Chapter 683: Chapter 451: Terrifying Snow Accumulation, Driving Practice

The sky was dim, the faint light providing Zong Shen with some visibility.

But the sky full of falling snow veiled even this visibility.

Given such thickness of snow, normal houses and stone houses couldn’t even open their doors.

Fortunately, Doris and Hoy had prepared ahead of Frosty Winter, using pieces of wood to create a simple partition in front of the doors.

This way, even with heavy snow accumulation, a small piece of ground would be left at the doorway, at least not completely hindering access to the living area.

Additionally, they had performed snow removal on the main roads in the living area, and the wind-breaking wall also played its role, so the snow accumulation in the living area wasn’t as severe as Zong Shen had imagined.

However, it was still not optimistic; this snow thickness had exceeded the passing limits of the Burden-Bearer Mecha, and the snow plow could not push the excess snow.

Such thick snow would make it impossible for not only the ordinary mules but even the large riding beasts to move an inch.

Zong Shen tentatively took a few steps forward, arriving at the location where the steps used to be.

Now everywhere was covered with snow, making it impossible to tell what the terrain beneath was like.

Without a sense of depth, every step was filled with uncertainty.

Zong Shen could only proceed carefully based on his impressions.

He pulled out the Wind-Fire-Thunder Trident, which, as a long pole weapon, could serve the purpose of a snow staff.

The heavy body and the tapered hammer at the bottom ensured its reliability.

Thus, step by step, Zong Shen explored, descending three tiers of steps until he stood completely on the ice layer of the ground, with snow almost reaching his waist.

The bottom ice layer was frozen hard and smooth, and even with anti-slip chain spikes, walking was still full of resistance.

Moreover, the blizzard had not ceased; dense snowflakes fell like sheets of paper covering the sky.

Zong Shen retreated after advancing just a few steps; what could be done in such a situation?

By noon, when Frosty Winter entered its third stage, the temperature would drop even further.

Going out to search for the Frosty Winter Treasure Chest would become an unreachable dream.

Zong Shen slowly retreated, feeling his way back to the platform at the door.

In just this short while, it was as if he had donned a layer of white veil.

Those were snowflakes that quickly adhered and accumulated.

He stood on the platform, contemplating countermeasures meticulously.

Suddenly, he remembered something said in the strategy guide when inquiring about the weather forecast yesterday.

"Among the latest exchanged items, there is something that can handle this situation."

When Zong Shen recalled this sentence, he instantly understood what the strategy was referring to.

Once again supporting himself with the Wind-Fire-Thunder Trident, he walked off the platform, braving the blizzard and clearing a path through the snow leading outside the courtyard.

He stopped only after reaching the open ground outside.

Submerging his mind into the storage grid, he searched for an item capable of dealing with such snow accumulation.

Soon he found it. He waved his hand over the open ground in front of him.

A massive silver-gray object appeared instantly.

It was a Magic Energy Mecha, appearing somewhat smaller than the Burden-Bearer Mecha.

The front featured three groups of drill bits, with the middle one being the longest, up to two meters, flanked by two auxiliary small drill bits. These drill bits spiraled with knife grooves in the middle, topped with shining alloy stones, crucial for the bits to break through soil and rock layers.

Behind the drill bits was the body of the machine, approximately three meters in length, with only one passenger compartment and no cargo compartment. The chassis used a split-track design, with the front having three groups of load-bearing wheels forming a triangular mini track section, and the back having a conventional track section formed by five groups of load-bearing wheels.

The cockpit had a circular transparent glass cover, and along the edge, a band of silver-white secret silver was riveted, inscribed with engravings. Some small magic like "Solidification Technique," "Heating Technique," and "Cooling Skill" could enhance the glass’s strength and adaptability to special situations.

Indeed, the key to smooth traversal in the latter stage was this Magic Energy Drilling Machine.

Zong Shen had not operated it before; he approached the cockpit and chose to open the glass cover.

The interior of the cockpit had only a single two-person seat.

The operating unit seemed more complex than that of the Burden-Bearer Mecha.

There were three sets of pedals, five levers, a main control rod, and several buttons.

The Burden-Bearer Mecha wasn’t this fancy, using a handlebar-like helm for direction, whereas this used a main control rod, much like driving an excavator, only lacking the dashboard for indicator parameters.

But, it exuded a bit of a "tech feel."

Zong Shen, filled with doubt, followed the side of the machine’s body, scaling the few footholds left open, and sat in the cockpit.

Sealing off the wind and snow by closing the glass cabin door.

This model wasn’t goblin-exclusive, so the cockpit was spacious enough.

However, Zong Shen was puzzled about how to drive it.

The territory’s goblin ripper drivers were more familiar with magic energy mechanisms.

But they were also in the living area now, too far to provide immediate help.

"Let’s just seek strategy assistance directly."

Zong Shen sat at the driver’s seat, dazing for a moment, and decided to ask for the little assistant’s help.

"Please tell me how to operate this..."

As soon as his request and puzzlement fed back from his heart, golden annotations began to appear on the control unit, explaining the function of each button alongside.