They had not yet gotten a clear look at the creatures. As the multi-legged insects crept closer, goosebumps broke out over everyone's skin.
Normally, such insects grew no longer than a pinky finger. But these mutated versions stretched the length of a human arm. Their bodies were covered with strange circular markings. Looking at those patterns was like staring into countless unblinking eyes. Imagine it: a writhing mass of arm-length insects, bristling with many legs, their backs crawling with eye-like markings.
Goosebumps were the least of it. Lan Jin felt sheer horror. Her legs nearly gave out beneath her. The others did not fare much better. The moment they recognized the creatures, nearly everyone stumbled back several steps.
"What the hell are those things?"
Panicked, Lan Jin tugged on Ling Jiang's sleeve, begging her to raise the ice platform beneath her feet. She wanted to climb higher, out of reach. But Ling Jiang was just as terrified, and could hardly focus on Lan Jin alone.
The two women scrambled onto the ice. Lao Gao cursed, exasperated. "You two are unbelievable. Think about us! We're scared too!"
With no choice, Ling Jiang worked together with Huang Jinghe to raise a tall ice wall. It stood as both barricade and platform, something they could fight behind, or stand atop to stay separated from the insects. The further they stayed, the better.
The creatures moved slowly. Seeing that there was still some distance, Lao Gao stepped forward, drew Ashen Blaze, and fired arrows of fire at them. The shots worked, piercing a few of the creatures, but at such a pace they could only kill one insect at a time. It was useless against a swarm.
Frustrated, Lao Gao dismissed Ashen Blaze and unleashed his fire ability directly. Flames roared across the ground, engulfing the bugs. But to their shock, the insects did not fear fire. They crawled through it unharmed, as if the flames were nothing.
Lao Gao froze, then retreated hastily. "Try something else! They're fireproof. Burning doesn't work!"
Lan Jin cried out miserably, "There's no such thing as a bug that can't burn. You're just not trying hard enough!"
Lao Gao glanced at her tear-rimmed eyes, feeling too wronged to argue. "I really used all my strength. I'll try again."
He did, but the flames of his ability truly had no effect. Only the fire-arrows from Ashen Blaze could pierce their bodies.
Brother Zhang caught on quickly. He drew the gun at his waist and fired. The insects struck by bullets collapsed, motionless.
The nearby soldiers imitated him, pulling out their own firearms and gunning down the swarm. But there were too many. Even after thinning the ranks, a large portion still crawled forward.
Yet their direction seemed odd. They weren't heading for the humans. Instead, they swarmed toward the massive beast trapped in ice nearby.
Huang Jinghe frowned in thought. "Could these things be trying to save that big cat?"
No one knew what species the beast was. It had four legs, a tail, and long whiskers, so they had simply called it "the big cat."
Now, its eyes glared unblinking at the crawling insects. The feeling was unmistakable: these creatures truly were trying to rescue it.
Lao Gao muttered, "How could bugs possibly save it? What, melt the ice with their bodies?"
That was exactly what they did. The swarm piled against the frozen beast, pressing their bodies against the ice as if to thaw it through sheer contact. Whenever one insect was destroyed, another immediately crawled in to take its place. They did not allow even the smallest gap in their living blanket.
This could not be allowed.
The insects were revolting enough on their own. If they freed the big cat, the humans would have nowhere left to run.
Lan Jin unleashed her lightning ability, sweeping the surface of the ice. Entire layers of insects were incinerated in a single strike. As the swarm vanished in an instant, Lan Jin thought she saw the big cat bare its fangs at her, as if enraged. But when she blinked, the expression was gone.
On the other side, Ling Jiang summoned her ice ability. One by one, she froze the insects crawling across the ground, sealing them solid. She reinforced the thick ice encasing the beast as well, finally breathing a little easier.
By now, the sky had darkened. The air turned bitterly cold. Even if the temperature had not plunged, Huang Jinghe's water ability could serve like ice. He sprayed streams of water over the crawling swarm. Layer upon layer of frost hardened into solid ice, locking the creatures inside.
At last, the swarm was frozen stiff. Lan Jin scanned carefully, confirming none had slipped past. Only then did she dare step down from the ice wall.
But the moment her feet touched ground, her legs gave way. She collapsed on the icy surface. Ling Jiang rushed down to help her, but her own knees buckled, sending them both sprawling.
Brother Zhang sighed, exasperated, and hurried over. He checked them both, found no injuries, and shook his head. "I really don't get you two. Anyway, support will arrive any moment now. Tonight, you four rest well. Tomorrow, we officially head into the mountain."
Lan Jin blurted suddenly, "Are these bugs on the mountain too?"
Brother Zhang hesitated. He truly didn't know. Still, insects in the mountains were normal, weren't they?
When he stayed silent, despair crept over Lan Jin's face. "Why haven't these disgusting things all died out already? The world ended, the temperature dropped to minus forty or fifty, so why are they still alive?"
Brother Zhang countered bluntly, "And yet you're alive. Why shouldn't other creatures be?" He meant nothing more, but his words left Lan Jin speechless.
Ling Jiang gave a strained smile. "It's true. If we can survive, then so can others."
…
Before full night fell, the reinforcements arrived. Seeing the battlefield strewn with devastation and wrecked vehicles, their hearts tightened in alarm.
They assumed everyone here had perished. But when Brother Zhang and his group emerged from the side, alive and intact, relief swept through them.
"It's wonderful. You made it safely." Brother Zhang beamed, happier than they were themselves.
One of the rescuers blinked, then pointed at the frozen field littered with corpses. "Uh… shouldn't I be the one saying that? You… don't seem to have suffered any losses either."
Brother Zhang chuckled. "We're only standing because of them. If it had just been us, we would've been stopped at the very beginning."