The man thought for a moment. They did not have an obligation to forgive her, so he smiled apologetically. "I will talk to her when I get back. Sorry about that."
Before the two women could respond, the man turned and left.
Brother Li, who had been watching the whole time, could not immediately react to their actions.
Brother Li smiled. "What kind of reaction is that? It does not follow normal logic, but somehow feels right."
Lan Jin rolled her eyes. "Of course it feels right. This is the apocalypse. Acting like a little princess from the peaceful world? No wonder she has that awful habit."
"Exactly. You can see she never suffered. Forget her. We still need to think of a solution here."
Brother Li hesitated a moment. "Do you know who that girl was?"
"No idea. But in a military base, there must be relatives everywhere. Even if she is someone's relative, we cannot take the abuse." Lao Gao said casually.
Not in the pre-apocalypse, definitely not in the apocalypse.
Ling Jiang nodded in agreement. "Right. Doesn't matter whose relative she is. Just do it and finish."
Brother Li twitched at the corner of his mouth. "The girl is Pei Xin, Professor Pei's granddaughter. The man is Xi Yu, Professor Pei's last disciple before the apocalypse."
So what does that have to do with them?
Seeing the four were still unconcerned, Brother Li dropped the topic.
…
After a while, the broken ice at the passage entrance was cleared.
Lao Gao stepped forward and pushed the ice blocking the passage with his hand. Because of the collapse and the new ice drip rain, the ice in front of them was much harder than before. He said, "With this hardness, Sister Lan, it might be difficult. You try first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of another way."
"Okay, I will try first."
Lan Jin stepped forward, using the Violetbane Ring to create a sharp spike. She jabbed with all her strength into the ice drips.
Following through, she withdrew her ability. In the hard ice, a long thin crack appeared. Lan Jin smiled. "It works. I will make the hole bigger."
She created another spike and poked around the first hole. Soon, a fist-sized hole formed.
Lan Jin nodded. "This size is fine. Lao Gao, your turn."
Lao Gao immediately focused on his right hand, creating a small fireball, and threw it into the hole.
Because of the last incident, the memory was too strong. The others naturally retreated a few steps before the fireball even hit. When the fireball landed with a muffled boom, no smoke, sparks, or shattered ice appeared. Instead, the ice cracked and multiple fissures spread.
Hearing the dangerous sound, the group that had already stepped back instinctively retreated several more steps. Only after the cracks quieted did they dare step forward to inspect.
From a distance, they could not see clearly. But in front of them, it was obvious—they could not continue blasting. If someone walked above, any unexpected ice collapse would prevent rescue entirely.
Brother Li inhaled deeply, suddenly with a headache.
"I do not think we can blast anymore. Before, the ice drips were not so densely packed. They had some cracks, so blasting worked. Now… forget it. Are there any other methods?"
Looking was painful.
One of the base's ability users spoke. "Can we burn it? Many of us have fire abilities. Keep supplying crystals and burn a hole?"
"Too long. This path is too long. Burning all the way would waste too many crystals and abilities." Another user disagreed.
Another opinion followed. "It is not that we do not want to spend energy. Making a passage like that is too difficult. Also, we do not know if the front is clear. If we burn halfway, fragments of the shield might block the way, wasting crystals and abilities. Life is more important, but the ice is already cracked. If it collapses, it is no joke."
"Any other ideas?" someone asked.
"Think. Keep thinking. Not much time has passed. Surely a solution exists."
Silence fell.
In truth, their plan was to dig a passage from under the ice to rescue people, just like Brother Zhang had done before, moving freely through the channel. But Brother Zhang had made the underground passage for moving supplies. Now, they did not need to move supplies. Why go under the ice?
Moreover, the blizzard outside was strong. Could they not send some small equipment with food to the trapped people? When the storm ended, they could return or the rescue team could go.
Brother Li immediately shook his head. "The heat system is off. During the day, it is minus thirty degrees. Their clothes can handle it. But at night, minus fifty degrees, no heating. Bodies cannot survive.
Previously, we brought back all movable supplies—mattresses, sheets. Aside from the capsule units, nothing flammable remains. The capsules are sealed. Closing the door can block cold a bit. Without heating, the air cannot circulate. Staying inside for warmth is suicidal, and the warmth is minimal."
So the urgent task was to rescue people.
Lan Jin said bluntly, "The lower path is blocked. Why not go from above? It is closer anyway."
The passage to the capsule dormitory was L-shaped, about two thousand meters. From above, it was around eight hundred meters.
Even if Lan Jin misestimated, it would not be far off.
But going from above was not simple.
They had to cross the blizzard, and the ice elevation meant the entrance was sealed. Even if they crossed the storm, how would they reach the door to enter the base?
For Brother Zhang's team, crossing the blizzard was not a problem. Only elite teams stayed at the base. No matter the difficulty, they had faced it before. With their guidance, it was harder, but not impossible.