"There's nothing we can do about it, it's your own fault for being so strong." Luo Shui gloated.

Ye Nianzhen said apologetically, "Bear with it for now, I'll get you a better fit when we get back to the base."

But with Qin Qiu's body type, it's really hard to find suitable clothes in the apocalypse.

There are a few people in the base who know how to make clothes. Let's see if we can give them some extra benefits and have a few sets made on the spot.

Qin Qiu nodded, and Ye Nianzhen took the lead and walked out: "Alright, let's go find our precious team members."

*

Mingyuan firmly believes that Ye Nianzhen is not dead.

So he searched for a way down the mountain again and again, trying to find Ye Nianzhen's figure in the valley.

She might be unconscious, or too badly injured to call for help. We need to hurry, much faster.

He had already missed one chance to protect her because he was too slow; he couldn't afford to miss a second one.

Through his persistent efforts, he successfully located the corpse of the mutated zombie.

A piece of Ye Nianzhen's clothing was still hanging on the zombie's face, which was smashed to pieces.

He took off the piece of clothing, wishing he could tear the zombie to pieces.

But that would only waste his time, so he searched around but couldn't find any trace of Ye Nianzhen.

There was no human blood, nor any footprints.

Can he take this as good news?

Perhaps Ye Nianzhen has a way to save herself; she is always so intelligent and strong, perhaps she has already escaped from here.

He looked up, but the cliff face was so high that he couldn't see the top, shrouded in a hazy mist, making it difficult to make out clearly.

He decided to look again, but then he heard footsteps.

That couldn't be Ye Nianzhen; it was a chaotic, dragging group, accompanied by the stench of rotting zombies.

He quickly hid in a bush, covered his mouth and nose, and tried to minimize his presence.

It was indeed a small group of zombies that came.

Strangely, there were not only two mutated zombies inside, but the leader also seemed to be a human.

Mutant zombies have a probability of one in ten thousand in a zombie horde, but here, including the one that died, there are actually three.

What's even stranger is that zombies don't exhibit such a clear hierarchical relationship, nor do they gather in groups with a specific purpose.

Who exactly is that leader, or is he even human?

They didn't find Mingyuan, and after examining the mutated zombie's corpse, they left.

As he left, the man muttered to himself, "Did I fail?"

"Forget it, she can't cause any trouble anyway."

Mingyuan was in the bushes, almost forgetting to breathe, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

Did they do this intentionally?

Is it a coincidence that Ye Nianzhen was targeted and attacked by mutated zombies, but rather a conspiracy orchestrated by someone?

He stared at the leader's back, watching him gradually disappear from sight, and countless times he wanted to rush out.

But he bit his palm and endured it.

He knew he was no match for Ye Nianzhen, and that Ye Nianzhen might still be waiting for rescue somewhere.

But he memorized the person's appearance and voice.

Ye Nianzhen's potential dangers and enemies will one day be eliminated by his own hands!

Not a single one was left.

*

Qin Qiu's sense of smell is even more developed than a dog's.

He sniffed around in the valley and soon led Ye Nianzhen to Mingyuan.

Mingyuan looked haggard and covered in dirt, appearing quite disheveled.

The moment he saw Ye Nianzhen, he rushed over, but was afraid that the mud on his body would offend her.

Ye Nianzhen took the initiative to approach him, and he knelt down in front of her, carefully grabbing the hem of her clothes.

Ye Nianzhen bent down and gently embraced the person on the ground.

Mingyuan leaned against Ye Nianzhen's waist with his head down, remaining silent for a long time.

There might be warm liquid soaking Ye Nianzhen's clothes, but she wasn't sure.

Because when the man raised his head again, his eyes were full of clarity and determination.

He gave her a gentle smile: "I'm so glad you're alright."

Ye Nianzhen returned the smile with a "Mm!"

*

Following the mountain path that Mingyuan had found, they headed back, but the situation became somewhat awkward.

Qin Qiu suggested that he carry one in each hand, as it would be faster to carry them back.

After witnessing his casual attitude towards men, which was completely different from his attitude towards women, Ye Nianzhen politely declined.

Mingyuan didn't seem to have eaten or slept properly, and he had quite a few injuries. Being subjected to this ordeal would only make things worse.

But Mingyuan still looked completely harmless, smiling as he said, "I'm fine. Hurry back so Xiaoye can get some rest."

For some reason, Ye Nianzhen, who had been addressed as "Little Ye," resolutely rejected the two men's proposal.

So the group walked step by step toward the base.

This is when annoying systems appear.

"Host~ I've finally found a chance to chime in~ Here I come again~"

"Have you missed me?"

Yeh Nien-jen: "Speak properly, or you'll crawl."

System: "You're so wronged. Host, you're always so rough with me. Do you have a particular fondness for that?"

Ye Nianzhen: "Hehe, one, two..."

The system quickly begged for forgiveness: "Okay, okay, I know I was wrong, please don't force me to shut down!"

"I finally got out of the house, but wait, I know, I'm talking about serious business! Serious business!"

"Hurry up and check the system, there's a surprise!"

Ye Nianzhen was skeptical, but after clicking on the page, a tacky electronic firework popped up, indicating that the item had been delivered to her backpack.

Instead of checking immediately, she opened the character affinity section.

Mingyuan's favorability rating remains unchanged, eternally at 99%.

Even though they were only one percent away, they hesitated to take that step, as if they were afraid of something.

The second candidate has changed; it is Qin Qiu, who has been newly added to the list and has a favorability rating of 95%.

This is not something that is difficult to understand.

Ye Nianzhen, who promised to act as a repository for his memories, was like a piece of driftwood in the ocean for Qin Qiu, who was afraid of losing his memories.

According to Luo Shui, the third team, the Red Team, regrouped and embarked on their journey back to base shortly after Ye Nianzhen fell off the cliff.

The favorability rating fluctuates between 80% and 90%, I don't know what's wrong with it.

The last one, Luo Shui, couldn't hide her excitement upon seeing Ye Nianzhen return safely, and her favorability rating increased to 83%.

Yeh Nianzhen was actually relieved that no one had a perfect favorability rating.

It seems the sum reached 300%, and the reward was issued.

Ye Nianzhen opened her backpack to check the reward items, but her eyes widened slightly when she saw that particular item.

"This is……!"

*

A day and a night had passed since the return journey, and the team re-entered the dangerous jungle.

This time, thanks to the cleared road they had taken and the hunting of many high-level monsters, the team's progress was relatively smooth.

The Red Team took two off-road vehicles, one armored vehicle, and some "foundation" parts from that medium-sized base.