C1 To Eat or Not to Eat

Exhausted to the bone, Lin Xiaoqiang shouldered his shovel and trudged home.

Muttering curses at his wretched life with every step, he thought it might be better just to give up and lie flat.

As he plodded along, snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.

The large, delicate snowflakes were strikingly beautiful.

Lin Xiaoqiang chuckled. Snow in June, huh? Must be some new injustice afoot.

Here he was, a young man with nothing to his name, and yet he hadn't even complained. Who could possibly be more aggrieved than him?

He shot a glance skyward, as if to blame the heavens, but ultimately, he kept his silence.

The snow grew heavier. Within a few steps, it was knee-deep.

A few more steps, and it reached his thighs.

After thirty steps, he was immobilized.

Lin Xiaoqiang watched helplessly as the snowflakes engulfed him, burying him alive.

The Earth, noisy for untold years, finally fell silent, its timeline eternally marked at June 5th, 2121.

When the snow ceased, something miraculous occurred beneath the white blanket. The Ice Age had dawned.

Lin Xiaoqiang's eyes snapped open to find himself in an expanse of white.

He was in a space as big as a room, its blinding whiteness stretching in every direction.

As clarity returned, a voice reached him.

"Congratulations on entering the Ice Age. You have been covertly selected as a potential Ice Lord. It is our hope that you will emerge as the chosen one from among the four candidates. The system is now initiating...

We will proceed with a full body scan. All units, please report your current status."

Heart: Functioning at 0.5%, sustainable for half an hour, requires energy replenishment.

Liver: Functioning at 0.5%, sustainable for half an hour, requires energy replenishment.

Spleen: Functioning at 0.5%, sustainable for half an hour, requires energy replenishment.

Kidneys: Functioning at 0.5%, sustainable for half an hour, requires energy replenishment.

...

Based on the above, you have 15 minutes of life remaining. Please locate food that can provide energy within this time frame.

Should you succeed, you will be rewarded with a novice gift pack containing the skill of Precognition, along with an additional small gift pack featuring a combat analysis system.

The Precognition skill is now available as a navigation service, allowing users to locate their desired destinations and search for treasures within a specific area, facilitating travel for the user.

Lin Xiaoqiang was impressed with this navigation feature. To him, it felt like while everyone else was stumbling around blindly, he was walking with clear vision, able to find not only his desired locations but also stumble upon treasures.

Initially, Lin Xiaoqiang hadn't paid much attention, but it dawned on him that he could actually find treasures.

The mere thought of treasures invigorated him as if he were supercharged with energy.

Having treasures was crucial. With them, anything seemed possible.

Imagine, even a simple meal of instant noodles could be upgraded with a couple of eggs, and sleeping comfortably with the air conditioner on, switching between cool and warm breezes at will. It was the epitome of an incredible lifestyle. These thoughts alone made Lin Xiaoqiang's eyes sparkle with excitement.

This was starting to get interesting.

Whether he walked or not was irrelevant. If he unlocked this feature, he could amass gold and silver treasures at will. Wouldn't that mean a future of prosperity?

He was so thrilled that he felt a bit lightheaded.

Upon reflection, he realized it wasn't excitement but hunger that was affecting him.

Okay, let's go over this from the top.

Firstly, he wasn't dead; he had been chosen as the Ice Lord.

Secondly, he had only fifteen minutes to spare.

Lastly, to earn money, uncover treasures, find a wife, and turn his life around, he needed to find food. Only then could he unlock the grand prize. But with everything blanketed in white, he couldn't discern any direction to search for sustenance.

Without food, he couldn't unlock the grand prize, and his elation would be for naught.

This was the first time Lin Xiaoqiang had pondered a problem so seriously, and it gave him a bit of a headache.

No wonder so many professors were bald; it must be from all the stress.

There was no insurmountable obstacle, no "Flaming Mountain" he couldn't cross. To make money, find treasures, secure a wife, and turn his life around, he had to find food.

He assessed his current location.

He had been walking home from the construction site for just five minutes when a heavy snow began to fall.

In other words, Lin Xiaoqiang was roughly five hundred meters from his home.

There were two paths to choose from: the main road, which included a turn, and a smaller path with a ditch in the middle. But since it had frozen over, it posed no issue.

The main road was easy to miss, making the small path a better choice. Even if it meant straying from his usual route, he could potentially enter someone else's house—houses belonging to those wealthier than him, where he might find more food.

So, Lin Xiaoqiang took the small path and began to dig homeward. As he did, the scraps of paper behind him vanished, creating an eerie sight.

By his estimate, and given his current pace of digging, he'd reach home in about ten minutes. He remembered the two steamed buns on the stove, along with a bottle of water and a pack of pickled vegetables. Eating those buns would make all his dreams come true.

However, time seemed to drag on, and he hadn't yet encountered anything familiar, like the stack of firewood at his uncle's place.

A warning from the system jolted him: he had only three minutes of energy left.

Sweat beaded on Lin Xiaoqiang's forehead as he cursed the situation for its sheer unfairness. Clearly, three minutes wouldn't suffice to finish his task.

Now he realized the true value of unlocking that navigation system. With it, he'd have been home by now, mission accomplished, off searching for treasures.

But regrets were pointless.

With three minutes left, he faced a choice: wait for death, keep digging, or hope for a stroke of blind luck.

After losing another thirty seconds to indecision, he opted to change direction and dig anew. His fate, and his next meal, were in the hands of fate.

As the final minute countdown began, Lin Xiaoqiang dug frantically.

Then, with just thirty seconds remaining, he nearly stumbled into an unexpected void—a space opened up before him.

Inside, a young child, no more than three or four years old, was eating a roasted sweet potato. The sight of Lin Xiaoqiang sent a look of terror across the child's face.

Lin Xiaoqiang spotted the food and dashed over in two quick strides, grabbing it and ready to shove it into his mouth.

Just then, the child spoke up, his face etched with distress.

"Big brother, the system says if I don't eat, I'll turn into white snow..."

Lin Xiaoqiang froze.

He thought he should negotiate with the child. His remaining time was running out. He could eat now and then go search for more food to repay the child tenfold or even a hundredfold.

The child said he only had five seconds left...

Lin Xiaoqiang realized he couldn't find food within two seconds. In essence, eating the child's sweet potato would be akin to killing the child.

There's an old saying: "Every man for himself, or face the wrath of heaven and earth."

Lin Xiaoqiang closed his eyes, preparing to eat, but the child's tears melted his resolve.

The system blared a warning: life was ticking down to the final three seconds.

Eating would unlock incredible powers and turn his life around.

Not eating meant facing death.

Lin Xiaoqiang stared at the sweet potato, torn between choices.

To eat or not to eat, Lin Xiaoqiang wavered indecisively.