As for An'an, the little man of the family, he could only be pitied and placed between Qi Lin and Qi Xili.

Ji Kangyong had practiced before, so his pace was quite fast. It was Zhang Heping, who sat in an office all day, who couldn't keep up with everyone else's pace.

Shen Yanming lent him his water bottle so he could drink some when he got tired. Ji Kangyong pulled and tugged at him from the side, managing not to hold everyone back.

The group walked until almost dawn before returning to the base. As soon as they got back, they yawned, went back to their cave, and fell into a deep sleep.

Qi Xili and Liang Huaxin still managed to give a report to Wen Chaohui despite their inertia.

It was getting late when they came out. The two of them were starving, so they had a bowl of porridge in the cafeteria and then went back to rest.

Wen Chao, left alone in the office, frowned and pondered, feeling that this was too inefficient.

Not to mention how difficult the roads in the city are to navigate, the fact that you have to repeat the same routes every time you go out will result in a huge waste of manpower and resources.

But there's no good solution right now, unless they can stay away with the supplies for a month or two, eating, drinking, and sleeping outside. But that would be too strenuous.

Ultimately, it's because there are no roads; otherwise, having a car would eliminate all these problems.

For the first time, Wen Chaohui had the idea of ​​clearing the ruins...

After returning to the cave with An'an and Nuannuan, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan locked the door immediately, placed a large rock at the entrance, and then entered the space hand in hand.

After taking off their dirty coats, the family of four lay down neatly on the floor. They were exhausted.

A dozen minutes later, Bi Qiaoan got up and took off her socks, only to find that her feet were swollen. If it weren't for the protective spring water, they would probably have blistered.

She waved her hand: "Next time you go out, you can go by yourself. I can't stand the trouble."

Shen Yanming looked at her with amusement, but didn't say anything.

Bi Qiaoan felt a little embarrassed and made up an excuse for herself: "It's too inconvenient to travel with others. If it's just the four of us, we can eat better and rest more on the way. It won't be this tiring."

But look at the guards! My goodness, they walk like their legs don't belong to them, so fast and swift, they practically fly!

I admit I'm not as good as others, so I won't torture myself further.

Shen Yanming nodded: "Comrade Bi has a good understanding of himself. In that case, it's approved!"

The objective has been achieved!

Bi Qiaoan turned her head and smiled obsequiously: "Thank you, Captain Shen!"

Shen Yanming picked at his ear, feeling that the tone was somewhat gritted and resentful.

He squeezed his wife's fingers, then turned to ask An'an and Nuannuan, "What about you two? Are you still going?"

Nuannuan shook her head firmly, not wanting to say anything more.

An'an hesitated. To be honest, he could manage, but walking so far was really tiring.

Shen Yanming wasn't in a hurry to make a decision, and said with a smile, "Let me think about it first, and we'll talk about it when the time comes."

Bi Qiaoan reminded him from the side, "Honey, you need to think this through. The next trip won't be the same as today; it will take at least a week. Traveling for such a long time, and having to endure wind and rain, you have to be prepared to suffer if you want to go."

Anyway, she and Nuannuan aren't going to participate; it's too much of a hassle.

An'an trembled, frightened by these remarks. But if her own father could go, how could she, the future pillar of the Shen family, be so delicate?

However, I didn't have the courage to say "I'm going," so I remained silent.

"Alright, that's enough chatting, I'm going to take a shower." Bi Qiaoan said, then got up, slipped on her slippers, and went into the bathroom.

Shen Yanming wanted to follow, but the two hundreds-of-watt light bulbs beside him stared at him, so he didn't dare.

He stretched his aching hands and feet and asked with a smile, "Want to go swimming?" He came back just in time to go into the bathroom.

Nuannuan didn't want to go, saying she was too tired. An'an, however, nodded; he hadn't been in the pool for a long time.

"Dad, you guys go ahead. I'll rest here for a bit, and when Mom comes out, I'll go take a shower and then go to sleep."

Shen Yanming didn't insist. He took a plate of fruit and a box of rice from the storage area: "Eat first, and she'll come out after you finish eating."

Nuannuan thanked them and started eating. An'an, smelling the aroma, also felt a little hungry.

Shen Yanming put his arm around his shoulder and walked forward, saying, "You won't go hungry. We'll eat by the lake later."

An'an nodded: "Thank you very much, Dad."

The two walked for a short while before reaching the lake. He casually took off his clothes, put on a pair of shorts, jumped into the water, and began to swim leisurely.

Inside the room, Bi Qiaoan took a bath in the bathtub and felt much more relaxed.

She got up, grabbed a towel to wipe the water droplets off, and changed into a cotton nightgown.

When I went outside, I found Nuannuan sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, her mouth covered in grease from eating.

He walked over, grabbed a tissue, wiped her mouth, and teased her with a smile, "What's wrong? Did our little princess become such a glutton after just one trip out?"

Nuannuan's face immediately turned red, and she pouted, saying, "I was thinking that since I'm going to eat anyway, I might as well wipe it off at the end. Or I can take a shower after eating and save a tissue."

Bi Qiaoan really wanted to say that she had enough paper at home to last until she was buried.

But she couldn't do that, because Nuannuan's idea was right. In times of scarcity, it was time to save.

"Are you full?" Bi Qiaoan picked some lychees and oranges from the orchard, peeled one, and popped it into her mouth.

Nuannuan shook her head and pointed to the fruit plate: "I ate all the cherries and strawberries in there, I'm so full now."

"Okay, then take a break and go take a shower." She was all dirty and didn't dare sit down anywhere.

Nuannuan nodded and asked Bi Qiaoan, "Mom, are you hungry?"

"I'm hungry. I'll eat some fruit and then I'll go cook for you."

"No need, my dad and brother went swimming in the lake. They said they're going to eat there."

Bi Qiaoan hummed in agreement: "Then I'll eat my fill and go to sleep, and then I'll cook dinner after I've had enough sleep."

The mother and daughter sat together for a while, then Nuannuan went to the bathroom.

Bi Qiaoan ate until she was half full, then threw away the trash, washed the lunchbox, wiped the table, went back to her bedroom, lay down, and fell asleep soon after.

So when Nuannuan came out, she only saw a clean coffee table and an empty living room.

She dried her hair and went to sleep, completely ignoring the father and son still splashing around in the lake.

The family of four rested in the space for a day and a night before coming out. They walked around the base twice, chatted with people, and inquired about the other teams' gains.

Unsurprisingly, they gained nothing. The once high-spirited team was now dejected.

Many people started to back down, but when Wen Chao found out, he just smiled and said, "Isn't this normal? Space stones are rare, and some people may not be able to find one in their entire lives. Tell them that if they don't want to go through all that trouble, they should give up early. The base won't force them to work."

With fewer people, there's less competition, and the guard team will have more opportunities.

Of course, some persevered. They made finding the Space Stone their goal and remained steadfast in their determination.