As the aroma of hotpot filled the air, Candice's emotions gradually settled down. She then took a clean dress and white stockings and went to change by herself.
"Dinner's ready! The happiest moment of the day for Miss MDR is about to arrive!"
MDR stared fiercely at the crispy sausages rolling in the hotpot, saliva practically dripping into the lunchbox she had already prepared in her hands.
"Wow, hotpot for dinner?! I love hotpot the most! I haven't eaten something this hot in such a long time."
Lianne, who had been calculating something in the soil, also put down her work and came over to the hotpot.
"Here, this is your tableware."
Lux took out a set of metal lunchboxes and handed it to Lianne.
"Hehe, looks like sticking with Brother Lux really pays off. Being able to eat something this good in times like these."
Lianne flattered him with a smile, though she was telling the truth.
Even those small-time thugs who were lucky enough to occupy a bar could only eat the bar's leftover snacks, like peanuts or biscuits.
As for her, when she had been locked up, she only had a small pack of biscuits at best.
"It's just good luck. Unfortunately, my storage space doesn't have electricity, so realistically we can only eat fresh meat like this for a short while. So eat as much as you want."
"By the way, what were you calculating just now?"
Lux asked curiously.
"The cause of this disaster."
"Oh? The cause?"
Lux was also intrigued. He could see a confident look on Lianne's face, as if she already had a solid grasp on the answer.
Knowing more about unknown information was never a bad thing.
"Can we start eating first? I'm really craving it."
"Eat, eat, eat. What are you all waiting for? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Seeing that the hotpot was ready but everyone was staring at his face, Lux asked in confusion.
"Cough cough, Brother Lux, if you don't start, we feel awkward starting ourselves. You see, you're the leader of the team, right?"
Seeing that Lux still hadn't reacted, Lianne reminded him helplessly.
"Ahahaha, eat, eat. I usually live alone, so I don't really understand these dining rules. Let's eat and talk, don't mind me."
After Lianne's reminder, Lux suddenly understood and picked a meatball out of the hotpot. Only then did everyone else start eating.
"My personal suggestion is that clear superior–subordinate rules are still necessary, unless Brother Lux doesn't plan on taking in more survivors later."
"These kinds of rules are part of authority. If more survivors join in the future, your easygoing attitude might make them feel you're not that impressive, which would be unfavorable for our development."
"Since Brother Lux plans to mine resources, we'll have to shelter other survivors. Our current labor force alone definitely isn't enough."
"Of course, maintaining a gentle attitude toward trusted subordinates is beneficial for winning loyalty."
"Ahaha, but I'm just an outsider who joined the team recently. This isn't criticism, just a bit of personal advice."
Perhaps realizing she had said too much, Lianne showed a slightly apologetic but pleasant smile, then happily picked food from the hotpot and ate.
She had already decided to stick closely with Lux, so naturally she wanted to help him lead the team more effectively.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Lux nodded. Lianne was right. In the apocalypse, all kinds of people existed. They had already run into survivors who tried to ambush them. To mine resources, he would definitely need to recruit survivors, and without enough authority, it would be hard to control those desperate people.
After all, most people who had survived a week in the apocalypse had killed zombies before. They wouldn't be as obedient or loyal as the summoned Tactical Dolls.
Right now, because there weren't many outsiders and most of the team consisted of Tactical Dolls, his lack of leadership wasn't obvious. But once the group grew, the lack of presence Lianne mentioned could indeed become a problem.
"Hahaha, I don't think that's something to worry about. Don't be fooled by how kind Lux looks now. Earlier, when checking whether incoming students were infected, he was cold as an iceberg. The moment someone showed hostility, he chopped them down and threw them off the vehicle. I was watching from the side and felt chills all over, afraid he'd throw me away one day too."
MDR said cheerfully while fishing out a chicken leg.
"Ah, then it seems I was being too nosy."
Lianne smiled lightly. In truth, she didn't regret it. These beneficial suggestions would earn her points and wouldn't leave a bad impression on Lux.
"I didn't see you being scared at all. If you smear my reputation again, I'll really throw you away next time."
Lux put on a serious expression.
"Pfft, impossible. That act was totally unconvincing. That kind of presence isn't something you can fake."
MDR wore a smug smile.
"So it failed after all."
Lux smiled wryly. He really couldn't bear to abandon MDR. In fact, he wouldn't even give her up if someone tried to take her. He just wanted to scare her a bit, so that next time, a serious-type Tactical Doll like M99 wouldn't get misunderstood the moment she appeared.
"By the way, what were you calculating earlier? You were so focused."
Lux looked curiously at Lianne.
"How the apocalypse came into being. Want to guess? Brother Lux, you go first?"
Seeing Lux's gentle demeanor, Lianne asked with a smile.
"Well, in my case… a virus leaking from some laboratory? Like in Resident Evil."
"A very standard line of thinking. What about you, Miss 416?"
Lianne turned her gaze to HK416, who was sitting quietly beside Lux and eating dinner, then asked.
These gun-toting girls didn't usually interact much with her. If she wanted to integrate into the team, she needed to get along with everyone.
"A virus leaked from a laboratory."
"Ahaha, same as Brother Lux. Then, Miss Sten?"
"A virus leaked from a laboratory."
After asking everyone, Lianne's facial muscles twitched slightly. Aside from Candice guessing it was something Satan released to destroy the world, all the Tactical Dolls gave exactly the same answer as Lux.
After going around like this, she couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy. It was as if the entire group were just repeaters.
"Cough cough, they're all my subordinates. After spending so much time together, their way of thinking is similar to mine."
Lux explained awkwardly.
After all, Tactical Dolls were manufactured specifically for combat. Their neural cloud spaces weren't equipped with divergent thinking modules. For one, those consumed a lot of processing power, and for another, thinking too much could lead to rebellious tendencies. As a result, HK416 and the others would subconsciously follow his answers.
That made the scene feel a bit eerie.