Robert and his group accepted the black card.

“As for supermarkets and such, they haven’t opened yet—you’ll need to wait a while. In the meantime, focus on reclaiming farmland, sowing, and planting various crops. If you need anything, contact me.”

Robert nodded.

Only now did he realize—there really weren’t any residents here.

They were the very first batch of settlers.

What remained was simply arranging housing for the newcomers in the residential zone and distributing survival supplies.

Su You contacted Amber, asking him to come help.

It was then she realized—if she wanted to build a base, she’d need a lot more manpower.

It looked like she would have to recruit more people to grow the base.

Back at the base, Su You also returned home, washed up a bit, and fed Big Orange some cat food and fresh water, changing the litter.

Big Orange licked its paw, gave a “meow,” jumped down from the cat tree, and stretched lazily.

Su You scratched the cat’s head and smiled happily.

“I’m out there working myself to the bone, and you look like you’re living the good life.”

During this time, Big Orange had always stayed in the house at the base. Since Su You worked regularly, it had long gotten used to being alone and showed no signs of stress.

It was a proud little kitty!

After finishing, Su You didn’t forget to treat herself to a late-night snack.

She pulled out some steaming hot crayfish from the warehouse, paired with a refreshing iced green grape milk tea to balance the grease—a small reward for herself.

She then rested, planning to recover her energy and resume scavenging at dawn.

---

While Su You slept, Edmund and his group back at the refugee camp outside the city received shocking news.

“Isn’t this Professor Li Sen? How is that possible?”

“Li Sen,” or rather, Miyamoto Hideo, leisurely lit a cigarette, took a drag, and looked at the furious camp officer glaring at him.

“I’m indeed not Li Sen. I’m his lab colleague, Miyamoto Hideo. The data Li Sen mastered, I know as well—I can continue the experiments.”

“Besides, I brought out the second and third generation virus strains. All I need is a lab and equipment, and I can immediately lead people to continue vaccine research.”

“So you’ve no one else to rely on but me.”

Miyamoto spoke slowly and confidently, not at all worried that impersonating Li Sen would bring punishment. On the contrary, as the only survivor from the lab, he was smug.

The camp officer was furious.

“We still have twelve hours. Keep searching!”

Their higher-ups had repeatedly stressed that Li Sen himself must support the research. Yet Edmund’s group had been tricked by Miyamoto and brought back a fake.

Edmund had no choice but to lead his men back to the airport, preparing to re-enter the city to find Li Sen.

But so much time had already passed. They had completely missed the golden rescue window—was Li Sen even still alive?

Edmund blamed himself deeply:
It was all his fault. So many of his men had died, and the mission still failed.

Just as they were about to take off, a message came from above.

“Edmund, no need to search for Li Sen. Rest a little, then continue assisting the army in evacuating civilians. Your mission target has returned.”

“What?” Edmund didn’t understand at first.

Then realization struck. “Li Sen is back?”

The radio crackled: “Correct. The three of them, carrying the original virus strain, collapsed in the camp. They were only discovered after someone reported it. His identity has been confirmed—he is indeed Dr. Li Sen.”

What?
Edmund and his teammates were stunned again.

Impossible. Li Sen, a frail scientist with no combat ability, had managed to break through the encirclement and escape the city? That was absurd!

Unless he’d had divine help.

Everyone thought the same silently.

Only Hal faintly recalled—that day, at the company entrance, the only other unusual person was that strange woman, Miss Su.

Could it be… Professor Li Sen encountered her?

But even so—how could Miss Su possibly have gotten three men out of the city unharmed?

---

Su You awoke the next morning and once again began scouring the streets for supplies.

She occasionally encountered survivors, but they showed nothing but hostility and greed, some even making moves for her equipment.

Naturally, Su You retaliated—feeding them to the zombies.

Her base needed people, yes, but not to the point of accepting anyone regardless of character.

She didn’t even need the system’s judgment—she could tell instantly who wasn’t suitable for the base.

Now and then, helicopters flew overhead, rescuing civilians and ferrying them back to bases.

The day quickly passed, and night fell.

Su You had already swept through most of the scavengable areas.

This time, she found several survivors willing to join her base. The system judged them acceptable, so she handed them over to Amber, who arranged work for them based on their original professions.

By the time everything was done, night had fully arrived.

The helicopters searching for survivors were gone.

In their place, a special unmanned combat drone streaked through the dark sky.

With a thunderous boom—

A massive black mushroom cloud exploded above Snowel City, lighting up the heavens.

The city collapsed in an instant.

Buildings shattered and flew apart, smoke and dust billowed, and countless monsters were crushed beneath the ruins.

This scene was captured only by a few nations’ surveillance satellites.

But upon learning the truth, they could only suppress it, sealing away the brutal fact.

---

Seven days later, in a city thousands of miles away—

Su You sat in a café, gazing through the glass at the bustling streets.

People walked to and fro, laughter filling the air.

Everything looked perfectly normal, no different from before.

Amber sat across from her, reporting on the progress of their plans.

“With Li Xiannian’s help, we bought a shell company. That gives us legitimacy for a lot of things.”

“The military factory has already agreed to cooperate. Most of the weapons I ordered will be delivered to the warehouse within three days.”

“The vegetable factory is under construction. I’ve hired two engineering teams to work day and night on the building and machinery.”

“For livestock farming and slaughterhouses, we’ve purchased several. They’re being sterilized now, and once they pass inspection, they can start housing breeding stock.”

“A batch of automated robots has been ordered too. The manufacturer will design programming based on the factory layouts, installing the appropriate farming and breeding steps.”

“The water plant, power plant, gas plant, sewage treatment, and waste processing facilities are under negotiation. As long as the prices are right, we’ll secure them soon.”

“For some companies with core technologies, the A-country government won’t allow direct acquisition. Negotiators are working on it.”

Su You carefully reviewed the plan and nodded. “Well done.”

Amber grumbled, “Of course! Do you know how much effort this took me? Even with Li Xiannian’s help, the mediation alone drained me. Sister You, you owe me big.”

Su You raised her head and laughed. “Alright then—how about this: the A-country base’s positioning point will be managed by you. Funds will be under your control. As long as it’s not outrageous, you can use the accounts freely. The only condition is that you continue helping me build the base. How about that deal?”