Chapter 10 Blizzard Blocks the Mountain, Crisis Descends
The exploration team's vehicle had only been gone for less than two hours, and the sky seemed to have leaked.
The heavy snow fell like goose feathers, and the wind howled like ghosts, sending chills down one's spine.
The mountain road that was still visible was swallowed up by a vast expanse of white in the blink of an eye.
The mountain is closed.
Linjiagou became an isolated island.
Lin Jianguo stood at the entrance of the cave dwelling, looking at the snow wall that blocked the way outside, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
His right eyelid has been twitching nonstop since just now.
"Dad, there's so much white flour outside!"
Zhao Di peered out through the crack in the window, her little face beaming with excitement.
In her eyes, the snow was like white flour falling from the sky, and she wished she could eat it.
Lin Jianguo forced a smile and patted his daughter's head.
"Yes, it's snowing. A good snow promises a good harvest."
That's what he said, but his heart was heavy.
Although we have some food provided by the gods, the heavy snow has blocked the mountain for ten days or half a month, and that little bit of food won't be enough.
and……
Lin Jianguo glanced subconsciously at the iron frame on his leg.
This thing is useful, but it's too conspicuous.
If the villagers see this, who knows what kind of gossip will spread.
Just then, Zhao Di's childish voice suddenly rang in my mind.
"Dad, the fairy uncle said we should play a game of piling up black stones."
Lin Jianguo was taken aback: "What black stone?"
Zhao Di pointed to the pile of coal used for burning in the corner.
That was low-quality coal that Lin Jianguo had picked up from the back mountain a few days ago. It produced a lot of smoke but little fire, and he usually couldn't bear to use it.
"My uncle said that if you crush the black stones and then knead them together, they will turn into a really powerful fire."
As Zhao Di spoke, she ran over with her short legs, grabbed a dark lump of coal, and started playing with it.
Meanwhile, in Zhao Di's mind, the system was issuing tasks.
[Ding! Extreme weather conditions detected; the host's living environment temperature is too low.]
[Immediate side quest issued: Energy Upgrade.]
[Mission Objective: To refine low-quality coal and produce high-energy compressed solid fuel.]
[Task guidance: Crush, compress, and recombine molecular structures (simplified to a "clay kneading" mode).]
[Reward: 10 Family Hand Warmers (Military Grade Heated Version)]
The system is really going to great lengths.
This dilapidated cave is drafty from all sides. If we don't make it warm soon, its young host will freeze into an icicle.
Zhao Di didn't understand what molecular structure was, but she did understand "crush".
The little girl found a rock and started smashing it against the pile of coal.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Coal dust flew everywhere, covering her face in soot, making her look like a little Zhang Fei.
Lin Jianguo wanted to stop him, but when he thought about the strange things that had happened in the past few days, he held back.
Since it was said by a deity, let my daughter play with it.
Anyway, I'm just idling around.
Just as Zhao Di was having a great time...
At the east end of the village, in Lai Tou Li's dilapidated tile-roofed house, several furtive figures were gathered.
Inside the room, a charcoal fire was burning, and several men who looked like thugs were sitting around it, warming themselves by the fire and puffing out smoke.
Lai Tou Li sat in the main seat, a piece of dog skin plaster still stuck to his scaly face, from when he fell while escaping that day.
"Brother Li, with the heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, are we really going to make a move?"
A thug with a pockmarked face hesitated for a moment, then rubbed his hands together and asked.
"The Lin family... I heard they're haunted by monsters."
"What kind of monster is this!"
Lai Tou Li spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, his eyes as sinister as a venomous snake.
"I went back and thought about it for two days and two nights, and I've figured it out."
"What hellhound? What red light? That's clearly a magic trick! It's an illusion!"
"Think about it, Lin Jianguo is dirt poor, where would he get the money to hire an opera troupe to perform magic tricks?"
Lai Tou Li lowered his voice, looking mysterious.
“I heard that Lin Jianguo dug up a treasure in the back mountain a while ago.”
"That treasure can glow and even conjure up food!"
"That day I saw that little girl holding a big white steamed bun in her hand. The aroma was amazing, something you definitely couldn't find in our poor mountain village!"
The thugs' eyes lit up instantly when they heard "treasure" and "food".
These days, even a bite to eat can drive people to their deaths, let alone a magical treasure that can conjure up food.
"Brother Li, you mean..."
"What I mean is, that's our chance to make a fortune!"
Lai Tou Li grinned sinisterly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Now the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, the police can't get in, and the troops can't get through either."
"The Lin family is left with only a cripple and a little kid, and the exploration team has also left."
"Let's sneak over here tonight in the dark and steal that treasure!"
"With that treasure, we'll live the high life from now on, what will we be afraid of?"
The thugs exchanged glances, their greed instantly overshadowing their fear.
People die for wealth, birds die for food.
As long as they have enough to eat, they'd dare to pluck two of the beards off even if it were a demon or the King of Hell himself!
"Let's do it!"
The pockmarked man slapped his thigh and said fiercely.
"Let's make our move tonight! Let's see what tricks that cripple Lin can pull!"
...
The night grew deeper and deeper.
The wind and snow showed no signs of stopping; in fact, they blew even harder.
Inside the Lin family's cave dwelling, a dim kerosene lamp flickered on and off.
Zhao Di was tired from playing and fell asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Her little face was still covered in coal dust, and she was holding several strange, shiny black lumps of coal in her arms.
That was the result of her afternoon's work.
Through systematic micro-reorganization, these few unremarkable lumps of coal now have a calorific value fifty times that of ordinary coal!
Just one piece of firewood can keep this cave dwelling warm all night.
Lin Jianguo sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), wiping the bayonet that had been with him for more than ten years.
The blade gleamed coldly, reflecting on his solemn face.
He didn't sleep.
The intuition he had honed on the battlefield made the hairs on his body stand on end.
Danger.
That's the feeling of being watched by a wild beast.
Just then, a series of rustling footsteps came from outside the door.
Although the sound was mostly drowned out by the wind and snow, Lin Jianguo still heard it.
It wasn't just one person.
It's a group of people.
"Knock knock knock".
Someone knocked on the door.
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of ill intent.
"who?"
Lin Jianguo asked in a deep voice, his grip on the bayonet tightening suddenly.
“Jianguo, it’s me, your Uncle Chen.”
The voice coming from outside the door was surprisingly Chen Zhiyuan's.
Lin Jianguo was taken aback and quickly got up to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, a gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in.
Chen Zhiyuan stood shivering at the door, draped in a tattered cotton quilt, his eyebrows and beard covered in ice crystals.
But in his hand, he was tightly gripping a wooden stick as thick as his wrist.
"Old Chen? What's going on here...?"
Lin Jianguo was a little confused when he saw the old man's desperate posture.
Chen Zhiyuan didn't go inside. Instead, he moved the broken chair to the doorway and plopped down on it.
"I'm not going in."
Chen Zhiyuan exhaled white breath, his voice trembling, but his tone was as hard as a rock.
"I have a feeling that tonight is going to be unsettling."
“That scoundrel Li is no good. Once the exploration team leaves, he’s bound to cause trouble.”
"I'm a useless person, I can't do anything else."
"But I'm still alive."
Chen Zhiyuan raised his head and looked at Lin Jianguo. In his cloudy old eyes, there was a light that moved Lin Jianguo.
"Jianguo, protect Zhaodi."
"Those are our country's treasures, our hope."
"As long as I, Chen Zhiyuan, have a breath left, no one will be allowed to step into this door!"
This is the integrity of a scholar.
He may look frail normally, but when it really matters, he's tougher than anyone else.
Lin Jianguo felt as if a piece of cotton was stuck in his throat, burning hot.
He didn't say anything, but silently tightened the exoskeleton on his injured leg.
Then, he turned around and went back into the house, throwing the few pieces of "specially made coal balls" that Zhao Di had made into the nearly extinguished brazier.
"call--"
The flames shot up a foot high in an instant!
The originally cold and damp cave was instantly filled with a warm wave of heat.
The firelight was so bright red that it made Lin Jianguo and Chen Zhiyuan's faces glow red.
"Old Chen, come in and warm up."
Lin Jianguo picked up the bayonet, walked to the door, and stood side by side with Chen Zhiyuan.
He looked at the dark, snowy night, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.
It was the savage grin of a wolf king protecting its cubs.
"Tonight, it doesn't matter who comes."
"If you want to mess with my daughter, you'd better ask this knife in my hand if it agrees first!"
In the distance, amidst wind and snow.
Several furtive shadowy figures were stealthily making their way towards them.
Lai Tou Li held a pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, and a greedy glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at the red light emanating from the Lin family's cave dwelling.
"See that? How bright that light is!"
"They're definitely burning precious things!"
"Brothers, let's go! Grab it, damn it!"
A fierce battle is about to erupt amidst a blizzard.
At that moment, Zhao Di, who was still asleep, turned over and smacked her lips.
"Uncle Fairy...this fire is so warm..."
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