Brother Turtle stammered, "S-sell them. We'll set the price later."

  The rule was simple: whichever area the plants were grown in, the residents of that area would have priority purchasing rights.

  This led to some abilities users who loved durians refusing to let the plants be relocated, while others, who couldn't stand the smell, were utterly repulsed.

  In fact, the argument over this matter had already started early in the morning.

  Qin Luo couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "Alright, just let me know when they're actually up for sale."

  Brother Turtle nodded enthusiastically, signaling his agreement.

  Qin Luo then called out to Xu Duoduo, "Come on, stop staring. They're not ripe yet. We'll buy them when they are. Whoa, wait a second—why are there purple-black dragon fruits over here?"

  The entire community had turned into a harvest forest.

  But seriously, it's winter! How could these plants remain so lush and robust in such freezing temperatures?

  Outside the base, most plants were already dead, leaving the land barren and desolate.

  Yet here, people were even growing vegetables. Mutated corn stalks stood over four to five meters tall—just one ear of corn could last for ages! And there were cabbages so massive that it would take three people to carry one.

  Qin Luo felt a bit overwhelmed. Every time he returned, it seemed like the base had undergone some drastic changes. At this rate, he might not even recognize the place next time.

  Xu Duoduo, on the other hand, was utterly fascinated and refused to leave. In the end, Qin Luo had to drag her away, as she continued to marvel at the planting zones behind them, which were so enormous that she felt like she had stepped into the Jurassic period.

  When the two of them reached the 19th floor, they ran into Wang Weihu coming out of Bai Shu's room.

  Qin Luo immediately started venting. "Have you seen downstairs? It's absolutely ridiculous! How are these mutated plants growing so huge?"

  Wang Weihu couldn't help but laugh. "Little Bai just finished looking into it. All those seeds were brought back from R City, which has basically turned into a paradise for plants. The mutated vegetation there is gigantic, but they discovered many edible varieties."

  So, the combat squads had transported them back. The base was thrilled and sent even more people over to search for edible plants. Truly, this was the spirit of the "Planting Nation."

  Farming seemed to be an instinct etched into their very bones. No wonder the base was now a sea of green even in the dead of winter.

  It was incredible!

  But also a good thing.

  The more edible resources the base could cultivate, the better humanity's chances of survival.

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  Qin Luo was utterly exhausted. After dropping Xu Duoduo off at her room, he prepared to hit the hay. "Alright, it's getting late. All good kids should be in bed by now."

  Xu Duoduo glanced at the time—10:30 in the morning. Sleep? At this hour?

  But for combat squads, day and night often flipped around, as nighttime missions to eliminate threats were common.

  Qin Luo was genuinely tired. His nerves had been on edge for days, and only at home could he finally relax completely.

  Yawning, he said, "I'm going to bed. You should get some rest too. If I catch you staying up late to surf the web again, I swear I'll deal with you. Go to sleep."

  Xu Duoduo, remembering the last time she stayed up all night online, felt a bit guilty. Seeing how drained the big guy was, she quickly pushed him out of her room, urging him to go rest.

  Qin Luo grumbled as he left, "I tell you to sleep, and you're the one rushing me out? Fine, fine, I'm going."

  He reached out to ruffle her snowy white hair before shuffling off to the room next door.

  Xu Duoduo peeked out to make sure he had gone inside before pulling her head back and returning to her cozy little room. Looking around at her warm and inviting space, she felt a deep sense of contentment.

  She wasn't sleepy yet, so she decided to take a hot shower first, changing into comfortable pajamas. Standing in front of the mirror by the sink, she looked at her reflection.

  Her hair was still stark white, but she had grown used to it. In fact, she found it rather pretty now. Perhaps it was because everyone kept complimenting her beauty, and she had come to accept her current appearance.

  The little zombie skillfully tidied herself up, then climbed onto her favorite windowsill with a snack in hand. Gazing out at the towering walls of the base, she began organizing the items in her spatial storage.

  She pulled out a variety of seeds, likely from some seed store she had looted. There were all kinds of vegetable and bean seeds. She decided to plant them in her spatial dimension, assigning one type of seed to each grid.

  She planned to observe how they would grow.

  When she focused on the water grid, a small amount of water materialized in her hand. It was crystal clear. She lowered her head and sniffed it like a curious animal.

  There was no strange odor. She took a sip and found it to be sweet and refreshing, like mountain spring water.

  It seemed to have a slight rejuvenating effect, relieving her fatigue and quenching her thirst—though that was about it.

  Xu Duoduo tilted her head thoughtfully. So, she essentially had an endless supply of pure water?

  That was incredible!

  Water was an extremely precious resource, after all.

  She was beginning to realize just how extraordinary her spatial dimension was. With unlimited storage and various functions, it could potentially become humanity's ultimate trump card in a world of dwindling resources. She resolved to protect it at all costs.

  The apocalypse was unpredictable; no one knew what challenges lay ahead.

  The red tendrils of destruction, she speculated, could be activated through sheer willpower, as demonstrated when she annihilated the mutated snake-man or tested it on small crabs.

  The white field, on the other hand, seemed to create a spatial shield—a personal, impenetrable domain that isolated her from the outside world.

  Xu Duoduo felt her understanding was mostly accurate. With further practice and research, she believed she could master the use of her spatial dimension.

  Exhaling deeply, she felt much more at ease. Indeed, only in a completely safe environment could she take her time to explore and understand her powers. Her mind worked slowly, so she could only tackle one problem at a time. Too many complexities would leave her stuck.

  After resolving this major concern, she finally began to feel sleepy. Outside, snow had started falling—a blizzard. Massive snowflakes descended from the sky.

  Downstairs, an abilities user shouted in alarm, "What the hell? Snowing out of nowhere?!"

  Yet the plants in the community showed no signs of being affected. If anything, they looked even more vibrant in the cold.

  Before long, a thick layer of snow blanketed the ground. The base assigned new tasks to the mutants. Xu Duoduo spotted a rabbit—not the Rabbit Bro from before, but another snow rabbit, enormous in size.

  It hopped around the snowy ground, rolling the snow into large balls and stacking them neatly to the side.

  Rows upon rows of perfectly aligned snowballs soon appeared in the community, mysteriously adorable.

  As Xu Duoduo drifted off to sleep, she found herself thinking about how fluffy the snow rabbit's fur must be—so warm and cozy. No wonder it didn't fear the cold.

  The thought of fluffiness reminded her of Big Dog's big tail. She hadn't petted that tail in ages.

  She missed it.

  Her room was warm and snug. The little zombie fell asleep on the windowsill, wrapped in a blanket.

  Snacks were scattered all over the floor.

  She slept deeply, waking up to the sound of Chen Xiaofei's loud voice. "Four of a kind! Haha! You're done for! Call me Daddy!"

  Squinting, Xu Duoduo noticed an extra coat draped over her blanket. Meanwhile, Big Dog and the others were playing cards around the coffee table.

  The windows were frosted over.

  The indoor temperature wasn't as high as before, and outside, the ground was covered in thick snow.

  Qin Luo was the first to notice she was awake. He greeted her with a smirk, "Oh, you're up? Welcome to the Little Ice Age, sweetheart. Life's about to get a whole lot tougher."