Cao Xing was of course lying. The Ice Armor Skill was one of the foundational skills for mages in the early stages. Although it was somewhat underwhelming, it still wasn't without value.
Cao Xing replied directly, "Believe it or not, that's up to you."
Upon hearing this, Mailese said helplessly, "Forget it, if it's three pieces of snake meat, then it's three pieces. If I'm frugal with it, it should be enough to feed my family for one more day."
When Cao Xing heard the last sentence, his expression shifted slightly.
After pondering for a moment, he sent a message, "How about this, change it to 20 pieces of food, and I'll throw in 5 additional loaves of bread."
Mailese, on the other end, was taken aback, but still responded, "Okay."
Cao Xing said, "Then just go to the market and update the trade info, and I'll snatch it up right away."
Soon, the price of the skill on the market changed to [Food]*20
Cao Xing immediately made the purchase.
[System Prompt: Trade successful. You have acquired the Ice Armor Skill Book*1. You have lost fresh snake meat*3, bread*5.]
[Ice Armor Skill: Consumes a certain amount of spiritual power to raise your or an ally's Armor Value by (spirit * 0.6) for 30 seconds, with a cooling time of 60 seconds.]
Cao Xing's eyes lit up, this was the one.
His current spirit was 5, and with the addition of the Believer Staff's enhancements, that made it 8 points of spirit.
That meant Cao Xing could permanently increase his Armor Value by 5 points!
He immediately clicked to learn the skill.
[Successfully learned Ice Armor Skill...]
After the system prompt ended, Cao Xing felt quietly delighted.
He then cast Ice Armor Skill on himself first.
"Stack the Armor! Got it!"
[System Prompt: Ice Armor Skill cast successfully, Armor +5, Talent [Eternal Power] activated, the skill is now in permanent status.]
The next moment, Cao Xing felt an invisible layer of Frost Armor enveloping him.
A comforting sense of security welled up in his heart.
The effect of [Ice Armor Skill] was similar to that of [Scale Armor], both being an intangible form of defense that only became apparent when attacked.
Now, his Armor had reached 15 points; attacks from monsters below level 3 couldn't even harm him!
To put it simply, they couldn't breach his defenses!
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.
After waiting for 60 seconds, he added another layer of Ice Armor Skill to Liu Muxue.
As the team's tank, it was natural to stack her defense as high as possible.
At the moment, the two were alone in a room.
Liu Muxue was also getting updates from other survivors through the chat channel.
Now she realized that not everyone was as fortunate as her, living in a warm Lord's Hut.
Many other survivors were still enduring hunger and the bitter cold.
If she wasn't with Cao Xing, she, Liu Muxue, would likely be suffering the same fate, or worse.
And then there was the bone-chilling cold of the snowy hell at night.
With gratitude in her eyes, Liu Muxue looked at Cao Xing, "Thank you, Axing. If it weren't for you, I might have frozen to death out there."
Cao Xing shook his head, "It's nothing, Saozi. Since the two of us were placed in the same group, we have to cooperate and survive better in this world."
"Helping you is also helping myself."
Liu Muxue nodded solemnly, "I'll adapt to this world as quickly as I can, and I won't hold you back!"
Cao Xing nodded.
Then, the two sank into a kind of silent companionship.
The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward.
Suddenly, Liu Muxue blushed, thinking of something; even her body trembled slightly.
A moment later, she took off her Snow Boots and retreated onto the Wood Bed.
Wrapped in the Wolf Skin Coat, she buried her red face deeply into it, leaving only a pair of tender little feet exposed.
Between them was a warm stove.
A little while later, Cao Xing said, "Sleep well, Saozi."
...
...
Night fell.
The Coal in the stove was burning brightly.
Through the Lord's Hut, one could hear the wind outside.
At this time, both of them were wrapped in Wolf Skin, using it as blankets.
Liu Muxue watched Cao Xing's back, wondering what she was thinking.
In that moment, Liu Muxue received a video call.
Seeing the Name of the caller, it was Bi Yunlan.
Her mother.
Liu Muxue's face flashed with solemnity.
After a moment of contemplation, she clicked to answer.
"Little Xue, how are you doing over there?"
As soon as the video connected, a woman's voice came from the other side.
Liu Muxue was surprised that they were still concerned about her.
However, before Liu Muxue could speak, Bi Yunlan continued, "Oh my, Little Xue! Our whole family suddenly coming to this world, what rotten luck!"
"You don't know how miserable it was for me, your two younger brothers, and your dad!"
"The box only had so little food, not even enough for Dabao and Xiaobao's one meal."
"Now the food is almost gone, your dad and I didn't eat anything all evening, both cold and hungry."
"Xiaoxue, do you have any extra food to support us with?"
Liu Muxue's mouth curled into a bitter smile.
As expected, was it still the same?
Without saying a word, her true nature was revealed.
They did not care about her life or death, they just came to her for food.
Liu Muxue remembered that it seemed to be the same when she was on Blue Star.
Always under strict demands, all of her income controlled by them, and even her personal life was intruded upon.
To the point where in the end, she was forced to marry that man she disliked.
Liu Muxue took a deep breath, as if she mustered up some kind of courage.
She shook her head and said, "Mom, I don't have extra food either."
Upon hearing this, Mother Liu immediately expressed her doubt, "Really, not even a little? Xiaoxue, your two brothers have been hungry all day!"
"You know, Dabao and Xiaobao can eat a lot, back home they used to eat four to five times a day, but now in this world, they've only had one meal, and your father and I have only had half a loaf of bread."
While saying this, Mother Liu's eyes were darting around, as if scouting out Liu Muxue's situation.
Liu Muxue firmly replied, "None left."
At that moment, however, another middle-aged man appeared in the video.
He looked at Liu Muxue's background and doubted, "Xiaoxue, are you deceiving us?"
"You've moved into a house, yet you say you have no food?"
"And where did you get that fur you're wearing?"
Off to the side, two children's voices could be heard, "Dad, Mom, I recognize the fur on sister's body, it's wolf skin!"
"Sister must have killed a wolf, sister has meat!"
Hearing this, Mother Liu immediately accused, "Goodness, you unfilial girl, how dare you deceive your own mother!"
"You don't want to share meat with your family, do you, you ungrateful thing, I've raised you in vain!"
At that moment, Father Liu was also joining in the accusation, along with the clamorous voices of the two young children.
"Xiaoxue, what are you thinking? Your mother and I are almost starving to death, and you won't share even a bit of food, has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"
Faced with her family's reproach, Liu Muxue bit her lower lip, tears at the corner of her eyes, looking helpless for a moment.
Mother Liu's rebukes intensified, "And you're feeling wronged?"
"We've gone hungry for a day without feeling wronged, Liu Muxue, I see you've really spread your wings!"
Liu Muxue's eyes reddened, ready to burst into tears.
Just then, a figure squeezed into the frame.
"You two old things, yapping away like dogs, what for?"
Upon hearing the berating, the voice on the other side went silent.
Then, they saw a young man appearing beside Liu Muxue.
Father Liu saw Cao Xing in the video and questioned, "Xiaoxue, who are you with, who is this man?"
Before Liu Muxue could speak up, Cao Xing took the lead, "You don't need to know who I am."
"If you want food, go find it in the snow yourself."
After hearing this, the middle-aged man responded, "I'm talking to my daughter, what right do you have to interject?"
Cao Xing laughed, "What right do I have?"
"The wolf was killed by me, the meat is also mine, how about that?"
The middle-aged man retorted angrily, "Then I won't ask you, I'll ask Xiaoxue, she is my daughter!"
Cao Xing scoffed coldly, "You won't get anything from her either, I'm in charge of the food, and with me around, not a crumb will go to you."
"You're capable and have functioning limbs, don't you know how to work for your food? Coming here to blood-suck off your daughter, have you no shame?"
"You!"
"You what? At your age, still clinging shamelessly, less capable than a woman, pathetic."
After a barrage of scolding from Cao Xing, the middle-aged man's face turned beet red.
Off to the side, the cries of the two children also erupted.
Mother Liu seemed intent on defending her husband, verbally attacking Cao Xing.
However, at Cao Xing's signal, Liu Muxue cut the video call short.
Beep—
Suddenly, the world was quiet.
Liu Muxue curled up on the bed, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, seemingly unable to control her emotions.
Next to Cao Xing, he could hear faint sobs.
After a moment, when the sobbing stopped.
Cao Xing offered comfort, "It's okay now, Saozi."
Liu Muxue lifted her head, with red and swollen eyes, gratefully looked at Cao Xing and said, "Axing, thank you for helping me out."
Cao Xing shook his head, "It's nothing, these guys just want to reap without sowing, thinking they can take supplies from my hands, no way!"
"Remember, no matter who asks you for food or other resources, you must not give in."
"After the first time, there will be a second time, and they'll keep asking endlessly, understand?"
Liu Muxue, having heard this, a bitter look flashed in her eyes.
...