Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 702 - 63 Freya’s Cottage_1

Chapter 702: Chapter 63 Freya’s Cottage_1

The booming gunshots were incessant, volley after volley of energy bullets hammering onto the ice layer. The ice and snow, unable to melt under the intense heat, vaporized instead, turning into a cloud of mist that dissipated into the air. After more than twenty shots, the solid ice surface could no longer hold out. The final energy bullet collided with the ice layer and directly drilled into it, traveling along a tunnel behind the ice layer deep into the darkness.

"Phew, that was tough. But it looks like I’ve found shelter for the night, I really am quite lucky." Freya, reassured by her correct assumptions, contentedly took a breath, peering into the hole she’d created. Clearly, the hole was not naturally made. Someone had, for unknown reasons, excavated a downward sloping tunnel from the base of the ice mountain. The tunnel was spacious enough to accommodate a human standing upright and its edges were neatly trimmed. It looked less like a haphazard living space, yet rather like a much-used, meticulously maintained room. But the tunnel appeared to have been left undisturbed years ago, its entrance sealed once more with solid ice, concealing its existence beneath the ice. If not for Freya’s keen observation and detection of the slight difference in the color of the ice, this tunnel may have been hidden from the sun’s light for many more years to come.

"I don’t know who you are, but thank you all the same." Freya expressed her gratitude to the pioneer who had excavated this tunnel, then stuck her head inside. With the help of the cold wind on the snowfield, the stale air inside the tunnel was quickly replaced, making it tolerable to breathe. As night fell entirely, she took out a small emergency lantern, energized it with a crystal, and shone it into the hole. Although the tunnel wasn’t deep, it extended about ten meters in length. The lantern was too small to clearly illuminate the interior, leaving Freya with no other option than to hang it on her waist. Gun in her hands, she limped her way into the tunnel.

There was a drop of several tens of centimeters between the tunnel entrance and the floor, which was probably caused by a gradual rise in the snow layer over the years. The floor made entirely of ice was extremely slippery, making it almost impossible to stay on your feet. Fortunately for Freya, she could use the small device on her shoes to stabilize her footing. If it had been another member of the adventure team, they would almost certainly have slipped down the slightly sloping tunnel to the very bottom of the cave.

After taking a few steps, Freya heard nothing but her own echoing footsteps and heavy breaths, and saw no signs of danger. Slightly relieved, she held her Crystal Energy Gun in one hand and her lantern in the other, inspecting the tunnel’s sides. As she had noticed from outside, the ice walls on both sides were neatly trimmed. The person who excavated this cave was clearly quite a stickler for perfection, even extending that pursuit to a randomly excavated cave.

"Looks like it’s safe in here, nothing at all." Not long after entering the tunnel, she saw faint reflections of her lantern light bouncing off the wall at the end of the cavern. It seemed she had reached its deepest part. Freya let out a sigh of relief and then exclaimed, "Hold on, that’s not a reflection off a wall, is it...an ice house?"

No wonder Freya was surprised; the appearance of an ice house was beyond her expectations. An expansive circular cavity had been excavated at the end of the tunnel, with a small ice house standing in the centre of it. For Freya, this was as if a gift from a deity. If there were hot bread on a table inside the house, it would be sheer perfection. Of course, just a whimsical thought - it was nothing but a dream. However, finding such a sanctuary on a hellish snowfield was, indeed, a blessing from the Divine.

"I hope I don’t meet the house owner inside." The unexpected find uplifted Freya’s spirits. After circling around the space between the ice house and the cave walls without finding any danger, she half-jokingly said to herself, "Alive or dead, it is best not to meet."

Entering through the doorless entrance of the ice house, Freya’s disquiet was finally relieved. There were no signs of living creatures inside the house, dead or alive. The floor of the ice house was lower by about a meter and a half compared to the exterior floor. Upon entering the house, you had to descend a flight of steps leading into the main space of the house. The room wasn’t very large and could accommodate only four people moving around normally. One corner of the house had four beds - three large, one small - with thick animal fur spread over them. Underneath the fur were piles of animal hair, making the beds incredibly soft and warm. Despite years of wear and tear, due to the low temperature and the enclosed space, the fur remained elastic and felt smooth to the touch.

On the other side of the house was a set of ice-made furniture. Animal fur covered the table and chairs, appearing cleaned and dust-free, as if newly made. Besides this, there were no other special items in the house. Traces of items being displayed in certain areas were evident, yet the space was now left empty. It seemed the owner of the house had taken away all transportable items when leaving, leaving behind only this simple furniture.

"It’s so wonderful here, almost dream-like. Somehow, this style of house construction feels familiar, as if I’ve utilized it on the snowfields before." After carefully inspecting one of the beds and confirming its safety, Freya finally sat down on the soft fur. She relaxed her aching legs and looked around the room, hoping to find some clues. A few seconds later, she slapped her forehead and stood up, chuckling at herself, as she realized that a fur bag had been laid out on the table, its color so similar that she hadn’t noticed it when she first came in.

Opening the fur bag, she found several pieces of parchment with writing on them. The graceful handwriting was a soothing sight.

"To the unknown future visitor," the neatly written words were clearly visible under the lantern light, "Do you like this gift? We built this during our 25-day journey across the snowfield. Both my companion and I felt this little house might prove useful for someone in the future. Hence, we did not dismantle it when we left. We hope we were right and it has been of some help."

"I simply love it." Freya responded gratefully although aware that the sender wouldn’t hear her words, "If I manage to survive, it will be at least half due to this ice house. I couldn’t thank you more, unknown predecessor." (To be continued. If you like this novel, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and subscription tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)