Chapter 153 You Are the Witch

Magic barrier, unfold!

Su Miao stood outside the villa, practicing defensive magic.

With the aid of the sycamore wood staff, Su Miao found casting the magic barrier extraordinarily fluid. Wherever she pointed, a magic barrier would instantly deploy, and she could even swiftly manifest one behind her back.

Reversing the staff or not reversing it made no difference at all.

Furthermore, her movements during the spellcasting were exceptionally graceful. Gracefulness enhanced the sensation, making the casting even more fluid, and Su Miao thoroughly enjoyed the feeling.

Currently, the primary issues with the magic barrier lay in its defensive resilience and defensive strength.

Because the magic barrier was an off-body defensive magic derived from enveloping her entire body in mana, it was quite crude in every aspect. If she truly wanted to maintain it continuously while ensuring defensive strength, the mana consumption would become massive.

This spell required further optimization.

Regarding the effects of the optimization, Su Miao routinely drew inspiration from games she had played and anime she had watched in the past.

Ideally, it needed to achieve several effects: first, rapid regional deployment; second, multiple overlapping deployments; third, decentralized deployment; fourth, the application of principles related to magical spatial arrays; fifth, deployment with a single thought; and sixth, conserving mana when necessary without excessive consumption.

Currently, the first condition was barely achieved.

However, research into the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth aspects was a long and arduous journey.

Overall, at its core, this localized magic barrier needed to be optimized.

Su Miao deployed a magic barrier and began targeted research.

The magic circuits during spellcasting could be optimized.

Related magic arrays could be optimized.

Certain magic runes could be adjusted.

Like this, like that, and like this...

Before she knew it, Su Miao was completely immersed in magic research.

The patrolling myna bird flew back once and happened to witness His Excellency Su Miao researching defensive magic.

Just as it prepared to draw closer, the myna suddenly sensed a terrifying threat to its life.

It saw violent mana pouring out from before Su Miao, triggering an immensely horrifying explosion.

Instantly, a considerable avalanche erupted once more on the hill where the villa was situated.

Had the villa not been built on a hill, it would likely have been buried by the avalanche due to this explosion.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Startled by the sudden explosion, Su Miao tumbled backward into the snow.

She had merely changed a few magic runes within the magic array structure to those involving space, never expecting it to directly cause a massive explosion. Whatever happened to the defensive magic she was promised?

Then again, all the spatial magic runes she used were simply copied directly from the magical spatial arrays routinely used for defense.

And those magical spatial arrays were, in turn, pure copies of magical spaces.

Su Miao was essentially borrowing them directly, completely lacking any understanding of the underlying principles.

Therefore, it seemed somewhat understandable that adding special magic runes unique to the magical spatial array onto other magic arrays would lead to an explosion.

Looking at the explosion site before her, Su Miao weighed her options carefully and decided to experiment with magic a little further away from the villa.

The myna bird flew far off, trembling with fear.

Just as it feared, His Excellency Su Miao proceeded to create several even more terrifying explosions in succession.

Previously, His Excellency Su Miao needed to hurl that world-destroying large blue fireball to cause explosions; now, she didn't even need to throw the large blue fireball?

Although the explosions generated now were slightly weaker than those caused by the large blue fireball, they were still terrifying.

It even felt as though space itself was inadvertently being shattered apart.

"Is it getting dark soon?"

Su Miao glanced at the sky and turned to head home.

As for the magic barrier, she would study and experiment with it tomorrow.

Anyway, this was the apocalypse; she had plenty of time. Even if she used the process of elimination, would the process of elimination really work for magic research?

Arriving at the villa's entrance, Su Miao saw the myna bird shivering in the wind and asked in puzzlement, "Myna, what's wrong with you?"

The myna snapped back to its senses. "Ah, Your Excellency, nothing's wrong. The wind is just too strong today."

Su Miao nodded, opened the door, and returned to the second floor.

In weather like this, sitting by the fireplace was undoubtedly extraordinarily warm.

The myna reported, "Your Excellency, the golden-winged roc says that a lot of people have recently arrived at the Sihai Base, calling themselves the Ice God Cult. They seem to be plotting something very dangerous."

Su Miao blinked. "Mm, keep observing, as long as it doesn't affect this place."

"Understood, Your Excellency," the myna replied.

Su Miao took a sip of water and glanced at the pitch-black window. In less than three months, the high-temperature cataclysm would arrive. What would the world become by then?

Never mind, she trusted that the state would find a way.

Not long after the apocalypse began, Lieutenant General Qin Xuezheng had contacted her, and furthermore dispatched Qin Longzhang and others to find her, which proved that the state already believed and confirmed the prophecies she provided. The major shelters built on that foundation would certainly have countermeasures in place.

Shelter No. 1...

Su Miao retrieved a map from her magical space and gazed at the marked location of Shelter No. 1. She wondered if Xiao'an had reached Shelter No. 1 yet.

Moreover, she wondered if her parents were in Shelter No. 1.

Su Miao shook her head, dismissing the stray thoughts.

Right now, what she needed to do was diligently study magic, enhancing her adaptability and survival skills for the apocalypse.

That way, no matter what crisis she encountered, she could survive. Only by surviving could she possess a future.

...

Sihai Base.

Doctor Fan Qing finished a day of surgeries and sat in the lounge, exhausted.

Recalling the events of the past few days, everything felt like a dream.

Guided by the witch, he and the group of seven led by Qiu Dahong had successfully arrived at the Sihai Base.

He had expected joining the Sihai Base to require all sorts of vetting, but to his surprise, merely stating their professions was enough to have residences, duties, and basic benefits arranged for them.

The person who received them was even Mili, one of the primary administrators of the Sihai Base.

The moment he saw Mili, Doctor Fan Qing felt as though he had met a kindred spirit. Mili possessed a direct observational ability much like his own.

The slight difference was that Mili's ability leaned more toward observing auras, allowing her to determine whether a target had awakened an ability and the strength of that ability.

Possessing such an ability meant that anyone harboring thoughts of approaching Mili stealthily, regardless of how strong their concealment skills were, would be quickly detected.

Therefore, when Mili asked if he was an ability user, Doctor Fan Qing truthfully stated that he was.

Prompted by Doctor Fan Qing, Qiu Dahong and the others similarly did not hide their status as ability users.

Thus, everyone secured good arrangements within the Sihai Base.

It was worth mentioning that while the witch killed people quite decisively, she was exceptionally generous when gifting them food. Consequently, even though they got lost on their way to the Sihai Base, they still had a considerable amount of corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes left over.

The Sihai Base expressed a desire to purchase their remaining potatoes and sweet potatoes to cultivate a new batch of crops.

Doctor Fan Qing readily agreed.

However, when asked about the origin of these corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, Doctor Fan Qing stated it was inconvenient to disclose.

Although such a response might slightly worsen their situation, recalling the witch's warning, Doctor Fan Qing decided to keep his promise.

Because speaking the truth would cause trouble for them, and might also bring trouble to the Sihai Base.

To his surprise, the Sihai Base did not dwell on the matter and let it go directly.

Qiu Dahong and the others had also visited Doctor Fan Qing, expressing that the Sihai Base treated them very well and they were now beginning to adapt to life here. In short, everything felt like a dream.

"This place is practically identical to an official shelter," said Jiang Tingzhi.

He was one of the ability users in Doctor Fan Qing's squad.

After the apocalypse began, Jiang Tingzhi had once been fortunate enough to visit a shelter under construction and understand its administrative and regulatory management systems. However, at the time, Jiang Tingzhi had spurned the terrible environment inside the shelter, believing that he had a company, money, people, and food, and that the apocalypse was all a lie, so he never entered the shelter.

Whenever this was brought up, Jiang Tingzhi felt deep regret.

Therefore, his team had been desperate to find a shelter, partly due to the intelligence provided by Jiang Tingzhi, but by the time they wanted to join one, most shelters announced they were no longer accepting people.

Thus, they had remained in a wandering state.

During that time, they had also joined a few private bases, but those private bases were ruthless, eager to squeeze every drop of life out of everyone who joined.

To help more people survive, Doctor Fan Qing had led the group in multiple revolts and fled those private bases.

Gradually, the number of people in the team dwindled.

To be honest, had they not been driven to a dead end and guided by the witch, they might have preferred to continue wandering rather than choose the Sihai Base.

However, everything inside the Sihai Base changed Doctor Fan Qing's perception of private bases.

Yet, the only current problem within the Sihai Base was the overwhelming number of wounded and sick.

Even without sleeping or resting to help with surgeries, many people still suffered permanent disabilities or even lost their lives due to a lack of timely medical treatment.

In the apocalypse, the wounded and sick were absolute burdens. What surprised Doctor Fan Qing even more, however, was that the Sihai Base did not abandon these people; everything that should be provided was provided.

"If you people could awaken your abilities, would missing arms and legs still be a problem?"

These were the words spoken by Yu Yuangui, an administrator of the Sihai Base, when he came to visit the wounded and sick.

That single sentence rekindled a desire for survival in many people.

This Sihai Base was truly wonderful.

"Doctor Fan, excuse the intrusion."

Mili walked in carrying a document and a brand-new identity card.

"Hello, Miss Mili."

Doctor Fan Qing stood up.

Mili said, "Doctor Fan, please sit. I'm here today to bring you a letter of appointment."

Doctor Fan Qing wore a puzzled expression.

Mili placed the document on the desk. "Starting today, you are the Head of the Medical Department of the Sihai Base, with Level 3 clearance."

Doctor Fan Qing's eyes widened. "This... I haven't done anything, and I've only been at the Sihai Base for a few days..."

Mili replied, "Everyone you've saved these past few days says you deserve this position. This appointment is jointly signed by administrators Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu."

Doctor Fan Qing felt his brain short-circuit for a moment.

As far as he knew, the Sihai Base currently had only two administrators: Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu.

Others, even if assigned certain responsibilities, were never administrators.

Even more absurdly, Mili, who also held Level 3 clearance, was not an administrator of the Sihai Base.

Mili continued, "Doctor Fan might not know this, but the time you've spent coming to the Sihai Base doesn't count against your record at all. Yu Yuangui became an administrator on his very first day at the Sihai Base with Level 2 clearance, appointed personally at the time by Lan Shaokong, the Supreme Administrator of the Sihai Base."

Was this Sihai Base just playing games?

Doctor Fan Qing desperately wanted to say that.

Yet, seeing the official seal on the document, the personal signatures of administrators Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu, and thinking of the statue of Lan Shaokong in the central square of the Sihai Base, he composed himself and said, "Rest assured, I will fulfill a doctor's duties."

"Mm."

Mili said, "I hope Doctor Fan's ability can advance soon. When that happens, you'll be able to obtain Level 2 clearance for the base. I have other matters to attend to..."

Ability advancement...

A thought suddenly struck Doctor Fan Qing, and he interrupted Mili, "Wait a moment. Regarding the evolution of ability users, I have some research on the matter."

"The essence of an ability user's evolution is mutation. This mutation is not a case of the faster the better, nor the more frequent the better. The shorter the evolution time, the easier it is for the mutation to fail and turn one into a mutated monster."

"In essence, mutation occurs as humans adapt to the mutated apocalyptic environment. Most mutations are overdrafts of life, and only a minority of mutations conforming to natural laws allow one's life to remain unaffected or even become prolonged."

"On my way to the Sihai Base, I once saw an ability user who mutated seven times in a single day, acquiring overwhelming strength. Even a close-range rocket-propelled grenade explosion couldn't harm him, but his life came to an abrupt end on the seventh day."

This was actually a member of Doctor Fan Qing's former team; it was relying on that man that they managed to fight their way out of the hellish private base.

A trace of shock flashed across Mili's eyes.

She said, "Doctor Fan, if possible, I hope you can write a research report on this."

"Alright, I will," Doctor Fan Qing replied.

Mili hurried away.

The mutation of ability users is essentially an overdraft of life.

This statement had once been uttered by a crazy researcher within the Fire God Base, and the Life Potion had been researched based on this very theory.

Mili tried her best not to recall the nightmare that the Life Potion had brought to the Sihai Base.

However, Doctor Fan Qing's reminder reminded her of an even more important matter.

This issue had to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Looking at the appointment letter on the desk, Doctor Fan Qing felt everything was even more surreal.

Having arrived at the Sihai Base only a few days ago, he had muddled his way into becoming an administrator of the Sihai Base. Didn't the Sihai Base worry that he might harbor ambitious motives?

Thinking back to a few days ago when Qiu Dahong rushed over to announce he had been appointed as the captain of the Sihai Base's security department—at the time, they had suspected the Sihai Base had ulterior motives.

Now looking at it, the Sihai Base truly trusted them.

Putting aside his wandering thoughts, Doctor Fan Qing properly stored away the appointment letter and the brand-new identity card.

At that moment, the door was knocked on again.

"Come in," Doctor Fan Qing said.

The door opened, and two people dressed in Ice God Cult priest robes walked in. Doctor Fan Qing's heart tightened.

"Doctor Fan, apologies for the abrupt visit."

Zhuang Youpeng took out a gift he had prepared in advance and placed it on the desk. "These are potato cakes, and these are ice fruits. They aren't anything remarkable, but I hope Doctor Fan won't take offense."

Doctor Fan Qing hurriedly stood up and said, "This is far too polite; I cannot accept these."

Zhuang Youpeng replied, "Think nothing of it. These are normal gifts for a visit, especially this ice fruit, which is a specialty of my Ice God Cult, harvested from a special mutated tree. Eating it enhances one's adaptability to this bitter cold weather."

"Doctor Fan saves lives every day, which commands our utmost admiration. If Doctor Fan's hands were to be affected by this bitter cold weather, neither I nor the entire Sihai Base would bear to see it."

"Please accept them for the sake of those patients, Doctor Fan."

This...

Looking at the pristine white ice fruits before him, Doctor Fan Qing hesitated for a moment and said, "Very well. On behalf of the patients, I thank you."

Zhuang Youpeng's expression was gentle. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zhuang Youpeng, and this is Tang Jing. We are both priests of the Ice God Cult. To be frank with Doctor Fan, our visit here is to inquire about some information."

Doctor Fan Qing said, "I only arrived at the Sihai Base not long ago and am unclear about many things. I'm not sure if I can be of any help to you."

Zhuang Youpeng smiled. "It's like this: we wish to obtain information regarding the witch. She resides at this location."

Tang Jing unfurled a map. Clearly marked on the map were the Sihai Base, the ruins of the Fire God Base, the mutated forest belt, and the suspected stronghold of the witch.

Doctor Fan Qing's pupils contracted, and he once again recalled the witch's warning.

This made him wonder if the witch had foreseen what was happening now long in advance.

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything about the witch." Doctor Fan Qing shook his head.

With a smile on his face, Zhuang Youpeng stood up and said, "What a pity. Regardless, Doctor Fan, thank you for your answer. We have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave."

The change in Doctor Fan Qing's gaze just now had already revealed the answer.

Therefore, whether Doctor Fan Qing spoke or not no longer mattered.

Seeing Zhuang Youpeng and Tang Jing about to leave, Doctor Fan Qing immediately stood up. "Your gifts."

Zhuang Youpeng turned around, humble and polite. "Doctor Fan, the gifts represent our respect for you and have nothing to do with the information we sought."

"Praise the Ice God, eternal is the Ice God!"

"..."

The door closed.

Doctor Fan Qing stared at the gifts on the desk and fell into deep thought.

Intuition told him that the Ice God Cult's intentions were extremely dangerous, especially this priest named Zhuang Youpeng.

They were inquiring about the witch; for all he knew, the entire Sihai Base could be plunged into crisis.

Amidst the wind and snow, Tang Jing asked, "That old man lied."

Zhuang Youpeng smiled faintly. "When the witch was mentioned, there was fear deep within Doctor Fan's pupils—fear etched into his soul. His verbal reply didn't matter to me at all."

"Show more respect to Doctor Fan in the future. In an apocalypse like this, no one can guarantee they won't get injured or fall ill."

"Who knows, we might have to rely on him to save our lives. Why else would I have given him those ice fruits?"

Tang Jing quickly acknowledged, "It was my rashness."

Zhuang Youpeng said, "Let's go. In a few more days, High Priest Lu Wei will arrive. This time, High Priest Lu Wei has requisitioned quite a few powerhouses from various places. Once everyone arrives, this place will be entirely under our control."

...

How many days had passed since the Spring Festival?

Su Miao looked at the calendar, harboring the illusion of having lost track of time.

February 26, 2124, 9:00 AM. Had so many days already passed?

There were still a little over two months left until the high-temperature cataclysm. The snow stored in her magical space was plentiful; when the high-temperature cataclysm descended, it should be enough.

During this period, Su Miao had been constantly researching the magic barrier. Aside from the condition regarding the application of principles related to magical spatial arrays, which remained unfulfilled, the rest had all been researched to completion.

As for deeper research, Su Miao was currently incapable of it.

Regardless, she had succeeded.

However, having studied the magic barrier extensively, Su Miao encountered a brand-new problem.

Would she need to constantly keep the magical spatial array hovering before her face from now on, just in case?

After pondering over it repeatedly, Su Miao decided to keep it up unless she entered combat, at which point switching back to prioritizing the magic barrier would not be too late.

"Your Excellency, the undead squad assigned to chop wood have all stopped moving."

The myna flew over to report.

"Oh."

Su Miao blinked.

Had the myna not reminded her, she would have completely forgotten about the undead squad sent out to chop wood.

"Let's go take a look," Su Miao said.

With the wood in her magical space having decreased significantly, it was time to replenish it.

Furthermore, two months from now, when the high-temperature cataclysm descended, it remained an unknown how many trees—mutated or unmutated—would manage to survive.

Given that, it was better to have them contribute their final bit of existence and become the firewood she needed.

Retrieving her snowmobile, Su Miao headed toward the location where the undead squad was chopping wood.

The myna flew in the air, looking exceedingly excited.

Nearly an hour later, Su Miao arrived at a small mountain, where neat piles of logs were stacked at regular intervals along the mountain.

Su Miao walked along the path, collecting all these logs into her magical space.

Those seven undead had chopped down trees across two entire mountainsides during this period; they were remarkably efficient.

Had the myna not marked these logs, Su Miao might not have even known there were so many logs buried beneath the snow in this area.

Just collecting these logs took Su Miao nearly three hours.

Finally, Su Miao spotted the seven undead inside an ice cabin.

The seven undead were sprawled haphazardly inside the ice cabin, with some damaged logging tools neatly placed to one side.

"Your Excellency, they're all broken," the myna said.

"Mm, they're broken."

Su Miao put away the logging tools and casually tossed a small blue fireball, incinerating all the corpses into ashes.

Considering that this squad of undead had worked tirelessly without rest for 24 hours chopping wood, Su Miao decided to grant them eternal rest and gifted them a magnificent blooming starlight.

Now, a new logging squad was needed.

As Su Miao thought this, a voice suddenly echoed from outside the ice cabin.

"Strange, when I came by a few days ago, I saw a lot of chopped wood piled here. How come it's all gone?"

"Are you stupid? With so much wood piled here, someone must have been logging. How could they not haul it back?"

"But I remember there being a lot of it!"

"Alright, alright. Let's gather some wood. Tomorrow we continue our journey to the Sihai Base."

"There's an ice cabin here, and fresh footprints. Stay alert!"

A squad of people appeared in front of the ice cabin, all holding weapons—guns, blades, and clubs.

In their eyes, there was only one person inside the ice cabin: Su Miao, holding a sycamore wood staff.

Their faces carried a trace of perplexity. In this remote wilderness, why was there such a pretty girl? And all she held was a wooden stick?

No, there was also a myna bird that wasn't frozen to death; it was hopping around lively, so it definitely must be mutated.

"Miss, are you the only one here?"

A middle-aged man holding a gun looked at Su Miao and asked, "Wasn't there anyone else who came with you?"

Su Miao looked rather nervous around these strangers. She glanced at the middle-aged man and shook her head.

The middle-aged man frowned. "If there's no one else, I suggest you leave quickly. If you delay, you won't be able to leave."

Looking very nervous, Su Miao prepared to leave.

The myna curiously glanced at these people without uttering any taunts.

Yet, judging by the slight trembling of His Excellency Su Miao's hands, the situation might not be looking too good...

Without the slightest surprise, that trembling was noticed by the others. Although they had initially harbored some vigilance toward such a lone, beautiful young maiden, seeing how frightened Su Miao was, their fear vanished.

"Wait!"

A gun-wielding person said, "Her complexion is so healthy and she's so clean; whatever she eats and uses on a daily basis must be top-notch. She's probably some young miss from a wealthy background. We might as well wait for Priest Lu to arrive before deciding whether to let her go."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped.

"Praise the Ice God, eternal is the Ice God!"

At that moment, a woman's voice rang out.

The people surrounding the ice cabin parted, and a woman draped in a white fur cloak walked over.

The instant she laid eyes on Su Miao, her eyes locked on her. "Beauty, why are you all alone outside? How dangerous!"

*[With this little girl, once I absorb her vitality, this old lady can turn 18 again! Praise the Ice God!]*

The moment that thought formed, the female priest's expression shifted drastically.

She spread her arms and instinctively executed a pulling motion, using two cultists as shields in front of her.

With a muffled *thud*, two ice spikes skewered the two cultists together, and shrill screams pierced the air.

According to her original plan, for the sake of that kind uncle, Su Miao had intended to try having a normal conversation with strangers. But things went contrary to her wishes; the other party simply refused to give her that opportunity.

Seeing the malice emanating from these people growing increasingly intense, she could no longer hold back.

However, this Priest Lu reacted with unusual speed.

"Open fire!" Priest Lu roared.

How could a girl so young and pretty be so vicious with her attacks?

"Your Excellency, there are eleven of them. They can chop wood," the myna timely reminded her.

It had just noticed that His Excellency Su Miao needed more undead lumberjacks.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

Some had already opened fire.

At such close range, Su Miao neither dodged nor evaded, yet she suffered zero harm—a fact that terrified the firing Ice God Cultists.

Holding her staff, Su Miao gave a simple point, and the bullets absorbed by the magical spatial array were back-flushed outward, riddling these people with holes like a sieve.

As long as an undead's bones weren't smashed to pieces, they could be used for logging.

Just this single wave left very few Ice God Cultists standing.

The middle-aged man who had previously warned Su Miao to leave stood in place, his legs shaking like a sieve.

"Beauty, sister and you didn't know each other before you fought, but now you do. Interested in joining our Ice God Cult? With your strength, you could easily become a High Priest in our cult!"

"Let me tell you, before long, this entire region will be under the control of our Ice God Cult, and you will attain supreme status."

Priest Lu stood at a distance, lingering fear gripping her heart.

Recalling how Su Miao's hands had trembled and how terrified she looked, she thought of a saying: *Skilled hunters often appear in the guise of prey.*

Su Miao gently waved her staff, and multiple magic arrays coalesced.

*Frost Arrow!*

At that moment, Priest Lu experienced the treatment previously suffered when the Great Western King was pursued by Su Miao's Frost Arrows.

Yet, unlike the Great Western King, Priest Lu simply rolled and still got hit.

One of her legs was struck by a Frost Arrow.

Fortunately, a massive boulder nearby allowed her to dodge the subsequent Frost Arrows.

However, seeing her leg rapidly losing sensation, horror gripped Priest Lu's expression.

"Ah!"

Priest Lu let out a miserable scream.

The very next second, the Frost Arrow on her leg melted, and the wound on her leg healed rapidly. But in an extremely short span of time, Priest Lu's entire head of hair turned gray-white, and her face became covered in wrinkles.

Ignoring this entirely, Su Miao tossed out a small purple fireball.

With a deafening explosion, the boulder Priest Lu had used as cover was blasted into fragments.

Almost simultaneously, Priest Lu rolled across the ground, pulling a few fresh corpses toward her and using the middle-aged man as a human shield in front of her.

Although she didn't know what was happening, seeing that Su Miao hadn't killed this middle-aged man in the first wave of attacks, using him as a temporary meat shield would definitely work.

"So young and pretty, why are you so venomous?" Priest Lu roared.

Her hands dug deep into the flesh of the fresh corpses.

In the brief time it took to speak, those two corpses lost their vitality at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning withered and gray as if they had been dead for ages.

In contrast, Priest Lu's white hair rapidly turned black again, and the wrinkles on her face quickly vanished.

"Your Excellency, this old hag is using the Cosmic Demonic Staff!" the myna shrieked.

This horrifying sight reminded the myna of the Great Western King who could manipulate blood.

Although Priest Lu's strength fell far short of the Great Western King's, if she kept going like this, she would sooner or later become as terrifying as him.

"..."

Su Miao pointed her staff at Priest Lu.

The middle-aged man used as a meat shield felt absolute terror instantly grip his face.

"You know this person, don't you, beauty? As long as you let me go, I'll let him go. How about that?"

"Rest assured, our Ice God Cult will never come looking for trouble with you afterward," Priest Lu vowed solemnly.

Su Miao suppressed her icy expression and pointed her staff at the person before her.

Priest Lu quickly said, "Calm down. If you don't calm down, I might just swallow this scumbag of a man first."

"Any last words?"

Su Miao hesitated for a moment and asked the middle-aged man, who had managed to retain a shred of kindness amidst the apocalypse.

The middle-aged man was on the verge of tears. "Can you not kill me..."

Su Miao maintained her icy demeanor. "I gave you a chance. You didn't run."

Mana poured into the staff, causing a blue flame to rapidly kindle at its tip, instantly transforming into an ordinary fireball tinged with a hint of purple.

"You're the witch..."

A realization suddenly struck Priest Lu, and she cried out in horror.

She only had time to fling the middle-aged man away like a shield before the purplish fireball blasted toward her.

*Boom!*

Before she could even wail, Priest Lu was directly vaporized by the high-temperature explosion of the fireball.

The violent high-temperature shockwave swept across the surroundings, melting all the snow within a sixty-meter radius.

Su Miao glanced around; once again, only seven corpses remained.

Wielding the sycamore wood staff, she cast *Resurrect Undead*, and the seven undead rose to their feet.

Su Miao searched through her magical space and produced several sets of brand-new logging tools. "Go chop wood. If there are any issues, take orders from the myna."

The undead logging squad picked up their tools and uniformly set off.

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