Chapter 44: Doubting the System Is Playing Her

Although Li Wangcheng did not mention the submarine again, Fang Yun was deep in thought. It wasn’t that there wasn’t enough space to fit a submarine; rather, she had never tried to store something so large and wasn’t entirely sure if it would fit.

The reason she wanted to bring the submarine along was that after the extreme cold passed and the weather warmed, melting the ice surface, they would still need to retrieve certain supplies underwater. Having a submarine would make the task of collecting those materials somewhat easier.

Returning to the control room, they just happened to meet Feng Li, who came to call them for a meal. The group headed together to the room temporarily used as a dining area. Upon entering, the rich aroma of hotpot instantly filled the air.

Feng Li had prepared Fang Yun’s favorite beef tallow hotpot. Concerned that some might not eat spicy food, she also made a chicken broth hotpot. However, compared to the beef tallow broth, the chicken soup seemed somewhat bland.

“Come on, it’s all your favorites,” Feng Li called to Fang Yun, pulling her to the chair by the beef tallow hotpot.

Looking at the spread, there were beef slices, lamb rolls, shrimp paste pouches—everything imaginable—except there were no green vegetables. Despite this minor shortcoming, the feast was far more abundant than what the starving people outside, forced to gnaw on snow, were enduring.

“Wow! Everything I love!” Fang Yun played along, putting on a delighted smile to praise Feng Li.

“We don’t have fresh ingredients, so we can only eat frozen goods. But it’s not bad, eat more—you’ve lost weight,” Feng Li said happily, watching her dig in eagerly.

“Having something to eat is already a blessing,” Shang Xingbing said, already so engrossed in his meal that he couldn’t lift his head.

“You don’t know what hardships we endured on Dongming Mountain. On the first day, we barely managed to catch a rabbit. Fang Yun cooked it so deliciously that others smelled it and started watching us. Luckily, we still got to eat it, but after that, there was no more meat,” Shang Xingbing recalled with tears threatening to fall. That place was truly uninhabitable.

The day they ascended the mountain, Shang Xingbing had been lucky to stumble upon that rabbit. Aside from humans, almost no animals remained on Dongming Mountain—either eaten, hiding, or frozen to death.

Now, they still had quite a bit of frozen meat in storage, much better off than others.

Satisfied after a hearty meal, everyone returned to their respective quarters. Fang Yun went to check on Xiao Qing but saw she was still asleep, so she returned to her own room.

Upon entering, she found Feng Li had already tidied her bed. Feng Li was now nestled under the covers, reading a book.

“Went to check on Xiao Qing again?” Feng Li glanced up from her book.

Although the submarine wasn’t small, their numbers were considerable. To save space, most shared rooms with two or more people. Feng Li was originally supposed to share a room with Liao Zhaonan, but she wasn’t comfortable with Fang Yun alone, so she kicked Liao Zhaonan out.

“She’s still asleep,” Fang Yun said, sniffing the clothes on herself, detecting an unpleasant smell.

Unable to bear it, she wanted to take a shower in the space. After giving Feng Li a heads-up, she entered the bathroom.

Locking the door, the next moment she vanished from sight. The few square meters of the bathroom seemed empty, as if no one had ever been there.

Experiencing the familiar sensation of weightlessness, Fang Yun opened her eyes again and almost fell over.

Before her were piles of haphazardly stacked supplies, causing her a headache. Standing still, she pondered whether to tidy up. If they really planned to use the space to store a submarine, they would have to clear everything out.

But cleaning up was troublesome—both time-consuming and energy-draining.

Worried Feng Li might get annoyed over time, she decided to leave it for the next day. If worse came to worst, she could just throw everything into the treehouse.

The night passed uneventfully. When Fang Yun woke the next day, Feng Li was already gone.

She had slept soundly, so soundly that she hadn’t even noticed when Feng Li left.

After washing up and stepping out, she was immediately greeted by a pleasant aroma.

Following the scent to the dining area, she found bubbling hotpots. Feng Li and Liao Zhaonan were busy cooking, while scattered groups of people sat at tables, bowls in hand.

“Awake? Come eat some dumplings,” Feng Li said with a smile, stopping her work to invite her over and then serving her a bowl.

“Why suddenly dumplings?” Fang Yun asked curiously, sitting near Feng Li’s busy table and glancing at the abundant dumplings spread out.

“Not just dumplings, but some other dry provisions too,” Feng Li replied after setting down her utensils. “This morning they said they plan to leave here via the surface. I figured the journey might be difficult, so it’s better to have some dry food prepared.”

“That sounds exhausting. Aren’t there frozen ones?” Fang Yun frowned, concerned for Feng Li.

Preparing such a quantity for the three of them, plus Xiao Qing and nearly ten from Li Wangcheng’s group, was no small task—it could easily wear someone out.

Feng Li’s health was already fragile. If she exhausted herself before the journey, that would be a real problem.

“Liao Zhaonan does most of the work. I just help a bit. Besides, homemade is always better than frozen,” Feng Li said.

That was a lie—they were basically the same. But seeing Liao Zhaonan working hard, Fang Yun chose not to argue.

After finishing her dumplings, she reminded Feng Li a few things and then headed to the control room.

She had just inquired and learned that Li Wangcheng had already inventoried and packed the supplies early in the morning. Now, they were just waiting to deliver the promised payment to He Gaolang and his people on Dongming Mountain before leaving.

Fang Yun, afraid she wouldn’t make it in time, wolfed down a large bowl of dumplings before Feng Li would let her go.

[Please proceed with sign-in, Host!]

Halfway there, the system’s rare voice sounded. Fang Yun paused in the corridor, thoughtfully communicating with it.

“007, what strange thing is it this time?”

She realized that whenever she needed something or encountered difficulties, the system would remind her to sign in.

Normally, she signed in irregularly, only when she remembered. The system didn’t always remind her.

If she missed a day due to busyness, she simply lost that chance with no option to make it up, and the system said nothing more.

[Items obtained from sign-in are random; the system does not know them beforehand.]

Fang Yun scoffed, suspecting the system was pulling her leg.

Back on Dongming Mountain, the system had thoughtfully warned her when the space was exposed. Though it went silent afterward, she felt 007 didn’t always follow the program.

[Sign-in complete.]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received a sled.]