The Leopard Squad and Dove Squad really knew how to show gratitude.

They even said they had set aside some for the sisters of the Rose Squad, but all the rest was for Xu Duoduo—without asking for any points in return.

They were just giving it away for free.

Wang Weihu and the others felt a bit embarrassed. Seeing these two rookie squads becoming independent, they felt both emotional and proud.

In the apocalypse, everyone was improving quickly.

In the end, Qin Luo still spent points to buy it. Showing respect was one thing, but taking things for free was another—3A couldn’t do that.

So, he gave them points.

The Leopard and Dove Squads had no choice but to accept a token amount at the lowest possible price.

Xu Duoduo really liked these jewels. She also gave the Leopard and Dove Squads a lot of food. After hearing that they liked brown sugar ginger tea, she gave them two big boxes of it. Her space had an endless supply of these things.

She didn’t lack them.

But jewels, on the other hand, were quite rare.

She didn’t wear them, but they were fun to play with.

Xu Duoduo happily stored all the gifts from the Leopard and Dove Squads into her space.

She was satisfied.

After the Rose Squad sisters finished their collection run, they returned to regroup with the others.

The Leopard and Dove Squads, just like before, handed over the remaining small portion of their goods to the Rose Squad. But the Rose Squad sisters firmly refused.

“Just take them, please? It’s a token of our appreciation.”

“No, we really can’t accept this.”

“If you don’t take it, we’ll feel bad. You guys helped us before, too.”

“Sorry, but we really can’t accept it.”

The entire 3A squad sat eating their rice balls, watching them go back and forth in this extreme show of politeness, a specialty of their home country.

In the end, the Rose Squad sisters were no match for the two silly squads and had to sigh in defeat, each taking one or two items just to end the debate.

Qin Luo was amused. “Something that could’ve been settled in a minute took nearly ten.”

Xu Duoduo took a bite of a gigantic rice ball and couldn’t help but look at it. Who made this? It was almost as big as her face.

So heavy.

But since she had already taken a bite, she had no choice but to finish it. As she ate, she kept wondering—who made this rice ball?

Her four teammates were all big guys, and since their hands were huge, naturally, when they helped make rice balls, they turned out way bigger than usual.

Xu Duoduo kept eating, but after chewing for ages, she had barely finished a third.

Qin Luo watched her cheeks puffed up, diligently eating, and found her unbearably cute. “You’ve been eating for so long—are you giving the rice ball acupuncture?”

That damn mouth!

The little zombie was mad.

Xu Duoduo turned away from him, ignoring him, and took even bigger bites like a hamster.

Qin Luo panicked and reached out to nudge her. “Hey, hey, I was just joking! Don’t take such big bites, you’ll choke. My bad, my bad.”

He pulled her close and saw her mouth stuffed full, glaring at him.

Qin Luo got nervous and held his hand under her mouth. “Spit it out, don’t actually choke.”

Hearing that, Xu Duoduo quickly chewed and swallowed. This big dog—how could he be so careless? How could he offer to catch something she spat out?!

No way, no way.

Qin Luo, seeing her gulp it down, got even more worried. He brought his drink to her lips to help her wash it down. “I was really wrong. I won’t tease you next time. Eat slowly.”

Xu Duoduo: …

Big dog could be really dog-like sometimes. She didn’t even feel like responding to him.

Chen Xiaofei was munching on bread—he suddenly wanted bread today, especially taro and pork floss filling. As he ate, he enjoyed the drama, watching the Rose Squad’s extreme politeness battle before switching to his own captain’s romance channel. And he just had to make a comment. “Ohhh, yeah, it was totally Qin-ge’s fault!”

Bai Shu also pushed up his glasses and took a bite of his rice ball. “Mhm, exactly.”

Qin Luo, embarrassed and furious, turned to them. “Get lost! You guys were eavesdropping again!”

Chen Xiaofei laughed and dodged. “So what if we listen? We’re just listening.”

Wang Weihu remained unshaken, ignoring their antics while steadily eating grilled meat. One bite after another—soon, a whole box was gone.

Chen Xiaofei suddenly realized and freaked out. “Ahhh, Lao Wang, you ate all the grilled meat!!”

That was the precious charcoal-grilled meat they had painstakingly made at home last time! It smelled amazing! And there were only five boxes total—he had only eaten one himself!

Hearing this, Wang Weihu immediately stuffed the last two pieces into his mouth. “Xiao Banzhang still has some.”

But Bai Shu, with lightning speed, grabbed the last two pieces of beef before Wang Weihu could.

Chen Xiaofei got excited. “Lao Bai, give me a bite!!”

Bai Shu smiled at him. “Call me ‘Dad,’ and I’ll give you one.”

Chen Xiaofei scoffed. “Dream on! With Xiao Banzhang right here, you think I’d call you that??! If you don’t share today, I won’t share with you next time!”

Bai Shu simply ate the whole thing.

Chen Xiaofei wailed dramatically, then squatted next to Xu Duoduo, drawing circles on the ground. “Waaah, no brotherly love at all! Xiao Banzhang, look at them!!”

Qin Luo mocked him. “You lost a food fight and came crying to us? Pathetic.”

Dumb.

Xu Duoduo, seeing Chen Xiaofei looking so pitiful, handed him a whole box of grilled meat, plus a box of fruit. She shoved them into his arms.

“There, no more fighting.”

Chen Xiaofei instantly brightened up. “Thank you, Xiao Banzhang! You’re the best! Xiao Banzhang is number one in the world!”

Then, hugging his food, he ran off.

Bai Shu and Wang Weihu immediately chased after him—not because they actually lacked food, but just to mess around and snatch some.

Qin Luo grumbled, “You spoil them too much. Why don’t I get the same treatment?”

Xu Duoduo looked at him seriously. “I don’t spoil you? You always touch me at night, and you even like to bite me. I let you…”

Qin Luo’s face turned red instantly, cutting her off. “Ahhhh! Don’t say that!!”

Xu Duoduo blinked. “That’s not allowed either?”

Qin Luo fidgeted, glancing at the little zombie. “It’s allowed… but only when we’re alone at night!”

Xu Duoduo nodded in understanding.

Big dog’s occasional shyness—she could relate.

The little zombie chose to be tolerant.

The second floor was a big open space with many rooms. The Rose Squad, Leopard Squad, and Dove Squad were all resting in different rooms, but none had shut their doors.

They probably didn’t hear that, right?

Qin Luo figured they wouldn’t have. But then again, it wasn’t the first time Xu Duoduo had dropped shocking statements.

After dinner, everyone rinsed their mouths and found places to rest.

Qin Luo went to coordinate with the other captains about night watch duties. The Rose Squad would take the first shift, 3A the middle, and the Leopard and Dove Squads the last shift. Everyone was satisfied with the arrangement.

Wang Weihu, meanwhile, was setting up their sleeping arrangements—pulling out each person’s sleeping bag and blanket from their storage space. He was the one who packed them up every morning, and he’d lay them out again at night.