Chapter 49: Chilblains

Lin Chen was woken up by the snow-glare outside the window. As soon as he opened his eyes, a system notification popped up before him:

【Current time: 8:05 AM, Environment status: Blizzard weakening, Outdoor temperature: -45°C, No abnormal signals, Security level: High (System vacation day 1)】. The notification only jumped a single line, much more concise than usual; clearly, it was still in "vacation mode."

He rubbed his eyes, got up, and walked over to the hamster cage. The little guy was clinging to the food bowl, looking at him; the grain given yesterday had already been eaten.

Lin Chen took a bag of hamster food from the storage room, poured it in, and added water before turning to knock on the doors of Xia Nuan and A Kai: "Get up for breakfast. It's compressed biscuits with mineral water again."

Xia Nuan opened her door first and came out, rubbing her eyes with a smile: "Played too late yesterday, almost overslept."

A Kai followed her out and stretched: "With the system's security alerts, I sleep soundly."

The three sat at the dining table, unwrapped the compressed biscuits, and ate them with the mineral water.

Lin Chen bit into a biscuit, remembered the weapon the system gave yesterday, and suddenly said: "After breakfast, let's go to the window and test the gun. It's a good chance to see the power of the 98K."

A Kai's eyes lit up instantly: "Great! I haven't touched a real 98K yet!"

Xia Nuan also nodded: "Just be careful, don't attract unnecessary trouble."

After breakfast, Lin Chen went to the storage room, took a 98K, and brought a few bullets. The three walked to the window. The snow outside had lessened, making the road downstairs visible. Occasionally, wind blew by, whipping up the accumulated snow on the ground.

Lin Chen mounted the 98K on the support at the window (which they had built temporarily for defense) and aimed at the open space downstairs.

Just as he aimed, he saw two zombies walking slowly out from the street corner, their bodies wrapped in snow, their movements sluggish. "Perfect targets." Lin Chen adjusted the scope and pulled the trigger. "Bang!" The bullet accurately hit the left zombie's head, and it fell straight into the snow.

A Kai watched from the side, excited: "Awesome! Brother Lin Chen!"

Lin Chen didn't speak; he aimed at the zombie on the right and pulled the trigger again. The second bullet hit just as accurately, and the right zombie fell as well.

He put down the gun and said with a smile: "The power is decent. Next time we run into people from the 'Shadow' organization, we can take them out from a distance." Xia Nuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Good thing it didn't attract other zombies."

The rest of the morning was very quiet. The three didn't mess around anymore and sat in the living room playing cards. A Kai had good luck and won several rounds, so he was required to learn to roll like a hamster, which made Xia Nuan laugh.

Lin Chen occasionally glanced out the window; the snow was still falling, but he saw nothing unusual.

He felt much more at ease. Although the system was on vacation, the basic security warnings hadn't stopped; at least today was safe.

Lunch was still compressed biscuits. Lin Chen chewed on a biscuit and suddenly thought of his "Absolute Zero" ability: "I want to try practicing my ability this afternoon. Do you want to join?"

A Kai shook his head: "I'd better get more familiar with the weapons. I can't help with abilities anyway."

Xia Nuan said: "I'll keep you company. In case something happens, we can look out for each other."

In the afternoon, Lin Chen took a bottle of mineral water from the storage room and sat on the living room carpet.

Xia Nuan sat nearby, watching. He unscrewed the cap, poured some water into his palm, and concentrated.

He thought of the chill he felt when he first awakened his ability, but after trying for a long time, the water in his palm only slowly grew cold, showing no signs of freezing.

"Why is there no reaction?" Lin Chen frowned and tried again, but it was the same.

He wasn't willing to give up and continued to focus his energy. This attempt lasted half an hour. The water in his palm finally felt bone-chillingly cold, but it still didn't freeze. Instead, his fingers began to go numb, and his fingertips gradually turned red, as if they were frostbitten.

Lin Chen hurriedly wiped his hands dry and rubbed his fingers, but the numbness in his fingertips didn't fade; instead, it became more and more obvious. Looking closely, his fingertips were actually turning purple, as if he were about to get chilblains.

"Damn it! This is so hard to train!" Lin Chen cursed under his breath, threw the mineral water aside, and said, "Let's practice again tomorrow. Let's rest for today."

Xia Nuan hurriedly grabbed his hands and covered them with her own: "Don't be anxious. Abilities aren't learned that quickly. Take it slow."

Lin Chen nodded, but he felt a bit irritable—if he couldn't master his ability, next time he encountered the "Shadow" organization, he would still have to rely on weapons to fight it out.

For the rest of the afternoon, the three didn't mention practicing abilities again. A Kai was cleaning his weapons nearby.

Lin Chen and Xia Nuan organized the supplies in the storage room, sorting the compressed biscuits and canned goods, and arranging the drinking water neatly to ensure they could get them quickly when needed.

During this time, Lin Chen occasionally looked at his fingertips; the purple spots hadn't worsened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

In the evening, Xia Nuan cooked a pot of soup using the remaining canned meat and dehydrated vegetables. The three gathered around the small pot, drinking hot soup and chatting.

A Kai said: "Tomorrow I want to try the M416 and see its power at close range."

Xia Nuan said: "If the snow is lighter tomorrow, we can go to the balcony for some fresh air. Staying in the room all the time is stifling."

Lin Chen nodded: "Sure. Let's try practicing the ability again tomorrow. Maybe I was just too anxious today."

After finishing the soup, the three washed up and returned to their rooms to rest. Lin Chen lay on the bed and touched his fingertips—they weren't numb anymore, just still a bit cold.

He looked at the system notification before him; it was still just one line: 【Current security status continues, no abnormal signals (System vacation day 1)】.

He smiled and closed his eyes—with the system's security alerts, the people by his side, and enough weapons and supplies, the day had been very solid. He knew this was a safe day. ===== CHAPTER 50 =====