The monitoring area on the second basement floor was crowded with many people, or rather, ability users and mutants.

For example, there was a bouncing rabbit-person, covered in fluffy fur with long ears, but with a normal human face and limbs. They looked more like someone wearing a furry mascot costume, but clearly, the fur wasn't fake, and they moved with hops and jumps.

Seeing people, they would open their mouth and ask, "Bro, which department do I go to for fur issues? My fur's been itchy lately."

The guy being asked was a chicken mutant, with a large red comb on his head and a rugged face. He replied, "Cluck cluck, bro, you go to dermatology, cluck cluck."

...

This fantastical scene made it hard not to imagine some kind of alternate world.

Xu Duoduo and the others looked away in unison, and after three seconds of silence, they all agreed to discuss this at home.

So they split up.

Bai Shu and the other two went back first, while Xu Duoduo and Qin Luo went for their monitoring.

Qin Luo's ability had upgraded, but there was no change for the little zombie Xu Duoduo, her speed still at 1.5. This wasn't particularly disappointing.

After all, her ability was spatial manipulation.

As they were walking back, they encountered a beautiful spider lady. Her upper body was human, but her lower body was that of a spider. As she approached, many people who were afraid of spiders screamed, making her blush with embarrassment.

Da Qiao, wearing a white coat and holding a bullfrog, was urgently helping to clear the area. "Make way, make way, this is a newly mutated spider lady. Don't scare her, please be understanding."

The spider lady covered her face in embarrassment, waving her eight legs as she crawled into the consultation room.

Da Qiao sighed in relief and, spotting Xu Duoduo and Qin Luo, immediately came over to greet them. "Oh, you're back? Here for ability monitoring? Your 3A team did great this time, taking down a three-star mutant monster."

She even noticed at a glance that Qin Luo's ability had improved. "Keep up the good work. Recently, the number of mutant monsters has been increasing, and their levels are getting higher. If our combat teams can't keep up with the mutant monsters' pace, we're done for!"

Mutants and mutant monsters are different. The former still possess human consciousness, while the latter have blood-red eyes, eat anything they see, and can hardly control their emotions. That's the difference. Mutants can live in the base under collar control, but mutant monsters can no longer be called human.

Da Qiao was also busy. She said she was in the middle of an experiment when she got a call to receive this spider lady, and now she had to return to the lab to continue her work.

"Let's have a drink together when we have time. It's been so hectic lately."

Even someone as calm as her was becoming irritable.

Da Qiao finished by winking at Xu Duoduo, "The little zombie baby should come too."

Qin Luo was already pulling Xu Duoduo away. "We'll see. For drinking, go find Old Wang. He loves it, he'd drink every day if he could."

With that, they slipped away.

Da Qiao was left laughing in exasperation.

"These two sisters aren't good news. If they invite you to eat, they definitely want something from you for research. Avoid them if you can, refuse if possible. Don't foolishly go along, or you might end up being researched. Understand?"

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Qin Luo earnestly explained to the little zombie. Xu Duoduo nodded obediently.

Although they had been gone for less than four days, the changes in the base were visible to the naked eye.

For instance, evolved humans, whether ability users or mutants, were now collectively called "new humans."

Many new high-rise buildings had been constructed in H City. To build so many buildings in just a few days must have been the work of ability users and mutants. There was no choice; with so many survivors crowding into H City, expansion was necessary.

They took the subway directly to the entrance of their residential area, which was the activity zone for ability users and mutants.

Ordinary people's psychological resilience and physical constitution couldn't keep up with the new humans. Moreover, combat teams returning from missions often had blood stains, which were harmless to new humans but lethal to ordinary people.

Dividing areas and living separately was a good solution.

The base's broadcast was still announcing nearby areas that had fallen, rescue numbers, and lists of casualties.

"Bzz bzz bzz."

"Good evening, everyone. We interrupt with an urgent notice. According to meteorological monitoring, Typhoon No. 1 'Tyrannosaurus' and No. 2 'Xizi' are approaching our coastal waters and will make landfall within 24 hours."

"The typhoon's path has been sent to the email inboxes of all combat teams. Please check. Personnel in the typhoon's path who are currently outside, please pay attention to your safety and protect the survivors. All personnel in H City base are not allowed to go out. The entire base will stop work, production, and classes."

The warning report came from a female announcer with a professional tone, but you could hear a slight tremor and tension in her voice.

Nearby ability users couldn't help but grumble upon hearing this. "Damn, I was planning to take on a few more missions. Now that's gone. I can barely afford the rent with my points!"

Someone else said, "This typhoon seems to be coming in strong. Even the announcer's voice is shaking. Think about those coastal cities. Last time they were almost submerged. If we're stopping work and production here, those cities in front must be completely..."

Damn!

It's hard not to swear in this crazy world. No one can stand it.

Xu Duoduo was still looking up, listening to the broadcast. The silver metal collar on her neck glinted a bit.

The little zombie looked very obedient like this.

Qin Luo reached out and patted her head. "Let's go. Stop listening. Let's head back. It's on the forum too. This is for ordinary people to hear."

Ordinary people didn't have the base's special wristbands and couldn't access the internet at all.

They had successfully returned to the era without internet, and only combat team members could use it. The residential area wasn't free to live in either.

To prevent combat teams from becoming arrogant, you had to pay rent to live in good housing. Without points, you could only live in dormitories, the kind where several people share one room.

The A, B, C, D, E, F, G buildings here represented quality from best to worst, with F building being the worst with eight-person dorm rooms.

Qin Luo and his team lived in A building, the best single apartments. Their team had plenty of points to pay the rent.

Chen Xiaofei and the others were cooking hot pot. This team battle against the mutant snake-person had earned them an average of 25,000 points each, enough for them to enjoy a good meal.

The three of them had sent a message earlier, telling Qin Luo and Xu Duoduo to come directly to Chen Xiaofei's room when they got back. It was on the same floor, just a few steps away.

Qin Luo led Xu Duoduo to turn right, arriving at Chen Xiaofei's door. They opened it and went in directly. "Yin-yang pot? Wait, how many points did you spend?"

"Not much, not much. Tonight's on me. I bought a lot of new and interesting ingredients. You guys are in for a treat!" Chen Xiaofei said with a smile as he busied himself bringing out dishes. "Little Squad Leader, make yourself at home. We're all family here, so no need for formalities!"

Xu Duoduo peeked out from behind Qin Luo. In the living room was a large yin-yang pot, divided into a white bone broth side and a spicy beef tallow side.

On the table, they had already prepared some dishes. Actually, Wang Weihu was in the kitchen wearing an apron, preparing the food, while Chen Xiaofei was running back and forth, bringing out ingredients and setting them on the table.

Bai Shu was reading information from the forum's database, occasionally pushing up his glasses.

To be honest,

If it weren't for his ability, he wouldn't have been able to fulfill his dream of being a sniper.

Now he wore glasses purely out of childhood habit, as it gave him a sense of security.