No matter what methods they used, Lan Jin kept circling around the group, reminding them again and again.
"Even if you're in a rush, you must thaw slowly, bake slowly, melt the ice with water slowly. If your fingers snap off, there's no way to reattach them. No matter how urgent, you can spare a little time. People are already busy over there, so a few moments won't delay us. Take it slow. Don't rush."
After saying this, Lan Jin quickly went forward to help as well.
…
If anyone was most useful at this moment, it had to be Huang Jinghe.
He used to complain that his water ability wasn't of much use, but right now nothing was more needed than water to melt the ice. And it had to be a lot of water. The water they carried with them was meant for drinking, and unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to use it. That made Huang Jinghe the most sought-after person in the group.
He darted back and forth among the team, sometimes adding water here, sometimes there. Watching the ice slowly break apart filled his heart with excitement, though his face showed no sign of it.
Ling Jiang nudged Lan Jin's arm and said softly, "Look. Xiao Huang seems kind of happy."
Lan Jin glanced back and answered, "Wouldn't he be? Finally, his ability's being put to real use."
But truthfully, Ling Jiang always felt that Huang Jinghe's water ability was very practical. "If we didn't already have your lightning, Sister Lan, Xiao Huang's value would be way higher. But tell me, can ability water actually be drunk?"
The question left Lan Jin a little stunned. She had never thought about it before. So she turned to Brother Zhang not far away and asked, "Brother Zhang, can water made from Xiao Huang's ability be drunk?"
Brother Zhang laughed. "Of course it can. Whenever we run out of drinking water during missions, water-ability users supply us with drinking water."
In fact, everyone knew this already, whether during missions or outside the base. People living beyond the base walls had long lost access to natural water resources. If they didn't drink ability water, where could they possibly find any?
…
That night, no one slept at all. Luckily, the first mutated animals they encountered were mutated chickens, and no matter how exhausted they had been, a full stomach restored their energy. Even working through the night, they still felt strength in their bodies.
Those who had been frozen solid were thawed out from the big boiling pots. Since it had been a kind of "flash-freeze," they were mostly unharmed once freed, but because almost no one had proper gloves, nearly everyone's hands had suffered injuries of varying degrees. This left many unable to use their hands flexibly.
During breakfast, Brother Zhang made an important decision.
"This time, I'll go up the mountain with you. The team I brought will stay here."
To be honest, that dense forest was extremely dangerous. His men had no abilities, so it was better they stayed behind. Still, Lao Gao's fire ability was far from enough to burn down the thickets. To deal with that place, they would need a large number of tools. Each of the five of them could carry some, but would the total be enough?
Brother Zhang said, "It'll be enough. That thicket can't be burned through with just fire. I want to blow it up instead."
Lao Gao froze for a moment. "Blow it up? You mean set charges and detonate them together? Won't the sound be too loud? Can our bodies even handle it?"
Lan Jin shot him a glare. "Of course we can't handle it. That's why I said yesterday—how many bombs exactly did you tie together to almost blow us all to death?"
Lao Gao thought back. "Ten or so… I think about ten."
The corner of Brother Zhang's mouth twitched. He thought to himself, if not for that enormous snake's body shielding them, they wouldn't just have suffered shaken organs. Ten bombs tied together—how did he even come up with that?
"This was my mistake," Brother Zhang admitted. "I didn't warn you. You had never used these before, so you didn't know how powerful they were. Today, I'll bring just one. A single one will level a huge area. Honestly, it feels like a waste to use it here, but without it, we can't deal with the forest."
He continued, "After breakfast, we'll set out. The lake isn't big, but circling and clearing it will still take time."
Ling Jiang asked curiously, "Before all this, how long would it take to walk around the lake?"
"I've done it before. A little more than half an hour," one of the nearby team members replied.
That meant the lake wasn't exactly small. Just walking could cover a long distance in half an hour.
But their mission was different. The thicket only had one entrance. They had to enter, move to the innermost area, and blast outward to the edges. The forest surrounded the lake in a full circle. Even if they were only setting charges, it would take a long time. Factoring in everything, even a whole morning might not be enough.
Brother Zhang said, "The paths inside will be difficult, and we don't know what dangers might appear. So let's handle as much as we can, and aim to get down before dark. If it's too much, we'll return tomorrow."
After breakfast, the four ability users replenished their crystal energy and prepared to follow Brother Zhang up the mountain.
But there was still the issue of Su Qinghe, who was frozen under two layers of ice. If they kept her frozen, she might die. If she died, they could no longer question her. But if they freed her, she was still an ability user. If she used her power while they were away, could the others hold her down?
After thinking it over, Brother Zhang reluctantly chose to free Su Qinghe and bring her along.
Su Qinghe was utterly speechless. Spending a whole night frozen was bad enough, but now she was expected to climb the mountain too?
"I don't want to go," Su Qinghe protested. "It's too dangerous up there."
Brother Zhang replied calmly, "It's too dangerous down here if you stay. I don't trust you. Please, walk."
But Brother Zhang's words meant nothing to Su Qinghe. Weighing nearly 200 jin, she planted herself on the ground and refused to move. Brother Zhang couldn't pull her even if he tried.
Among the four ability users, though, three of them had tremendous strength.
In the end, Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe each tied a rope around Su Qinghe and simply dragged her forward.
Lan Jin threatened her coldly, "If you don't walk properly, we'll drag you the whole way. Once we're in danger later, whether you live or die won't matter."
Su Qinghe had suffered under Lan Jin before the freezing incident. She shot Lan Jin a furious glare but, unwilling to risk it, obediently trudged behind the group up the mountain.