Damn it, something's wrong with the gacha I got.

Chen Bai suddenly spoke.

This sound immediately drew everyone's attention.

Xing's eyes lit up immediately: "That's right! Ah Bai's artifact is very useful. Ah Bai, hurry up and use it, we're going to Everwinter Ridge!"

After listening, March 7th retorted, "Do you think we're rushing to catch a train?"

Ignoring the interaction between the two little ones, Chen Bai said to Jepard, "Little Jepard, could you please take me to the passage leading to Everwinter Ridge? I'll take care of clearing out those rift creatures."

“This…” Jepard hesitated.

"Brother, what are you still hesitating for? Trust him this once, there's no other way now, is there?"

Seeing this, Hiluva also spoke up to help.

"Okay... alright, but Mr. Chen Bai, please call me Jepard next time. Please try not to use that title again."

Jepard agreed.

Chen Bai: "I know Xiao Jiejie now, I understand Xiao Jiejie."

Jepard: "..."

Next, Jepard led the group to the passage leading to Everwinter Ridge, where a defensive line had been set up, and a large number of chaotic Rift creatures of ice, fire, red, and blue were trying to break through.

"Of all the defensive lines, this one has the largest number of Rift creatures, but these Rift creatures haven't actively attacked the defensive lines."

Jepard pointed to the dense swarms of Rift creatures outside the defensive line and said.

"So many beings from different realms, what a grand gathering!"

Chen Bai glanced at the swarms of creatures from the Rift outside, which looked like flies, and frowned.

"Alright, enough with the sarcastic remarks, let's get started. We still need to find the star core."

March 7th patted him on the shoulder.

"Understood." Chen Bai replied, then took out the familiar Meow Meow Stick, locked onto all the Rift creatures outside the defensive line, and waved it with his hand.

A white light appeared, and instantly...

Next, with a magical effect that sounded like popping, the creatures from the rift that had originally emitted a murderous aura all transformed into cats of different sizes and colors.

"What is this?"

Apart from the four members of the train crew, Bronya, and Seele, everyone else present was stunned by what they saw.

"How did these monsters become like this?"

Hiluva pointed to the cat army outside and asked.

March 7th put his hands on his hips and said, "Hehe, this is Ah Bai's ability, or rather, the power of this cat toy in his hand."

Chen Bai corrected: "It's a meow meow stick."

March 7th: "I know, it's a cat toy, always Hilva, I'm telling you..."

"Alright, now we should be able to head to Everwinter Ridge, right?"

Chen Bai asked Jepard, who was standing there dumbfounded.

"Huh? That's possible, but are you sure which cat-turned monsters don't have offensive capabilities?"

Jepard asked with some concern.

"Don't worry about that. Any creature that turns into a cat will have its attack power reduced to the same level as a cat. Even if they try to scratch us, they won't be able to kill us, let alone break through our defenses. However, they will return to their original form after seven days."

Chen Bai shook the cat-shaped toy in his hand.

"What amazing power! Mr. Chen Bai, could you please turn the other monsters on the defensive line into cats as well?"

Jepard's eyes lit up, and an idea suddenly came to him.

“Okay.” Chen Bai thought about it and finally decided to help Jepard.

Then he followed him around to each defensive line, greatly reducing the pressure on the Silver Mane Iron Guards' defenses.

"thank you."

Jepard gave Chen Bai a formal salute.

"You're welcome." Chen Bai yawned. "Alright, we should head to Everwinter Ridge now. You stay here in Belleburg, we'll be on our way."

Then, the group said goodbye to Jepard and entered the path leading to Everwinter Ridge.

"Meow meow~"

"Meow~"

"Meow--"

As Chen Bai and his companions walked along the path, the constant meowing of cats filled their ears.

If you didn't know better, you'd think you'd wandered into a cat market.

However, these Rift Cats all tried to rush over and scratch them, but March 7th had already shielded them, and their claws couldn't pierce through them.

"Ah Bai, what should we do with these cats? Should we find them a cat shelter?"

He suddenly asked on March 7th.

—Author's Note—

If you're going to be a troll, please leave. Take it or leave it; I'm just writing this for fun anyway.

Chapter 35 Cocolia: You're saying I'm not as good as a three-year-old?

"What a terrible cat shelter! March, don't forget that these cats are actually beings from another realm, and they're all incredibly ruthless!"

Chen Bai was somewhat speechless.

“You’re right…” March 7th gave an awkward laugh.

"Everyone, Yongdong Ridge is just ahead, please be careful."

At this moment, Xiluwa stopped and turned to Chen Bai and the others.

Dan Heng's expression hardened: "I can feel an extremely cold aura spreading ahead."

Xing added, "So, we're not far from the big boss."

Chen Bai nodded: "You could say that."

Just then, a centaur-like monster burst out from the swirling ice mist. It was incredibly fast, leaping over an earthen wall in a flash, and its massive iron hoof was about to crush them.

"Damn it! It's a Pawn Trampler!"

Dan Heng's expression changed. He was about to raise his gun to counter the attack when a white light flashed.

Two furry paws slapped Dan Heng's head, and the original trampling creature had transformed into an ice-blue cat, which lay directly on his head.

Dan Heng: "......"

Needless to say, this must be Chen Baigan's.

Danheng had no choice but to pull the cat version of the tramp off its head.

"Meow meow meow~"

The trolling cat kept hissing at Danheng, but given its current size and shape, it had no offensive power whatsoever.

Dan Heng glanced at it and threw it away without hesitation.

A meow came from the snow.

"Alright, that centaur monster has turned into a cute cat. We should be almost there."

Chen Bai pointed to a massive steel wall in front of him, which looked to be seven or eight stories high and was covered with thick ice armor.

"This thing looks like an arm to me."

After observing for a while, he said on March 7th.

However, Chen Bai noticed the solemn look on Xiluwa's face and asked, "Do you recognize this thing?"

Hiluva: "This should be the creation engine of textual records."

"Creation Engine? What's that?"

Hiluva began to explain: "The Creation Engine was a giant robot that the builders used to construct Beloborg before the cold wave broke out. However, because there was no specific data to refer to, during the time I was researching it, I thought the Creation Engine was just a robot a few floors taller. But this guy—"

Hiluva's tone turned serious: "Judging by its appearance, one arm alone is tens of meters long, and its height is estimated to be over a hundred meters. If it could move..."

March 7th exclaimed in surprise, "No way, it's been over a hundred years, this thing should be dead by now."

Hiluva: "Hopefully it's just crashed."

As they continued forward, they saw more and more illusory soldiers frozen in ice on both sides of the road, as if time had been frozen in this moment.

"So many virtual prison soldiers? Are they dead or alive?" March 7 asked, looking at the lifelike ice sculptures.

Chen Bai tried tapping on one of the ice sculptures: "Do you still want them to live?"

March 7 quickly shook his head: "We don't think so. Empty pawns are the most troublesome."

He and Dan Heng had dealt with this stuff quite a bit before; the artillerymen of the Antimatter Legion were all very difficult to deal with.

"Hmm? I sense a strange power, something that seems to originate from the same source as me."

Suddenly, Xing pointed in a direction.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a flutter in her heart, as if something was resonating with her in a unique way.

"It seems the star core is just ahead."

Upon hearing this, Danheng was quite certain.

Finally, the group arrived at a steel square, where all the equipment was covered in frost. Even the pawns could not escape the judgment of this icy cold.

Behind the square, there was a platform several meters high, on which floated a diamond-shaped mechanical construct. A sphere emitting strange fluctuations hovered in mid-air, and Cocolia, the Great Guardian of Beloborg, stood in front of the Star Core.

She seemed to know what was going on, and turned around.

"You've finally arrived..."

Cocolia spoke with a cold gaze and an icy tone.

Then she turned to Bronya: "Bronya, I'm giving you one last chance. Come back to me. Don't resist the existence of the Star Core. Accept our shared will!"

Bronya's lips trembled: "Mother..." But after exchanging glances with Chen Bai, March 7, and the others, her expression hardened.

“No, I’m sorry, Mother, this time I can’t stand by your side. You want to trample humanity underfoot and almost regard yourself as a god. Not only will I not allow this, but the people of Beloborg will not agree to it!”

Bronya's words seemed to touch a nerve with Cocolia, who murmured softly:

“So that’s how it is, Bronya. You can’t break free from the shackles of your mind, you know that? You were meant to be the mother of the new world, but you chose to refuse!”

Cocolia's voice grew louder, her tone filled with indifference.

"Why don't we just go along with it? After all, the Great Guardian's idea is quite good."

Chen Bai's words immediately shocked Dan Heng and the others, and even the villain Cocolia was somewhat taken aback.

March 7th said irritably, "No, which side are you on anyway?"

Chen Bai: "I was here back then."

March 7th;?

After Chen Bai finished speaking, he looked at Cocoa and calmly said, "I have to say, Ms. Cocoa, you are still foolishly naive. Even a three-year-old in my hometown knows not to accept lollipops from strangers. Star cores are not good things to begin with, yet you still believe in them and even ate their sugar-coated soup. It is truly shameful for a child!"

Cocolia: "......"

Are you saying I'm inferior to a three-year-old child?

"Hehehe~ Sweet talk! Since you want to die, then I'll grant your wish! Humph!"

Cocolia snorted coldly, and the entire steel platform began to vibrate.

"The ground is shaking? What's going on?"