Chapter 283: White Frost

In the ice and snow, Zhao Yi slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a filthy trash can, its surface covered in thick white frost, as if even the pungent odor had been frozen. He struggled to turn his head, and a pile of garbage clattered and rolled out from under him.

"Where... am I?"

The scene before Zhao Yi gradually cleared, and a sharp pain erupted in his mind. He tried to recall what had just happened... He only remembered being pushed into a laboratory, then losing consciousness in intense pain.

He vaguely remembered having a long dream. In the dream, he stood on a mirror-like, calm sea. Looking down, he saw countless strange creatures covered in runes at the bottom of the deep ocean—some resembled octopuses, others seaweed, and some, swimming snakes...

When he looked up, faint streaks of aurora seemed to shimmer above the sea.

He seemed to have stood there for only a moment, but that moment felt like an eternity. After that, he vaguely heard someone whispering in his ear, the voice so close it felt as if it were coming from right beneath him.

He was briefly roused by the voice. In a daze, he seemed to be running with difficulty, as if desperately trying to escape from somewhere.

The next time he woke up, he was here.

"I... got out of the lab?" Zhao Yi lifted his groggy head and looked around the deserted alley.

After signing the body donation form, Zhao Yi had prepared himself for certain death. He never expected not only to survive but also to escape the laboratory by chance... He didn't know what had happened during the process, but perhaps this was his miracle.

Zhao Yi struggled to move his body, slowly getting up from the pile of garbage and back onto the ground. His peripheral vision caught sight of his hands propping him up, and he suddenly froze.

At that moment, it was as if he remembered something, and he frantically began searching for something in the alley.

Eventually, he found a puddle frozen solid. Zhao Yi stumbled towards it and, through the mirror-smooth ice, saw the reflection of a monstrous, inhuman figure...

It was a creature difficult to describe; though it had the outline of a human torso, its skin was almost entirely covered in black runes. These runes seemed to move like living things across his skin, and even in his eyeballs, runes occasionally crawled across, making the sight incredibly eerie.

Zhao Yi was startled by his own appearance. He knelt beside the puddle, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"How could this be... What did they do to me?"

Zhao Yi sat there blankly for a long time, unsure of what to do... He didn't know if this was temporary or if he would look like this forever. How could he live with such an appearance?

No... Having become like this, could he even survive? He looked like a mutated monster; surely he wouldn't die by tomorrow morning, would he?

"First, I need to find something to cover myself..."

Zhao Yi scanned his surroundings, then ran back to the trash can and quickly rummaged through it.

After dragging out a pile of strange garbage, Zhao Yi finally found a mottled piece of fabric, like a discarded blanket or curtain. He wrapped it around his head, leaving only his eyes exposed, and slipped his hands into his pockets. This way, he no longer looked as frightening as before.

Even so, if one looked closely, runes could still be seen crawling beneath his eyes, forcing him to squint as he walked.

Having barely escaped death, Zhao Yi was not content to die by a trash can... At this moment, he felt an urgent impulse.

He wanted to go home.

Perhaps because he had endured a hellish experience, Zhao Yi's desire to go home grew even stronger. In his subconscious, only home felt warm and safe... even if it was just a distant glance.

Zhao Yi wrapped himself up and slowly made his way towards the low-rise buildings where the residents of District Three lived. He couldn't fully adapt to this body yet, so his steps were not fast; he could only stumble forward like a patient in rehabilitation.

However, as time passed, Zhao Yi gradually began to master the body's strength and speed. His movements became faster and faster, and by the time he came to his senses, his figure was like a gust of wind, whistling across the ground!

"What am I...?"

Zhao Yi felt an unprecedented sense of power within him, and his eyes gradually lit up!

Although his appearance was somewhat ugly, this body seemed to have given him extraordinary strength, which was definitely an unexpected surprise for him!

During his previous escape from District Three, Zhao Yi had greatly envied Chen Ling's strength. He had thought more than once that if he had power, his father would not have died, and he might have been able to change everything himself!

Now, his dream seemed to have come true?!

Although this power came a bit late, he could still use it to protect Ling'er and the people of District Three... Thinking of this, Zhao Yi felt immense joy, and even his self-disgust about his appearance dissipated considerably.

As long as he had power, as long as he could protect those he wanted to protect, what did it matter if he was a little ugly?

Zhao Yi's speed increased, leaving trails of afterimages on the frost-covered road. Before long, he was back in front of the small building.

He quickly rushed up the stairs, calling out loudly:

"Ling'er!"

"Uncle Xu!!"

Zhao Yi reached his own door, used the spare key from the corner to unlock it, and was about to push it open when he found the entire door frozen shut by frost.

Zhao Yi paused, then with a slight exertion of force from his hand, he pulled the door free from the ice, scattering a few shards onto the ground.

"...What's going on? Is it this cold?"

Seeing the frost on the door, Zhao Yi realized that the surrounding temperature must be extremely low. However, with his current body, he didn't feel the cold; in fact, he found the temperature quite refreshing.

That's not right... Why isn't the heating on in such cold weather?

"...Ling'er?"

Zhao Yi called out tentatively, but there was no one in the empty room, and no one answered.

He unconsciously frowned, but after thinking it over, it was highly possible that Ling'er had been called by Xu Chongguo to stay next door. After all, with him not home, it would be too dangerous for a young girl to live alone in a house.

With that thought, Zhao Yi immediately went to Xu Chongguo's door.

This time, Zhao Yi didn't open the door rashly; instead, he politely knocked first.

"Uncle Xu? Are you home?"

There was no answer from behind the door.

For some reason, an inexplicable chill crept into Zhao Yi's heart. He felt that something was not quite right...

"Uncle Xu, I'm coming in."

Zhao Yi gripped the doorknob and pulled forcefully. With terrifying strength, he yanked open the frozen door!

A cave-like cold air wafted out from inside. The narrow living room was surprisingly crowded with over twenty figures. Thick blankets and quilts were scattered around them as they lay huddled, slumped, and motionless around a long-extinguished brazier...

The light from outside streamed onto their bodies, as if coating them with a faint layer of white frost.