In the early morning, Su Yuan felt a suffocating pressure. His chest was damp, and waves of warmth spread across his body. When he opened his eyes, everything was still dark.
Shi Shi's position had shifted without him noticing. Her thighs were tightly clamped around his neck, while her hips pressed against his chest. Little Cat Night was squeezed between them.
As expected… cats really were liquid.
Despite the cramped space, Cat Night slept soundly, even tucking her head inside Su Yuan's clothes.
Carefully moving Shi Shi's legs aside, Su Yuan finally saw a bit of light. Through the faint glow filtering in from the snow bricks, he could make out the others inside the small snow house.
Fox Nine was holding White Rabbit, while Shi Shi had one leg draped over Fox Nine. Fox Nine's beast-hide shoes had somehow disappeared.
"It almost feels like a dream… waking up next to a group of Beast Girls…"
A faint smile appeared on Su Yuan's face. They were all incredibly beautiful. He wondered if this world had somehow eliminated unattractive genes—or if these girls were simply exceptional.
"Oh right… the system!"
Still lying against Shi Shi's leg, using her calf as a pillow, a blue panel appeared before his eyes—visible only to him.
[Host, would you like to open the Level 1 Mall?]
Su Yuan mentally confirmed, and a shop-like interface appeared.
[Lighter: 30 points][Matches: 5 points][Flint: 1 point][Compressed Biscuits: 10 points][Ham Sausage: 6 points][...]
After a quick glance, his eyes dropped to the bottom.
[0]
"…Figures."
"System, how do I earn points? And how does the shop level up?"
[Points can be earned by trading items. The rarer the item, the more points it yields. Up to ten trades per day.]
[The System Mall upgrades according to the level of civilization and development introduced by the Host.]
"Trading items… that's manageable. But advancing civilization? That's going to take time."
Human civilization had taken thousands of years to develop—he couldn't possibly rush that in a few days.
Looking around, he didn't see anything valuable to trade. Then he glanced at Shi Shi's shoes.
Just a test, of course.
He reached behind him, found her foot, and carefully removed the worn beast-hide shoes. They were simple, not very warm.
The fact that the Beast Girls could wear something like this in such cold conditions without freezing just showed how strong their bodies were.
"System, how many points are these worth?"
[Worn Wolf Hide Shoes: 5 points]
"Not bad… that's already the price of matches."
[Host, would you like to trade?]
"No."
He tossed the shoes aside. Now that he understood the system, he felt an urge to go outside and find valuable items.
"Mmm…"
At that moment, Shi Shi stirred. Removing her shoes had woken her.
"Has the ice god left?"
She didn't immediately move her legs. Only after noticing Su Yuan awake did she sit up. One by one, the others also woke.
Only Cat Night remained fast asleep, still buried in Su Yuan's clothes.
If this continued, his clothes would probably end up soaked in drool.
With no other choice, Su Yuan gently woke her up.
"You all stay here. I'll check outside."
He put on his down jacket and crawled toward the entrance. Overnight, the blizzard had buried it completely.
The beast-hide coverings at the entrance had frozen solid. Snow was piled high outside.
With no choice, he grabbed his entrenching tool and began digging.
After some effort, he opened a small hole. Sunlight streamed in, and although snow was still falling lightly, the storm had passed.
"The ice god is gone. We can head out."
Getting out proved easier than getting in. With Su Yuan's insistence, Shi Shi used the entrenching tool to break open the back of the snow house.
"Alright. We need to find your tribe. We can't stay here forever. We'll just build another shelter tonight if needed."
The Beast Girls looked back at the snow house reluctantly, but eventually let it go.
"Fox Nine, Cat Night and I will go hunt first. You two rest here?"
Shi Shi pulled out her bone knife. Her long legs were exposed to the cold, trembling slightly.
After warming her leg wraps, she put them back on and felt better.
"Let's move together," Su Yuan said. "We can search for your tribe while hunting."
Splitting up in this environment would be too dangerous.
"Mhm! Cat Night agrees!"
She seemed much more energetic today—though her hair was slightly messy from sweating inside his clothes all night.
"Alright, let's go."
With nothing much to carry, Su Yuan simply put on his backpack, and the small group of five set off.
"My sister said… if we get lost, we can follow the sun in the morning to find direction."
Thankfully, they weren't completely without guidance.
Su Yuan paused for a moment.
Wait… this isn't Earth.
Does the sun even rise in the east here?
…Well, if Fox Nine's sister said so, it probably worked in this world.
"Alright. Let's move."
After surviving the blizzard, everyone's mood had improved.
Especially with Su Yuan around—Fox Nine and the others felt more at ease.
Cat Night had become noticeably more clingy. She kept slipping under his arm or hanging onto his back like a koala.
It was said that once a kitten recognizes your scent, it becomes very attached.
Apparently… that applied to Beast Girls too.