Mu Yingying reached out again, only to grab nothing but air, which left her feeling incredibly depressed.
“Why can a big fat butt touch Little White Night while I can’t?”
She couldn’t help but speak her inner thoughts.
“Hmph, it must be because you’re a loose woman with an impure heart.”
Little Frost remarked with a sneer.
“My dear Frost, how did you do it? Teach me. I promise my heart is pure, and I only want to have the purest and most sacred snuggles with Little White Night.” Mu Yingying forced a flattering smile, which looked rather frightening given the scar on her face.
Little Frost was used to her face and didn’t find it scary; she just thought it was pathetic.
“I don’t know either. I did it unconsciously, but now I can’t,” Little Frost said as she raised her hand to pat White Night’s head, only to pass through it again.
“So you can do it unconsciously? Then I must try harder in the future.”
“By the way, are you hiding the technique from me?”
Mu Yingying asked with a bitter tone.
“Do you think I’m a pathetic woman like you, thinking about perverted things all day with a head full of sleazy scrap?” Little Frost rolled her eyes.
“Fine, fine, I’m pathetic, I’m a pervert. My dear Frost, if you make any new discoveries, you must tell me. Don’t hide it; we are good sisters, good besties, and partners who have been through life and death together.” Mu Yingying said, looking flattering.
“Hmph, that’s more like it.”
Little Frost crossed her arms, the corners of her mouth curling up.
White Night was happy, but deep down, she actually felt a hint of worry.
However, she hid it well and did not let it show.
The source of her worry was that last time Auntie Frost had a nightmare, her Soul Body left her physical form and had choked White Night’s throat.
Now that Auntie Frost could touch her, was this a good thing or a bad thing?
“When the little bicycle gets its physical form, I must be the first person to hug her. Don’t you dare fight me for it.”
Mu Yingying still couldn’t help but feel jealous; she really wanted to touch White Night too.
Little Frost rolled her eyes and ignored her completely.
She set the cleaning rag aside and leaned against the bicycle frame to sit down.
In the middle of the night, Little Frost took the watch.
Or rather, she was so tired that she fell asleep right against the frame.
Her breathing was steady, but her hand, resting on the crossbar of the bicycle, did not let go.
White Night stayed quietly in the basket, afraid to wake Little Frost.
After a while, she noticed Little Frost’s fingers moving unconsciously.
Following the cold carbon fiber crossbar, Little Frost’s index and middle fingers began to slide back and forth…
Very light, very slow.
Just back and forth on that same fixed spot—up, down, up, down.
This was merely a subconscious soothing action, like stroking a sleeping cat.
Little Frost herself was in a deep sleep and didn’t notice at all.
But the slow, rhythmic sliding possessed a startling sense of focus.
White Night looked at the hand covered in thin calluses, and for some reason, her heartbeat skipped a beat.
—
During the second half of the night, it was White Night’s turn to keep watch.
Mu Yingying turned over in a corner and secretly pulled out the burning chess piece from the daytime.
Under the firelight, the piece reflected no light at all, as black as an abyss that could swallow all radiance.
She stared at the piece for a long time, always feeling that its color was deeper than before.
Mu Yingying suddenly thought of Granny Qian; the way the old woman treated her granddaughter made her feel a bit envious of the girl.
Thinking again of the old dead man playing chess in the void, Mu Yingying tightened her grip on the black chess piece.
“You old geezer, you don’t tell me anything and just give me a chess piece—what is this even supposed to mean?”
Mu Yingying complained gloomily; she stuffed the chess piece back into her pocket and continued to sleep while hugging the bicycle.
White Night, who was on watch, glanced at her two sleeping aunts.
Her gaze rested on Little Frost.
Little Frost’s hand was still resting on the frame, her fingertips pressed against the crossbar as if holding some treasure.
Thankfully, Auntie Frost was sleeping soundly and wasn’t having any nightmares.
This made White Night breathe a sigh of relief.
Daybreak.
The three of them walked for another two hours.
When they saw the tall, gray-black walls in the distance, Mu Yingying arched an eyebrow and whistled a long tune.
“Finally arrived at Hundred Flowers Town.”
The earthen wall circled a large area; it wasn’t particularly high, but it was rammed extremely thick.
The top of the wall was densely packed with sharpened hardwood stakes, and in some places, barbed wire was wrapped around, stained with dark red blood.
There were a few sentries pacing on the wall. They carried homemade crossbows or sharpened iron pipes, scanning the wilderness with vigilance.
Two guards stood at the gate, their posture straight and expressionless, holding polished riot shields in their hands.
“This place is much more proper than I imagined.”
Mu Yingying rested one hand on the Tang Dao at her waist and commented.
“A proper place has many rules,” White Night said softly while sitting on the cushion of the rickshaw.
As they got closer to the town gate, White Night awakened the System Compass in her mind.
The translucent needle began to sweep at the bottom of her field of vision.
The needle turned left and right, and when it swept over an area surrounded by towering, rusted sheet metal, it suddenly deflected violently, the tip flashing with a repressed dark red.
There was danger there.
White Night’s heart sank, and she stared in that direction.
She immediately told her two aunts about what she had found.
The two aunts hesitated for a moment but still decided to go inside.
After all, if they wanted Hundred Flowers Dew, they had to take the risk and enter.
They pulled the rickshaw carrying White Night slowly toward the gate and stopped at a safe distance.
A huge wooden board was nailed to the earthen wall to the left of the gate, covered with slips of paper, strips of cloth, and even broken pieces of wood.
Some were written in poor quality ink, and some were simply scrawled with burnt charcoal.
Clear the monster nest at the abandoned gas station in the north, Contribution Points 15.
Find the missing Third Material Transport Team, life or death, bring back a token for 10 Contribution Points.
Escort medicinal supplies from the unfinished building in the east suburb, 10 Contribution Points, must have two or more people, provide your own weapons.
Little Frost stood in front of the notice board for a while, scanning those densely packed tasks quickly, but didn’t pick a single one.
She walked straight up to the two gate guards.
“I want to see the person in charge.”
The guard frowned and looked her up and down.
His gaze swept past Mu Yingying, who was pulling the rickshaw behind her, and finally landed on the vehicle.
When he saw White Night’s translucent Soul Body, he visibly paused, a flicker of wariness crossing his eyes.
The guard could also see White Night’s soul; the three of them noticed this and couldn’t help but hold the townspeople in higher regard.
“The town has the town’s rules. Outsiders, first go over there to take tasks and do coolie work to earn Contribution Points. Only when you have enough can you—”
“Go tell your person in charge.”
Little Frost interrupted him without any courtesy. Her tone was neither hurried nor slow, and her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an oppressive force that could not be ignored.
“Our cart is carrying something that can detect danger in advance. If your person in charge is interested, they can come out and talk. If they aren’t, we’re leaving now.”
The guard opened his mouth, and the scolding he intended to give stuck firmly in his throat.
Little Frost looked into his eyes calmly.
There were no additional explanations, no groveling pleas, and no impatient urging.
She just stood there with an icy expression, waiting.
The guard was stunned by her aura of a superior.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth.
“You wait here.”
He turned and ran into the gate.
Mu Yingying leaned toward the rickshaw, lowered her voice, and winked at White Night.
“Little cart, I’m way too familiar with this tone of Frost’s.”
“What tone?”
White Night asked curiously.
Mu Yingying curled her lips.
“The tone of talking about money with investors. Usually, when people hear her talk in this tone, they either hand over their money obediently or get skinned alive by her.”
White Night pictured Little Frost from her past life in her mind.
She was probably wearing a well-tailored professional suit, sitting with her legs crossed at a wide conference table, her long fingers tapping gently on the tabletop.
And the row of people in suits opposite her were breaking out in cold sweat from a single word of hers, rendered speechless.
Then, White Night looked down at the current Little Frost.
She was wearing dusty, coarse cloth clothes with frayed cuffs, her hair tied loosely behind her head with a piece of rags, and there was even machine oil and dirt on her face that hadn’t been wiped off.
But the look in her eyes as she stood there was exactly the same.
Sharp, in control of everything.
White Night watched Little Frost’s back as she stood in front of her, and her Soul Body involuntarily warmed.
No matter what she wore or where she was, as long as Auntie Frost stood in front, she felt incredibly steady.
Not long after, steady footsteps approached. The guard returned, followed by someone.
It was a middle-aged woman with neat, short hair.
She had an ordinary appearance and was completely unremarkable, but her presence was powerful.
She was wearing a washed-out military green jacket, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing strong muscles on her forearms.