The other women in the quarantine tent also noticed Xie Lingruo, but upon seeing her clean, efficient appearance and energetic demeanor, they could tell she wasn't someone to mess with—and so they kept their distance.
Xie Lingruo was very satisfied with this outcome. In the future, she planned to always treat others with cold detachment, so they wouldn't dare to get close to her.
Even though there was no one around her, Xie Lingruo still felt uneasy. After all, there were over a dozen people in one tent, and if anything happened, it would be a big problem.
So, she secretly felt around her waist for her retractable knife—her go-to weapon. In the base, she couldn't recklessly use her mental spike, since that could draw the attention of some deranged scientists.
To avoid suspicion, she had to maintain the image of being a weak spatial ability user, acting low-key in public while seeking revenge and completing missions in the dark.
Time passed, and by the early hours before dawn, Xie Lingruo suddenly heard heavy breathing just about a meter away from her. She immediately opened her half-closed eyes.
She had only dozed off for a few seconds out of exhaustion—and now that familiar zombie wheezing had reached her ears.
With a swift movement, she jumped up and dashed to the tent's entrance, reporting the situation to the guards outside.
As soon as they heard it, they sounded the alarm, and Xie Lingruo slipped out of the tent in the chaos.
Though she had abilities, she couldn't fight off dozens alone, and at this moment, self-preservation came first.
Since absorbing her first crystal core, Xie Lingruo's power had advanced to Level 2 – Beginner, but she couldn't absorb more right away, or it would destabilize her ability.
Right now, if she were bitten by a lower-level zombie, it wouldn't slow her progression—but that didn't mean she wanted to risk it.
After all, a bite still hurt, and if the zombie hit the wrong spot, she might end up disabled like Lin Yiyi.
Thanks to Xie Lingruo's timely report, the situation was brought under control without major losses—but six ordinary people were still bitten, and one base guard was killed.
The chaos had been made worse by the survivors panicking and shoving each other, proving once again that incompetent teammates can kill you.
The base did the best it could—only those bitten were isolated separately, while the rest continued regular quarantine.
Once the officials had control of the situation, Xie Lingruo quietly returned. She stared at the bloodstains left on the ground, forcing herself to endure it in silence.
By midday the next day, the base provided them with a meal: each person got a piece of bread and a small cup of water. Xie Lingruo ate the bread, but poured the water into her space while pretending to drink it behind her backpack.
She wasn't sure whether the water was safe, and her body was her own—she wasn't about to die early. Not until her mission was complete.
Fortunately, no further incidents occurred, and their family's quarantine period came to an end. The base staff registered their personal information—notably whether they had abilities.
Everyone else reported honestly, but Xie Lingruo lied, writing down only spatial ability on her file.
Afterward, the family regrouped with Coach Yu, who soon went his own way. Before he left, Xie Lingruo gave him a backpack of supplies—not just because of their brief two-day journey together, but also because Zhou Yi's reward was far more than generous.
Xie Lingruo didn't consider herself a good person, but she also wouldn't leave others with reason to resent her—especially since she still needed the Zhou Yi connection in the future.
Later, she heard from Xie Lingfeng that their male quarantine tent had also experienced an outbreak. But since more men had awakened abilities, they quickly handled it, and only two people were injured.
As the three of them walked through the base, they ignored the curious stares from onlookers and headed straight to the Mission Hall.
This building was where people could receive missions, exchange materials, and rent housing. There, Xie Lingfeng had also picked up a lot of useful info: no fighting allowed in the base, and rent required monthly resource payments to stay.
He learned this while chatting with one of the staff during registration. Since they knew he had powers, the worker had been friendly.
Now, the Xie family decided to find a place to settle down. After checking out the rental rates, they chose a 200-square-meter courtyard house, which required 20 jin (10 kg) of rice/flour or 5 liters of gasoline per month.
They picked this kind of house because they didn't want to worry about nosy neighbors smelling their cooking. Plus, with two ability users and ample supplies, they could easily afford it.
Another reason: single-story homes made for easier escapes in emergencies compared to apartments.
Since the base hadn't yet realized the value of crystal cores, most trade was still done via barter.
They also checked the mission board—most of the jobs were resource-gathering outside the base. So, the Xie family accepted a suburban scavenging team assignment.
Then a staff member guided them to their new house. The courtyard had three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bathroom—just enough for all three of them to have their own space.
Once the staff left, Xie Lingfeng saw them off politely, but didn't tip—after all, their supplies didn't grow on trees, and this was the staff's job.
With no outsiders around, Xie Lingruo took out supplies: rice, flour, cooking oil, a clean water tank, and daily necessities.
Xie Lingfeng started cooking, Xie Father began cleaning, and Xie Lingruo used items from her space to furnish the rooms with bedding, pillows, and a few sets of their spare clothes.
Since each bedroom had only a bed, she also gave everyone a desk and chair set.
Then she stocked the bathroom with toiletries and toilet paper for each of them.
That night, they didn't need to take turns keeping watch like before—they could finally rest, especially after how exhausting quarantine had been.
And besides, tomorrow they'd have to go out on their first mission.