"Cold?"
Ye Feng frowned. After scanning his surroundings, he no longer cared about potentially exposing anything. He directly took out the solar heater, turned it on, and let Xiao Xiao warm up.
"Holy crap~ this heater is amazing!"
"This hot air is as good as many heat lamps!"
"Little brother, where did you get this thing?"
Ye Feng ignored the noisy discussions of the group of explorers. He was looking at Xiao Xiao with a solemn expression.
From quite early on, Ye Feng had noticed that after looking around the Rainbow Flag supply station, Xiao Xiao had been constantly moving towards the heat lamps to warm her hands.
He had previously thought it was because Xiao Xiao had a weaker constitution and was afraid of the cold, so he had taken out the solar heater…
Even though the warmth blowing onto Ye Feng was already scorching, Xiao Xiao seemed unaffected and was still shivering with cold!
"Xiao Xiao, stop!"
Suddenly, Ye Feng's expression changed.
Because he noticed Xiao Xiao had actually taken off her thermal gloves and was extending her small hands towards the glowing red heater. Ye Feng couldn't help but act swiftly, grabbing Xiao Xiao's small hand.
"Xiao Xiao, your hand is normal temperature…"
Feeling the temperature of Xiao Xiao's small hands in his palm, Ye Feng was very confused.
Xiao Xiao's hands were a bit cool, but with the thermal gloves on, her body temperature was normal.
"Does she have a cold or a fever? That shouldn't be right!"
Ye Feng had given Xiao Xiao Gan Mao Ling effervescent tablets several times a day according to the meal schedule. Since noon today, Xiao Xiao had not shown any symptoms of sneezing or a runny nose, nor was she coughing or feeling dizzy…
Despite his own deductions, Ye Feng still took out a mercury thermometer to measure Xiao Xiao's temperature.
"This… she really doesn't have a fever!"
Looking at the markings on the thermometer, Ye Feng became even more perplexed.
"Big… Big brother, I… I'm so cold!~"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao's trembling voice reached Ye Feng's ears again.
As she spoke, Xiao Xiao shifted her body, wanting to move closer to the red-hot heater, a hint of madness appearing in her expression.
"This…"
Ye Feng's face turned very grim.
Because all the signs indicated that Xiao Xiao was likely ill, and it probably wasn't a common cold, but something else…
"Little brother, give up, that little girl is beyond saving!"
"That's right, that little girl is most likely infected with Ice Gu!~"
Suddenly, someone from among the explorers shouted at Ye Feng.
"Beep~ Hint: Detected Ice Gu, distance 0 meters!~"
"Ice Gu: A relatively dangerous microorganism in the Remnant Fire World, bloodthirsty, can only survive and reproduce rapidly in blood."
"Once detached from blood and moisture, Ice Gu will quickly enter a dormant state. In its dormant state, Ice Gu can drift with the wind…"
"Ice Gu will erode the host's brain and the entire nervous system…"
Just as Ye Feng was wondering what Ice Gu was, the system's prompt sounded.
The system's prompt did not cheer Ye Feng up; instead, it made him feel worse.
At this moment, his expression was extremely grim!
Because from the information the system provided, Ice Gu was extremely dangerous and fatal, yet the system did not tell him how to deal with it…
"Little brother, give up, that little girl is beyond saving!"
"People infected with Ice Gu will be extremely afraid of the cold. Even in the hottest days of summer, they would feel like they are in an ice cellar wrapped in quilts, eventually dying from the heat!"
"Yeah, I once saw someone infected with Ice Gu who directly burned down their entire house!"
"Even if you tie her up, the little girl's entire body will eventually be gnawed to pieces by the Ice Gu, and the Ice Gu will eventually break out of her body…"
"Brother, stay away from that little girl, or the Ice Gu might spread to you!"
…
At this time, a jumble of voices from the group of explorers rang out again, making Ye Feng feel increasingly annoyed.
"Hey, kid, that little girl is doomed, hurry up and throw her out. If she dies here, the Ice Gu will spread and infect us!"
Suddenly, a burly man with unusually thick black eyebrows and a imposing physique ran up to Ye Feng and shouted.
"Kid, your heater is good, it seems to be solar-powered!"
"You've been in contact with this little girl for quite some time, so you're likely infected with Ice Gu too. Dying is just a matter of time. I, Master Ba, will take this heater!"
Saying this, the fierce brute reached out to grab the solar heater on the ground, but a hand was faster, instantly clamping onto his throat.
"Cough~ Cough~ You… you…"
The one who made the move was naturally Ye Feng. He directly grabbed the fierce brute's throat and lifted him up completely.
The fierce brute had long since retracted his hand that was reaching for the solar heater, and was now desperately trying to pry Ye Feng's hand off his throat, but he couldn't move it at all.
He could only let out suppressed, pained coughs…
Afterward, the brute's face went from fierce to terrified, and then gradually turned purplish, his eyeballs rolling upwards…
"Young man, while Ji Ba is a bit overbearing, he's not entirely wrong about one thing~"
"The little girl beside you is indeed infected with Ice Gu and doesn't have much time left. And this Ice Gu thing does spread…"
"If you don't have a fire-attribute arcane energy stone… you either throw the little girl out, or leave this place with her!"
At this moment, the leader of the Rainbow Flag supply station, Lu Ying, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a somewhat greasy, plump appearance, walked over.
"Bang!~"
Ye Feng casually threw the fierce brute into a corner. His head hit a rock, and he fainted directly.
"Fire-attribute arcane energy stone?"
Ye Feng turned to look at Lu Ying, keenly catching the hint in his words.
"That's right!"
Lu Ying nodded. "The only weakness of this Ice Gu is fire, but it can't be ordinary fire~"
"It has to be the 'fire' within a fire-attribute arcane energy stone. The fire-attribute arcane energy it contains has a strong attraction to Ice Gu, and can lure out and kill the Ice Gu within the human body!"
Lu Ying said slowly to Ye Feng.
"Is that so?"
Ye Feng frowned and addressed the people in the supply station, "Does anyone have a fire-attribute arcane energy stone? I'll trade it with a lightning-attribute arcane energy stone, plus a thermal suit, snow boots, and this solar heater!"
Knowing the importance of arcane energy stones, Ye Feng directly chose to trade for another arcane energy stone, while also offering considerable benefits.
However, within the entire Rainbow Flag supply station, although many people were very satisfied with Ye Feng's offer, no one responded to his request for an exchange.
"Brother, arcane energy stones are inherently rare, and arcane energy stones of various attributes are even rarer!"
"Moreover, fire-attribute arcane energy stones have a special use in this frozen snowy region; they are used for survival, making them incredibly rare!"
"Even if someone had one, it would be difficult for them to take it out for an exchange!"
After a long silence, it was the young man who had spoken to Ye Feng earlier who finally spoke up.
"I know of a place where arcane energy stones might exist, but it's at least a month's walk from here…"
"That little girl is infected with Ice Gu and has already fallen ill. She probably won't last 24 hours…"
As he spoke, he spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.
"This…"
Ye Feng's expression became extremely grim.
Just as he was contemplating whether to rush to the place the young man had mentioned overnight, a female voice rang out.
"I have a fire-attribute arcane energy stone!"