Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 490

Chapter 490 The Dungeon Market

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At the entrance to the market stood a line of a dozen heavily geared survivors, waiting to be processed by the guards.

The moment Riley approached, she felt a suffocating wave of pressure.

The pressure wasn’t coming from the players in line; it was rolling off the two “security guards” flanking the market entrance.

They were tall and lean, draped in heavy mage robes with their hoods pulled up, obscuring their faces.

The rings on their fingers pulsed with a faint light, projecting a glowing barrier across the entrance. Everyone had to be scanned by the barrier before stepping inside.

Riley pulled up her system panel and focused on the guards.

Level: ??? (Absolute Crush)

Skills: Absolute Judgment, Life Siphon, Void Banishment.

A string of blood–red question marks hovered above their heads.

Riley didn’t doubt their strength for a second; an aura like that couldn’t be faked.

They seemed to belong to the same tier as the Elven Merchant she met back in the Magic Beast Forest- interdimensional NPCs who were only interested in extracting Frost Tokens from the survivors.

As Riley stepped closer, a system prompt popped up in her vision.

“Rule 1: This is an Absolute Safe Zone. Anyone drawing weapons, casting attack skills, or attempting theft will be executed immediately.”

“Rule 2: Time–Limited Trading. Every survivor may purchase items within the market but may only stay for a maximum of 5 hours. Overstaying will result in forced eviction by security. Refusal to leave will result in execution.”

“Rule 3: Entry Fee. 50 Frost Tokens per person. No bargaining.”

An Absolute Safe Zone. 50 Frost Tokens for five hours of guaranteed safety. Riley couldn’t say if it was a rip–off or a steal, but what really drew her was the chance to trade with NPCs. There was a high chance she could buy the exact items she needed. It was worth the price of admission.

The line moved slowly. Riley quietly slotted herself at the back.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the front of the line.

“On what grounds?! Why the hell do I have to pay 50 tokens upfront? This is daylight robbery! I haven’t even bought anything yet, you can’t just extort me!”

A man in full Berserker plate armor roared at the front of the line. He had clearly just survived a brutal firefight; he was covered in wounds and incredibly cranky. It looked like he was venting all his dungeon-

induced stress onto the NPCS.

D

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12:03 Thu, 16 Jul – ô

Chapter 490 The Dungeon Market

93%

+10 Free Coins

One of the attendants–a low–level, elderly goblin adjusting a monocle–didn’t even bother looking up. His voice was completely flat. “Place the tokens in your inventory into your hand; the market will automatically extract them. If you find the fee unreasonable, you are free to turn around and leave. Please do not cause a disturbance.”

The goblin’s extreme politeness actually emboldened the Berserker. He assumed the NPCs were just for show and got entirely too big for his britches.

“Unreasonable?! I haven’t even browsed yet and you want me to pay to enter the mall? I’m not paying a damn thing today! The customer is-”

The man never finished his sentence.

The short goblin slowly raised his head, his eyes flashing with sheer contempt.

Simultaneously…

BOOM-!

A deafening shockwave erupted.

The man who was screaming a split second ago was violently blasted backward by an invisible force.

He was launched at terrifying speed, the angle surgically calculated to send him flying straight past the line of players and directly out of the water curtain.

Seconds later, agonizing screams echoed from the other side of the curtain. The man had undoubtedly been butchered by the players lurking outside.

A moment later, a cluster of blue lights flew back through the curtain.

Riley squinted. They were Frost Tokens.

Dead silence.

The entire entrance fell into a graveyard–like silence.

The survivors who witnessed the spectacle were nailed to the floor like wooden posts, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

The line resumed moving, but this time, everyone was terrifyingly obedient. Even the quiet whispers ceased completely.

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