Mr. Death in the Steam World

The two trekked through the wind and snow for most of the day and found three abandoned shacks and a makeshift camp built by a hunter.

Although no living people were found, some useful supplies were found—a few animal hides, a small bag of salt, and a rusty hunting knife.

As evening fell, the two returned to the vicinity of the igloo.

Chloe remained seated on the steps, a flicker of curiosity crossing her icy blue eyes as she watched Moen return with a stranger.

"who is he?"

"Alan, a new friend of mine." Moen walked up to her and knelt down.

"Chloe, he'll be staying with us for a few days starting today, is that alright?"

Chloe glanced at Moen, then at Allen, and nodded slightly.

"Okay, but don't get my snow dirty."

Allen stood to the side, looking at the little girl with ice-blue hair, and then at the expanded and reinforced igloo.

The expression on his face changed from confusion to surprise, and then from surprise to admiration.

"You...you've been doing this all along?"

"Hmm." Moen stood up. "There are no residents in this area, so I'll build a safe zone myself and gather everyone I can find here."

"Although there are no residents available to rescue, at least we can protect those who are already here."

Over the next few days, Moen went out early and returned late every day, searching the wasteland for other students and scattered residents who had been assigned to remote areas.

Each time he found someone, he would patiently explain his plan and invite them to the igloo.

Some hesitated, some refused, but some were willing to go with him.

Everyone he found was assigned by Langdon to remote and desolate areas, with no decent resources and all resentful of Langdon's assignments.

And everyone who was willing to go with him received his promise.

Here, no one will force you to do anything, and no one will steal your credit.

All you need to do is one thing: protect yourselves and protect those who are willing to come with you.

Three days later, seven people had gathered around the igloo.

Including Chloe, there are eight in total.

Moen gathered everyone together and began assigning tasks.

"We don't have any residents here that we can rescue," he said calmly and firmly as he stood before the crowd.

"But we can create a place where residents want to stay."

"Once we promote it effectively, people who need help will naturally come here."

"By then, every person we save will belong to all of us."

The group exchanged glances and then nodded in unison.

They weren't exactly top-tier students, and when they were assigned to this wasteland, they thought they were already completely out of the game in this real-world scenario.

But now, looking at this shelter that is gradually taking shape.

They suddenly realized—perhaps they hadn't lost yet.

Meanwhile, in the auditorium of the School of Humanities.

The images in the magical projection are changing rapidly.

Professor Agnes sat in the center of the judging panel, his hands clasped on the table, his expression growing increasingly serious.

In the East District, Hank is arguing with a girl from his team.

"I saw it first! What right do you have to steal it?"

"You saw it first? I got here first! You're still halfway there!"

The family of three, caught in the middle, looked at each other in bewilderment. The little boy, frightened, hid behind his mother, his eyes red-rimmed.

In the Northeast District, Frank and three teammates forced their way into a hunter's house, ignoring the hunter's wife's cries and the children's screams, and dragged the whole family out of the house.

The man struggled and fell in the snow, his knee hitting the ice, and he couldn't get up immediately.

Frank frowned, hesitated for a moment, and finally bent down to hoist the person onto his shoulder.

"take away!"

He had it all figured out: this family of five, even if it meant losing some points, was worth it.

The most surprising one is Langdon Clive.

He used his authority as team leader to designate the area with the highest concentration of residents to himself.

The three villages that should have been assigned to other teams were all brought under his jurisdiction under the guise of "unified scheduling and improved efficiency".

Other teams that lost resources could only spread to more distant areas, wasting a lot of time and energy.

The higher-ups of the cult seemed to turn a blind eye to these disputes—in this reenactment of events, their gaze never fell upon the servants at the bottom.

As long as the person is rescued in the end, that's enough. Who stole from whom in the process, or what methods were used, doesn't matter.

The female professor on the judging panel looked away, sighed, and didn't put down her pen.

She didn't want to deduct any more points; if she did, some students might end up with negative scores.

A brief silence fell over the judges' panel.

The lecturers looked at each other, their expressions not very pleasant.

This year's students performed much worse than in previous years.

They were too driven by self-interest and used too brutal methods, treating "saving lives" as a point-scoring competition.

Students assigned to remote areas, while still ranking at the bottom in scores, at least maintained a relatively stable mindset and did not exhibit such vicious competition.

Professor Agnes's gaze swept over the chaotic images on the projector screen, finally settling on Moen's window.

In the video, several people are sitting around the entrance of an igloo, sharing a piece of roasted meat that has turned out charred.

Moen sat in the middle, holding a piece of animal hide, teaching the classmate next to him how to reinforce the ice wall with simple runes.

The scene is quiet and warm, a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

Professor Agnes murmured, "He saw through it."

The female professor next to her turned her head: "What?"

"The essence of this activity has never been about who saves the most people, but about who can make the most correct decisions with the least resources."

He paused, his tone carrying a complex emotion.

"He was sent to the most remote and desolate northern wilderness, with no resources at all, and only a little girl by his side."

"If it were someone else, they might have given up long ago, or simply used violence to drag the girl away."

"But he didn't; he chose the least profitable approach—"

"Settle down there, start from scratch, and build a safe zone bit by bit."

"Then, go and help those who, like him, have been marginalized."

The female professor was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"A 'handyman' relegated to a corner produced the most outstanding performance of the entire event."

Her gaze fell on Langdon's window, where the young man who was directing his "efficient rescue" was now behaving arrogantly towards a hunter with his family.

"That Langdon... sigh."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone present understood what she meant.