Chapter 56 Ice becomes priceless, and iced cola is served inside the fortress.
"Click." The heavy metal latch popped open.
Lin Xingwan flipped open the lid of the giant insulated cooler with one hand.
In an instant, a thick, visible white mist of cold air poured out like a bursting waterfall.
As the cold air hit the surrounding atmosphere, it instantly condensed into countless tiny water droplets. This oncoming chill forcefully drove away the irritation in everyone's hearts.
Everyone's necks stretched out involuntarily.
Inside the box, a thick layer of crystal-clear crushed ice was spread out!
In the middle of the ice, dozens of classic glass bottles of Coca-Cola were neatly arranged. Due to the extremely low temperature, the bottles were covered in an enticing layer of white frost.
Dead silence. The entire armed camp was so quiet that one could hear the sound of the cold air flowing.
"F-f*ck..." A-Qiang rubbed his eyes hard, his rugged voice trembling. "Am I dreaming? Ice cubes?!"
In this high-temperature hell where the outdoor temperature exceeded seventy degrees, let alone ice cubes, even a mouthful of foul-smelling lukewarm water could make people fight for their lives with knives.
And now, a whole bathtub's worth of pure crushed ice was sitting right in front of them!
Lu Ting's hand, which had been adjusting his glasses, froze mid-air. This was ten thousand times more shocking than seeing a mountain of gold!
"What are you standing there for?" Lin Xingwan chuckled. She casually grabbed a bottle of cola, flicked her thumb, and "pop," the metal cap flew off. "Drink up."
"Gulp." The sound of swallowing rose and fell, echoing throughout the spacious camp.
A-Qiang was the first to rush forward. He carefully picked up a bottle, the icy sensation against his palm making his eyes instantly turn red. He threw his head back and took a massive gulp.
The cold, bubbly sugar water slammed heavily down his throat and into his stomach. "Refreshing! F*cking refreshing!" A-Qiang exclaimed, swearing in his excitement, tears almost streaming down his face.
Seeing this, the others couldn't hold back anymore and swarmed forward. Some grabbed cola, others grabbed ice. Some even grabbed a handful of crushed ice and stuffed it into their mouths, crunching it loudly.
"Drink slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Lin Xingwan leaned against the cooler, watching the group of battle-hardened men with a cold gaze.
Once they had drunk enough and their emotions had calmed down slightly, she spoke. "Everyone." Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Outside is a living hell, where a single mouthful of water can cost a life. But here in my Star Fortress, as long as you work hard and follow orders..."
She pointed to the ice in the box, her eyes suddenly turning as sharp as knives. "Things like this, there's plenty. But if anyone dares to harbor any treacherous thoughts..."
Lin Xingwan let out a cold snort, leaving the rest unsaid. But the implied meaning was enough to make one shudder. Everyone felt a sudden jolt in their hearts. The cold cola in their hands felt like a brand of loyalty.
Lu Ting was the first to put down his bottle and stand straight. "Don't worry, Boss Lady! If anyone dares to have a second thought, I, Lu Ting, will be the first to blow his brains out!" "That's right! We'll strike wherever Boss Lady points!" A-Qiang also roared at the top of his lungs. Loyalty was maxed out at this moment.
Huo Yuan stood to the side, watching Lin Xingwan's skilled method of managing subordinates. The smile in his eyes deepened. This woman was not only ruthless, but she also played with human hearts to the extreme.
He walked over and naturally took the half-finished cola from Lin Xingwan's hand. He tilted his head back and took a drink from the same spot where she had just sipped. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, looking incredibly sexy.
"Let's go, to the Central Control Room," Huo Yuan wiped the corner of his mouth. "Let's go see the situation outside."
The group moved to the Central Control Hall. In front of the giant holographic screen, every mercenary held a bottle of iced cola, and a few even wrapped ice in towels to press against their faces to cool down.
Inside the screen, the world outside was unbearable to look at.
"Tsk tsk, the asphalt road has melted into mud." A-Qiang took a sip of cola, shaking his head while pointing at the screen.
"The contrast is just too tragic. Yesterday, I was still complaining about how tiring it was to paint the heat-insulation coating. Now that I see this, being able to paint walls inside The Fortress is like having smoke rising from my ancestors' graves!" Everyone echoed in agreement, feeling lingering fear.
Just then, Qian Duoduo was clattering away at the keyboard, pulling up drone footage from the nearby patrol. "Beep beep beep!" The console suddenly emitted a series of urgent alerts.
"Boss! Peripheral Drone Number 3 has captured an anomaly!" Qian Duoduo immediately switched the footage to the center of the main screen. "In an old alley five kilometers away from our villa, someone is trapped."
Lin Xingwan looked up. It was a dead-end alley in the old city district. Five starving, gaunt thugs with green glints in their eyes were holding rusty iron pipes and blood-stained kitchen knives, cornering a man and a woman tightly against a wall full of trash.
"Hand over the water! Hurry up!" The thugs roared frantically, waving their kitchen knives wildly.
The camera zoomed in. When she saw the faces of the two people in the corner, Lin Xingwan raised an eyebrow. Truly, enemies often cross paths.
The man's suit had turned into rags, his face was peeling, and there were even signs of burns. He was clutching a small, half-bottle of murky, dirty water tightly to his chest. It was Gu Zichen!
And behind him, the woman whose dress was torn and whose hair was as messy as a bird's nest—her leg was twisted in a deformed way, with black pus and blood flowing from it, emitting a foul odor. It was actually Lin Chuchu!
Lin Xingwan was somewhat surprised. Didn't Gu Zichen's family refuse to even open the door for Lin Chuchu after they went bankrupt? When did these two pieces of trash get mixed up together again?
On the screen, Lin Chuchu was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, clutching Gu Zichen's arm tightly. "Brother Zichen, I'm so scared, please save me..."
Gu Zichen's eyes were panicked. He glanced at the thugs closing in step by step, then looked at the bit of life-saving dirty water in his arms. Suddenly, he exerted force and shoved the disabled Lin Chuchu to the front, directly using her as a shield in front of himself!
"The water... you can't have the water!" Gu Zichen shrieked hysterically. "Take this woman! She's good-looking, you can do whatever you want with her! Just let me go!"
Lin Chuchu was shoved and fell at the feet of the thugs, looking at Gu Zichen in disbelief.
"This guy is such a coward, using a woman as a meat shield?" A-Qiang spat, his face full of disdain.
Huo Yuan turned his head to look at Lin Xingwan. "Your old acquaintances." His tone was playful. "Those thugs are starving mad. Should we send a drone over and drop an incendiary bomb?"
Lin Xingwan crunched a small piece of ice in her mouth, a chilling coldness flashing in her eyes. She stared at the screen, looking at Gu Zichen's twisted, selfish face.
"Drop an incendiary bomb? Why?" Lin Xingwan sneered. "Turn on the drone's loudspeaker."
"I want to hear how miserably my 'dear sister' screams before she dies."