Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 126 - 111: Escape from Desperation [3-in-1 Mega Chapter]_3

Chapter 126: Chapter 111: Escape from Desperation [3-in-1 Mega Chapter]_3

After listening for a while, Chen Ying quietly descended, his waxy and emaciated face showing threads of despair.

The two people below saw his expression and clearly realized something, their expressions gradually becoming hopeless as well.

"They’re still there, they’re not planning to leave. What’s on the North Slope? Are these beasts planning to stay here forever!"

"Even if they leave during the day, it doesn’t matter. We can’t get out. As soon as night falls, they come back and rest above, and we still can’t escape."

"The Crystal Fruit ran out three days ago. The leather, dried grass, and tarpaulin we used before in the cave, everything edible is already eaten, and there are already children fainting from hunger."

"We can’t go on like this, Father."

"The wood is about to run out too, the camp is about to start eating people, Father."

"Shut up, quiet!"

Chen Ying interrupted his two sons’ discussion. Although his tone was slightly more severe, he still tried to keep his voice down, fearing being discovered by the Cold Beast above.

But after interrupting them, Chen Ying didn’t know what to say either. Thinking of the current situation, the despair in his pupils grew stronger.

This group of rodents came over more than half a month ago, and for some unknown reason, they entrenched themselves on the North Slope of the mountain wall and refused to leave. Today marks a full seventeen days.

The Chen Ye Camp was originally just a small camp with little strength. The reserves of Crystal Fruit and wood were not substantial, and the logging team has not gone out for seventeen days. The current situation is easy to imagine.

Chen Ying had considered a desperate attempt, but the problem is that with their strength, even a desperate attempt was an extravagance. If they exposed themselves even a little, it would basically mean becoming this group of Cold Beasts’ food.

Last time during the Wood Puppet Monster incident at Rogel Camp, Chen Ye Camp lost five people from the Logging Realm. Now with only the three of them in the Logging Realm, with such little strength, any one of the myriad rodents on the North Slope could easily kill them.

Chen Ying once hoped that this group of rodents had some purpose and might leave once they achieved it.

But up to now, there were no signs of the rodents leaving.

"Let’s go back and have a look!"

Chen Ying led his two sons, walked more than ten meters towards the south of the cave, and knocked on a stone wall, immediately receiving a response from behind.

A stone was moved aside, and light immediately poured out from inside. The three quickly squeezed in and sealed the stone wall behind them.

Behind the stone wall, there was actually a secondary cave that spanned twenty to thirty meters. In the center of the cave was a small bonfire, with two to three hundred people crowded around it, their faces full of despair and helplessness.

The arrival of Chen Ying and his two sons caused a slight stir among the crowd.

Yet upon noticing the expressions on the three’s faces, the crowd visibly fell back into despair, their spirits utterly crushed.

"Wuwuwu, my child, my child..."

Suddenly, the low sobs of a woman came from the crowd.

Chen Ying followed the sound and found a grown woman by the bonfire, holding a three or four-year-old child, weeping quietly.

Chen Ying reached out and touched the child’s neck, discovering that the pulse had already stopped, his face turning even grimmer.

Those closest to the bonfire were children and women. Chen Ying stood up and looked around, finding that most of the children had their eyes closed, barely breathing, with even some already unconscious.

On the third day of fasting, in normal circumstances, it would not be enough to starve anyone to death.

The problem is, the heating system also broke down. With the Cold Beasts directly above, they couldn’t risk stoking the fire too much. Furthermore, with the wood supply running low these past few days, warming up has become an even greater strain.

Surviving hunger alone could barely be managed, but if you add the cold, even adults wouldn’t hold, let alone children. If this continues, the children will definitely be the first to die of starvation and cold, then it will spread to the adults.

Chen Ying clenched his fists tightly for a moment, seemingly making a decision, the despair on his face gradually shifting to resolve.

He turned to the crowd and spoke in a deep voice:

"Tonight, once night falls, Chen Shang and I will charge out of the cave entrance, running north to distract the Cold Beasts. Chen Ping will lead the others south. If you can run, then run, if not, then we’ll all die together!"

After speaking, Chen Ying ignored the crowd’s reaction and sat directly on the ground, closing his eyes to rest, waiting for the night to come.

Chen Ping and Chen Shang, hearing his words, also showed no emotional response, only nodded slightly in despair.

Upon hearing Chen Ye’s plan, the others reacted similarly, if not more hopelessly than them.

It’s not just these ordinary people; when Chen Ye made this decision, he knew in his heart that of the 278—no, 277 people left in Chen Ye Camp, none were likely to survive.

The problem is, doing nothing only guarantees death.

Taking action may at least allow a more dignified death.

When he confirmed the child’s death a moment ago, he noticed the gleam in many adults’ eyes.

If they continued to stay inside, not only would they die without dignity, but scenes of inhuman tragedy might occur, which he was unwilling to see.

Thus, aside from death, there is no other path!

Being weak is the original sin. Who let them be at the bottom layer of this icy world? Since death cannot be avoided, they might as well accept it calmly.

Ah...

With eyes closed, Chen Ying’s heart sighed slightly, involuntarily recalling Yang Ning and another he met at Rogel Camp some time ago.

"If only we were born in a place like Beishuo Town, it would be great!"

The night silently crept in.

In fact, during these seventeen days trapped deep in the cave, for fear of being discovered by the Cold Beasts, even the smoke from the bonfire was being vented through wooden pipes to the depths of the cave, let alone opening the cave to see whether it was day or night outside.