To ensure fairness and prevent anyone from hoarding items, we split into two groups: one group collected crystal cores, and the other group collected the corpses of mutated ants! While the results might not be entirely accurate, they wouldn't be too far off.

As expected, a large forest has all kinds of birds.

The person who was exposed was initially a little embarrassed, but then became furious!

This was a thin, middle-aged woman with high cheekbones and drooping eyebrows. She looked unfamiliar, and I guessed she must be one of the people trapped upstairs.

She thought she could get away with it, but she was caught... You could hide one or two, but she hid twenty or thirty in her cotton coat! Leng Fengmei had no idea how she put them in.

Chen Yang suppressed his anger and said, "As the saying goes, 'Without rules, there can be no order.' Since we're all together, we must abide by the team's discipline. There will be rewards for doing well and punishments for making mistakes, regardless of gender!"

The woman before him, her face flushed and neck thick, glared at Chen Yang, pointing at Leng Fengmei and the others, "And what about them? That kid has a backpack! What, are these rules just for us?" She even started wiping away tears as she spoke…

Leng Fengmei knew long ago that with more people, there would be more trouble. She had already picked out the ant crystals of different colors that Xinbao had thrown into her bag while everyone was counting. Dongzi, who was doing the counting, and another young man made all sorts of excuses and were almost red with impatience!

But I really didn't need those things, so I returned them no matter what they said, because rules are rules!

As for Xinbao, when everyone was discussing how to distribute the crystal cores at the dinner table, they teased her by saying, "Whatever you kill, you keep for yourself..." No one expected such a young child to be so determined...

Leng Fengmei finally realized why the little girl was so enthusiastic...

"If it weren't for Sister Leng and her family leading us, you would still be running away from the mutated beasts. I'm ashamed for you all because of what happened today!"

As for what you've said, it was all agreed upon beforehand, and everyone can testify to that!

"Yes! Yes! That's what they say..." The crowd erupted in excitement!

At this moment, an older woman pushed through the crowd and shouted at the middle-aged woman, "You worthless thing! We saved you and shared our things with you, and you're arguing with a little kid! How dare you?! ...Pah!"

You have two choices: either leave our team or accept the punishment!

The middle-aged woman clearly hadn't expected so many people to criticize her. "Is it really necessary? Can't you just ignore me? This is bullying! I'm so old, let's see how you punish me! Waaah... you're just... bullying me!"

Leng Fengmei felt a headache coming on. Looking at these people she had rescued... they were facing life and death, yet they were still thinking about taking advantage of others. She really didn't expect that!

Because of the physical mutation, my memory has also become better! So I can distinguish at a glance what is familiar and what is unfamiliar.

Chen Yang: "If everyone were like you, we wouldn't be far from breaking up! Do you really think we're still living in peacetime? That we can just cheat and act like we're old and superior and expect everyone to give in to us? This is something we all worked so hard to earn! My final words: stay put if you want, or get out of here. Nobody's going to put up with you!"

Everyone boarded the bus one after another, carrying 57,000 crystal cores! Shar Pei and Da Hei nestled in their two little owners' arms. Xin's father and his family arrived in three minibuses, carrying over thirty people, which was just right with the crystal cores! They also loaded up a few relatively intact large ants, saying they would study them when they got back!

It was already past three o'clock when they arrived at the base. The food was already prepared: chicken and fish stewed in an iron pot, stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers, shredded potatoes in stir-fry, cold red radish salad, and a big pot of hot and sour soup. Everyone was starving and wolfed down their food. Even the most lively Xin Xin held her bowl and didn't say a word. Yun Sheng, on the other hand, ate cautiously, occasionally stealing glances at everyone. It seemed that this child would need some time to recover...

It was past four o'clock when Leng Fengmei announced her departure, which surprised Chen Yang and Dongzi...

"It's so late, why don't you stay the night? Is there something urgent?" Chen Yang asked, puzzled.

Looking at her enthusiastic friends, Leng Fengmei smiled helplessly and said, "It is indeed quite urgent. We also need to find Yunsheng's mother, so we can't waste any more time."

"Sister, wait a minute..." Watching Chen Yang run away, Leng Fengmei asked everyone again about the situation at the other bases. Although they didn't know much, they still managed to glean some useful information...

"Child, why are you leaving? We haven't even had a chance to thank you yet..." Leng Fengmei watched Dongzi and his grandfather walk towards her, and felt a surge of joy in her heart. "Grandpa, you're all better now!"

"Ah! It's alright, it's alright, all thanks to you..." she said, bursting into tears. Leng Fengmei knew that anyone would want to cry their heart out after suddenly being reborn from despair...

"Grandpa, what are you doing? Why are you crying?" Dongzi tugged at his grandfather's sleeve, looking at Leng Fengmei with embarrassment.

"It's alright, Grandpa's just happy," Leng Fengmei gently comforted him...

"Sis...this is for you..." Chen Yang ran over breathlessly, followed by two young men. It turned out to be several knives, some long, some short, some heavy, some light. Don't blame Leng Fengmei for this perception; a true law-abiding citizen wouldn't bother to specifically study these things...

"Sis, these were all found in the police station's warehouse. We distributed some to everyone before you arrived. These few looked pretty good, so I picked them out for you. I didn't expect you to be leaving so soon! Also… this is your share of crystal cores, a total of 23,500."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!