Chapter 174: Ice and Snow Abilities
However, as he looked along the way, Zhang Yi saw no signs of people on the river. "It's best if they don't cause trouble," he thought.
As they drove back, the snow gradually became heavier. Recently, the snowfall wasn't as intense as it had been initially. The moisture in the air was limited, resulting mostly in light snow or dry, biting winds.
But now, the snow was getting heavier, prompting Zhang Yi to turn on the wipers to clear the windshield. The road ahead was becoming hard to see, causing Zhang Yi to frown slightly. "Why does this snow feel worse than when the snowstorm first started?"
The wind and snow intensified, and even inside the car, they could hear the howling wind outside. The wipers couldn't clear the snow fast enough, as if the snowflakes were being drawn towards the snow car.
Zhang Yi realized something was wrong. "This snow... doesn't seem natural!"
Suddenly, a large snowdrift appeared ahead and crashed into the car.
With a loud "bang!" the car shook.
Zhou Ke'er screamed, grabbing Zhang Yi's arm tightly. "Zhang Yi, why is the snow so heavy?"Zhang Yi's expression turned serious. "It's probably more than just heavy snow!"
The road ahead was completely obscured, making it difficult for the car to move. This situation had two possibilities: either the snowstorm had suddenly intensified, or someone was causing trouble.
In the apocalypse, with the emergence of abilities, what was once impossible had become possible. Zhang Yi's right eye flashed with white light as he opened the interdimensional space gate in front of the snow car. The raging snowstorm was drawn into the space, disappearing without a trace.
Clearing a path, Zhang Yi accelerated forward. Soon, noticing the snow car's speed wasn't slowing down, the snowstorm shifted direction.
Zhou Ke'er looked ahead and suddenly pointed in fear, "A... a snow tornado!"
A snow tornado formed in front of the car, quickly growing to dozens of meters high and heading straight for them!
Zhou Ke'er turned pale with fear. In the face of such natural power, human strength seemed insignificant. Even the snow car felt like a toy.
Zhang Yi knew this was no natural phenomenon but an attack from someone with abilities. Likely from Xu Family town, or possibly Cloud Manor. He needed to stay calm; panicking would be fatal.
Facing his first enemy with abilities, Zhang Yi had no prior experience in such battles. Online information told him that everyone's mutations were unique, making it impossible to predict others' powers or their extent. The key to victory was understanding the opponent's abilities.
"My ability is absolute defense. As long as I stay calm, they can't kill me. Their ability clearly involves manipulating ice and snow. They must be nearby to control it so precisely. I need to understand their attack methods," Zhang Yi thought, quickly assessing the situation.
Facing the massive snow tornado, Zhang Yi opened the interdimensional gate in front of the snow car. The gate's range covered the entire car, shielding it from front to back.
With a "whoosh," the tornado reached them. Zhou Ke'er shut her eyes in terror, screaming. But the giant snow tornado vanished in an instant, leaving only gently falling snowflakes.
Not far away, behind a snowdrift, Xu Chunlei was stunned. His seemingly unstoppable attack had disappeared suddenly.
He couldn't understand what kind of ability could negate his powerful snow tornado attack. The move had visibly drained him, leaving his face pale.
The two Xu family members with him, holding homemade rifles, asked quietly, "Chunlei, are you okay?"
Xu Chunlei gritted his teeth. "I'm fine! But this guy is tough. He must also have abilities, but I can't figure out what."
"Retreat!" Xu Chunlei ordered decisively. People always fear the unknown, and as Xu Dong Village's strongest, his orders were absolute. The two men prepared to leave with him.
Inside the snow car, Zhang Yi had put on tactical goggles. He took out an assault rifle from his interdimensional space, loading it with a click.
"The attacks have stopped. It seems that attack was exhausting for them," Zhang Yi said. "Let's see where they are!"
Zhang Yi was a firm believer in science. Even if people gained powers through genetic mutations, they still had to comply with physical laws. Such a snow tornado required immense energy, leaving the user temporarily vulnerable.
His interdimensional space was a bit of a cheat. It didn't require energy to store or release items, merely redirecting attacks. Now was the time to counterattack.
With the tactical goggles' night vision, Zhang Yi saw three human-shaped heat signatures a few hundred meters away, across the Lujang River. Zhang Yi quickly got out of the car, aiming his rifle at the three figures and firing.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Bullets flew through the space, one hitting a man's leg.
"He has an assault rifle!" the man screamed in pain.
Xu Chunlei's pupils shrank as he looked towards the other side of the river. At such a distance, they could barely see each other as small dots.
"Too far," Zhang Yi muttered, quickly putting the assault rifle away. Despite precision aiming aids, the rifle's performance and wind made precise hits difficult.
He then pulled out his favorite sniper rifle, aiming at the middle figure, whose heat signature stood out.