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But now, because of Weird Snow, their feelings are slowly changing. Someone started a joke, and after it was agreed upon, more and more people joined in, and the room was filled with laughter.

The bonds between the townspeople are slowly warming up.

However, another unexpected event occurred.

A week after the Weird Snow, and after the townspeople had been living in communal housing for three or four days, one early morning, two townspeople got up to cook breakfast in the small building. It was their turn to cook that day.

Two townspeople were cooking while chatting idly. One of them wasn't good at cooking, and the other teased him. They bickered back and forth when suddenly, a strange noise came from the roof, a gurgling sound like a snowball rolling across the roof. It stopped after a while, but the two didn't pay any attention and continued chatting.

As a result, suddenly, the roof became noisy, like countless snowballs moving erratically on the roof at the same time!

What... what is that?

Startled, the two looked up at the same time.

The sound stopped.

After waiting ten seconds without any further sound, a townsman asked, still shaken, "Are you... alright?"

Another resident shook his head and said he didn't know.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds... and the sound completely disappeared.

"Don't be afraid, everything should be alright now," the townsman reassured him. However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a snowball the size of a fist fell from the roof, even though there was no hole in the roof!

The two townspeople were stunned.

Get out of the way!

Someone pushed open the kitchen door and shouted.

But it was too late. The snowball exploded in mid-air, sending snow particles flying and engulfing the two townspeople in the kitchen. The two townspeople vanished in an instant.

They were "eaten" by the snow.

The townspeople who pushed open the door were furious.

here we go again.

Even though they weren't exposed to the elements, the snow-eating incident happened again!

On this day, the Weird Snow had been peacefully covering Shuiling Town came to life. Snowballs emerged from the snow layer, rolling and bouncing merrily on the ground, on rooftops, on walls, and on treetops, like a fairytale world under a spell.

However, this is a form of dark magic; snowballs will randomly fall into the house and devour those who have nowhere to hide.

What exactly is this snow?!

There's no Pollution indication, so what on earth is this thing?!

The townspeople's heartbeats became irregular as the snowballs pounded. One townperson was eaten, two townspeople were eaten, three... Countless townspeople were devoured by the snow; it was impossible to guard against them all.

Because of the Weird Snow, the townspeople experienced a brief moment of warmth, but soon, this same Weird Snow tore these moments apart—the townspeople watched helplessly as people under the same roof were swallowed by the snow, their eyes reddening, but...

Just watching.

They've been watching from the sidelines all along.

They were watching as the Guard oppressed some townspeople.

It is still the same now.

They're always like this; they get angry, but eventually they turn to forbearance.

In the silence, the first town resident broke down. The person she could call a friend, who had been huddled together for warmth and conversation just the day before, had been swallowed by the snow right before her eyes. She let out an angry roar, suppressing her emotions. She used her supernatural powers to smash open the floor and frantically searched the ground, but there was nothing there. There was no one anywhere. The friend she had just made had simply vanished.

She rushed into the snow, snowballs bouncing around her.

"Get out! Get out!!"

She used her powers to blast snowballs while searching through the vast expanse of snow.

Her friend must have been taken away by the snow; she has to find her!

Inside the house, the other townspeople stared at her in shock. After a long while, someone cursed, and a second townperson rushed into the snow.

The townspeople of Shuiling Town had been watching from the sidelines, knowing that anger would come at a price, so they remained hesitant to act.

A few days ago, a young man considered risking going out to get medicine. The other townspeople in the house watched him, hesitating and vying for the chance to go out. Although in the end no one went out, something was stirred up on that day, at that moment.

And now, at this moment, a woman rushes into the snow to find her friend, revealing the unspeakable truth behind her actions.

The eerie snowfield was filled with townspeople moving about, clustered together, stretching from one end of town to the other.

No. It's not here either!

"Keep searching. The people who were swallowed must be hidden somewhere. This snow can penetrate rooftops and enter houses; it likely has spatial abilities. The townspeople have disappeared; there's a high probability they were moved away!"

"Keep looking!"

Ming Xia stood suspended on the roof of a house, looking down at the bustling town.

She had been in town for a week, and upon arrival, she encountered the Weird Snow. The Guard treated her, a visitor representing the Ability Control Bureau, very kindly, regarding her as a distinguished guest and settling her in their Guard. However, on her first day, she noticed that they were frequently setting up soundproof barriers around her residence. Pretending not to notice, she secretly came to town to investigate the Weird Snow. In this week, she hadn't figured out the problem with the Weird Snow, but she had discovered a problem with the Guard' treatment of the townspeople.

Previous visit records all said that the Guard of Shuiling Town was fair and just, and that the townspeople lived and worked in peace and contentment under the protection of the Guard. Ming Xia thought that if it weren't for this Weird Snow, perhaps she would have seen that kind of scene, and in the end she wrote an incorrect observation report.

Ming Xia frowned, jumped off the roof, and left to search for the missing townspeople.

Regardless of the extent of the problems with the town's Guard, the immediate priority is to find the missing townspeople.

The Guard's encampment.

Zou Dongrong and Hao Ping stared up at the roof, their eyes filled with resentment; the snow was becoming increasingly eerie.

Bang bang, someone's knocking on the door. They need to tell you something.

Zou Dongrong withdrew his gaze from the rooftop and looked at his subordinates at the door, suppressing his displeasure as he asked, "What is it?"

"The townspeople have gone out," a subordinate reported. "The Weird Snow has swallowed many townspeople, and they've all gone out to look for help."

Zou Dongrong: "..."

Zou Dongrong asked, "Have they all gone out to look for people?"

Hao Ping looked over upon hearing this. "They went out? There was clearly Weird Snow? Tch, when did these people become so bold?"

Sensing the displeasure of the two leaders, the subordinate shrank back and said, "Mostly."

Zou Dongrong laughed angrily, "What a friendly and united group of people!"

Inside Hua Ling's small building, Ye Jiang was examining a bouncing snowball when she suddenly heard a commotion outside. Going out, she saw a group of townspeople rushing past her, calling out names as they ran. Confused, she was startled when Rong Yin appeared behind her and explained, "Several more townspeople have disappeared. These people are looking for them."

"... Oh." Ye Jiang responded with an unreadable expression, looked down at the struggling snowball in her hand, crushed it, and threw it away.

She clapped her hands and walked into the street.

The streets were bustling with activity. Most of the townspeople had come out of their houses, searching every nook and cranny, occasionally using their special abilities as helpers in finding people. Ye Jiang walked along the street, and everywhere she went, she saw that all the gates were wide open, clearly indicating that the homeowners were outside.

Ahead, there was a furry person with a pair of tiger-striped cat ears on their head, leaning against their own gate, their cat eyes staring at the distant, flickering light.

This was the townsman who had been turned into a cat-person by the Guard. Ye Jiang recognized him and paused. The cat-person looked at her, glanced at her, then looked away, fixing his gaze once more on the distance, watching quietly.

Ye Jiang walked past the cat-man, and after a while, she came back. The cat-man noticed her actions, slowly blinked, and looked at her.

Ye Jiang stared at her and asked, "What are you looking at?"

The cat-man seemed frozen, his movements and speech becoming extremely slow.

"I was watching the snow." She paused for a long time, then changed her words, saying, "I'm waiting for the snow."

Ye Jiang asked, "What are we waiting for snow for?"

Another long interval passed. The cat-man exhaled a puff of mist and said, "Wait for the snow..."

Eat me.

"?"

Why wait for this? Is there some unique hobby you have?

Ye Jiang didn't understand. "Why?"

The cat-woman gave a self-deprecating smirk, slowly raising her arms to reveal her fluffy cat paws. "I just suddenly feel... that life is meaningless."

Ye Jiang: "..."

She looked at the incredibly warm fur coat, then at the unmelting snow, and her confusion deepened.

Despite her confusion, she still said, "If you just don't like how you are now, I can help you."

The cat-man's tone was as still as dead water. "How can you help?"

Ye Jiang placed her hand on the raised arm, and the wonderfully soft, furry texture made her want to touch it a few more times.

Catman: "..."

"I'll help you turn back," Ye Jiang said. The cat-person was unusually calm upon hearing this. It was impossible; Hao Ping's Transformation Technique was irreversible unless Hao Ping could turn her back, but that was absolutely impossible.

"It's no use," the cat-woman said, trying to pull her hand back, but she couldn't; the other person held it.

"You..." The cat-woman was about to explain the power of Hao Ping's Transformation Technique when she felt a gentle force coming from her. At the same time, her skin felt tingly and itchy. Looking down, she saw that the fur on her hands was receding. The speed was very fast. In the blink of an eye, her hands were smooth and flat again. Then her fingers grew longer. Human fingers were being reshaped!

A change was felt on her face, and she trembled as she raised her other hand to gently stroke it...

There was no hair; what she touched was a familiar face.

Her own face!

The cat-man was shocked.

Hao Ping's Transformation Technique is irreversible, but this outsider in front of her actually suppressed the ability of an A-Rank ability user and forcibly reversed the rules of the other party's magic!

"It's just a minor problem, don't even think about ending it all." The outsider withdrew his hand and said calmly, exuding an air of nonchalance. "And also..."