Chapter 50: Practice

Lin Chen was woken up by a dull pain in his heart. When he opened his eyes, it wasn't dawn outside yet, and a system notification popped up—

【Current time: 4:12 AM, Environment status: Overcast, Blizzard continues, Outdoor temperature: -46°C, No abnormal signals (System vacation day 2)】.

The notification was still concise. He eased the discomfort in his chest, got up, and walked to the window.

He lifted the canvas and took a look; the snow outside was still falling, the snow downstairs had thickened by another layer, and the light from the street lamps was wrapped in snow mist, dim and hazy.

He didn't return to his room, but moved a chair and sat on the living room floor, staring blankly at the snow outside. The little guy in the hamster cage had also woken up,

making a soft "squeak" sound. Lin Chen got up to add some food and sat back in his original spot. His heart was always preoccupied with the ability, and he couldn't sleep despite tossing and turning, so he simply sat there waiting for dawn.

After struggling until past 7 o'clock, the sky finally brightened a bit, but it was still overcast,

without a shadow of the sun. Lin Chen got up and went to the storage room,

took a few packs of compressed biscuits, a can of meat, and two bottles of mineral water,

and walked to the kitchen. The pot used for soup before was still there. He broke the compressed biscuits into pieces, poured the canned meat into the pot,

added the mineral water, and turned on the fire to boil it.

After the water boiled, the compressed biscuits swelled up and mixed with the canned meat,

emitting a strange fragrance. Lin Chen tasted a mouthful; it was a bit salty,

and had a slight burnt taste, but it was better than eating dry compressed biscuits. He carried the pot to the door of Xia Nuan and A Kai's room,

knocked on the door, and said: "Get up for breakfast. I cooked something hot."

Xia Nuan opened the door first, smelled the scent, and was stunned for a moment: "What did you cook?"

A Kai also followed her out and scratched his head: "Smells okay, better than chewing dry biscuits."

The three gathered around the dining table,

using spoons to scoop the food in the pot. With the hot stuff in their stomachs,

their bodies gradually warmed up. "Although the taste isn't great, it's filling,

and warm." Xia Nuan said with a smile, and A Kai nodded: "Yeah, much better than mineral water with biscuits."

After breakfast, Lin Chen washed the pot and took another bottle of mineral water from the storage room. Practicing the ability yesterday hadn't succeeded,

and today he wanted to try again. He sat on the living room carpet, unscrewed the cap, and poured some water into his palm,

took a deep breath, and tried hard to recall the feeling when he first awakened his ability. His fingertips gradually turned cold, and the water in his palm began to cool, but no matter how he concentrated,

the water just wouldn't freeze. Instead, the chill in his fingers grew heavier, slowly spreading to his wrists.

He didn't give up and persisted for an hour. Until his fingers began to go numb, his fingertips turned purple again, and even his chest felt a dull pain, the same pain as when he was woken up in the morning,

he hurriedly wiped his hands dry and shook his arms. "Damn it! Why is it so hard!" Lin Chen couldn't help but curse out loud. The pain in his chest made him feel a bit breathless, "Having to suffer like this just to practice a lousy ability!"

Xia Nuan heard the sound, hurriedly ran over, grabbed his hands, and touched them: "Why did you practice for so long again? Your fingertips are frozen purple!"

A Kai also walked over and handed him a cup of hot water: "Don't be anxious, Brother Lin Chen. If it really doesn't work, just put it aside for now. Don't hurt yourself."

The two surrounded him, one helping him rub his hands, the other handing him water. The irritability in Lin Chen's heart gradually faded, but the dull pain in his chest hadn't dissipated.

"Got it, I won't practice anymore." Lin Chen took a sip of hot water, and the discomfort in his chest eased a little, "Let's rest for now, we'll talk about it in the afternoon."

For the rest of the morning, the three didn't mess around anymore. Xia Nuan organized the supply list she hadn't finished yesterday,

A Kai sat nearby cleaning the M416, and Lin Chen leaned on the sofa, occasionally glancing out the window. The snow was still falling, the sky remained overcast, and the snow downstairs was getting thicker, almost covering the zombie corpses that had fallen in the snow earlier.

Lunch was still compressed biscuits,

Lin Chen didn't cook anymore, just ate them with hot water. After finishing, he looked at the M416 in A Kai's hand and suddenly said: "Let's go, let's go to the window and test this gun to see how the close-range power is."

A Kai's eyes lit up, he hurriedly loaded the gun with bullets, and followed Lin Chen to the window.

Xia Nuan also came over, clinging to the window to look outside—in the snow downstairs, more than a dozen zombies had gathered at some point, swaying slowly,

their bodies wrapped in snow, looking exceptionally ferocious. "So many zombies!" Xia Nuan said in a low voice. Lin Chen patted A Kai's shoulder: "Aim well, don't waste bullets."

A Kai nodded, mounted the M416 on the support, and pulled the trigger. The sound of "da-da-da" gunfire rang out,

bullets shot toward the zombies downstairs, and the two zombies in the front instantly fell into the snow. The other zombies heard the sound and began to swarm toward this side. A Kai continued to fire,

Lin Chen helped him change the magazine from the side, and Xia Nuan watched the distance to see if any new zombies were coming.

After a dozen bullets were fired, all the zombies downstairs had fallen into the snow. A Kai put down the gun,

caught his breath: "This gun's power is really not small, it's just that the recoil is a bit big."

Lin Chen looked into the distance; no new zombies were coming, and he breathed a sigh of relief: "Good thing it didn't attract more, otherwise it would be trouble."

The sunset gradually fell, the snow outside finally lessened, but the sky became even gloomier, and the buildings in the distance gradually hid in the darkness. The three returned to the living room,

Xia Nuan went to boil some hot water, A Kai cleaned the M416 and put it back in the storage room, and Lin Chen leaned on the sofa, thinking about practicing the ability in the afternoon. Although it didn't succeed,

the pain in his chest made him a bit worried, not knowing if it was a side effect after the ability awakened.

"What now?" Xia Nuan handed him a cup of hot water and asked softly.

Lin Chen took the water and took a sip: "Let's see the situation tomorrow. If the snow stops, we'll go downstairs to take a look, and by the way, look for anything useful."

A Kai also nodded: "Sure, I'll practice the gun again tomorrow, striving to shoot more accurately next time."

The three sat in the living room, chatting about the plan for tomorrow—if the snow stops,

they would go downstairs to look for useful things, and by the way, test the M416's real-combat feel. The snow outside finally stopped, leaving only the overcast sky pressing down,

the wind whipping the residual snow around downstairs, the "woo-woo" sound like a low moan, occasionally mixed with the vague roars of zombies in the distance, but separated by the thick walls,

it didn't sound clear.

Lin Chen rubbed his palms; the chill from practicing the ability in the morning hadn't dissipated, and his fingertips retained the numb touch of frostbite,

and the dull pain occasionally coming from his chest hadn't completely vanished either. He subconsciously touched the ice-type energy crystal core in his pocket,

the hard touch made him feel slightly at ease. Perhaps when looking for supplies tomorrow, he could encounter similar rare things,

and then the ability might be able to break through a bit more.

He raised his eyes to look at Xia Nuan and A Kai beside him: Xia Nuan was lowering her head to organize the compressed biscuits on the table,

gathering the scattered packaging into stacks, and even neatly arranging the mineral water bottles; A Kai was holding a bullet casing and spinning it in his hand, his eyes drifting toward the storage room from time to time,

clearly still thinking about that M416. The tension on their faces from facing the "Shadow" organization before was gone,

replaced by a bit of anticipation for going out tomorrow, and a sense of stability.

"Be careful when we go out tomorrow," Lin Chen said, his voice a bit softer than usual, "Although the system says it's safe,

the snow is thick and the road is slippery. If we step into a snow hole, it'll be trouble. We also have to guard against zombies that suddenly pop up. Although winter zombies move slowly,

they have thick skin and flesh, so we have to aim for the head."

Xia Nuan looked up and nodded, her hands not stopping: "I'll pack the first-aid kit in a while,

bring more bandages and anti-inflammatory medicine, and pack two more bags of compressed biscuits as backup. If we get trapped outside, we can hold out for a while."

A Kai also sat up straight and tucked the bullet casing into his pocket: "Don't worry, Brother Lin Chen. I polished the M416 until it shone today, and I've prepared two magazines of bullets. If we really run into zombies, I guarantee one shot, one kill, and I'll never let them get close to you two."

Lin Chen smiled and didn't say more. He leaned on the sofa, watching the sky outside getting darker and darker,

the light from the street lamps shining through the snow mist, casting blurry spots of light on the floor. He knew clearly that staying in the safe house all the time wasn't a solution,

supplies would eventually run out, and the "Shadow" organization wouldn't stop coming. Only by finding more rare supplies and mastering the ability could they truly stand their ground.

The wind was still blowing, making the windows "hum," and the living room was very quiet,

with only the occasional "squeak" from the hamster cage and the soft sound of Xia Nuan organizing supplies. The three didn't chat for too long,

Xia Nuan went to pack the first-aid kit, A Kai went to check the M416's magazine, and Lin Chen walked to the hamster cage,

adding some food and water. After they were all done, they returned to their rooms to prepare for rest, just waiting for tomorrow at dawn,

if the snow really stopped, they would go out together to try their luck, and see how many chances for survival were still hidden in this frozen apocalypse. ===== CHAPTER 51 =====