On the other side.

After having dinner in the communal dining hall, Tang Jia and her roommates returned to their small room, which was less than ten square meters, chatting and laughing.

This room, though less than ten square meters, houses six people, and it's a mixed-gender room.

Li Qingxuan and his brother, along with Tang Jia and three other women, lived together.

The room contained almost nothing except three bunk beds made of metal.

Even so, Tang Jia and the others were already very satisfied.

After all, this room can shelter us from the wind and rain, and help us survive the coming winter.

It should be noted that due to the housing shortage, nearly 2,000 people in Base No. 2 are currently sleeping in tents.

Upon opening the door, Tang Jia saw a little boy sitting alone on the first iron bunk bed by the door, lost in thought. She couldn't help but ask, "Li Qing, why are you here alone? Where's your brother? He's been gone for a whole day and night since last night, and we haven't seen him anywhere."

Li Qing's eyes reddened, and she shook her head, saying, "I don't know where he went, but he'll definitely come back soon. He won't abandon me."

One of the female roommates said doubtfully, "Isn't Li Xiaozi assigned to the same construction site as us? We haven't seen him all day. This doesn't make sense. Could something have happened to him after he went out last night?"

Another female roommate sighed and said, "It's hard to say. A lot of our soldiers have gone out these past two days. The whole base is so big, and there are only a few dozen soldiers guarding it. It's inevitable that there will be some loopholes."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing, who was not yet ten years old, had even more red eyes and roared at the two women, "He won't be in any danger! Don't talk nonsense!"

Tang Jia glared at the other three, sat down next to Xiao Liqing, patted his head, and comforted him, "It's okay, our base is very safe, nothing should happen. If your brother hasn't come back tonight, I'll go to the leader tomorrow morning and ask him to arrange for someone to help look for him."

Another roommate sat down on the lower bunk next to her and said with a smile, "Tang Jia, we're roommates, so stop bragging. If you can get the leader to do something, I'll change my name."

"Haha, that's right. If you could get the leader to do something, would you be squeezing into this tiny room with us?"

"Have you heard? That woman named Shen Li, with an eight-year-old child, actually caught the eye of a high-ranking officer from our base!"

"I've heard about it. Shen Li is now a high-ranking cadre, personally appointed by the leader. Sigh, I can't help but envy her."

"I think Shen Li is quite pretty, but she's over 30 and has a child. What did that high-ranking officer see in her? With his position, there are plenty of young and beautiful women in the entire Donghu base who would like him."

Tang Jia was also a little envious, and sighed, "She's just lucky. She happened to meet someone who likes her type, and what's more, he happens to be a high-ranking military officer."

With reddened eyes, Li Qing asked, "Sister Jia, tomorrow, can you really ask the leader to help me find my...brother?"

Tang Jia was taken aback. This silly boy, can't you tell I'm trying to comfort you?

How could I possibly have the face to ask the leader for help?

Li Qing shook Tang Jia's body and cried, "Sister Jia, I beg you."

Tang Jia hugged Li Qing's thin body, sighed, and said, "I'll give it a try, but don't have too high expectations."

Li Qing seemed to have found an outlet for her emotions and burst into tears.

Seeing a little boy crying like that, the other women also had complicated expressions.

Even though they had seen countless deaths in the apocalypse, they still felt some pain.

Just then.

The door was opened.

A fully armed soldier walked in.

Tang Jia and the others were startled and, not knowing what was going on, all stood up.

Then, a short-haired girl in a black trench coat walked in from behind the soldier.

Upon seeing the black cloak, Tang Jia and the others quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look at it for even a second.

Even if they felt that the short-haired girl looked somewhat familiar.

After all, only high-ranking officers, special forces members, and those close to the leader possessed these black trench coats with their strange patterns.

No matter who it is, their status is far beyond what they can compare to.

"Little brother, why are you crying?" A clear, childlike voice rang out.

Upon hearing this voice, Xiao Liqing froze, forgetting all about crying, and abruptly looked up at the person who had entered.

Upon seeing that familiar face, he wiped away his tears and stammered, "Brother... Sister, why... why are you talking like that? Didn't Mom tell you not to talk?"

Li Qingxuan sat down next to Xiao Liqing, wiped away his tears, and smiled, "Do I look good in this outfit?"

Little Li Qing nodded blankly and asked, "Sister, will you be able to talk from now on? And will you be able to wash yourself so clean?"

Li Qingxuan smiled and nodded, patted little Li Qing's head, and said with a smile, "No one will be able to bully us anymore."

Then, Li Qingxuan looked up at Tang Jia and said, "Sister Jia, Brother Wu has arranged a small villa for me. You and Xiao Liqing can move in together. You'll need to help take care of Xiao Liqing."

Tang Jia had been secretly observing Li Qingxuan, her heart filled with turmoil.

She wasn't stupid; she quickly realized that the person in front of her was the same young Li from before.

However, she simply couldn't reconcile the image of that always dirty and smelly boy, Li, with the delicate features and fair, jade-like skin of the girl before her.

Suddenly, Tang Jia seemed to understand something and asked in surprise, "Li...you've become a new human!"

Only by becoming a new kind of human can one undergo such a sudden and complete transformation overnight.

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