When Bai Shu, Chen Xiaofei, and Wang Weihu returned, they found Qin Luo's ears still red, and the three of them kept stealing curious glances.

Before they could ask, Qin Luo warned them not to - or he'd have to silence them permanently!

Chen Xiaofei immediately nodded obediently, saying he wouldn't ask, but then secretly whispered to Bai Shu: "What's wrong with Brother Qin? Is he losing his mind?"

Bai Shu pushed up his glasses, looking like a wise sage, "Oh, men in love are all fools, completely devoid of reason."

Chen Xiaofei buried his head, trying to suppress his laughter.

Though Qin Luo's face still felt hot, he put on a serious expression and pulled rank as team leader, telling them to hurry up and finish breakfast so they could depart.

Others had clearly noticed their situation - things appearing and disappearing into thin air.

While ordinary survivors looked shocked, other ability users wore envious expressions.

They knew how valuable spatial storage cards were, yet the 3A team each had one!

Incredible.

When Mu Enya passed by, she couldn't help commenting, "You guys are so enviable, everyone really has a spatial storage card? In our team, only our captain has one, and it's just fifty cubic meters."

These items could only be obtained through headquarters' approval, with resources matching abilities.

Mu Enya was just making conversation - she'd heard that the 3A team worked incredibly hard, saving countless survivors. Their benefits were well-deserved.

After all, there were risks they wouldn't take, but the 3A team was always on the front lines.

She swallowed hard and continued, "And your meals are amazing! You even have porridge - did you buy it at the base or cook it yourselves? And you still have the energy! When I return from missions, I just want to collapse."

Mu Enya sighed.

Chen Xiaofei looked up and mumbled through a mouthful, "Mmm, our Little Squad Leader cooked it. Amazing, right?"

Just as he finished speaking, Bai Shu quickly snatched the egg from his bowl, infuriating Chen Xiaofei!

The four of them were wolfing down their food, and only Wang Weihu managed to properly respond between bites, "Would you like half of my porridge?"

Mu Enya was actually tempted to accept - she was that hungry. How long had it been since she'd eaten normal food? All she'd had was dry rations and sickly-sweet nutrient solutions. She was starving to her bones.

But then suddenly, a bright red thermos appeared before her.

Mu Enya looked down to see the little zombie expressionlessly offering it to her, though her eyes were bright. She was shocked: "This... this is for me??"

She had only stopped to chat because she was too hungry to resist.

She hadn't actually meant to beg for food.

Mu Enya hesitated, "Ingredients must be expensive now, right? Who knows how many points rice costs at the base now, and this porridge has meat, mushrooms, and vegetables..."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She kept swallowing as she spoke.

Qin Luo told her, "Take it, she wants you to have it."

Hearing Mu Enya describe the porridge's ingredients so accurately, they knew she was truly hungry.

Everyone was trying not to smile.

Bai Shu also took out the spicy radish from his spatial storage, "Here, take this too. You can eat it with your rations for some flavor. Thanks for last night - we all got good sleep because of your team's watch."

Mu Enya finally accepted, quickly thanking the little zombie while taking the food, "It's nothing, we're heading back to base while you're going to the front lines for rescue. You need the energy more - our return trip will be quick."

This was true.

Many routes had been cleared by combat teams, leaving few zombies on the roads. Only scattered ones remained.

They just needed to watch out for special mutants and mutated animals - the return journey would be much faster.

When Xu Duoduo heard this, she looked at Mu Enya's teammates - seven people in total - thought for a moment, and pulled out a bag of large buns for her.

Mu Enya was almost moved to tears, "God, I'd almost forgotten what buns taste like!"

Knowing how precious these were, she quickly thanked them, hugging the food while saying softly, "I can't thank you enough - let's meet up properly when we're back at base!"

Unable to salute while holding everything, and finding the little zombie squatting nearby too adorable, Mu Enya couldn't resist giving Xu Duoduo a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, sweetie! You're truly the world's best little zombie! When we're safely back, let's become sworn sisters at the base!"

Such amazing cooking skills!

Having such a friend was pure happiness!

She finally understood why the 3A team treated this little zombie so well!

She deserved it!

Mu Enya happily left with her food, leaving behind a dazed Xu Duoduo and shocked expressions on Chen Xiaofei, Bai Shu, and Wang Weihu!

Was this how girls thanked each other? Just kissing cheeks without warning?

Qin Luo bristled, exclaiming urgently: "Hey, how can you just kiss someone like that?"

In contrast, the little zombie, after a moment's surprise, seemed quite happy, swaying back and forth while squatting, as Mu Enya had reminded her of her own good friends.

Being treated like a human felt wonderful, and the little zombie was delighted.

Qin Luo kept muttering, feeling the pain of having someone pet his precious flower without permission - how could someone be so informal, kissing people randomly?

But Xu Duoduo was still happy!

So happy that she pulled out a chew toy and started gnawing on it, making creepy crunching sounds.

While Bai Shu and the other two were enjoying the rare sight of Qin Luo being jealous, the next second they got goosebumps from the teeth-grinding noise, like nails on a chalkboard.

Chen Xiaofei winced at the sound, "Whew, is it okay for Little Squad Leader to grind her teeth like that?"

Wang Weihu shook his head, "Maybe it feels better this way? Reminds me of my little niece when she was teething."

Bai Shu, having finished breakfast, was scrolling on his tablet, "Old Wang, what you said reminds me of a post I saw about how some people's abilities can cause regression issues when overused."

He thought for a moment before offering a new theory, "What if for mutants, this evolution is like a new growth phase? If I'm right, could our Little Squad Leader be entering the oral stage?"

In animal terms, it would be the teething phase.

If this wasn't regression but evolution, that would be interesting.

What would mutants ultimately evolve into?

Would they still be human?

Chen Xiaofei rubbed his arms vigorously, exclaiming, "Could you stop making such scary hypotheses?!"

Bai Shu calmly pushed up his glasses, "The desire for knowledge is the source of human progress."

Wang Weihu recalled the scene of Xu Duoduo killing the mutant snake-person - it had taken them forever to reduce its health bar by a third, yet she had destroyed it in one move.

That difference in power...

If Bai Shu's guess was right, wouldn't that mean ability users were inferior to mutants?

Seeing their serious expressions, Qin Luo spoke up, "Enough, why think so much? We'll have answers eventually."

Their job was to train, improve their strength, and gather supplies.