342: Chapter 342 Is Shen Bingtong a Grey?

The blizzard stopped.

It had lasted for three whole days.

During those three days, the people in the Shelter's Core Zone ate and drank as usual.

Those in the Outer City huddled together for warmth and barely made it through, while those in the Military Zone survived thanks to the walls reinforced by Lan Xin.

The damage reports from all sectors were compiled on Su Yuyan's desk: zero losses in the Core Zone, twelve people with minor injuries in the Outer City, thirty-seven people with frostbite in the Military Zone, and zero deaths.

Su Yuyan finished reading the report, signed the bottom, and placed it in the "Processed" pile.

Then, she opened the next file.

The matter of Shen Bingtong's placement.

This woman was not from the Shelter.

She was not from the Outer City.

She was not from the Northern Border Army.

She had been picked up from the blizzard.

Like a stray cat blown to the doorstep by the wind.

The problem was—where should this cat be put?

Ye Qingxue went to the medical zone.

Shen Bingtong was sitting on the hospital bed.

She had fully recovered.

Her body temperature was normal, her mental state was normal, and all her vital signs were normal.

So normal that it was abnormal.

A person who had collapsed in a blizzard of -178 degrees was acting like nothing had happened after three days.

Ye Qingxue stood in front of the hospital bed, looking at her.

A 95-point face.

Light gray eyes.

As cold and aloof as a block of ice.

No, colder than ice.

Ice would at least reflect light.

Her eyes did not reflect light.

"Do you want to stay?" Ye Qingxue asked.

Shen Bingtong was silent for two seconds.

"I have nowhere else to go."

There was no self-pity in this sentence.

No grievance.

Just stating a fact.

Just like saying "Today is Wednesday."

Ye Qingxue:

"Then stay. You should know the rules of the Shelter—women can join. What are your specialties?"

Shen Bingtong thought for a moment.

"I can hunt. On the ice sheet."

Ye Qingxue: "The -178 degree ice sheet?"

Shen Bingtong: "Yes."

Ye Qingxue was silent for a second.

-178 degrees.

Hunting alone.

Qin Ziyan, the best fighter in the Shelter.

Even she had to wear three layers of cold-resistant clothing, bring a squad, and limit her time to two hours when going out on patrol.

This woman said she hunted on the -178 degree ice sheet.

As casually as if she were saying "I can cook."

Ye Qingxue did not press for more details.

She had been with Lin Yuan for a long time and had learned one thing—don't ask what shouldn't be asked.

"I'll arrange for you to stay in the ordinary residential area of the Core Zone first. Live with other female survivors."

Shen Bingtong nodded.

She didn't say thank you.

She didn't say that's great.

She just nodded.

When Ye Qingxue turned to leave, she thought to herself—

This woman is even harder to deal with than Luo Qinghan.

At least Luo Qinghan would roll her eyes.

She couldn't even be bothered to roll her eyes.

Ye Qingyue was giving Shen Bingtong her final physical examination.

Routine procedure.

Blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen.

All normal.

Textbook level of normal.

Ye Qingyue was just about to check the box on the medical form—then she noticed a number.

Body temperature: 36.5 degrees.

Skin surface temperature: 12 degrees.

She looked at it again.

36.5 degrees.

12 degrees.

The difference between internal body temperature and skin surface temperature was 24.5 degrees.

This wasn't right.

A normal person's skin surface temperature is usually between 33 and 34 degrees, with a difference of no more than 3 degrees from the internal body temperature.

But Shen Bingtong's body was warm on the inside and cold on the outside.

Just like a thermos.

Filled with hot water.

But cool to the touch on the outside.

The human body is not a thermos.

The human body shouldn't be a thermos.

Ye Qingyue hesitated for a moment, then did something she usually wouldn't do during a routine physical—

She used her mental Superpower to probe Shen Bingtong's physical state.

Ye Qingyue's mental Superpower could "see" the energy flow inside the human body.

The energy in a normal person's body is warm-toned—

Red, orange, yellow.

Ability Users have an extra color inside, depending on the type of Superpower.

She had probed countless people.

She had never seen silver before.

But there was an extremely faint energy flowing inside Shen Bingtong.

Silver.

Like a thin silver thread, winding along her blood vessels.

Not a Superpower.

Not evolutionary energy.

It was something Ye Qingyue had never seen before.

Ye Qingyue withdrew her mental Superpower.

Her expression didn't change.

Years of medical training had taught her one thing—

No matter what is found inside a patient, you cannot show it on your face.

Even if what you found was a time bomb.

She wrote eight words on the medical report:

"Special constitution, requires further observation."

Then she handed the report to Lin Yuan separately.

Not to Su Yuyan.

Not to Ye Qingxue.

But directly to Lin Yuan.

Because the level of this matter was not something the "management" could handle.

This was at the "boss needs to see it personally" level.

Lin Yuan read Ye Qingyue's report.

He read it three times.

Then he put the report down.

He didn't talk to Shen Bingtong immediately.

He didn't call a meeting.

He didn't have anyone bring Shen Bingtong in for interrogation.

He did something more "Lin Yuan".

He went to find Xia Bingli.

"Help me observe someone."

Xia Bingli was the captain of the Dark Department.

Tracking and surveillance were her bread and butter.

Her Shadow Assassin Superpower allowed her to blend into any shadow, like a drop of water into the ocean.

Unless the person she was watching had SSS-rank or higher perception abilities, they would never notice.

"Who?" Xia Bingli asked.

"Shen Bingtong. The new one."

Xia Bingli thought about it.

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

Xia Bingli shrugged:

"It's spread around the Shelter. Everyone is talking about the new 95-point ice beauty."

Lin Yuan: "Observe her for three days. Record all her actions. Especially—"

He paused. "Nighttime behavior."

Xia Bingli nodded and turned, disappearing into the shadows.

Disappearing in the literal sense.

One second ago she was still standing there.

One second later, only air remained.

Lin Yuan was already used to it.

The women under his command each had their own way of disappearing.

Su Yuyan would leave as soon as she finished speaking, clean and efficient.

Luo Qinghan would throw out a sentence and turn around without looking back.

Qin Ziyan would salute and then stride away.

Xia Bingli would blend directly into the shadows.

Only Ye Qingxue would walk out the door and close it normally.

Like a normal person.

Three days later.

Xia Bingli's observation report was delivered to Lin Yuan.

The report was very detailed.

Day one: Shen Bingtong stayed in the residential area for the whole day.

She ate three meals. She said four sentences to her roommates.

The four sentences were "Hm," "Okay," "No need," and "Thank you."

Day two: Shen Bingtong walked around the Shelter.

As if she were familiarizing herself with the environment.

She walked very slowly, stopping for a few seconds to observe every place she went.

Her route covered all the public areas of the Core Zone.

But she didn't try to enter any restricted areas.

Day three: Similar to the second day.

There was one more action—she stood outside Chu Yanran's kitchen for five minutes, smelling the aroma of the food for five minutes.

Then she left.

Xia Bingli added a note at the end of the report:

"The above are her daytime behaviors. Normal. Even a bit boring."

"But nighttime is different."

"Every day around two in the morning, Shen Bingtong would walk alone to the roof of the Shelter."

"She would stand in the -170 degree cold wind."

"Without wearing cold-resistant clothing."

"Wearing only ordinary indoor clothes."

"Standing there for an hour."

"The cold wind blew on her, her hair and clothes fluttering in the wind. But her expression was completely calm."

"Not enduring."

"Not holding on."

"But enjoying it."

Xia Bingli wrote her own judgment at the end of the report:

"It's not that she isn't afraid of the cold. She likes the cold."

Lin Yuan finished reading the report and placed the paper on the table.

He tapped his fingers on the table twice.

Not afraid of the cold.

Likes the cold.

Has silver energy inside.

Skin surface temperature 12 degrees.

Walking alone in a -178 degree blizzard.

No symptoms of frost curse.

These clues, when pieced together, pointed to an answer Lin Yuan wasn't sure of yet.

But he was not in a hurry.

He was never in a hurry.

Chu Yanran's kitchen.

Four in the afternoon.

This was the liveliest place in the Shelter.

Not because there were many people.

But because of the aroma.

Chu Yanran had developed over a dozen new dishes using system supplies.

The names sounded like a menu from a strange restaurant.

But the taste was genuinely delicious.

The meals for nearly six thousand people in the Shelter all depended on Chu Yanran and her kitchen team.

Today, there was one more person in the kitchen.

Ling Shuanghan.

She stood at the kitchen entrance, her expression serious.

She looked like a leader inspecting work.

But she was holding an empty bowl in her hands.

This was already her second time coming to "inspect."

Chu Yanran saw her and smiled:

"Is Empress Ling here again?"

Ling Shuanghan's expression was slightly unnatural:

"Don't call me Empress. That's a thing of the past."

She walked over to the stove and watched the braised pork simmering in the pot.

Under the high heat, the Qilin meat emitted a strange fragrance—

It wasn't the smell of ordinary meat, but a slightly sweet aroma that made one's mouth water automatically.

Ling Shuanghan stared at the pot for five seconds.

Then she said something.

The voice was very soft.

So soft that it sounded like she was talking to herself.

"In the Everwinter World, we ate compressed rations and frozen beast meat for a hundred years."

She paused for a moment.

"The things you make... make me feel that being alive has meaning."

Chu Yanran was stunned for a moment.

Then she blushed.

"You flatter me, Empress Ling."

Ling Shuanghan: "I said don't call me Empress."

Chu Yanran: "Then what should I call you?"

Ling Shuanghan thought for a moment: "...Shuanghan will do."

Chu Yanran: "Okay, Sister Shuanghan."

Ling Shuanghan glanced at her.

She was about ninety years older than Chu Yanran.

From an age perspective, the title "Sister" should have been "Great-Grandmother."

But Ling Shuanghan did not correct her.

Because she didn't really want to hear the words "Great-Grandmother."

On the other side of the kitchen, Ye Qingyue was making dessert.

She liked making desserts.

It was one of her few hobbies that had absolutely nothing to do with her identity as a "doctor."

She was making a type of pudding using c-grade energy mineral water.

The color of the pudding was pale blue.

It looked like a glowing piece of jelly.

Ye Qingyue sneaked a glance at Ling Shuanghan while stirring.

Then she leaned into Chu Yanran's ear and lowered her voice:

"Sister, what do you think of that new woman? The one who's a 95."

Chu Yanran thought about it: "Beautiful. But her eyes are too cold."

Ye Qingyue: "Colder than Luo Qinghan?"

Chu Yanran seriously considered this question.

"It's different. Luo Qinghan is aloof. She is... empty."

"Empty?"

"Like she doesn't care about anything. Luo Qinghan's coldness has warmth—she just doesn't want to express it. But that woman's coldness... is like there's truly nothing there."

Ye Qingyue fell silent.

She thought of the silver energy line she saw during the physical examination.

Winding along the blood vessels.

Like a silver snake.

"Sister," Ye Qingyue said.

"Hmm?"

"Your braised pork is burnt."

"Ah!!"

Chu Yanran rushed to the stove.

Ling Shuanghan stepped back while holding the bowl.

Her expression remained serious.

But the bowl was already extended.

...

Nighttime.

Command room.

Lin Yuan and Ling Shuanghan.

Two people, one table, one lamp.

Lin Yuan brought up the first matter.

"Do you know what the vibration deep in the ice layer is?"

Ling Shuanghan nodded: "We call it 'Frost Heartbeat'."

"Frost Heartbeat?"

"There is a massive Icebound Body deep in the ice layer. It is not alive. But it is releasing energy."

Ling Shuanghan's tone was very flat.

"That energy is one of the sources of the frost curse."

Lin Yuan: "One of the sources? Are there other sources?"

Ling Shuanghan:

"The main source of the frost curse is the cleanser. Frost Heartbeat is just... aftershocks. Like a stone thrown into water, the last ring left after the ripples disperse."

Lin Yuan thought about it.

"What if I absorb the energy of that Icebound Body?"

Ling Shuanghan looked at him.

Looked for three seconds.

"Are you crazy?"

Lin Yuan did not answer.

Ling Shuanghan: "My father tried."

Her voice lowered.

"He was the strongest Ability User in the Everwinter World. SSS-rank. He took one hundred elites, went three thousand meters deep into the ice layer, and found the core of the Frost Heartbeat."

"And then?"

"Then he died. Of the one hundred elites, three came back. Two of the three were insane. Only one could still speak."

"What did he say?"

Ling Shuanghan closed her eyes.

"He said: 'That is not energy. That is will.'"

The command room was quiet for a few seconds.

Lin Yuan: "Did your father have an authority fragment?"

Ling Shuanghan opened her eyes.

"...No."

Lin Yuan: "Then it's different."

Ling Shuanghan looked into his eyes.

She saw no madness in those eyes.

Saw no impulse.

Only calculation.

Calm, precise calculation.

She suddenly felt that this young man was different from her father.

Her father was a warrior.

Warriors face the unknown with courage.

Lin Yuan is not a warrior.

Lin Yuan is a chess player.

Chess players face the unknown with calculation.

Ling Shuanghan did not try to persuade him further.

Lin Yuan opened the second topic.

He pushed Ye Qingyue's medical report and Xia Bingli's observation report in front of Ling Shuanghan.

Ling Shuanghan read them.

Read slowly.

Read every line twice.

Then she put down the report.

Silent for a long time.

"Silver energy," she said.

The voice was very soft.

"In the Everwinter World, only one type of existence has silver energy in its body."

Lin Yuan: "What?"

Ling Shuanghan looked up.

Her eyes changed.

No longer the usual calmness and composure.

Instead, it was something very complex—

There was vigilance, memories, pain, and a trace of extremely faint fear.

"Ash Seed."

When these two words were spoken from her mouth, it was like holding broken glass.

"An existence created after the fragments of the cleanser fuse with a human."

Lin Yuan did not speak.

Ling Shuanghan continued:

"There were three Ash Seeds in my world. The first lost control in the third year after fusion, killing a village of one hundred and seventy-two people. The second lasted five years, then killed three hundred people in the garrison camp after losing control."

"What about the third?"

Ling Shuanghan's fingers tightened slightly on the tabletop.

"The third one was killed by me. Before she lost control."

The command room was quiet again.

Lin Yuan: "Are you sure Shen Bingtong is an Ash Seed?"

Ling Shuanghan: "Not sure. Silver energy could have other explanations. But if it is..."

She looked at Lin Yuan.

"You need to be prepared. Once an Ash Seed loses control, its destructive power is no less than a Vanguard."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"I understand."

Three words.

No fear.

No hesitation.

Not even asking an extra question like "how to prepare."

Because he was already preparing.

From the moment Ye Qingyue handed him the report, he was already preparing.

Ling Shuanghan stood up and walked to the door.

Halfway there, she stopped.

"One more thing."

Lin Yuan: "Speak."

"That girl in your kitchen—Chu Yanran."

Lin Yuan: "What about her?"

Ling Shuanghan stood with her back to him, her voice very plain.

"Her braised pork... will she make it tomorrow?"

Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

Then the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"Every day."

Ling Shuanghan: "Hmm."

She left.

Walked very fast.

As if afraid Lin Yuan would see her expression.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair.

Outside the window was the pitch-black ice field.

Ash Seed.

Frost Heartbeat.

Moving Ice City.

cleanser.

Every word pointed to an increasingly massive mystery.

But Lin Yuan was not in a hurry.

He was never in a hurry.

Ye Qingxue pushed the door open and entered.

"Chu Yanran said she's making braised pork tomorrow."

Lin Yuan: "I know."

Ye Qingxue glanced at him and didn't ask further.

She placed the organized documents on the table and turned to leave.

When she reached the door, she looked back.

"Get some rest early."

Lin Yuan: "Hmm."

Ye Qingxue left.

The door closed.

Only Lin Yuan was left in the command room.

And one lamp.

He didn't rest immediately.

He was thinking about one thing.

Shen Bingtong stood on the roof at minus 170 degrees for an hour.

She was enjoying the cold.

A woman who likes the cold.

A woman with silver energy flowing in her body.

A woman who might be an Ash Seed.

Lin Yuan turned off the lamp.

Tomorrow, he would personally go find Shen Bingtong to talk.

Not today.

Today he was going to sleep.

After all, there was still braised pork tomorrow.

In the Apocalypse, "what to eat tomorrow" is the most important question.

Because "what to eat tomorrow" means "still here tomorrow."

This is the best reason.