Heavy snow blocked the road north and cast a grey pall over the journey.

Over two meters of accumulation, a low overcast sky, the ground completely featureless — step outside the ruins of Laian County and you'd lose direction immediately.

"How many C1 doses do you have left?" Shen Cong didn't like raising his voice. He stayed in the vehicle and used the walkie-talkie.

One of the death-eaters answered: "Three doses."

"We're not moving today. Could be several days. Watch yourselves."

"Understood, Colonel Chen."

Being snowbound wasn't a significant problem for Shen Cong. He had no hard deadline for reaching Huai'an. So he didn't shovel, didn't push out, and simply stayed inside.

In fact, this snowstorm was exactly what he needed.

Great Vajra had taken serious Activity drain from the Fireworks and centipede bomb attacks. With the Golden Jiao Totem running continuously in the Activity-rich snowfall, the recovery rate was climbing fast. By evening, Great Vajra would be back at 3H. And when that happened, tonight was the night to test the Siphon upgrade method.

He'd been anticipating this for a long time. His own Activity Value was close to 2.4H — the Lv1 era was within reach, and he was impatient to get there.

Crack.

Another ant pupa split open in the burrow. With Blackhead in attendance, Black Two emerged.

The Vajra Ant Squad was taking shape.

"They should get some exercise."

He'd been cooped up for too long. Snow days didn't come with obligations. He decided to take the ants for a walk.

He modified the Half-Activated Armor — adjusting the foot extensions into a pair of runners, improvised snow skis. Then he produced two lengths of rope, tied them to the body nodes of Black One and Black Two.

He climbed to the roof and released all three ants — Blackhead too — into the open air.

Contact with snow alarmed them immediately. The cold was deeply uncomfortable. Ants normally cease activity below ten degrees Celsius, retreating into the nest to conserve energy through the winter.

But Vajra Ants were mutated. Their cold tolerance had improved beyond…