Chapter 95、Level 2 Settlement! Another National Special Award!

Among the crowd, only Zhao Siqi looked at Chen Quren with a puzzled expression. She knew the man well—how could he be so courteous and gentle with another man? Something was off.

Zhao Siqi gave Lu Nianxin a once-over, but the man didn't even glance her way.

"Old Chen," Yi Bai stroked his chin and reminded, "Didn't you already retrieve the medical equipment? Xiangci, take the two doctors to the research room."

"I'm upgrading the shelter soon, and once that's done, we'll expand the research facility. We'll have enough space for three people to work together," Yi Bai continued, looking at Jiang Xiangci.

Jiang Xiangci nodded. "I'll notify Li Ya right away."

With Yi Bai personally stepping in, Li Ya wouldn't dare try to claim the research room for herself.

"Boss," Chen Quren said with a smile, looking at Yi Bai, and then pointed to Lu Nianxin, "A new recruit just arrived at the settlement. I'll show him around. As for the research on the antidote, I'm no expert like Miss Zhao. Let her take charge."

"Go where you're told and stop wasting time!" Yi Bai frowned and snapped at him.

Chen Quren, still unaware of what was going on, hesitated and tried to argue, "But... I'll show Mr. Lu around first, then head to the research..."

"Chen Quren!" Zhao Siqi's cold voice cut him off. "Are you defying the boss now? Want to leave us and go solo?"

Leave? Leave was the same as dying! Zhao Siqi would definitely act if it came to that.

Chen Quren immediately lowered his head, hurriedly agreeing, "I'll go to the research room now, right away."

With that, he reluctantly bid Lu Nianxin farewell, exchanged contact details, and gave him his room number before leaving, glancing back at him several times.

"You all should go too. We need to focus on business." Yi Bai took a deep breath and dismissed everyone, his eyes locking onto Lu Nianxin.

"Hey, buddy, you didn't use your powers on me, did you?"

Lu Nianxin blinked, caught off guard. He scratched his head awkwardly. "Boss, how could I do that to you? That's a taboo in our powers circle."

"Using your abilities on the boss? If that gets out, no one will dare work with me anymore."

Yi Bai nodded, satisfied. He hadn't felt any sudden shift in his emotions or any unusual affection from Lu Nianxin.

"But did you use your powers on Chen Quren?" Yi Bai's voice turned serious.

"..." Lu Nianxin fell silent, not responding.

Yi Bai rubbed his forehead, trying to keep his composure. "Look, I don't care about your private life. You can handle things however you want, but don't go around misusing your abilities."

"Boss, you didn't say anything about training female dogs, so... male ones are fine, right?" Lu Nianxin said with an innocent expression.

Yi Bai nearly lost it at that point.

"Male ones? That's men, not dogs! No men either!" He fought to calm himself, pointing outside. "Your main focus now is to help rebuild the offline trade market. After the second round of the apocalypse kicks off and with the man-eating fungi still around, I don't think anyone's going to be out there. When the antidote's ready, you'll handle the external work—recruiting new survivors, selling our surplus supplies, and expanding our influence through the market."

"But boss, I want to stay in the settlement." Lu Nianxin lowered his head, looking a little dejected. "The outside is too dangerous, and I'm just a support-type ability user. I don't have combat skills."

"You can't stay here!" Yi Bai's tone was resolute. "I'll arrange for soldiers to protect you."

He certainly didn't want all the men in the settlement turning... well, the way things were going, that would be a disaster.

"Soldiers? Men?" Lu Nianxin's eyes lit up.

Yi Bai froze. He suddenly realized—he had no defense against this guy.

In the end, Yi Bai decided to have Lu Nianxin go with Jiang Xiangci to receive his new assignment and protection detail. Compared to staying in the settlement, Yi Bai felt it was better to have him out working. The more time Lu Nianxin spent occupied, the less time he would have to... well, create his own "harem."

"Even if he does..." Yi Bai shuddered. "As long as he keeps it away from me..."

He watched Lu Nianxin leave the room, feeling a deep sigh in his chest. "Damn it, what a bunch of weirdos I have under me."

The new recruits were certainly useful, but they came with their own complications.

"Alright, let's focus on business," Yi Bai said, shaking off his thoughts.

"It's about time to upgrade the shelter."

Yi Bai took a moment to check his progress on the requirements for upgrading to a level 2 shelter.

To upgrade to level 2, you needed a level 1 shelter and a few specific resources: "1000 units of raw materials," "1000 survival points," and "at least 3 talent units, including one C-grade talent."

He had met all these requirements.

Thanks to Jiang Xiangci's efforts during the first round of the apocalypse, Yi Bai had accumulated over 2000 survival points. As for the upgrade materials, since Yi Bai focused on technology, he could only use "electronic components" for the upgrade. He had almost fallen short, but today, Wang Shi had completed the B-class puzzle gate, providing just enough to fill the gap.

As for talent units—Yi Bai had more than enough.

"Time to upgrade!"

Yi Bai knew the benefits of leveling up the shelter—there was no reason to wait any longer.

"Congratulations! Your shelter has been upgraded to level 2. Your shelter talent has been enhanced!"

"Shelter Talent 'Homebody's Haven' has been improved!"

"Homebody's Haven": Every 24 hours spent in your shelter will grant you a random survival reward at the current most urgent level! The reward will be at least B-class. The talent resets daily at noon, and you have 2 hours of exemption time from going outside, which won't affect your reward calculation!"

"Congratulations! You are the first survivor in the country to upgrade to a level 2 shelter. You've received a special national award: Growth of the Bloodline!"

"Growth of the Bloodline": A special item that can upgrade the tier of specific bloodline talents! This item can only be used on talent units recruited through the 'Bloodline Awakening' method!"

Yi Bai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The upgrade to his talent was definitely a win—now he'd get at least B-class rewards, and the real bonus was the "Growth of the Bloodline" item.

"This time, there's no regional special reward, but the national special reward is still in play. Looks like staying ahead in shelter upgrades can give me several rewards that others won't get."

"With this reward, I can upgrade Jiang Xiangci's tier... She's already A-tier. If she upgrades, she'll reach S-tier, right?"

Yi Bai couldn't help but smile at the thought.