Freeze the entire population, activate my Superman system?

"And when that beast escaped, he killed all my teammates. I heard that quite a few other transport teams were also attacked on the way."

"You're incredibly lucky to have come back alive."

Herto then continued to complain,

"The rest of the main camp were all sent out to search for and rescue the transport teams scattered outside."

"We're short-staffed, so I have to be responsible for so many areas myself."

Ling Shuang lowered her eyes, a forced smile curving her lips.

"Luckily, the fire crystal wasn't lost. We were going to hand it over when we got back, but how about we give it to you, Brother Heto?"

Herto's eyes lit up. "You have one?"

"Hmm." Ling Shuang patted the animal skin bag at her waist. "It's intact."

This was a bargaining chip he offered voluntarily.

Fire crystals are an important resource.

Seeing the surprise in Herto's eyes, Ling Shuang tentatively asked,

"Heto, what do you think of me? Can I join your team? This fire crystal is yours."

Upon hearing that Ling Shuang was truly willing to offer the fire crystal, Heto's attitude changed drastically.

The phrase "sharing the same fate" jumped directly to "passionate and enthusiastic".

"Hey, we'll be brothers on the same team from now on, no need to be so polite!"

Heto carefully tucked the fire crystal into the lining of his leather armor on his chest and patted it down.

"Because of this mess, every fire crystal is now a treasure."

"The ranchers are pressuring us hard. Gertu is dead, and the camp is in complete chaos. If we can't pay our taxes soon, our entire camp will be wiped out."

Taking the opportunity, Ling Shuang asked, "Heto, what's the situation at the camp right now?"

Herto sighed, led Ling Shuang toward the sled, and began to chatter on and on.

This icy plain is called "Frostridge Wasteland," and it is the territory of a being known as the "Great Rancher."

Ghoul Wastelanders are a servant race of ranchers, responsible for herding night ghosts, collecting fire crystals, and paying offerings on the wasteland.

Gertu was originally the king of this branch camp, with the strength of a peak second-tier warrior, and he commanded hundreds of ghouls and more than a dozen transport teams.

But yesterday, a Night Demon Mother that was originally controlled by the Slave Mark suddenly advanced to the third tier, lost control, and rebelled, killing Geltu and two commanders and captains before disappearing into the blizzard.

"The rancher is furious."

Herto lowered his voice, making an uneasy gurgling sound in his throat.

They said we couldn't even keep an eye on the animals, and that they would send an inspector.

"If the inspectors find out we still can't deliver enough fire crystals, everyone will have to be fed to the Night Demon larvae."

Ling Shuang's brows furrowed slightly.

Third-tier Night Demon Mother

No wonder that girl was in such a hurry to return.

The Night Demon Mother that he had driven away was only at the second level at the time, but its size was already ridiculously large.

How did I suddenly advance to the third rank?

"What is an inspector?" Ling Shuang asked, puzzled.

"You didn't know?" Herto looked at him strangely. "That's right, you used to be in the outer transport team and never went to the main city."

The inspectors are guards hired by the large ranchers; they're different from us.

Their blood is the blood of fire, not that of inferior races like us.

Each inspector is at least at the third rank; any one of them could wipe out our entire branch.

When Herto spoke the words "fireblood," his voice was filled with humble reverence.

Ling Shuang's heart sank.

This was the second time he had heard the name Huoyuanxue.

Overjoyed upon realizing its human form, the ghoul shouted the words "Fire Source Blood."

Are humans some kind of coveted prize on this icy plain?

Ling Shuang felt a chill run down her spine instantly.

If that's really the case...

Without the ability to protect themselves

Humans must absolutely not come out!

Ling Shuang continued, following Heto's lead, "Who's in charge of the camp now?"

"Oriole," Herto uttered the name with a somewhat complicated tone.

"She was the original captain of the second team, and the only female transferred from the main city."

After Gertu died, she stepped forward and took over the camp.

"That woman has a bad temper. This morning she even whipped another transport team leader, saying their third team hadn't brought back enough fire crystals."

However, thinking of Ying's face and figure, Heto's face showed a look of lust.

"She's so beautiful, hehehe, I really want to have a baby with her!"

Ling Shuang nodded in deep agreement, echoing the sentiment.

"Herto brothers, take her!"

At this point, the sled stopped in front of an ice mound.

Ling Shuang looked up and the sight before him made his pupils shrink slightly.

At the bottom of the basin lies a large ruin of a camp, half-buried by a blizzard.

The giant beetle continued on, pulling the sled around a low ice ridge.

The depression shrouded in a thin mist in the distance was finally fully revealed before our eyes.

The outer perimeter consisted of scattered animal hide tents and livestock pens enclosed by bone stakes.

Inside, dozens of insect-like creatures of varying sizes are kept, including giant beetles, giant centipedes, and eight-legged spiders.

After getting out of the car, Ling Shuang looked at the ruins of the camp in front of her and pondered her next move.

Herto gave him a push, "Come on, Brother Zhangmu, let's hand over the Fire Crystal first."

With this one, my transport team has met its quota for this month ahead of schedule, so Commander Ying should be able to vent her anger a bit less.

The place where the battle was fought was a large animal hide tent that had been barely re-erected in the center of the camp.

On either side of the tent entrance stood a fully armed ghoul guard, whose leather armor was much thicker than that of ordinary wastelanders, and who carried two axes at his waist.

Heto pulled two fire crystals wrapped in animal hide from his chest, held them above his head with both hands, and shouted in a deep voice, "Heto of Transport Team Three, hand over two fire crystals!"

The curtain was lifted, and Ying came out.

This was the first time Ling Shuang had seen her up close.

Its facial features are well-defined, and its skin is light grayish-brown, much smoother than that of ordinary ghouls.

She held the long bone whip in her left hand, took the fire crystal in her right hand and weighed it in her hand, but her gaze was fixed on Ling Shuang.

Which team?

Herto answered quickly, "Commander Ying, he is a survivor of the transport convoy attacked by the Night Demon bastards. His teammates are all dead, so I took him in with me."

Ying didn't reply, stared at Ling Shuang for three seconds, and then suddenly reached out, her sharp claws slicing across the leather armor on Ling Shuang's chest.

"You're in good shape. The camp is short-handed right now, so you'll have to work with Herto."

Ling Shuang lowered her head and responded with a muffled, guttural sound characteristic of ghouls.

Then Ying turned and went back to the main tent.

Herto breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Ling Shuang outside, "Come on, come on, I'll find you a place to sleep."

Herto claimed to be the captain of the transport team, but his status was pitifully low.

The area I was assigned to was in the northwest corner of the camp, where a half-collapsed animal skin tent could barely provide shelter from the wind.

There were only two beds inside, covered with dried moss and tanned animal hides, and in the corner were a few spare bone knives and two bags of dried meat.

"From now on, we're teammates."

Heto plopped down on the bunk, pulled out three pieces of dried meat from his waist, handed one to Ling Shuang, and then reluctantly gave away half of it.

"Eat, your portion for today."

The dried meat was as hard as a rock, and when you bit into it, a strong, fishy smell hit your nose.

Ling Shuang chewed and swallowed the food without changing her expression; the ghoul's brutal digestive system handled this food with no difficulty.

Halfway through the meal, Ling Shuang spoke up.

"Hetor, where do you usually collect fire crystals?"

"Did you fall and get stupid?" Herto looked at him strangely. "The fire crystal mine is in the northwest rift valley, about half a day's journey from the camp."

However, the mine there has been abandoned, and only a few fire crystals can be produced in half a month.

I heard the mining team is planning to move to a different location to excavate; I also heard there's an underground river nearby.

Ling Shuang's gaze sharpened as she looked at Heto, who was showing off his dried meat, and her heart was filled with turmoil.

Underground river?

These guys might dig right into a safe zone for humans!