Chen Xiaofei climbed back into the vehicle, sulking as he looked at Qin Luo and Wang Weihu, who clearly weren't taking his side. Turning to Xu Duoduo for comfort, he whined, "Class Leader, look at them! They're bullying me! It's just too much!"

  Bai Shu retorted, "And you suspect me of betraying my teammates? Aren't you bullying me too?"

  Chen Xiaofei immediately put on a repentant face, "I'm sorry! I was just joking, boohoo."

  Bai Shu let out a disdainful snort.

  Fearing Bai Shu might really be upset, Chen Xiaofei lowered his voice and started coaxing him.

  But Bai Shu paid him no mind, burying his head in his report-writing.

  Unbothered, Wang Weihu started the vehicle, planning to drive it to the resting quarters before putting it away.

  The car roared back to life.

  Qin Luo glanced down at the little zombie sitting on his lap. She showed no self-awareness at all. He shifted slightly, sighed, and teased her, "You really like clinging to me, huh? Just now you were even rubbing against me. What are you, a puppy or a kitten? And your hair's gone white again today. Don't scare yourself later and start crying. I won't comfort you if you do. Who was crying 'kuku' while hoarding stuff last night, huh?"

  No self-awareness whatsoever.

  A spatial ability user who could overwork herself into fainting—he had never seen anything like it.

  Damn it.

  The more he thought about it, the cuter she seemed.

  Qin Luo quickly tried to suppress the upward curve of his lips, schooling his expression into one of righteous seriousness as he continued to "lecture" the little zombie.

  Xu Duoduo, wrapped in a blanket like a cocoon, didn't seem to mind his scolding. After all, he was the one who bundled her up like this last night and hadn't unwrapped her since. She simply stared at the top of his head.

  Qin "Big Dog" Luo felt a bit unnerved under her gaze. He couldn't help but raise a hand to touch his hair. "What are you staring at? I haven't shapeshifted or anything. Xu Duoduo, how old are you today?"

  The last time her hair turned white, she acted dumb for ages. He hoped she hadn't lost the little IQ she had managed to accumulate.

  Xu Duoduo gave him a look that screamed "idiot," her eyes even showing a hint of disdain. She spat out a single word: "Annoying."

  Freshly awakened, Big Dog Luo was still nagging her, teasing her, and even asking her age. What a bad dog! She decided to ignore him.

  Qin Luo was utterly shocked. "What the hell? Old Wang, did you hear that? Xu Duoduo just said I'm annoying!"

  Wang Weihu focused on driving, ignoring him. Chen Xiaofei was still busy pestering Bai Shu.

  Qin Luo didn't care and continued looking down at Xu Duoduo. "You think I'm annoying? That's rich! If I'm so annoying, why are you still sitting on my lap? Next time, I won't let you touch my ears."

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  What a shameless move—using this to threaten a zombie!

  Xu Duoduo froze, calculating the pros and cons. In the end, she decided it would be a huge loss if she couldn't touch his ears anymore. So, she took the initiative to scoot closer, wrapping her arms around his neck in an attempt to give him a hug to make up for it.

  But he rejected her.

  Blushing furiously, Qin Luo lifted her off his lap and set her down beside him. He really couldn't handle any more of her clinging.

  "Uh, I was just messing with you. Alright, stay over there by yourself now."

  The little zombie was left with a face full of question marks. ???

  So now she wasn't allowed to stick to him anymore?

  Fine, whatever.

  Xu Duoduo didn't dwell on it. She pulled out her tablet and started browsing the forums.

  The internet-addicted zombie was back online.

  The recent mission at the I City base had left many battle teams in awe.

  Who could've guessed things would turn out like that?

  Once again, 3A Special Operations Team received widespread praise. Xu Duoduo was online specifically to look for compliments.

  Zombies loved seeing people praise their own team.

  She first handed over a pile of breakfast food to Chen Xiaofei to prevent him from bothering her later. He was sitting in the middle row today.

  Xu Duoduo passed him four cartons of brown sugar-flavored buffalo milk, a bag of tea eggs, a large box of meat buns, and some grilled sausages.

  Chen Xiaofei, parched from trying to placate Bai Shu, was moved to tears when the food seemingly fell from the heavens. "Boohoo, Class Leader, you're the best! So much good food—it’s enough to heal my almost-shattered soul!"

  Qin Luo couldn't stand it anymore and reminded him, "Chen Xiaofei, have you ever thought about it? When has Bai Shu ever truly ignored you? He stopped being mad ages ago."

  Chen Xiaofei, oblivious as always, kept falling for Bai Shu's schemes despite knowing how cunning he was.

  Unbelievable.

  Sure enough, Bai Shu chuckled, and Chen Xiaofei froze. Finally realizing what had happened, he let out a howl and lunged at Bai Shu, declaring, "Let's settle this today! A fight to the death!"

  "Ha! You're the one who's stupid. Who's to blame for that?"

  While the middle row descended into "world war," the back row was full of "tender loving care" (or rather, Qin Luo teasing the little zombie).

  Wang Weihu, unfazed by it all, even put on some music and hummed along, completely off-key.

  He was long used to his teammates' antics. The so-called cold and ruthless 3A team? The battle-crazed maniacs? In private, they were as childish as could be, with a combined IQ of no more than twelve.

  Xu Duoduo curled up in the back row, listening to the cheerful music and Wang Weihu's out-of-tune humming. She watched Bai Shu and Chen Xiaofei bicker while Qin Luo muttered beside her.

  Suddenly, she smiled.

  The weather today was mediocre.

  In the apocalypse, there was no sun, so the base always had its lights on.

  By chance, the light from a roadside billboard illuminated Xu Duoduo's face just as she smiled. Her eyes sparkled, her expression no longer stiff and emotionless.

  And in that moment, Qin Luo's heart soared. His face turned beet red, but his gaze stayed glued to her smiling face, unable to look away.

  Qin Luo had never believed in those overly sentimental love stories, but in this instant, he found himself wishing time could stop forever.

  This moment—he knew he'd never forget it for the rest of his life.

  It wasn't until Xu Duoduo realized she was smiling and quickly suppressed it that Qin Luo snapped out of it. She worried her smile might look ugly since her face had become stiff after turning into a zombie.

  Qin Luo hurriedly turned his head away, looking out the car window instead, leaving her with the back of his head and his reddened ears.

  Xu Duoduo tilted her head in confusion but didn't dwell on it. The cheerful music was too distracting, and soon she was nodding her head along to the rhythm, utterly content.

  The lively atmosphere lasted until they reached the reception building.

  Most of the battle teams had returned, and everyone had managed to catch some sleep, regaining a bit of energy.

  Still, many were groaning and complaining about their sore muscles—an inevitable consequence.

  The first-floor lobby was bustling with people eating.

  Xiaolu, a staff member, was also there. She had recently been promoted, received a raise, and even got a bonus. She had moved into a new house where she could live with her parents and younger sister, no longer separated.

  Spotting the 3A team, she eagerly approached with food in hand. "Captain Qin! Brother Wang, Brother Bai, Brother Chen, and Little Sister Xu, have you all had breakfast?"

  Xiaolu was visibly excited to see her benefactors. "The base prepared a seafood feast for the battle teams—there's seafood porridge and seafood rice. What would you like to eat?"

  She truly didn't know how to thank them. She hadn't expected the mayor to be a villain or that the 3A team would so swiftly bring down the oppressive forces!

  "Before, the base's rules were so harsh. Because I was young and somewhat good-looking, I managed to get a job that included food and lodging. But my family had to stay in the refugee tent area. I was in so much pain every day."

  Wu Dahai, that heartless man, had deliberately separated families, refusing to let workers live with their relatives in the dormitories. This forced many to work themselves to the bone just to get their loved ones out of the tent area.

  He was truly a master manipulator.

  But now, he was dead—so dead he couldn't possibly come back.