217: This place is great.

Da Wang climbed onto the courtyard wall by himself, found a comfortable spot to stretch, and lay down on the top of the wall with his eyes closed.

Li Shilan said with a smile, "It seems our always picky Da Wang really likes this place."

Ai Yue looked around. It was indeed a quiet place. The small courtyard was hidden deep within a forest, with only a small path leading to it. There were guards stationed outside the forest to prevent unauthorized people from entering.

Inside the courtyard was a two-story building. Although it was built simply, it looked pleasing to the eye. Vegetables were planted on both sides of the yard, but they weren't growing well—they were yellow and looked quite listless.

Near the entrance of the house was a gazebo, and a swing set had been built next to it, giving it a poetic and picturesque feel.

Overall, the entire courtyard was arranged simply but comfortably.

"Sister Ai Yue, what do you think? Do you like it?" Gong Qiumu leaned toward Ai Yue and asked.

Ai Yue broke into a smile. "Qiumu, was this small courtyard built specifically for someone?"

Gong Qiumu was taken aback, and a look of sadness crossed his face. He said in a low voice, "Sister Ai Yue, how did you tell? This was indeed built by my father for my grandmother. She liked peace and quiet, and he intended for her to enjoy her later years here. But who would have thought... she didn't survive the first round of the natural disaster."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your sorrow," Ai Yue said apologetically.

"Oh, it's fine. Occasionally talking about her is good. She'll be very happy knowing we're thinking of her."

Gong Qiumu took a deep breath and said with a smile again, "This small courtyard has been abandoned for a long time. It's perfect that you've come to bring some life to it. You should stay here."

Ai Yue did not refuse and nodded. "Thank you, you've gone to a lot of trouble!"

After introducing some features of the house, Gong Qiumu took his leave so as not to disturb Ai Yue's family while they rested.

"I must say, this Gong Family really knows how to handle things. Everything they do makes one feel comfortable," Ai Guosheng said cheerfully as he wandered around the courtyard.

It seemed he also liked the place very much.

It made sense. Since the Apocalypse began, they hadn't lived in such a nice house. They had been moving constantly, and the most important thing here was the peace and lack of crowds.

Seeing that Gong Qiumu had left, Li Shilan immediately crouched in the vegetable patch, fussing over those yellowed vegetables.

Ai Yue ignored them and took Ye Rui upstairs to find rooms to rest.

She hadn't slept in a bed for so long; she missed it terribly.

The place was large, so everyone could have their own room. Ai Yue chose the innermost room on the second floor, which had already been furnished.

It looked clean and tidy, but Ai Yue still took out her own familiar bedding to spread over it. She slipped into her space to take a good bath, and finally fell into a deep sleep, contentedly hugging her familiar quilt.

During those days outside, she was constantly in danger and hadn't had a single night of peaceful sleep.

Now that she had reached a safe place, she finally let down her guard to have a thorough, good sleep.

After touring the courtyard, Ai Guosheng and the others also found rooms and went to sleep.

Once Ai Yue had slept enough, she took out the backpack she had been carrying. This time, she had collected a total of over ten thousand crystal cores.

If these were only used for cultivation, they would last a long time. Unfortunately, she still had a 'gold-swallowing beast' to raise.

She took out three thousand crystal cores to keep for future cultivation and put all the rest into the space for its upgrade.

The crystal cores placed into the space disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A familiar vibration came through. Ai Yue knew the space was changing. She wondered what kind of surprise awaited her after feeding the space so many crystal cores.

When the vibrations stopped, Ai Yue flashed into the space.

As soon as she entered, she was stunned by the scene before her.

She hadn't expected that the space would expand again.

Gazing across the entire space, she couldn't see the end; further out, it was shrouded in mist.

As for the other areas, there were no changes. The house and the black fertile land were still the same size. It seemed that if her family ever moved in, it would definitely not feel cramped or stifling.

Despite several upgrades, the space still hadn't reached the point where it could allow other people to enter and exit freely.

She found this quite regrettable.

But it was good that the space had expanded. Balancing her thoughts, Ai Yue emerged from the space and took her family to have a hearty meal, eating until they were stuffed.

What can relieve sorrow? Only food!

After eating and drinking their fill, the group lay contentedly on the lounge chairs outside, idling and doing nothing at all.

Ai Yue's family thus temporarily settled down in the Songzhou Safety Tower.

They didn't take a single step out of the small courtyard. The whole family enjoyed this rare, quiet time, unwilling to be disturbed.

Three days passed like this. On this morning, Gong Qiuqiu came here alone.

He got straight to the point, saying, "Ai Yue, the situation at the Tianou Safety Tower has worsened. That white mist has spread outward by another three meters, and its expansion is slowly accelerating."

Hearing this, Ai Yue also realized the severity of the problem.

Gong Qiuqiu continued sincerely, "We can't wait any longer. All Safety Towers will send their elites. However, not a single person has awakened the Healing Superpower. This matter is too serious, so I want to invite you to join the 'Monster Slaying' squad and save our country with us."

Ai Yue's first reaction was not to go, but then she thought that her space hadn't upgraded yet. If the Nameless Monster wasn't dealt with, it would affect them sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Ai Yue said, "I'll go. Let the other three in my family stay here and enjoy a few comfortable days."

Among them, only Ai Yue and Li Shilan had the Healing Superpower. In combat, Healing could indeed be the key to victory or defeat. So, if it wasn't her going, it would have to be Li Shilan.

She didn't want her mother to go to those dangerous places again. Moreover, this situation was different from before; this was the highest level of difficulty.

Gong Qiuqiu was very happy to hear this. Although Ai Guosheng and the others weren't going, having Ai Yue alone was enough.

Based on his observations during this period, Ai Yue's performance alone seemed to combine the strengths of many. Plus, the energy stored in her body was much more than others. With her going, their chances of victory increased a bit more.

Gong Qiuqiu said warmly, "Very well. We will set out in half a month. You can take these few days to relax properly."

Ai Yue said, "Alright!"

Once she decided on something, she wouldn't shrink back with hesitation.

Having received the answer he wanted, Gong Qiuqiu didn't stay long. He had many matters waiting for him to handle at the base, so he left in a hurry.

The fun-loving Gong Qiumu hadn't come to find them these past few days either. He had his own things to be busy with, so he didn't have time to come over.

It was possible that in the entire base right now, only Ai Yue's family of four could afford to stay so relaxed.