It was not that people expected Su Qinghe to always charge forward just because she had an ability. But Su Qinghe had an ability and yet hid in the very back, letting those without abilities protect her, never once lifting a hand to help. Was there truly nothing wrong with that?
So when Brother Zhang brought up Su Qinghe now, whether intentionally or not, he was not wrong. Besides, Su Qinghe was a fire ability user. If she did not want to fight the mutated creatures, then at least she could use her ability to melt the ice on the trapped teammates. That was hardly too much to ask.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Su Qinghe had no choice. She bit her lip and stepped forward, mimicking Lao Gao's actions. She used her fire ability, carefully controlled, and melted the ice on two people's hands at once.
At first, everyone believed that as long as they kept their movements small and quiet, before the butterflies launched another attack, they would definitely be able to free at least part of the team from the ice.
But no one expected that whether by intention or negligence, after melting ice for just two people, Su Qinghe suddenly lost control. Her fire flared too bright, and the sudden flash of flame startled the butterflies circling overhead.
The butterflies instantly grew restless. Drawn to the vivid flare, they beat their wings and surged directly toward Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe, of course, knew where safety lay. The clever Su Qinghe bolted straight toward Lan Jin, hiding behind her and clutching Lan Jin's outer coat tightly.
Lan Jin was dumbfounded. This woman really had no shame. She had an ability of her own. She could have fought back with fire. Why was she hiding? Did she act like this during every mission, shoving herself behind teammates to avoid danger?
And Lan Jin was not even big enough to shield her. Su Qinghe was heavier. How could hiding behind Lan Jin even work?
The four of them had always acted together. When Lao Gao saw Su Qinghe suddenly grab Lan Jin and drag a swarm of butterflies toward them, he could not hold back and cursed loudly.
Huang Jinghe looked at Su Qinghe with disdain and said coldly, "Hiding behind Sister Lan won't save you. Lan Jin is so slim, she cannot cover your bulk."
Normally, mocking a girl's figure would be crude and beneath him. If Su Qinghe had been just an ordinary girl, Huang Jinghe would never have said such a thing. But no one here was fooled anymore. Even without openly saying it, their suspicion of Su Qinghe had grown heavier with every move she made.
Lan Jin glared at the butterflies flying closer and shouted, "Let go."
Su Qinghe pretended not to hear. She buried her head against Lan Jin's shoulder, shrieking miserably, while her hands clamped even tighter around Lan Jin, as though she would never release her grip no matter what.
Lan Jin was not the type to pity the weak. When her own life was in danger, who had time to spare for someone else? If Su Qinghe would not let go, then Lan Jin would not be polite.
Lan Jin grabbed Su Qinghe's wrists and, using the techniques she had learned earlier from Lao Gao and Ling Jiang combined with her own strength, pried her off within two seconds.
Su Qinghe had assumed Lan Jin would not dare to use electricity on her, that Lan Jin would be too soft. She never imagined Lan Jin's raw strength and skill could so easily rip her grip away and fling her aside.
Caught off guard, Su Qinghe fell heavily to the ground.
The moment Su Qinghe hit the ground, Lan Jin and the other three moved quickly aside. The butterflies swirled above Su Qinghe's head, beating their wings violently and showering her back with powder.
Su Qinghe looked up and saw the scene, her face twisting in fear. A few teammates even started forward to rescue her, but others stopped them. One man said firmly, "Can't you see it now? There's something wrong with her. She's doing this on purpose."
The man who wanted to help faltered, then turned toward Brother Zhang. When Brother Zhang did not move, he reluctantly gave up as well.
All the powder from the butterflies concentrated on Su Qinghe alone. With such a heavy pile, the freezing happened instantly. Before long, Su Qinghe, who had just managed to push herself upright, was frozen solid onto the icy ground.
But would the butterflies stop after finishing with Su Qinghe? Or would they turn on the rest of them next?
Lan Jin narrowed her eyes and said, "Let me try lightning. If it works, I can kill them in one strike. If not, we all attack together."
Without waiting, Lan Jin targeted the cluster of butterflies circling above Su Qinghe and unleashed her lightning ability. In mere seconds, the butterflies struck by lightning convulsed and dropped heavily onto Su Qinghe's frozen body.
One after another, they crashed down, scattering the powder into the air again.
Everyone immediately retreated to avoid contact with the powder.
As the powder began to settle once more, Ling Jiang acted swiftly. She froze the fallen butterflies and the powder into a thick layer of ice over Su Qinghe's body, sealing everything beneath.
Ling Jiang then said calmly, "If this ice cannot kill, then it will not kill her either, since she has fire ability. Leave her. Focus on the others."
The logic was sound. The real priority lay with saving their teammates.
Lao Gao sighed from the heart, "Sister Lan, your lightning is incredible."
Lan Jin shook her head. "We were just lucky they were all bunched together. I didn't even dare open my eyes, just struck at their position. If they had been scattered, even lightning wouldn't have been safe to use."
But that was not the most important issue right now. Lan Jin quickly said, "We need a place that can hold water. Get everyone inside and thaw them out. If we wait any longer, it will be too late."
Brother Zhang added, "The head is most important. Even with hats, they are still thin. The body is better since clothes are thick."
The temperature was dozens of degrees below freezing. Without a natural cave or hollow, digging would be impossible. Someone spoke up, "We brought containers. We can use those to hold water, put people inside, then build a small fire underneath. Like cooking rice, slowly heat until the ice melts."
That suggestion was excellent. Cooking rice…
But with the urgency, no one paused to appreciate the phrasing. They hurriedly agreed, "Yes, yes, move fast."
Some people whose ice had already been melted rushed to fetch containers from the vehicles. Others who were still frozen crowded by fires to warm their hands. Those with water buckets had already begun filling them, gently soaking frozen hands inside.