Bai Shu told Chen Xiaofei to ignore the others, "Just focus on yourself."

  Qin Luo, his face numb from the cold wind, quickly climbed back down after clearing the road ahead and shut the sunroof with a slam. "Damn, my face is about to freeze off. How many more kilometers to L City?"

  Wang Weihu glanced at the navigation system. "Over 400 kilometers. If you can sleep, get some rest."

  The sky was already getting dark.

  Qin Luo suggested swapping seats so he could drive, but Wang Weihu waved him off. "No need, Qin-ge, you go rest. This stretch is nothing, I can handle it. You all should get some sleep."

  The team had been working together for a long time now.

  Since Wang Weihu had spoken up, assuring them he could manage, no one argued. Instead, they took the opportunity to rest.

  Inside the vehicle, the soft interior lights were turned on.

  Xu Duoduo prepared rich, warm ginger tea with brown sugar for all four of them.

  They each thanked her.

  Although they often joked around, the truth was that being cooped up in the car for so long was exhausting.

  Everyone had to stay on high alert the entire time, frequently clearing roadblocks. Chen Xiaofei, in particular, had been using his abilities nonstop. To say they weren’t tired would be a lie.

  The atmosphere grew quiet. After drinking the warm ginger tea, their bodies heated up, and they wrapped themselves in blankets, ready to catch some much-needed sleep.

  Qin Luo, after finishing his tea, turned to check on Xu Duoduo. He leaned into the back seat, reaching out to touch her forehead. It felt cool, not icy like before.

  "Make sure to keep warm. Don’t turn into an ice sculpture, alright? Go to sleep. Stop sitting there like an idiot."

  Xu Duoduo puffed her cheeks indignantly. What did he mean by "ice sculpture"? That sounded awful. But then she noticed the beads of sweat forming on his nose from the tea, and she couldn't help herself—her hand reached out before her brain could catch up.

  She touched his nose.

  The moment she realized what she'd done, her face turned red.

  Qin Luo, equally embarrassed, avoided her gaze. "Tsk, you're really that fond of me, huh?"

  She had just touched the sweat he broke out from drinking ginger tea. Shameless.

  Little Ice Sculpture: ...

  What was wrong with this guy? Why was he so shameless? Now she was the one feeling embarrassed.

  Fine.

  The "ice sculpture" touched him.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The "ice sculpture" was shameless too. Boohoo.

  Xu Duoduo slumped over in defeat. She felt unclean. She was a pervert now.

  She craved his warmth. She liked touching him.

  Qin Luo even reached out to ruffle the top of her head. His hand smelled faintly of gunpowder from handling ammunition all day—sharp, but oddly comforting. His large hand was dry and warm.

  Although Xu Duoduo wasn’t as cold as an actual block of ice, her body temperature wasn’t particularly high either. She liked warm things.

  After speaking to her, Qin Luo returned to his seat to rest. He told Wang Weihu, "Switch with me in the second half of the night."

  This time, his tone was that of a captain’s—firm and unquestionable.

  Wang Weihu agreed without further protest.

  Everyone quickly settled down to rest and recharge. By the second half of the night, Qin Luo took over driving.

  Xu Duoduo woke up as well.

  Still groggy, she sat hugging her knees in the back seat, swaying back and forth. Every now and then, she would flop back down.

  When Qin Luo got out of the car, he couldn’t help but chuckle. "If you’re tired, just sleep. Why are you messing around?"

  His voice, still husky from sleep, tickled her ears.

  Xu Duoduo blushed and buried her face in the blanket, refusing to get up again.

  By the time the sky began to lighten, they finally reached the highway exit for L City. As they pulled up to the toll station, Bai Shu and the others all woke up.

  Qin Luo was already contacting the other teams. "3A Special Operations Team has arrived at the I City toll station."

  He repeated the message several times.

  The Cheetah Team and White Dove Team responded promptly on the main channel.

  "Cheetah Team // White Dove Team have successfully arrived at the I City toll station."

  They reported in unison, having followed closely behind the 3A Team throughout the journey. Wherever 3A arrived, they arrived too.

  Other teams were also chiming in, reporting that they were only a few kilometers away.

  Unexpectedly, the Rose Team wasn’t far behind either—just 20 kilometers away.

  "Alright, let’s begin the operation. Everyone, stay vigilant. We’ll regroup at the I City base later," Qin Luo instructed.

  He had no intention of coordinating with the other teams for now. Since they had reached I City, it was better to split up and act independently.

  The Cheetah and White Dove Teams looked reluctant to part ways. Wang Weihu advised them, "You need to train yourselves. Don’t rely too much on others. True strength comes from within. Stay safe and take care of yourselves first."

  In the current world, abilities were rare. Only by protecting themselves could they save more people.

  After being scolded, the two rookie teams looked ashamed. They had grown so accustomed to following 3A Team that they’d almost forgotten they were independent squads, not 3A’s subordinates.

  "Understood! Thank you, Wang-ge, for looking after us. We’ll train hard!"

  "Yes, yes. Qin-ge, you all be careful too."

  No matter how reluctant they were, the Cheetah and White Dove Teams couldn’t follow 3A Team anymore.

  Besides, the places 3A Team went to were always more dangerous. Tagging along would only cause trouble for the veterans.

  Wang Weihu nodded in satisfaction. It was because these two rookie teams were sensible and knew their limits that he was willing to guide them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered.

  With that, they parted ways.

  Qin Luo continued driving, heading toward the area near the I City base. "This area is higher ground, about 15 kilometers from the base. Let’s avoid going there for now and check out the low-lying areas to see the extent of the seawater flooding."

  Since they were here, they needed to investigate the situation. Avoiding danger wasn’t an option.

  No one objected.

  The vehicle headed straight for the low-lying areas. At first, everything seemed relatively normal, though occasionally they spotted mutated crabs waving their claws and fighting by the roadside. There were even four-legged fish dragging their tails, scurrying across the streets.

  Xu Duoduo and Chen Xiaofei were practically drooling at the sight of so many giant crabs.

  "My god, I’ve never seen crabs this big in my life! Their claws are bigger than my head!"

  "How much crab meat do you think that is?"

  Chen Xiaofei voiced exactly what Xu Duoduo was thinking. The little "ice sculpture" nodded enthusiastically, her eyes glued to the window.

  Bai Shu and Wang Weihu fell silent. Honestly, anyone would feel like the world had gone mad seeing such giant crabs roaming the highways.

  The farther they drove, the stronger the smell of the sea became.

  The rooftops of buildings were covered in dense clusters of mutated starfish, which were… eating the buildings???

  The houses were riddled with holes, gnawed away by the starfish.

  Qin Luo was stunned. "Damn, it’s a good thing they’re only eating bricks and tiles. If they started eating metal, how many bites do you think it’d take to finish off our car?"

  Just as he finished speaking, a sneaky, upright lobster tiptoed past, its movements oddly perverse.

  Its beady black eyes even locked with Chen Xiaofei’s for a moment, freezing him in place. Then, the lobster scurried away at lightning speed.

  "What the hell!!! Qin-ge, did you see that? It looked at me!!!"

  Chen Xiaofei, sitting in the passenger seat, felt his scalp tingle as if he were about to explode.

  Qin Luo told him to relax. "Our car has tinted windows. It can’t see inside during the day."

  So that lobster was just looking at its own reflection. It was checking itself out in the mirror.

  ...

  This world had truly gone mad.

  Seafood was running everywhere.