By the time Xu Duoduo finished changing her clothes, the crowd of onlookers had already dispersed. Everyone had their own tasks to carry out, but seeing the massive haul of the 3A Special Operations Team had clearly motivated them. One by one, they all rushed off to catch mutated seafood.

  Bai Shu had finished filming, and the giant octopus could now be stored in the spatial storage.

  Qin Luo reminded them, "This thing’s been seen by others; it’s too big to hide. Before we return to the base, Xu Duoduo, remember to split it up and store it in our spatial cards."

  The little zombie, freshly changed into clean clothes, nodded and resumed following closely behind Chen Xiaofei.

  Chen Xiaofei stretched his arms and legs. "Alright, let’s keep going! Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to stockpile a ton of seafood! Feels like we could eat for hundreds of years, hahahaha."

  Just thinking about it made him giddy.

  After saying this, he scooped up Xu Duoduo effortlessly. "Come on, come on, little class monitor, let’s keep moving. I just saw some mantis shrimp over there. Let’s grab them. My god, they’re so massive they look like you could ride them! Imagine how amazing the meat must taste."

  Hearing about mantis shrimp made Xu Duoduo drool. Spicy mantis shrimp, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, steamed mantis shrimp—each sounded delicious. She wanted to say “Let’s go,” but after struggling to form the words, all she managed was a single syllable: "Go."

  As Chen Xiaofei took off with her, he was so overjoyed at her attempt to speak that he nearly shouted, "What? Little class monitor, did you just say something? Go? Dog? Go? Holy crap, Qin-ge, the little class monitor spoke! She really did! My god, her voice is so sweet."

  Qin Luo, hearing this, couldn’t help but glance up and chide him, "Watch where you’re going. What if you drop Xu Duoduo?"

  He muttered to himself afterward, "Seriously, Xu Duoduo speaking is completely normal. Lately, she’s been uttering syllables here and there. Haven’t you heard it before?"

  What a fuss over nothing.

  But then again, Qin Luo thought, it made sense. After all, Xu Duoduo was always trailing behind him. It was only natural that he got to hear her more often than the others.

  Tsk tsk tsk.

  Qin Luo sighed inwardly. Who could blame Xu Duoduo, this little zombie, for liking him so much?

  Ah, he was just too likable.

  Bai Shu walked past and couldn’t resist teasing, "Qin-ge, if you keep grinning like that, your face is going to split open."

  Qin Luo immediately straightened his face and snapped, "Mind your own business!"

  Bai Shu turned away, laughing, and even Wang Weihu couldn’t hold back, snorting as he tried to stifle his laughter.

  The weather in I City was still far from pleasant.

  The group continued to venture deeper into the low-lying areas, only to discover that the tide had unexpectedly receded.

  The city streets in the lowlands gradually revealed their original appearance, though everything remained damp and sandy, with piles of sediment washed into various corners.

  This was truly a case of "chasing the tide."

  Chen Xiaofei brought Xu Duoduo to a spot where seawater still lingered. Armed with a small shovel and bucket, the two began digging for clams. In fact, "digging" might not even be the right word—these clams were piled up in mounds by the retreating water.

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  Bai Shu and Qin Luo stayed nearby, keeping watch.

  Wang Weihu, meanwhile, put away their vehicle and joined in, dealing with the zombies in the vicinity.

  These zombies were trapped on upper floors of buildings. Rather than waiting for them to mutate into even more dangerous creatures, it was better to eliminate them now. The cold weather also slowed their movements, making them easier to deal with.

  This area was relatively dry, so there was no risk of accidentally injuring teammates. Qin Luo could finally unleash his abilities. A single burst of lightning from him would take down a whole cluster of mantis shrimp.

  Whenever this happened, he’d call out, "Come here, Xu Duoduo! Collect these!"

  And sure enough, the little zombie would come scampering over, waving her claws to store the seafood. In an instant, the entire pile of mantis shrimp would vanish. Her efficiency far outpaced her work with Chen Xiaofei.

  Afterward, Xu Duoduo would refuse to leave, sticking close to Qin Luo like glue. Wherever he zapped, she’d collect, working with unmatched efficiency. Her spatial storage quickly filled with seafood, and then, out of nowhere, her head throbbed in pain.

  Inside her consciousness, the multi-faced Rubik’s Cube space spun rapidly, adding numerous new faces. This time, the faces were even color-coded, leaving the little zombie utterly bewildered.

  It felt more like some kind of inheritance. Somehow, she instinctively understood the purpose of each color.

  There were six colors in total, positioned as follows: red in the front, orange in the back, yellow on top, white on the bottom, blue on the left, and green on the right.

  Red represented "Slaughter," white was "Domain," blue was "Water," and green was "Cultivation." Both orange and yellow were time-stasis storage spaces.

  The little zombie was completely flabbergasted.

  Just then, she spotted a small crab scuttling by. She instinctively activated the red "Slaughter" function in her mind, and the crab exploded instantly, as if it had been struck by some mutated snake-human hybrid.

  Panicking, she quickly kicked some sand over the remains to hide the evidence.

  This new spatial ability was far beyond her comprehension. It would take her ages to figure it out. For now, she decided to set it aside. The outside world was still too dangerous for her to divide her attention.

  "Xu Duoduo, over here!" Qin Luo’s voice called out.

  Before her brain could process his words, her body was already running toward him.

  Qin Luo had just killed a one-star mutated scallop and dug out a white mutation core. When she arrived, he handed it to her. "These days, scallops don’t grow pearls anymore—just mutation cores. Take this. There seem to be several more one-star mutated scallops around here."

  With that, he bent down to pry open another scallop, handing it to her once it was open.

  Before long, Xu Duoduo’s arms were full.

  Wang Weihu and Bai Shu were nearby as well. Since this area had more one-star mutated marine creatures, they also tossed mutation cores into Xu Duoduo’s arms as they passed by.

  Currently, the entire 3A Special Operations Team had reached Tier 3 abilities, and Qin Luo had likely broken through to Tier 4.

  Dealing with these one-star mutated sea creatures was now a breeze. Even two-star creatures could be handled with ease. Three-star creatures required a bit more effort but were still manageable.

  It was a stark contrast to the early days. Back then, Qin Luo would sustain injuries just taking down a one-star mutated monkey king. The last time they faced a three-star mutated snake-human, they had nearly been wiped out, and even three-star zombie monsters required the entire team to grind them down.

  But today, Qin Luo had single-handedly taken down a two-star giant octopus without breaking a sweat. While the environment might have played a role, it was clear that his Tier 4 abilities were a major factor.

  Feeling the difference in power, Bai Shu couldn’t help but marvel, "No wonder every creature, living or not, strives to evolve. This feeling is incredible."

  The ability to easily crush other beings—it was no wonder everyone pursued advancement.

  It was like the survivors in I City, trapped by these mutated sea creatures. For high-level ability users like the 3A Special Operations Team, however, they could move freely here. Danger was ever-present, but they had the power to handle it.

  Ordinary people and low-level combat teams, on the other hand, had no choice but to cower in the safety of their bases.

  Wang Weihu shared a similar sentiment. "It’s terrifying, isn’t it? Right now, we can easily crush anything below Tier 3, whether it’s mutated animals or transformed monsters. But if we encounter something stronger than us, we’d be just as powerless."

  It was all relative.

  Bai Shu nodded in agreement. Watching the world spiral into madness, the only thing they could do was grow stronger. Otherwise, they were simply waiting to die.

  Qin Luo passed by and cut their musings short. "You two are overthinking it. Focus on the present and stay alert."

  Danger could strike at any moment.

  And just as he finished speaking, a blood-curdling scream erupted in the distance. Another team had been ambushed!

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