Of course, Cao Xing had been lying. Ice Armor Technique was one of the basic skills available to mages early on. Though somewhat mediocre, it was still quite valuable.
Cao Xing replied directly, "Believe it or not."
After hearing that, Mai Les e said helplessly, "Fine, three pieces of snake meat it is. If I ration it carefully, it'll be enough for my family to hold on for another day."
Cao Xing's gaze shifted slightly when he heard that last sentence.
After thinking for a moment, he sent a message. "How about this? Change it to 20 units of food, and I'll add another five loaves of bread."
Mai Les e was stunned upon hearing this, but still said, "Alright."
Cao Xing said, "Then go change the trade listing in the market. I'll buy it immediately."
Very soon, the price of that skill book in the market became Food ×20.
Cao Xing bought it directly.
Trade successful. You obtained Ice Armor Technique Skill Book ×1. You lost Fresh Snake Meat ×3. You lost Bread ×5.
Ice Armor Technique: Consumes a certain amount of mental power to increase the armor of yourself or an ally by Mental ×0.6. The effect lasts 30 seconds, with a 60-second cooldown.
Cao Xing's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he needed.
His current mental strength was 5. With the Faithful Believer Staff's bonus, it became 8 Mental.
That meant Cao Xing could permanently increase his own armor by another 5 points!
He immediately clicked to learn it.
[Successfully learned Ice Armor Technique...]
After the system notification ended, Cao Xing secretly rejoiced.
Then, he was the first to cast Ice Armor Technique on himself.
"Stack armor! Go!"
[Ice Armor Technique cast successfully. Armor +5. Talent Eternal Power has taken effect. This skill has become permanent.]
In the next moment, Cao Xing felt a layer of invisible frost armor envelop him.
A deep sense of security rose within him.
The effect of Ice Armor Technique was similar to Scale Armor. Both were invisible defensive measures that would only appear when he was attacked.
His armor had now reached 15 points. Attacks from monsters below Level 3 could not even harm him!
Simply put, they could not break his defense!
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.
After waiting 60 seconds, Cao Xing added another layer of Ice Armor Technique to Liu Muxue.
As the team's tank, her defense naturally had to be piled as high as possible.
As long as sister-in-law could break through a mage's defenses, it would be enough. At this moment, the two of them were sharing the same room.
Through the chat channel, Liu Muxue had also learned about the situations of the other survivors.
Only now did she understand that not everyone was like her, already living in a warm Lord's Cabin.
More survivors were still living hungry and freezing lives.
If she had not been with Cao Xing, then Liu Muxue would most likely have suffered the same fate, perhaps even worse.
Then, at night, she would have endured that bone-piercing icy hell.
Liu Muxue looked at Cao Xing gratefully. "Thank you, A-Xing. If it weren't for you, I might already have frozen to death outside."
Cao Xing shook his head. "It's nothing, sister-in-law. Since the two of us were assigned to the same group, we need 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 possible. I won't hold you back!"
Cao Xing nodded.
Then, the two fell into a relatively silent state.
The atmosphere seemed a little awkward.
At that moment, Liu Muxue seemed to think of something. Her pretty face suddenly reddened, and even her body trembled faintly.
A moment later, she took off her snow boots and curled back onto the small wooden bed.
Wrapped in the wolfskin coat, Liu Muxue buried her flushed head deeply inside it, leaving only a pair of delicate bare feet exposed.
Between them was a warm stove.
After a while, Cao Xing said, "Go to sleep, sister-in-law."
Night fell.
The coal in the stove burned brightly.
Through the Lord's Cabin, they could hear the wind outside.
At this moment, both of them were wrapped in wolfskins, using them as blankets.
Liu Muxue looked at Cao Xing's back, not knowing what she was thinking.
Just then, Liu Muxue received a video call.
When she saw the caller's name, it was Bi Yunlan.
It was her mother.
A hint of solemnity flashed across Liu Muxue's face.
After thinking for a moment, she still accepted the call.
"Xiaoxue, how are things over there?"
As soon as the video connected, a woman's voice came from the other side.
Liu Muxue was somewhat surprised. Her mother actually cared about her?
However, before Liu Muxue could speak, Bi Yunlan continued, "Oh, Xiaoxue! Our whole family suddenly got thrown into this world. We're really cursed with rotten luck!"
"You have no idea how miserable your two younger brothers, your father, and I are!"
"There was so little food in that chest. It wasn't even enough for Big Treasure and Little Treasure to finish in one meal."
"The food is almost gone now. Your father and I didn't eat anything tonight. We're cold and hungry."
"Xiaoxue, do you have any extra food over there? Support us with some!"
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Liu Muxue's lips.
So it was still like this after all?
Before her mother had even said a single word of concern, her true nature had already been exposed.
She did not care whether Liu Muxue lived or died. She had directly come to ask for food.
Liu Muxue recalled that things had seemed to be the same back on Blue Star.
She had always been subjected to strict demands. All of her income had been controlled by them, and they had even interfered with her personal life.
In the end, she had even been forced to marry a man she hated.
Liu Muxue took a deep breath, as if gathering some sort of courage.
She shook her head. "Mom, I don't have any extra food either."
Mother Liu immediately asked suspiciously, "Really not even a little? Xiaoxue, your two brothers have been hungry all day!"
"You know Big Treasure and Little Treasure eat a lot. They used to eat four or five meals a day. Now that we're in this world, they've only had one meal, while your father and I only ate half a loaf of bread."
As Mother Liu spoke, her eyes darted around, seemingly examining Liu Muxue's surroundings.
Liu Muxue said firmly, "There isn't any."
Just then, another middle-aged man appeared in the video.
He looked at Liu Muxue's background and asked doubtfully, "Xiaoxue, are you lying to us?"
"You're already living inside a house, yet you say you don't have food?"
"And where did you get the fur coat you're wearing?"
The voices of two children sounded from the side as they pointed at the screen. "Mom, Dad, I recognize the fur on Sister! That's wolfskin!"
"Sister has already killed a wolf. She has meat!"
Upon hearing that, Mother Liu immediately snapped, "Well, well, you wretched girl! You actually dare lie to your own mother!"
"You have meat, but you won't share it with your family? You ungrateful brat! I raised you for nothing!"
At this moment, Father Liu also joined in criticizing her, while the two children made a noisy racket beside him.
"Xiaoxue, what are you trying to do? Your mother and I are practically starving to death, yet you won't share even a little food. Did a dog eat your conscience?"
Faced with her family's accusations, Liu Muxue bit her lower lip lightly. Tears filled the corners of her eyes, and for a moment, she seemed at a loss.
Mother Liu grew even more excessive. "And now you feel wronged?"
"We've been hungry all day and haven't complained. Liu Muxue, I think your wings have really grown hard!"
Liu Muxue's eyes turned red, and she was about to cry.
Just then, a figure squeezed into the frame.
"You two old fools, what the hell are you yapping about?"
The voices on the other end immediately fell silent upon hearing the curse.
Then, they saw a young man appear beside Liu Muxue.
Seeing Cao Xing in the video, Father Liu questioned, "Xiaoxue, who are you staying with? Who is this man?"
Before Liu Muxue could speak, Cao Xing replied first, "You don't need to know who I am."
"If you want food, go look for it in the snow yourself."
The middle-aged man on the other side said, "I'm talking to my daughter. What right do you have to interrupt?"
Cao Xing laughed. "What right do I have?"
"I killed the wolf, and the meat is mine. How about that?"
The middle-aged man said angrily, "Then I'm not asking you. I'm asking Xiaoxue. She's my daughter!"
Cao Xing sneered. "It's useless even if you ask her. I'm keeping the food. As long as I'm here, you won't get so much as a breadcrumb."
"You have hands and feet, yet you don't know how to get food yourselves. Instead, you come here to suck your daughter dry. Have you no shame?"
"You!"
"What about me? You're already so old, yet you shamelessly cling on like this. You're worse than a woman, you useless piece of trash."
After Cao Xing unleashed a barrage of scolding, the middle-aged man's face turned red with suppressed rage.
Beside him, the two children began crying loudly.
Mother Liu seemed to want to help her husband and verbally attack Cao Xing.
However, at Cao Xing's signal, Liu Muxue directly ended the video call.
Beep—
The world immediately became quiet.
Liu Muxue curled up on the bed, her shoulders trembling constantly, as if she could no longer control her emotions.
Cao Xing heard faint sobbing beside him.
After a while, when the sobbing stopped.
Cao Xing comforted her, "It's alright now, sister-in-law."
Liu Muxue raised her head and looked at Cao Xing gratefully with swollen red eyes. "A-Xing, thank you for helping me out of that situation."
Cao Xing shook his head. "It's nothing. Those people want to get something for nothing and take supplies from me? No chance!"
"You need to remember this too: no matter who asks you for food or other resources, you absolutely cannot give them any."
"Once there's a first time, there'll be a second. After that, they'll demand endlessly. Do you understand?"
After hearing this, a hint of bitterness flashed through Liu Muxue's eyes.
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