Chapter 7: Snow Blindness

Upon hearing the footsteps of Ryan crunching through the snow, the wolf lying on the ground opened its eyes.

It was now incredibly weak, its breathing shallow and intermittent.

Even though the bison was not fully grown, its massive size and strength had inflicted severe injuries upon the wolf.

Ryan murmured softly, "Its mouth and nose are covered in blood, it must have sustained internal injuries."

Although he was not a doctor, his initial impression of the wolf was that it was perilously close to death.

A hint of regret flickered in Ryan's eyes.

After all, he found himself in a world governed by survival game mechanics.

After experiencing the world for a morning, Ryan had begun to perceive that certain logics in this realm indeed reflected the mechanics found within a game.

For example, the system backpack and the one-click disassembly of prey.

Thus, if he were to tame this wolf for a while and cultivate their bond, it might truly become a loyal pet.

Humans are, after all, social creatures, and in just this short morning, Ryan felt a bit stifled.

Driving alone on the endless highway, he was surrounded by a vast expanse of white, with only the hum of the car engine breaking the silence...

If this continued for a day or two, it would be bearable.

Ryan genuinely feared that over time, his linguistic abilities might deteriorate, leading him to uncontrollably talk to himself, and that would be quite troublesome.

At that moment, Ryan's system panel popped up automatically.

[Detecting living organism] 

[Organism Name: Snowfield Wolf] 

[Type: Beast] 

[Threat Level: Low] 

[Status: Severely Injured] 

[Description: The snowfield wolf is a social wild animal that lives in snowy regions. It has a medium build and thick fur, which can be used to make warm clothing. A single individual typically does not attack humans, but when their numbers exceed three, they may even dare to challenge a snowfield grizzly bear.]

[Note: Can be tamed into a pet after establishing trust.]

After reading the system introduction, Ryan displayed a knowing expression. "I guessed right, it really can be tamed."

His eyes then filled with worry. "But it's already in such a severely injured state…"

"Ah, I should take you with me for now. If you can pull through, it means our fates are still intertwined." Ryan reached down and lifted the gray wolf.

Though the wolf couldn't move, its eyes remained alert and wary.

Unfortunately, it had no means to resist and could only submit to Ryan's grasp, soon being placed in the back seat of the truck.

Ryan started the car and began to retrace his route.

Before long, the small truck was back on the road.

Once he drove beyond the Gobi Desert, Ryan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely worried about the vehicle breaking down, it would be great if he could get some snow chains or something.

"Wait, my eyes seem to hurt a bit." Ryan stopped the car, a burning, stinging sensation making it hard for him to open his eyes.

He could only feel that the sunlight reflecting off the snow on either side of the road was particularly blinding.

"No wonder… it's snow blindness!"

Ryan suddenly remembered that in environments with a lot of snow or ice, when the sun is shining brightly, the snow reflects a significant amount of ultraviolet rays that can directly burn the cornea.

Skiers need to wear goggles specifically to protect against snow blindness.

Ryan lowered his head to avoid the sunlight and checked the state of his eyes.

He noticed that he was already seeing double, but fortunately, the pain in his eyes eased slightly after avoiding the light.

Mild snow blindness can recover slowly over time.

"But how am I supposed to drive next? Should I go get a pair of sunglasses first?" Ryan furrowed his brows, beginning to think.

Without sunglasses, it would definitely impact his efficiency.

Even though it was still daytime, Ryan was already sensing the harsh reality of this survival game.

Players needed to open supply boxes to obtain essential survival items.

The twelve hours of daylight were crucial.

After all, even in a harsh environment, daytime is still better than the night when monsters appear.

Moreover, in this world, one day lasts for 48 hours, meaning after 12 hours of daylight, the following 36 hours would be night.

For players without cold-resistant clothing—

They could only search for supply boxes when the temperature warmed up at noon and was no longer so freezing.

As a result, the time for ordinary players to gather supplies would be significantly reduced, and with the effects of snow blindness, the efficiency of searching for supply boxes would also drop dramatically.

Ryan opened the system panel and began searching in the trading post.

He quickly found a shop selling sunglasses.

The sunglasses looked nice, as if they were from a well-known brand.

Ryan directly clicked on the seller's private message and sent a trade request, wanting to negotiate the price.

[Ryan: Hello, how much are these sunglasses?]

Ryan waited for a moment.

The seller did not reply immediately.

Just as Ryan was about to contact someone else, the seller finally responded.

However, the seller's message had nothing to do with the price of the sunglasses.

[Lucy: Wow, it's the great Ryan!]

[Lucy: You're my idol! I'll give you these sunglasses!]

In the next moment, the other party directly sent a gift request.

Ryan's recent actions against unscrupulous merchants had already established him as a figure of high stature in some people's minds.

In the eyes of many, Ryan had become a capable and responsible leader.

After all, he selflessly sacrificed his time to help players without blueprints by crafting hunting knives for free, which could really be called a savior's deed.

In fact, in the hearts of certain players, he had even become a guiding figure.

Ryan let out a wry smile, he certainly wasn't the type to take advantage of others for free.

Moreover, he was relatively well-off in terms of supplies at the moment.

Although the game had only just started for half a day, Ryan felt that when it came to material reserves, he could claim the top spot without anyone daring to challenge him.

[Ryan: Bro, I can't just take things for free.]

[Ryan: Let me give you some food instead.]

[Lucy: No need, great one! I've opened quite a few supply boxes myself, so I'm not lacking bread at all.]

Ryan transferred 1 kg of beef and a bottle of water to Lucy.

[Lucy: Wait… is this beef?!!]

[Lucy: Wow, where did you find beef in a supply box, great one?]

[Ryan: I got lucky and hunted a wild buffalo.]

Lucy, on the other side of the chat window, couldn't believe what he was reading.

When he was transporting supply boxes, he had encountered a herd of buffaloes.

At that time, Lucy didn't even dare to think about hunting for beef, he just wanted to grab the supply box and leave immediately.

Even then, he still startled the herd.

Suddenly, several strong bulls charged at him, and Lucy had no choice but to abandon the supply box and flee with all his might.

Those bulls weighed almost a ton each, if he got hit, it would likely result in a shattered bone.

Lucy had to give up the supply box and hurriedly drove away.

Even so, his small truck was still hit by a wild buffalo, and now the passenger door was dented, leaving a gap when closed.

But the brutal wild buffalo was actually taken down by the great Ryan?

Not only that, but he could casually say—he got lucky and hunted a wild buffalo?

That ferocious buffalo must have been easily taken down by him.

Instantly, Ryan's image grew even taller in Lucy's mind.

[Lucy: Awesome!]

[Lucy: Great one, I really support your actions. We players should help each other to get through tough times together.]

[Lucy: If I collect a blueprint in the future, I'll come straight to you with it!]

Ryan couldn't help but smile after reading the message.

He had a little fan now.

But that was a good thing, after all, one person's strength was still too small.

If he wanted to build a team or a faction in the future, someone like Lucy was definitely a talent worth recruiting, as he was a like-minded person.

After chatting with Lucy for a bit, Ryan closed the system panel.

Suddenly, Ryan realized that if Lucy gave him the sunglasses, he wouldn't have any to use himself.

So he opened the private message again to confirm with Lucy.

He then learned that Lucy was a hiking enthusiast and had been mysteriously transported into this game while preparing for a trek across the snowy mountains.

Thus, he had a pair of professional goggles in his toolkit.

This ordinary pair of sunglasses was just a backup.

Since that was the case, Ryan had no reservations. He took out the sunglasses he had just exchanged from his system backpack.

After putting on the sunglasses, Ryan noticed that the light was significantly dimmed, and his eyes felt much more comfortable.

At that moment, Ryan suddenly thought—

Goggles to prevent snow blindness would also become a necessity.

"After all, players can only bring a limited number of sunglasses into the game. There's definitely a market for goggles..." Ryan's eyes lit up.