In this icy, apocalyptic world, death seemed to shroud the land, every inch of earth exuding an aura of mortal dread. Streets and houses were filled with frozen corpses, their bodies covered in ice and snow, like cold sculptures, stiffly frozen in their final poses, some curled up, some stretched out, their empty eyes gazing at the sky, as if protesting this cruel end times.
Standing in front of the safe house, Su Yao gazed at the horrific scene in the distance, her heart filled with sorrow. However, something even more terrifying was yet to come. A group of people rushed towards them like hungry wolves. These people were ragged, their faces haggard yet contorted, their eyes gleaming with a mad light—a terrifying light born from a desperate thirst for survival and a greed born of extinguished humanity.
"Hand over the supplies!" a bearded man with fierce eyes shouted hoarsely, brandishing a rusty longsword. The crowd behind him joined in the commotion, their shouts rising and falling, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silence of the apocalypse.
"This is something we collected with great difficulty, why should we give it to you!" Su Yao clenched her fists tightly, responding angrily. Her parents stood beside her, their eyes resolute yet unable to hide their tension. They knew that if the supplies were taken away, death awaited them.
"Hmph, in this apocalypse, there's no reasoning. Whoever has the ability survives!" The raider leader sneered, waving his hand, and the group swarmed forward like locusts. They carried all sorts of weapons: broken steel pipes, shattered bottles, and even crude spears made of icicles.
The battle erupted instantly. Su Yao swiftly unleashed her fire-based abilities, flames leaping and swirling in her palms before transforming into blazing whips. These whips, like nimble snakes, traced bright arcs through the air, lashing out at approaching enemies. The raiders struck by the whips screamed in agony as their clothes instantly burst into flames. They rolled in the snow, desperately trying to extinguish the fire, but the flames seemed alive, clinging tightly to them.
However, these looters did not back down despite their companions' injuries. Driven by hunger and despair, they charged forward recklessly. A disheveled woman, her eyes gleaming with madness, charged towards Su Yao's parents, wielding a sharp wooden stick. The father hurriedly grabbed a plank he had collected from a building materials warehouse to defend himself. The plank collided with the stick with a loud "bang," and the powerful impact left his arm numb.
"You beasts!" Su Yao roared, increasing the output of her supernatural power. The flames intensified, spreading and melting the snow in front of the safe house, leaving a scorched patch. But the raiders swarmed in from all directions, like wild beasts that had lost their minds, completely disregarding their own safety.
Amidst the chaotic battle, Su Yao spotted some familiar faces. They were once ordinary people in this city, perhaps neighbors, perhaps passersby. But now, tormented by the apocalypse, they had become so estranged, so terrifying. A little girl who once sold flowers on the street now wielded a sharp blade, her eyes devoid of their former innocence, filled only with endless madness and a desperate thirst for resources.
Su Yao felt a sharp pain in her heart. She knew this was the apocalypse; it had not only destroyed the world but also humanity. In the face of life and death, morality and ethics became utterly worthless.
As the battle continued, Su Yao gradually felt her strength waning. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and the power of her flames began to wane. The raiders, however, seemed to sense her exhaustion and intensified their attacks.
Just then, the system's voice rang in Su Yao's mind: "Watch their flanks, several people are trying to flank you." Su Yao was startled. While using flames to defend against the enemies in front, she also relayed the information to her parents. They quickly adjusted their positions, forming a triangular defensive formation.
Without a second thought, Su Yao took out some tools she had collected from a hardware store, including nails, wire, and small metal parts. She scattered these around the safe house, especially on the flanks, setting up some makeshift traps.
Sure enough, the raiders attempting to flank them failed to notice the traps on the ground. They stepped into one, the nails piercing their feet, and the barbed wire tripping them. Screams of agony echoed from the flank. But the raiders didn't give up; supporting each other, they continued their charge towards Su Yao and her companions.
At this moment, Su Yao was filled with sorrow. She felt pity for these people, yet also anger at their actions. In this apocalyptic world, was killing each other the only option?
In the midst of the fierce battle, Su Yao suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She remembered the climate control equipment she had found at the research institute. Although its primary function was not for combat, it could become their lifeline in this situation.
Su Yao quickly retrieved equipment from her spatial storage and adjusted the parameters. In an instant, the temperature around the safe house plummeted, and the moisture in the air rapidly condensed into ice, quickly forming a thick layer of ice on the ground. The raiders lost their footing on the ice and slipped and fell. Their movements became sluggish, and their attacks lost their accuracy.
Taking advantage of the situation, Su Yao launched an attack. She used flames to melt the ice on the surface, causing the water to gather into small streams that rushed towards the enemy. The water quickly froze at the low temperature, freezing the feet of some raiders and immobilizing them.
In the chaos, infighting broke out among the raiders. Some blamed the leader's decisions, arguing that the raid was a mistake that led to their heavy losses. The leader angrily retorted, and the two sides even began to attack each other. The already chaotic situation became even worse.
Su Yao didn't let this opportunity slip by. She took a deep breath and unleashed her fire-based ability once more. Flames burned on the ice, forming a wall of fire that separated the raiders from the safe house. Under the dual threat of raging flames and biting cold, the raiders finally couldn't hold on any longer and began to flee in disarray.
Watching their departing figures, Su Yao breathed a long sigh of relief. Her body swayed precariously, and her parents helped her back to the safe house. This experience made Su Yao acutely aware that in this apocalyptic world, one must not only cope with the harsh natural environment and mutated creatures, but also constantly guard against the distortion of humanity.
Back at the safe house, the family remained silent for a long time. They knew that such a thing could happen again. So, they decided to use the available resources to strengthen the safe house's defenses.
They used materials from a building materials warehouse to thicken and reinforce the walls of the safe house, and installed more traps and alarm devices on them. Su Yao used electronic components collected from a scrap electronics factory to install some simple monitoring equipment around the safe house so they could keep an eye on the surroundings at any time.
Throughout this process, Su Yao's mind was constantly filled with the faces of those raiders. She knew that in this apocalypse, many people were still struggling to survive, but she hoped that even in such a cruel environment, there were still some who upheld kindness and humanity. She longed to find these people and fight against the apocalypse together, instead of falling into endless madness and killing like those raiders.
This incident became a turning point for Su Yao's family's survival in the apocalypse. They became more cautious in protecting their home, while also holding onto a glimmer of hope for the goodness of humanity, continuing their arduous journey through this icy wasteland. Every step was filled with hardship, but they knew that as long as there was hope in their hearts, they could not give up.
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