Chapter 1085: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake Chapter 1085: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake Wang Tao set aside the Frost Bracelet for the moment and went on to craft the Anti-freeze Armor Top.

After a flash of multicolored light, a rather ordinary-looking but thick brown leather armor top appeared in front of Wang Tao.

[Anti-freeze Armor Top]
[Fourth-tier (Excellence)]
[Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Ice Attribute Defense +20, Cold Protection and Insulation]
At first glance, the attributes of this Anti-freeze Armor Top don’t seem strong; after all, a durability and defense boost of only 50 is equivalent to that of Level 3 equipment. However, compared to other equipment, it has two additional attributes–“Ice Attribute Defense +20” and “Cold Protection and Insulation.”

Wang Tao had never seen equipment that boosted attribute defense before, but his Black Stone Armor Set does have an “Element Defense +10” attribute.

Based on his own experience and speculation, he believed that “elements” likely referred to all the Awakened elements, including ice, fire, poison, and others. Therefore, defense could be understood as specifically guarding against Awakened damage.

However, this Ice Attribute Defense was solely for defending against the “Ice Element.”

If we talk about versatility, Element Defense is certainly better, but if we consider just the Ice Attribute Defense, the single addition of 20 is undoubtedly stronger.

Yet, of more interest to Wang Tao than this “Ice Attribute Defense” was the “Cold Protection and Insulation.”

He had seen some equipment with the “Fire Resistance” attribute; that attribute was quite effective, truly capable of providing some protection against fire. Thus, “Cold Protection and Insulation” was likely not an exaggeration.

As a result, Wang Tao quickly took off his upper garment and put on the leather armor top.

“So warm…”

Instantly, Wang Tao felt quite a bit warmer.

However, the car was heated and already comfortable, so the difference might not be all that noticeable. Once He Jijun parked the car, Wang Tao stepped out to test it further.

“Wow, this really does the trick!”

The test results satisfied Wang Tao.

The upper part of his body was indeed well-insulated. Although it couldn’t compare to being inside the car, it definitely met the standard for survival in the frozen wilderness!

The rest of his body, like his legs and head, felt cold–though not unbearably so for him; mainly, there was a contrast because the upper body was so warm, making the lower part feel colder.

Wang Tao moved around a bit and found that the leather armor did not hinder his movements.

“Not bad at all, this piece of equipment is quite nice! It’s warm without being so thick as to hinder combat…”

Although this piece of equipment’s durability and defense fell short of other fourth-tier equipment, merely for its warming property, it could be considered a godsend in these freezing conditions!

As for the “Ice Attribute Defense,” Wang Tao had no way to test it immediately, but an improved defense against the ice attribute could also contribute to survival in harsh cold–especially now that all the encountered zombies had mutated into ice attribute zombies, making such equipment potentially very protective against Ice Attribute Damage.

However, Wang Tao himself didn’t really need this armor top, because he wore the Black Stone Armor Set underneath and the Night Demon Set on the outside. Although it was indeed a bit cold in this environment, the combat power boosts they provided were far superior to those of the Anti-freeze Armor Top…

Upon further thought, Wang Tao decided to keep the armor top for the time being. Without matching lower armor, it wasn’t ideal for combining with other equipment, so he thought it best to wait and see if he could obtain more pieces of the Anti-freeze Armor.

Having returned to the car, everyone was still examining the [Mini Frozen Lord’s Skull]. Wang Tao took out the Frost Bracelet and surreptitiously handed it to Lan Yulian.

“Here, this is for you.”

“Huh?”

Lan Yulian was momentarily stunned by the beautiful bracelet before realizing it must be a piece of equipment.

“What is…”

“This is the Frost Bracelet, it adds Ice Attribute Damage, which is perfect for you. You can add Ice Attribute to all of us. But don’t use it for now; stick to the Flame Bracelet…”

Lan Yulian, coming to understand and having guessed as much, had mixed feelings.

“Okay!”

She wanted to be modest, feeling a bit guilty that Wang Tao kept giving her gifts, taking into consideration the feelings of the other girls. But the item was indeed most suitable for her, so she discreetly accepted it.

Wang Tao was being secretive not because he didn’t want Ding Yuqin and the others to see, but because he didn’t want Qu Shilin to notice; that woman was extremely curious, and if she were to see it, she would get fixated on it. Rather than waste words explaining something he didn’t fully understand himself, Wang Tao preferred that Qu Shilin remain unaware.

“Oh right, later try wearing both the Frost Bracelet and the Flame Bracelet at the same time, and see what kind of Status it can add to us.”

Wang Tao suddenly spoke as though a new idea struck him.

“Eh? That sounds interesting! I’ll give it a try later!”

Lan Yulian had not thought of that herself, but now, hearing Wang Tao’s suggestion, she found it intriguing.

Wang Tao gave Lan Yulian a few more instructions, then approached the others.

“Has everyone rested enough? If so, let’s move on. There should be more zombies ahead, and it’s getting dark. Shall we clear out some more zombies before nightfall?”

“Sure!”