This was the longest world Yu Xi had ever stayed in across all her mission worlds.
Ten years spent trapped in a small world, doing almost the sa things every day, had beco a way to temper her character.
The ntal growth deepened her already calm disposition, turning it more composed and reserved. When she saw her biological parents again, there was a mont of disorientation. She even felt slightly unaccustod to standing on solid ground.
The simulated apartnt ho felt familiar yet foreign.
That night, she lay in her bedroom but couldn’t sleep. By dawn, she got up and sat in the living room, waiting for the sunrise.
The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected her figure—she still looked young, as her real-world self remained the 26-year-old Yu Xi. After all, only half a year had passed since the Star House appeared and bound itself to her.
Yet, she was no longer the sa 26-year-old Yu Xi.
It was like having watched an extraordinarily long movie or having fallen into an incredibly deep dream. She wasn’t used to it. She missed Yu Zhenzhen and the friends who worked alongside her in that fragnt world.
So, she decided to spend so ti adjusting, slowly tucking away mories of the storm-ridden world within the comfort of her familiar ho.
…
A day later, she opened the Star House Store.
1580 star coins sounded like a lot, but when it ca to spending them, they didn’t feel like much.
Abilities like Ice Control, Werewolf Bloodline, and Plant Affinity cost 200, 500, and 800 star coins respectively. Judging by the store’s pricing logic, the more expensive the product, the more functional and practical it would be.
This ant the Plant Affinity—the most expensive option—would far surpass Ice Control in utility.
It was unfortunate. If she had 20 more star coins to reach 1600, she could buy Plant Affinity and still upgrade the Star House to its third level.
Now she had to choose just one. Considering the System Tower situation, she prioritized purchasing an ability. If the next apocalyptic world wasn’t a fragnt world and luck wasn’t on her side, she could be in danger.
The System Tower could suddenly throw high-difficulty fragnt worlds into integration, forcibly increasing the difficulty. No matter how strong she beca, she couldn’t outmatch an entire world…
“System, before I spend the money, can you explain Plant Affinity and Ice Control in detail?” she asked as gently as possible.
She couldn’t afford both Plant Affinity and the Star House upgrade, but Ice Control only cost 200 star coins. Even if she bought both abilities, she would still have so coins left as backup.
[Both abilities require a 24-hour implantation period and a ten-day recovery and adaptation phase.]
“That’s fine. I have a month.”
[Ice Control primarily involves three aspects: shaping, controlling, and temperature manipulation.]
Yu Xi didn’t know that these abilities were originally sothing she had to purchase and train to understand. But since the Star House system had begun explaining, it decided to reveal everything.
[Shaping refers to controlling ice to form different shapes. For example, you could create an ice knife or ice sword. At the beginning, these weapons will have limited lethality. However, as your power grows, you could form ice arrows and ice spears, which would have far greater attack power.
Beyond offensive shapes, there are defensive constructs like ice shields or ice walls. Each requires a different level of control.]
“What about ice tanks and planes?”
[…Host, if you can create all the ice components for a tank or plane at a 1:1 scale, then theoretically, it’s not impossible.]
“…”
[Control mainly refers to the range of control. For example, being able to freely manipulate an ice blade within a one-ter diater and controlling it within a ten-ter diater require different levels of proficiency and power. Similarly, freezing a small box versus freezing an entire room also requires vastly different capabilities.]
[Temperature refers to the ice’s temperature. Ice at 0°C and ice at -50°C have different hardness, lting durations, and damage effectiveness.]
The Star House system’s explanation was so thorough that it exceeded Yu Xi’s expectations. “It sounds like Ice Control is really powerful. Why is it only 200 star coins?”
[Because it has a fatal flaw. Ice cannot be generated out of thin air; it requires the presence of water—sotis a lot of water. Moreover, Ice Control does not equal Water Control. Before water is converted into ice by the ability, it cannot be used. Initially, the power will appear quite weak, requiring extensive practice to level up over ti.]
“The water vapor in the air or the blood in the human body…”
[That falls under Water Control. For Ice Control, battles need to take place near water sources or with large amounts of prepared water.]
Yu Xi understood. In short, learning this ability was almost useless if soone was fighting in the desert, away from rivers, lakes, or oceans, or lacked sufficient stored water. The ability would be rendered practically ineffective, and its user would have no choice but to take a beating.
Even with 512 cubic ters of storage space, it wasn’t realistic to fill it with water—it was far too space-consuming.
However, she rembered the tal ice she stockpiled in the Acid Rain world. A small bottle could release 500 liters of water, which would be useful in environnts with no water.
[Plant Affinity primarily involves control and communication.]
[In terms of control, if the host has read about plant-based abilities in novels, this would be similar—accelerating growth cycles, inducing mutations, or using plants in combat.]
[Communication primarily serves an information-based role. Most worlds have plants, and all plants have their communication systems. Humans cannot understand a plant’s “language,” but this ability allows partial assimilation with plants. For places you cannot see, you can observe through plants. For sounds you cannot hear, you can listen through plants.
The plants will form an information network for you. As your ability proficiency grows, this network will expand. If you are skilled enough, this network can eventually cover an entire planet.]
[Additionally, the ability cos with a passive skill: once implanted, it naturally grants affinity with plants. Plants will never harm you, and they will protect you.]
[Do you have any other questions, Host?]
Yu Xi was silent for two seconds. “No. I’ll buy both!”
[Once purchased, implantation begins imdiately, and you cannot be disturbed for 24 hours. Please choose one to start with.]
Yu Xi was about to make her selection when there was a knock on the door. Soone was knocking on the guesthouse door outside the Star House.
**
The person at the door was Xu Yan. He had agreed with her the previous day to head down the mountain together, primarily because he wanted her to act as his bodyguard.
After spending ten years in the storm apocalypse, Yu Xi had almost completely forgotten this ten-year-old agreent—and even Xu Yan’s face. Of course, the latter thought was slightly exaggerated, but she had genuinely forgotten their plan to go down the mountain.
Since she had already agreed to help him, though, she wouldn’t go back on her word.
She told Xu Yan to wait for her downstairs, saying she needed to prepare sothing and didn’t let him into the guesthouse suite.
Her parents were in the Star House, and there were no signs of living in the suite itself. Xu Yan was observant, so she couldn’t risk letting him in.
She mainly needed to brief Fan Qi and Yu Feng first.
When she returned from the storm-ridden world, she hadn’t brought much supplies with her. The previous world lacked resources—especially food.
When she initially entered, she hadn’t expected to stay so long, so she had almost completely emptied the Star House storage, only carrying enough food for herself to last half a year.
Once inside, she focused on stockpiling water, dicine, and survival packs. Her protective gear, weapons, and tal ice didn’t get used up too much either.
She and Tang Yatong initially established the shelter using supplies found in several warehouses in that world. Over ti, repeated underwater expeditions to refill the inventory, coupled with the cruise ship’s progress in farming, hydroponics, and aquaculture, ensured that the production and consumption of the shelter remained in perfect balance.
Her ten-year food supply was naturally included in this system. Apart from the sowhat monotonous variety of food, there were no downsides.
Thus, during this return trip, while she didn’t bring back a large amount of food, only about one-third of the half-year supply she initially carried was consud.
Additionally, when she excavated underwater warehouses, she managed to obtain so weapons and a significant amount of gold, jade, and diamonds.
Regarding fuel, her fuel warehouse feature allowed her to extract gasoline directly from fuel stations. Over these ten years, she scoured every underwater city’s gas stations. Not only did she secure large amounts of fuel for the cruise ship, but she also kept her fuel warehouse perpetually full.
Finally, her transportation spaces, holding the RV and yacht, remained intact.
These two vehicles carried countless mories for her, and unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t replace or abandon them.
She inford Fan Qi and Yu Feng about her trip down the mountain, explicitly instructing them not to leave the Star House under any circumstances until her return. If an ergency arose, they could contact her via the transparent phone. If she didn’t respond imdiately, it would likely an she was outside the 10-kiloter range, and they shouldn’t worry but wait patiently.
After that, she changed into a long-sleeve waterproof, breathable tracksuit, donned a baseball cap and a mask, carried a small backpack for cover, and, without even wearing protective gear, left the house.
**
As expected, Xu Yan was slightly stunned when he saw that she wasn’t wearing any protective gear.
However, he didn’t press her for an explanation. Instead, during the ride down the mountain in his all-terrain vehicle, he cast several curious glances at her.
Yu Xi knew what he was wondering about, but after ten years in the storm apocalypse, her perspective had completely changed.
For ten years, she had been in a leadership role, standing at the center of a crowd as its focal point. Many admired her, and so envied her.
However, because she had made her strength abundantly clear, even those who disliked or envied her never dared to act against her—anyone who tried had already been dealt with.
In the face of absolute strength, there was no need for unnecessary concealnt.
Her small backpack provided sufficient cover for her storage space, and as for the rest, there was no need to hide it.
Xu Yan’s main purpose for going down the mountain was to withdraw cash from an ATM in town. The mountains already had poor signal coverage, and in the current environnt, people still relied more on cash. He wasn’t just withdrawing money for himself; he carried multiple cards from others to withdraw cash for them as well.
During this trip, Xu Yan clearly noticed sothing different about Yu Xi.
It was a subtle feeling, as if the distance between them had grown further.
She had always been a quiet person, soone who, despite her abilities, preferred not to stand out. Now, however, there was an additional sense of detachnt about her—not sothing deliberate, but rather a natural and effortless kind of distance.
At the sa ti, he felt that she seed more at ease than before. It was as if soone who had once guarded their secrets so carefully had now relaxed, no longer feeling the need to hide as much.
This was evident during two battles on their way down the mountain.
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