Previously, when Fu Zhu obtained the Broken Blade of the Godfall Sword at the space station, the system had indicated that the broken blade possessed durability.
From this point, it could be inferred that items in this world, influenced by Steve's characteristics, also have the concept of durability.
And in MC, durability decreases whenever an item takes a hit, even if that attack doesn't deal damage. Snowballs happen to have this exact effect.
Therefore, Fu Zhu was now curious: this man before him was constantly being hit by Xing's snowballs. Due to his instability, some snowballs directly hit his clothes. Would his clothes eventually break due to durability depletion?
Suddenly, the sound of tearing fabric rang out. As if to verify Fu Zhu's hypothesis, the jacket Sampo wore on his upper body abruptly burst apart, leaving not even a single scrap of cloth behind, only a thermal undershirt remaining.
This development made even Xing too embarrassed to continue throwing snowballs at Sampo. She had only intended to use the harmless snowballs to scare him a little, at least enough to make him cooperate and answer questions.
She never expected that seemingly ordinary snowballs could actually destroy someone's clothes!
Now she loved playing with snowballs even more!
"Achoo!"
Sampo hugged his shoulders, standing up from the ground shivering. He tilted his head back hard, trying not to let the tears of grievance slide from the corners of his eyes – if they froze on his face, it would only be colder.
"My good sirs and madams, I don't believe I've provoked you, have I? Even if I was hiding in a snowdrift, that's not illegal, is it?!"
Sampo swept his gaze across them, only to be met by the emotionally detached eyes of Fu Zhu's group of four. He immediately changed his tune, rubbing his hands together, striving to appear more humble.
"Uh, of course, I'm not blaming you fine folks, haha! It's only natural that hiding in a snowdrift would arouse your suspicion! It's just... was it really necessary to destroy my clothes! Achoo!"
Seeing Sampo's aggrieved expression, Fu Zhu stepped forward to explain Xing's actions.
"Firstly, we were making a lot of noise as we advanced. Anyone hearing it would subconsciously take a look. You, in contrast, remained hidden within the snow layer. Xing used snowballs purely as a warning. Secondly... if your clothes can be damaged by flimsy snowballs, you should reasonably take it up with the seller of this garment."
Dan Heng and the others felt the first part of Fu Zhu's explanation was reasonable, but upon hearing his second point, their expressions instantly turned somewhat peculiar.
They knew better than anyone else just how miraculously powerful the small snowballs Fu Zhu created were. Sampo's clothes exploding was likely not a quality issue at all.
After hearing Fu Zhu's explanation, Sampo couldn't help but suck in a breath. He inexplicably felt there was some truth to what Fu Zhu said.
However, when he was hit by the snowballs earlier, he felt the force was somewhat off. Was it just his imagination?
March 7th saw Sampo lost in thought and, fearing he might realize the second half of Fu Zhu's explanation was actually nonsense meant to fool him, quickly interrupted his contemplation.
"Now, shouldn't you tell us who you are? Why did you choose to hide even after hearing the loud noise we made clearing snow?"
Sampo was about to speak when Xing suddenly raised a snowball in her hand again, tilting her head with a grin, seemingly warning him to tell the truth, or else his pants would be next.
Of course, the latter part was Sampo's own imagination, but he had a nagging feeling Xing might actually be capable of such a thing!
"Sampo Koski. A pleasure to meet you."
Fu Zhu and the others also stated their names in turn.
"Alright, noted. Honestly, I didn't expect to run into fellow professionals out here in this icy wasteland, and besides..." Sampo secretly glanced at Fu Zhu standing nearby.
"This brother's methods are a bit crude, but his efficiency is indeed much higher than my own scrounging around. How about it, shall we team up? I've got a line on a big deal. With the Silvermane Guards all deployed to the frontlines, we can pull off a big one. Guaranteed riches!"
Hearing this, Fu Zhu and Xing's expressions instantly turned serious.
Big deal = Big treasure!
Steve's strongest emotion is curiosity! As a veteran player, Fu Zhu was naturally no exception.
"We're willing to hear the details." ×2
Dan Heng, however, shook his head helplessly. Why did even the seemingly steady Fu Zhu become like this when treasure was involved?
"Now is not the time to discuss this. The blizzard will arrive in an hour. We need to find a settlement first."
As Dan Heng spoke, his gaze shifted to Sampo. "Do you know where the nearest human settlement is?"
Although the Archives still contained maps of Jarilo-VI's city-states from centuries ago, no one could guarantee whether the civilization on Jarilo-VI had changed over these hundreds of years.
Sampo shrugged and answered casually, "In this icy hellscape, heading outwards is definitely a no-go. Speaking of places with living people, there's naturally only our [Humanity's Sole Bastion Against the Eternal Freeze], Belobog."
As Fu Zhu listened, he vaguely felt something wasn't right.
Sampo himself had called Belobog the only bastion on this planet, so why did he seem completely unfazed by the fact that they were outsiders?
After all, their words and actions earlier had clearly indicated their unfamiliarity with the place.
"Achoo!"
Sampo suddenly curled up and sneezed violently, then bent over, hugging his arms and shivering.
"Say, my good folks, should we head to Belobog first? If we stay here any longer, old Sampo here is going to freeze to death, turn into an ice sculpture, and get dug up by future colleagues to be sold to a museum."
With a local willing to lead the way, Fu Zhu naturally agreed. Since Fu Zhu was mentally prepared, he wasn't afraid even if Sampo tried any tricks.
"This way, please, everyone."
....
The group was led forward by Sampo. However, as they passed through a canyon-like terrain, a squad of soldiers clad in furry iron armor and wielding sharp weapons emerged from around a bend up ahead.
When Sampo saw them, his mouth couldn't help but twitch. He turned his head towards Fu Zhu's group and chuckled awkwardly. "Remember those Silvermane Guards I mentioned? That's them..."
As Sampo spoke, he nudged Fu Zhu and the others forward.
"Do me a favour, buddies. I really don't want to get caught!"
While he was talking, the approaching Silvermane Guards also spotted Fu Zhu's group, their gazes locking onto Sampo, who was continuously backing away. They immediately raised their weapons.
"Suspect identified, along with suspected accomplices! Arrest immediately!"
March 7th wanted to speak up and explain, but Sampo, hiding behind them, shouted even louder.
"Buddies, old Sampo will never forget this favour! I'll leave the rest to you!"
With those words, Sampo turned and bolted backwards, running for his life.
But before he could get far, a fishing hook landed lightly on his back. An irresistible force pulled him, and Sampo felt the scene before him rapidly rewind. Then, he landed squarely on his rear end right in front of the Silvermane Guards.
The Silvermane Guards, who were about to advance and arrest everyone, couldn't help but stop in their tracks. They looked up in unison at Fu Zhu, who had just used a fishing rod to reel Sampo back in.
Fu Zhu simply nodded at the Silvermane Guards.
"You're welcome. Just lending a hand."
PS Regarding comments saying Xing is a bit unhinged, my apologies. I've chosen those mischievous dialogue options in Star Rail too many times, her image is somewhat fixed. I'll pay attention to gradual development.