"Did something happen?"
Xu Yan looked at her daughter, her voice gentle as she comforted her, just like that day. She held Xu An tightly, her palm slowly patting her daughter's shoulder.
She truly wished for Xu An to live her life under her protection, a peaceful life. But they both knew that was impossible.
All this way, it had mostly been Xu An taking care of her.
Yet seeing her daughter like this, she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired," Xu An shook her head, suppressing the anxiety within her. She forced herself to lift her head, offering her mother a smile.
As soon as Xu An emerged from her mother's embrace, a large dog rushed towards her, nearly knocking her over.
"Goudan! Did you miss Mommy!" Xu An petted the dog's head, looking at the dog, which had grown even fatter. She looked at her mother speechlessly, "Mom, I think Goudan needs to lose some weight."
Seeing that her daughter didn't want to talk about it, Xu Yan wisely stopped asking. She smiled and took Xu An's hand, "Hahaha, I think so too. Goudan's meals have been too good lately. Let's eat first."
Xu An nodded, looking at the dishes on the table, and walked over. For the past half month, she hadn't eaten a single warm meal.
The time spent in the desert felt like a dream. Now that the dream had ended, she had returned to the Lighthouse.
Their lives seemed unchanged. Xu An thought that perhaps Haule's death wouldn't bring any significant changes to Sand City.
Everything remained the same, except for the absence of that one person.
Xu An looked at the table full of her favorite dishes and couldn't help but eat a few more mouthfuls of rice. Goudan also kept nuzzling against her leg.
There was no sense of unfamiliarity after being apart for half a month.
"Niannian, you were down there for so long, did you encounter anything interesting?" Xu Yan deliberately tried to lighten the mood.
"I encountered a Sand City, and I saw the Hellfire. Oh, and there were unknown monsters appearing in that area. I also... met some survivors from the surface."
Upon hearing the word "survivors," Xu Yan likely understood why her daughter was feeling down.
They both tacitly skipped over that topic. Xu Yan asked curiously, "Monsters?"
Xu An explained to her mother as she ate.
"The first time I met Qin Chuan... that was when the Rabbit Head Monster appeared. This time, they were ordered to search for the monster in that cave."
"I observed from the side and felt that Qin Chuan was probably tricked by that doctor, who wanted to transport the monster back to the Lighthouse without damaging its head."
"Thinking about it afterwards, if my guess is correct, that doctor probably knows about the glowing mushrooms."
Xu Yan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, "It seems our last guess was right. This doctor might be a重生者 (reborn one)."
"Not necessarily. We can't guarantee that someone isn't directing the doctor from behind. But one thing is for sure, this doctor definitely knows about the glowing mushrooms, and his understanding of these mushrooms might be greater than ours."
"Were there any mushrooms in the monster's head at the end?" Xu Yan asked with concern.
Xu An shook her head, "No. If there were, the Space Tree would have notified me. I suspect they also couldn't be sure which mutated species carried the mushrooms, so they could only cast a wide net."
"However, this trip wasn't without its gains. Before Qin Chuan arrived, I hunted a mutated Rat Head Snake and obtained a mushroom."
Xu Yan was also delighted to hear this, "This is truly an unexpected windfall."
Actually, in their conversation, Xu An had also subtly discerned a pattern regarding the mushrooms. They seemed to only appear in mutated species of different origins.
For instance, the "Sand Lurker" this time, though a monster Xu An hadn't seen in her past life, was clearly an indigenous species.
For example, the Rat Head Snake and the Rabbit Head Monster were grafted mutated species from two different races.
With this realization, Xu An felt much more at ease. Although she had resolutely refused Qin Chuan, stating she would absolutely not get involved in their plans.
Now that she knew the military was also collecting glowing mushrooms, it was destined that she couldn't remain an outsider.
When interests were not involved, it was naturally a win-win situation for everyone.
But when faced with conflicting interests, Xu An would naturally not back down.
Xu An didn't yet know the exact function of these mushrooms, but as the Space Tree grew, not only did her space benefit, but even her own senses became sharper.
She was absolutely unwilling to give up the competition for the mushrooms.
"Mom, how have you been lately?"
Xu Yan smiled, pursing her lips, "I've made quite a lot this time, and it's all thanks to you."
"Me?"
"Do you remember that young man named He Ci from before?"
Xu An thought for a moment; she seemed to recall such a person.
"What happened to him?"
"That young man is quite capable. He's working at the research institute now. When I was in the mining team, I encountered some provocations, and He Ci helped me resolve them. Moreover, he said my cooking was good and got me special approval to work in the second-level research department, cooking for the researchers."
Xu An was initially listening with little interest, but upon hearing that her mother had moved to the second level, she couldn't help but feel surprised.
"Mom, what is the second level like?"
"It's hard to describe in a few words, Niannian. When I went to the second level, I faintly sensed that this Lighthouse might be more than just a shelter."
Hearing this, Xu An gazed at the light screen outside the Lighthouse. She had felt this way recently, but some thoughts flashed through her mind like shooting stars, so fast that she couldn't grasp them.
Xu An wasn't among the last group to return, but by the time she did, there were only three days left until the Lighthouse ascended.
"We're ascending in a few days, so rest well now that you're back."
Xu An nodded. After dinner, she took a good bath.
She mentally calculated the time. The next time she went down to the tower would be the foggy period.
She recalled those days where day and night were indistinguishable, living in a daze, having to guard against monsters that might appear at any moment in the fog, and also against her companions.
No one would ever know who would stab you in the back.
At this moment, Goudan also ran over, constantly rubbing against her freshly washed hair. Xu An smiled and patted Goudan's head, "Have you been a good boy lately?"
Goudan obediently nodded, its large eyes staring at Xu An, as if answering her question.
"I have been good! Come give me a reward."
Xu An noticed that Goudan seemed to be becoming more human-like. She took out a few meat strips from her spatial storage. Just as she was about to feed Goudan, she looked at its current size and decisively reduced the three meat strips to one.
Goudan looked at the suddenly reduced dried meat, letting out a few wronged whimpers. Xu An looked at its plump dog face and suddenly remembered how netizens before the apocalypse used to jokingly call overweight Huskies "Husky-pigs."
Her Goudan was now a textbook Husky-pig.
"No, Goudan, you need to lose weight."