Just before leaving, Yan Ming suddenly remembered something and said, “Brother Huo, are you coming with us to the mulberry collection zone tomorrow?”

Mulberry collection zone?

Zhuang Xiao’s eyes lit up instantly—fruit.

Her sparkling eyes turned toward Huo Xiao, practically begging: Look at me, look at me—I want to go, I want to go, I want to go!

“Is your brother going too?” Huo Xiao asked.

“Yeah. The place is a bit far, but now’s the peak of the season. If we miss this month, it’ll be over,” Yan Ming explained.

In the known safe zones, fruit-gathering spots were rare—and expensive.

Every year during this season, crowds would head out in droves.

Resources were scarce to begin with, and the more people there were, the more likely some would return empty-handed. But that never seemed to dampen people’s enthusiasm for fruit.

Huo Xiao thought for a moment and then said, “Alright.”

After they agreed on a meeting time and place, Yan Ming left.

Looked like it was an early night for them.

Once Yan Ming was gone, Zhuang Xiao eagerly started asking questions about the mulberry zone. As Huo Xiao tidied up his toolbench, he answered her questions.

After hearing his description, Zhuang Xiao felt even more that it was a great place.

Half the people from the shantytown—and even people from within the safe zones—would go there to pick mulberries.

Plus, the security squad maintained order, so they didn’t have to worry about getting robbed after finding edible mulberries.

It really did sound like a good place.

---

Early the next morning, before dawn—

Huo Xiao dragged Zhuang Xiao out of her grass nest. After washing up, he handed her a pack containing two nutrient vials and a bottle of water.

He himself had one nutrient vial and one bottle of water in his own bag.

When they arrived at the meeting point, Yan Ming and Yan Hu were already waiting. After greeting each other, the group merged into the crowd and set off.

Clearly, this wasn’t a place for conversation.

Along the way, Zhuang Xiao kept sneaking glances at Yan Hu. This guy looked just like his younger brother, but taller—and he gave off a strange, sickly vibe.

The same sickly vibe that Huo Xiao had.

There were so many people—it was easy to get separated. The crowd was like the morning market rush, a stampede of aunties fighting over vegetables.

By the time the sky was just beginning to brighten, they finally reached their destination.

The mulberry trees towered several meters high. Clusters of red-purple berries peeked out from lush green foliage.

When they arrived, the forest was packed with people jostling and squeezing past one another. Every visible tree had multiple people already climbing it, and the air was filled with the constant beeping from their wrist devices.

The four of them scouted around and eventually found a medium-sized mulberry tree near the edge of the forest.

Zhuang Xiao was the last one to climb up.

Up close, the fruit looked even more tempting than the berries in her own world.

Each one was the size of a grown man’s fist, their dark purple skins glistening like ripe… well, pears (she’d meant to say grapes, but honestly, the size of these wasteland mulberries was more like pears). They were densely packed along the branches, releasing a tantalizing aroma.

While Zhuang Xiao was still staring and swallowing hungrily, the other three were already hard at work.

Beep beep… Highly radiated mutation. Not recommended for consumption.

…

A whole string of high radiation warnings filled the air, but no one worried about being overheard—everyone in the forest was hearing the same thing.

Zhuang Xiao swiftly climbed the tree—she knew how to do this.

She picked a branch near Huo Xiao and eyed a fruit that was dark purple, almost black. She sliced it open with her knife, letting the juice drip onto her wrist device.

Beep beep… Low radiation mutation. Edible.

Huo Xiao: …

He had already tested over twenty fruits, and not a single one was edible. That stung a little.

Beep beep… Moderate radiation mutation. Edible.

Zhuang Xiao: …

Didn’t they say it was hard to find edible ones? This… was a bit too easy.

The two others in the tree, Yan Hu and Yan Ming, also turned to look in her direction. What kind of ridiculous luck was this…

“Hey, sis… wanna switch spots and let me borrow some of that luck?” Yan Hu joked.

To his surprise, Zhuang Xiao readily agreed. She was curious too—was this just dumb luck or some kind of… dumb luck?

Caught off guard, Yan Hu quickly waved his hands. “No, no, I was just kidding!”

This was a goldmine. If she really switched with him, their leader might actually kill him.

Didn’t he see how dark Huo Xiao’s face had gotten?

But Zhuang Xiao didn’t give him a chance to back out. She grabbed him and pulled him over to her branch, then climbed over to his.

Beep beep… Moderate radiation mutation. Edible.
Beep beep… Highly radiated mutation. Not recommended for consumption.

The two alerts rang out at the same time.

Yan Hu looked at his hand, then at the mulberry on the branch. Could it be because I didn’t wash my hands this morning…?

When Yan Ming heard both alerts go off, he burst out laughing—then quickly caught himself. “Sis, take me with you!”

Even Huo Xiao’s usually expressionless face cracked into a faint smile.

“Here, test this one,” Zhuang Xiao said, casually tossing a mulberry to Yan Ming.

He caught it, expertly cut it open, and let the juice drip onto his device.

Beep beep… Moderate radiation mutation. Edible.

“This… this… Sis, are your hands blessed or something?” the hulking teen stammered, completely at a loss.

What kind of cursed amazing luck was this?

Zhuang Xiao hadn’t expected this either. She just picked one randomly and it turned out edible.

Could this be a transmigration bonus? A legit golden finger?

“Sis, can you pick another one for me?” the guy asked, visibly excited. In past years, he’d be lucky to find one edible berry in a whole day.

But the moment Big Brother Huo’s fairy-like sister showed up, it was like she played an ace card.

“Sure.” Zhuang Xiao plucked another one right next to the last.

Beep beep… Highly radiated mutation. Not edible.

Well… so much for the golden finger.

Then she picked one each for Huo Xiao and Yan Ming. Aside from the first ones she gave them (which were edible), all the others came back as highly radiated.

Now this was just inexplicable.

It seemed her golden finger had expired after three usable berries.

They had basically tested every fruit within reach.

Still, thanks to Zhuang Xiao’s temporary luck streak, they all managed to get something.

Fortunately, the forest was thick enough to block out most of the harmful direct sunlight.

The four of them sat under a mulberry tree, each with a nutrient vial. Zhuang Xiao downed hers in one go, while the others saved half.

Zhuang Xiao pulled out one mulberry from her pack and stared at it for a long time. In the end, she still couldn’t bear to eat it.

This stuff is basically money.