Doomsday Elevator

Ethan Quinn's breath crystallized in the air as he stared at the frozen river. The System's warning pulsed like a migraine:

Floor Type: Glacial Chasm

Primary Objective: Submerged Relic

Survival Probability: 23%

He adjusted the jury-rigged insulation suit—layers of raptor hide and plastic wrap—before plunging into water so cold it burned. The spatial backpack's leather surface cracked audibly.

The Descent

Three meters down, the golden chest glowed like a drowned sun. Ethan's fingers turned blue as he wrestled the latch. The System chimed:

Acquired: Infinite Aquifer Module

Effect: Daily water replenishment + randomized aquatic spawns

His lungs screamed. Black spots danced in his vision as he kicked upward. The ice hole had frozen over.

Crack!

The shotgun butt shattered the new ice. Ethan erupted from the water like a speared seal, vomiting liquid nitrogen.

Aftermath

Back in the elevator, the new water module pulsed with eldritch light. Ethan's teeth chattered a Morse code SOS as he jammed an adrenaline needle into his thigh. The juvenile raptor watched, head tilted, as its master convulsed on the floor.

Ding. Constitution Pill Detected. Administer?

"F-fucking… do it!"

The pill tasted like burnt hair and hope. Heat flooded his veins. When the shivering stopped, the blackboard gloated:

Cold Kills Slowly. Stupid Kills Faster.

Butcher's Calculus

Ethan hung the mountain goat carcass from the elevator's new ceiling hooks. Blood dripped into a salvaged oil drum as his blade danced:

Step 1: Sever carotid artery (efficiency: 89%)

Step 2: Extract liver (parasite load: 12 tapeworm larvae)

Step 3: Render fat (yield: 1.7kg crude tallow)

The raptor lunged for offal. Ethan's boot intercepted. "You'll thank me later."

Thermal Warfare

The chatroom screamed as temperatures plummeted:

[User_44]: -18°C! Selling toes for spark plugs!

[User_667]: PSA: Frostbite amputation guide pinned

Ethan's electromagnetic stove cast hellish shadows. He rendered tallow in a hubcap, filtering impurities through a scavenged silk stocking. The rancid smoke triggered fire alarms that didn't exist.

"Home fucking sweet home."

The Exchange

At the trading floor's frozen edge, a steampunk engineer examined Ethan's crude candles. "Combustion efficiency: 38%. I'll give two gold per kilo."

"Five."

"Three, plus frostbite salve."

The handshake left Ethan with numb fingers and 27 coins. The engineer's parting gift? A whisper: "They're mining the black ice. Gold veins deeper down."

The Infection

Ethan awoke to the spatial backpack convulsing. Leather straps strained against something with too many vertebrae. The raptor hissed, tail lashing as oily fluid seeped through stitches.

"Not today." He slammed the lid, welding it shut with a plasma cutter from the heist floor. The blackboard's new message dripped:

Containment Breach Imminent.

The Ascent

Mercury read -29°C when the upgrade terminal swallowed its final gold coin. The elevator screamed as it reconfigured:

New Module: Thermal Regulation System

Effect: Basic climate control (range: -10°C to 40°C)

Ethan collapsed against the now-warm walls. Outside, something massive shifted in the darkness beyond the ice.