The curly-haired boy pulled out a black card from a black wallet.
On it was a unicorn logo.
This famous emblem was undoubtedly known to everyone on Mercury; it was the bank card of Unicorn Bank.
Unicorn Bank is the largest bank on Mercury, not subject to federal jurisdiction, and holds a transcendent status.
And a black card from Unicorn Bank represents more than just money; it signifies status.
The curly-haired boy was absolutely a second-generation rich kid beyond Su Xing’s wildest imagination.
“Do you have a bank card? I can swipe this card for you. Is ten thousand Bei coins enough? I can add more if it’s not.”
Hearing such a lavish remark, Su Xing felt her eyes turn red.
Her expression was pained, “I don’t have a bank card.”
How could you expect someone with less than three digits in their savings to have something as fancy as a bank card?
The curly-haired boy paused, and Su Xing guessed he was probably surprised that someone could not have a bank card.
Then, the next second, the curly-haired boy started acting again.
He pulled out a large handful of Bei coins from that palm-sized black wallet.
Then another large handful, and another large handful, and…
She quickly realized this must be a specially made wallet, enchanted by a spatial Phantom Spirit Master, otherwise, there was no way to explain how such a small thing could hold so much money.
Although she secretly coveted the wallet more, Su Xing wasn’t one to refuse.
She accepted however many Bei coins the curly-haired boy offered.
Finally, after the 5,300th Bei coin had been put into Su Xing’s backpack, the curly-haired boy finally stopped, “Sorry, I only brought this much cash.”
Just as Su Xing was about to say something, the staff member had already finished inspecting the entire car and began apologizing, “Apologies, dear guests, this incident was our oversight. We will now arrange a security officer to stay in the car throughout the journey to prevent further incidents.”
“Um… excuse me, is the security officer a Phantom Spirit Master?” a boy with white mushroom hair and thick, bottle-bottom square glasses asked weakly.
His skin was terrifyingly pale, as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in years.
Seeing everyone turn to look at him, he immediately added in a panic, “I… I just heard… heard Phantom Spirit sounds.”
The staff member replied gently, “Of course, the security officer is a Phantom Spirit Master we specially hired. We will definitely guarantee the safety of our passengers.”
After the staff left, Su Xing took out the hidden weapon she had pulled out earlier.
Because it was too dark before, she hadn’t been able to observe it.
Now, seeing it, Su Xing immediately noticed something interesting—the concave part of this crescent-shaped hidden weapon was very blunt and couldn’t possibly injure anyone.
After a few thoughtful glances, Su Xing suddenly used the concave part to trap her neck, comparing its size to her neck.
This part, whether in terms of concavity or size, was larger than her neck.
For the curly-haired boy, it should have been just enough to trap him without causing injury.
Recalling how the hidden weapon was embedded in the fleshy wall, with the sharp points on both sides inserted and a large empty space left by the concave part, Su Xing’s eyes rolled, and she vaguely guessed something.
Perhaps because of the security officer, there were no more mishaps in the car this time. Everyone arrived safely at the final destination—the Far North Snowfield Station.
After getting off the train, the tour guide began counting heads, “One, two, thirty-five! Everyone’s here! Let’s go together, our accommodation is at Snow Domain Villa, about a kilometer from here.”
Su Xing stood in the middle of the group.
In front of her was Kaka, the wealthy curly-haired boy.
During their time on the moth-worm train, they had already exchanged names.
The disembarkation point was already on the outskirts of the Far North Snowfield.
The biting wind blew, and light snow, falling year-round, drifted from the sky.
Su Xing stepped on the thick snow, sniffed her reddened nose, and complained with some dissatisfaction, “That’s why I hate winter the most.”
Kaka, however, was very excited.
Perhaps boys of this age don’t feel the cold at all; at any rate, his jumping and skipping contrasted sharply with Su Xing, who was trying to curl her entire body up.
“I secretly came out on this trip without my family knowing. When I go back, I’ll definitely be an adult!”
Kaka said excitedly.
Su Xing scoffed beside him.
Can a solo trip prove you’re an adult?
He’s still a child, after all.
She completely forgot that she was also a fifteen-year-old child.
However, seeing how carefree he was, she couldn’t help but remind him, “Don’t forget, someone in this tour group is targeting you. You came out alone, so you have no protection now.”
***
She wasn’t being kind with her reminder; she was just trying to prevent her meal ticket for the next three days from disappearing.
Su Xing told herself this in her heart.
Because it was perennially covered in snow, the surroundings along the way were all snow-capped mountains.
Guided by the bright moonlight, Su Xing followed the footsteps of those who came before, carefully trying not to slip and fall.
Kaka had no such concerns, looking around expansively. Suddenly, he poked Su Xing, “Hey, Su Xing, look at that mountaintop!”
Su Xing looked up as told, but there was nothing on the mountaintop.
She looked at Kaka unhappily, “Are you messing with me?”
Kaka quickly shook his head, “No! I really saw something just now!”
His voice was a bit loud, attracting others to look over.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses asked gently, “Young man, what did you see just now? Why don’t you tell us, maybe some of us also noticed something?”
“I think I saw someone on those mountaintops.”
As soon as he said this, everyone immediately panicked.
“What? No way? Someone’s spying on us?”
“Could it be that group from earlier?”
“Aren’t we here for a tour? Why is it so dangerous? I want to complain about this tour group!”
Seeing the tourists getting more and more agitated, the tour guide quickly came out to explain the situation, “Young man, what you saw might have been snow fog. When it snows, mist appears on the mountaintops, and because it’s a snow mountain, the mist will be even more concentrated. Since it’s nighttime, that mist might appear human-shaped, which is why you mistook it.”
Kaka suddenly understood, “Oh! So that’s what it was!”
The tourists also believed this explanation.
Seeing the crisis resolved, the tour guide began telling stories to keep the tourists entertained on the road.
“Deep in the Far North Snowfield, there’s a type of Phantom Spirit called a Snow Maiden. Snow Maidens are made of snow and feed on snow. They despise all creatures that enter the snowfield, so they will use all sorts of methods to kill intruders. If you see a white-haired girl in the icy landscape, you must get away quickly, because that is a Snow Maiden.”
The tour guide deliberately pinched her voice, making it sound like an old witch.
Combined with the setting that mirrored the story, it indeed gave off an eerie feeling.
Neither Kaka nor Su Xing were scared.
However, Su Xing wasn’t scared because she was used to these fabricated horror stories meant to increase the mysteriousness of tourist spots.
Kaka, on the other hand, was simply fearless due to ignorance and kept pestering the tour guide to tell more stories about Snow Maidens, trying to find loopholes in the narrative.
“Aren’t Snow Maidens made of snow? Then their faces shouldn’t have flesh color, so how could anyone be fooled?”
“What special abilities do Snow Maidens have? Guide, tell us!”
A series of questions annoyed the tour guide immensely.
Seeing a tic-tac-toe mark about to appear on the tour guide’s forehead, Su Xing smiled and leaned in, pulled Kaka behind her, and then pointed forward to distract the tour guide, “I think I see the villa?”
The tour guide looked up and indeed saw faint, flickering lights ahead.
She perked up and announced loudly, “We’re almost at our accommodation for tonight! Everyone, quicken your pace, victory is ahead!”
Soon, the group arrived inside the villa.
As soon as they entered, the temperature immediately rose.
The fireplace in the lobby had a roaring fire, a stark contrast to the icy world outside.
Among the fifteen people, besides Su Xing, there was only one grey-haired elderly woman.
The two of them were naturally assigned to the same room.
The tour guide briefly explained tomorrow’s itinerary and then dismissed everyone.
Upon entering the room, Su Xing asked while placing her luggage, “Grandma, who’s taking a shower first?”
The old grandma was also tidying up but didn’t respond.
Su Xing raised her voice and repeated, “Grandma! Do you want to shower first?”
Only then did the old grandma react, nodding hurriedly, “Y-yes, I can!”
Accidents always happen unexpectedly.
Just as Su Xing finished washing her hair, the power went out.
Su Xing vigorously rubbed her hair twice, then turned and smiled at the old grandma, “I’ll go see what’s happening. You rest first.”
It was pitch black outside too, and upon reaching the lobby, many tourists had already gathered there.
Su Xing walked over and stood with Kaka.
The tour guide was lighting candles, patiently comforting everyone.
“Please don’t worry, everyone. Our staff are already troubleshooting the issue.”
Soon, a man jogged over and whispered something in the tour guide’s ear.
The tour guide sighed in relief, “Everyone, don’t worry. The Thunderlight Beast providing power probably fainted because the weather was too cold. With the help of our staff, it has woken up and power will be back on soon.”
Indeed, a few seconds after she said this, the lobby was illuminated again.
However, not everyone was satisfied.
A man roared angrily, “What’s wrong with your tour group? Are you treating us like fools? Who doesn’t know that a Thunderlight Beast cannot possibly faint from the cold?”
This was also Su Xing’s concern.
Thunderlight Beasts are commonly used power-generating Phantom Spirits on Mercury.
To survive, she had even done related work and knew a fair bit about these Phantom Spirits.
Thunderlight Beasts, due to being constantly electrified, have very high body temperatures.
In summer, it’s possible they might run into trouble from being too hot, but in winter, it’s impossible for them to faint.
Hearing the man’s question, the tour guide quickly explained, “We don’t know what happened either, but when we went to check, the Thunderlight Beast was already frozen solid, which is why the power went out.”
The man sneered, “If a Thunderlight Beast can be frozen solid, is your villa really safe? I don’t care, either you give me a reasonable explanation, or I’m going back right now.”