Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Leo Lawrence, New Superpower
"Leo, are you scared about going out with us?"
Sue Lawrence squatted down, staring at her son’s face.
Leo Lawrence had grown taller. Despite the extreme cold of the apocalypse and the scarcity of supplies, not only had Leo not gotten thinner, he had become much sturdier.
After all, they had been living in a single room for a while. As soon as the door was shut, they would take out food from their storage space. Greens, beef, eggs, milk—they lacked nothing. It was all about feeding him well.
’In any case, the apocalypse will only get harder,’ she thought. ’Of course we have to build up our strength first before worrying about anything else.’
Leo Lawrence shook his head. "Mom, I’ll protect you!"
He patted his chest. Sue Lawrence nodded and turned to the mission counter to collect their cold-weather suits.
"Three adults, one child."
A child?
The people nearby picking up missions were all shocked. They craned their necks to see just how old a child could be to go on a mission, only to spot the little tyke in the crowd.
Six-year-old Leo Lawrence wasn’t short and had a very calm demeanor, but no matter how calm he was, he was still just a kid.
"This family must be crazy for Points. How old is that kid to be brought out on a mission?"
"Unbelievable. What kind of mother is she? If something happens, it’ll be too late for tears."
Sue Lawrence didn’t react at all to the others’ chattering.
’Yes, it was cruel of her to make her six-year-old son face the apocalypse head-on,’ she thought. ’But if Leo doesn’t train now, it’ll be too late when everyone can leave the base, when the wicked are let loose, to teach a child how to deal with the end of the world.’
So, Sue Lawrence acted as if she heard nothing. Vincent and Elliot Lawrence naturally agreed with her and did the same. ’Let them talk. What does it have to do with us?’
At the entrance, the four of them changed into their cold-weather suits, put on their ski gear, and went outside.
The lowest temperature these past few days had been hovering around minus eighty degrees Celsius. During the "warmer" periods, it might reach minus seventy-six degrees, but it was still frigid.
Before they left, the base broadcasted the weather forecast for the next three days. If strong winds were predicted, it was generally not recommended to go out and scavenge... ahem, that is, stockpile supplies.
But for the next three days, the weather conditions were stable.
Suitable for a mission.
Sue Lawrence and the other three departed.
Relying on the ants’ pathfinding ability, Sue Lawrence quickly found her way and soon arrived at their base. But the snow was too deep. They would have to figure something out.
"Are we really going to dig?"
Elliot Lawrence was dumbfounded. "With just the four of us? This layer of ice and snow is over ten meters thick. We wouldn’t be able to dig through it in three days, right?"
"Three days? That won’t be necessary."
’There’s no one else around anyway. Time to practice my Ice Control Skill!’
Sue Lawrence took a step forward. A faint blue, frosty energy condensed at her fingertips. Her Ice Control Skill erupted in an instant—not to freeze, but to break ice with ice.
An invisible force of the Ice Element permeated down through the thick layer of snow. The ten-plus-meter-deep ice and snow, as if violently torn apart by an unseen giant hand, exploded with a BOOM. Shards of ice flew everywhere, turning into a white mist in the frigid air. She had forcefully ripped open a passage straight down to the ground through the iron-hard layer of ice.
Vincent and Elliot Lawrence’s eyelids twitched as they watched. The power of that blast was on par with dynamite.
"Let’s go." Sue Lawrence withdrew her hand, her tone flat.
The four of them descended through the new passage, pushed open the familiar metal door, and finally returned to their own base.
But the moment they stepped inside, everyone fell silent.
Left unattended for half a year, the interior was covered in a thick layer of dust. Fine ice crystals had formed in the corners, and the tables, chairs, and shelves were coated in a grayish-white film, looking desolate and cheerless.
Fortunately, however, the extreme cold of the apocalypse outside had turned the entire base into a natural, ultra-low-temperature freezer. The canned goods, meat, rice, flour, and drinking water stockpiled here were all perfectly preserved, without the slightest sign of spoilage.
After a quick inspection of the supply area, the group turned towards the cultivation and livestock areas. The moment they pushed the door open, everyone’s expression changed.
It was a catastrophe.
Originally, when Vincent Lawrence decided to keep the plants and animals together, he secretly planned for the animals to eat the plants if they got desperate. He assumed they would be able to return to the base soon and wouldn’t be gone for long. But who could have predicted that the apocalyptic temperatures would plummet to over minus 150 degrees Celsius, making it impossible for them to return?
But now, looking at it... hmm...
The foal they had left behind had devoured nearly all the edible green shoots, leaving only bare stalks. The few guard dogs had eaten every last bit of the stored feed, their fur now matted and too filthy to look at. The chicks had all grown into roosters and hens. In fact, the chickens had become the most populous group, as chickens lay eggs and eggs hatch into chickens, after all. Already, a hen was leading a new brood, scurrying all over the messy, overgrown vegetable patch.
As for the vegetables, fruits, and wheat they had so carefully planted, they were now either dead or withered from neglect and wild overgrowth. The fields were overrun with weeds, a complete mess that weighed heavily on their hearts.
Elliot Lawrence sighed. "Can... can any of this be saved?"
Vincent Lawrence also frowned deeply. In this extreme cold apocalypse, a cultivation area that could produce food was more precious than gold.
But now, while the land itself was fine, cleaning up this mess would definitely take more than three days. They might have to stay here indefinitely to get the cultivation area productive again.
Of course, they didn’t need to worry about the livestock area. Thanks to the plants, the animals were all thriving.
"Replanting all this is going to be a huge pain."
Even Vincent Lawrence was sighing.
Sue Lawrence scratched her head too. ’It’s true I’m a Raider, but I can only plunder other people’s Superpowers. I can’t just generate one myself,’ she thought. ’And I don’t know any planting-type Superpowers at all.’
Just as everyone was at a loss, Leo Lawrence, who had been standing quietly beside Sue Lawrence, suddenly took a small step forward.
"Mom, can you let me try?"
The others were stunned for a moment.
Sue Lawrence was stunned too.
’This apocalypse has been so busy and eventful, I completely forgot to check if my son had awakened a Superpower too.’
So she immediately activated her Eye of Barrier Breaking, and then she froze.
’Leo has awakened a Superpower too, and it’s so incredibly useful!’
[A Level Superpower: Restore to Original State
Can restore a damaged item or withered plant to 80% of its peak condition.]
’What an amazing "Restore to Original State" Superpower!’
’Too bad it’s only A Level,’ Sue considered. ’But Superpowers in the apocalypse should be able to improve continuously. Otherwise, Jason Sterling’s and the others’ Luck Value and Superpowers wouldn’t be slowly increasing. Although I don’t know the reason for the growth yet, using the Superpower more often has to be the right way to go.’
A joyful expression appeared on Sue Lawrence’s face. "Go on, Leo. You try."
"Him?"
Elliot Lawrence looked him up and down, his face a picture of disbelief. "You’re not just here to cause trouble, are you?"
Leo Lawrence looked serious and earnest. "Uncle, you should stand farther back so you don’t get hurt."
"Hey!"
Elliot Lawrence was both exasperated and amused, but he obediently took a few steps back. "Alright, alright. Let me see for myself what you can..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a soft, warm golden light began to rise from Leo’s small, soft palm. It was pleasantly warm and carried a reassuring life force.
And then, the place could only be described as brand new.
