22. Metal-type ability user
A loud crash rang out, and the elevator window shattered.
The cold wind rushed in, and the chill seeped in through the cracks in the door. In no time, a layer of white frost visibly formed around the door.
Upon seeing this, Shi Dong immediately picked up a plank and rushed out, quickly nailing the broken window shut.
It was terribly cold that day, so we had to stay in the elevator area.
The three sat around the brazier to keep warm. After Fu Yunong finished feeding Hua Hua in her arms, she gently placed it into the fluffy nest next to her.
Lin Songsong watched this scene with a smile, feeling that Sister Yu Nong was the kindest person in the world.
She also felt that Fu Yunong was like a treasure chest, capable of producing anything. Her mother used to say that she wasn't very bright, but she also knew not to ask questions she shouldn't ask, and she was never curious about Fu Yunong's supernatural abilities.
"Sister Yu Nong, I'm almost fully recovered, I don't need the electric blanket anymore," Lin Songsong said softly, holding a cup of hot tea.
Fu Yunong was burying potatoes and sweet potatoes into the brazier when she heard this. She smiled and said, "Use them for now. We'll talk about it when you're fully recovered."
Lin Songsong insisted, "Really, I don't need to. I have superpowers, and I'm not cold at all when I sleep at night."
At this point, not only Fu Yunong, but also Shi Dong became interested and asked, "Could you demonstrate your special ability?"
Lin Songsong was a little shy, but she obediently used her special ability.
She is a metal elementalist, capable of manipulating metal, altering its form, and even metallizing parts of her body. Most importantly, she can erect a metal shield to block or even deflect damage.
"A rebound?" Shi Dong's tone was somewhat surprised.
A nail floated in Lin Songsong's palm. He nodded slightly. "It can only be done after upgrading. Right now... I'm still very weak."
Fu Yunong quickly handed over the crystal core, "Suck it!" Seeing Shi Dong's speechless look, she stuffed the remaining two level-two crystal cores into her hands, "You suck it too!"
Lin Songsong absorbed the crystal core in a similar way to Shi Dong, but while Shi Dong's palm was filled with lightning, hers had a subtly changing metallic luster.
A moment later, Lin Songsong opened his palm, looked at the crystal core that had turned to ashes, and laughed happily, "I broke through, I'm now at level two!"
Shi Dong dusted off his hands and, under Fu Yunong's questioning gaze, said in a calm tone, "Still level three."
Fu Yunong felt heartbroken; she had absorbed all the level-two crystal cores, yet she still hadn't broken through.
"Oh right!" Fu Yunong slapped her thigh, realizing she had almost forgotten.
She took out the pair of tough knee pads that could increase impact resistance by 20%, handed them directly to Lin Songsong, and patted her on the shoulder, "I'm rooting for you, big tank!"
Although Lin Songsong doesn't play games, he also laughed along.
Fu Yunong thought for a moment, then took out a giant hammer, half the height of a person, from her spatial storage. "Do you need this?"
This is the [Mighty Warhammer] that she won in a lottery. It is not only incredibly hard, but it also has the force of a thousand pounds when swung! But unfortunately, not to mention her, even Shi Dong finds it too heavy, so it has been sitting idle.
Lin Songsong, holding the giant hammer, grew increasingly bright in his eyes, his voice tinged with excitement, "Is this... a gift for me?"
Seeing that she liked it, Fu Yunong smiled and patted her shoulder again, "I'm rooting for you, you mighty tank!"
Shi Dong watched from the side, then casually looked away and silently picked up her teacup to take a sip.
Since Lin Songsong wasn't using the electric blanket anymore, Fu Yunong took it and used it herself. It was so cold that day; even after getting into bed, her hands and feet would still be cold for a long time.
"It's so warm~" Fu Yunong lay on the bed, comfortably squinting her eyes.
The space beside him dipped slightly, and Shi Dong's voice rang out in the darkness, "You trust her that much?"
Fu Yunong was sleepy and mumbled, "What's there to be afraid of? You're here, aren't you?"
Shi Dong smiled and closed her eyes as well.
Outside, the wind was biting cold, and inside, they dared not stray far from the fire. Fu Yunong and the other two sat around the brazier playing cards, chewing on bubble gum they had bought with 0.1 points each from the system. After only a few rounds, Lin Songsong's face was covered in sticky notes.
After getting tired of playing, the group went back to exercising on their own.
During warm-up, Lin Songsong jumped lightly and bumped into the ceiling with a thud. Fu Yunong immediately laughed out loud, but as she laughed, she sighed silently to herself: This is so boring, when will this awful weather ever get better?
Unlike the peaceful life upstairs, life downstairs is a living hell.
Eleven people crammed into the small living room, barely keeping warm with each other's body heat. But that little bit of warmth was far from enough; if the fire were to go out, they would freeze solid in no time.
They had already divided the work: those who still had grain stored it out, and those who had no grain took turns going out to find firewood. The wood that could be burned downstairs had already been almost completely searched, and even the corners of the door frame had been chopped off and burned. The flames in the brazier were getting smaller and smaller, and anxiety was on everyone's face.
"How about... we go upstairs and look? There are always tables, chairs and cabinets upstairs, we can dismantle them and burn them."
Someone immediately retorted, "Have you forgotten? The upstairs is completely blocked off; how are we supposed to get up there?"
These words seemed to strike a nerve. A man in a cotton-padded coat kicked the wall hard and cursed angrily, "What's so great about them! So what if they have superpowers? Why are they so domineering!"
Someone nearby chimed in, "If you're so capable, why don't you move it? If you could really go upstairs, would we ever lack firewood?"
Before that day, Fu Yunong and Shi Dong were kind-hearted and generous in their eyes; but after that day, all they felt was fear. There was an insurmountable gap between them; they could take their lives with the flick of their fingers. They had never felt so insignificant, as insignificant as ants.
The man's face turned bright red, but he didn't dare to reply.
After a few seconds of silence, someone else suggested, "Why don't we let Xiao Linfang give it a try? She has influence with them, so maybe she can make a difference."
More pressing than heating was the weight of food on everyone's minds. This awful weather seemed endless, and almost everyone's supplies were nearly gone. Only Wang Xiaogang and his sister still had some food left, and their status rose accordingly.
When it was time to cook, Wang Xiaogang, avoiding the crowd, scooped a bowlful of flour from the sack using his own rice bowl and carefully handed it to Wang Xiaoqin.
Wang Xiaoqin walked into the living room and, under everyone's watchful eyes, poured the flour into the pot of boiling water. This one bowl of noodles was the daily ration for more than a dozen people.
Once the batter was cooked, Wang Xiaoqin first scooped out the two thickest bowls for her and Wang Xiaogang, while the rest of the people could only share some thin soup with bits of flour floating on top.
"This is far too little!" a skinny man muttered. "There are so many of us, and this is all we get? You siblings are so stingy!"
Wang Xiaogang immediately slammed the bowl on the only remaining portion of the table, glaring fiercely at them. "Eat it or don't! If you think it's not enough, go find some yourself! You're lucky we even gave you some porridge, don't be ungrateful!"
The skinny man was frightened by his fierce appearance, opened his mouth, but ultimately dared not utter another sound.
In the latter half of the night, most people in the living room were asleep, with only the occasional crackling of firewood in the brazier.
During the day, the skinny man sneaked up to Wang Xiaogang and pulled him towards the kitchen. The two closed the door, and soon, sticky, suggestive sounds came from the kitchen.
Someone muttered under their breath in the darkness, "Damn it, still thinking about this at a time like this, how come they haven't frozen to death!"
A moment later, the door opened. Wang Xiaogang pulled a handful of flour from the sack and handed it to the man. The skinny man quickly took it, tucked it into his pocket like a treasure, looked around warily, and then shrank back to his corner.
Wang Xiaoqin saw all of this from the darkness. She quietly clutched the old blanket beneath her. She had a feeling that her brother seemed different.
The next morning, after everyone pleaded with her, Xiao Linfang finally came to the door.
She sat by the brazier, rubbing her hands together, her voice tinged with barely concealed embarrassment. "Miss Fu, could you please let us go upstairs to get some firewood? There's absolutely nothing left to burn downstairs. And..." She paused, her head bowing even lower, "It's not just them, Chen Yin and I have also run out of food. We've been surviving on rice porridge for the past few days. Could... could you give us something to eat?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunong waved her hand, "That obstacle wasn't intentionally blocked; I'll move it later."
They're not that domineering.
When the topic of food came up, she hesitated, her fingertips lightly stroking the cup. She looked up at Xiao Linfang and sighed helplessly, "You see, the three of us aren't exactly well-off."
Lin Songsong had the same appetite as Shi Dong. This awful weather seemed endless, and even with grain, they had to eat it sparingly. It was truly a case of 'even the landlord's family had no surplus grain.'
Xiao Linfang's expectation dimmed, but she didn't dare to ask for more, only stammering, "I understand..."
Seeing her embarrassed look, Fu Yunong still gave her a bag of flour. She weighed it in her hand and handed it to Xiao Linfang, saying, "For your sake, take this back. There won't be any more later." She added a reminder at the end, "Take care of yourself first. That's the most important thing."
Xiao Linfang quickly took the food, thanked them repeatedly, and hurried downstairs with the food in her pocket.
As soon as they reached the eighth floor, everyone crowded around them, their eyes full of anticipation. Xiao Linfang first told them that Fu Yunong had agreed to move the obstacle, then took out the bag of grain. Before she could even speak, the crowd erupted in chaos, pushing and shoving, and in no time her hands were empty, leaving her with nothing.
Looking at the chaotic scene, Xiao Linfang felt extremely distressed. After the door to 802 closed, she quietly took a bag from the corner of the hallway; luckily, she had hidden one beforehand.
She looked around, picked up the bag, and went into room 801, unaware that behind the door of room 802, a pair of eyes were staring intently at her through the peephole.
After Xiao Linfang left, Fu Yunong opened the system, looked at the balance, and frowned slightly. Ever since she inexplicably arrived here, even with the system, she had always been struggling to make ends meet.
They currently have 170 jin of flour and 80 jin of rice left, so they won't have to worry about food for the time being. But this awful weather is unpredictable. She raised her hand to rub her temples, hoping that this awful weather would stop before their food supplies run out and their points are used up. Otherwise, even if they don't freeze to death, they'll eventually starve to death here.
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