Su Qingyue hadn’t expected him to refuse so bluntly.
He didn’t even give her a chance to bargain!
Seeing that Lin Ji was truly ignoring her, a wave of immense panic suddenly surged in Su Qingyue’s heart.
She recalled what Gu Yihan had just said.
She remembered the experiences of those girls in the Chat Channel.
Without Lin Ji, could she really survive alone on this vast, endless sea?
If Lin Ji really stopped providing her with supplies in the future, would she have to drink seawater and eat rotten meat?
Or even...
Be captured by other men...
Just thinking about such scenarios made Su Qingyue shudder.
So-called self-respect, in the face of survival, was as fragile as a sheet of paper.
"W-wait!"
Su Qingyue panicked and quickly stood up.
"One bottle! Just one bottle!"
"But... it has to be full! Not one you’ve already drunk from!"
Her last bit of stubbornness was simply not wanting to consume his saliva.
Lin Ji stopped walking and glanced back at her.
His gaze was cold.
"Come here."
Two simple words, carrying an undeniable command.
Su Qingyue bit her lip, feeling so wronged she wanted to cry.
But she still obediently steered her raft closer.
"W-what do you want?"
She stood before Lin Ji like a bullied young wife.
Lin Ji pointed to the wooden box with the carved groove.
Then he pointed to the seawater beside them.
"Fill this with water, then freeze it using your talent."
Su Qingyue was momentarily stunned.
Looking down at the strangely shaped groove, she instantly understood Lin Ji’s intention.
"You want to make... ice arrows?"
"At least you have some brains."
Lin Ji said flatly, "Hurry up, don’t dawdle."
Su Qingyue didn’t dare argue.
She crouched down, carefully scooped up a handful of seawater, and poured it into the groove.
Then she placed both hands over it.
E-grade talent [Refrigeration] activated.
A chill surged.
The seawater in the groove rapidly solidified, turning into a crystal-clear block of ice.
In less than a minute.
A perfect ice arrow took shape.
Lin Ji picked up the ice arrow and tested its hardness.
Ice formed from frozen seawater was slightly harder than freshwater ice.
Moreover, the arrowhead was sharp, emanating a chilling cold.
"Not bad."
Lin Ji nodded in satisfaction.
He casually tossed that bottle of mineral water to Su Qingyue.
"A reward for you."
Su Qingyue fumbled to catch the water bottle.
It was indeed an unopened, new bottle of water.
She felt a wave of relief in her heart and, clutching the bottle, even felt a flicker of gratitude.
Was this the precursor to Stockholm syndrome?
Beside them, Gu Yihan watched this scene, her eyes shining brightly.
"Classmate Lin Ji, you’re truly a genius!"
She praised sincerely.
In this resource-scarce sea, wood and metal were extremely precious.
But seawater was inexhaustible!
As long as Su Qingyue, this "ice-making machine," was around, she possessed an unlimited ammunition supply!
"Classmate Lin Ji?"
Lin Ji raised an eyebrow, looking at Gu Yihan with a faint, amused smile.
"Earlier, inside, you didn’t call me that."
"Call me husband."
Gu Yihan’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
She instinctively glanced at Su Qingyue beside her.
Su Qingyue was all ears, looking over at them with a shocked expression.
"Who... who wants to call you that!"
Gu Yihan stamped her foot in flustered annoyance.
"We... we’re just... that kind of relationship right now."
"It’s not like we’re really married."
"Besides, I’m a lady with status, I can’t just change how I address you so casually."
Although she had given her body to Lin Ji, the tsundere pride deep in her bones hadn’t completely faded.
Being lovers was fine.
But asking her to call him "husband" like a little wife—she really couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Lin Ji didn’t force her.
After all, she was already his. A form of address was just a matter of time.
"Alright then, I’ll see how you perform."
He handed the ice arrow to Gu Yihan.
"Test its power."
Gu Yihan took a deep breath and accepted the ice arrow.
The cool touch refreshed her mind.
Nock the arrow, draw the bow.
Her movements flowed smoothly, as standard as a textbook.
Only...
The moment she spread her legs to stand.
Gu Yihan suddenly frowned slightly, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Hiss..."
A tearing pain assaulted her.
She shot Lin Ji a somewhat resentful glare.
This guy earlier had been like a brute.
He didn’t know the slightest bit about being gentle with a delicate woman.
Now she could barely stand steadily.
Lin Ji pretended not to see, whistling as he looked at the scenery.
Gu Yihan gritted her teeth, enduring the discomfort, her gaze instantly turning sharp.
Aiming at a floating empty barrel dozens of meters away.
[Wind Listening] talent activated.
The flow of the wind became clearly visible in her mind.
"Hit!"
Twang!
The bowstring vibrated.
The ice arrow transformed into a streak of light, carrying the howl of the wind, instantly crossing the distance of dozens of meters.
Thud!
A muffled sound.
The sturdy oak barrel was directly pierced through!
The ice arrow’s momentum didn’t diminish; after penetrating the barrel, it even flew another dozen meters before falling into the sea.
And around the hole in the pierced barrel, a thin layer of white frost had formed.
"So powerful!"
Gu Yihan excitedly looked at her own hands.
This power was even greater than ordinary carbon arrows!
Moreover, the cold energy attached to the ice arrow could cause secondary damage.
It was absolutely a formidable weapon!
Su Qingyue watched from the side, stunned.
She hadn’t expected that the ice she created, combined with that bow, could have such immense power.
At this moment.
Her gaze toward Lin Ji changed.
This man...
had actually forcefully combined two Trash E-grade talents into such terrifying combat power!
Looking at the pierced oak barrel, Su Qingyue was lost in thought for a long time.
She had originally thought Lin Ji was just a lecherous man, a petty person who took advantage of others’ misfortune.
But now it seemed this man wasn’t as simple as he appeared on the surface.
In just one morning.
He had gone from having nothing to being fully armed.
Not only had he obtained Red Quality bow and gloves, but he had even come up with a genius combination skill like the ice arrow.
Instantly giving them, two originally weak women who couldn’t even tie up a chicken, the ability to kill enemies.
This kind of foresight and execution definitely wasn’t something an ordinary college student could possess.
"Well done."
Lin Ji walked over to Gu Yihan, not sparing his praise.
"The power of that arrow is enough to instantly kill enemies with average physique."
As he spoke, he casually pulled an unopened bottle of mineral water and a new box of self-heating hot pot from his Backpack.
"Your reward."
"Replenish your energy, there’s still work to do later."
Gu Yihan’s eyes lit up.
She took the water and hot pot, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
"Thank you, Lin... baby~"
This time, the term rolled off her tongue much more smoothly.
Even if she still felt a bit awkward inside, for the sake of survival and becoming stronger, calling him "baby" was not a loss at all.
When accepting the supplies, she deliberately turned her head and glanced at Su Qingyue, who was not far away.
Her eyes held a hint of poorly concealed triumph.
Su Qingyue bit her lip and turned away.
Looking at the steaming hot pot in Gu Yihan’s hands, the half bottle of water in her own suddenly seemed far less appealing.