Chapter 172: Newcomer
Accommodation for the newcomers was still an issue. The previous few rooms were almost fully occupied, especially on the boys' side; there wasn't even a single spot left.
Fortunately, Chen Mu was now very skilled in constructing houses. While they were taking a bath, he swiftly erected a new house.
Of course, the details still needed some repairs, but it was enough for them to stay the night comfortably.
As for the toilet cubicles, Chen Mu had made some preparations during his leisure time, and all they needed to do was write their names on them.
Zhao Xiaoyan and Feng Xiaoyu were busy cutting a small piece of towel to use as a blanket.
Because Du Jiajia now had two cats as companions, Zhao Xiaoyan, who used to be inseparable from her, felt neglected. Even though she had a new best friend, He Ying, He Ying hardly had any spare time to chat with her. She was either busy with chores or sparring with Chen Mu.
Zhao Xiaoyan didn't enjoy fighting, and her abilities didn't allow her to engage in such activities. Over time, she ended up hanging out with another girl who had a low presence.
Feng Xiaoyu.
Feng Xiaoyu had initially joined the Qiming group solely to follow He Ying, but after coming here, she spent less time with He Ying.
As a result, she and Zhao Xiaoyan, two people who sympathized with each other's situation, came together.
No matter how harmonious a large group is, there will always be some closeness and distance among its members. It is inevitable, and there's no need to avoid it.
...
After dinner, the decision-making group, except for Wei Dalei, held a separate meeting. Chen Mu recounted the events of their recent outing, with He Ying providing additional information.
Dong Junwei listened with a sense of trepidation. Finally, she let out a sigh and said, "You've been through a lot."
"It's nothing," Chen Mu replied. "The only thing is that this time we might have really offended Qingbei."
Under those circumstances, if you don't strike first, the other party might come after you. However, it's unclear why Xin Ping harbored such strong hostility. You previously mentioned that the Qingbei members you encountered before were quite reasonable."
He Ying interjected, "From what I gathered from Xin Ping's words, it seems that after Song Yu returned, he praised Chen Mu highly, which might have made some people feel uncomfortable."
Dong Junwei pondered for a moment and nodded in acceptance. Then she smiled and said, "Not being able to handle compliments leads to such consequences."
Chen Mu sighed, "The biggest trouble now is that Qingbei probably knows about our location. It's possible that they witnessed our battle with Yizhong, or they even tracked us during our recent outing. Otherwise, it's hard to explain how Xin Ping and the other person appeared at that time. Have you noticed any suspicious individuals these days?"
Dong Junwei shook her head, saying, "The number of people on duty at the lookout post has increased to two, even during the daytime. It's because we fear retaliation from Yizhong. But since that day, everything has been calm outside. There's not a single shadow to be seen. However, as you know, the area we can see clearly is limited to the vicinity of the entrance."
"I'll try making a telescope again tomorrow."
After He Ying raised the issue of a telescope last time, Chen Mu discussed it with Tang Jing, who proved to be quite knowledgeable and guided him in making a monocular telescope. To be honest, it had some effect, but due to Chen Mu's limited abilities, the curvature and smoothness of the concave-convex mirror were not ideal. Either the images were too blurry or the long-distance viewing effect was unsatisfactory. There was no shortcut in this regard, except to try and experiment repeatedly. After trying many times, he would eventually succeed once or twice, and once he succeeded, Chen Mu could mass-produce them.
"As for the three newcomers, is there anything specific we should pay attention to?" After explaining the abilities of Yu Yuan and the others, Chen Mu asked Tang Jing.
Tang Jing smiled and said, "For now, Yu Yuan is quite interesting. I'll study him closely tomorrow. If possible, I'll let him consume the food that is about to expire, killing two birds with one stone. Zhou Xuliang's spatial storage might be helpful for transporting goods. As for Li Bo, although there's some overlap with your abilities, he might be more functionally powerful."
Tang Jing paused for a moment and continued, "By the way, during the time you were away, everyone's abilities have improved, especially Cao Zishan. He has finally broken through the 2.5-meter limit. Although the effect is still not great, it's still a good start."
"In that case, can we start construction on the high-level artillery platform?" Chen Mu asked, "Since our location has been exposed, we need to speed up our defense preparations."
Tang Jing nodded, "That's what I was thinking too."
They exchanged some more ideas and roughly agreed on the main theme for the upcoming general assembly next week. They also decided the sequence for completing several important tasks.
However, Chen Mu noticed that the three girls seemed a bit distracted today. Even Tang Jing, who usually enjoyed meetings, frequently spaced out, and Dong Junwei deliberately accelerated the pace of the meeting.
Their gazes kept shifting toward the direction of the bathroom.
"Is there a problem with the bathroom?" Chen Mu asked.
"No, nothing," Dong Junwei withdrew her gaze.
"Then what are you all looking at?"
"Nothing," Tang Jing smiled, "Didn't you bring back a piece of soap?"
"So what?" Chen Mu was puzzled.
"So... today's meeting is adjourned."
Since bathing had to be done in batches, and Dong Junwei, as the leader, couldn't claim privileges in this regard, she usually let others, like Lu Shanshan, bathe first.
At this moment, Zhao Xiaoyan and the others had just finished bathing, and as they came out with their hair still wet, the group could smell the scent of the soap from afar.
Dong Junwei announced the meeting's end and left the conference table directly. Tang Jing and He Ying also stood up and left, leaving Chen Mu looking baffled.
...
The moon hung in the middle of the sky. The night, not yet at the peak of summer, remained peaceful. Yu Yuan was lying on the soft bed inside the newly constructed house, chatting softly with Li Bo and Zhou Xuliang.
This day's experience was simply magical for them. First, they left the office they thought would become their burial ground, only to discover that they weren't the only ones with special abilities; everyone had awakened powers. The senior brother even referred to this situation as an "awakening."
Lastly, and most importantly, they joined an organization.
This organization was fascinating.
Each person was so interesting.
Yu Yuan recalled the events of the past few hours:
The senior named Chang was said to be able to grow bumps on his body and scratch them for fun. He was also invulnerable to knives and guns, which was truly enviable.
Senior Wei had endless strength. He carried a huge chopstick and walked around with it. He even demonstrated a set of staff techniques with it.
Xue Xu was a bit bizarre; his ability was to fart, even more disgusting than Li Bo.
And then there was Sun Yuan, who was surprisingly good at flattery, a formidable rival!
Of course, the most, most crucial thing was that Senior Dong was really beautiful.
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