you responding??

“Tartking: I baked another cake!! The biggest one!! Please say something

“SpicyBurger: Still breathing. Barely

“PineappleBeer: +1. Patching up now. Debrief later.”

Seeing their replies, TartKing spammed the chat with crying and bowing emojis,

Once she’d checked in to confirm they were safe, Riley’s gaze drifted to the middle of the living room.

There, taking up a good amount of space, was the large gray duffel bag

el bag

The “hundred–slot inventory” that had dropped from InvincibleWarrior.

PineappleBeer joined via video call around then. She was back at her own outpost, sipping a recovery potion with one hand while watching the screen.

“So… what do we do with the bag?” Riley asked, nodding toward it.

She unzipped it and turned it over. A small mountain of items spilled onto the floor.

Alongside stacks of raw materials were plenty of personal belongings–things that clearly hadn’t come from any system drop. These looked like keepsakes, mementos… things that told stories.

Staring at the pile, the thrill of their victory began to fade.

“Technically, it’s loot,” PineappleBeer said, her voice quieter than usual. “Game rules say finders keepers. Just the refined iron and cotton alone would be enough to upgrade your base by a level.”

“But…” Riley was silent for a long moment. “This stuff feels wrong to keep.”

She looked up, her expression firm. “Besides, if it weren’t for everyone in the region pitching in with those potions,

r we’d have been finished inside that meatball. We didn’t win this fight alone.”

Over the call, Pineapple Beer stayed quiet for a few seconds, then let out a soft, relieved laugh.

“Knew you’d say something like that. Fine by me. Wasn’t really interested in this stuff anyway.

“How do you want to handle it, then?”

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