Snow Mountain Forbidden Zone——1
Under the pure blue sky, soft clouds floated like fluff over the expansive land, where snow-capped peaks rose sharply, their white mists spiraling up from the mid-mountain to the summit in a mysterious veil that softly enveloped the icy slopes.
This place is the renowned ski resort—Diling Mountain Ski Resort. Situated on a naturally gentle snowy mountain, the air here is fresh and clean, the scenery stunning and elegant, attracting countless tourists every year.
Today, Moduo and his friends finally arrived at the long-awaited ski resort. The bright white snow piled from their feet to the horizon, and Moduo excitedly jumped and shouted, "Look, the snow mountain! I'm here!"
"Making such a fuss, it’s just snow," Chali scoffed, his whiskers trembling though his tail wagged rapidly, clearly excited about the trip.
"Chali, the snow here is more abundant, whiter, and more sparkling!" Zhaoting held her face in her hands, utterly enchanted. "It’s so beautiful! It's like the Ice Queen's grand palace from a fairy tale!"
"Over there… there’s even a… snowman!" Fuyou exclaimed enthusiastically.
As everyone looked towards the snowman following Fuyou's pointing finger, something strange happened—the snowman seemed to move? Moduo's eyes widened in surprise as the snowman, waving its arms made of broken brooms, greeted them.
The friends were shocked! Suddenly, a person burst out from behind the snowman!
"Wow!" Zhaoting yelled angrily when she saw who it was, "Tiger Shark!"
Yulin's bully, Tiger Shark, wore fluffy earmuffs and brand new gloves, his chubby body snugly wrapped in a thick ski suit, looking even rounder than usual.
"Ha ha, got you scared, didn’t I? Look at my gear, isn’t it especially cool?" He boasted about his outfit while skillfully skiing over.
Compared to the athletic Tiger Shark, Moduo, who was skiing for the first time, was much more clumsy: his arms were stiff, his legs shook uncontrollably, and despite his best efforts to mimic the ski instructor's demonstrations, he wobbled like a weebly-wobbly toy and soon fell face-first into the snow, making a "human" imprint.
"Ouch, that really hurts!"
"Ha ha!" Tiger Shark laughed loudly.
"Hmph, you think you're so good, don’t you?" Moduo retorted defiantly.
"Of course!" Tiger Shark proudly puffed out his chest and smoothly skied by, stirring up a breeze and drawing a perfect "8" in the snow with his turns.
After Tiger Shark's performance, he turned up his nose as if waiting for applause from nearby tourists, but when he looked around, he realized that nobody was paying him any attention.
Everyone's gaze was focused on the central slope, where a young man glided effortlessly like a bird, with skilled movements and a dashing pose. Although he was about the same height as Moduo and his friends, his skiing skills were as superb as those of a professional athlete, drawing applause wherever he went. The young man swayed from side to side, swiftly moving through the crowd, and finally, with a snap of his ski board, he came to a steady stop in front of Moduo.
Amid everyone's surprised looks, he removed his goggles, blinked, and exclaimed with delight, "Being young is so great; a youthful body moves so flexibly!"It was Akers.
"Akers, your skiing skills are incredible!" People exclaimed in admiration, surprised that this former president was not onlyintellectually brilliant but also physically adept.
"Don't underestimate the preparation work of adventurers. Besides gathering information and preparing tools, physical training is also paramount," Akers said with a smile.
"Yes, yes," everyone agreed in unison, realizing they weren't just there for fun but were following Akers to conduct an investigation! At the end of the Strawman incident in Shanyin Town, Akers had pulled out an old black leather notebook, densely marked with many points of doubt, apparently from his past research. At the end of Diling Mountain in Shanyin Town, he had also made a significant mark. Therefore, taking advantage of the holiday, people decided to join Akers here in search of his lost memories.
After warming up with skiing, Akers carefully advised everyone, "Be careful during the investigation. Tourists occasionally disappear around here. Remember to stick together as a team, and never stray alone or to sparsely populated areas, or you might encounter extremely dangerous creatures."
"Dangerous... creatures? Are you referring to... snow wolves?" Fuyou's eyes sparkled, and he spoke dreamily, "I heard they are a very rare and beautiful type of wolf, much larger than the typical prairie wolf, a mythical creature of the snow, both elegant and fierce, perhaps even comparable to the wolf king Loki.
"Hearing the name Loki, Moduo and his friends filled with longing, and thinking of Loki's master, their emotions became a mix of feelings."I must remind you," Akers said loudly, "it is more terrifying and fierce than a wolf, a dangerous creature only found in the legends of the snowy mountains.""A creature from the legends of the snowy mountains...? Are you talking about the snowman?" Zhao Tingting gasped in disbelief, her exclamation filled with amazement!
