Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 260

The first to react was Yu Xi. She took out her phone and sent a message in the team chat: Ya Tong, can you receive this?

No reply.

She wasn’t sure if Ya Tong had received the message but was too occupied to respond or if she hadn’t received it at all.

After a brief discussion, the three of them started searching the area. If opening a regular treasure box summoned a monster to attack the person who opened it, then could opening a rare treasure box transport the opener to a separate dimension to face the challenge?

Like how some games triggered an instance dungeon, had Ya Tong been pulled into a similar alternate space?

Even though they knew they wouldn’t be able to enter the subspace where Ya Tong had been taken, they instinctively searched the surroundings, looking for any possible clues.

Ya Tong was a seasoned mission traveler. They weren’t panicked, but it was impossible not to be concerned. Fortunately, five minutes later, a section of solid ice nearby cracked open, and a familiar gloved hand emerged from beneath it.

Yu Xi reacted immediately, rushing forward to grab Ya Tong’s hand. The moment she reached out, Ya Tong firmly grasped her wrist, and with a slight exertion of force, Yu Xi pulled her out from under the ice.

As Ya Tong surfaced, chunks of ice tumbled down behind her. She looked like she had just fought a hard battle, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.

“How are you?” Lin Wu pulled a cup of warm water from his storage space and handed it to her. Ya Tong downed it in one go before finally looking up at the three of them. “How long was I gone?”

Yu Xi immediately understood what she was asking. “Five minutes.”

“Only five minutes? It felt like over an hour to me.”

As they had suspected, Ya Tong had indeed been pulled into a subspace. She had found herself standing in a vast snowfield, not far from a barefoot girl with snow-white skin and thin clothing.

The girl had told her that they would have a race—if Ya Tong could catch her, she would be rewarded.

“You ran?” Yu Zhenzhen asked eagerly.

“Of course I did,” Ya Tong replied. She had confidence in her speed. But as she ran, she quickly realized something was off—the girl wasn’t moving particularly fast, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch up.

That was when she sensed something was wrong. However, it was her first time encountering this challenge, and though she had a tendency to charge ahead recklessly, she was also cautious. So, she continued the race, observing carefully.

This time, she deliberately varied her speed, running fast at times and slowing down at others. Soon, she noticed that no matter what pace she ran at, the girl always maintained a constant distance ahead of her, as if adjusting her speed to match. She never let Ya Tong catch up, but she also never pulled too far ahead, keeping just close enough to give her a false sense of hope.

Once she realized this, Ya Tong stopped running. Instead, she pulled out her MP5 and opened fire.

The peaceful snowfield immediately erupted into chaos—a violent snowstorm descended, and the barefoot girl’s body sprouted sharp ice crystals. Her once delicate and pure face twisted into a monstrous snarl as she turned and lunged at Ya Tong.

Clearly, what had been presented as a simple foot race had now been forced into a “rage mode.” But to Ya Tong, this was the ideal way to handle it.

After an intense battle, the ice-crystal girl shattered, breaking into snow and vanishing.

Ya Tong then calmly walked to the spot where the ice crystals had been, looked down, and said, “Well, I caught you.”

Almost immediately, a mechanical voice echoed in the air, announcing that she had passed the challenge and earned a reward.

After the official announcement, however, a second voice—this one filled with frustration—added, “Brutal savage! You should learn some respect!”

And then, she had found herself buried in solid ice. A “small punishment,” apparently—aside from almost suffocating before she managed to break free, there were no other consequences.

“So, there isn’t only one way to clear these challenges,” Lin Wu nodded. “Fighting seems like the most straightforward solution.”

“Raw strength beats all tactics,” Yu Xi laughed. “That’s exactly your kind of approach.” She then asked, “So what was your reward?”

At this, Ya Tong finally smiled. “A storage space—five cubic meters.”

Lin Wu and Ya Tong’s first mystery box challenges had been surprisingly easy, and their rewards were quite good, which only made them more eager to open more treasure boxes.

Their original plan was to dig up as many boxes as possible before 6 PM and then find a quiet place to open them at night. However, when each of them reached ten treasure boxes, they all received a notification.

Notification: You have reached the daily limit of 10 treasure boxes. Please continue digging tomorrow.

It was a bit disappointing—given their physical strength and combat abilities, they could have easily dug up twenty or thirty boxes in a twelve-hour span. But it was obvious that the system wouldn’t allow unlimited treasure hunting.

From the avalanche in the early morning until now, Yu Xi and her group had been busy non-stop. They hadn’t even had time to eat. Since they had now reached their digging limit, it was a good opportunity to rest.

All the villa districts in White Bird Lake Park were already at full capacity. The original guests, the survivors evacuated from the mountain, and two waves of rescue personnel had filled every available space, leaving no empty villas for them to stay in.

If they truly feared the cold, they could have gone to the leisure area across the lake, found a shop, and camped indoors. But they were more concerned about crowded places than the cold—there were not only tourists but also other travelers there.

Many travelers had yet to unlock the Snowfield Treasure Hunt mode, meaning that avoiding crowds also meant avoiding unnecessary trouble.

So instead, they chose a sheltered, wind-protected area near a large rock formation. They dug out layers of snow, flattened and compacted the ground, then poured water over it so that the loose snow would freeze into a solid, thick ice platform.

Using the same method, they built a half-meter-high ice wall around the platform, forming a simple yet sturdy foundation.

Then, they took out the two tents they had set up earlier when changing gear and secured them onto the ice. Inside, they layered waterproof mats, insulation pads, heated blankets, and sleeping bags.

Yu Xi placed two camping tables and four chairs outside, while Lin Wu set up a transparent windproof tarp between the tables and the tents, completing their makeshift campsite.

On one of the tables, Yu Xi set up a gas stove and a camping pot. She pulled out several still-warm portions of seafood porridge from her storage and poured them into the pot to reheat. Then, she took out bowls and spoons, letting everyone serve themselves.

Since it was freezing outside, keeping the porridge warm in the pot ensured it wouldn’t go cold too quickly.

She also took out some sandwiches and cheese bread she had bought from the hotel, giving everyone their share to store in their personal spaces for later, so they could take them out fresh whenever they wanted.

Now that all four of them had storage spaces—even if Ya Tong’s was the smallest at just five cubic meters—it was still incredibly useful for keeping essential supplies, extra food, and water.

Yu Xi and Yu Zhenzhen also handed over a variety of items to Ya Tong, including daily necessities, freshly heated food and drinks, emergency medications, survival backpacks, and gear for diving, mountaineering, and rappelling, ensuring she had everything she might need. Finally, the backpack that Ya Tong had previously stored with Yu Xi was now back in her possession, allowing her to carry it herself.

A large pot of steaming hot seafood porridge, paired with chicken sandwiches and soft cheese bread, brought a much-needed sense of warmth and comfort.

After finishing their meal, they took out coffee, milk tea, and fruit tea, enjoying a moment of relaxation—until their phones buzzed with another notification.

Notification: The available slots for the current Snowfield Treasure Hunt mode have been filled. Good luck.

They reread the message several times before fully grasping its implications.

This meant that just like the treasure boxes, the Snowfield Treasure Hunt mode itself was not unlimited—there had been a cap on the number of participants.

It was clear that if word had spread, other travelers could have easily figured out how to activate the treasure hunt. But the station had evidently set a hard limit, preventing all travelers from participating.

And now, that limit had been reached. This meant that any remaining travelers had lost their opportunity to enter the treasure hunt mode.

If this notification had been sent to every traveler, then at this very moment, they all knew about it.

But they had missed their chance.

And what would happen next? The answer was obvious.

Yu Xi frowned. “Earlier, there was a friendly reminder saying not to open someone else’s treasure box. On one hand, that was a warning—implying that opening another person’s box could lead to something bad. But looking at it from another perspective, this also confirms that travelers can open someone else’s treasure box. That means stealing them before they’re claimed—or outright killing a traveler who owns treasure boxes—would likely result in resource drops.”

“So, whether it’s train tickets or treasure boxes, it seems like the Endless Train world is constantly encouraging bloodshed,” Lin Wu sighed.

“Not necessarily,” Yu Zhenzhen countered. “It still depends on personal choice. Some travelers always rely on killing at the platform to seize valid tickets, while others—like us—prefer to explore, complete missions, and earn ticket rewards that way. In a way, travelers who rely on constant killing have a much higher mortality rate than those who complete tasks. It’s almost like a built-in elimination system.”

She had a point, which earned her a playful ruffle on the head from both Yu Xi and Ya Tong.

Afterward, they decided to open all the treasure boxes they had collected so far before other travelers fully grasped the situation.

However, since there were only four of them, they couldn’t all open boxes simultaneously—someone needed to watch over the camp and keep an eye on teammates. They agreed to take turns in pairs.

Lin Wu and Ya Tong had already opened one box each, so now it was Yu Xi and Yu Zhenzhen’s turn.

Fortunately, Yu Zhenzhen’s electric baton had fully recharged, and her shield’s defense value was back at full strength. She also had plenty of guns and bullets from Ya Tong, and Yu Xi had given her a bottle of [High-Temperature Perfume] as a backup.

Even if she had to stay inside her shield and endure attacks while firing back, she could still grind the enemy down.

With everything prepared, Yu Xi drew her Tang blade and clicked to open her first ordinary treasure box.

—

While Yu Xi’s team hid in the mountains, rapidly opening blind boxes and handling their challenges, things on the other side of White Bird Lake were playing out exactly as they had expected—other travelers had begun fighting.

The last notification had indeed been sent to every traveler’s phone.

Many travelers only now realized what they had missed. Some, quick-witted, immediately used skills to ambush and track others. One traveler successfully followed a lone traveler who had just dug up a treasure box and was about to claim it.

The ambusher subdued their target just before they could touch the box—then reached out and claimed it themselves.

To their surprise, it worked. The treasure box transferred to their inventory.

Realizing this, they immediately threatened the other traveler, demanding that all of their treasure boxes be handed over.

But transferring treasure boxes wasn’t an option.

The ambusher then decided to kill the traveler and take whatever resources dropped upon their death. But the victim, thinking quickly, offered a bargain: he had not yet reached the ten-box daily limit and could still dig up five more. If the ambusher let him live, he would give up all the boxes he found.

This meant having someone else do the work for him—he would still get the treasure boxes without lifting a finger.

The ambusher agreed, promising to spare the traveler’s life once he handed over the remaining five boxes.

The traveler, of course, didn’t believe him. But he put on an act, digging as if he were genuinely desperate to gather the boxes. He soon unearthed three more—one of which was a silver rare treasure box.

At the moment the ambusher was caught off guard by the discovery, the traveler threw a tear gas grenade and used an escape item to flee at full speed.

The ambusher didn’t bother chasing. To him, as long as he had superior combat skills, he could always take more boxes from others whenever he wanted. There was no need to fixate on one target.

What he didn’t know, however, was that unlike those who had properly unlocked the treasure hunt mode, when he obtained a stolen treasure box, his phone only displayed the number of boxes he held—he received no additional notifications.

Because of this, he had no way of knowing about the earlier friendly reminder warning travelers not to open boxes belonging to others.

He wasn’t even aware that opening a box would trigger a challenge—and that he needed to clear the challenge to claim a reward.

So, without hesitation, he immediately opened the silver rare treasure box.

The next second, he was pulled into a subspace.

But instead of entering the standard challenge mode, he was thrown directly into the most difficult berserk mode.

In the end, he failed the challenge.

A monstrous entity inside the subspace kicked him out, spitting out a single sentence: “Stealing from others is a bad habit.”

He crashed into the snow, clutching his bleeding chest. Just as he started to feel relief that he had survived, he suddenly realized he couldn’t move.

Looking down, he saw his legs slowly turning into solid tree bark, creeping upward.