After cleaning up the kitchen, Huo Xiao saw that it was still early.

So, he decided to take Zhuang Xiao to the exchange center to sell the three moderately irradiated mutated mulberries and the two moderately irradiated mutated bird eggs they had on hand.

As for what happened last night, neither of them brought it up.

Zhuang Xiao didn’t mention it because Yan Ming had already told her everything she wanted to know. Besides, those were things from the past. She only needed to understand the current situation and know how to move forward.

Huo Xiao, on the other hand, didn’t even know where to begin.

Before leaving, Huo Xiao also brought along the energy stone he had partially used, just in case.

Now that the weather was getting hotter, the girl might not be able to handle such temperatures.

A lot of things had to be prepared in advance.

It was Zhuang Xiao’s first time going to the safe zone, and she was excited, curious about everything.

The houses in the shantytown were all in tatters, with a maze of crisscrossing, uneven streets. If one had to sum it up in three words: dirty, messy, and poor.

After walking for about an hour, they could finally see the safe zone in the distance.

There weren’t too many people on the road, but they encountered several patrols from the security squad along the way.

Only then did Zhuang Xiao finally feel at ease.

The closer they got to the safe zone, the more frequently the patrols appeared.

The outer wall was over three meters tall, and on top of it was a half-meter-high wire fence—Huo Xiao said it was electrified.

They entered through the South Gate.

At the gate, security personnel were responsible for verifying everyone’s identity. Only after scanning their wristbands could they enter or leave.

Once inside the safe zone, Zhuang Xiao felt as if she had taken a heavy hit—ten thousand points of damage to the psyche.

This was far better than the shantytown, by a long shot.

Compared to the patchwork clothes in the shantytown, people here at least wore clean and tidy garments. There were still patches, but very few.

The buildings, while old, were far sturdier, safer, and more comfortable than those in the shantytown. They had a bit of the vibe of 1990s residential buildings in cities.

The exchange center was quite crowded too, but people were lined up in an orderly fashion. From time to time, people in security squad uniforms patrolled inside—reminding her a bit of the security guards from her old world.

There were ten counters at the exchange center, along with a special lane said to be reserved for members of mercenary squads and the security team—basically a military-only lane.

Each counter had about the same number of people, so Huo Xiao and Zhuang Xiao picked one at random to queue up.

Before long, it was their turn.

The staff member at the window was a woman in her thirties, her expression cold and professional—not the warm, friendly image Zhuang Xiao had been expecting.

When Huo Xiao handed over their items, Zhuang Xiao clearly saw a trace of surprise flash across the woman’s otherwise stoic face.

Since the mulberry forest gathering had started yesterday, people had been trickling into the exchange center with mutated mulberries. Most brought just one. Someone managing to gather three in a single day was as rare as a phoenix feather or unicorn horn.

Even more surprising, Huo Xiao also handed over two edible mutated dove eggs.

The staff at the center had heard that the security squad encountered mutated doves in the mulberry forest, but until today, no one had brought in anything related to them.

The three moderately irradiated mulberries and two mutated bird eggs earned them a total of 150 credits.

Naturally, the money went into Zhuang Xiao’s account. Her balance was now at 510 credits.

Here, that was a decent chunk of change.

Converted into nutrient solution, that could buy her 102 bottles. Since scavenging for a day required two bottles, that would cover about a month and a half’s worth of food.

If they bought soon-to-expire ones, it would just about be enough for both her and Huo Xiao to avoid starving for a month.

Still a long way to go!

Her fantasy of working three days and resting two was shattered.

She’d need to go all in this month—no days off—to build at least a six-month buffer.

Her standards weren’t high; just enough to keep from starving would do.

After leaving the exchange center, Huo Xiao took her to Old Yu’s general store.

When they arrived, there were two other people in the store picking out electric fans.

Old Yu looked to be in his fifties, with a thin, weathered face, white hair, and shrewd little eyes. But he didn’t come off as unpleasant—Zhuang Xiao’s first impression of him was actually quite positive.

When he saw Huo Xiao, he looked up, his wrinkled face forming a smile as he said, “Huo Xiao! Just a moment, I’ll be done here soon!”

His tone clearly indicated they were quite familiar.

Zhuang Xiao curiously looked around the small shop. It was no more than 15 square meters with a storefront barely two meters wide, but it extended deep inside. Shelves on both sides were packed with various goods, and the middle was crammed with all sorts of daily necessities—definitely living up to the title of a general store.

Judging by the old furnishings and shelves, the shop had been around for years.

Once the other two customers left, Old Yu greeted Huo Xiao, “And who’s this?”

He let Huo Xiao in while frequently glancing at the girl behind him.

“This is my sister, Zhuang Xiao,” Huo Xiao replied as he followed Old Yu inside.

“Your sister? Since when did you have a sister? She really doesn’t look like she could be your sister,” Old Yu said, full of doubt.

He’d known Huo Xiao for years and had never heard of him having a petite, bright-eyed, pretty little sister.

Zhuang Xiao was first startled by Huo Xiao calling her his sister, then speechless at Old Yu echoing it in disbelief.

This conversation—what a pair.

Huo Xiao knew Old Yu loved to chatter, and even more so with familiar folks. So he ignored the comment and said to Zhuang Xiao, “Take a look and see if there’s anything you want to buy. Old Yu’s place has a good selection, and the prices are fair.”

Aside from knowing she definitely needed nutrient solution, Zhuang Xiao didn’t know what else to get.

So she simply said, “You decide.”

This time, Huo Xiao didn’t refuse. After nodding, he said to Old Yu, “Give me twenty bottles of nutrient solution—soon-to-expire ones with at least a month of shelf life. One bag of planting soil. Two bottles each of disinfectant, nutrient enhancer, and isolation agent.”

Old Yu helped Huo Xiao gather everything. The twenty soon-to-expire nutrient solutions were sold for 100 credits. One 50-kilogram bag of planting soil cost 20 credits. The six bottles of disinfectant, nutrient enhancer, and isolation agent together cost 60 credits, for a total of 180 credits.

Disinfectant and nutrient enhancer were used to prepare planting soil. With these two items, as long as Huo Xiao could find suitable moderately or lightly irradiated soil, he could make his own nutrient soil—which was much more economical than buying processed soil.