Before the next dawn arrived, Lin Wei, his face having just regained ninety percent of its color, suddenly asked, "Anyone want to take a bath?"
"Uh..."
Seele subconsciously scratched her short, blue-tinged hair. The small tuft of hair that usually stood up playfully at the top of her head now drooped lifelessly, as if neglected for the past two days.
After all, they were in the wilderness. For living conditions that were practically like being displaced, the simple act of "washing up," so common in civilized society, seemed a bit too luxurious here.
If it were in other parts of the world, or during the height of summer, they could have used rivers and mountain streams to manage. But now, with the heavy snow and ice, the little bit of melted snow from the bonfire could only provide the most basic cleaning for a few people.
"Is it... really possible?"
To be honest, Seele was a little tempted by Lin Wei's proposal. After all, she was also a girl who liked to be clean. Although she didn't know how it could be done under the current conditions, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel that since Mr. Lin Wei had brought it up, he must have a way.
"It's just a small matter. There's no need to go to such great lengths."
Bronya, who had been a child soldier, was used to the low-quality life of sleeping in the open snow. She didn't have any particular desire for this and shook her head calmly. "You haven't fully recovered yet. There's no need to waste your energy on such a small matter at a time like this."
Even the usually impatient and ill-tempered Sin, after learning that this outsider, Lin Wei, was going to take their place in the X-10 experiment, had softened her attitude toward him considerably, though she still seemed a little awkward.
She sneered and said disdainfully, "Hey, sicko, I advise you not to try to be a hero."
She was quite fond of giving people unflattering nicknames, but very few had the "honor" of receiving one. For most people, she couldn't even be bothered to look at them.
"Hehe, it won't be too much trouble. It's just a small matter."
Lin Wei, who had been cooped up in bed for two days, also wanted to move around a bit. He stretched and patted the so-called "bearskin coat" on his body, which Seele had tried her best to modify to look a little more like a piece of clothing. He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Even if I look like a primitive man, I can't really think of myself as one, can I? Besides, this is also a small gesture, right? After all, you three have been taking care of me for so long. I hope I can let you relax a little before you go back."
"What? In this season? A bath? Relax?"
Sin looked at the confident Lin Wei as if he were an idiot. "Are you sick in the head? How can you connect those words?"
Soaking in cold water in the ice and snow is a fool's errand. Whoever wants to do it can go ahead!
Lin Wei didn't explain. He just smiled faintly and gestured for the three of them to help him tidy up the cave where they had been living for two days and two nights.
They cleared a space a little further away from the cave, moved the embers there to start a new bonfire, and transferred everything they needed, including food, utensils, and leather goods for warmth. Even the "door curtain" was taken down. Then they burned the rest of the things and scattered the ashes in the distant forest.
In a short time, the small wilderness cave was clean and tidy, with not a single trace of any living creature ever having been there.
"...It seems you've really made up your mind."
Schrödinger seemed to have understood some of his thoughts and sighed.
"Is there anything worth lingering for here?"
Lin Wei smiled, picked up the demon blade that had been stored in the deepest part of the cave, and walked out. Then, after walking a few dozen steps to the left, he suddenly turned and drew the blade. CLANG! A crimson blade light instantly cut across the ground. Whether it was the soft snow or the hard frozen earth and rock, they were all mercilessly split open by this one slash.
After a moment of silence, the rustling sound of falling sand and soil gradually grew louder, followed by the clattering of small falling stones, and then the rumbling of large boulders. The rock near the cave entrance, as if it were a sliced egg yolk, separated and collapsed into the broken porcelain bowl.
"Look out!"
Even though they were already far away, Bronya still subconsciously pulled Seele and Sin to a safer distance.
Cough, cough...
Using the demon blade was never easy, but he still did it. He coughed a few times, his face flushed, and endured the dizziness and nausea as he sheathed the blade again.
Hmph, what's he showing off for? I can do that too! a little further away, Veliona snorted in Seele's consciousness. Didn't he say we were going to take a bath? Why all this commotion?
The dust that had just risen was quickly dispersed by the winter mountain wind. A pile of broken rocks had formed on the ground, just happening to surround the low cave, which had also been cut in half. Some of the rocks of various sizes had rolled in, filling the cave tightly. But in the center of this pile of rocks, a small, concave hollow had formed.
Lin Wei smiled. Now, even if I wanted to go back, I couldn't.
But that was one of his goals. Cutting off this false "retreat" made him feel refreshed. Lin Wei calmed the dizziness in his head a little, then once again turned the demon blade into a walking stick, went around the pile of rocks that had just quieted down, and climbed up the mountain step by step.
"What is he trying to do?"
Veliona was clearly puzzled. She wasn't the only one; the others had the same question, wondering what Lin Wei was up to.
Lin Wei's pace was neither fast nor slow. After all, the snow was deep, and it was easy to slip. He was also afraid of climbing too high, so he stopped after reaching a height of a few dozen meters from the ground. He looked down, then moved to the side, as if looking for a specific spot.
Finally, Lin Wei stopped again. He looked up at the slightly brightening sky and couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?"
Schrödinger's voice was always with him. She was a little confused by his sudden laughter.
"Nothing, just couldn't help but think of some interesting things..."
Lin Wei rubbed his slightly sore waist, his smile not fading. "And, what I'm about to do will probably be considered extravagant, even exaggerated, by some old friends..."
"Hmm?"
This answer was completely out of the blue. Schrödinger was full of questions.
Lin Wei didn't explain further, but answered with his actions.
He held his hands in front of his chest, and the pitch-black Judgment of Shamash was unsheathed, its black-flamed tip pointing to the sky. The next second, Lin Wei turned the sword upside down and plunged it into the mountain rock beneath his feet, burying it halfway.
The black flames continued to leap and dance. Searing heat waves spread out from the greatsword, melting large patches of snow. The clear water flowed down like a small waterfall, forming a small pond in the pile of rubble at the foot of the mountain. Steam rose like a mist.
"Ha, the effect is not bad!" Lin Wei laughed with satisfaction.
"...What you said just now was right. It is indeed very extravagant."
Even the calm Schrödinger was a little speechless. Is this how you're supposed to play with a Divine Key?
Lin Wei didn't mind the Doctor's little complaint. He pulled the greatsword out of the ground, went around to the other side of the mountain, and above the "bath" that he had either "carefully crafted" or "casually thrown together," he once again casually plunged the greatsword into the rock wall. Thus, both the air and water temperature were stabilized at a relatively comfortable range.
"Done!"
Lin Wei snapped his fingers with satisfaction, feeling very pleased with his "masterpiece" of a mess. Then he turned and waved to Seele and the others.
"Is... is this really okay?"
Seele was dumbfounded. Who does things like this?
Bronya, on the other hand, was calm. She actually found this whimsical method quite to her taste.
"I have to try this if I get the chance!" she thought eagerly, then felt a pang of regret. The "future" seems a bit too luxurious for me...
The girls took the original "door curtain" of the cave, expanded and modified it with other animal hides and branches, and hung it in the middle of the steaming "hot spring bath," dividing it into two areas, one large and one small.
Even so, the girls couldn't help but look at each other, feeling a little awkward and even shy.
Lin Wei didn't force them, nor did he invite them. He just took out a set of clean clothes from the box Cocolia had sent, and a few pieces of pre-cooked roasted meat from the other side. Then he went to the smaller area that he had conveniently separated for himself, took off the animal hide on his arm and threw it aside, but kept on the summer T-shirt underneath. He waded into the waist-deep hot water and found a relatively flat and comfortable rock to sit on.
The steam was like a mist, swirling around, making the area around the water's surface hazy and making people cautious.
"So this is what it feels like to soak in a hot spring? It's really unique."
Lin Wei closed his eyes and leaned back against the Judgment of Shamash. The water was slightly hot, but it felt exceptionally comfortable, even making him a little sleepy.
Schrödinger floated in the shadows, silently watching him. After a moment, she asked, "Are you venting?"
Lin Wei's somewhat abrupt and mischievous behavior today, in her opinion, didn't have much practical meaning.
"I've been lying down long enough. Getting up and moving around a bit at least proves that my body is recovering quite well."
Lin Wei smiled slightly, but didn't refute her. He pointed to the other side of the curtain. "Doctor, would you like to rest a little too? It's very comfortable."
"..."
Schrödinger was silent for a moment. A moment later, the sound of splashing water came from the other side of the curtain.
"You knew from the beginning that I could enter this world bubble in my true form, didn't you? After all, you've always been very smart. The first time I appeared in the cave, there wasn't a single trace of surprise in your eyes."
Schrödinger's voice came from the other side of the curtain. "But you never brought it up, neither from the beginning nor now. Even at the beginning of this loop, on that night when you were at your weakest, you never asked me for any assistance."
Perhaps in a "bathroom," people unconsciously relax. For the first time, Schrödinger asked Lin Wei her questions as an equal, not as a judge. "Why?"
"It's nothing."
Lin Wei was still resting with his eyes closed. "I know you have your reservations about me, Doctor, and want to keep a relatively safe distance. But for one, I have no proof. Second, forcing the issue would only make our relationship more awkward. And third, you've already helped me enough. I never thought to ask for more."
Lin Wei smiled slightly, then sighed. "In fact, after that, when you were able to appear in your true form instead of just your voice, I was actually very surprised, and even a little... grateful."
"Grateful? That's not necessary. It's just that at that time, you really did need someone to take care of you a little."
Schrödinger clumsily tried to hide the water in front of her and said at a leisurely pace, "In fact, I didn't expect Seele to find you so quickly. It saved me a lot of trouble."
"The gratitude I was talking about wasn't for that. It's that although you didn't think highly of me before, Doctor, at least you didn't think I was completely unapproachable."
Lin Wei gently tapped the simple curtain made of leather not far away, as if greeting a good friend in the same bath. "To me, that's already a form of recognition. It was truly an unexpected surprise."
"Not happy? Heh, that's not it."
Schrödinger shook her head. "I'm just a little surprised. Why is there someone like you in the world? Both humble and arrogant, or rather, it's precisely because you're as arrogant as a god that you can humbly communicate with anyone on an equal footing. I've always wondered if there's anything in this world that can leave a real mark on your heart."
"...And then?"
Lin Wei asked, his tone extremely flat, as if he didn't expect her answer at all.
"I don't know. I used to think Otto was an unfathomable person. But now, you seem even harder to understand than him. At least with Otto, you just have to understand all his actions from a malicious point of view. But you..."
Schrödinger shook her head, choosing her words carefully. "At least you're more restrained than him, but also more impulsive."
What a complicated person, she thought.
"Hehe, is that so?"
Lin Wei smiled. "I hope the next time we chat like this, we don't have to talk about unpleasant people and things."
"..."
Schrödinger was silent. She wasn't good at chatting.
"If you can, please take care of Seele and Bronya for me. It seems they're a little reserved because of me."
Actually, Schrödinger was also reserved, but Lin Wei didn't point it out. He proactively ended the topic that was making her feel a little awkward. "Let's leave the future to be decided in the future..."
The water was warm. Lin Wei soaked most of his body in it, resting his head on a soft piece of leather. Soon, he became drowsy and fell into a deep sleep.
On the other side of the curtain, the awkward and reserved interactions between the girls, the sound of their conversation, were transmitted to Lin Wei's chest along with the ripples of the water, and then abruptly stopped, rarely reaching his quiet dreams.
"Is he okay?"
Bronya asked. Schrödinger was the one who knew Lin Wei best.
"He should be fine."
Schrödinger thought for a moment and commented, "People who like to be strong are probably always prone to fatigue..."