Su Yao slumped wearily in the corner of the safe house. The intense heat had nearly exhausted her, but her eyes remained resolute, revealing an indomitable tenacity. Her parents sat around her, their faces full of worry. The atmosphere in the house was as heavy as the sweltering air, making it hard to breathe.
“Yaoyao, this can’t go on. How much longer can we hold on?” The father broke the silence, his voice hoarse and dry, his eyes filled with fear of the unknown.
Su Yao raised her head slightly, looked at her father, and said slowly, "Dad, we still have a chance. The new energy core I just obtained has temporarily stabilized the situation, but resources are still scarce. I need to think of another way."
She struggled to her feet, walked to the system console, and restarted a full scan, expanding the search area to a hundred kilometers beyond the safe house. It was a risky undertaking, as greater distance meant more unknown dangers, but for survival, she had no other choice.
After a quick search, the system flagged a suspicious location—an ancient ruin buried under intense heat. According to available information, it might contain some kind of mysterious heat-insulating crystal. If obtained, it would greatly enhance the insulation performance of the safe house, buying them more time to survive.
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Yao turned and began preparing her travel gear. She retrieved an incredibly sharp supernatural sword from her spatial storage; its blade gleamed with a chilling blue light. She had obtained it during a perilous expedition, and it often proved surprisingly powerful in dangerous situations. She also selected some high-energy recovery potions and protective talismans—essential items for survival.
"Mom and Dad, I'll be right back. You must activate the highest level of defense in the house. No matter what happens, don't open the door easily." Su Yao held her mother's hand tightly, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.
The mother nodded with tears in her eyes, while the father patted her shoulder and said, "Yaoyao, you must come back alive."
Su Yao took a deep breath, activated her spatial ability, and instantly disappeared from the safe house, teleporting towards the ancient ruins. However, as soon as she appeared near her destination, a powerful heatwave mixed with a violent energy storm swept towards her. This force was so strong that her ability shield fluctuated violently and almost shattered.
Su Yao steadied herself and looked around. She saw that the ancient ruins were surrounded by a lake of scorching lava, from which huge pillars of fire would occasionally erupt and shoot into the sky. The path leading into the ruins was occupied by various high-temperature mutated creatures. These creatures had bizarre shapes; some were as huge as small mountains, their bodies engulfed in raging flames; others floated in the air like ghosts, emanating a deadly aura of heat.
She gripped her supernatural sword tightly and cautiously approached the edge of the lava lake. Suddenly, a gigantic fire spider leaped out of the lava, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at her. Every strand of the spider's silk was like a burning fuse, igniting the air wherever it passed.
Su Yao's eyes sharpened. She dodged the spider's attack by sidestepping, simultaneously slashing at the spider silk with her sword. The supernatural sword collided with the silk, sending sparks flying. Using the rebound force, she leaped high into the air and thrust her sword at the spider's head. The fire spider let out a sharp screech, twisting its body wildly, trying to shake Su Yao off.
Su Yao gripped the sword hilt tightly, channeling her inner energy into the sword, making its blue light even more dazzling. With a powerful twist, she successfully dealt a severe blow to the spider's head. The fire spider crashed to the ground, splashing up a large amount of lava.
But the battle was not over yet, as more mutated creatures were drawn by the commotion. Su Yao knew she couldn't afford to get bogged down in a protracted fight, so she seized the opportunity, activated her spatial abilities, tore a crack in the encirclement, and then swiftly rushed towards the entrance of the ancient ruins.
Upon entering the ruins, Su Yao discovered they were riddled with traps and mechanisms. High-temperature rays and flamethrowers crisscrossed the area, threatening to engulf her in flames with the slightest misstep. Relying on system prompts and her own agility, she carefully navigated the intricate traps.
Finally, deep within the ruins, she found the heat-insulating crystal radiating a mysterious light. Overjoyed, Su Yao rushed forward to collect it. The instant she touched the crystal, the ruins suddenly began to shake violently, as if about to collapse.
Su Yao didn't dare to linger. After storing the crystal in her space, she immediately opened the spatial passage to return to the safe house.
When she returned to the safe house with the heat-insulating crystal, she was swaying precariously. But she managed to secure the crystal, and instantly, the safe house was enveloped in a cool energy, and the temperature dropped dramatically.
Looking at her parents' relieved smiles, Su Yao felt a surge of accomplishment. In this apocalyptic world of extreme heat, every adventure was a battle against death, but as long as her family was there, hope would never be extinguished. She knew that countless challenges awaited them in the future, but as long as they stayed together, they would surely survive in this cruel world.
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