Chen Xiaofei sealed the last bottle of contaminants and turned to see Wang Weihu standing with his arms crossed, scolding the rookie teams. Behind him, his striped yellow-and-black tiger tail swayed back and forth. The two rookie teams stood there with their heads hanging low, looking as pitiful as could be.

"Ha! Old Wang is at it again, yelling at rookies. Does he not realize how ridiculously cute he looks with those tiger ears and tail? Hahaha!"

Qin Luo took the two bottles Xu Duoduo had collected, combined them with his own, and handed them all to Zhou Siqi. Seeing the scene in front of him, he couldn’t help but laugh as well.

"He's playing both the good cop and the bad cop all by himself," Qin Luo joked with a chuckle.

As he finished speaking, he removed his disposable gloves and turned to help Xu Duoduo take hers off. But just as he reached out, he noticed her staring intently at his tail.

A shiver ran down his spine.

He instinctively glanced at her, then at his tail, and even the wolf ears on his head twitched nervously.

Xu Duoduo’s gaze shifted to his head, her eyes practically burning holes into his ears.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Qin Luo, his face already turning red, was about to tell her not to stare. After all, there were so many people around—how could he just let her touch his ears or hug his tail in public?

Did he not need his dignity anymore?

But then, to his shock, Xu Duoduo turned and walked away.

She walked away?!

She actually walked away?!

Qin Luo was dumbfounded.

No, this wasn’t right!

Based on her usual behavior, she should’ve pouted or acted all pitiful if he didn’t let her touch his tail.

Something was off! Very off! Xu Duoduo was acting strange. She actually resisted the urge to touch his tail?

Qin Luo began to question everything.

Noticing the situation, Chen Xiaofei burst into laughter. "Oh no, oh no, looks like the squad leader doesn’t care about you anymore~"

Qin Luo bared his teeth at him. "Scram, scram, scram!"

Bai Shu, who had just finished documenting the scene, chimed in with a smirk, "Oh ho, looks like someone’s first love doesn’t want him anymore~"

Chen Xiaofei grinned widely, his teeth on full display. "Haha, look at him! He’s panicking, he’s panicking!"

Qin Luo, thoroughly annoyed, ignored the two troublemakers and strode off with his long legs to find the little zombie. Last night, it seemed like she had grown up a bit.

Even Chen Xiaofei had commented that her mental state seemed to have matured by several years, though Qin Luo hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

When Qin Luo found her, she was pulling their 3A Team’s off-road vehicle out of her spatial storage. She climbed onto it herself—something she couldn’t do before without struggling.

Back then, her movements had been clumsy and awkward.

Now, she was as nimble as could be.

Qin Luo, feeling a bit anxious, climbed into the car as well, only to see her crawling toward the back seat. "Hey, wait a minute. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Did seeing the Withered Butterfly upset you? Are you sad? Did it remind you of yourself? At least talk to me!"

Just as he finished speaking, Xu Duoduo turned her head, and their eyes met. He froze for a moment.

The little zombie glanced outside the car, nodded in satisfaction when she saw no one around, then looked back inside. Perfect. The big dog was here. She was pleased.

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She raised her little hands and patted the seat, signaling him to come over and sit next to her.

Qin Luo, unsure of her intentions but noticing she seemed slightly better than before, hesitated. Despite a vague sense of impending danger, he bent down and moved to the back seat as she instructed.

The next second, she grabbed him and pulled him closer.

They were now sitting so close that he could practically count the pores on her face.

Captain Qin froze in place.

Xu Duoduo wasted no time. She reached up and grabbed his wolf ears. They were fluffy, thick, and soft to the touch. Her entire zombie self lit up with joy, her eyes sparkling.

Qin Luo’s face turned an intense shade of red. Supporting himself with one hand on the seat, he used the other to cover his face. "Damn it, so this is what you were planning?!"

He suddenly remembered telling her before that she couldn’t touch his ears when there were people around.

She knew he would follow her if she wandered off, so she had deliberately lured him into the car.

"Well played! You’re using strategy now? Pulling tricks on me, huh?!"

If his face weren’t so red, he might’ve looked intimidating. But with his flushed cheeks, he lost all semblance of authority.

Especially since she leaned in even closer. Not satisfied with just his ears, she started tugging him further into the back seat.

Qin Luo sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright, go ahead. Just don’t pull so hard, okay?"

As long as she still liked him, that was all that mattered.

That brief moment of cold indifference earlier had left him feeling chilly and panicked.

Dogs feared nothing more than being abandoned by their owners.

The moment Qin Luo settled into the back seat, Xu Duoduo climbed onto his lap. She reached for his tail—a big, fluffy, gray wolf tail!

The little zombie was ecstatic!

She squeezed it, stroked it, and finally hugged the tip of the tail to her chest.

Ah, bliss.

Qin Luo slumped against the seat, covering his face with his arm in utter resignation. His ears were burning red.

Help.

When she ignored him, he felt miserable. But now that she liked him too much, it was overwhelming. His entire body tingled, his face flushed all the way down to his neck.

Grinding his teeth, Qin Luo muttered, "Fine, I’ll let you off this time. But make it quick, alright? Stop messing around!"

His voice trembled slightly, and it was oddly endearing.

The little zombie blushed.

Xu Duoduo froze for a moment, staring at the fluffy tail in her hands. Oh no, had she hurt him?

Still, she had her fill today.

Reluctantly, she placed his tail back in its proper position, though she couldn’t resist giving his ears one last playful tug. Finally, she sat on his lap, dazing out for a while.

But Qin Luo, still covering his face, refused to look at her. She reached out to pull his arm down, but he wouldn’t budge.

After sitting there for a bit, Xu Duoduo grew bored and flopped forward, resting her forehead against his firm chest. Curious, she noticed how strong and steady his heartbeat was.

*Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!*

For a little zombie with no heartbeat of her own, this was fascinating. She touched her own chest, feeling the silence within, and pouted. Eventually, exhaustion overtook her, and she drifted off to sleep.

She had barely slept two hours after last night’s battle. She was utterly spent.

When Xu Duoduo fell asleep, she did so instantly.

It took Qin Luo a few minutes to calm down. He lowered his arm and looked at her, now curled up on his lap, her head resting against his chest.

How could she sleep in such an awkward position?

Qin Luo sighed, gently picking her up and placing her on the seat beside him. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped her up like a little zombie burrito. She didn’t even stir.

Normal people, even while asleep, would have some eye movement. But not her.

He knew how much she wanted to be human.

He understood her.

And that’s why he could never resist her pitiful demeanor. She always made his heart ache in the softest, most unbearable way.

Bai Shu passed by and knocked on the car door. "Hey, need me to close the door for you two?"

Was it impossible for this guy to go a single moment without teasing someone?

Qin Luo snapped, "Shut up! Is the handover done? If it’s finished, let’s get moving."

Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, and have that Withered Butterfly mutant come with us."

They wouldn’t linger here too long.

They’d clean up some nearby zombies, collect a few more mutation cores, and then leave. This place was too contaminated to salvage much anyway.

Hearing the serious tone, Bai Shu straightened up. "Almost done. Just waiting on Chen Xiaofei and the others. The Withered Butterfly mutant seems willing to join us too."

That was expected. After all, they had taken Da Qiao’s five million points. That many points could buy a lot of equipment.

Qin Luo nodded. "Alright, once they’re back, we’ll head out."