Chapter 102: Chapter 102: How Could It Be You?

Silas Hawthorne’s tense jawline twitched. He cocked his head to listen, and in the dead silence of the ice house, it seemed an extremely faint human voice was indeed penetrating the thick layers of ice, reaching them in fits and starts.

"What did you hear?" he asked, his voice low, with a barely perceptible trace of hope.

Without a second thought, Sue Lawrence took off her heavy thermal helmet.

A bone-chilling wind instantly blasted her face, stinging her cheeks. But compared to the -96 degrees outside—cold enough to crack bones—the temperature inside the ice house, boosted by the fire, was still within the limits of human endurance.

She held her breath and focused. Her ears twitched slightly as the enhanced hearing from her feline Superpower amplified every sound. A familiar, hoarse voice cut through the icy fog, reaching her ears with perfect clarity.

"It’s Theodore Frost!" Sue Lawrence’s eyes narrowed, her tone certain.

Silas Hawthorne froze for a second. "You heard something?"

Sue Lawrence had taken off her helmet. While it was still cold, it was bearable inside the ice house.

She listened intently for a moment. "It sounds like Theodore Frost’s voice."

Silas Hawthorne decisively took off his helmet to listen as well. After concentrating, it seemed that, faintly, almost imperceptibly, it did indeed sound like his voice.

"So, we go rescue them now?"

Sue Lawrence looked at Silas Hawthorne, but he had fallen silent.

He bent down to look at his forearm. It was only then that Sue Lawrence noticed a cut had been torn in Silas Hawthorne’s suit at some point. Shocked, she immediately pulled him over, ripped open the anti-cold suit, pulled a small knife out of her storage, and cut the sleeve open to check. Fortunately, it was only a shallow frostbite crack. There was a bit of bleeding, but no signs of blistering or infection.

’Good, very good. His arm is saved.’

Seeing this, Silas Hawthorne could only give a bitter laugh. "We’re out of gear. We might end up trapped here ourselves."

He’d led the team out to search for survivors, but now he was the one with damaged equipment, caught in a dilemma. It made Silas Hawthorne, who was accustomed to planning everything out, feel utterly powerless.

Sue Lawrence, however, looked away and scratched the back of her head. After a long moment, she finally spoke up. "Ahem, actually, I have Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits. They’re not as high-tech as yours and are a bit hard to walk in, but they can withstand temperatures down to -196 degrees Celsius..."

Now it was Silas Hawthorne’s turn to be flabbergasted. He stared blankly at Sue Lawrence, his expression a perfect picture of shock, as if asking, ’What other amazing things have you been hiding?’

Sue Lawrence shrugged. "It’s extreme cold. Better safe than sorry."

"You’re really something else!"

’She even managed to get her hands on Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits.’

Silas Hawthorne had great faith in the technology he’d developed, but no one had ever expected the suit could get ripped. At this point, never mind a cumbersome Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suit; he would have chosen a burlap sack without a second thought if it could ward off the cold.

Sue Lawrence took out a Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suit. The thing was truly hideous. It had no artistic aesthetic; everything was purely for protection against the cold and saving one’s life.

Since she had cut up Silas Hawthorne’s clothes, she had to take out another set of men’s clothing, one she had originally prepared for her older brother.

Thermal pants, a wool sweater, heat packs, and then the outermost layer—the Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suit.

Once he was dressed, Silas Hawthorne said, "Get out another set for me to put in my pack, just in case."

This was to avoid exposing Sue Lawrence’s secret, since she clearly didn’t intend to.

"Okay."

Sue Lawrence produced another suit, which immediately made Silas Hawthorne’s backpack bulge. She packed a set into her own backpack as well. The two of them climbed out of the ice house and began trudging into the depths of the tunnel.

The Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits were incredibly difficult to walk in, so they moved slowly. They also had to be constantly on guard against anything that might puncture the suits, moving with extreme caution.

The two had their headlamps on, but it was so cold that the light could barely penetrate the ice fog in front of them. Furthermore, Sue Lawrence’s headlamp had already begun to flicker—a sign that the temperature was too low for it to work.

Silas Hawthorne had no choice but to shout, "Theodore Frost?! Theodore Frost!"

Soon, a sound came from within. It didn’t seem to be one person’s voice, but the voices of many people.

The two could only speed up, but their suits restricted them, and they couldn’t get much faster. When they arrived, they discovered the people were hiding in a naturally formed ice cave. A pipe somewhere must have frozen and burst, and the gushing water had sprayed everywhere, forming this cave.

As the temperature continued to drop, the ice layer of this cave grew thicker and thicker. With dozens of people crowded inside, it had miraculously managed to retain some heat, preventing widespread hypothermia.

"Silas Hawthorne?"

Theodore Frost struggled to poke his head out and look.

In an instant, a thick layer of white frost coated his eyebrows and eyelashes.

He squinted, only seeing two bulky, bizarre blue figures in the tunnel, wobbling their way toward him.

At that moment, the people crowded inside the ice cave also began to look out. Through the blurry layer of ice, they too saw two figures heading their way.

The crowd in the ice cave instantly stirred. Countless pairs of eyes peered out through the blurry ice. Seeing the two figures, a wave of irrepressible hope erupted from the deathly silent crowd. "Is that someone coming to save us? Someone’s come to save us?!"

In the crowd, Jason Sterling also jerked his head up, his gaze locked on the two blue figures, a flash of joy in his eyes.

’Their rescuers are finally here!’

’And it’s Silas Hawthorne himself leading the team? I’m saved! I’m not going to die here!’

Jason Sterling was overjoyed. However, his joy was abruptly silenced when he heard a familiar voice.

"Is everyone here?"

It was a woman’s voice. And one that Jason Sterling was all too familiar with—it was Sue Lawrence!

’But... that’s impossible. Sue Lawrence is useless, how could she be here? When she followed Mr. Hawthorne on missions, she was the type of worthless accessory that needed to be protected the entire time. How could she possibly be here now?’

He subconsciously focused his gaze, staring hard at the two approaching figures outside. Finally, the pair arrived at the entrance of the ice cave.

Jason’s heart was in his throat, still wondering, ’Is that person really Sue Lawrence? Is it really?’

Soon, the two figures who had walked over bent down and crawled in, one after the other.

The relatively warm air of the ice cave washed over them—stuffy, but safe.

Before everyone could get a clear look, the two of them quickly undid their Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits, shedding the bulky outer shells and revealing who they were.

"Sue Lawrence?! Mr. Hawthorne?!"

Theodore Frost saw their faces clearly and erupted with immense, surprised joy. ’I wasn’t mistaken! It really was Silas Hawthorne’s voice!’

That shout instantly ignited the entire ice cave.

Everyone saw the two familiar faces, and a light of survival instantly burst forth in their desperate eyes. Suppressed sobs and excited cheers mingled together.

In this isolated, near-death predicament, seeing their comrades arrive to rescue them was no different from grasping their last lifeline.

"We’re saved! We’re saved!"

"Thank God!"

The crowd was ecstatic, their gazes toward Sue Lawrence and Silas Hawthorne filled with gratitude and reliance.

However, amidst this scene of jubilation and relief, Jason Sterling, in the corner, looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. His face instantly turned deathly pale.

He stared intently at Sue Lawrence in the center of the crowd, his pupils contracting violently.