12: Chapter 12 Ye Qingxue: This man is up to something!

The sixth day.

A full day without food.

Lin Yuan leaned against the wall, his eyes closed.

His face was somewhat pale, and his lips were dry and cracked.

But compared to the two sisters, his condition was relatively good.

Ye Qingyue lay on the bed, her whole body curled into a ball.

Her complexion was terrible, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Sis... I'm so hungry..."

She said weakly.

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Ye Qingxue sat by the bed, tightly holding her younger sister's hand.

She was also very hungry herself.

Her stomach was cramping, her head was spinning, and her whole body felt weak.

But she forced herself to endure; she couldn't collapse.

At least... she couldn't collapse in front of her sister.

"Bear with it, Qingyue."

Ye Qingxue said softly.

"Things will get better."

But those words felt too hollow.

How could they get better?

There was no food and no water.

If this continued, they would both die.

Ye Qingyue weakly turned her head and looked at Lin Yuan, who was leaning against the wall.

"Lin... Lin Yuan, are... aren't you hungry?"

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and glanced at her.

"I am."

His voice was also somewhat raspy.

"But I can last a bit longer than you two."

He was telling the truth.

Men generally have a lower body fat percentage than women, but they have more muscle mass and a higher basal metabolic rate.

Under the same conditions of starvation, men can actually last longer.

Moreover, Lin Yuan had another advantage.

He had secretly tucked a frost curse antidote into his mouth.

Although the antidote's primary function was to combat snow poison, it also had a slight effect on maintaining vital life functions.

At the very least, it could help him last an extra day or two.

But he wouldn't say any of this.

Ye Qingxue stared at Lin Yuan.

Her gaze was complex.

After a whole day of hunger, her thinking had actually become clearer.

Perhaps her will to survive had stimulated her rationality.

She was carefully observing Lin Yuan.

Observing his every expression and every movement.

Then she began to analyze things in her mind.

This man...

Was strange.

Very strange.

First, he possessed a miraculous medicine capable of curing snow poison.

One had to realize that snow poison was something that only appeared after the Apocalypse arrived.

Medical institutions and research centers across the globe had failed to find a cure.

Countless people had died because of snow poison.

But this man had produced an antidote.

And two bottles at that.

Just enough to save her and her sister.

It was too coincidental.

Abnormally coincidental.

Second, he lived in such a dilapidated single room.

A single room in an urban village with a monthly rent of seven hundred yuan, twenty-five square meters, and it didn't even have a kitchen.

Instant noodle cups were piled in the corner, and the table was covered in takeout packaging.

This was the residence of a destitute shut-in.

But...

How could a destitute shut-in possibly possess such a miraculous medicine?

The two simply didn't match!

If he really had such a medicine, he would have long since sold it to the wealthy, to The Authorities, or to anyone willing to pay a high price.

After all, the research value of this thing was immense.

A single bottle could be sold for an astronomical price.

Why was he still living in this dump?

It was illogical.

Completely illogical.

Third, his condition.

Ye Qingxue had been secretly observing him all day.

Lin Yuan was indeed very weak.

His face was pale, his lips were cracked, and his eyes were weary.

All of that was real.

But...

His condition was far better than theirs.

She and her sister were so weak they couldn't even get out of bed.

But Lin Yuan could still move around, could still speak, and even had the strength to stand by the window to observe the outside.

Although he said it was due to the difference in physical constitution...

Was it really just that?

The more Ye Qingxue thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

This man...

Definitely had a secret.

And a very big one at that.

She took a deep breath and decided to test him.

"Those antidotes..."

Ye Qingxue spoke, her voice very soft.

"Where did they come from?"

Lin Yuan looked at her, his expression calm.

"Secret."

The answer was very blunt.

He had no intention of explaining anything.

Ye Qingxue bit her lip and continued to ask:

"Do you... have more?"

"More antidotes?"

"No."

Lin Yuan remained calm.

"Just those two bottles, and I gave them both to you."

Ye Qingxue stared into his eyes, trying to find a flaw.

But Lin Yuan's gaze was too calm.

Not a single ripple could be seen.

"Then..."

Ye Qingxue was silent for a few seconds, then she bit her lip and asked the most crucial question:

"Do you have a way to get supplies?"

This time, Lin Yuan didn't answer immediately.

He was silent for a long time.

So long that Ye Qingxue thought he wasn't going to answer.

But just as she was about to give up.

"Maybe."

Lin Yuan finally spoke.

He turned around and looked at Ye Qingyue.

That look was full of meaning.

"But it requires... special conditions."

Ye Qingxue's heart instantly leaped into her throat.

"What conditions?"

She almost forced these words out through gritted teeth.

"Speak!"

Lin Yuan didn't answer.

He just stared at Ye Qingyue without saying a word.

That look...

It was as if he were sizing up some precious treasure.

Or as if he were evaluating the value of some commodity.

Ye Qingxue understood instantly.

Her face turned deathly pale.

"You... you're after my sister?!"

Her voice trembled, filled with anger and fear.

"You animal!"

Ye Qingyue also sensed that something was wrong. She shrank back on the bed, her eyes full of terror.

Lin Yuan remained expressionless.

"I only said maybe."

His voice was very calm.

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

"In any case, if this continues, all three of us will starve to death."

Ye Qingxue bit her lip hard, tears welling in her eyes.

She wanted to curse him.

She wanted to rush over and hit him.

But she knew her current state; she could barely even stand up, so where would she get the strength to hit someone?

And...

What if what he said was true?

What if he really had a way to get supplies?

What if...

No!

Ye Qingxue frantically denied the thought in her heart.

Impossible!

This was complete nonsense!

How could an ordinary person have that kind of ability?

Sleeping with her sister could conjure up supplies?

What kind of bullshit logic was that!

He must be lying!

This pervert must want to take advantage!

Want to take advantage of her sister!

Ye Qingxue tried hard to convince herself.

But...

But those antidotes were real.

She and her sister had indeed been cured.

Those antidotes did exist.

So...

Could he really have some kind of... ability she couldn't understand?

No, impossible...

Ye Qingxue's thoughts fell into chaos.

Rationality told her that all of this was a scam.

But reality told her that this man indeed possessed something different.

Those antidotes...

Where did they come from?

Who exactly was he?

Ye Qingxue looked at Lin Yuan, her gaze complex beyond description.

She found that she couldn't see through this man at all.

Not at all.

Lin Yuan was also looking at her.

He could see that Ye Qingxue was struggling.

Doubting.

Analyzing.

Trying to find the truth.

But she wouldn't find it.

Because the truth was too absurd.

So absurd that it was impossible for her to believe.

A system?

Rebirth?

Who would believe such nonsense that only appeared in novels?

So Lin Yuan didn't need to explain.

He only needed to wait.

Wait for hunger to destroy their rationality.

Wait for despair to destroy their pride.

Wait until they had no choice but to compromise.

At that time...

They would come to beg him of their own accord.

Silence fell over the room once again.

Ye Qingxue held her sister, tears silently flowing down.

Ye Qingyue was trembling all over, her eyes full of fear and unease.

Lin Yuan leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Outside, the snow was still falling.

The temperature was still dropping.

And in this tiny single room, the air was frozen and suffocating.

The previous conversation kept replaying in Ye Qingxue's mind.

"Maybe, but it requires... special conditions."

"I only said maybe, whether you believe it or not is up to you."

"In any case, if this continues, all three of us will starve to death."

These words swirled in her mind like a curse.

She looked at Lin Yuan.

This man...

What secret did he have?

Where did those antidotes come from?

Was the "way" he spoke of real or fake?

Were she and her sister really some kind of "condition"?

It was so absurd...

But yet so real.

Ye Qingxue felt her worldview collapsing.

Since the Apocalypse arrived, she had witnessed too many incredible things.

Snow falling from the sky, the spread of snow poison, mutated creatures...

This world had already become unrecognizable to her.

So...

Could there really exist some kind of... supernatural power?

Could there really be something... she couldn't understand?

Ye Qingxue didn't know.

She only knew that her life and her sister's life were now in this man's hands.

And this man...

She couldn't see through him at all.

Night fell.

There were no lights.

The power had gone out long ago.

In the darkness, the three of them remained silent.

Lin Yuan was silently counting down in his heart.

How many more days could they last?

Two days?

Three days?

It didn't matter.

What mattered was...

How much longer Ye Qingxue could last.

How much longer her rationality could resist.

Lin Yuan was very patient.

He could afford to wait.

Because time was on his side.