Breaking new ground in Zone 32A: Strawberry-flavored nutrient solution, mutant butterflies...

Sang Luoluo thought about how she had to wash the bamboo tubes every time she used them to carry water outside, and they certainly weren't as convenient as these bottles.

With that in mind, Sang Luoluo decided to buy some. "I'd like the 500 ml ones, thirty points' worth. Can you deliver them to my home?"

The shopkeeper was delighted. It wasn't a big order, but it was his first sale of the day. He readily agreed, "Sure. Leave me an address and place an order through my shop. Next time you need anything, you can buy it online. Delivery's on me."

Sang Luoluo found his shop and placed the order on her wristwatch. Thirty points were deducted, leaving a balance of six.

The order status said it would ship immediately.

"That's close. It'll be there in half an hour." The shopkeeper glanced at the address. It was the Guard staff dormitory, which didn't surprise him.

Only then did Sang Luoluo head back. It was already ten thirty at night when she reached the dormitory.

She slipped into her space, took a shower first, changed clothes, and washed the clothes she had been wearing too.

Chuanchuan ran over. Sang Luoluo put some chicken and boiled vegetables in his dog bowl. He wasn't picky and ate whatever she gave him, then followed her back and forth once he finished.

After feeding the dog, Sang Luoluo went into the kitchen, took the edible ingredients out of the storeroom, chopped them up, and put the ribs on to stew.

Then she cut up some apples, cucumbers, and tomatoes, making the pieces as small as possible so she could eat them easily outside. She also prepared some cooked meat and vegetables for Chuanchuan and put them in the Stasis Zone.

By the time she finished, it was already eleven thirty. After coming out, she noticed a delivery notification on her wristwatch. She opened the door, dragged the goods inside, checked that everything was correct, and tapped to confirm receipt.

She put the empty bottles into her space. Fortunately, she had bought a sealing machine for bottled mineral water before, and now it came in handy. She plugged it in, then busied herself using her mental power to open the bottles and place them on the machine's conveyor belt.

She controlled the spring water, filling the bottles as they were rapidly sealed one after another. All three hundred bottles of mineral water were soon sealed. Sang Luoluo put them all in the Stasis Zone and returned the machine to its original place.

By then, the ribs were ready too.

Sang Luoluo took out several more bowls, divided the ribs among them, and put them in the Stasis Zone for storage. Then she chopped some greens and shredded some meat, making several plates of stir-fried greens with pork and chicken with chilies. By then, it was past midnight.

She turned off the stove, left her space, made the bed, and went to sleep. She also brought Chuanchuan out, put a dog bed by the head of her bed, and had him stay there. She turned on the air conditioner and set it to a comfortable twenty-six degrees before finally drifting off peacefully.

The next morning, Sang Luoluo was woken by a call.

She glanced at the screen. It was Lei Qi, so she answered.

"Hello."

She clearly sounded half asleep.

"Get up, quick! Meet me downstairs in ten minutes. The team has a mission. Hurry, or the captain will chew you out!" Lei Qi sounded a little anxious on the other end. He had forgotten to remind Sang Luoluo yesterday that she needed to get up early.

Sang Luoluo hastily agreed and climbed out of bed.

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Chuanchuan looked at the wristwatch he had never seen before, then at his owner, his eyes puzzled.

Sang Luoluo scooped him up, gave his head a vigorous rub, and tossed him into her space. "I'm going out. It's dangerous outside, so wait for me in the space, okay? Be good."

Sang Luoluo used the toilet in her space, then immediately got dressed and ran outside after coming out.

She was still a minute late. She checked the time. It was only five in the morning.

It wasn't even light yet, and she already had to go out on a mission.

"Don't be late next time." Lei Qi waved her into the truck, started it, and turned the steering wheel to turn around as he spoke. "It's partly my fault for forgetting to remind you last night. You'll be notified of missions in advance from now on, but there'll also be emergency assignments. We could leave at any time, so you must always have your gear packed."

Sang Luoluo nodded. "Got it."

She yawned as she spoke. She had been busy until midnight and was a little sleepy. Taking out two tubes of strawberry-flavored nutrient solution, she handed them to Lei Qi. "Lei Qi, here's the nutrient solution I promised to treat you to."

Lei Qi immediately noticed the very recent date on them and accepted them with a chuckle. "All right, I'll take them. If you have any questions, just come to me."

This was his first time seeing such an easy recruit to look after. She was young but quite generous. He couldn't even bear to give away two tubes of nutrient solution himself. For that alone, he would look out for her a little.

Sang Luoluo: Social niceties-nailed it~

Chapter 17: Breaking new ground in Zone 32A: Strawberry-flavored nutrient solution, mutant butterflies...

Once she had a moment, Sang Luoluo finally checked the message on her wristwatch.

[S17 Guard Team mission notice]

Sang Luoluo opened it and read the details. Today's mission was to clear mutant animals from Zone 32A on the outskirts of the base, and it would last three days. Her job was simply to collect whatever the team gathered and bring it back safely. The mission paid 150 points. She decisively tapped the button and accepted it.

Sang Luoluo was puzzled. Hadn't the S17 Guard Team been protecting residents gathering supplies in Zone 31B? Why had their assignment suddenly changed?

She looked at Lei Qi. "Lei Qi, aren't we responsible for protecting residents while they gather supplies? Why did our mission suddenly change?"

Lei Qi laughed when he heard that. "Protecting residents while they gather supplies wasn't our job to begin with. The base Guard was short-handed, and we happened to pass by on our way back from our last mission, so they called us over to help."

"We're an S-rank Guard team. We handle important missions. How could we spend every day doing B-rank and C-rank assignments like those?"

"Oh, I see."

Sang Luoluo understood.

Going out? That's great. I can see if there's a chance to find Crystal Cores today.

Sang Luoluo continued asking, "Lei Qi, can I move around freely while the team's on a mission? Or if I see something out in the wilderness that I want to bring back, can I go get it myself?"

Lei Qi explained, "Yes. The Guard doesn't place too many restrictions on individual movement. As long as you can keep yourself safe, you can bring back as much as you can carry. We usually find ways to pick up things to trade too, to earn a few more points."

Sang Luoluo nodded.

That makes things easy.

She thought of the material used for the mineral water bottles she had bought yesterday. If she brought more of that material back from the wilderness, or other things, she could earn points too, couldn't she? In any case, she would look around today and get used to things first.

Lei Qi drove her out of the city, and before long they met up with the S17 Squad outside.

Not many members of the S17 Squad had come this time. They were mostly the ones Sang Luoluo found familiar: Captain Qi Feng, whom she had met; Wei Xing and Hu Tian, whom she had accidentally overheard that day talking about liking dried earthworms; Lei Qi; He Fei; Fatty; and Xiao Li. Sang Luoluo had seen Xiao Li during the torrential rain last time, when a mutant monkey had bitten one of his forearms. Only a few days had passed, but he already had a prosthetic fitted. His fully mechanical forearm looked quite flexible.

Lei Qi got out. "Captain, why are there so few of us this time?"

Qi Feng said coolly, "I sent the others on other missions. Hurry up and change."

"Yes."

Sang Luoluo was also issued a Guard uniform, a relatively close-fitting combat suit made from a special material. The moment she put it on, she felt a cool sensation. The fabric over her entire body felt as though it was only somewhere in the teens Celsius, and it maintained that temperature.

She hopped out of the truck and walked around in the sunlight. Her body stayed at the same temperature. It was truly amazing.

Sang Luoluo walked over to Lei Qi and asked quietly, "Lei Qi, can people buy these clothes privately?"

"No. Every suit has a serial number and belongs to the base. We have to return them after every mission, and any damage has to be reported immediately." Lei Qi could see what Sang Luoluo was thinking. They had liked the combat suits too when they first joined the Guard. Of course, it wasn't completely impossible to buy one; they were just very expensive. Remembering that Sang Luoluo came from the shantytown and wouldn't be able to afford one anytime soon, he didn't mention it.

Qi Feng called Sang Luoluo over.

He had her put all the equipment on the three trucks at the back into her space.

Sang Luoluo looked. There were eight trucks in total, with supplies loaded on the rear three: eight off-road motorcycles, eight spare batteries, eight giant armor units, eight sets of exoskeletons, and two crates of water. There were also two large tents and other wilderness survival supplies. Only after watching her store everything did Qi Feng relax.

"Move out," he said.

The eight of them rode in one truck, with He Fei driving and the others squeezed into the compartment. The remaining trucks were left there with their locations marked.

Sang Luoluo took a U-shaped neck pillow from the villa in her space and slipped it around her neck. When everyone suddenly looked over enviously, she gave an awkward smile. These things weren't common and were cheap, but taking one on a mission would just mean extra baggage. Only her special ability allowed her to bring these odds and ends, making a mission feel like a holiday.

It was already five forty. With everyone watching, she couldn't sneak any food, so she could only take out a tube of strawberry-flavored nutrient solution to see how it tasted.

The moment it entered her mouth, a strong strawberry-and-food-coloring taste hit her, obviously the taste of far too many additives. It was so overpowering that it went to her head a little. Add the nutrient solution's thick, glue-like texture, and there was no describing it. She didn't want a second sip. She hurriedly put it back into her space and closed her eyes to doze for a while instead.

He Fei only needed to keep watch up front. The truck had an autopilot function, so his main job was to watch out for attacks by mutant animals.

Sang Luoluo found the truck's swaying surprisingly comfortable and slept soundly along the way. As they neared their destination, Fatty patted her awake.

"Stop sleeping. The captain's starting to assign work."

Sang Luoluo quickly sat up properly. Qi Feng sent the details of the mission to their personal wristwatches, including a topographic map of Zone 32A, a map of plant species distribution, and the distribution of animal species. Of course, all this data had been gathered three months earlier. No one knew the exact situation now or what changes had taken place in Zone 32A.

Sang Luoluo looked at the information on her wristwatch. Some morning glories, once ordinary-looking plants, had now mutated until their vines were as thick as a calf, covered in needlelike bristles. They would even actively attack nearby creatures to protect themselves.

An ordinary sunflower could now shoot head-sized sunflower seeds from its flower head, with tremendous destructive power.