Ice apocalypse, I hoard tens of billions of supplies

"He didn't seem to be in a hurry to find fire."

Yang Siya smiled and skillfully made several hot drinks on the side, then placed her hands on them and activated her ability.

Her superpower index has reached 12000 points.

After returning from the conquest of the Wuluan Empire, Zhang Yi obtained a large number of sacrificial spirits.

Yang Siya, without a doubt, has advanced to the realm of Ipsilon.

The ability of [Feast] evolves into [Queen of Gourmet Food].

Any food she creates with her hands will become extremely delicious and tempting.

Most importantly, it can enhance the user's mental strength, physical strength, and even combat ability in a short period of time!

Therefore, don't underestimate her low ability index; as a support character, she can provide Zhang Yi with tremendous help.

Li Yangyang smiled as she took the cup of beverage from Yang Siya's hand. After taking a sip, she immediately felt her energy and spirits improve, and her body felt comfortable.

Her eyes were lowered, and she thought to herself: Even with us, would Zhang Yi hold back?

As clever as she was, she realized that Zhang Yi and Yang Xinxin must be hiding something from the rest of them.

However, it's not a good idea to ask about this.

Even though Zhou Ke'er and the others knew that Zhang Yi was hiding something from them, they didn't care too much.

Because they trust each other.

I didn't tell them, either because it wasn't necessary or because of some principle of information confidentiality.

……

Zhang Yi was being invaded by the spiritual will that permeated various parts of the Dark Sun Forest.

His brow furrowed instantly, and his body trembled slightly. A hallucination several times more intense than before descended once more, and this time, he willingly opened the door.

The green grassland at dusk, the vast sky with its white clouds, and the gentle breeze on your face make you feel very comfortable.

The shepherd boy remained seated on the rock, his posture relaxed.

But when Zhang Yi's consciousness appeared in this wasteland, the gentle smile on the boy's lips seemed to deepen, and a hint of expected amusement flashed in his black, swirling eyes.

"You're more interesting than I imagined."

The boy spoke, his voice still clear, “Those who dare to step into this world are either foolish madmen or…” He paused, “…potential kin.”

Zhang Yi's consciousness stood before the boy, striving to remain clear-headed: "I just want to see some things clearly."

"See what clearly?" The boy tapped the ground lightly with his shepherd's staff. "See why sheep eat grass, and why people eat sheep? Or see... what you yourself truly are?"

"All."

Zhang Yi said frankly.

After voluntarily embracing the pollution, he felt a deeper connection with this illusion, and could even sense a faint pulse emanating from the barren earth beneath his feet—the lingering will of Samael's dormant true form.

"very good."

The boy seemed quite satisfied with the answer. "Then let's continue our previous topic. Humans eat sheep to gain strength and prolong their lives. Sheep eat grass to survive. Grass absorbs nutrients and water from the soil and grows tenaciously."

He stood up, walked to a clump of tender green grass, bent down, and gently touched a dying blade of grass with his finger.

"Then tell me, traveler, where does the power that man ultimately gains come from? Is it from sheep? Is it from grass? Or... this seemingly silent soil that has nurtured countless lives?"

This question goes deeper than the last one, pointing directly to the source of energy transfer.

Zhang Yi lowered his eyes, his mind racing.

That feeling is here!

It's as if a person is about to have an epiphany, suddenly touched by a certain point in an instant.

For a long time, a cloud of doubt had been hanging over his mind, and he was unable to resolve it.

He used to believe that all of the body's energy came from Kaga.

At the moment of creation, during the Big Bang, the material universe was endowed with [power].

That force spread throughout the universe and also formed the existence of humankind.

Therefore, all energy originates from ether fragments.

Organisms must evolve by constantly hunting other organisms and plundering their ether fragments.

But what about the ground centipede?

Why are they able to increase their superpower index by consuming energy ores?

Therefore, the pure etheric theory is not entirely correct.

Humans must have other evolutionary pathways, or other energy sources.

According to conventional understanding, energy is transferred through the food chain, with humans at the top, and power seemingly originating from the next level of organisms.

But tracing back to the source, the original source of all energy is indeed the environment, the "soil," the basic material and rules that constitute the world.

The boy did not wait for his answer, but slowly walked towards another direction in the wasteland.

There was a shallow pit, with some broken bones that looked like human remains scattered around it. They were slowly merging into the soil and becoming nourishment.

"Look here again."

The boy's voice carried a distant compassion, or perhaps mockery: "After a person dies, they are buried in the earth, their flesh and blood decay, their bones weather away, and eventually they become nutrients for the soil again. Years later, perhaps new grass seeds will sprout here, be eaten by new flocks of sheep, and eventually... they may enter the body of a new 'person'."

He turned back, his dark eyes fixed on Zhang Yi: "A perfect cycle, isn't it? Devouring and transforming, birth and death. So, in this cycle, what am 'I'? Am I the individual consciousness thinking at this moment, or the eternally flowing energy called 'life' itself? What is the meaning of individual existence on the scale of the universe?"

"It is nourishment...and also a predator..."

Zhang Yi's consciousness began to fluctuate violently, and the shepherd boy's words were like heavy hammers, repeatedly striking his cognitive barriers.

Samael's will is not simply madness; it contains a cold, grand, and fundamental cosmology that points directly to the essence of life.

Under this concept, the life and death, good and evil, and emotions of individuals all seem insignificant and trivial; only the flow of "existence" itself and the transformation of "energy" are eternal truths.

This kind of thinking is highly polluting because it is partially correct but leads to utter nihilism and the indulgence of instincts.

Zhang Yi's eyes began to glow crimson simultaneously in both reality and illusion.

He felt his consciousness being assimilated by this grand perspective, and his individual will was like a castle on the beach, teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of ideas.

The power originating from the Mad Owl and belonging to the Druk God race within him was exceptionally active under this resonance, yearning to merge into this all-consuming cycle.

He saw it!

Deep within the illusion, the image of the shepherd boy began to appear somewhat illusory and transparent, as if it were merely a pre-set photograph, a "teaching program" that carried a portion of Samael's will and knowledge.