Chapter 118: Chapter 106: It’s on Fire, Put It Out

From the corner of her eye, Rhea Thornton saw Hayden Winters and the others walking over. The sound of her crying grew louder.

"Rhea, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?" Hayden Winters strode over, his gaze locking directly onto Oscar Owen. The Fire Element was a powerful offensive type, and Hayden had never considered himself inferior to Oscar. But Oscar’s Second-level Wind Ability consistently kept him suppressed, a fact that he bitterly resented.

Rhea Thornton lowered her head meekly and shook it, her sobs growing even more intense.

"No, Mr. Howard... Mr. Owen didn’t bully me. It’s my fault. I... I get cold easily because of my constitution, so I wanted to ask Mrs. Owens for the quilt. It’s just that I..." Before she could finish, the floodgates opened. Rhea Thornton began crying even more sorrowfully, as if she had suffered some terrible injustice.

Just then, Leigh Atwood, Luna Thorne, and the others all gathered around. The five women in their group were all well aware of Rhea Thornton’s usual antics. But in the apocalypse, everyone just wanted to live in peace. They never knew when a massive zombie horde from the city might descend upon them, forcing them to move again. Who had the energy to get involved in this kind of drama?

"I know you get cold, Rhea. Don’t you worry. I’ll go discuss it with Mrs. Owens. She’s a kind person; I’m sure she’ll let you have it."

Hayden Winters’s words made Oscar Owen frown and caused the color to drain from Lianne Kendall’s face.

"What’s this? The rule we agreed on in this team was that anyone who goes out on a supply run gets to pick one item for themselves before everything is divided up. Are you saying that doesn’t count anymore?"

Oscar Owen and Hayden Winters were the two strongest attackers in the team. As offensive superpower users, neither was willing to concede to the other. Now, this incident with Rhea Thornton was the fuse that instantly lit the team’s two powder kegs.

Hayden Winters was exceptionally tall, a quintessential man from the Northeast—blunt and direct, with an attitude that screamed, ’I’m the man here, and I’ll take you on.’

"The rule isn’t changing, of course. Didn’t you say that anyone who goes on a supply run gets to pick something for themselves? Fine. I’m picking this quilt."

Hayden Winters turned to look at Rhea Thornton’s pitiful, sobbing form. He pulled her to his side, patting her shoulder with a large hand. "Don’t cry, Rhea," he comforted. "I’ll get that quilt for you."

With that, Hayden Winters walked up to Lianne Kendall and looked down at her. "Ma’am," he said, his tone condescending, "you’re an elder. Surely you’re not going to fight a young girl over a quilt? Rhea is young and still growing. You wouldn’t have the heart to watch her freeze and catch a cold, would you?"

"You!" Lianne Kendall had woken up that morning with a splitting headache. Her hands and feet had been ice-cold every morning lately, and the chill was a given. A pampered socialite, she had never endured such harsh conditions—not only was she squeezed into a small, drafty tent, but her quilt was thin and damp.

Before her son left on the supply run, he could at least use his superpower to blow some of the moisture out of the quilt. But Oscar Owen had been gone for two days. After two nights under a damp quilt, she had not only caught a cold but also felt dizzy and light-headed. She touched her forehead. ’I think I have a fever.’

She didn’t dare mention the fever. In the apocalypse, words like "fever" made everyone incredibly paranoid. For the first time, she, who had always been so headstrong, was afraid.

Oscar Owen’s handsome face darkened as he stepped in front of Lianne Kendall. "I am not giving you this quilt. Hayden Winters, if you dare speak to my mother in that tone again, you will regret it."

Hayden Winters was about to say something else, but just then, Luna Thorne spoke up.

"I’ve got a suggestion, Rhea Thornton," Luna began. "If you’re so cold, you can just crawl into your Mr. Howard’s blankets and sleep with him. Have you no shame, trying to steal a quilt from Mrs. Owens? It’s a good thing for you this team is full of men who lose all sense of direction the second you call them ’brother’." Ever since Luna Thorne had been separated from Flora Bloom and her group, she had tasted the full bitterness of surviving in the apocalypse. The once-quiet woman had become more vocal about her grievances with this new world.

"What are you talking about, Luna Thorne? I would never!" Rhea Thornton’s face flushed beet red, and she glared at Luna, her eyes wide with feigned innocence.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m a woman. Your little ’damsel in distress’ act doesn’t work on me."

After saying her piece, Luna Thorne helped Lianne Kendall into the tent to spread out the quilt.

Tears welled in Rhea Thornton’s eyes. She cast a deeply wronged look around at everyone present, only to find that—with the exception of Hayden Winters—they all wore tense, silent expressions. Even the men who usually enjoyed teasing and flirting with her were now just watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, showing no intention of stepping in to help.

"Mr. Howard, I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have tried to take the quilt from Mrs. Owens."

A sudden WHOOSH echoed as the tent Lianne Kendall and Luna Thorne had just entered burst into flames. The fire wasn’t massive, but it completely engulfed the small tent, trapping the two women inside.

"Help! Oscar! Fire!"

"COUGH, COUGH! Fire?! Hayden Winters, you despicable bastard! How dare you pull a cheap shot like this!"

Hayden Winters was already seething with rage while Luna Thorne was talking to Rhea Thornton. He was a man’s man, and he couldn’t stand to see the girl he fancied get hurt in the slightest—not even with words.

As he watched the two women enter the tent, the Fireball he’d been forming in his hand had conveniently found its way onto the small tent.

"Hayden Winters, you’ve gone too far! Put out the fire, now!" Oscar Owen slammed a fist into Hayden Winters’s face, a red welt instantly blooming on his cheek. Superpower users were strong, and the physical attributes of a Second-level Superpower User far surpassed those of a first-level one.

Oscar Owen was tall himself, standing at a little over six feet, but he was still half a head shorter than Hayden Winters. Nevertheless, his punch sent Hayden stumbling, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"You dare hit me? That’s it, I’m gonna kill you!"

Oscar Owen’s punch ignited Hayden Winters’s fury. He instantly forgot about the crying Rhea Thornton at his side. A Fireball erupted in his palm as he charged violently at Oscar Owen.

His fist, wreathed in scorching flames, was just about to connect with Oscar Owen’s face when a massive vortex of wind wrapped around his legs, slamming him to the ground. It was a hard fall.

He wasn’t injured by the fall, but the humiliation was intense. Scrambling to his feet, Hayden Winters began hurling one Fireball after another at Oscar Owen, who dodged each one with ease.

Luna Thorne and the others were powerless. A fight between superpower users involved not just physical combat but also powerful energy fluctuations. Ordinary people couldn’t possibly get involved.

"Stop fighting and save them!" Leigh Atwood screamed. "Mrs. Owens and Luna are still trapped in that fire!" Leigh’s words snapped Oscar Owen back to his senses. He tried to break away from Hayden Winters to get to the tent.

But Hayden Winters was now completely consumed by rage and refused to let Oscar Owen go. After several failed attempts to break free, a flash of grim determination and ruthlessness appeared in Oscar’s eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The exchange of superpowers between Hayden Winters and Oscar Owen sent the temperature in the underground parking garage soaring. Fire fed on the wind, and wind fanned the flames. The two abilities, which should have been complementary, had instead turned the parking garage into a raging inferno.

Especially the burning tent. Without a Water Ability User or Hayden Winters himself retracting his power, ordinary water wouldn’t be enough to extinguish the flames.