Su Yao and her group struggled forward in the unbearably hot post-apocalyptic world. The howling wind seemed like the lament of the end times, and the scorching sand and dust, like fine needles, constantly struck the supernatural shields around them, making a crackling sound.
"This awful weather is like it's going to roast us alive!" one team member complained, his chapped lips bleeding in the heat.
Su Yao's gaze was firm. She looked into the distance, her mind filled with images of her parents inside the safe house. "Stop complaining, hurry up, Mom and Dad are still waiting for us."
The ground beneath their feet resembled a shattered tortoise shell, with deep cracks from which magma bubbled and boiled like a thick soup, radiating a suffocating heat. They proceeded along a path already distorted beyond recognition by the intense heat, each step taken with extreme caution, lest they inadvertently fall into the deadly lava.
Suddenly, the system issued a piercing alarm: "Large-scale high-temperature mutated vines have appeared ahead. Take cover!"
Before anyone could react, a dense thicket of vines, as thick as giant pythons, burst forth from the ground. The vines were covered in sharp thorns, gleaming with an eerie green light under the intense heat, like the tentacles of a demon, rapidly spreading towards them.
"Attack!" Su Yao shouted, her hands quickly forming hand seals. She mobilized the power of the crystal cluster, and instantly, water elements gathered in her palms into a surging torrent, like a sharp water blade, slashing towards the vines. However, the mutated vines were extremely resilient, and the water blade could only leave shallow marks on their surface.
The team members also used their special abilities. The earth elementalist hardened the surrounding land in an attempt to stop the vines from spreading; the wind elementalist used the wind to blow the vines this way and that, creating opportunities for others to attack; the fire elementalist spewed out raging flames, trying to burn the vines to ashes, but these vines seemed to have a strong tolerance to high temperatures, and the flames could only make them retreat slightly.
Seeing the situation was dire, Su Yao activated the system's scanning function to find the vines' weak points. "Found it! The roots are their weakest point; focus your attack on the roots!"
With a flash, she used spatial powers to teleport near the roots of the vines. A gleam of light shimmered in her hand; the power of the crystal cluster combined with earth elements to form a hard stone sword. Su Yao swung the stone sword, slashing fiercely at the roots of the vines, each strike carrying immense power.
With everyone working together, the roots of the mutated vines were gradually severed, and the vines ceased their attack, collapsing to the ground. The group breathed a sigh of relief, but dared not rest for a moment, continuing their advance towards the safe house.
As they drew closer to the safe house, the weather worsened. Dark clouds filled the sky, but instead of rain, scorching fire rain fell. The fire rain, once it touched the ground, triggered small explosions, creating deep craters.
Su Yao hurriedly increased the strength of her ability shield to the maximum, while simultaneously having her water elementalist form a water curtain outside the shield to resist the onslaught of fire rain. However, the water curtain rapidly evaporated under the continuous attack of the fire rain, and the energy of the ability shield also decreased sharply.
"This can't go on, we need to find somewhere to hide!" Su Yao shouted.
They searched for cover and finally found an abandoned underground bunker. Everyone quickly took refuge inside, seeking temporary shelter from the flames. Inside the bunker, Su Yao checked the system's display of the safe house's location and the surrounding environment.
"We're not far from the safe house. Once we cross that scorching desert ahead, we'll be home," Su Yao said, a hint of relief in her eyes.
After the fiery rain subsided, they left their shelter and stepped into the scorching desert. The sand was incredibly hot; every step felt like walking on a red-hot iron plate. Su Yao took out specially made heat-resistant boots from her spatial storage and distributed them to everyone, which made their progress slightly easier.
In the desert, they encountered a swarm of high-temperature mutated sandworms. These sandworms were enormous, darting rapidly beneath the sand, occasionally emerging from the ground to open their gaping maws and reveal sharp teeth.
Su Yao directed her team members to form a circle, standing in the center, her hands waving, and the power of the crystal clusters spread out. She fused wind and fire elements, creating blazing whirlwinds that swept towards the sandworm swarm. The sandworms were caught in the whirlwinds and, under the combined effects of the high temperature and the wind, were scorched and killed.
After a grueling struggle, they finally succeeded in crossing the scorching desert. The safe house stood silently ahead, and Su Yao excitedly quickened her pace.
She rushed into the safe house and saw her parents sitting safely inside. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mom and Dad, I'm home!" Su Yao rushed into her parents' arms.
Her parents hugged her tightly, saying, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
After settling her team members in, Su Yao sat down beside her parents, her heart filled with the relief of surviving a catastrophe. But she also knew this was only temporary peace; in this apocalyptic world of extreme heat, danger could strike again at any moment. She had to utilize the resources of the safe house to enhance her and her team's capabilities, while simultaneously searching for ways to cope with the extreme heat and protect her family and this last safe haven.
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