Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 521

Chapter–521 Gifts of Gratitude

Chapter 521 Gifts of Gratitude

The first person to walk over was the woman who’d warned Riley back at the broken wall ruins.

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Her injured teammate had already settled inside the safe–zone. Their face was still pale, but their bleeding had stopped. The woman clutched a small cloth pouch in her hand, Looking nervous as she stopped in front of Riley.

“President.”

She spoke the title awkwardly, unused to saying it.

Riley glanced at her. “What’s up?”

The woman held out the cloth pouch.

“Thank you for saving us earlier. I found this stuff while traveling. It’s nothing great, but… you guys saved our lives. I can’t just say thank you and leave it at that.”

RedBean was about to tell her there was no need, but Riley already reached out and took the pouch.

The bag was small. Inside were a handful of Frost Tokens and a whetstone.

The whetstone was a top–tier green item. It granted a temporary sharpness buff to weapons after use, slightly boosting attack damage.

Its effects were actually useful, far better than the woman made it sound.

Still, Riley accepted it.

The woman relaxed visibly when she saw Riley smile and take the gift. She smiled back, like a weight had lifted off her chest.

More survivors stepped forward afterward.

Some offered a dozen Frost Tokens. Some handed over rolls of bandages or handfuls of crossbow bolts. One person gave a low- durability blue–grade small shield, saying their class couldn’t use it and hoping someone in Hope Guild could repair it and put it to good use.

None of the gifts were high–value items.

But Riley didn’t turn any of them down.

She told RedBean to collect everything and keep clear records. If people refused to give their names, she only logged the item

quantities.

Hanna watched from the side for a moment and then whispered with a faint smile, “I thought you’d refuse all of this.”

“Why would I?” Riley asked.

Hanna raised an eyebrow and spoke quietly.

“You refused all the checkpoint tolls before.”

“These are gratitude gifts, not tolls.” Riley’s tone stayed calm.

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12:25 pm PTM

Chapter 521 Gifts of Gratitude

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“We didn’t force anyone to give anything. We didn’t block the path for people who refused to pay. These are voluntary offerings they can easily afford. There’s no harm in taking them.”

Hanna nodded while updating the records.

“We earn these rewards for doing the right thing It puts everyone at ease. Turning them down only makes people feel like they owe us something.”

Riley shot her a quick look.

Hanna immediately fell quiet, though a smile still tugged at her lips.

The Hope Guild members relaxed after hearing this.

They’d fought hard to break the blockade not for profit. But accepting these sincere gifts was far better than rejecting them.

Unresolved gratitude could easily turn into a heavy burden.

Taking the gifts closed the matter cleanly.

They saved the survivors. The survivors thanked them. No strings attached.

From then on, everyone fended for themselves, surviving however they could.

That was just who Riley was.

She was no naive saint, nor did she want to be hailed as some savior,

She simply hated unfair cruelty and stepped in to fix it. If people wanted to thank her, she accepted it plainly.

While the crowd came forward with their gifts, Riley asked them the same questions each time.

“Has anyone seen PineappleBeer?”

“What about TartKing? Any impressions?”

“Has anyone met other members from Hope Guild?”

Unfortunately, the answers were unhelpful.

Most people shook their heads.

A few hesitated. One survivor swore they’d seen an extremely fast female assassin dart through the northern tunnels a while back, but they couldn’t confirm if it was PineappleBeer. Another mentioned hearing rumors of a priest in a distant team, but that priest was male, nothing like TartKing.

None of these scattered leads were solid enough to confirm anything.

Riley logged every piece of information, but she didn’t stop searching just because she’d gotten no clear results.

The hall was packed with people and full of messy rumors. She couldn’t rely on a few casual questions to find them.

She told the guild members to find a spot to settle down and rest.

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2:26 pm P

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