6: Chapter 6: The Evolution of Plants and Animals?

7:00 AM.

Lin Yuan was woken up by a bone-chilling cold.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window.

It was dawn.

But the world outside was even more terrifying than yesterday.

White snow covered everything as far as the eye could see.

The snow had already accumulated to over half a meter, burying the entire street.

All the vehicles were buried in snow, leaving only white mounds visible.

The sky remained that eerie grayish-white.

The snow was still falling.

And it was falling even harder.

The snow actually managed to accumulate?

This surprised Lin Yuan, and he couldn't help but feel that this Apocalypse wasn't giving anyone a chance.

If this was the case, survivors would definitely come into contact with the snow as soon as they stepped outside!

This was practically driving humanity to a dead end!

Lin Yuan picked up his phone.

Outdoor temperature: -20 degrees.

He gasped.

It was -10 degrees last night, and today it had dropped straight to -20.

Is this still fucking Earth?

Moreover, it was deathly silent outside the window.

No people.

No cars.

No sound at all.

The entire city seemed to have turned into a ghost town.

Lin Yuan turned his head toward the corner.

The two sisters were still curled up there, hugging each other tightly.

But their condition was clearly much worse.

Ye Qingyue's lips had already turned purple.

Her face was as pale as paper.

She was curled into a ball, shivering uncontrollably.

Ye Qingxue's situation wasn't much better.

Her hands and feet were stiff, her face was pale, and even her breathing had become weak.

Yet she was still holding on, clutching her younger sister tightly.

"Sis... I'm... I'm so cold..."

Ye Qingyue's voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

"Endure... just endure it a bit longer..."

Ye Qingxue's voice was also trembling.

She could feel her own body temperature continuing to drop.

She had completely lost sensation in her hands and feet.

If this continued, they really would die.

Lin Yuan frowned slightly as he watched this scene.

Although his plan was to force the sisters to submit.

But if they actually froze to death, then his plan would go down the drain.

He had to give them some hope.

He couldn't let them die.

At least, not yet.

Lin Yuan stood up and walked to the refrigerator.

He opened the fridge.

Inside, there were five packs of instant noodles and three bottles of water left.

He took out two packs of noodles and a bottle of water.

Then he walked to the simple water-boiling station in the corner.

In this 25-square-meter studio, besides the bed, computer desk, wardrobe, and fridge, there was only this small counter in the corner, less than a square meter in size.

An induction cooker and a few bowls sat on top of it.

This was his entire "kitchen."

Lin Yuan used the induction cooker to boil water and made two bowls of instant noodles.

The power hadn't been cut yet; that was the only good news.

Ten minutes later, two steaming bowls of instant noodles were ready.

"Hey."

Lin Yuan carried the noodles over to the corner.

Ye Qingxue looked up at him with difficulty.

"Eat something."

Lin Yuan placed the noodles in front of them.

Ye Qingxue was stunned.

Ye Qingyue was also stunned.

They hadn't expected that this man, who had been so heartless last night, would actually give them food.

"Th... thank you..."

Ye Qingyue said weakly.

She reached out a stiff hand, wanting to take the noodles.

But her hand was shaking so violently she couldn't hold it steady.

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth and took the noodles.

"Qingyue, eat."

She held the noodles up to her sister's lips.

Ye Qingyue took small sips of the soup, and tears began to fall again.

It had been too long since she'd eaten.

This bowl of noodles was like life-saving nectar.

Ye Qingxue also took a few sips.

As the hot soup entered her stomach, her body warmed up slightly.

She looked at Lin Yuan with a complicated expression.

"Thank you."

Lin Yuan waved his hand: "Don't thank me too soon. I only have three packs of noodles left."

"Once they're gone, we all wait for death together."

After saying that, he turned back to the bed and started eating his own bowl of noodles.

It wasn't that Lin Yuan was being kindhearted; rather, doing this would lower Ye Qingxue's guard.

Only when her guard was down would he have an opportunity to strike.

Ye Qingxue fell silent.

She knew Lin Yuan was telling the truth.

Their supplies were almost exhausted.

Just then—

"Awoo—!"

A shrill howl came from outside the window.

All three of them were startled at the same time.

What was that sound?

Lin Yuan immediately put down his noodles and walked to the window.

Then he saw a scene that made his hair stand on end.

On the street, a massive wild dog was sprinting through the snow.

It was called a wild dog, but its size was at least three times that of a normal one!

Moreover, its body was covered in a layer of ice crystals.

Its eyes had turned an eerie blue.

The fangs protruding from its mouth were a full ten centimeters long.

It had mutated.

This is a fucking Mutated Wild Dog!

And even more terrifyingly, the plants downstairs were also undergoing a mutation.

What used to be an ordinary green belt...

...was now seeing vines grow frantically.

Frost-covered vines spread across the snow like snakes.

Entwining everything nearby.

Because although this eerie snow kept falling, not a single bit of it was accumulating on the ground.

Thus, a car that had been buried in the snow was tightly entwined by vines and then slowly dragged into the green belt.

"Wha... what is this..."

Ye Qingxue and Ye Qingyue also struggled to the window.

When they saw the scene outside, their faces instantly turned even paler.

"Monsters..."

Ye Qingyue was so scared she was trembling all over.

Just then, the Mutated Wild Dog suddenly stopped.

Its nose sniffed the air.

Then it suddenly turned its head toward a corner.

There, a person was hiding behind a scrapped car.

It was a man wearing a down jacket, covered in snow.

He thought he was well-hidden.

But the Mutated Wild Dog found him anyway.

"Awoo—!"

The Mutated Wild Dog let out a roar and lunged forward.

Its speed was astonishingly fast.

"No!!"

The man screamed, trying to run away.

But it was far too late.

The Mutated Wild Dog bit down on his neck.

"Crack—"

The sound of bones snapping.

Blood sprayed across the snow.

It was a gruesome sight.

The man's body was torn to pieces by the wild dog.

Organs were scattered everywhere.

"Ah—!"

Ye Qingyue screamed and covered her mouth.

But the next second—

"Retch—"

She couldn't hold it in any longer and leaned against the corner, vomiting violently.

The bloody images, the scene of a human body being torn to shreds, the horrific sight of organs scattered on the ground...

These assaulted her nerves.

She had grown up in the Ye family, living a pampered life; when had she ever seen such a scene?

Let alone seeing it with her own eyes, she had hardly even seen bloody footage on the news.

Now, a living person had been torn apart and eaten by a wild dog right before her eyes.

Her stomach was in knots.

"Retch— retch—"

Ye Qingxue's condition wasn't much better.

Although she was calmer than her sister, her face had turned extremely pale.

She forced herself not to vomit immediately, but the bile rising in her throat made her feel incredibly miserable.

Finally, she couldn't hold it back either.

"Retch—"

In the end, both sisters were vomiting uncontrollably.

All the instant noodle soup they had just consumed was thrown up.

Lin Yuan's expression was also very grim.

Although he had seen many high-definition bloody videos online...

War videos, accident scenes, and all sorts of gore content...

As a veteran netizen, what hadn't he seen?

But that was through a screen, after all.

Now, a living human being had been torn apart right in front of him.

The sheer impact was something a video could never compare to.

The color of the blood.

The shape of the organs.

The sound of bones breaking.

And that faint, wafting smell of blood...

Lin Yuan felt his stomach churning as well.

But he forced it down.

He couldn't vomit.

He had to stay calm.

In the Apocalypse, panic and weakness only led to a faster death.

"Don't look."

Lin Yuan forced himself to calm down and pulled the curtains shut.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort in his stomach.

"Sit down and rest."

The two sisters slumped onto the floor, still dry-heaving.

Ye Qingyue had nothing left to throw up, but she still couldn't stop dry-heaving.

Tears and snot smeared her face.

Ye Qingxue was slightly better, but not by much.

She leaned against the wall, gasping for air, her face as white as paper.

The scene just now had been too much of a shock for them.

Mutated creatures.

This was the true Apocalypse.

Not only was there snow poison, but there were also these monsters.

How much longer could humanity survive in this environment?

Lin Yuan picked up his phone and scrolled through the news.

The screen was filled with reports about this abnormal snowfall.

Official News:

[Urgent Notice: Abnormal snowfall has occurred in many parts of the country; citizens are requested to stay indoors]

[Meteorological Bureau: We are doing our best to investigate the cause of the snowfall; please do not panic]

[Ministry of Health: Some citizens are showing symptoms of hypothermia; the medical system is doing its best to provide treatment]

[Government Promise: Rescue teams from all regions have assembled, and supplies are being allocated]

[Warm Reminder: Please reduce outings, stay warm, and wait for rescue]

It looked very official and positive.

But as Lin Yuan scrolled down, he saw posts from the public.

Those were the truth.

[Holy shit! I saw someone frozen into an ice sculpture with my own eyes!]

[I just saw a huge wild dog tear someone apart! What the fuck is that monster?!]

[My parents touched the snow, and now their body temperatures keep dropping; we can't get to a hospital at all!]

[The government is lying! There's no rescue at all! Over a dozen people have already died in our neighborhood!]

[This isn't a natural disaster; it's the end of the world! Everyone, run!]

Lin Yuan watched these posts, his heart sinking further and further.

The Authorities were trying to soothe the public.

But the actual situation was much more serious than what the news said.

Although the government was still maintaining order, it was clear from the wording of those official reports.

They didn't know what to do either.

Who could possibly come to save them?

"Sis... when is Dad coming to get us..."

Ye Qingyue asked through her tears.

Ye Qingxue tremblingly picked up her phone and dialed her father's number.

It rang for a long time before finally connecting.

"Qingxue?"

Father Ye's voice sounded very exhausted.

"Dad, we..."

"I know your situation,"

Father Ye interrupted her, "but we can't get out right now either."

"What?" Ye Qingxue's heart sank.

"There are mutated creatures outside, and the rescue teams have run into obstacles,"

Father Ye said, "moreover, the Ye family is currently dealing with its own crisis."

"Then... then what do we do?"

"Hold on."

Father Ye was silent for a moment. "No matter what, you must hold on."

"Once the situation outside stabilizes, I will definitely send people to get you."

"But for now... you can only rely on yourselves."

With that, the call was disconnected.

Ye Qingxue stared blankly at her phone.

Tears wouldn't stop flowing down her face.

Even Dad couldn't be relied upon.

Were they really going to die here?

"Sis..."

Ye Qingyue hugged her sister, crying heart-wrenchingly.

Lin Yuan watched this scene, his mood also very heavy.

But he didn't say any words of comfort.

Because he knew that anything he said now would be useless.

He walked to the fridge and took stock of the supplies.

Three packs of instant noodles.

One bottle of water.

That was it.

Based on the consumption of three people, they could last two days at most.

After two days, if there was no new source of supplies...

Everyone would die.

Lin Yuan sat on the bed, lost in thought.

He had to find a way to activate the system.

Only by activating the system could he obtain infinite supplies.

Only then could he survive.

But to activate the system, he had to subdue a goddess.

And the conditions for subduing one...

Lin Yuan looked at the two sisters in the corner.

Their current condition was very poor.

The younger sister, Ye Qingyue, was almost at her limit.

Although the older sister, Ye Qingxue, was still holding on, she had also reached her breaking point.

In another day or two, their mental defenses would completely collapse.

At that time...

It would be time for him to make his move.

"Lin Yuan."

Ye Qingxue suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you... for giving us food."

Her voice was weak, but her attitude was clearly much better than last night.

Lin Yuan shrugged: "No need."

Ye Qingxue fell silent.

But her opinion of Lin Yuan had indeed changed slightly.

At the very least, this man was willing to share food with them.

Rather than just watching them starve to death.

Perhaps...

He wasn't as bad as she had imagined?

Outside the window, the snow was still falling.

The roars of Mutated Wild Dogs could be heard from time to time.

Vines were still growing, turning the entire city into a botanical hell.

The second day of the Apocalypse.

It was even more hopeless than the first.

The three of them sat in this small 25-square-meter room.

Each had their own thoughts.

Waiting for a tomorrow that might never come.