# Chapter 27: Fortress
Two days later, Northwestern Region of Yamei Kingdom.
The cold wind howled, and everything in sight was pure white. This was a world of snow, the northwest.
Su Xiao had been advancing northwest for two days. There were no roads here at all—the paths had long been buried under snow. He could only navigate using a map and compass.
Su Xiao sat on a snow sled. Needless to say, the one pulling the sled was the unfortunate Bubu Wang.
Initially, Bubu Wang had refused. In Bubu Wang's own words: "Riding me is already too much, and now you want me to pull a sled? Impossible!"
When Su Xiao pulled out a size 45 slipper, Bubu Wang voluntarily ran to the front of the sled.
The sled glided silently across the snow, leaving two tracks behind, with only the crunching sound of Bubu Wang's paws breaking through the snow ahead.
To reach his destination, Su Xiao needed at least three more days of travel. Everything in sight was white snow.
The weather was clear—no snow falling in the northwest today. But Su Xiao would have preferred it to be snowing.
When it didn't snow, it was simply too cold. The current temperature had reached minus 45 degrees Celsius. Spit would freeze into a chunk of ice mid-air.
People living in warm climates had a misconception—that snowy days were colder. This was actually wrong.
Snowy days weren't that cold. It was when the snow stopped and the fierce winds began that the bone-piercing chill truly set in.
The north wind howled, sweeping up snow from the ground and sending it flying everywhere. The frigid wind instantly pierced through the leather clothing, gradually draining Su Xiao's body heat.
Although Su Xiao's endurance attribute was 35 points, it couldn't resist this freezing climate. Before the power of nature, he was still too insignificant.
Pulling his winter clothes tighter, Su Xiao felt a drowsy sensation creeping over him.
"Bubu, stop."
Su Xiao jumped off the sled and took out an iron plate, starting a fire on it.
The cold receded somewhat as Su Xiao warmed himself by the fire. Suddenly, the wind around him stopped.
The sky became exceptionally clear—not a single cloud for miles.
Sunlight shone down, but Su Xiao felt no warmth at all. Instead, an icy chill spread through his entire body.
"This kind of weather..."
Su Xiao leaped onto the sled. Bubu Wang looked utterly bewildered.
"Run as fast as you can! Any direction!"
Su Xiao's expression wasn't good. He recalled an experience he'd once had in an extremely cold region.
When the fierce wind suddenly stopped and the weather cleared, it was never a good sign.
The snowy landscape might be beautiful now, but Su Xiao had no mood to appreciate it. A blizzard was coming.
Never underestimate a blizzard. A snowstorm on the plains was just as dangerous as a storm at sea.
Bubu Wang sprinted forward at full speed while Su Xiao kept watching the changes in the weather.
Snowflakes began drifting down from the sky—just a few at first. After brewing for several minutes, heavy, goose-feather snowflakes poured down.
Woo—
The cold wind suddenly appeared, blowing the falling snow at an angle.
The blizzard had truly arrived. Realizing this, Su Xiao unfastened the harness from Bubuteni and abandoned the sled. In a blizzard, this thing was useless.
The fierce wind slapped snowflakes against his face. The icy snow gradually melted into water, like a greedy little insect, stealing away Su Xiao's body heat bit by bit.
The world turned white as far as the eye could see. Visibility was less than five meters.
Walking through the snow was extremely difficult. Although the temperature wasn't that low during the blizzard, the temperature after it ended would be horrifyingly cold.
Su Xiao's expression wasn't good, but Bubu Wang was unusually cheerful. Its fur could withstand the cold, and it loved the snow.
...
Five hours later, on a vast, white plain.
Bang.
A fist broke through the snow. Su Xiao climbed out of the snowdrift with difficulty, shaking the snow off his head.
The blizzard alone couldn't bury him, but an avalanche could. After the blizzard ended, the surrounding snow-covered mountains became very unstable. The slightest sound could trigger an avalanche. Bubuteni barked once, and then the avalanche came.
Patting the snow off his head, Su Xiao exhaled a puff of white breath.
"Bubu."
After Su Xiao's shout, the snowy ground was silent.
After a moment, the snow not far from Su Xiao stirred. He immediately walked over.
Digging into the snow for a while, he spotted Bubu Wang's tail. Bubu Wang was upside down, headfirst, and still digging deeper.
When buried by heavy snow, the terrifying thing wasn't the cold—it was losing your sense of direction.
Many travelers buried by snow died in it. In the snow, you couldn't tell up from down. If the victim was unlucky, they would dig downward instead.
This wasn't a laughing matter. Such cases were common in the real world.
There was a simple way to solve this: spit.
Based on the direction the spit fell, you could determine which way was up, and thus escape the snow.
Su Xiao grabbed Bubu Wang's hind legs and pulled him out of the snow like pulling a radish.
Man and dog began trudging through the snow with difficulty, walking through waist-deep snow. If they were unlucky, they might suddenly disappear with a plop, falling into a snow pit.
...
Four days later, Su Xiao, holding a map, looked at a steel fortress not far away.
He had finally reached his destination. This imposing fortress before him was the northernmost point of the Yamei Kingdom.
The fortress was over a hundred meters tall, made of steel, standing between two snow-covered mountains. This was the only passage in and out of northern Yamei Kingdom.
Because of this, "Brickz Fortress" was frequently attacked by other countries.
The cold climate had fostered a fierce and hardy people. Long-term turmoil meant that both men and women here were soldiers.
Standing before the fortress, Su Xiao didn't head straight for it. Although "Brickz Fortress" was semi-autonomous, his wanted criminal status was still valid here.
He walked toward the snow-covered mountain beside the fortress. Bubu Wang quickly followed.
These past few days had been tough on Bubu Wang. It couldn't even gnaw on a bone properly—the temperature was too low. When Bubu Wang tried to chew a bone, it would freeze harder than steel. This infuriated him.
For an ordinary person, climbing the adjacent mountain to enter the hundred-meter-tall fortress was impossible. But Su Xiao was no ordinary person.
Climbing the snowy mountain, Su Xiao shot out a Realm Severing Thread, wrapping it around the middle of the fortress. He infiltrated the fortress with Bubu Wang.
Just as he landed on the outer wall of the fortress, he heard footsteps approaching.
Su Xiao hid to the side. Several soldiers in white winter uniforms walked past. These soldiers had serious expressions and were meticulous in their patrols.
Avoiding these soldiers, Su Xiao slipped into the fortress.
He had already memorized the detailed map of the fortress. This was provided by Mustang. With Colonel Mustang's rank, obtaining such a map wasn't difficult.
A large number of soldiers were stationed inside the fortress. Su Xiao could sense the patrol routes of the soldiers and avoid them in advance.
The internal structure of the fortress could only be described as labyrinthine. This was deliberately built that way—if foreign spies infiltrated, without a map, this place would be a maze.
An hour later, Su Xiao walked into an office.
The office was empty. This office also had living quarters attached, fully showcasing the simple and direct style of "Brickz Fortress."
Sitting behind the desk, Su Xiao took off his coat. Finally, some warmth.
After waiting for several hours, footsteps came from the doorway. A woman pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing Su Xiao behind the desk, the woman was momentarily stunned. In an instant, she drew the rapier at her waist.
"Who are you? Eh—I feel like I've seen you before."