It's really strange.
Huaiyu rested her chin on her hand and seriously watched Lin Xuefeng. He was carefully sprinkling salt into the pot, his expression focused, gentle, and devoid of any hostility.
But thinking about the methods he had mentioned...
Wow! He was really likable!
"You just mentioned some lethal methods. But what if you don't want the enemy to die?" she asked earnestly.
Lin Xuefeng glanced at her with a half-smile, his gaze light: "When dealing with an enemy, if you don't want them to die, then you'll have to die yourself."
Then, he looked at Huaiyu's fair face, which looked barely of age, and changed his tone. "Water knife. Have you heard of it? It involves compressing the water you can gather, then releasing it rapidly..."
While speaking, he extended his finger and casually drew a circle in the air above the blue brick on the ground.
Huaiyu didn't even see any water fall down, but in that instant, a perfect circle was cut into the brick.
Her eyes widened as she picked up the brick. The heavy circular piece fell to the ground, leaving only the cut frame in her hands.
"Wow, that's so round..."
She looked at Lin Xuefeng with anticipation, but he paused for a moment, then deadpanned, "What are you thinking? My ability only lets me cut. It won't make the circle any rounder... Maybe it's because I used to study painting."
"Drawing circles with my hands isn't impressive."
Huaiyu nodded with slight disappointment, then asked, "Then what about my ability? It's so weak. What should I do to subdue an enemy?"
The beans in the pot were already done, and Lin Xuefeng carefully took the pot down, his eyes still fixed on the beans, not blinking.
"Wood ability... it depends on what aspect you focus on," he said. "Generally speaking, affinity can prevent mutated plants from attacking easily. As for other methods, it's mostly about speeding up the sprouting process. You can quickly create fences or use seeds to parasitize, or vines to entangle."
"But your mutation value is too low, so your ability is weak. You probably don't even have the speed to sprout yet."
Huaiyu nodded. "I can barely grow a branch, and I get so tired I can't even lift my arm. I need to rest for a long time."
"What should I do if I run into such a criminal next time?"
Lin Xuefeng thought for a moment.
Even though heavy criminals are hard to escape from, and no one dares approach the Rose Corridor, this man wouldn't have come here unless he was attempting to sneak out at night, just like Lin Xuefeng.
Probably, the Defense Army had him cornered, and he was desperate.
But... the probabilities of danger and safety are either zero or one hundred. Lin Xuefeng didn't think Huaiyu was overly cautious. After some thought, he gave his answer seriously.
"Exercise more, stay indoors."
"Huh?" Huaiyu was stunned.
"There's no way around it," Lin Xuefeng shrugged. "Increasing your mutation value by choice is like drinking poison to quench thirst. Each increase comes with years of pain. If you don't pay attention and get contaminated, your mutation value could reach the critical point and you'll go mad, heading straight for death."
"But if you don't increase your mutation value, your ability won't improve. This is something they've been researching for five or six years and still haven't figured out a better solution."
As he spoke, it seemed like something occurred to him, and he muttered to himself, "If the pollution gradually gets resolved with time, maybe abilities will disappear too."
"That would be fine. In chaotic times, strong people push others forward, but in peaceful societies, the most important thing is national order and sharp swords."
Huaiyu listened quietly, not commenting.
However, Lin Xuefeng's brief moment of melancholy disappeared quickly. After six years of fluctuating pollution values, waiting for it to disappear seemed unlikely.
At this moment, he turned back to Huaiyu's question. "So, while you're still young, carry some bricks or tree branches and run around. The faster you run, the stronger you'll get, and the better your chances of survival when danger comes."
"If you run into a really tough opponent..."
He picked up a bean and gave another sustainable suggestion.
"If it comes to that, just find a mutated plant, like the Rose Corridor or Three Pure Mountain. Have you been to Three Pure Mountain? There used to be a Daoist temple there. The environment is actually quite nice, and the main root system of the Rose Corridor is there."
"It used to be a place many people would travel to explore. Now, it's our barrier to protect our homeland."
"If you're at a dead end, just hang around there. There's a fifty percent chance they won't actively attack wood ability users."
After saying that, Lin Xuefeng bit the bean in half with a crisp crunch.
Huaiyu stared at him with narrowed eyes, her gaze sharp.
He laughed heartily. "Little girl, you have a lot of secrets, and you're pretty fierce too—hey, how old are you? Why are you living out here by yourself?"
"Forget it, forget it, no need to tell me. I'm heading to the wasteland anyway. It won't matter even if I know. What's with the stare? Got something to say?"
Huaiyu said seriously, one word at a time,
"Listening to your advice... wasted my beans."
She snatched the pot back. "You can't eat so much. I'll only give you half. And if you eat too much, you'll be farting all night, and then you'll have to sleep by the door."
Lin Xuefeng laughed heartily, his voice clear. It was undeniable that, on this cold rainy night, his presence made Huaiyu relax without realizing it.
"You're thinking too much. It's just a handful of beans... This pot only weighs three taels, right? Half for each of us. Can you really fart after eating that much?"
"Little girl, why are you worried about things like this?"
Huaiyu wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I'm that young."
"Hmm?"
"I lost my memory. When I woke up, I had nothing but clothes. I had to figure everything out on my own. Everyone thinks I'm young, but I don't feel like I am—I'm definitely an adult now."
She said this in a calm tone, neither with the solemnity of revealing a secret nor the ease of relief. It was like a casual conversation.
Lin Xuefeng didn't think much of it.
People who often live alone tend to share their thoughts easily with strangers they feel safe with. Even he couldn't avoid it.
For instance, at this very moment, probably no one knew that Lin Xuefeng, the former guard officer who should have been recuperating in the capital, would arrive at the Rose Corridor of Flower City on this rainy night.
Only because he believed that here, was the most romantic path leading to the wasteland.
Fortunately, Huaiyu truly didn't seem to have heard of him.
The girl across from him still had baby fat on her face, clearly only sixteen or seventeen, but Lin Xuefeng didn't doubt her words.
He looked at her for a while, then suddenly sighed. "The teacher who used to teach me painting could determine your age by looking at your bones and body shape."
"Too bad I don't really know how to do that."
"So..."
He suddenly smiled proudly. "You should still just be a little girl! Sometimes, being younger has its invisible advantages."
That was true.
Huaiyu admitted it herself. Whether it was Captain Zhou or Boss Tang, they all treated her like a little girl, which was why they were more patient and tolerant when they first met.