45: Chapter 45 The Frost Goddess Has Grown Up

When Su Qingxue heard Fang Che call her name, her eyes, which always maintained absolute rationality, flickered with a rare ripple.

Her chest rose and fell imperceptibly as she strode forward on her long, straight legs, bearing the complicated gazes of the surrounding girls, and walked up to Fang Che.

Even at a moment like this, this aloof top student kept her back straight, maintaining the final dignity belonging to a class monitor.

"You called for me."

Su Qingxue's voice was steady, but a slight tremor was hidden in the tail end of her words.

Fang Che didn't say anything extra; he reached out and gripped her cold wrist, his warm fingertips pressing right against her rapidly beating pulse, before pressing that golden Awakening Card into her slightly sweaty palm.

"Take it."

Su Qingxue's pupils contracted, and her wrist instinctively struggled, wanting to pull back.

"This is too valuable. I was only providing intelligence from the back row earlier; this is more suitable for Teacher Qin or Jiang Ning."

"In the team, Jiang Ning is responsible for the main attack, Teacher Qin is responsible for defense, and Mu Waner is responsible for reconnaissance."

Fang Che's thumb slowly rubbed against the soft flesh of her wrist, his gaze locked onto Su Qingxue's bloodless face, his voice lowered with an irresistible huskiness.

"And you are the core commander of this team."

"You are too weak right now. I need you to become stronger—not to make you fight monsters in hand-to-hand combat, but to give you a trump card for self-preservation."

He leaned down slightly, his scorching breath almost burning her earlobe.

"That way, when I am at the front, I won't have to be distracted worrying about you."

Looking at this domineering man before her, all the words of refusal were stuck in her throat; ultimately, she chose silence and accepted the card.

Behind them, Li Wei and the other peripheral girls had eyes that completely dimmed, and they closed their eyes in despair.

The gap had transformed from a small one into an insurmountable distance.

They had completely lost even the qualification to sit at the table.

...

The group returned to the Train.

The heavy, thick steel door of the Train slammed shut, completely isolating the pungent toxic fog and the roars of the monsters outside, and almost everyone collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

Su Qingxue walked into the cockpit and, at Fang Che's signal, activated the power she had just obtained.

The power of the card flowed through her body, and a powerful energy fluctuation spread out with her as the center.

Hum.

The temperature inside the cockpit plummeted.

Su Qingxue closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling incessantly. The pain of undergoing the power transformation caused her beautiful brows to furrow tightly, and a suppressed groan escaped from her lips.

Visible white cold air permeated from the surface of her body, and beneath her thin clothes, her skin flushed with an unnatural crimson due to the scouring of this power.

A thin layer of frost, starting from her feet, spread rapidly in all directions, and a layer of white frost condensed on the metal walls.

"So cold."

Jiang Ning couldn't help but shiver, hugging her arms tightly.

Fang Che's gaze, however, was locked onto her, full of anticipation.

After about a minute or so, that oppressive cold air slowly subsided, returning entirely into Su Qingxue's body.

She exhaled a long breath of white air and slowly opened her eyes.

In that instant, Fang Che saw that deep within her pupils, tiny ice crystals were flickering; her already aloof temperament now possessed an even colder, standoffish sharpness.

[Ding!]

[Team member Su Qingxue has awakened successfully!]

[Talent Name: Heart of Frost]

[Talent Grade: S (Gold)]

[Effect: The Survivor has extremely high affinity and control over ice-type energy. 1. Passive: Gains high Frost Resistance; attacks carry slowing and freezing effects. 2. Active: Can consume mental energy to create and control frost; form and power change with mental energy intensity and skill proficiency.]

"S-grade talent!"

Mu Waner looked at the shared team information and exclaimed softly.

Teacher Qin Bing and Jiang Ning's faces were also filled with surprise.

S-grade is enough to cause a qualitative change in a person, let alone a powerful elemental control-type talent.

"How do you feel?"

Fang Che asked.

Su Qingxue was still somewhat unaccustomed to the power within her; she raised her right hand, her fair palm facing upward.

With a slight movement of her mind, a snowflake made of ice crystals condensed out of thin air in her palm, emitting wisps of cold air.

"It's very wonderful."

Su Qingxue looked at the ice flower in her palm, a trace of novelty flashing in her cold eyes.

"I can feel the water vapor in the air and can control them to condense into the shapes I want."

As she spoke, she slightly closed her five fingers.

That ice flower instantly turned into over a dozen sharp ice spikes, hovering above her palm, their tips flashing with dangerous cold light.

Jiang Ning gasped.

If this were to hit someone, wouldn't it pierce right through?

This control, this shaping ability, is too monstrous.

A rare, faint smile finally appeared on Su Qingxue's face; she looked at Fang Che, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Fang Che."

This kindness is too heavy.

"We are partners."

Fang Che smiled.

"If you become stronger, our entire team will be safer."

He clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention.

"Alright, the core combat power has been determined. Next, it's time to upgrade our home."

As he spoke, he took out the blueprint flickering with epic purple light from his backpack.

[Train Upgrade Blueprint: LV4 Power Core]!

When the blueprint appeared, the few who had just calmed down were shocked once again.

"Is this a blueprint for upgrading the Train?"

Teacher Qin Bing's voice was trembling.

"Epic grade!"

Mu Waner's Eye of Analysis provided feedback.

"Oh my god, Fang Che, exactly how many good things did you open from that chest?"

Fang Che didn't answer; he just smiled and slapped the blueprint onto the control console in the center of the cockpit.

[Detected Train Upgrade Blueprint: LV4 - Power Core. Use it?]

"Yes!"

The material numbers on the control console decreased rapidly, and the massive resource consumption speed made expressions of heartache flash across Teacher Qin Bing and Jiang Ning's faces.

But they knew even more clearly in their hearts that to be able to support an epic-grade upgrade so extravagantly, besides the heaven-defying blueprint Fang Che opened, the greatest contributor was Gu Nanzhi, who had been playing the role of a weakling in the rear carriage all along.

It was precisely because she had been dealing with various Train captains day and night, using the team's surplus food, clothing, and even weapons to trade bit by bit for these massive amounts of basic materials, that the foundation for this leap was laid.

Watching all this, a flash of approval crossed Su Qingxue's eyes.

The resource harvesting plan she had proposed had been perfectly executed by Gu Nanzhi, and even over-fulfilled.

As the materials were cleared to zero, the entire Train emitted a slight hum.

[All materials collected. LV4 Power Core construction beginning. Estimated time: 10 minutes. Please do not leave the Train during the upgrade.]

A surging energy fluctuation erupted from the front of the Train, instantly spreading throughout the entire carriage.

The lights inside the carriage flickered a few times, then became brighter and softer.

Everyone could clearly feel that the Train beneath their feet was undergoing a huge change.

The gaps at the connections of the Train body were being filled and reinforced by a silvery metallic liquid.

A faint energy shield appeared on the glass of the Train windows.

The entire Train was slowly running.

Ten minutes later.

The humming sound stopped, and everything returned to calm.