The moment they saw how rough the path had become, both of them knew Denton probably wouldn't be able to climb it. Caroline had just opened her mouth, ready to think of a way to help Denton, when Biscuit suddenly lifted his head. His big, begging horse eyes locked on her. For a second, Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She knew she'd been hit by an ability. Special ability: The Little Match Girl. Notes: This is a passive ability. All women will instantly feel pity and affection for the user. They will refuse to harm the user and may even want to give them a warm hug. But will Caroline use this ability to take advantage of those cute, kind-hearted women? Of course she will! Which means ... Caroline is the Little Match Girl! Available Uses: X5. Right now, Caroline felt like she was the match, willing to let Biscuit sell her off. Biscuit's ability was passive and worked only on women. So for a long time, she tried not to look at him. Because once the ability hit, the same thoughts would rush into her mind—He's so cute. Give him snacks. Buy him nice things. Keep him safe. Spoil him. Agree to anything he wants! That was exactly what Caroline was thinking now. So she didn't hesitate at all. She used her ice ability and made a giant block of ice under Biscuit's hooves, lifting him upward. After that, on every bit of road, Caroline watched Biscuit closely. She even told Raven and Snow to slow down and move at Biscuit's speed. She used her ability to break open many paths ahead so Biscuit could pass without trouble. By the end, Caroline had burned through almost all of her abilities. But she didn't feel tired or upset. Instead, her heart felt warm and full of joy—just seeing Biscuit made her smile. But even with all that, she still had a bit of clear thinking left. She knew she was under an ability's influence. But another voice inside her kept saying—Forget it. That's Denton's mount, your teammate's mount. You're doing this to help your team move faster. So what if you waste some power? It's okay.So she didn't try to fight it. She just kept going forward. Of course, Tyler noticed what Caroline was doing and started clearing the path ahead as well. By the time they reached the base, the main road still wasn't completely cleared, but it was smooth enough for cars to get through. At least it would save the army some cleanup work later. The whole trip went well—no strange people, no more aftershocks. The ground was covered with countless cracks. Some were only a few inches wide, some as wide as a whole street. They were quiet signs of the long disaster that had happened just dozens of hours earlier. But the earthquake was strange too. First, it scratched the land everywhere with deep lines, then they all faded away, as if the earth had just yawned a few times. When they reached the front of the army base, the scene shocked them. Actually, even a few miles before they got there, they had already been impressed by the government's engineering work. The base still "stood" in the air, held up by several massive pillars driven deep into the earth. Some pillars looked damaged, and the whole base leaned a little, but soldiers were already guiding workers in repairing it. The base was made from several shelters. Some were moved here from nearby Hornvale, so not everyone knew who Caroline and her team were. Francis had told Alger to wait on the ground to greet them. When Alger spotted Caroline, he waved wildly and yelled, "Caroline! Over here! You made it!" He sounded super excited. The moment Caroline saw Alger, she burst out laughing. Because right now, Alger looked ... Incredibly miserable. He was dirty from head to toe. The army normally gave out light tank tops and shorts, plus thin, ventilated shoes. If they had to work under the sun for a long time, they also got sun-protection gear or even special cooling clothes. Alger was wearing a sun-protection suit while waiting outside. But his suit was ripped up, covered in claw scratch marks, and smeared with mud.His shorts looked even worse—they were torn in many spots. If the important parts hadn't stayed covered, people might've thought he was flashing someone on purpose. "What happened to you?" Caroline asked, unable to stop herself.