Chapter 168: Xi Nan

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Xi Nan

The temperature didn’t drop any further, holding steady at seventy degrees below zero.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group rested for half an hour. That afternoon, Shi Zhile left two people to guard the shelter and brought everyone else into the Planting Space.

They planted the cleared land with potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes again. After a busy afternoon, they had harvested a total of three batches of corn and two batches each of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Because they had used the Plant Growth Liquid, the corn cob yield wasn’t very high. The potatoes and sweet potatoes, on the other hand, yielded over a thousand pounds.

Although the sweet potato slips they had cultivated could be reused indefinitely, space was limited. Shi Zhile set aside half the land to grow corn and potatoes without using Growth Liquid, intending to save them for seed stock.

They kept a hundred pounds each of the harvested potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn, giving the rest to Huaxia Base as before.

Huaxia Base also sent over a batch of quality seeds, mostly corn, followed by potatoes, cassava, and yams.

Shi Zhile had never grown the latter two, but with Mr. Wen and the ten people from Luo Chuan’s group who had stayed, she barely had to lift a finger.

Two more days passed, and they completely ran out of Plant Growth Liquid.

On the night of the third day, before turning in, Shi Zhile went over to Jiang Yuxing’s island again.

She asked for another batch of Plant Growth Liquid.

It would have been one thing if she’d just taken the liquid without giving him supplies, but she actually made Jiang Yuxing throw in a batch of seeds as well, which made him laugh out of sheer exasperation.

But Shi Zhile was immune to his reactions and couldn’t care less whether he was laughing or crying. As she left, she tossed over her shoulder, "Keep making the Plant Growth Liquid. I’ll be back for more tomorrow. And don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring you seeds then."

Jiang Yuxing said, his face devoid of expression, "Only if you give them to me now."

Shi Zhile threw up her hands. "I don’t have any right now!

Can’t you hack my system? You can check for yourself. There are no seeds in my backpack, or even in my storage space.

My chicks and ducklings have gotten so thin these past two days. How about you give me something to feed them?"

’She was lying.’

All the plantable seeds were stored in the basement. The produce that had been force-grown with the Growth Liquid, which couldn’t be used for seeds, had all been given to the base.

Since the Planting Space was being cultivated so frequently, pests and weeds had become a common problem. The chicks, ducklings, rabbits, and even the quails were all let loose inside to forage for food.

After two straight days of this, every one of them had a growth spurt. The two lead roosters now weighed a good fifteen or sixteen pounds.

Perhaps from eating so well, all the does became pregnant, and the hens’ egg production skyrocketed from thirty or forty a day to more than seventy.

Jiang Yuxing was lying on a lounge chair. Whether from anger or exhaustion, it was hard to say, but he simply closed his eyes.

He waved a hand, silently gesturing for her to leave at once.

Shi Zhile furrowed her brow slightly.

’Something’s not right.’

Jiang Yuxing was certainly generous with supplies, but he was just as sharp-tongued.

In the past, he never would have stayed silent. He would have definitely fired back with a few sarcastic remarks.

But today, he gave her the supplies without much of a word, his face expressionless the entire time. He seemed a bit like an NPC.

Seeing that Shi Zhile hadn’t left, Jiang Yuxing slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.

A single glance made her scalp crawl.

There wasn’t a trace of life in his eyes. They were a dull, sunken gray, filled with a deathly stillness.

Like...

...like a stagnant pond frozen over with a thick layer of ice, or like the dilated pupils of a dead man.

His gaze was fixed on Shi Zhile, flat and unwavering.

A chill ran through Shi Zhile. She instinctively wanted to back away, but the thought that he was still breathing made her take two steps forward instead.

The distance between them closed. No matter where Shi Zhile moved, his eyes followed her.

She walked around the arm of the lounge chair, stared directly into his eyes, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Jiang Yuxing?"

"Hm?"

The voice was familiar, but his pupils remained utterly vacant.

"Are you an NPC right now?"

"..."

No answer.

"Jiang Yuxing?"

"Hm?"

"Are you human?"

Jiang Yuxing replied, "What do you think?"

"You’re an NPC!"

"..."

Silence again. His eyes didn’t even move.

Shi Zhile reached out and touched his face. It was warm.

She checked for his breath. It was there, and also warm.

Seeing him remain completely pliant, Shi Zhile closed his eyes and pulled open his shirt.

His fair, strong chest rose and fell. Leaning in to listen closely, she could hear a steady, regular heartbeat.

Her fingers traced down his torso, stopping at the side of his waist.

The skin had texture, the flesh felt real. To be precise, aside from the fact that the person inside seemed dead, the physical body was perfectly normal.

The moment she looked up, she met those lifeless eyes.

"Have you touched your fill?"

Shi Zhile replied, "No!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Jiang Yuxing pushed her away. He tapped the panel in front of him and directly transferred the Apothecary Station back to Shi Zhile.

To be honest, Shi Zhile didn’t want it right now.

Making the Growth Liquid required not only seeds but also water from the Medicine Lake on Desert Island.

But Jiang Yuxing wasn’t acting normally. If he stayed like this, and she didn’t take the Apothecary Station now, she might never get it back.

Since he’d offered it, Shi Zhile accepted it without hesitation.

She discreetly scanned the layout of the tree hollow. The teapot he usually kept close was now far out of reach. The tea inside was dark and had a thin layer of ice on its surface.

"You’re not Jiang Yuxing!"

The corner of his mouth curved up slightly. He closed his eyes, his silence a form of tacit agreement.

Shi Zhile put a hand behind her back, and the Level 5 Axe appeared in her grasp.

They weren’t far apart. If she was fast enough, she could split him in two—but that was assuming this body could be injured, that it could die.

"You’re Xi Nan!"

The smile on his lips widened. His eyes slowly opened, chillingly cold.

"You’re very clever! But... the clever ones are often the first to die."

Shi Zhile gave a silent laugh. "They certainly do. In that case, I suppose I should be calling you my savior."

He didn’t deny it, simply closing his eyes again.

’I have to admit,’ she thought, ’it’s no wonder Xi Nan and Jiang Yuxing are the same person. Maybe time changed their personalities, but that habit of playing dead and giving silent agreement is exactly the same.’

Having gotten her answer, Shi Zhile had no desire to linger. After receiving the Apothecary Station, she returned to Stone Island. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Everyone was gathered in the third-floor room.

Even Mr. Wen was present.

Shi Zhile said, "From now on, no matter what you’re doing, no one is to be alone.

Move all the beds to the third floor. At night, everyone will sleep in the same room. Whoever is on watch needs to pay attention not only to the outside of the shelter but also to what’s happening inside the room.

And most importantly, watch to see if anyone suddenly appears near me."

’I don’t know how Jiang Yuxing suddenly turned into Xi Nan,’ she thought, ’but this is a game with rules. No matter who he is, he has to follow them.’

Mr. Wen asked, "When you say ’anyone,’ are you referring to Jiang Yuxing, or to other strangers?"

Shi Zhile said, "Both!"

She thought for a moment, then dipped her finger in some water and wrote two words on the floor: Xi Nan.