Through absorbing crystal cores along the way, An Qian and the others were all at eight or nine stars. Zhang Xiaoli's parents were weaker, only at six stars. With so many zombies in Nanzhuang City now, as long as they worked harder, they could quickly advance to Black Iron, which would greatly increase their strength.
"Dinner is ready." He Yuyao brought the last dish of braised grass carp to the table.
Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, Qin Shilei and the others' appetites were whetted.
Just as they were about to start eating, there was a knock on the door.
"Why is it you?" Xie Haimei got up to open the door, only to see a few familiar faces.
Qin Shilei saw He Kaige standing outside the door and got up to walk over. He Kaige was carrying a bag in each hand, looking at Qin Shilei with an embarrassed expression.
When he left this morning, he thought Nanzhuang City was so large, he wouldn't easily run into them. He never expected to deliver himself to their doorstep in less than a day.
Qin Shilei said with a cold face, "I didn't expect you to be so resourceful, finding your way here in the blink of an eye. Are you here to forcibly buy my armored vehicle?"
He Kaige shook his head frantically, "Absolutely not. I'm here to thank you. Thank you for saving the families of our Heavenly Wolf Gang. I've brought some frozen meat and a bottle of wine as a token of my gratitude."
The skinny monkey standing nearby interjected, "This is premium baijiu we painstakingly found after killing hundreds of zombies, and we haven't even had a taste of this meat ourselves."
He Kaige glared at the skinny monkey and scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting? Would this big brother lack such a small thing?" In his heart, he gave the skinny monkey a thumbs-up. If the recipient didn't know the value of the gift, wouldn't it be a waste? He turned back and said sincerely, "Brother, please don't mind this small gift. Thank you so much!" With that, he bowed to Qin Shilei. The subordinates behind him also bowed, "Thank you!"
Qin Shilei took the two bags. "I've accepted the gifts. You can leave now."
The skinny monkey twitched his nose. "What's that smell? It's so fragrant." He Kaige looked at the dining table and felt his cheeks flush. A pot of fragrant dog meat was on the table, surrounded by fresh cucumber salad, freshly fried peanuts, pickled radish, and other side dishes. He had brought frozen meat as a treasure, while the boss was already stewing delicious dog meat. It was truly laughable.
"Gulp!" He Kaige and the others unconsciously swallowed.
His eyes darted around, and he continued, "Brother, in gratitude, we've cleared out a villa for you. I'll take you there right after you finish eating." He then turned to the skinny monkey and the others, "Hurry up and clean up Villa Number Five properly!"
With their boss's order, the skinny monkey and the others sniffed again with all their might, then reluctantly turned and went downstairs. He Kaige stood directly at the door, not mentioning coming inside.
Since they had already offered a villa, Qin Shilei said, "We're just about to have dinner. You should come in and eat something." He Kaige politely said, "I've already eaten. You guys eat. I'll wait here."
Qin Shilei showed a smile that was hard to decipher. "That's fine too. We'll be finished soon."
"Ugh!" He Kaige wished he could slap himself twice. Before the apocalypse, dog meat was his favorite. Why had he been so polite just now? Now, he could only stand at the door and watch others eat.
Qin Shilei said with a smile again, "Why don't you have a bit more?"
"Then I'll gratefully accept." He Kaige quickly walked in and consciously pulled up a stool to sit by the table. This time, he dared not be polite, fearing that if he was too polite, he would truly only be able to stand at the door and watch others eat the fragrant dog meat.
After dinner, Qin Shilei and the others followed He Kaige to Villa Number Five. The villa was adjacent to the Chi Yuan River, and the backyard led to a fishing platform. Before the apocalypse, it was indeed the best villa in this community. However, an alligator attack had just occurred. He Kaige giving such a prime location to Qin Shilei and the others was also partly to have them guard the frontline.
"Brother Qin, we'll be neighbors from now on. I hope we can support each other." He Kaige said as he prepared to leave, "It's getting late, so I'll be taking my leave now."
The villa had three and a half floors and a total of ten rooms. Everyone chose the ones they liked. In the backyard, there was a flower bed. Zhang Xiaoli summoned her pet, Willow. As soon as the bare Willow appeared, it took root in the flower bed. Ten minutes later, it slowly grew over a dozen thin willow branches, which could barely serve as guards. Speaking of Willow, it was quite unlucky. It was originally lush with branches, thousands of them, fiercely potent, comparable to a Black Iron expert. But Qin Shilei had lopped it down to a small main trunk. Then, to block the golden balls emitted by the roc, it had sacrificed its remaining branches. Now, it was uncertain how long it would take to recover its former might.
After settling Willow, Qin Shilei went up to the rooftop. There was a small pavilion there, which was perfect for a bird's nest where Little Qiang could stay.
"Chirp chirp!" Speaking of Little Qiang, Little Qiang flew down from the sky. "Chirp chirp." Little Qiang kept pecking at its stomach with its beak, as if trying to convey something.
"Are you hungry?" Qin Shilei guessed. Little Qiang shook its head.
"Are you going to lay eggs?" Qin Shilei's eyes lit up. Little Qiang quickly nodded.
"Okay, I'll build a nest for you right away." Qin Shilei quickly went downstairs to gather some branches and then built a simple bird's nest for his pet on the balcony. Little Qiang jumped into the nest, and half an hour later, it laid two bird eggs the size of watermelons. It was probably Little Qiang's first time being a mother, and only when it was about to lay eggs did it tell Qin Shilei that it needed a nest. After laying the eggs, Little Qiang lay directly in the nest to incubate them.
Now, with Willow guarding the backyard and Little Qiang watching from the rooftop, the villa's safety was relatively assured. Qin Shilei then went back to his room on the third floor with peace of mind.
Not long after, An Qian sneakily came over. "Where's the treasure chest? Hurry up and take it out."
Qin Shilei waved his hand, and the room was immediately piled high with ancient-looking treasure chests emitting a bronze glow. He had killed nearly four hundred alligators. Among them, seventy to eighty were mutated, so there were nearly eighty treasure chests.
"The number of mutated animals is indeed increasing," Qin Shilei sighed. The group of zombies they encountered in the morning also had several mutated zombies; the proportion was much higher than before. Although humans could evolve by absorbing crystal cores, zombies, plants, and animals were also constantly evolving. He wondered if humanity's evolution speed could keep up with that of plants and animals.
An Qian nodded in agreement and then, with a casual click, performed a ten-pull. The best item was a bottle of green healing potion. Had the European Emperor An Qian also become an African chieftain? An Qian refused to believe it and performed another ten-pull. The best item was still only a green item.
"Why don't you try it?" An Qian said with some frustration. Qin Shilei had no choice but to perform two consecutive ten-pulls himself.
#$%#$$% What the heck, not even a single green item. The best were five blue equipment and ability orbs. It seemed An Qian hadn't turned into an African chieftain; the system had just lowered the drop rate for opening treasure chests.
"Perhaps the beginner's period is over, and the system has set the drop rate to Tencent's drop rate," Qin Shilei said with some frustration. "You open the remaining treasure chests." In the end, An Qian opened all the treasure chests. Upon final inventory, there were six green items, nearly a hundred blue items, and dozens of white supplies. An Qian lived up to her title of European Emperor, pulling out one red item.