Not Unfit for Use

In an unnamed mountain forest, the temperature was scorching high—so high it felt tangible, so intense the heat waves could practically burn a person's skin. Fortunately, within this forest, countless trees provided some degree of shade. Yet even so, there was an illusory feeling of a blazing summer day.

At the same time.

Li Guanqi had been wandering through the forest for several hours.

She leaned against a tree, breathing lightly, and subconsciously touched the incredibly comfortable stockings, marveling inwardly at the wonder of this item. If they were ordinary stockings, they would have long been soaked with sweat and torn countless times by branches.

Moreover, the lower half of her body maintained a constant temperature.

Although the lower body was protected by the system's item, her face was flushed red from the sun, her lips pale, and she looked utterly listless. She could clearly feel that her intracranial temperature was severely elevated. Continuing like this, she risked heatstroke at any moment.

She urgently needed to cool her head. Since she couldn't use the ring, she had nothing to lower her temperature. If this went on, she'd have no choice but to use the stockings as a face mask.

After resting a moment, she bit her chapped lips and started walking again. Although her stamina could slowly recover, the loss of fluids was irreplaceable. Right now, the strongest thought in her mind was to find a water source.

After her sore, aching legs dragged her along for who knows how long, she seemed to faintly hear the sound of water from a certain direction.

"Water! It sounds like a stream!"

Mustering what little spirit she had left, she slowly advanced toward the most likely direction.

Roughly a few minutes later, the sound of water grew clearer.

Finally, she stopped less than three or four meters from the water source. Looking ahead, she saw a small stream indeed, babbling as it flowed not far away.

She hurried over. Crouching by the stream, she looked at the clear, transparent water. She didn't drink directly, instead using it to wipe her neck, palms, and other areas with major blood vessels, hoping to lower her body temperature slightly.

Thanks to the system item she wore, the temperature of her lower body remained constant. So, she only needed to deal with her upper body. If not for this item, she'd have likely suffered heatstroke long ago—how could she have lasted this long?

Initially, she had even felt resistant to using it.

Now, she really had to thank this item.

"I wonder how she's doing now?"

After briefly cooling her body, she couldn't help but worry about Cornelia. She wasn't worried about Gu Ruoxue or the Ji family master and servant, as they all possessed superhuman physical stamina.

"What's this?" Just as she was about to use her hands to drink water, a flash of silver light caught the corner of her eye, making her freeze.

Turning to look, she saw a bicycle lying across the stream not far away. Under the sun's glare, the shared bike appeared exceptionally dazzling.

…………………………

At the same time.

Beside a large tree.

Cornelia's face was flushed, her lips pale, her whole body weak. Her vision was blurry, tears welling in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to press the rescue button to quit.

Her condition was terrible. She was filthy all over, clothes wrinkled, cheeks burning hot, lips pale, dizzy and lightheaded. Moreover, her body temperature kept rising, her breathing had even become rapid, her limbs were cold and clammy, her body stiff, and she felt utterly exhausted. Stars already danced before her eyes.

Heatstroke. Without timely treatment, it could be life-threatening.

"Press it, quick."

"Press it~"

"Don't hesitate, press it now!"

As Cornelia's consciousness was about to fade, a clamor of voices rang in her ears. Someone kept speaking words in her mind, making her, who lacked strong will to begin with, tremble uncontrollably. Then, her hand subconsciously lifted and placed itself on the wristband.

But, unexpectedly, she didn't press it. Instead, she took off the wristband, threw it far away, and then collapsed limply, a serene smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Because, she saw Su Cheng.

"Found you. I'll take you home to see Mom."

Cornelia's consciousness began to scatter. Her head felt heavy and muddled, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, gradually closing as she completely lost consciousness. The whole world fell silent.

Her face...

"Crunch~"

A light sound.

The sound of someone stepping on and crushing leaves.

In this quiet forest, it was exceptionally abrupt.

"Hmph, stubborn to the point of becoming a dead duck."

Ji Qingyi stood behind a tree not far away, watching the unconscious Cornelia like she was observing a third-rate actor struggling through a clumsy performance.

When Cornelia was on the brink of disaster, Su Cheng still chose to hide, offering no help, no sign, not even appearing to press the rescue button for her.

So, Ji Qingyi hesitated no longer. She turned and walked toward the other side. For Cornelia, she had no intention of rescuing her. Not only were they competitors, but this was also Cornelia's own choice. For that, she could only express regret.

Even if she died, she'd just be worthless trash.

Still, being stubborn unto death was somewhat commendable.

Ji Qingyi herself remained neat and beautiful, untouched by dust. Only her face was slightly flushed, her lips somewhat dry—clearly also somewhat affected by the high temperature.

After walking a few steps, she stopped, bent down, and picked up the wristband from the ground. Recalling Cornelia's resolute act of discarding it, she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

She closed her beautiful eyes, seemingly wrestling with some internal conflict. When she opened them again, she turned and scanned the surroundings. Then, she picked up a flat, relatively thin stone from the ground, walked to a birch tree, pressed the stone against the trunk and drew a circle around it. Gripping the trunk, she gave a hard pull, forcibly tearing off a large piece of bark.

Holding the bark, she walked over to Cornelia. The stone in her hand was casually tossed backward. With a dull thud, the stone embedded itself deeply into the spot on the birch tree where the bark had been stripped.

Soon, Ji Qingyi stood before the unconscious Cornelia. She took a moment to leisurely appreciate Cornelia's disheveled state, then grabbed her by the collar, half-lifting and dragging her toward the birch tree. If the little blonde weren't currently unconscious, she'd undoubtedly be fighting tooth and nail.

Ji Qingyi dragged Cornelia to the birch tree. Now, sap was slowly seeping from the spot where the stone was embedded. Ji Qingyi dipped a finger in a bit of the sap and applied it to her lips. After a dozen seconds, confirming no adverse reaction, she used a few fingers to pull the stone out from between the bark and trunk like a cork, allowing the sap to flow faster.

She then used the piece of bark she had torn off earlier as a makeshift bowl, patiently waiting for it to fill with sap.

Before long, the bark bowl was more than half full. Ji Qingyi took a few small sips, confirmed once more there was no issue, then crouched down, pried open Cornelia's mouth, and poured the sap straight down her throat.

After being forced to swallow over half a bowl of the tree sap, the unconscious Cornelia began to twitch. It was unclear whether she was regaining vitality from the hydration or being choked awake by the liquid entering her windpipe.

In any case, from Ji Qingyi's perspective, she was temporarily out of danger. So, Ji Qingyi placed the wooden bowl and Cornelia's wristband beside her, stood up, and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the next second, her skirt was tugged. Puzzled, she turned her head to see Cornelia with her eyes wide open, her gaze complex and dazed—like a lost child searching for the way home, staring pitifully at her, akin to a puppy craving its owner's affection.

"Can you take me with you?" Cornelia had come to terms with her own capabilities. Her only lifeline now was Ji Qingyi, this towering tree of support, so she tentatively sought the other's help.

This was the only way she could find Su Cheng.

"Dead weight."

Ji Qingyi coldly uttered the two words, devoid of any pity or intention to take Cornelia along.

She strode directly away, disappearing into the forest of trees ahead. Cornelia, horrified, ignored her recent awakening from unconsciousness. Grabbing her wristband, she gritted her teeth, enduring the inexplicable, searing pain in her feet, and struggled to follow the slender figure ahead.

"Wait!" Finally, as the other woman turned into the wooded area, Cornelia could hold back no longer and blurted out the words.

Ji Qingyi stopped and fixed a cold stare on her.

"There's strength in numbers. Together, we can definitely persuade Su Cheng."

Cornelia looked at the other with a serious expression.

Hearing this, a hint of mockery curled at the corner of Ji Qingyi's lips. "Based on your earlier stupidity that nearly got you killed?"

"I have experience in this. I saved him once before when he tried to take his own life. I can save him this time too!"

"It seems you still haven't grasped it. Ours is a zero-sum relationship."

"Haven't you heard that even the wise are not always free from error, and a fool may sometimes have a good idea? Our cooperation would be perfect!"