A massive typhoon approaches

The monitoring area on basement level two had filled with people-or rather, ability users and mutated people.

For example, there was a rabbit-man bouncing around, covered in fluffy fur with long ears. His face, hands, and feet were all human, making him look more like someone in a plush mascot costume. But the fur on his body clearly wasn't fake, and he hopped as he walked.

Whenever he saw someone, he asked, "Buddy, which department do I go to for fur problems? My fur's been itchy lately."

The man he asked had mutated into a chicken, with a bright red comb on his head and the face of a rugged man. He opened his mouth and said, "Cluck, cluck, buddy, dermatology! Cluck, cluck."

It was hard not to think of other worlds when faced with such a surreal scene.

Xu Duoduo and the others all looked away. After three seconds of silence, they unanimously decided to talk once they got home.

So they split into two groups.

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

Qin Luo's ability had leveled up, but Xu Duoduo, their little zombie, hadn't changed. Her speed was still 1.5, though that wasn't anything to be disappointed about.

After all, her ability was spatial storage.

On their way back, they ran into a beautiful spider lady. Her upper body was human, while her lower body was a spider's. As soon as she approached, quite a few people afraid of spiders started screaming, leaving her flushed with embarrassment.

Wearing a white lab coat and holding a bullfrog, Da Qiao hurried to clear a path. "Make way, please, make way! This young spider lady has only just mutated. Don't frighten her, everyone. Please be understanding."

The spider lady covered her face in embarrassment and scuttled into the consultation room on her eight legs.

Da Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, she spotted Xu Duoduo and Qin Luo and immediately came over to greet them. "Oh, you're back? Here for Ability Monitoring? Your 3A Team really did great this time. You even took down a three-star Mutation Monster."

She could even tell at a glance that Qin Luo's ability had improved. "Keep working hard. The number of Mutation Monsters has been increasing lately, and their levels keep rising too. If our Combat Squad can't keep pace with them, we're done for!"

Mutated people and Mutation Monsters were still different. The former retained their human consciousness, while the latter had blood-red eyes, ate anything they saw, and struggled to control their emotions. That was the distinction. With collars keeping them under control, mutated people could live in the base, but Mutation Monsters could no longer be called human.

Da Qiao was busy too. She said she'd been running an experiment when a phone call summoned her to pick up the spider lady. Now she had to return to the laboratory and continue working.

"Let's have a drink together sometime. I've been absolutely swamped lately."

Even someone as composed as her had become irritable.

After saying that, Da Qiao winked at Xu Duoduo. "You should come too, little zombie sweetheart."

Qin Luo was already pulling Xu Duoduo away. "We'll see. If you want a drinking buddy, go find Old Wang. He loves drinking. He could drink every day."

With that, he made his escape.

Da Qiao was so annoyed she laughed.

"Neither of those sisters is up to any good. If they offer you something to eat, they're definitely after something of yours to study. Avoid them whenever you can, and turn them down whenever you can. Don't go blundering up to them, or you might get dragged off for research. Got it?"

Qin Luo earnestly warned the little zombie, and Xu Duoduo obediently nodded.

They'd been gone for less than four days, yet the changes in the base were plain to see.

For instance, evolved humans, whether ability users or mutated people, were now collectively referred to as new humans.

Many more high-rises had been built in H City. Putting up so many buildings in just a few days had to be the work of ability users and mutated people again. There was no helping it. With so many survivors crowding into H City, expansion was their only option.

They took the subway straight to the entrance of their residential complex. This area was reserved for ability users and mutated people.

Ordinary people couldn't match new humans in mental resilience or physical constitution. Besides, Combat Squad members inevitably got blood on themselves when they went out. That blood posed no problem for new humans, but it could be fatal to ordinary people.

Dividing the base into separate living areas worked well too.

The base broadcast was still reporting on nearby areas that had fallen, the number of people rescued, and the names of those who had died.

"Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt."

"Good evening, everyone. We interrupt this broadcast with an urgent announcement. According to meteorological monitoring, Typhoon No. 1 Tyrant Dragon and No. 2 Xizi are approaching our country's waters and will make landfall within twenty-four hours."

"Their projected paths have been sent to your Combat Squads' email inboxes. Please check them. All personnel currently outside the base and within the typhoons' paths must take precautions for their own safety while protecting survivors. All personnel at the H City base are prohibited from going outside. All work, production, and classes throughout the base are suspended."

The young woman's warning came over the broadcast in a professional announcer's cadence, but there was a slight tremor in her voice, along with an audible tension.

One of the nearby ability users couldn't help complaining, "Shit, I was planning to take a few more missions. So much for that. I barely have enough points to pay rent!"

Someone else said, "These typhoons must be coming in hard. Even the announcer's voice is shaking. Think about those coastal cities. Last time, they nearly got flooded by seawater. If even we're suspending work and production, won't those cities farther out be completely..."

Shit!

In a world this insane, it was hard not to swear. No one could stand it.

Xu Duoduo was still looking up as she listened to the broadcast, the silver metal collar around her neck gleaming faintly.

The little zombie looked very well-behaved like this.

Qin Luo reached up and patted her head. "Come on, stop listening. Let's go home. It's on the forum too. This is for ordinary people."

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

They'd effectively returned to the days before the internet. Only Combat Squad members could use it, and living in the residential complex wasn't free either.

To keep the Combat Squad from growing arrogant over its achievements, anyone who wanted a nice apartment had to pay rent. Without points, they could only stay in dormitories, with several people sharing a room.

The buildings here, labeled A through G, represented housing ranked from best to worst. Building F was the worst, with eight-person dorm rooms.

Building A, where Qin Luo and the others lived, had the best studio apartments. Their team had plenty of points, more than enough to cover the rent.

Chen Xiaofei and the others were making hot pot. Each of them had earned an average of twenty-five thousand points from their team battle against the Mutant Snake-Man, enough for a proper feast.

The three had messaged the two of them in advance, telling them to come straight to Chen Xiaofei's apartment when they got back. It was on the same floor, just a few steps away.

Qin Luo led Xu Duoduo around the corner to the right and reached Chen Xiaofei's door. He opened it and walked straight in. "A split hot pot? Wait, how many points did you spend?"

"Not much, not much. My treat tonight! I bought loads of unusual ingredients too. Just wait till you taste them!" Chen Xiaofei smiled as he greeted them, busy carrying out dishes. "Little Class Monitor, sit wherever you like. You're one of us, so I won't stand on ceremony!"

Xu Duoduo poked her head out from behind Qin Luo to look. A large split hot pot sat in the living room, with white bone broth on one side and a spicy beef-tallow broth on the other.

Some of the food they'd prepared was already laid out on the table. Or rather, Wang Weihu was preparing the ingredients in the kitchen with an apron on, while Chen Xiaofei played waiter, bustling back and forth to carry them out and arrange them.

Meanwhile, Bai Shu was reading material in the forum's database, pushing up his glasses from time to time.

To be honest.

Without his ability, he never would have fulfilled his dream of becoming a sniper.

Now he only wore glasses out of a habit he'd developed as a child. They gave him a sense of security.