Chapter Twenty-One: What Kind of Rubbish Is This?

"Boss!" A voice filled with pleasant surprise rang out in the darkness. If Fang Yun had been there, she certainly would have recognized it as Yi Chuping, whom she hadn't seen for quite some time.

"Old Yi, wait there!" Shang Xingbing replied before pulling out a rope and securing it to a sturdy boulder not far away.

After signaling to Li Wangcheng, the rope, which had been sagging limply in the snow, suddenly pulled taut. Grasping the rope, Li Wangcheng nimbly rappelled down the cliff and landed on the submarine in moments.

The watertight door was open, and a few figures were standing nearby; they hurried forward as soon as he landed steadily.

"Xiao Yun, are you alright?" Feng Li's voice was the first to sound. Her tone was laced with clear, palpable worry, which left Li Wangcheng feeling somewhat dazed.

Echoes of the scene Shang Xingbing had described to him the night before—of Fang Yun brutally beating Ma Zhen—reverberated in his mind, and he suddenly found himself unsure of how to answer. If she wasn't doing well, then what exactly would count as "well"? She was doing better than anyone could have expected.

Resisting the urge to rub his forehead, Li Wangcheng nodded and told them she was doing just fine.

Feng Li seemed about to say more, but Liao Zhaonan, who had his arm around her, gave her a soothing pat and pulled her back a few steps. He knew Li Wangcheng must have things to discuss with Yi Chuping, and they shouldn't waste any time; knowing that Fang Yun was safe was enough for them.

Once they had moved away, Yi Chuping asked Li Wangcheng in a low voice, "Boss, what are your orders?"

After discovering the cliff, Li Wangcheng had left Dongming Mountain alone to find Yi Chuping and the others. Fortunately, they weren't far from where they had been previously, and it had only taken him two days to track them down. Last night, upon hearing Ma Zhen’s provocations toward Fang Yun, he had impulsively decided to have Yi Chuping come to this spot early in the morning to carry out a specific task. Now, hearing Yi Chuping's question, his mind had cleared significantly, yet he did not abandon the plan he had improvised.

By the time the sky began to brighten, Li Wangcheng and his team had returned. Seeing them from a distance, Fang Yun immediately pulled lunchboxes out of her inventory. The weather was so harsh that in the time it took them to walk a few steps, the once-steaming noodles had already lost their heat.

As soon as they entered the tent, before they could even speak, Fang Yun shoved a lunchbox into each of their hands. "Eat quickly. If you don't eat now, they'll get cold, and mushy noodles don't taste good."

Li Wangcheng and the others opened the boxes. The tomato and egg braised noodles were no longer scorching; the temperature was just right, though any slower and they certainly would have gone cold. The men didn't bother with conversation; they lifted the boxes and began to shovel the food into their mouths. Being large men who had risen early and spent time out in the freezing cold, they were famished. In less than five minutes, they had finished everything, and one of the younger men took the boxes outside to wash them.

Seeing them eat with such satisfaction, Fang Yun assumed they enjoyed her cooking, and she felt quite happy. She had developed these culinary skills solely to please Chen Yuanlin. After marrying him, he used the Chen family's reputation as an excuse to make her quit her job and stay home to be a full-time housewife, though in reality, he just wanted a full-time maid. Twenty-four hours a day, in the kitchen and the living room, in bed and out—with no days off—it was a life no human could endure.

Even then, Chen Yuanlin’s mother was hypercritical of her, treating her like an outsider, preventing Chen Yuanlin from giving her too much money, and privately capping the limits on the Chen family credit cards she carried to ensure she wouldn't be "spendthrift." With so little money at her disposal, when she first started attending banquets with Chen Yuanlin, she couldn't afford luxurious attire and was mocked by many in their social circle. Later, after it happened a few times, Chen Yuanlin stopped taking her out, giving his mother even more ammunition to belittle her as "unpresentable"—it was truly infuriating.

Recalling these events from her past life, Fang Yun's mood inevitably darkened. She turned toward the stove to fiddle with the glowing red coals, her thoughts having drifted far away.

She thought no one had noticed her change in demeanor, but the moment her mood shifted, Li Wangcheng had caught it. Just as he was about to walk over and ask what was wrong, the subordinate who had gone to wash the dishes returned to the tent. Someone was looking for him—someone from the military. He hesitated for a moment, glanced back at Fang Yun, and then walked out of the tent.

Fang Yun, whom Li Wangcheng was worried about, was actually not as upset as he imagined. Just as she was poking at the coals, the system’s voice had suddenly sounded in her head.

[Host, please check in!]

She ignored it at first, but the system began to repeat the phrase in her mind. Based on her experience with the system over the past few days, she knew this meant it was about to give her something special. She perked up immediately and checked in, receiving an "Exchange Device."

Fang Yun: ???

She thought of Ma Qibo’s supplies. If this device was effective, could she exchange random junk for his supplies? If so, they wouldn't need to worry about a plan at all; she could complete the mission instantly, and no one would be the wiser. However, just as she was excitedly planning to do so, reality dealt her a heavy blow.

[Exchange failed!]
[Please note: The Exchange Device cannot be used on inanimate objects!]

Fang Yun felt like she was going crazy. What kind of useless piece of junk was this? If it couldn't be used on inanimate objects, what was she supposed to do with it? Frustrated with nowhere to vent, she began to harass the system frantically.

"007! 007! 007!"

She kept calling until she finally annoyed the system into responding.

[What is it, Host?]

Even though the system’s voice didn't change, Fang Yun could detect a hint of helplessness. A surge of pride welled up in her heart. So, she—the host—could actually harass the system, and it couldn't block her! If it kept acting noisy in her head, she would just go crazy on it and show it the true horror of human persistence.

"Is this device broken? It can't be used on inanimate objects—what am I supposed to use it for? Catching a cold and exchanging it into an enemy?"

She didn't have time for anything else and complained directly to the system that the items she got from checking in were as useless as the system itself.

[That is not impossible.]

The system actually paused for two seconds before confirming her theory. Fang Yun was stunned; she couldn't believe something she had said off the cuff could actually work.

"But, I..."

[For specific functions, please explore on your own, Host.]

Before she could finish, the system cut her off, dropped the remark, and vanished. No matter how much she shouted, it acted as if it couldn't hear her. Eventually, she grew tired of yelling and gave up. She studied the "useless" device by herself, but unable to find a target for testing, she tossed it aside.

However, it wouldn't be long before Fang Yun found a use for this thing she deemed worthless. It was precisely this object that would not only help her escape a conspiracy but also provide her with the opportunity to seize the supplies.