In the end, Miao Miao left in a daze, her mind filled with the stunning image of the snow-white-haired zombie. Xiao Qiao, on the other hand, left with a satisfied smile. This trip had been totally worth it.

  Watching the 3A squad’s antics was incredibly therapeutic.

  As they left, Xu Duoduo stuffed each of them with a bag of mutated loquats and pears.

  Now that her spatial ability allowed her to grow things, she felt even more at ease. Giving things away was effortless for her, and she clearly remembered who treated her well.

  Her brain might be a little slow, but she wasn’t stupid.

  Xu Duoduo personally saw them to the door. After they left, chaos erupted in the living room as Qin Luo, Bai Shu, and Chen Xiaofei started brawling. The scene was a mess, feathers flying everywhere.

  Wang Weihu didn’t even bother to intervene. With an expression of indifference, he sat there calmly, accustomed to his idiotic teammates’ antics. He simply turned his rge basket of vegetables around and continued sorting them.

  Xu Duoduo turned her head to look at the three childish men. They were scratching and cwing at each other with no trace of the awe-inspiring demeanor they dispyed while fighting monsters outside. She was genuinely shocked.

  Quietly, she took out her tablet and snapped a bunch of embarrassing photos, saving them for ter.

  Then she went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

  Beside her was a rge stack of eggs and a big bag of tomatoes. She pnned to make a huge batch of tomato scrambled eggs first.

  It was a dish that went perfectly with rice.

  Later, she’d deal with the mutated octopus.

  She didn’t expect Qin Luo to come looking for her after the fight, looking all pouty and pitiful.

  As soon as she turned her head, she saw him leaning against the wall, staring at her. Normally, he was a chatterbox, always bbbering about something, but today he was silent?!

  Xu Duoduo tilted her head, looking at him curiously.

  This was rare.

  Her slow-working brain managed to understand that the big dog was sulking.

  Qin Luo gnced outside, where Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu were still messing around. He cleared his throat and, with a face as red as a tomato, his wolf ears and tail suddenly appeared.

  "Here, here, here! Go ahead and pet them! But next time, don’t stare at other people’s ears and tails!!"

  Xu Duoduo’s eyes lit up instantly. She leaned in so quickly that she startled Qin Luo, who pressed himself against the wall. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you scared me!"

  The next second, she pulled him down and started tugging at his ears. "Hmm! You. Not. Others."

  Her speech was still fragmented, but she managed to string together a few more words than usual.

  Her little hands grabbed his ears, pinching and rubbing them. The tingling sensation spread through Qin Luo’s body, making his chest feel numb. He didn’t know if other wolves felt this way, but having his ears touched made him extremely uncomfortable, the sensation traveling all the way down to his tailbone.

  His legs went weak, his heart raced, and Qin Luo bent over to suppress his reaction, resigning himself to his fate. The wolf ears on his head were just a mimicry, but his human ears had turned completely red.

  The tips of his ears were so red they looked like they might start bleeding.

  Xu Duoduo noticed this and reached out to pinch one. Her cold fingers made him shiver, and he let out a sharp gasp before freezing in pce.

  Xu Duoduo’s eyes widened in surprise. Curious about the strange sound he made, she leaned in to get a closer look at his expression. Qin Luo immediately straightened up. "Alright, alright! Today’s ear-petting session is over!"

  He decred the end of the session and bolted out of the kitchen, leaving Xu Duoduo standing there, her slow brain repying the sound of his gasp. It was… nice? And why did it make her feel a little embarrassed?

  Nice.

  She liked it!

  But since the big dog wouldn’t let her pet him anymore, Xu Duoduo felt a little disappointed. Still, she didn’t dwell on it. There was always next time. She turned back to her cooking, humming happily.

  The delicious aroma of her dishes filled the entire house, though she used her spatial ability to keep it from wafting outside.

  From her spatial storage, she pulled out several stacks of disposable food-grade containers and began packing the food.

  Wang Weihu also brought in some vegetables to wash. The enticing smell soon drew Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu into the kitchen.

  Chen Xiaofei howled, "Oh my god, it smells amazing! Squad Leader, your cooking is absolutely divine!!"

  Bai Shu sighed in admiration. "This pot of braised pork ribs… I can’t even imagine how happy I’ll be when I eat it."

  Wang Weihu nodded in agreement. "The squad leader’s cooking is unmatched. She’s the best cook I’ve ever met. Can I have this pot of co chicken wings to myself next time?"

  Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu: ????

  "Wait a minute, Old Wang, you’ve changed! Since when did you become so good at giving compliments?" Chen Xiaofei excimed in disbelief.

  Bai Shu adjusted his gsses. "So the key point is the st sentence? Old Wang, don’t even think about hogging those chicken wings!"

  The co chicken wings looked absolutely mouthwatering! With their glossy appearance and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, they were irresistible!

  The three men blocked the kitchen entrance like a pack of hungry cubs.

  As for Captain Qin? He was hiding in the bathroom, pretending to be dead, staring at the ceiling and questioning his life choices.

  Suddenly, everyone’s wrist communicators buzzed.

  The cheerful atmosphere instantly dissipated. Their expressions turned serious as they all looked down to check the message in unison.

  As expected, it was a new mission from headquarters: investigating the R City Survivor Base. The mission included locating several combat teams that had been gathering pnts. Reportedly, they had discovered a rge number of survivors, but communication had abruptly cut off midway. They were now completely out of contact, and headquarters couldn’t reach them.

  "In this freezing weather, why did R City suddenly get shrouded in thick fog?"

  "The situation at the R City Survivor Base is already bad, isn’t it? They were trapped by pnts and couldn’t relocate, and now they’re stuck in the fog. Life must be even harder for them."

  "Eight hundred survivors? Besides the survivor base, there are still survivors around R City? And what’s the deal with those combat teams going missing?"

  Xu Duoduo turned off the stove and checked the test information. The problem with R City was the massive ancient banyan tree that had taken root there. Vehicles and even pnes couldn’t get in, so everything had to be done on foot. The area had become like a primeval forest, overrun with mutated pnts and fraught with danger.

  Rescuing the survivors in R City was incredibly difficult. Headquarters had no better solutions, and the situation had worsened. To prevent the complete destruction of the R City Survivor Base, a reconnaissance team had to be sent to assess the situation.

  Moreover, the missing combat teams had discovered survivors before losing contact. This couldn’t be ignored.

  Bai Shu was the first to finish reading. "The base is already retrofitting vehicles for snow travel and preparing the test cold-resistant combat suits. We’ll probably set out the day after tomorrow."

  This was a mandatory mission. As one of the most powerful combat teams, 3A couldn’t avoid it. The reward for this mission was 2.3 million points.

  Headquarters had also credited their points from the st mission and instructed the 3A team to visit the Craftsman Division. Their spatial storage cards were due for an upgrade, and Xu Duoduo, as a new member, would also receive her own spatial card.

  Qin Luo walked over, his expression serious. "This mission is different from the others. The weather outside is too harsh. Be extra careful, and don’t let your guard down."

  Wang Weihu and the others nodded. This wasn’t their first dangerous mission. They were used to walking on the edge of a knife. The more dangerous the mission, the more it honed their skills.

  Qin Luo looked at Xu Duoduo, still feeling a bit embarrassed and awkward. He cleared his throat. "Xu Duoduo, you don’t have much experience fighting in snowy conditions. This time, you have to stick with us and don’t charge ahead on your own, got it?"

  Xu Duoduo nodded, indicating that she understood. She wasn’t afraid.

  Good.

  Another mission was on the horizon!

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