Francis fell silent. He had been wondering the same thing—were those strange creatures even edible? Figuring that out would take time. But when he saw the current dragging some of the steelworm bodies away, he made up his mind and shouted, "Forget it! Let's just pull them out first! Meat is meat!" He had no idea that this decision would feed their shelter for the next six months. Because, as it turned out, steelworms were edible. Not just edible, it was delicious! Even better than roasted cockroaches. Their shells could be ground into powder and help with their calcium intake. It was a rare source of nutrition in a world where food and supplies were running low. For the survivors, this was a gift from heaven. Within weeks, the shelter began producing steelworm pie and steelworm powder. These new foods became bestsellers across all the shelters in Hornvale. After this insect disaster, their shelter went from starving to thriving. They had turned crisis into fortune. Of course, this attack had been the biggest disaster of all the shelters. That was probably because Nelson, Francis, Caroline, Denton, and Tyler—five of the strongest mutants around—had all been there. Building B had recruited several powerful mutants, making the battle brutal beyond imagination. Other shelters only faced a few thousand mutant cockroaches or a couple hundred mutant rats—nothing close to what this one endured. Some had tough fights, but none were pushed to the brink like this. At the same time, the others' shelter didn't get as much meat as theirs. Their shelter, it turned out, had been blessed by disaster. And so had Caroline. After the battle, she absorbed all the energy from the steelworm corpses. The moment she finished, her storage space started to tremble. It was upgrading again. The progress bar that had been only 80% full suddenly shot to a hundred. She had just hit the jackpot overnight.After dinner, Caroline returned to her house. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding with excitement. Her storage space had just reached level nine. She couldn't wait to see what new changes had appeared this time. The moment she entered the space, Jasper darted toward her like a fluffy storm. This time, Jasper looked completely satisfied. His eyes sparkled with fervent admiration. "Boss! Meow!" he purred, acting like a spoiled kitten who'd just gotten extra treats. "Boss, you're amazing! You actually upgraded the storage space to level nine! This is insane! I'm like, your biggest fan now! Meow!" He rubbed against her leg twice, tail flicking, looking like the very picture of a sweet and flattering kitten. Caroline gave him a knowing glance after checking the new upgrade options. No wonder Jasper was acting this sweet. Hmph! This little furball is up to something. This upgrade had unlocked a brand-new feature—a mobile base. Mobile Base Level: 2 Function: A mobile shelter for the apocalypse. It can be moved outside the storage space to protect the owner and her friends. Limit: At this level, the base can remain outside the storage space for up to 10 hours per 24 hours. After that, the mobile base must return to the storage space to reset for 24 hours before being released again. Note: Want a shelter that stays outside all the time? Want to keep your mobile base deployed even at low levels? Just top it up daily—only 50 mutant cockroach corpses' worth of energy! Fair deal, guaranteed! Caroline's eyes lit up. Fifty mutant cockroaches—that was all it took to power the mobile base for a full day! Ever since the great heat began, mutant creatures had multiplied like crazy. Just taking down a few on a routine hunt would be enough to keep the base running. Besides, the army had been bringing in hundreds of mutant corpses after every mission. If she stockpiled them for a while, she could easily gather thousands, maybe tens of thousands. That meant she finally had what she needed to deploy the mobile base permanently. Truth was, Caroline had been considering leaving this shelter for some time.For one, Building B's obsession with Nelson was getting out of hand. They'd definitely cause trouble again. Secondly, with ability users emerging everywhere, the army was bound to face chaos and major internal shifts. No one could tell what direction this shelter would take. And third, she was done being tied to the army. Now that her mobile base had been upgraded, Caroline made her decision. Once she collected enough mutant corpses, she was leaving this apartment—forever.