My lord, spare his life!

"You're saying I have discerning eyes?" Zhang Yang's peach blossom eyes brightened noticeably, and even his usually indifferent face showed a rare smile. "Is Uncle Yan praising my keen insight?"

Fan You said, "Of course."

Puyang Kui hadn't noticed Guan Zong's problem, yet Zhang Yang had been able to, which showed that she truly possessed exceptional abilities. Fan You carefully considered and analyzed the situation, concluding that her previous hypocritical actions were more a result of her past environment than of any inherent flaw in her.

"I think so too. We're about the same."

Fan You: "..."

Ever since Zhang Yang discovered that everyone on the recruitment list had a higher intelligence than her, she had been seething with anger. How could her intelligence only be 23 points? Fortunately, there was a "(upgradeable)" suffix. She pondered for several days and finally figured it out.

This 23 points of intelligence was definitely a value set by the game developers when she was first created, but they didn't anticipate that the NPC Zhang Yang would unexpectedly develop self-awareness. Since they were unaware of her existence, they naturally couldn't modify or update her original data. Thus, this strange 23 points of intelligence came about.

The mass-produced NPC Zhang Yang only has 23 points of intelligence. What does that have to do with the NPC Zhang Yang who has self-awareness?

Based on my own judgment, her true intelligence level should be above 90!

23 points in intelligence was still too conspicuous. Zhang Yang picked through the titles and decisively removed his original title, "The Wanderer," and chose a combination of two titles that looked intelligent to put on his head.

[Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix: Although this title doesn't provide any attribute bonuses, wearing it will make you look like a smart person.]

Zhang Yang noticed the description of the combined titles, which meant that special titles that increase intelligence stats could be collected in the future.

The snowstorm is still ongoing.

Before evening, the snow was already knee-deep.

Seeing this, Fan You and the others had no choice but to stay in the village for one night.

"...We are not afraid of the wind and snow, but these villagers are not. They probably won't be able to endure traveling at night." Puyang Kui thought of the villagers' thin clothing. Most of their clothes did not provide much warmth. Even if they wrapped themselves up in layers, their skin was still frozen blue. If they continued in this condition, they would freeze to death before even reaching their destination. "Winter supplies are still too scarce. I have already sent people to gather all the winter supplies that can be collected in the village."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Zhang Yang, who was using Da Mi as a stool, pulled out a Raschel blanket.

The blanket is brightly colored and has an extremely thick pile.

Zhang Yang: "What's wrong?"

Puyang Kui shook his head: "It's nothing."

She didn't ask Zhang Yang how many of these winter blankets he had left.

You can tell it's expensive to make without even touching it. Putting everything else aside, just the color alone requires countless expensive minerals and plants to achieve. And maintaining that vibrant color after dyeing—that takes so much effort! It's all money!

The lives of those villagers are too cheap to be used.

Zhang Yang: "Oh."

She wrapped herself in a blanket, then let Zhang Dami lie down as a pillow, and picked a spot to take a nap. Guan Zong had recovered to a little over one year old and could walk with difficulty. He looked around and also set his sights on Zhang Dami's soft, thick belly.

Then I noticed a burning gaze overhead.

He looked up at Puyang Kui and clutched the large coral fleece blanket tightly.

"What are you doing? Trying to steal my things?"

He was just over a year old!

He would have frozen to death without this blanket.

Puyang Kui said calmly, "There are children among the survivors. I see this blanket is quite large, so make some room for them."

Guan Zong had already used this blanket, so there was little chance Zhang Yang would take it back. Since that was the case, it wouldn't be a problem to ask Guan Zong to give up some space for someone else. Guan Zong initially wanted to refuse, but seeing Puyang Kui's strong arms and legs, he backed down.

"I am a very kind-hearted person."

A large blanket weighing four or five pounds could wrap Guan Zong and his children around it several times. There was a campfire nearby for warmth, and the cold wind was barely blocked by the relatively intact earthen wall. With several layers of warmth, the children who were shivering from the cold soon stopped shivering.

A faint blush appeared on her pale face.

None of them dared to look at Guan Zong's face, and no matter how scared they were, they dared not run out. They were simply too terrified of the cold.

The villagers looked on with envy.

Some people wanted to rob it, but they were afraid of Fan You and his group and dared not make a move.

For a moment, the only sounds inside the house were breathing, the boiling water on the campfire, and Zhang Dami's snoring. Puyang Kui focused his mind and closed his eyes to cultivate, while two people kept watch outside, constantly observing the snow accumulation on the roof to prevent the earthen house from collapsing due to excessive snow.

I don't know how much time passed—

Zhang Yang suddenly grabbed Zhang Dami's tail.

She opened her eyes, expressionless, and looked at the person who had almost been hit by Zhang Dami's tail. Zhang Dami's tail was thick and long, and when it swung, it was very powerful. The person in front of her, including bones and flesh, probably weighed sixty or seventy pounds. Their health bar couldn't withstand it.

"What's wrong?"

"My benefactor..."

Upon hearing the newcomer speak, Zhang Yang realized that the thin, bony boy, whose gender was indistinguishable, was a girl. Her face was hesitant and timid, her shoulders hunched inwards, as if she were terrified. But facing Zhang Yang's question, she nervously swallowed, softly asking if Zhang Yang had any blankets to keep warm. Her voice was very soft, but it didn't escape the ears of Fan You and the others; Guan Zong scoffed lightly.

Zhang Yang: "Why?"

"because……"

She glanced cautiously at Guan Zong and the others.

They didn't say anything, but it was as if they said everything.

She knew her actions were pushing her luck, and she knew such expensive items were not something someone like her could afford, but her mother simply couldn't bear it. Faced with the choice between offending a powerful person and being beaten to death, or her mother giving up, she risked everything and chose the former.

Just as her heart was pounding and she was worried that she would be dragged out and freeze to death, a huge and heavy lump was stuffed into her arms.

I pinched it; it was fuzzy.

Her view was blocked by this lump, but she couldn't block Zhang Yang's voice from reaching her ears: "You can take it and use it."

"Thank you, thank you, benefactor!" The other villagers also became agitated upon seeing this. The surviving men did not move, but instead pushed the women out—the old and the young, who were most likely to evoke sympathy. If there was really no one who could step forward, they would offer to share a blanket with others.

Zhang Yang's actions drew the attention of Puyang Kui and his group.

She was puzzled by their stares: "Do you want some too?"

Fan You finally couldn't help but ask.

"Do you have many of these warm blankets?"

She didn't hesitate for a moment as she took them out one by one.

"Let me see—" Zhang Yang glanced at his game inventory, counted, "About—more than ten thousand?"

In a certain area, killing zombies or monsters will drop blankets.

Originally there were more, but Zhang Yang lost several slots because a slot can only hold 9999 identical items, and her game inventory didn't have enough slots, so she had to declutter every now and then.

Fan You: "..."

Puyang Kui: "..."