Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 499: Death's Return

The moment Yuan Kongye took out the Ice Souls, a chilling sensation surged in Zhang Yi’s heart.

It was like walking through a blizzard on the Arctic ice fields, only to suddenly realize a polar bear was watching him.

His suspicions grew stronger.

If his theory was correct—if Yuan Kongye’s ability was Death’s Return—then her distribution of the Ice Souls meant that, sooner or later, she planned to take action against everyone.

Kill them. Absorb their power.

Zhang Yi recalled what Zhou Ke’er had once said.

Back then, Yuan Kongye had offered an Ice Soul to Zhou Ke’er, but she had refused.

That proved that the choice to use the Ice Soul lay with the recipient, not Yuan Kongye herself.

They had all benefited from the Ice Souls before. It was thanks to these very Ice Souls that the first batch of Superhumans had been created, allowing them to rise to power and establish their respective factions.

For them, Ice Souls were incredibly valuable.@@novelbin@@

Especially now, when they desperately needed to rebuild their military strength.

And they had no reason to doubt the Ice Souls.

From the beginning, they had conducted thorough tests.

The substance had no adverse effects on the human body and contained no mind-controlling properties.

So, they felt completely safe using them.

Xiao Honglian eagerly accepted her share.

“Master Yuan, we appreciate this greatly!”

Wei Dinghai and Xing Tian also hurried to claim theirs.

Bian Junwu, however, remained expressionless.

But he was intrigued by such a fascinating object.

Taking it back for research wouldn't hurt.

One of his secondary missions in Tianhai City was to evaluate Yuan Kongye’s ability level.

If she could truly awaken abilities in others without any cost, she would be classified as a terrifying Epsilon-level elite Superhuman.

Of course, given that her power was limited by how many Ice Souls she could produce, the effect was somewhat reduced.

Still, her ability remained immensely valuable, likely placing her among the Delta-level Superhumans with flaws, just like himself.

Zhang Yi maintained a bright smile, mirroring the others as he put the Ice Soul away with anticipation.

“This puts us in your debt. If you ever need anything, just let us know.”

He smiled at Yuan Kongye and Zheng Yixian.

Zheng Yixian’s smile deepened, clearly pleased.

Yuan Kongye nodded slightly. “Perhaps, in the future, we will all become one. Coexistence and mutual support should be the way forward.”

But inside, Zhang Yi remained on high alert.

With these two additional Ice Souls, he now had a total of three in his possession.

If Death’s Return worked the way he suspected, then these Ice Souls could create three new Superhumans.

However, as long as the host remained alive, their power wouldn’t return to Yuan Kongye.

And based on past tests, they didn’t seem to have any negative side effects.

That much had already been confirmed by the Western Alliance Base through extensive research.

Their technological capabilities far surpassed Zhang Yi’s, so he didn’t need to conduct further tests himself.

One thing was clear—Yuan Kongye wanted the leaders and strongest Superhumans of each faction to use the Ice Souls.

But Zhang Yi? He would never use them.

Not now. Not ever.

However, he could give them to Ke’er, Xinxin, and Keran in the future.

That way, he could create three new Superhumans under his control.

Of course, their talent would determine the upper limit of their abilities, and that was an unknown factor.

As for Xiao Honglian, Xing Tian, and the others, Zhang Yi thought for a moment before deciding not to warn them.

He still couldn’t fully trust them.

If he went out of his way to warn them, it might tip them off that he was suspicious of Yuan Kongye.

If they wanted to use the Ice Souls, let them.

As long as they didn’t die, it didn’t seem like there would be any immediate consequences.

Everyone thanked Yuan Kongye for her generosity before leaving the cathedral.

That night passed without incident.

The next morning, the people from Yangsheng Base packed their things, preparing to head back.

Their mobility was superior, so their return journey would be quick.

As for Chaoyu Base, they still had too many wounded and needed a few more days to recover.

Xing Tian’s group had suffered the least casualties, but since their combat style involved close-quarters battles, they had expended a lot of energy.

So, they also planned to rest before setting out.

In the end, only Xiao Honglian’s group left the Followers of the Snow God’s base.

Zhang Yi and the others naturally came to see them off.

After surviving a battle together, the relationships between them had grown more harmonious, with a shared sense of having braved death together.

“Don’t forget our deal when you get back,” Zhang Yi said, smiling as he reached out to shake Xiao Honglian’s hand.

She was momentarily surprised, then let out a laugh. Instead of a handshake, she strode forward and wrapped him in a strong bear hug.

“Don’t worry! The moment I get back, I’ll send it to you! After all, I really want to secure your help!”

Xiao Honglian had a well-proportioned figure, always clad in her form-fitting combat suit.

But in this embrace, Zhang Yi could clearly feel her curves.

He returned the hug and patted her back.

“Then it’s a deal.”

Just as they were in the middle of their embrace, a heated argument erupted not far away.

“Hm?”

Both of them turned curiously toward the commotion.

At a time like this, when everyone was either resting or preparing to leave, who the hell was causing trouble?

Drawn by the noise, many people started looking over.

They saw a teenage boy and girl locked in an intense conversation.

The boy’s face was flushed red with emotion, his voice shrill and shaky, like it hadn’t fully deepened yet.

The girl, in contrast, remained calm and composed, explaining things to him in a steady tone.

It was none other than Li Kaile and his girlfriend, Xu Beibei.

Or rather—his ex-girlfriend.

Xu Beibei was now wearing Yangsheng Base’s combat uniform, and standing a short distance behind her was a tall, imposing officer from Yangsheng Base.

She gazed at Li Kaile with a steady expression.

“Lele, let it go. I’ve found a better future. I hope you can understand. We’re just not right for each other anymore.”

Li Kaile’s eyes were filled with shock and fear.

In his current state, Xu Beibei was the only hope he had left to keep going.

So why?

Why had she suddenly changed, when things had been fine just before?

Was it… just because he was no longer complete?

Trembling with pain, he let out a desperate cry—

“Beibei, you can’t leave me! I need you! Don’t you remember how good we were together? You said we’d be together forever! Did you forget?! DID YOU FORGET?!” ṞΆΝóꞖĘꞩ

Xu Beibei’s eyes flickered with a trace of guilt.

But she didn’t waver.

In this apocalypse, the only reason she had survived this long was by keeping a clear head.

Author's Note