"This piece has good quality. Eating it will benefit you."
"No, absolutely not!"
An Nuan detested An Tianxin. Even if An Tianxin were dead, An Nuan would never absorb her crystal.
The thought of it being removed from her head made An Nuan want to vomit.
"Then who should this go to? You decide."
An Nuan's first choice was Luoluo. Her current abilities were quite good, her strength and speed both formidable. If she could advance to Tier Three, that would be even better.
However, Luoluo wouldn't eat this crystal either.
Hai Changfeng and his younger brother would probably be disgusted too. While An Nuan was contemplating who else to give it to, Xiao Yu swiftly snatched the crystal from her hand.
It tilted its head, opened its mouth, and swallowed the crystal. A faint pink aura emanated from its dark belly, and its tail swished.
*Burp!*
Xiao Yu let out a puff of pink mushroom-scented air, its little wings flapping beside its head.
An Nuan: ...
"Alright, looking at it from another angle, it's quite suitable for you to eat."
Xiao Yu happily wriggled its body and flew to the cat room to show off to the two older cats.
After everyone filed in, they poured the crystals they had obtained onto the coffee table, and An Nuan began distributing them.
Fu Yunting had a better understanding of the crystal's properties and, considering everyone's characteristics, assisted An Nuan in sharing the crystals among them.
None of the crystals from this batch were suitable for An Nuan, so she didn't swallow any herself, sitting on the sofa with eager eyes, watching everyone absorb the crystals.
Although they hadn't broken through to the next tier, their abilities were clearly improving.
Within the 1-9 tier system, there were also 1-9 levels, with tiers being superior to levels.
In the early stages, when leveling up was fast, there were direct jumps.
The later the stage, the slower the progression. Sometimes, even after consuming a large number of crystals, one could only advance one level, not break through a tier.
Today, everyone generally advanced two levels. Only Mi Shuangshuang reached Tier Two, Level Seven, just a little more before reaching Tier Three.
"What a shame, I feel like I'm just a little bit away from breaking through to a higher tier, becoming even stronger!"
"Sister Luoluo is also close to breaking through to Tier Three. We should be able to collect enough tomorrow if we go out searching again."
"Little brother is right, but... Fu Yunting, do you really not need any? You didn't eat any crystals today either."
Luoluo looked at Fu Yunting. He didn't seem picky.
But today, he had distributed all the crystals to them and hadn't eaten any himself.
After consuming a hundred previously, suddenly abstaining might not be good for his body.
Fu Yunting shook his head, "Today's flavors aren't to my liking. We'll see tomorrow."
Good heavens, he's even picky!
An Nuan shook her head and got up to cook.
Tonight, she wanted to eat curry shrimp and braised pork. She simply stir-fried two vegetable dishes and tomatoes with eggs, and made a soup before they could eat.
Although it was simpler than what they had eaten before, in this post-apocalyptic world, such a meal was already a luxury.
Seeing that the new companions weren't doing too well, Ming Le brought her sisters over to help cook, and the place became lively.
Luoluo, midway through her meal, blinked.
"Xiao Nuan, the little yellow flowers are saying that most of the zombies in this area have been dealt with. If they don't have any crystals, do we need to search for zombies further away?"
"Indeed, there are no crystals worth the effort."
After Fu Yunting provided the answer, everyone understood that they would have to expand outwards.
With two teams now, and so many supplies obtained from An Dong, it was time to venture further.
After gathering together to discuss, they couldn't reach a decision, so they ultimately drew lots to determine the teams.
The home team would be Luoluo, Shi Huai, and Lan Mi.
Team One would consist of the Chen Wenjing siblings, Hai Changfeng, and Chang Kai Tong. They would lead the Ming Le group and head towards the south gate of the Second Ring Road.
Team Two would be An Nuan, Fu Yunting, and Mi Shuangshuang, along with Xiu Ao, heading out for a hunt.
Luoluo and Chang Kai Tong were a little dejected.
They hadn't been able to go on missions with An Nuan for the past two times, feeling a bit lonely...
Only Mi Shuangshuang, excited, raised her small fist and shouted.
"Great! I can go out and fight again! Xiao Nuan, you have to let me be the vanguard!"
"If you're willing to charge, I certainly have no problem with that."
An Nuan wasn't particularly fond of combat. Since Mi Shuangshuang enjoyed fighting, she would help share the burden.
Luoluo said, "The Xiu Ao team just arrived. I don't know what their capabilities are. It will take a long time for them to train. Are you sure about bringing them out?"
She meant well, after all, when there are many people and they are unfamiliar with each other, chaos can easily ensue.
Bringing a group of burdens would be slower than doing it themselves.
An Nuan had also considered this point, so she wasn't in a hurry.
Considering that Xiu Ao's people had been locked up for two to three weeks and had witnessed the tragic fate of others, An Nuan was unsure if they would have psychological trauma from the zombies.
Therefore, after they were in better condition, she would first observe their actions before considering taking them out.
"That's perfect. Let's reinforce the outer houses these few days. There should be some developments soon."
"What developments?"
Lan Mi and Mi Shuangshuang asked curiously.
Fu Yunting said, "An Nuan means that besides the strong winds recently, more people will be approaching this area."
"Why? We haven't done anything. Why would they approach us?"
Fu Yunting's cold gaze swept over Shi Huai.
Shi Huai chuckled foolishly, hiding behind Hai Changfeng with a dopey expression, avoiding Fu Yunting's stern gaze.
Fu Yunting's way of doing things was like this. In the past, he was surrounded by elites among elites, and never asked foolish questions.
Of course, those who did ask wouldn't be around him anymore, so he never had to explain much to inferior beings.
There were too many simpletons here, which made his temper flare.
Hai Changfeng quickly explained, "Young Master Fu means that as we were returning, many survivors on the road saw us. With all our bags and packages, and so many people and vehicles, they must have guessed that we have supplies, and some of them will inevitably come."
A person's intuition is even sharper than a dog's nose.
If they get a scent, they can follow the air to find it.
An Nuan nodded, "That's what I mean. We were too conspicuous when we returned today, and it would definitely attract attention. But there's nothing we can do about it. It's inevitable when there are so many people."
"Our villa complex has several entrances and exits. Little brother, tomorrow morning, weld shut all the other gates, leaving only the east gate that we frequently use. Also, seal off the second phase construction area, so no one can sneak in like a rat."
In the past, Granny Fly and Zi Xing had entered through the north and south gates.
An Nuan didn't want too many elements of instability.
Luoluo added, "After sealing the gates, I suggest setting up some traps and burying some explosives. If anyone breaks in, we'll blow them up!"
"Alright, let's do that!"
"Hang some zombie corpses at the main entrance as a deterrent."
"That's a bit perverted! How about throwing Xiao Yu at the entrance? Letting Shi Huai be the gatekeeper would also work. Having him sit at the entrance with a group of lions and tigers every day would be quite intimidating!"
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A little spoiler: The male lead wants the female lead to recruit useful people so that he can build his faction and team in the future. The male lead also has a skyscraper and a technology team, so they can grow stronger and the boss can relax.
The subordinates work, the higher-ups relax and earn, which is something all workers understand.