The Refrigerator's Temptation and the Failed Ban

The tranquility within the villa felt like a false peace after a storm, weighing heavily on Su Wanqing's heart. She huddled in the corner of the sofa, her gaze uncontrollably sweeping over the "Calamity" sprawled on the sofa as if in a deep sleep, and the "daily necessities" in the corner that, while appearing ordinary, could easily destroy the world.

Every second felt like an eternity. The power within her flowed tamely, her senses were so acute she could hear dust settling, but this extraordinary perception brought not joy, but deeper unease and... helplessness. What should she do? What could she do? Was she just supposed to watch the powerful being sleep?

Just as Su Wanqing's nerves were about to snap from the oppressive silence—

On the sofa, Ling Ye let out an extremely faint, sleepy grunt. His eyes were closed, his brows furrowed unconsciously, as if displeased by something in his dream.

"Mm... thirsty..."

A blurry syllable escaped his lips.

Thirsty?

Su Wanqing's heart leaped! Was the powerful being thirsty?! Did he want water?! She almost reflexively moved to get him some, but her eyes fell on the Chaos Green Lotus pot, still bearing traces of golden liquid, and she froze—She couldn't use that pot! Absolutely not!

As she stood there, flustered, Ling Ye's eyes... did not open. It seemed to be mere unconscious sleep-talking. But his body, following the grunt, very naturally... rolled over on the sofa.

From lying on his side, he shifted to a more relaxed... flat position.

And the most direct consequence of this roll was that his face was now perfectly aligned with the large, silver-gray, double-door smart refrigerator in the open-plan kitchen, diagonally opposite the living room!

The refrigerator's cold, smooth metal door reflected a small, blurry, dazzling patch of light from the sunlight streaming through the window, landing directly on Ling Ye's closed eyelids.

Ling Ye's brow furrowed even tighter. Even in his sleep, he seemed displeased by the annoying light. He unconsciously pursed his lips and turned his head slightly, trying to avoid the glare.

However, just then, the refrigerator's compressor automatically kicked in, emitting an extremely faint, yet for beings with supernatural senses like Ling Ye and Su Wanqing, perfectly clear, "hum."

The hum was not loud, but in the deathly quiet living room, it sounded exceptionally jarring.

Ling Ye's eyelids twitched.

Su Wanqing's heart shot into her throat! She held her breath, afraid to exhale! It was over! Was the powerful being going to be woken up?! She stared intently at Ling Ye, terrified that his deep, star-abyss-like eyes would snap open the next second, bringing unpredictable consequences.

Fortunately, Ling Ye's eyelids merely twitched; he did not wake up. Was he drawn to the persistent, low hum? Or perhaps... the "tempting" aura emanating from the cold metal box storing "food"?

Under Su Wanqing's intensely nervous gaze, Ling Ye, still asleep, slowly, unconsciously... raised the hand that had been casually resting by the sofa.

His index finger extended slightly.

From nearly ten meters away, he pointed... casually... into the air... at the humming smart refrigerator diagonally opposite... with a single flick.

There was no light.

No energy fluctuation.

Not even a wisp of wind.

However--

"Beep."

An extremely faint electronic prompt, as if from inside the refrigerator, sounded.

The next second, the refrigerator's low hum... abruptly stopped!

It wasn't just the compressor! The entire refrigerator... had lost power?! All the temperature displays and function indicator lights on the screen instantly went dark! The silver-gray door lost its high-tech sheen, becoming like an ordinary metal cabinet, standing there silently. Even the faint heat from the interior light vanished instantly!

The refrigerator, from a sophisticated modern appliance, instantly transformed into a lump of... cold, silent metal!

Inside the refrigerator, the previously constant low temperature began to slowly rise. The expensive ingredients, red wine, ice cream... stored within, their fates had quietly changed with that single point.

After flicking his finger, Ling Ye seemed to have resolved a major annoyance. His tightly furrowed brow relaxed, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curved into a satisfied arc, and his breathing became deeper and steadier, as if he had fallen into an even deeper sleep.

Su Wanqing: "!!!"

She looked at the completely dead refrigerator, then at Ling Ye, who was sleeping even more soundly on the sofa, and felt as if she had been doused in ice water, a bone-chilling cold crawling up her spine!

Remotely... cutting the power?!

No! It wasn't just cutting the power! It was a more thorough... a kind of "negation of existence"?!

All because... it was humming? And disturbing his sleep?!

Then what if... what if she accidentally sneezed? Or her heartbeat was too loud? Would she also be "silenced" like that?!

A tremendous fear gripped her again! She instinctively covered her mouth, even her breathing becoming light and slow, afraid that the slightest sound would attract that fatal finger!

At that moment, she realized with chilling clarity that in the eyes of this powerful being, she might not be fundamentally different from that refrigerator. Both were part of the "environment." Either useful, or... noisy.

Silence descended once more.

More suffocating than before.

Su Wanqing huddled in the corner, like a cold statue, not daring to even move her eyeballs.

Time ticked by.

After an unknown duration, perhaps only a few minutes, perhaps as long as a century.

On the sofa, Ling Ye's breathing pattern seemed to undergo a subtle change. It was no longer the absolute steadiness of sinking into cosmic stillness, but carried a hint of... ripples before waking?

His eyelids twitched again, his long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

Then, in the suffocating silence, those eyes, as deep as ancient wells reflecting the vastness of the cosmos... slowly... opened.

There was no grogginess of just waking, only a calm born from sleeping too long and seeing too much, and... a hint of post-sleep languor.

His gaze first fell unfocused on the ornate crystal chandelier on the ceiling, lingering for a few seconds, as if recalling where he was.

Then, his calm gaze slowly shifted, moving with extreme naturalness... to land on Su Wanqing, who was curled up in the corner, her face deathly pale, covering her mouth so tightly she could barely breathe.

Their eyes met.

Su Wanqing's heart stopped! Her mind went blank! He was awake! He was awake! What would happen next?!

Ling Ye looked at her terrified expression, as if she had seen a ghost, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He seemed a little confused.

He opened his mouth, his voice still hoarse from just waking up, breaking the suffocating silence in the living room. He asked a question that nearly made Su Wanqing collapse on the spot:

"Why are you... covering your mouth?" His eyes held pure confusion, as if he genuinely didn't understand why she was holding such a strange pose. "Does it... smell bad?"

Su Wanqing: "???"

Smell bad?!

She was covering her mouth because she was afraid of disturbing you, big shot! What does it have to do with a bad smell?!

However, before she could even figure out how to answer this critical question—

Ling Ye's nose twitched slightly. As if he had actually smelled something in the air.

His gaze instantly shifted away from Su Wanqing, like a precise radar, and shot towards the kitchen diagonally opposite... towards the dead, silent smart refrigerator that had turned into a block of cold metal!

His eyes instantly became... sharp? With a... hint of interest, like a hunter spotting prey?

"Huh?" he let out a surprised murmur, his sleepiness seemingly dissipating significantly.

He suddenly sat up from the sofa, his movements fluid and swift. His bare feet landed on the carpet, his gaze fixed on the refrigerator, as if some rare treasure was hidden inside.

"This iron box..." Ling Ye's voice held the wonder of someone discovering a new toy, even a hint of... excitement? "It seems to have the aura of 'Ice Marrow' inside?"

Ice Marrow?!

What was that? Su Wanqing was completely bewildered.

Ling Ye no longer paid attention to her. He padded barefoot towards the refrigerator he had "silenced" with his own hands. He circled the large, double-door metal cabinet like he was examining a rare prey. His fingers even curiously tapped the cold, silent door panel, making a light "knock knock" sound.

"Tsk, the shell is quite thick," he commented, then reached out and grasped the refrigerator door handle.

Su Wanqing's heart leaped into her throat! He was going to open it?! Inside were... her ice cream, yogurt, and the top-grade wagyu beef flown in yesterday!

However, Ling Ye grasped the handle and gave a casual pull—

The door... didn't budge at all.

It wasn't stuck; it was as if the door and the entire cabinet had been completely welded shut, becoming a single block of metal! His casual gesture earlier seemed to have not only stopped its operation but also, on some level of Rules... temporarily "negated" its attribute as an "openable container"!

Ling Ye froze for a moment, seemingly surprised he couldn't open it. He looked at his hand, then at the refrigerator door, and his brow furrowed again, showing a hint of annoyance.

"Troublesome."

He muttered. Then, under Su Wanqing's horrified gaze, he extended that finger again... the same one that had remotely stopped the refrigerator.

This time, he didn't do it remotely. Instead, he... gently placed the tip of his finger directly on the refrigerator's lock position.

The moment his fingertip touched the metal, an almost imperceptible chaotic, radiant light flashed briefly and vanished.

"Click."

A faint, crisp sound, as if a precise internal component had been forcibly reset.

Ling Ye grasped the handle again and pulled—

"Hiss—"

The refrigerator door swung open!

A blast of cold mist, mixed with the scents of various foods, billowed out.

Ling Ye seemed completely oblivious to the smell of ordinary food. His gaze, like a searchlight, instantly locked onto a corner of the freezer compartment, deep within the refrigerator!

There, placed were several boxes of the high-end ice cream Su Wanqing had bought earlier, which claimed to have glacial minerals added...

An astonishing light erupted in Ling Ye's eyes! He completely ignored the expensive, top-tier ingredients beside them. His arm shot into the icy freezer like lightning, precisely... grabbing one of the beautifully packaged ice cream boxes!

"Found it!" His voice carried the pure joy of a child discovering buried treasure!

He took out the ice cream box, without even looking at the text on the packaging or