Ice Apocalypse (Season 1)

Chapter 196 Hero or Bear?

Xu Family Town.
Xu Dong Village.The villagers hurriedly returned, in a miserable state.Many people were frightened to the point of losing courage, their eyes lifeless as they lay in the snow.The cries of the wounded were incessant, and some were mourning their deceased relatives.The women who stayed behind at home were horrified by the scene.They originally thought they could welcome back heroes and a large amount of war spoils.However, to their surprise, the team that left was majestic, but the return was pitiful.And the number of people had actually decreased by almost half!"Where's my son? Where is he?""Xiao Zhi, Xiao Zhi!""Wait, where's my husband? Is he okay?"...The women frantically searched for their fathers, husbands, and sons.Whether they were survivors or widows, they were all in deep grief.Xu Chunlei stood on the snowy square, feeling particularly uneasy as he watched the villagers' miserable state."I did warn them."Xu Chunlei sighed and quickly returned to his own home.He didn't want to face these grieving villagers.However, not long after, someone broke into his house."Xu Chunlei! Why are you hiding here?"His cousin, Xu Yongzhi, grabbed his arm and anxiously said, "Come with me quickly, Third Grandpa is in critical condition! He wants to see you!"Upon hearing that Third Grandpa Xu Dongsheng was in critical condition, Xu Chunlei was also startled and quickly followed Xu Yongzhi to Xu Dongsheng's house.When he arrived, gasping for breath with his fat body, the entrance of Xu Dongsheng's house was already crowded with people.Seeing Xu Chunlei, the eyes of the villagers were filled with complexity.These eyes made Xu Chunlei feel a chill down his spine.Because among the gazes of these villagers, he didn't see any grateful expressions; instead, there was only blame, and even disgust!"Spit!"An uncle from the same clan spat on the ground.A woman, wiping her tears, gritted her teeth and said, "Chunlei! I heard that everyone from our family went except you. Why didn't you go?""Your luck is good, having extraordinary abilities. When something happened, instead of taking the lead, you chose to be a turtle at home.""Do you know how many people from our Xu family died because of you?"Xu Chunlei broke into a cold sweat; this aunt was always domineering, and he was quite afraid of her."It's not like I made them go. I tried to persuade them!"Xu Chunlei said in a low voice, but others didn't hear, or even if they did, they didn't care.With so many people dead in the family, almost every household had men killed, and the resentment was heavy.A group of people talked loudly, pointing fingers at Xu Chunlei to accuse him."If you were there at the time, just use your ability to manipulate ice and snow casually, and everyone wouldn't have been killed by the bomb!""What's going on in your head?"...There was a fire burning in Xu Chunlei's heart, and he really wanted to shout, "It's not like I made you go! It's none of my business!"But accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, no matter how beautiful his thoughts were in his heart, he couldn't be impudent in front of the elders of the family.At this moment, a cultured old man with glasses and a parted hairstyle walked out."That's enough!"As soon as the old man spoke, the other family members restrained their words, but their eyes still stared fiercely at Xu Chunlei.The old man glanced at Xu Chunlei with profound meaning and said, "Go in, Third Brother wants to see you."This was Xu Dongtang, the sixth elder of the Xu family and Xu Dongsheng's younger brother, a successful and respected figure in the Xu family.Xu Chunlei lowered his head, bypassed the crowd, and entered the house.The house was built by him using ice and snow.After the heavy snowfall, the surrounding houses were buried, and he used his abilities to help each family build houses.Ice and snow had good windproof and insulation functions, and living in it felt quite comfortable.The only drawback was that the fire basin or candles in the house would melt after a long time and needed frequent repairs.On the bed in the ice house, Xu Dongsheng lay on the verge of death.He was already quite old.After this scare, it directly caused him to lose his composure, and he was frightened into having problems.Seeing Xu Chunlei approaching, Xu Dongsheng's face showed a guilty look."Chunlei, you're here!"Xu Chunlei hurriedly walked to the bedside, "Third Grandpa!"Xu Dongsheng weakly said, "It's all my fault for not listening to you! Otherwise, so many people in our Xu family wouldn't have died."Xu Chunlei's nose felt sore.Accused by the villagers like that, he felt so wronged in his heart.Fortunately, the village chief understood him.Xu Dongsheng continued, "Ah, I was confused. I thought that after the snow disaster, our village and a few surrounding villages had never lost in battles, and no one was our opponent.""But now I understand that the reason our village is strong is because of you.""We're just a group of villagers who farm and fish. What are we pretending to be? In the end, we sacrificed our lives!"When people are on the brink of death, their words are often sincere.At this moment, Xu Dongsheng regretted it, but it was too late.He looked at the chubby guy beside the bed and held his hand, saying, "I've talked to those people in the family. If you want to blame someone, blame this old man; this matter can't be blamed on you.""We ordinary people, where can we compete with those talented individuals?""Now that they have lost their family members, they may say unpleasant things to you. I hope you don't blame them! After all, we are all of the same clan and family. We must help each other survive in such times."Hearing this, Xu Chunlei was also somewhat moved.He nodded and said, "Third Grandpa, I understand. I won't take it to heart!"Xu Chunlei smiled bitterly, "I'm about to die. Before I go, I just can't rest assured about the Xu family, afraid that our family line will be cut off.""So Chunlei, Third Grandpa asks you for one thing before he leaves. I hope you can protect the Xu family!"Xu Chunlei was surprised and quickly held Xu Dongsheng's hand, "Third Grandpa, what are you talking about? Your health is fine!"A somewhat forced smile appeared at the corner of Xu Dongsheng's mouth.When people reach a certain age, they understand their bodies very well.They can even foresee their own death."Chunlei, Grandpa is leaving. From now on, Xu family will be entrusted to you."After saying this, Xu Dongsheng waved his hand towards Xu Chunlei."Alright, go out; I'm tired and want to rest for a while."After that, Xu Dongsheng slowly closed his eyes.Xu Chunlei felt something was wrong and called people from outside in a hurry.The people of the Xu family rushed in and saw Xu Dongsheng, who had already closed his eyes, and immediately burst into tears.When Xu Chunlei found that no one cared about him, he quietly walked out, feeling dispirited.