Surviving the Apocalypse: All I Want Is to Find a Husband
Chapter 157: Hidden Ability

Chapter 157: Hidden Ability

The temperature inside the base had plummeted over the past two days, turning every breath into a visible mist. The solar panels had been struggling to absorb enough sunlight, leaving the heating system barely functional.

The chill seeped into the walls, the floors, and into the bones of everyone inside.

"Richard’s probably regretting bringing you all here," Medeia muttered as she helped Seraphina distribute extra blankets to the people huddled together in the main hall.

At least she, Lucian, and Sierra had a mammoth-fur blanket to keep them warm at night. The thick, heavy material trapped enough heat to make the biting cold somewhat bearable, though Sierra still trembled occasionally in her sleep.

"The Junk Garden must be in worse shape than we are," Seraphina sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.

Every word she spoke came out in a thin puff of white. "At least we have a steady water supply. But over there ... if their reserves freeze over, they’re screwed."

Medeia frowned. The springs in the Red Canyon had already frozen solid, but they had ways to manage. Lucian could melt chunks of ice in an instant, and if that ever failed, she could summon gallons of freshwater herself.

Water wasn’t a concern for them—but it was a different story for the Junk Garden.

They had to fight tooth and nail just to keep their water supply from turning into solid blocks of ice.

If that happened, they’d be forced to waste valuable time melting it down, and in this kind of weather, that was a dangerous game to play.

Sure, they could try melting snow, but it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Snow was no different from rainwater—contaminated, filled with traces of radiation and whatever chemicals lingered in the atmosphere.

It wasn’t something they could drink without proper filtration.

Medeia sighed. "Even if we wanted to send them extra supplies, there’s no way we’d make it through this storm."

"Yeah," Seraphina muttered, rubbing warmth back into her hands. "Now I can’t help but worry about my shitty brother."

"He’ll survive," Medeia assured her, her voice steady. "The Junk Garden is full of capable and resilient people. A snowstorm isn’t enough to bring them down."

Seraphina let out a small chuckle. "I hope you’re right."

After handing out extra blankets to everyone, they returned to Medeia’s quarters. Inside, Celestine was carefully wrapping Sierra in multiple layers of blankets, her brows furrowed in concentration.

Meanwhile, Vivienne was crouched by the fireplace, feeding more firewood into the flames.

"Is she okay?" Medeia immediately knelt beside Sierra, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead.

Celestine let out a weary sigh. "She was shivering pretty badly earlier. And don’t you think she looks a little pale?"

Medeia nodded, her gaze softening. "She does, but Joy told me it’s normal in cold weather." She gently brushed a few strands of Sierra’s brunette hair out of her face before placing a fur hat snugly over her head. "This should help."

"How’s the firewood?" she asked, turning to Vivienne.

Vivienne let out a sharp sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Even though we told everyone to gather in one room to conserve heat, the firewood still isn’t enough. If we’re lucky, we might have enough to last two weeks. But... honestly, I doubt it."

Maybe even less if something unexpected happened.

Lucian would’ve helped, but he couldn’t just create firewood out of thin air—the atomic structure of wood was far too complex to replicate easily.

He could try, of course. But the results were always unstable. Firewood made with his ability tended to disintegrate within minutes.

Therefore, he had been feeling frustrated these past few days.

He kept running around, doing errands to help people stay warm, but without enough firewood, all of it would be meaningless.

"If the blizzard hits the base, we’ll have to burn even more firewood because the temperature will drop even further," Seraphina said, her voice filled with concern.

Medeia’s gaze fell to Sierra, who was struggling to breathe. The cold air was pressing down on her like an invisible weight. Her lips were pale, her breaths shallow.

She exhaled sharply. "Lucian and I need to go into the forest and gather more firewood soon."

Odette’s frown deepened. "Blizzards are relentless in the early weeks of winter. It’s too dangerous to venture into the forest in this kind of weather."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Medeia’s eyes swept across the room, her expression tense. "If we wait too long, the entire base could freeze to death. And Sierra..." Her voice faltered for a second before she steadied it. "She needs to stay warm—always."

She didn’t fully understand it herself, but after days of caring for the little girl, she couldn’t stop worrying. She did everything she could—anything—to keep that face from becoming more pale

A mother was still a mother, after all.

"I can warm the base for now," Vivienne suddenly spoke up.

"No, Vivienne!" Seraphina’s response was immediate and firm.

Medeia narrowed her eyes, suspicion flickering in her mind. Could Vivienne have an ability that could heat the base? Without hesitation, she called upon the system to check Vivienne’s abilities.

[Name: Vivienne Black

Age: 40

Ability:

Fire Manipulation (Grade-A) — Effect: Summon and control fire, shaping it into offensive or defensive forms, such as fireballs, streams of flames, or a fiery shield.]

Medeia gritted her teeth, clicking her tongue in annoyance. It frustrated her that they had kept something so useful from her.

"You can create fire, can’t you?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious. "If you have an ability like that, why didn’t you say anything from the start?"

Before Vivienne could respond, Seraphina stepped in. "Because her stamina isn’t strong enough to sustain it! If she summons too much fire for too long, it could put her in serious danger!"

Medeia’s mind churned. So she was just like the original Medeia Vega. Both of them possessed powerful abilities, but their bodies were too weak to fully utilize them. What a cruel irony.