In my previous life, my sister and I rescued two eggs. My sister's egg hatched into an ice serpent, while mine hatched into a fiery phoenix. My sister took my phoenix, not realizing we were about to face a heatwave apocalypse. She perished from the heat, and on her deathbed, she incited my ice serpent husband to strangle me to death. To my surprise, we were reborn on the day the two eggs hatched. This time, my sister took the ice serpent. She believed that with the ice serpent, she could comfortably survive the scorching apocalypse. However, she was unaware that to maintain its powers, the ice serpent needed to consume fresh blood daily. When I opened my eyes, there was no suffocating heat around me. The pain of being drained of blood and strangled to death in my past life was still fresh in my memory. I glanced at the ice serpent beside me and shivered. According to tribal customs, one must marry their savior. I was supposed to marry the fiery phoenix, but my sister, repulsed by the ice serpent's fearsome appearance, took the phoenix I had saved. Unexpectedly, a month later, global warming ensued, and the era of extreme heat descended. The ice serpent, true to its name, had the power to lower temperatures, creating a three-meter radius of coolness around it. In contrast, the fiery phoenix had the opposite effect. My sister took my phoenix but succumbed to the heatwave. Meanwhile, I, thanks to the ice serpent's abilities, was unaffected by the scorching apocalypse. My sister believed I had stolen her Beast Tribe husband, and before she died of heat, she instigated the ice serpent to kill me. I was about to claim the fiery phoenix as mine when my sister interrupted. "The ice serpent is mine! I want the ice serpent! The phoenix is yours!" Seeing my sister eagerly holding onto the ice serpent, I realized she had also been reborn. A sly smile appeared on my face. I had been wondering how to reclaim the phoenix from my sister. She only knew the ice serpent could lower temperatures but was unaware that its ability required consuming human blood daily. Moreover, the serpent's fangs were venomous, making each feeding a torturous ordeal. The venom made each moment of life torturous. In my past life, when my sister incited the ice serpent, I was already on the verge of death from its feeding. In a way, I should thank my sister for granting me a swift end. This time, my sister would fully experience the daily torment of being drained by serpent fangs. In my previous life, the ice serpent reluctantly stayed with me, forced by tribal customs to become my husband. This time, upon hearing my sister's request, the ice serpent rushed to her side before I could respond, flicking its tongue nonchalantly. Seeing me look at him, the ice serpent spoke with disdain, "Kevin, since Emely wants to take me home, I belong to her now. Leave me alone." I narrowed my eyes. It seemed that not only my sister and I had been reborn. My sister looked at me smugly after hearing the ice serpent's words. "What do you think, Kevin? This is the ice serpent's choice. You should take that broken phoenix home." "Alright, sister. Since you like it, how can I, as your younger sister, refuse you?" As Emely passed by me, she shot me a haughty glance and whispered in my ear, "Kevin, you probably don't know yet, but the era of extreme heat is about to begin. If you come begging to me, I might consider lending you the ice serpent for a few days." I chuckled inwardly. She probably still didn't know why the ice serpent was interested in her.

I glanced at Yvonne, who was curled up beside me. Poor Yvonne had been trembling since he came into existence, calming only slightly upon hearing Emely mention the ice serpent. Not wanting to deal with the ice serpent and Emely, I led Yvonne outside. "Wanxing, do you really want me?" Yvonne asked timidly. I reached out to touch Yvonne's head, but he instinctively shrank back, his face filled with fear. "Wanxing, I didn't mean it. Please don't hit me, " he pleaded, trying hard to control his trembling body as he offered his head to me. "Yvonne, what's wrong? Why would I hit you?" I realized that Yvonne had been reborn as well. "Yvonne, did she—" "Don't mention her, don't mention her... " Yvonne seemed agitated by my words, curling into a ball in pain, his eyes filled with painful tears. Seeing him like this, I understood that it must have been my sister who mistreated Yvonne. I pulled him into my arms, gently patting his wings. "It's okay, it's okay." Under my soothing touch, Yvonne gradually calmed down. "Yvonne, let's go home. But my home is quite far, and there's no easy way to get there, so we'll have to walk a bit, " I said apologetically. Financially, I was worlds apart from my sister. She forced our parents to spend all their money on buying her a house and a car, while I could only afford to rent. Yvonne blinked and hesitantly offered, "Wanxing, if you don't mind, I can take you home." He bent down, gesturing for me to climb onto his back. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I hesitated. "Wanxing, it's okay. Just climb on, and I'll fly us home, " Yvonne insisted warmly, leaving me no choice but to climb onto his back. "Yvonne, I'll tell you where to fly." "No need, Wanxing. I know where you live." I was curious, just about to ask how he knew, when Yvonne suddenly said, "Wanxing, we're home." "Already?" I was amazed at Yvonne's flying speed. "Faster than any plane I've ever seen." "A plane is nothing; I'm from the Phoenix lineage, " Yvonne said proudly, lifting his face. For the first time, I took a good look at Yvonne. He appeared innocent and naive, with the youthful bewilderment of a teenager. Unlike the ice serpent, whose eyes were dark and sinister. "Wanxing, aren't you going to praise me?" Yvonne's eyes held a hint of expectation. I sighed, "Yvonne, you're so obedient. How could she treat you like that?" As soon as I spoke, I realized I'd made a mistake. Sure enough, when I looked at Yvonne again, the light in his eyes had dimmed. I hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Little Fire, I didn't mean to bring it up." Yvonne smiled self-deprecatingly, "Little Fire, huh? That's a nice name. Wanxing, do you think I'm just a burden?" Before I could respond, he continued, "Wanxing, Emely said I'm useless, that I only make her hotter, unlike the ice serpent. She blamed me for her suffering, tormenting me in unimaginable ways, and finally snapping my wings before throwing me out to fend for myself. Am I really that bad compared to the ice serpent? Wanxing, why did you bring me back? I'm just a useless phoenix." I had suspected Emely of mistreating Yvonne, but I hadn't realized she was so cruel. It was her choice to select Yvonne, and no one could have predicted the apocalyptic heatwave. Why blame Yvonne for everything? "No, Little Fire, listen to me. It's not like she says. You're wonderful, much better than the ice serpent." "Wanxing, I know you're comforting me, but it's okay. I'm feeling better, " Yvonne forced a smile, not wanting me to worry. "Little Fire, I'm not just comforting you. You really are a thousand times better than the ice serpent. Let me tell you a secret—I'm also reborn."

Yvonne's eyes suddenly lit up. I recounted to her, in detail, how the Ice Serpent had tormented me in my past life, extracting my blood daily and ultimately killing me. Yvonne seemed genuinely surprised by my story. "How could that be? Sister Wanxing, according to the traditional laws of the beast tribe, we must remain absolutely loyal to our lifesavers, enduring whatever treatment they give us. Violating this ancient rule results in severe punishment. How dare he treat you that way?" I gave a bitter smile and shook my head. "I don't know, Xiaohuo. What is the punishment you mentioned?" "I'm not sure of the specifics, but I know it's extremely severe." "Let's not dwell on that." I pulled Yvonne to sit on the sofa. "With the scorching heat catastrophe approaching, shouldn't we prepare something?" We thought about it, but buying an air conditioner was useless since the power and water systems would collapse in such extreme heat. In the end, I decided to dig a very deep cellar at my family's countryside house. A cellar is naturally cool in summer and warm in winter, making it the perfect solution without any equipment. Yvonne, with her incredible speed and strength, dug a cellar over a hundred meters deep in less than a week. During the excavation, we even discovered an underground water source. This way, both the temperature and water supply issue were resolved. I rode on Yvonne's back to the deepest part of the cellar. As soon as we descended, I was enveloped by a coolness that starkly contrasted with the heat above ground. Seeing me shiver, Yvonne quickly used her powers to raise the temperature to a comfortable level. "Xiaohuo, now that temperature and water are settled, what about food? What should we do about that?" "That's easy. I'll dig a larger cellar next to this one, and we'll plant seeds underground. With sunlight and underground water, when the scorching heat catastrophe hits, the temperature there will be perfect for plant growth. We just need to prepare a month's worth of food in advance until the seeds sprout." Yvonne and I divided the tasks, and, finally, we were ready for the scorching heat catastrophe before it arrived. Tomorrow is the day it begins. I held Yvonne close, lying on the large bed in the cellar, waiting for the scorching heat catastrophe to come. The next morning, I noticed that the cellar's temperature had risen from its previous chill to a comfortable warmth. Yvonne stretched out on the bed. "Finally, I don't have to use my powers anymore. Using them every day has been exhausting; my phoenix blood is almost dried up." "Xiaohuo, do you mean using your powers drains your blood?" "Yes, just like you humans use mana in games, we use blood for our abilities. A mythical creature whose powers are tied to its life force." I looked at Yvonne, filled with both concern and guilt. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have endured the cold for a few days." Having lived with me for a month, Yvonne was no longer timid and shy. She playfully pinched my cheek. "I knew if I told you, you'd be too soft-hearted." Looking at Yvonne, my emotions were suddenly mixed. Why is there such a vast difference between beast people? In my past life, I never complained to Ice Serpent about the heat; it was he who couldn't stand it and insisted on using his powers. But using his powers consumed my blood instead. Thinking of this, a chill ran down my spine. "I wonder how my sister is doing now." Following the trajectory of my past life, today should be the first day my sister gets her blood drained. It's a pity I can't see her suffering. Yvonne seemed to read my thoughts. "Sister, let me show you something interesting." She handed me a mystical mirror with surveillance abilities, functioning like a CCTV without electricity. "What is this? A mirror?" I turned the mystical mirror over and over, unable to see what was special about it. Yvonne breathed fire onto the mirror, and it suddenly cleared up, revealing the faces of Emely and the Ice Serpent. Seeing my confusion, Yvonne explained, "This is a treasure of our Phoenix tribe. It's similar to what you humans call surveillance, but it doesn't require a network or electricity." I nodded, watching the scene in the mystical mirror. Emely was leaning against the Ice Serpent, sweat pouring down her face as she kept complaining, "It's so hot, I'm dying. Ice Serpent, don't you have cooling powers? Hurry and use them!" The Ice Serpent pursed his lips, and a chill ran down my spine. That was his sign of impatience, a precursor to blood-sucking. He smiled a sinister smile, his predatory eyes fixed on Emely. "Yueyue, remember, you insisted I use my powers, so don't blame me later." "Use them quickly, I'm melting here!"