Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 700 - 61 - A Person’s Journey_1

Chapter 700: Chapter 61 - A Person’s Journey_1

The Perpetual Icefield, with an area of three hundred thousand square kilometers, is always enveloped in white. Looking in all directions, there were no references to determine one’s location. Beyond the icy plains, all that is visible are ice mountains. The sun sporadically appeared and disappeared in the mist without bringing any warmth. Looking back, all that can be seen are the shallow footprints left on the frozen snow. Ahead, the vast expanse of snow extended into the hazy mist, stretching all the way to the horizon.

There was no road in sight, neither behind nor ahead. The world was shrouded in an encompassing thin mist, creating a state of chaos. It felt as though everything had faded into the distance, and only Freya remained, isolated and forgotten by all in this chaotic world, marching on alone. The surroundings were empty, filled by a silence as piercing as death itself. There were no human voices, no wild beasts, not even the sound of wind. Only the faint sounds occasionally emitted from deep within the ice layer due to temperature changes could be heard. Usually negligible, but now they sounded particularly distinct. Beyond that, only the sound of the girl’s footsteps plodding on kept echoing in vain against the desolate landscape. The otherwise chillingly silent atmosphere was such that even the faint sound of frozen snow and broken ice kicked up by her steps and resettling on the ground could be distinctly heard.

"Ha." The girl suddenly let out a shout. The sound wave, like water being absorbed by a parched desert, quickly melted into the thick fog, leaving not a trace behind.

’Loneliness is my only friend. Be it dawn or dusk, in poverty or wealth, in joy or sorrow, it never leaves me. It will always accompany me. Ignorant human beings, you can never understand the delight of being alone. You foolishly chase fleeting pleasures, yet you fail to realize that the joy brought by solitude is the only true eternity.’ Freya sung a soliloquy from a classic opera, her voice, normally rich and melodious like fine wine, sounded somewhat hoarse, as if she had been singing for a long while.

It had already been over ten hours since the ice storm had ceased its ravage. During this time, the girl had experienced the exhilaration of a narrow escape from death, the apprehension of an uncertain fate, the despair of an unseen hope, the forced resurgence beneath her unwillingness to give in, and a deeper sense of despair resulting from harsh natural conditions and solitude. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Freya felt the weather turning increasingly colder. The thick clothes lining her interior were torn in places by broken shards of ice, letting the chilly air seep in from the gaps to painfully prick at her skin and muscles, numbing them.

Hunger was generally the first thing that accompanied cold. Not the kind of hunger one felt in their mind, but a palpable hunger that the body relayed to the brain. The gnawing pain in her stomach reminded her that eating had become the highest priority. Furthermore, her progressively numbing body provided a stark reminder that without timely nourishment, she would not have the strength to fight against this hellish environment, let alone maintain her present level of physical activity. Yet, on the barren ice fields, where one could hardly glimpse another living being, hunger was anything but a stranger. There were no plants, no animals, nothing that could serve to fill her stomach. The omnipresent ice and snow too were not an option; they were incapable of providing her body with any energy and would only serve to intensify her cold-induced torment.

To combat the layers of despair induced by the cold, hunger, and loneliness, Freya began singing two hours ago. Her artistic talent was indeed not something a little girl like Lina, who only knew how to immerse herself in knight novels, could possibly measure up to. Vast sections of classic passages were sung by her effortlessly. She smoothly transitioned between recitative and aria styles; even adulatory songs, which demanded the finest vocal skills, were a piece of cake to her. This held true even for some obscure performances – the girl could accurately sing every classic passage from them. Yet, none of this helped her feel any better. Performing without an audience felt like a down-on-her-luck artist entertaining herself in a deserted theater. The echoed sounds within the quiet atmosphere only accentuated her desolation and loneliness. But she could not stop singing. Only by continuously making noise could she free herself from solitude, even if this liberation was futile. So she continued to sing intermittently for two hours, her voice turning hoarse and eyes brimming with crystalline tears.

’’Where are you all? Catherine, Pannis, Vivian, Lina...and Ava. Please, help me...I...I’m at my wit’s end.’’ Freya finally couldn’t continue to sing, and a hint of nasality slipped into her voice. After all, she was a beautiful princess who had been raised in a noble and comfortable environment. No matter how steadfast her heart was, in the face of this sudden crisis, she was bound to feel vulnerable and helpless, unlike the other girls who had been constantly battling dangers and pain, thereby developing a high resilience to adversity. However, she was also a proud princess, and her innate dignity did not permit her to wallow in despair. And so after a deep breath, Freya muttered to herself: "I need to find a place to stay for the night. Adequate rest will minimize energy use. Sigh, I am so hungry. The most crucial task right now is to find a shallow crevice in the ice. If there are plants, there should be insects, and if insects are present, then it may be possible to hunt a small magical beast for food."

But reality was often full of cruel irony. When everyone needed to hurry along, crevices in the ice lay strewn across their path, hindering their progress. However, when Freya began to seek for them, those crevices which earlier seemed so ubiquitous now seemed to have played hide and seek. She had already been walking for over ten hours, with the sun nearing its disappearance from the sky, but she had only found three crevices, each of them so deep that it was impossible to fathom what lay within them.

’’I can’t go on. Even if there’s no food, I won’t starve to death overnight.’’ Time caused Freya to finally abandon her search, accepting her fate of staying hungry for the night: ’’But, if I don’t manage to find a place to stay soon, I’ll definitely freeze to death in a single night. A residence, a residence... where can I find a residence?’’

In their adventure team, finding a campsite was usually the responsibility of Pannis or Catherine. Yet that did not mean the rest of the team were unaware of how it was done. In fact, everyone knew how to select a campsite and set it up. Consequently, as Freya slowed down her pace, she began to observe her surroundings purposefully, hoping to find a suitable place for the night. (To be continued. If you like this novel, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support will be my greatest inspiration. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)