In the end, it was concluded that all members of 3A were doing well.

Professor Ji encouraged them to visit the training room more often when they had time, as the headquarters had expedited the construction of a new training facility.

Whether they would start attending classes in the future was still uncertain.

Mainly, when the Black Day arrived, the outside situation was still unclear, so all missions were temporarily suspended.

All the major teams stayed within the base.

“In ten days, it’ll be the New Year, and the base will definitely be lively. After the New Year, we’ll talk about other things,” Professor Ji said.

The last major holiday was New Year’s Day; now, it was time for the Spring Festival, a traditional holiday that had to be celebrated. If it wasn’t celebrated, the children wouldn’t even know what the Spring Festival was. New year, new beginnings—no matter how tough life gets, the holiday must be observed.

Professor Ji also told them to go pick up nutritional liquids, saying that the base might start reducing food supplies in the future, and food would become more precious.

“Don’t complain, this is the last time. When we can get new supplies, we don’t even know when that will be.”

Hearing this, Qin Luo and the others couldn’t help but feel anxious, sensing that supplies might soon be running low. It made them already imagine what the future might look like.

By then, it might be hard to even buy steamed buns at the cafeteria, with everything consisting of sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes.

The 3A members obediently went to pick up the nutritional liquids. The staff gave them a little extra, but Xu Duoduo didn’t take more, as her storage space had plenty of supplies.

The staff even praised her, saying she was not greedy at all.

Xu Duoduo liked to stockpile things, but considering the situation, with the base soon entering survival mode, she couldn’t take advantage of the situation too much.

She wasn’t greedy.

Chen Xiaofei, leaving the supply window, couldn’t help but say, “Here it comes, the most difficult period is approaching. It feels like things are getting grim, huh?”

With the Little Ice Age and Black Day combining, they couldn’t go outside, and there was danger even in the dark.

The supplies the teams had searched for earlier had been sufficient for a while, but they wouldn’t last decades. A shortage of supplies was inevitable.

Qin Luo also said, “If we could go out, everything would be fine. But since all missions are suspended, we’re just waiting for the supplies to run out. That means we’re just consuming resources.”

There was nothing to be done.

Bai Shu also said, “We can only wait until later. If the outside situation stabilizes, we’ll still need to go out and hunt when necessary.”

Indeed.

Now, they needed to talk about hunting. Most of the cities across the country had already been scavenged multiple times, and there was little edible food left. The only option was to hunt mutated animals for food.

Wang Weihu also said that they should be able to go out later. “Otherwise, staying in the base, we’ll be in a passive position.”

By then, mutated creatures would evolve and gain power in the dark world, and staying inside the base without combat experience would be a disadvantage. For warriors, real combat experience was the most valuable thing.

Xu Duoduo nodded in agreement; she also felt that going on missions was a good way to hone herself.

The 3A team whispered as they walked out, later running into Xiao Qiao, who was no longer with the others. Xiao Qiao greeted them with a tired face.

“Leaving already?” Qin Luo asked in surprise.

“Of course, after finishing my work, I have to leave,” Xiao Qiao said.

He kept Xu Duoduo close, protective as always, afraid she might be “lured away” by Xiao Qiao.

Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but say, “Xu Duoduo is adorable, but I’m not a human trafficker, okay? Would I really steal her from you?”

Qin Luo humphs, “You would!”

Xu Duoduo patted his arm, signaling the big dog to stop acting cute.

Bai Shu couldn’t help but comment, “You two sisters have a unique hobby—both want to act like moms to the little ones? Xiao Qiao has a group of unruly children, and you have one too.”

He found it a bit scary.

Xiao Qiao helplessly said, “You don’t understand. Not everyone is as lucky as Duoduo, you know? These mutated children have it tough, just like A Ku.”

Even researchers could have their moments of softness.

Xu Duoduo listened carefully to Xiao Qiao’s story, learning that A Ku not only lost his parents but had to witness them mutate and eat each other. Due to the brain’s protective mechanisms, he couldn’t remember much, but he often had nightmares and never slept well, even at his young age.

Orphans were common in the apocalypse, but other children could still go to school, while A Ku couldn’t. His mutation was that of a unique dandelion, often losing hair. Plus, he was sensitive and hated being mocked.

Lately, Xiao Qiao had been taking care of him, and despite being such a well-known tough woman, she couldn’t resist such a well-behaved child. A Ku would cover Xiao Qiao with a blanket when she worked late and make her hot tea, silently keeping her company when she failed in her experiments.

Xiao Qiao, like an eagle, couldn’t resist such a good, obedient child!

Other than A Ku’s frequent crying and desire for parental attention, everything else was fine, so she was going through the adoption process.

Xiao Qiao also had some worries. “I’m unmarried, and A Ku is a boy. If he were a girl, I could at least fight for it, but now it’s a bit more complicated.”

There was a regulation that if someone had no spouse, adopting a child of the opposite sex required a difference in age of at least 40 years.

However, Xiao Qiao was only in her twenties, and A Ku was just five years old, which made the adoption impossible. But Xiao Qiao had submitted letters of appeal in hopes that she could adopt him.

If it didn’t work, she’d have to apply to be a temporary guardian, and A Ku would live in the research institute, while Xiao Qiao would move there too. However, living long-term in such a place wouldn’t be ideal for the child, and Xiao Qiao still hoped A Ku could go to school.

When Xiao Qiao finished, she noticed that all members of 3A were silent and staring at her, making her a little embarrassed. She blushed and asked, “Why are you all staring at me?”

Chen Xiaofei immediately said, “Wow, Xiao Qiao, you’re so sacred in this moment.”

He wasn’t being sarcastic, just honest.

Wang Weihu nodded, “For A Ku, this is undoubtedly the best outcome.”

He would have a loving “mother.”

Bai Shu was also surprised and shook his head, “I didn’t expect you to have such a gentle, caring side.”

Qin Luo wished her well, “I hope you get what you wish for.” However, he still kept his arm around Xu Duoduo, protecting her, wary of Xiao Qiao.

Afraid Xu Duoduo might be taken away.

Xu Duoduo thought Qin Luo was childish, but she still told Xiao Qiao, “You’re awesome.”

The 3A team was really warm-hearted, and Xiao Qiao was deeply moved. She hurriedly urged them to leave. “Only Duoduo’s words sound the best. You guys go now, the research center doesn’t allow people to stay around for no reason!”

After speaking, she rushed off, as she was busy with work. She didn’t have many friends since not every team got along as well as 3A.

Xiao Qiao considered them her friends.

Chen Xiaofei couldn’t help but say, “Xiao Qiao is so pretentious, pretending not to care.”