Qin Luo jumped up at this moment, tossing a bag of mutation cores into Xu Duoduo's arms.

"Just traded a few two-star mutation cores from mutant beasts. Have you guys collected all the cores on our side?"

Chen Xiaofei, his mouth stuffed full, nodded vaguely. "Mmm-mmm, all collected. They're with the class monitor."

The little zombie saw that her arms now held seven or eight more two-star animal mutation cores and was overjoyed. Her tiny claws eagerly pawed through the bag of cores.

The cores were only about the size of lychees—four green ones, two red ones, and one orange one.

They even had different scents: grass, apple, and orange.

She loved it!!

Qin Luo also sat down, took off his gloves, and began eating. "Rice wraps for dinner today?"

Xu Duoduo's space was stocked with an impressive amount of food. Who knew how long she'd been hoarding it? The variety alone was staggering, with all kinds of dishes prepared in different ways.

And every single one smelled amazing.

Bai Shu was eating so much he couldn't even talk. When he got tired of rice wraps, he'd nibble on some lemon boneless chicken feet. If he felt choked up, he'd take a sip of rich chicken soup to wash it down. Life was just too good.

"After working ourselves to the bone, having such delicious food is heaven. Class monitor, how are you this awesome? You're just too good to us!"

Chen Xiaofei kept rambling between bites. "I can't even remember what life was like before the class monitor was around!"

Bai Shu slowed down after eating to about eighty percent full and chimed in, "What was it like? Hungry, gnawing on dry rations, and drinking water when thirsty."

The early versions of nutrient solutions tasted awful, and energy bars were overly sweet and cloying.

Not that they were inedible.

But eating them only kept you from starving; they never gave you any satisfaction.

In the end, nothing beats a good meal of white rice and real dishes!

Even Qin Luo, while munching on his rice wrap, couldn't help but sigh at the aroma. "Without Xu Duoduo, would we even dare to dream of having multiple dishes and soup for every meal? Or of having herbal teas besides plain water? Dream on."

Their little zombie was truly amazing!

The three of them grew more sentimental as they ate, their gazes toward Xu Duoduo filled with palpable *affection*.

But the little zombie had no idea. She was still busy counting mutation cores. Earlier, because they had to split the cores with the Cheetah and White Dove teams, Chen Xiaofei had done some calculations. However, he hadn't included the zombie mutation cores they'd collected earlier. She needed to tally those up.

Her little brain was slow, though.

So, she diligently sat to the side, counting mutation cores with her tiny claws.

She finally arrived at a total: 21,200 zombie mutation cores. Not bad at all!!

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Currently, the base's exchange rate for mutation cores was 5,000 points per one-star core.

Oh my god!

Unknowingly, their team had become so wealthy! Xu Duoduo's eyes sparkled with excitement. She glanced at the mountain of supplies in her Rubik's Cube space. They had enough food to last the four of them a lifetime. The one-star mutation cores from the mutant bats were her personal snacks, enough to sustain her for ages.

Not to mention the stash of two-star cores and even the three-star core from the mutated snake-man.

The newly acquired zombie mutation cores could be spent or used as currency in place of points.

She couldn't be more satisfied.

Her space was also packed with snacks and drinks. The little zombie was living the dream.

She pulled out some snacks to munch on. They had a bit of flavor now, much better than before.

Qin Luo, while reviewing the battle with Bai Shu and Chen Xiaofei, caught sight of her snacking. Finding it intriguing, he casually asked, "Can you taste it now?"

As soon as he spoke, his hand moved instinctively to flip his chopsticks around and pick up a chicken foot, which he then stuffed into her mouth, watching her chew.

It had become a habit. Back at the base, Xu Duoduo couldn't taste anything and would just sit there watching them eat. Since she couldn't use chopsticks with her claws, Qin Luo had felt uncomfortable and started feeding her out of habit. Over time, it became second nature. Now, his hand acted before his brain even processed it.

Xu Duoduo chewed and chewed. The lemon boneless chicken foot tasted like rubber in her mouth, utterly flavorless. She scrunched up her face, signaling that she didn't want it anymore.

Suddenly, a mocking laugh came from downstairs. "How touching. Treating your teammate so well? Even feeding her?"

Jin Chuanqiong's snarky mouth just couldn't stay shut. Seeing Qin Luo feeding a zombie, he couldn't resist making a jab.

Bai Shu quickly reminded Qin Luo, "We still need him for the mission. Let's deal with him after it's over."

Only then did Qin Luo narrow his eyes and hold back, though he really wanted to zap Jin Chuanqiong into ashes.

Such a buzzkill.

Jin Chuanqiong, spotting the Rose Team nearby, couldn't help but taunt further. "Oh! Didn't someone say whoever kills fewer zombies is trash? And yet, you're still relying on others for help? Why not handle it on your own? What's the matter? Can't manage without teaming up with Captain Qin? Tsk, not everyone can fend for themselves."

He then smugly turned to his teammates and asked, "Hey, how many cores did we collect again? 6,300, right?! All those one-star zombies flocked to us! Quite the haul, huh?"

But the Cheetah and White Dove teams, being straightforward, immediately started discussing the numbers.

"6,300? Really? That little? We were in the rear and still got 12,000. We split them with Captain Qin's team, and even then, each of our teams got 4,000. Captain Qin's group must've collected way more up front."

"Yeah, totally!"

"I think so too. Captain Qin's team must've collected at least 20,000 cores, minimum."

The implication was clear: they had way more than 6,300. Just look at the towering pile of zombie remains over there!

These honest kids spoke with such sincerity that even their eyes gleamed with conviction.

Wang Weihu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Jin Chuanqiong's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and his teammates felt the secondhand embarrassment.

"Boss Jin, seriously, the zombie remains over there are way more than ours."

"Shut up!! Do I need you to remind me?!" Jin Chuanqiong snapped, utterly humiliated.

The Rose Team's lovely ladies all burst into laughter. Even Mu Mei felt vindicated!

Xu Duoduo, hearing everyone talk about numbers, perked up. She could do math! She pulled out her tablet and showed Qin Luo and the others: **[We have a total of 25,200 cores.]**

Qin Luo was nearly overwhelmed by how adorable she was! Bai Shu and Chen Xiaofei almost laughed themselves to tears.

Qin Luo, now energized, took a sip of soup to clear his throat before speaking in a deliberately mocking tone, "No way, no way. Don't tell me someone’s already bragging with just 6,300 cores? My little class monitor here says our 3A Team collected a grand total of 25,200 cores!"

Chen Xiaofei immediately caught on and joined in, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh dear, oh dear. Captain Qin, you don’t think someone’s really this eager to show off, do you?"

Jin Chuanqiong gritted his teeth. "You—!!"

"What?" Qin Luo glanced at him, his gaze icy and intimidating, exuding an aura of dominance that made people shiver.

Jin Chuanqiong, having lost face, initially wanted to crush their morale. But he hadn't expected their side to have so many one-star zombies.

Remembering the sting of Qin Luo's lightning, he begrudgingly led his team away.

The Cheetah and White Dove teams, meanwhile, were slow to realize what had happened. The naive kids asked innocently, "Uh, did we just offend Captain Jin?"

Not "maybe."

They absolutely did!!

Wang Weihu was thoroughly amused by these rookies. "Relax. Headquarters prohibits infighting among ability users. He won't dare touch you."

At most, he'd just hurl a few insults to make people uncomfortable.

The little zombie tilted her head, glancing at everyone. Why wasn’t anyone praising her for her excellent math skills?