Obtaining the Protective Suit
Beef sauce and mushroom sauce are perfect companions for noodles and plain porridge, so she had to stock up on them. Lin Mo tossed them into the shopping cart without hesitation, picking only brands she usually ate, grabbing a dozen bottles at once. She didn't forget douchi sauce, sesame peanut sauce, Sichuan pepper oil, and fermented bean curd either—they'd come in handy for hotpot dipping sauce later.
Hotpot was incomplete without the 80/20 peanut sauce and Sichuan pepper oil, Lin Mo muttered to herself. Otherwise, it would lose its soul.
She wasn't good at cooking, so having extra seasonings couldn't hurt. Then she thought about it and decided to download a few e-books on cooking, too.
After all, a poor student has more stationery.
With that in mind, she also grabbed a few boxes of curry cubes, doubanjiang (chili bean paste), and some miscellaneous seasonings. She even took two packs each of yeast powder and baking soda. Brown sugar was also a must—it warms the body during menstruation.
The mall had loose rose brown sugar, large chunks wrapped in bright petals, vibrant in color and carrying a faint rose fragrance. She picked up a scoop and weighed a large bag.
Moving to the daily necessities section, Lin Mo grabbed another shopping cart. Sanitary pads were top priority: daytime, nighttime, extra-long nighttime, sleep shorts, and highly absorbent liquid pads, she took over a dozen packs each, nearly filling the cart.
Large bottles of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, laundry detergent, and disinfectant—she chose family-sized packs, two of each. Since she habitually mixed laundry, disinfectant was essential.
Catching sight of hand cream on the shelf, Lin Mo suddenly slapped her forehead. She almost forgot about frostbite cream.
In extreme cold, hands and feet are most prone to frostbite. This absolutely couldn't be missed. She quickly pulled out her phone and added it to the medicine stockpile list. For now, she grabbed over a dozen tubes of hand cream. Toothbrushes and toothpaste in family packs, as well as hand soap and bar soap, all went into the cart.
After checkout, it was already past two in the afternoon. Lin Mo was starving. After loading the supplies into the car, she headed straight for the Thai restaurant on the third floor of the mall, choosing a quiet seat by the window.
She took off her down jacket, removed her snug hat and mask, but then immediately put them back on. The constant-temperature thermal underwear looked no different from ordinary clothes, but it was tech gear from the system, so it was better to be cautious.
Then came the hearty ordering—she ordered quite a lot for dining in and takeout. While waiting for the food, Lin Mo didn't rest. She opened JD.com and filtered for same-day delivery, buying boxes of tissues and wet wipes. The supermarket sold them in packs, but stocking up by the box was more cost-effective. After a moment's thought, she placed additional orders on Taobao same-day delivery and JD.com for ten more boxes of sanitary pads.
Not only would that be enough for herself, but she could also help other girls out.
She still remembered the kindness in the building's group chat during the lockdown.
As soon as the tom yum soup arrived, the aroma of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves filled the air. A spoonful into her mouth—sour and spicy just right, wonderfully fresh. The green papaya salad was sour and spicy enough, the green curry chicken was fragrant, and even the coconut ice cream sticky rice was exceptionally sweet.
Lin Mo ate to her heart's content, leaving with five large takeout bags stuffed full: curry beef brisket, mango sticky rice, pineapple fried rice, shrimp cakes, and watermelon cake. She would freeze these and eat them within a month, though the taste would be far from freshly made.
There was no help for it. When the heavy snow blocked the roads, being able to enjoy curry beef brisket with flavor would already be a luxury.
Back home, Lin Mo parked the van at the entrance but didn't get out immediately. She leaned against the seat, scanning her surroundings. Pedestrians shivered as they hurried home, and after a Dingdong grocery motorcycle sped by, the building entrance was empty, save for the rustle of withered grass in the corner blown by the wind.
After confirming no one was around, she slowly raised her hand toward the fully loaded back seat. Fine silvery-white particles, like scattered stars, quietly spread out, wrapping around the supplies in the car like a thin veil without a sound. Items like the solar generator and clothes dissolved into the particles, vanishing instantly.
Thus, Lin Mo only carried a few bags and returned home light and easy. The supplies she had ordered on Taobao earlier were piled up by the door, including the over-hundred-jin mooncake, boxes of luosifen (snail noodles), Daoxiangcun pastries, as well as the down comforter and windproof masks she had bought.
What couldn't fit was stacked by the delivery guy under the stairs. Fortunately, her unit was on the ground floor and inside, so it wouldn't block anyone going upstairs. She still had to bring them in quickly, lest the neighbor across the hall come knocking again.
Once inside, she quickly scanned the logistics info. Most items would arrive today, and ten packages were still in transit, likely arriving tonight. Tomorrow there were a few more deliveries, plus the Deppon logistics that would arrive at an unknown time.
She didn't rush to unpack the boxes. Lin Mo stacked everything in the kitchen to sort out slowly in the evening. She was more concerned about progressing the newbie task. Familiar silvery particles appeared, incorporating the down jackets, ski pants, and tall boots she bought at the mall into the system's cold-weather clothing collection progress.
All these items met the standards, and the system notification soon popped up:
[Collected 110kg of cold-weather clothing]
[Newbie task completed. Reward: one protective suit]
"Protective suit?" Lin Mo clicked to retrieve the protective suit from the system with confusion.
A silver-gray protective suit materialized before her, complete with a helmet. Although it was a two-piece design (top and bottom), the overall silhouette was as sleek as a deep-sea torpedo, with no superfluous folds. Only at the joints did ice-blue liquid metal patterns flow. Lin Mo touched it—the gloves used a split-finger bionic structure, and the fabric felt firm but not stiff, made of some unknown material.
She scraped it hard with her fingernail. Her fingertip met slight resistance, but when she removed her hand, the fabric remained spotless, not even a white mark left.
Her suspicion deepened. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a sharp fruit knife. Returning to the living room, she gently made a few cuts on the hem of the suit. The blade left no trace at all—no threads lifted, as smooth as if it had never touched a sharp object.
Then she grew bolder, no longer afraid of damaging the clothes, and increased the pressure. The blade scraped against the special fabric, emitting a faint "zzz" sound. But when she lifted the knife, the area was still as smooth as new.
"So tough?" Surprise gave way to a hint of unease creeping into her heart. The system never acted without reason. In extreme cold weather, why would she need a protective suit that even a knife couldn't cut?
Author's Note:
Next update, Thursday morning~~