The st peak of the Little Ice Age occurred in the 17th century, coinciding with the te Ming Dynasty, often referred to as the "Ming-Qing Little Ice Age." It directly caused catastrophic disasters.

  Countless people froze to death.

  It was even one of the contributing factors to the fall of the Ming Dynasty, illustrating just how terrifying climate change can be.

  The first major cold wave after the apocalypse happened not long ago, serving as a stark warning of the changing climate. Based on the data monitored by headquarters this time, they regretfully announced the result: humanity has officially entered a new Little Ice Age.

  The most immediate impact is the current temperature outside, which is around minus fifty degrees Celsius. When Xu Duoduo woke up, she found herself in the middle of this new Little Ice Age, utterly stunned.

  Bai Shu sighed regretfully. "Everything outside is completely locked down for now. Going out is impossible because, in this extreme weather, vehicles are rendered useless."

  Moreover, the duration of this Little Ice Age could range from a few years to decades. There’s no way of knowing when it will end. In short, the difficulty of human survival has increased once again.

  Fortunately…

  The world has become somewhat strange. Humans now possess Abilities, which make ability users more resistant to the cold. Additionally, there are all sorts of strange new creatures and phenomena. By utilizing these, humanity has a better chance of survival.

  Take mutated pnts, for instance. Despite the freezing climate, some mutated pnts have remained intact. As long as there’s food, the odds of survival increase significantly.

  Wang Weihu also sighed, "The three major bases have issued orders to halt all outdoor activities. Kids are attending school indoors, workers are staying within factory zones, and citizens are encouraged to remain inside buildings to resist the cold wave."

  Chen Xiaofei recalled a popur post on the forums. "There was a kid who thought this meant vacation, only to find out they still had to attend csses indoors. They ended up crying their heart out, ha!"

  Although this wasn’t exactly good news, the 3A Special Operations Team maintained their optimistic spirit to the end.

  What else could they do?

  Just make do and survive.

  Most people in the base were still fairly optimistic. At least everyone was together, working hard in the same direction. The rest would be left to fate.

  Qin Luo noticed Xu Duoduo sitting in a daze, her expression bnk. He walked over, picked her up, and brought her to the sofa. "What’s wrong? Scared silly? It’s just a notice, no big deal. Apart from the weather being a bit colder, we’ll just wear thicker clothes and carry on as usual."

  Bai Shu adjusted his gsses. "Here’s some good news: a certain isnd in R Country is gone. It’s no longer visible on satellite imagery—it’s sunk into the sea."

  Xu Duoduo immediately perked up, staring at Bai Shu intently. Sure enough, her patriotic instincts were deeply ingrained. Hearing this news immediately lifted her spirits.

  Qin Luo chuckled. "Ah, so this trick works, huh? See? Nothing to be afraid of."

  Xu Duoduo nodded. Indeed, as long as everyone was together, there was nothing to fear.

  Wang Weihu mented, "With vehicles out of commission and outdoor activities halted, who knows when we’ll be able to go out again? Being stuck in the base like this, we’re just burning through our resources."

  As he spoke, he tossed out a pair of threes in their card game.

  Chen Xiaofei sneakily gnced at Bai Shu’s cards, only to be met with a gre.

  "Hey, why so stingy? I only beat you three rounds in a row, didn’t I?" Chen Xiaofei quipped, tossing out a pair of sixes. "The base cutting back on activities is unavoidable. In this extreme weather, even ability users are at risk, let alone ordinary people. And there aren’t many second-tier ability users around."

  Most people were still stuck at the first tier, and recovering after using the serums took a long time.

  Leveling up was tough.

  Not everyone was like 3A, built like beasts.

  Previously, many ability users had seen videos on the forums of 3A’s semi-mimicry combat mode and were utterly awestruck. Everyone eagerly awaited the diluted mutation core serum.

  But when the second batch was finally distributed, many who received the injection ended up bedridden for a long time, experiencing side effects like rapid heart rates and fevers. Though the aftereffects weren’t harmful to their health, the discomfort was very real.

  This only made 3A’s antics even more impressive. Last time, they had injected the serum straight into their necks and immediately jumped into battle.

  The madness of 3A was evident.

  As a result, 3A had earned a new nickname: the "Madman Squad."

  Because every single one of them was a lunatic.

  Even their newest recruit, Xu Duoduo, was terrifying—a little brawler in her own right.

  In short, people had given up on the idea of joining 3A.

  "We need to find something to do indoors," Wang Weihu said. "Pying cards all day isn’t practical. It’s a shame the training rooms can’t handle us third- and fourth-tier ability users."

  They’d punch straight through the walls.

  Wang Weihu looked helpless. This sudden confinement due to the weather was stifling.

  Xu Duoduo already knew what she wanted to do. She pulled out her tablet and jotted down a list: **Space, Food Supplies, Home Cooking, Stockpiling.**

  She decred, "Cook!"

  Qin Luo gnced at the list and grinned. "Alright. Didn’t you and Xiaofei say you were craving octopus st time? Let’s use this time to stockpile some food."

  The focus was on cooked food.

  It would be convenient for missions. Most of the meals Xu Duoduo had prepared before the apocalypse were almost gone.

  Wang Weihu agreed. "Alright, let’s finish this round and get to it."

  Chen Xiaofei was equally enthusiastic. "Hey, css monitor, do you have a takoyaki mold? We raided so many snack shops st time—check if there’s one. If there is, we can make some and store them!"

  Xu Duoduo took the request seriously and began searching. She quickly pulled out a mold and held it up. "Got it!"

  Recently, her speech had been limited to one or two words at a time. Sometimes, she even forgot to speak altogether. However, Professor Ji had advised her to practice speaking whenever she felt like it, promising that she would gradually improve.

  The little zombie was diligently practicing.

  Chen Xiaofei excimed in surprise, "Wow! Css monitor, your speech is so much clearer now!"

  Leaning back on the sofa, Bai Shu rested his head on his hand and smiled. "Indeed. It’s probably because she’s in her growth phase. She used to grind her teeth, and now she’s relearning how to talk. I studied this before—her occasional ‘freezing up’ is simir to how young children can’t handle doing two things at once."

  He gave an example: when a child is crying and a parent asks them to look for something they’ve lost, they often forget to cry while searching.

  Qin Luo found this fascinating, and Wang Weihu and Chen Xiaofei nodded in agreement.

  Xu Duoduo felt a bit embarrassed. This whole "second growth phase" thing was mildly mortifying. But the four of them were so good at praising her that she felt a little dazed.

  When she suggested stockpiling food, everyone was immediately on board. However, the only one with actual cooking skills was Wang Weihu. The others could only assist.

  Xu Duoduo busied herself in the kitchen, pulling out supplies, while Wang Weihu donned an apron and brought garlic and other vegetables to the living room. "You three, help me peel the garlic and prep the veggies. I’ll teach you."

  Chen Xiaofei was decent at washing vegetables, but Qin Luo and Bai Shu were a bit clumsy.

  So when Xiao Qiao stopped by, she was greeted by the sight of Wang Weihu wearing a pink apron, while Qin Luo, Bai Shu, and Chen Xiaofei sat on the carpet peeling garlic and prepping vegetables…

  Xiao Qiao was momentarily dumbfounded. "Wait, what are you guys doing?!"

  Behind her, another staff member couldn’t help but cover their mouth in shock. Was this the legendary battle-crazed 3A Special Operations Team? How could they be so… domestically virtuous?!

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