Chapter 40

Tao Shushu logged in a bit earlier than usual and happened to see her cub leading a group in moving processed ore.
The ship’s cabin was already packed full, but the people in the base were still moving like ants, carrying boxes in pairs.
Seeing the cub struggling with a heavy box all alone, Tao Shushu quickly reached out to help.
Suddenly, a pair behind the cub lost coordination, and their box tilted.
The cub and Tao Shushu simultaneously steadied the box for the two.
"Thanks, Boss Nan Yuan."
"Appreciate you being here with us, Boss Nan Yuan."
"Be careful," Nan Yuan said with a wink straight ahead, then helped the two stack their box properly.
Right after, he felt his own box lighten slightly.
He obediently eased his grip and set down the box he was carrying.
Having been too focused on the cub earlier, Tao Shushu only now noticed the sheer volume of ore piled in front of her.
As another pair carried ore inside, a task completion prompt popped up on her phone.
[Congratulations on completing the Power Energy Collection Task. Rewards: C1 Star System Survivor Map ×1, Gold Coins ×2000, Primary Clarity Card ×1.]
It was finished so quickly! Over ten days ahead of the estimated schedule.
Tao Shushu first carefully inspected the energy ore ready to be loaded into the power chamber, then checked the condition of the base’s residents.
Though some were panting and others sweating from the heavy lifting, everyone was full of energy and moved with lively steps.
Truly, stockpiling resources was the most satisfying thing in a post-apocalyptic world.
Tao Shushu watched with a smile for a while before turning her attention to the newly acquired reward, the C1 Star System Survivor Map.
Tao Shushu took a deep breath before clicking to view.
The C1 star system contained over a hundred planets.
The barren planet where her cub resided was located at the very edge of the star system, appearing as nothing more than a tiny green dot on the map.
The dozen or so planets nearest to the barren world were all shaded gray, indicating no human presence.
Only after passing these gray planets could one spot another slightly larger green area.
Meanwhile, the map was densely covered with red zones representing artificial intelligence territories.
After some estimation, Tao Shushu concluded that the surviving human population across the entire star system numbered only around one billion.
A single country on Earth would have more people than all the survivors in the C1 star system.
Even though Tao Shushu had long known about the brutality of the apocalypse, seeing such a stark comparison still made her sigh heavily.
After briefly observing the scale and territory of the surviving humans, she closed the map.
Though the world beyond the barren planet was full of dangers, seeing the busy yet smiling faces around her made Tao Shushu feel that no obstacle was insurmountable.
Humanity would keep getting better.
Nan Yuan had already changed positions and was now sitting alone in the spacecraft cockpit.
Tao Shushu ruffled her cub's hair and praised, "You're so capable, collecting enough power sources this quickly."
Nan Yuan smiled, "Shushu helped a great deal."
"I didn't really do much," Tao Shushu said. Indeed, she hadn't had time to contribute much, aside from secretly observing the tall thin man and scar-faced man's methods of separating ore materials, which saved some interrogation time.
Nearly all the ore collected so far had been gathered by her cub and his team.
"My cub is absolutely amazing!" Tao Shushu ruffled Nan Yuan's hair again.
Nan Yuan's eyes flickered slightly as he responded with a low acknowledgment.
Tao Shushu was utterly charmed by her shy cub and praised more directly: "You're truly remarkable. Back when Lin Wei considered ordinary people without evolved abilities to be burdens, you led so many ordinary people and accomplished what he wouldn't dare imagine. You're simply the best. With the resources we have now, everyone can take it easier for the remaining few days."
Everyone in the base was busy collecting supplies, each face filled with joy and hope.
Nan Yuan smiled, "I can't persuade them otherwise. Everyone wants to take more supplies with them."
Tao Shushu understood this reasoning and didn't insist, "At the very least, you're not allowed to sneak out alone in the middle of the night."
"Okay," Nan Yuan agreed with a smile.
Satisfied, Tao Shushu hesitated for a moment before deciding not to mention the survivor map to her cub just yet.
Since Nan Yuan had worked so hard to reach this point, she wanted him to enjoy a few carefree days first.

Influenced by the game's atmosphere, Tao Shushu returned in high spirits.
She slept comfortably through the night, woke to her biological clock in the morning, saw her adorable cub already awake, and began a new day full of energy.
Meanwhile, Su Momo, who had struggled with insomnia before finally falling asleep, woke up late and rushed to school, only to be caught by the discipline teacher again.
This time, without Wang Tianba there to exert pressure, the discipline teacher followed school regulations and punished Su Momo by making her give a self-criticism speech under the national flag during Monday's assembly.
Furious but helpless, Su Momo gritted her teeth and headed to her classroom, only to be scolded by her Chinese teacher upon entering the international class.
It was utterly humiliating.
Just after morning self-study ended, a girl who didn’t get along with Su Momo walked over. "Oh, Su Momo, you’ve got a pimple on your forehead."
Su Momo’s face stiffened, but she forced a smile and replied, "Haha."
"Oh, but you didn’t have one in that photo together last night. Hey, did you edit the pimple out?"
Su Momo was fuming. It was that photo from last night that had kept her tossing and turning all night, so upset she’d broken out in a pimple from the stress.
"I just happened to get one," Su Momo said through gritted teeth.
Originally, she had planned to find another opportunity today, to position herself at the perfect angle and take a new photo where she looked beautiful while Tao Shushu had an unflattering expression, then post it on the forum.
However, with that big pimple on her forehead, Su Momo had no choice but to abandon the idea.
Anxiously and fearfully, she checked the campus belle ranking on the forum. Her initial votes had been far ahead of Tao Shushu’s, but now the gap had narrowed, with only a little over a hundred votes separating them.
Just then, the Arts Department announced a gathering during the break.
As soon as Su Momo stepped out of the classroom, she felt like everyone was staring at her, or more specifically, at the raised pimple on her forehead.
That morning, she had deliberately applied a thick layer of powder and used contouring and highlighting to try and make the pimple less noticeable, but makeup could only do so much.
Walking down the hallway, she felt as though everyone was looking at the pimple on her forehead, mocking her for being outshone by Tao Shushu the day before and for editing her photo on the forum.
But really, who doesn’t touch up their photos? Tao Shushu must edit hers too, she thought.
Just as she was thinking this, Su Momo came face to face with Tao Shushu.
Immediately, she glared fiercely at Tao Shushu, noticing how flawless she was, not a single bad angle. This only made Su Momo angrier.
Tao Shushu, meanwhile, was preoccupied with a competition problem Li Xin had specifically explained to her. She was baffled when Su Momo suddenly stopped her.
Then she heard Su Momo say, "Tao Shushu, are you laughing at me for having a pimple too? You think I can’t compete with you now, is that it?"
"What?" Tao Shushu looked down in confusion. Tall and slender, she had to lower her gaze to meet Su Momo’s eyes.
Before Tao Shushu could get a clear look, Su Momo covered her forehead and snapped, "Don’t even think about taking what’s mine."
After delivering her words, Su Momo turned to run off, but she wasn’t watching where she was going and nearly collided with a pillar.
Instinctively, Tao Shushu reached out and pulled Su Momo back, saving her from smashing her face into the pillar.
Su Momo glanced at the pillar and grumbled, "It’s all your fault. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have almost run into it."
Just as Tao Shushu was about to walk away, she paused and greeted a boy in front of her, "President."
Tao Shushu looked toward the boy referred to as "President", Qin Rui, the model student known for his excellent grades, family background, and good looks.
In the original book, Qin Rui had been away on an exchange program since the start of the semester and just missed interacting with Su Momo. But why is he here now? According to the protagonist halo theory, Qin Rui might just step in to back Su Momo up.
Tao Shushu mentally reviewed the plot and countermeasures while maintaining a calm exterior.
Su Momo covered her head, inwardly lamenting why every time she was in a sorry state, the very fish she wanted to hook would see her. Last time, it was when Li Xin made her stand in punishment, and now, just as she had a breakout, Qin Rui returned.
Su Momo covered her head, putting on a pitiful act as she greeted him again, "President, congratulations on winning the Youth Championship."
"Classmate, I saw you were caught before you even hit the pillar. It's one thing not to thank someone, but faking an injury is not acceptable," Qin Rui said.
Tao Shushu was surprised.
Su Momo’s pitiful act gained a touch of authenticity, she was so angry she nearly cried.
Qin Rui glanced at Su Momo and remarked, "Oh, seeing how confidently you’re blaming your classmate while still covering your head, anyone who didn’t see clearly might think you really did hit it."
Tao Shushu wanted to laugh but held it in.
Su Momo was covering her face to hide the pimple, but now, in front of the president, she couldn’t decide whether to lower her hand or keep it there. And the president even accused her of faking it.
But it was clearly Tao Shushu’s fault, if Tao Shushu hadn’t been blocking the way, how could she have almost bumped into the pillar?
Tao Shushu’s favorable impression of the president grew considerably. She had no intention of helping Su Momo out of this predicament, so she just stood quietly without saying a word.
"I wasn’t faking it, I just..." Su Momo racked her brain for a response.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, another person arrived with his lackeys.
The only one in this school who made such a grand entrance was Wang Tianba.
Before Wang Tianba could speak, his lackeys shouted, "Isn’t that our sister-in-law? Why is she covering her head?"
"Was she bullied by Tao Shushu?" another lackey chimed in. He was the same one Wang Tianba had brought along the first time he confronted Tao Shushu, and he still vividly remembered her sharp retorts to Wang Tianba, or rather, " Brother Ba."
Wang Tianba walked up to Su Momo. "What’s wrong with you?"
Su Momo immediately felt a headache coming on. Why did the brainless Wang Tianba have to show up now?
Hesitating for a moment, she didn’t dare to lie in front of President Qin Rui, so she said, "I’m fine."
"Sister-in-law, if you’ve been wronged, just say it. Our brother Ba will definitely stand up for you," one lackey declared indignantly.
Su Momo shot a glare at the lackey who called her "sister-in-law." She didn’t want rumors about her and Wang Tianba to be confirmed in front of the president.
Not daring to break ties with Wang Tianba, Su Momo swallowed her anger for the moment.
Unexpectedly, Wang Tianba slapped the lackey hard. "What sister-in-law? Don’t spout nonsense and slander me."
His expression was stern, and the lackey was terrified. "Ba-ge, I was wrong."
Su Momo stared at Wang Tianba, shocked and hurt. His blatant rejection made it seem like she was the one chasing after him, where was her dignity in all this?

Author’s Note:
A world where only Su Momo gets hurt has been achieved...