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"Elder Yan."

Elder Yan was in his early fifties, but he had taken good care of himself and looked barely over forty. There was not a single gray hair on his head.

Seeing him arrive, he pointed to the sofa beside him and motioned for him to sit.

Qi Feng walked over and sat down. Elder Yan rose from his office chair and took a seat farther up from Qi Feng.

"How did the mission go?"

Qi Feng told the truth, his voice low. "We ran into a torrential rainstorm during the mission. The trucks couldn't get deep into the forest, so the men had to carry the cargo out crate by crate. We were also attacked by a troop of monkeys. We lost seven men."

Concern showed on Elder Yan's face. "I'll arrange the compensation for the men we lost. This rainstorm has had a major impact, and the base is short on food. Take a brief rest, then head out again with the S17 Guard Team and bring back the supplies the A13 Guard Team was escorting. I've sent you the detailed mission information."

Qi Feng was not surprised to receive another mission as soon as he returned. But with the torrential rain outside and the A13 Guard Team already wiped out, retrieving their supplies now would be anything but

easy.

Qi Feng voiced his difficulty. "Elder Yan, the trucks can't enter the dense forest. I'm requesting enough boats."

Elder Yan stood up. "The budget for boats is limited. What the base can allocate to you is already the most I could get approved. Hurry and get ready."

Qi Feng wanted to push for more, but Elder Yan gave him no chance to speak.

Once outside, Qi Feng sent the new mission to the S17 Squad's group chat. There was not even time to change clothes; they had to prepare to leave that very night. If those supplies stayed out in the wilderness too long, there was no telling whether they would still be there.

The team members who had just dispersed hurried back.

"Captain, another mission? We only just got back."

Qi Feng said expressionlessly, "Elder Yan's orders."

"They always assign us such dangerous missions."

"Why doesn't Yan Lang get assigned missions like this? His own son counts as a person, but he doesn't treat us like people," Lei Qi said indignantly.

Qi Feng gave him a smack on the head. "You drive. I'll take over later."

Reluctantly, Lei Qi took out a tube of nutrient solution and stuck it in his mouth. "Okay."

The S27 Guard Team had been back at the base for less than two hours before setting out again. Everyone barely had time to grab something to eat before hurrying out into the torrential rain.

On the outskirts of the shantytown, the downpour had washed away many shacks. When Sang Luoluo came out the next morning, the water had already reached the edge of her bed.

A little frightened, Chuanchuan burrowed into Sang Luoluo's arms. Sang Luoluo put Chuanchuan into her space. It was still early, so she ate a hot potato and drank a cup of water before turning her attention to the commotion outside.

Sounds of people snatching things came from outside. She peered through a gap by the head of the bed. Some people in the shantytown had run out of food and made little boats to paddle over here and steal other residents' rations.

If anyone refused to hand them over, they hit them with stone knives and bricks.

They were a vicious-looking bunch, barging into any shack that had not collapsed.

Sang Luoluo noticed that they had just robbed one household and were heading her way.

This is bad.

There was nothing in the shack. All her belongings were in her space.

Just as she was about to hide in her space, she heard someone outside speak.

"Brother Wang, I saw that girl get out of a base Guard vehicle yesterday. Won't we get in trouble if we rob her?"

"Idiot. All you saw was her getting out. Did she have a Guard family badge on her? Or a Guard badge?" Brother Wang smacked the back of his underling's head hard. He was in a bad mood after failing to find much food all morning.

The underling who had been hit hurriedly gave him a fawning smile. "I did check that. She didn't have any badges. That raincoat she was wearing looked pretty valuable, though. She should have food on her."

"Come on, hurry up. Don't let her get away." Brother Wang urged the underlings beside him to paddle faster.

Sang Luoluo immediately entered her space and stayed hidden.

They were speaking loudly enough that she could faintly hear them even inside her space.

"Where is she? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?" Brother Wang raged after smashing the door open.

The underling beside him looked at the hole in the shack's roof and the submerged wooden bed. "That's strange. Did she escape through the roof? She sure moved fast."

Brother Wang slapped him. "This is all because you kept dawdling. There's nothing left in this shack. Obviously, she ran off ages ago. Hurry up and chase her! There's water everywhere. That girl can't have gone far."

"Yes, Brother Wang. I'll go after her right now."

Sang Luoluo listened as they paddled away, but she still did not dare go out. Because of the rainstorm, many people in the shantytown had run out of food and begun robbing homes one after another.

Sang Luoluo did not dare leave. With her scrawny arms and legs, she could not beat anyone out there. She was better off staying here and waiting for the rainstorm to pass.

The torrential rain lasted three days, followed by extreme heat. Daytime temperatures reached around sixty degrees, and the accumulated rainwater dried up in just two days.

By the time she came out, the bump on her forehead had gradually subsided, so she did not go to buy medicine. There was no telling how chaotic the shantytown's trading spot had become, and she did not dare go there either.

[Beep, beep!!]

[Beep, beep!!]

Two notifications arrived on her wristwatch.

[Notice-Multiple robberies have occurred inside and outside the base due to the rainstorm. The base has dispatched the S15 Guard Team, A12 Guard Team, and A41 Guard Team to handle the situation. Offenders caught at the scene have been detained for further processing.]

The base had brought the situation under control. In Sang Luoluo's memories, this was not the first time something like this had happened. Even if the base intervened, it could not possibly catch every offender. This was merely meant to reassure everyone.

[The rainstorm has ended. Given residents' insufficient food reserves following the storm, gathering operations will begin at three this afternoon. The Guard will provide transportation to Zone 31B for the entire operation, which will last three days. Participants should assemble at the base entrance in advance and bring sufficient wilderness survival equipment.]

Sang Luoluo studied the notification, deep in thought. The base's notice meant they would not be returning at night either-they would be staying outside for all three days.

Her purpose in going out was to find Crystal Cores. She immediately packed her basket, putting only a stone knife inside, changed into her old clothes, and headed to the base entrance when she estimated it was time.

What had happened during the rainstorm had taught her a lesson. She had to be careful outside. This time they had tried to rob her openly. What if next time they stole from her or ambushed her?

The Guard had deployed more people this time: four full Guard teams and over eighty trucks. Even some people from inside the safe zone had ventured out, all to look for food.

Sang Luoluo carefully worked her way through the crowd, covering her face with an inconspicuous scarf so that neighbors who knew her would not recognize her.

After circling around a few times, she actually spotted Brother Wang and his underlings, who had come to rob her home during the rainstorm. Five or six of them were clustered together in one line, their shifty eyes darting around.

Sang Luoluo looked away and spotted someone familiar among the Guard. His name seemed to be Lei Qi. Without another word, she climbed straight into the back of his truck. More people boarded one after another until the large truck was packed.

Sang Luoluo sat leaning against the side of the truck bed, hugging her basket. Zone 31B was a hundred kilometers away, which was also why the Guard did not want to travel back and forth. The long journey increased energy consumption, and with so many residents going out to gather food, transporting them back and forth every day would be troublesome. It was better to camp in Zone 31B. The mutated animals there had already been cleared out, making it relatively safe.

After a bumpy journey, they finally reached their destination before five.

Everyone got out and was free to move around. As long as they stayed within the Guard's protection, they would be safe. If someone went off on their own and lost their life, they could not blame the base. Once they were dead, they could not blame the base even if they wanted to.

In the wasteland, human life was worth very little.

Sang Luoluo immediately wanted to look around nearby. She had eaten potatoes every day lately. Although she was already better off than most people, the thought of all the delicacies in her space that she could see but could not eat made her itch with longing.

Most people had brought tents or similar things for the night, setting up temporary shelters near the Guard so they could get some proper rest.

Sang Luoluo wanted to look nearby for traces of Crystal Cores before it got dark.

She walked along the perimeter of the Guard's area, picking up dry firewood whenever she found it. No one had visited Zone 31B for a long time, and the edible things here had never been harvested. Some people had already begun heading farther away to search for food.

Sang Luoluo followed them. In a patch of grass, she sensed a pull. She pushed the grass aside with a stick and found a puddle. The water had not completely dried up, and mud floated in it. She prodded again, and a flying insect the size of a knee shot out, lunging straight at her face.

The next instant, Sang Luoluo brought a large rock down on it.

The rock was big enough to smash the insect into the mud.

Following her senses, she took out a tool and began digging. After a dozen minutes or so, she fished a Crystal Core the size of a fingernail out of the mud.

She casually tossed it into her space, unlocking ten square meters of the Stasis Zone warehouse.

Sang Luoluo was delighted. The Stasis Zone warehouse held plenty of freshly harvested vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and eggs. Before transmigrating here, she had put many things from her space's farm into the warehouse and had not yet had time to process them.

Although these ten square meters were only one corner of the warehouse, they held some fresh eggs, fresh vegetables, chicken, and pork.

At last, she would not have to eat potatoes every day.

Another very faint pull came from the flying insect's head. Without a word, Sang Luoluo picked up the rock and smashed it several times, then fished a rice-grain-sized Crystal Core out of the insect's brains and tossed it into her space.

Another three square meters of the Stasis Zone unlocked.

Only after washing her hands with spring water did she continue onward. She walked with her stick, stopping now and then, but found nothing else. Seeing that it was dark, Sang Luoluo found a spot with plenty of people nearby, cleared a patch of grass, and built a fire with the wood she had gathered.

As she lit the fire, she immersed her consciousness in her space and began boiling eggs. A pot of water was already heating in the kitchen, filled with eggs.