Since there weren't enough bowls and chopsticks, a large bowl was given to Miao Xin, while the rest of the men ate from the pot with spoons.

The hot dumpling soup made me feel much better. It's true what they say, food is essential for life; being able to eat my fill is such a blessing.

After Miao Xin finished eating, she washed the dishes herself and told everyone that she wanted to sleep for a while because she was too tired and hadn't been resting well lately. She also told everyone not to come into the house to wake her if she didn't come out on her own.

I went back to the bedroom, locked the door, and took off my cotton coat.

She untied the threads and pulled a vial of medicine from the cotton wadding. Looking at the clear, transparent liquid inside, a sinister expression appeared on Miao Xin's face.

According to the person who gave her the drug, the injection of this gene drug also carries certain risks and is not 100% successful.

If the development of superpowers fails, death is a possibility.

He witnessed firsthand a warrior who had awakened fire-based abilities being burned to a crisp because he couldn't control the flames within his body.

So she's gambling now.

If she wins the bet, she has an 80-90% chance of gaining superpowers; if she loses, she will most likely turn to dust and can only hope to be reincarnated in her next life.

But when you're alive, aren't you constantly making choices? Her personality dictates that she can't live a life of compromise.

While the genetic warriors haven't appeared among ordinary people yet, she wants to seize this opportunity to utterly crush Jian Ning.

Miao Xin didn't really believe that Jian Ning was also a genetic warrior.

When they met the day before yesterday, she didn't detect any supernatural abilities in Jian Ning. Besides, were gene serums so easy to obtain? She didn't believe Jian Ning had that ability.

Therefore, this period presents the best opportunity. If she delays any longer, she might very well lose to Jian Ning. Wouldn't she regret it terribly then? So, she's taking this gamble!

With that thought in mind, he grabbed the syringe from the medical kit without hesitation, extracted the gene serum, and injected it into himself.

I felt a chill all over my body right after I finished. The temperature in the room seemed to drop below freezing instantly.

She was so cold that her face turned deathly pale, and her teeth chattered incessantly. Shivering, she forced herself to climb onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and wrapped herself in the quilt.

But it was still cold, a cold that chilled to the bone. Just when Miao Xin thought she was going to be completely frozen, a small flame suddenly burst forth from her body.

She accidentally set her clothes and quilt on fire. It startled her. She quickly rolled off the kang (heated brick bed) and rolled on the floor. As soon as the fire went out, a chill ran through her again.

The alternation between hot and cold lasted for a good half hour. Then came the excruciating pain, a real pain, like someone hammering nails into your bone.

She simply couldn't bear it. But she dared not make a sound. If the people outside found out she had secretly injected herself with the gene serum, the consequences would be unimaginable. She bit her lip until it bled, but she held back her murmur.

Miao Xin is quite a ruthless person.

Despite the struggle between these two opposing forces of heat and cold, I managed to remain conscious for an hour. Two hours—I don't know how long it lasted—until blood started seeping from my ears, nose, and eyes.

She gritted her teeth and didn't utter a sound. There aren't many people who can be so ruthless to themselves. As the icy chill gradually gained the upper hand, the warmth within her body was rapidly drained away.

Miao Xin lay curled up on the ground, the entire room covered in a thick layer of frost. This was because she had just acquired ice-type superpowers and couldn't yet control the power within her body, causing it to leak out.

"Why does it feel colder and colder in this room? Zhang Xiaoqiang, get out of the way, do you not know how to start a fire?"

Li Mingxuan was sitting closest to Miao Xin's bedroom, so he was the first to feel the chill. The temperature had dropped drastically, and he thought the weather outside had changed again.

They used to chase Zhang Xiaoqiang away from the stove. Only after opening the stove lid with the stove hook and looking at the flickering flames inside did they feel a bit of warmth.

"Yeah, I feel cold too. Could the temperature have dropped again? Is this even a way to survive? I hope I don't freeze into an icicle every time I go outside."

Ma Mingcen wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter around himself and moved closer to the stove.

If he weren't worried about catching a fire, he would have wanted to hug the stove for warmth. It's so cold! How can it feel colder inside than outside? That's not normal.

"Get up and move around. Sitting still won't generate heat, and you'll get cold."

As Zhang Xiaoqiang spoke, he stood up and ran around the room twice. When he reached the bedroom door, he frowned. Why did he feel that this place was significantly colder than other places?

When he finished the third lap, he stopped and was about to knock on the door when Li Mingxuan called out to him.

"Zhang Xiaoqiang, what are you doing? Didn't Miao Xin just say she wanted to rest? Don't disturb her."

"No, I just find it a bit strange. Why is there a chill coming out of this door? I hope something's wrong with Sister Xin?"

As Zhang Xiaoqiang spoke, he pressed his hand against the crack in the door, and the cold air was now even more noticeable, emanating from the bedroom.

Ignoring Li Mingxuan's attempts to stop her, she quickly knocked on the door loudly: "Sister Xin, are you asleep? Are you alright? I'm coming in!"

Miao Xin, who was lying on the floor inside the house, heard the knocking on the door and slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelashes were now covered with a thick layer of frost.

It took some effort to open my eyes. I glanced at the bedroom, which was now completely frozen.

She immediately realized what had happened. For a period of time, she had completely lost consciousness; it seemed she had succeeded after all. She had gained ice-based powers.

This is truly something to celebrate. A smile appeared on his lips, and with a simple gesture, the cold air in the room was instantly drawn back into his body. The frost on his eyelashes melted and fell down. He had just stood up from the ground.

Zhang Xiaoqiang kicked the door open and stared at Miao Xin standing on the ground. He paused for a moment, stunned.

"Sister Xin, is it because it's too cold inside that you're trying to start a fire with the blankets? There's plenty of wood outside, how come your eyebrows and hair are all burned?"

Miao Xin looked extremely disheveled, and there was a burnt smell in the air. Half of the quilt she was wrapped in had been burned, revealing the cotton wadding inside.

Moreover, the clothes he was wearing underneath showed signs of burning. He really couldn't understand what was going on.

Another thing that puzzled him was that he had clearly felt the coldness in the room just now, but why wasn't it cold at all now?