Lu Shiyan’s sharp gaze swept over, and he opened his palm. A pigeon-egg sized, irregularly shaped crystal lay quietly in his palm. “You mean this?”

Su Wan held her breath and nodded vigorously.

“This can enhance abilities,” he said flatly, as if stating something ordinary.

So the male lead had discovered it long ago! As expected of the male lead! This golden finger was clearly laid out! Sure enough, following the male lead meant there was meat to eat—no, it meant there were crystal cores to pick up! Su Wan thought to herself. But she also didn’t know if she would awaken an ability; everyone else had a grand slam of abilities, could Heaven give her one?

As night fell, the group finally reached the abandoned research institute before dark.

It was a low-rise complex of buildings half-hidden by vegetation; the once white walls were now mottled and peeling, yet one could still discern their former neatness. At the main building’s entrance, a rusted metal plaque barely legible with the characters “N51” could be made out. Lu Shiyan stood in front of the main building, looking up at the blurred sign.

“What is this place?” Su Wan couldn’t help but ask; she always felt that Lu Shiyan was overly familiar with this place.

Lu Shiyan didn’t answer, only giving Xiao Han a look. “Check the surroundings, ensure safety.”

Hmph. He ignored her again. Fine. Does a pendant not deserve to speak? Su Wan rolled her eyes dramatically in her heart.

Xiao Han took the order, leading several subordinates to disperse, their figures quickly disappearing into the shadows of the buildings.

“Zhang Ma, take Young Miss inside to rest.” Lu Shiyan’s instructions remained cold.

Zhang Ma immediately stepped forward and gently helped Su Wan.

Su Wan was unwilling but wisely didn’t press further. She followed Zhang Ma into the main building. The interior was unexpectedly clean and tidy, without the dust and cobwebs she had imagined. An office at the end of the corridor had been temporarily converted into a lounge, even containing a simple bed and a few chairs.

“Here—” Su Wan looked around, somewhat confused, “Why is it so clean?”

Zhang Ma sighed softly. “Sir has been out early and back late these past few days; he must have been preparing here.”

So Lu Shiyan hadn’t just been scouting these past few days; he was also preparing this temporary lodging for her. No, Su Wan immediately corrected herself, this was prepared for the little ancestor in her belly.

However, the one enjoying all of this was Su Wan herself. What’s wrong with being a pendant? Being a pregnant pendant who gets this kind of treatment, why ask for anything more?

Su Wan couldn’t help but smile. So good!

The research institute was well-prepared, with complete kitchen utensils and even usable water sources. Zhang Ma quickly got busy in the temporary kitchen, the sizzling sound of hot oil coming from the pot.

Su Wan rolled up her sleeves and leaned over. “Zhang Ma, I’ll help you.” She consciously picked up vegetables to wash.

Now that conditions allowed, she had to make more food to store. Although her space could keep things fresh, hot meals tasted completely different from those just out of the pot. Especially in this precarious apocalypse, the sense of security brought by a hot meal was priceless.

Zhang Ma glanced at her but didn’t stop her, only reminding her to be careful.

Su Wan’s movements were nimble, and her little calculations clattered in her mind. She chopped vegetables while surveying the kitchen.

Although the equipment here was old, it was all very professional, and there were some blurred charts and texts on the walls, seemingly some kind of experimental records. What exactly did N51 Research Institute study?

Being a pendant meant having a personal chef and being able to stockpile apocalypse hard currency—cooked food—in advance. This wave was not a loss; it was a huge profit.

In a blink of an eye, more than half a month passed, and life was so stable it didn’t feel like the apocalypse.

Su Wan occasionally leaned by the kitchen window, looking at the hazy sky outside. She could see the high walls surrounding the research institute.

Back in her own villa, she had been truly foolishly bold, actually thinking that was the safest fortress.

And the result? She fled, scrambling and crawling.

For the past half-month at the research institute, the fire in the kitchen had barely gone out. Zhang Ma, Ah Fu, A Gui, plus Su Wan herself as a helper, the four of them were practically welded to the kitchen. Cooked dishes were continuously stored in Su Wan’s space.

She even suspected that if this continued, they could survive the entire apocalypse on their stockpiled cooked food.

In contrast, Lu Shiyan and his team were much more mysterious. They also left early and returned late every day, always in a hurry.

What were they busy with? Su Wan scratched her head, unable to figure it out.

She only knew that every time they returned, they carried the smell of gunpowder or blood. Once, she saw A Mo’s arm wrapped in thick bandages, his face pale.

When Xiao Han entered, he whispered to Lu Shiyan, “Lu Da Shao, that thing was more cunning than the last one we encountered; it almost let the prey escape.”

Lu Shiyan only gave a deep hum in response, his face devoid of expression, but Su Wan noticed that the cuff of his combat uniform was torn, revealing the shirt underneath, which had dark bloodstains.

“Cleanup,” Lu Shiyan had once said.

Cleanup what? Zombies? Supplies? Or… other survivors? From Xiao Han’s words, they seemed to be “hunting” something.

That thing was “more cunning” than the last one they encountered? Su Wan’s heart tightened abruptly. Could it be that mutated hunter? And more than one?

Why were they risking their lives, going to such lengths to hunt these terrifying monsters?

Su Wan’s gaze unconsciously swept over the gruesome tear in Lu Shiyan’s combat uniform sleeve; the dark bloodstains had long dried and congealed there, yet they were still glaring.

And the dark red faintly seeping from under the thick bandages on A Mo’s arm.

Was the hunting for crystal cores?

To make themselves stronger?!

Lu Shiyan was risking his life to rapidly enhance the overall strength of himself and his team.

He didn’t speak, and Su Wan was too lazy to ask again. Anyway, when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; she was just a pregnant pendant trying to survive.

A pendant’s primary task was to eat well, drink well, and supervise the kitchen’s production progress.

She was busy in the kitchen every day, her mouth almost never stopping. She had just tasted for saltiness, or she would casually pick up a piece of freshly fried meat.

She could drink two large bowls of the beef soup Zhang Ma stewed first. When Lu Shiyan and his team returned, tired, for dinner, she could follow up by finishing two more large bowls of rice.

Zhang Ma watched, amused, saying she ate the amount of three people by herself.

Su Wan herself found it strange. Logically, with this eating habit and lack of exercise, she should have become as round as a ball long ago.

But after more than half a month, not only did she not gain weight, but she actually felt her waistband loosen a bit.

She secretly checked a few times against the metal cabinet door in the kitchen that reflected her image. Her cheeks seemed to have thinned a bit, and her jawline was clearer.

What puzzled her most was her stomach. It was still very flat; let alone showing, she couldn’t even feel any extra flesh.

Was this child… still doing well inside?