Outside the base, it was bright and sunny.

The walk felt nice, and this time, the bus stop wasn’t crowded, with only supernatural beings and mutants around.

The regular people were all indoors.

This time, the bus driver was an Arctic bear-looking cool guy, sitting in the driver’s seat and looking very sturdy.

He also had a thermos in hand, taking a sip from it when waiting for passengers to board.

Xu Duoduo couldn’t help but glance at him for a moment. His fur looked thick and warm.

Qin Luo leaned down to swipe his bracelet, then asked her, “Are you enjoying the view?”

His tone was a bit sour.

Xu Duoduo quickly snapped out of it, letting him lead her to her seat inside. Qin Luo sat outside, crossing his arms in displeasure.

The “zombie” was confused, still feeling a bit guilty.

Qin Luo, with a wronged expression, turned to ask her, “Do you like wolves or Arctic bears?”

Xu Duoduo immediately replied, “I like you.”

Qin Luo’s face turned bright red in an instant. He was surprised by Xu Duoduo’s perfect answer, “You, you, you, Xu Duoduo, did you learn this behind my back?!”

How could she be so good at comforting people?

Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu sat behind them, overhearing and unable to stop themselves from laughing.

Bai Shu suggested, “Qin Ge, why don’t you ask the class monitor who she would save if you and that guy fell into the river?”

Chen Xiaofei giggled.

Qin Luo knew they were teasing him for being childish and turned to tell them to stay away.

Wang Weihuo couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Xu Duoduo was puzzled.

The “zombie” only knew that the big dog suddenly seemed upset, but a single word from her had cheered him up again.

Thus, she concluded—Big dog is easy to please.

Xu Duoduo was quite satisfied.

They arrived at Lin Qianxing’s small shop, feeling like it had been quite a while since they last came.

Qin Luo pushed open the door, and the sound of a tinkling bell echoed. A mechanical parrot hopped on the shelf, “Caw caw, welcome, welcome, long time no see!”

Chen Xiaofei exclaimed, “Wow, it’s really been a while since we came!”

Wang Weihuo was immediately drawn to the mechanical arms and legs, “Are these new products?”

Bai Shu also focused on the mechanical area, picking up an 8x scope and checking it, “Is this a night-vision scope?!”

The puppet greeted them at the front desk, “Long time no see, my friends.”

Qin Luo led Xu Duoduo to the little dress section, taking a quick glance around, “There aren’t any new dresses this time? Still the same ones from before.”

“No time to make new ones, I’ve been busy making those three dresses for Duoduo-jie. Lately, I’ve been focused on mechanical research.”

Lin Qianxing finally emerged, but this time, he looked a bit terrifying. His right face and shoulder had been replaced with mechanical parts.

The entire 3A team gasped.

Qin Luo couldn’t help but tap on the table, “Little brat, are you rebelling or something?”

Xu Duoduo looked at Lin Qianxing, clearly concerned, “Are you hurt?”

No one would willingly do that to themselves unless they were injured.

Chen Xiaofei exclaimed, “You didn’t even go on a mission, so where did you end up getting parts to survive?”

Wang Weihuo furrowed his brows, “This kid needs someone to keep an eye on him.”

Bai Shu carefully looked him over, “How much of your body is mechanical now? What percentage?”

Lin Qianxing looked uncomfortable and said, “Sixty percent. What’s wrong with you guys from 3A? The other customers don’t ask, they would even compliment me as ‘cool.’ You guys, though, are so persistent about it.”

Qin Luo reminded him, “We’re worried about you, stop talking nonsense. What happened?”

Xu Duoduo gasped when she heard “sixty percent” and instinctively grabbed Qin Luo’s arm.

Qin Luo scolded Lin Qianxing, “Look at how scared Duoduo-jie is! Apologize right now!”

Lin Qianxing quickly apologized, “Sorry… Hey, wait! Why am I apologizing? I’m the one who got hurt, why do I owe you an apology? Are you bullying me?”

Qin Luo knocked on his head, “What do you mean ‘bullying’? You know you’re just a kid, but you’re so harsh on yourself.”

Sixty percent mechanical? What does that even mean? Before, Lin Qianxing had just replaced his calves and arms, but now, even his body and half his face were mechanical.

Bai Shu asked, “What happened? Where did you disappear to for so long?”

Chen Xiaofei added, “Yeah, exactly.”

Lin Qianxing finally confessed, feeling awkward under their concerned gazes, “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you.”

It turns out he had gone out looking for materials. He had heard about a regenerative flower near R City, which could heal scars and even regrow limbs.

But due to the arrival of the total eclipse, the lizardmen had become increasingly rampant, making it dangerous. The headquarters had stopped sending people out on missions, and no big shots had time to take his order. The flower supposedly only bloomed every seven days, and he had to wait for it to grow—who would risk waiting for a flower like that?

So, Lin Qianxing had to go himself, but on the way, he was caught by lizardmen and had half his body shredded. Luckily, his ability was alchemy, so he barely managed to repair himself before getting the flower. However, he didn’t use it himself; he gave it to Yuan Yuan, the disfigured girl at the orphanage.

Qin Luo and the others were amazed. He was still so young but was acting so manly.

“That was too dangerous! Hey, what relationship do you have with Yuan Yuan? Are you really willing to go that far for her?”

“Do you like her?”

“Little kids shouldn’t be dating so early.”

Lin Qianxing’s face turned red as he heard this, “You’re all so annoying!!”

Xu Duoduo couldn’t help but laugh. Though she was curious, she was just glad that Lin Qianxing was alive and back.

Lin Qianxing finally handed over the three beautiful dresses, still displayed on mannequins. They were stunningly gorgeous, and Xu Duoduo’s eyes lit up.

“Three winter outfits, one in bright red, one in plum, and one pink Lolita-style set. The attributes are movement speed + critical strike + attack speed. The pink one can also resist some mental attacks. Since we’re in the Little Ice Age now, these winter outfits are more suitable. I spent a lot of effort and materials on these.”

Lin Qianxing said this a little proudly. Though he hadn’t joined the official craftsmen’s guild, he was still a skilled craftsman with a heart for his craft. He never compromised on quality.

Qin Luo and the others couldn’t help but praise him.

Xu Duoduo was very fond of the dresses and said, “Thank you, they’re really beautiful.”

Lin Qianxing looked a bit embarrassed, “You’re welcome.”