Liu Chang's gaze was fixed on the direction the rats were fleeing.
"Brother Liu, these rats seem very afraid of your ability. They all run away when you get close."
Liu Chang's face did not show any sign of happiness.
He knew the consequences of overusing his ability.
These consequences had to be borne by him alone. Liu Chang ignored the flattery from the people around him.
Instead, he turned to Hong Ying.
"Did you find anything?"
Hong Ying looked into the distance at the vast expanse of white snow. "These little rats are all escaping in that direction. There must be something over there. We can follow them and see."
Liu Chang nodded, accepting Hong Ying's suggestion, and led the group towards the direction the rats had fled.
Meanwhile, Xu An pulled out a dagger and mercilessly stabbed a rat that was clinging to her boot.
The strong smell of blood tickled her nostrils, making Xu An feel nauseous. She suppressed her disgust and flung the rat's corpse away.
"These rats are endless."
Zhou Haimai complained to Xu An on the other side. Xu An understood the meaning behind Zhou Haimai's words.
Zhou Haimai wanted to use her ability.
Xu An looked at the Li Cheng and Li Xin siblings who were still fighting the white rats, as well as Guan Shan, who had always been默默无闻.
She felt that these three people were trustworthy.
She also had the authority agreed upon with the organizers.
She could shut down all cameras related to their team for a short period, so Zhou Haimai's use of her ability would not be discovered.
However, Xu An was unaware of this at the moment.
In this competition venue, Xia Jin had deployed many people with abilities like Liu Chang.
People had long since gone from surprise to envy, and now to being accustomed to it, so Xu An's worry was a little unnecessary.
Even if Zhou Haimai were to use her ability now, it was estimated that no one would notice whether Zhou Haimai's ability was innate or acquired, unless Xia Jin himself was standing here watching.
It was precisely for this reason that Xu An was so shocked when she saw the sky-high flames coming from not far away.
Her expression was exactly the same as Zhou Haimai's.
Their gazes met in mid-air.
Even Xu An at this moment wished she could pull Ze Yuan, who had fallen into a deep sleep, out of her spatial dimension and demand an explanation.
Weren't abilities supposed to be rare?
Why were they like buying vegetables in a market now? Meeting someone with an ability, and one as powerful as fire manipulation.
Zhou Haimai's mouth hung open as she stared at the flames rising into the sky in the distance.
"An'an, did I see it wrong? Are those flames abilities?"
Xu An was much calmer than Zhou Haimai.
"Yes, you didn't see it wrong. Those are indeed fire abilities."
All of them stared at the flames in the distance, momentarily stunned.
"Sister An, what are those flames? Is someone carrying a flamethrower here?"
Li Xin asked Xu An with a puzzled frown, staring at the direction in the distance.
Her intuition told her that the people who appeared there were inexplicably unlikable.
At this moment, on the other side, Hong Ying and Liu Chang also spotted Xu An and her group.
The moment Liu Chang saw them, his brows furrowed.
As the two teams met, conflict was imminent.
The person following Liu Chang glanced furtively at the camp behind Xu An. He examined it as if it were his own possession, constantly appraising it.
He even discussed the merits of the camp with his companion.
"I think we can expand this a bit more. We have more people, so it will be much more convenient to live here."
"I agree. They even set up a temporary stove here. It's really good. This way, we can eat hot meals."
These conversations reached Xu An and the others one after another.
Xu An and Zhou Haimai's expressions instantly turned cold, but they maintained a calm demeanor.
However, behind the scenes, they had already adopted a defensive posture, ready to strike decisively.
Li Xin was the first to lose her composure. Upon hearing their conversation, she exploded. With a swift movement of her dagger, she sliced off half of the man's assault jacket.
She glared at the men who were coveting their camp, her anger almost palpable.
"Shut your mouths and stop talking nonsense! This is our territory. If you want to find a place to live, go far away and find your own. Don't think that just because you have more people, you can control us. If you want to snatch something from me, your grandmother, you'd be better off being reborn!"
Li Xin's attack was too fast.
Normally, Li Xin was cheerful and gave off the impression of a lively young girl, a bit unreliable at times.
But everyone seemed to have forgotten that Li Xin was actually in the top ten of the expedition competition's strength rankings.
She didn't get there by acting cute and charming.
Li Xin's specialty was sneak attacks.
She loved to catch people off guard. Before the game system was introduced, Li Xin would always complain when watching TV shows.
"These villains talk too much. If it were me, I would have killed them three times over, with a detour!"
At that time, Li Cheng would helplessly pat his sister's shoulder, telling her not to be arrogant.
Therefore, against these people who only had sharp tongues but were actually nothing, Li Xin's innate advantage was maximized.
Seeing that the other party's people had attacked first, Liu Chang's originally expressionless face showed a slight crack.
A look of impatient disdain spread across his entire face.
He looked at the subordinates who were still trying to engage Li Xin and said coldly,
"Get lost. Don't be an eyesore here!"
With that, he directly hurled a fireball at Li Xin.
"Li Xin!"
"Sister!"
"..........."
A series of anxious shouts filled her ears. She looked at her brother's anxious face.
She actually wanted to say she was fine, that it was okay, that she could dodge it.
But when facing the scorching flames, the usual agility she possessed seemed to freeze at that moment.
Li Xin clearly felt a nameless force that was restraining her entire body, her every opening, or rather, her entire body.
It prevented her from escaping.
As the fireball flew relentlessly towards Li Xin,
the burning sensation rushed towards her. Li Xin involuntarily closed her eyes.
At that moment, she seemed to have thought of many things, and yet, she seemed to have thought of nothing.
She thought about dying here at such a young age, and she thought about how her brother would live on alone without her.
............