Looking at the big river clam in the bucket, along with a river shrimp, Huo Xiao was in good spirits. Just these two catches made the trip worthwhile.

After confirming that her big clam was edible, Zhuang Xiao happily returned to her “treasure spot.”

However, once back, she simply stuck the fishing rod into the ground, propped it up with a stone, and left it there.

She then wandered downstream to check on the other two groups. The kids had added a palm-sized fish to their bucket, something resembling a small crucian carp.

Yan Ming and Yan Hu had also caught a small fish and a pair of river shrimp.

Zhuang Xiao strolled along the stream, hoping to find more edible plants.

As the sun climbed higher, the shrubs could no longer provide enough shade.

Ever since she caught that clam, she hadn’t had a single new catch.

And with the rising temperature, her mood grew increasingly irritable. She kept wiping the sweat off her forehead while testing leaf after leaf in her hands.

Again came the same voice:
“Beep beep. High radiation mutation. Inedible.”

Like a devil’s chant piercing her brain.

She was practically spinning and leaping on the edge of a breakdown.

Just then, Huo Xiao called out that it was time to pack up.

Zhuang Xiao looked up through the gaps in the leaves at the sky. Clearly, they couldn’t stay by the stream any longer.

The group retreated into the nearby forest.

This forest was regularly cleared by the safe zone to ensure humans had enough space to gather food.

By this time, the forest was already populated with several people, each keeping a safe distance from others.

After a short break, the two children started busying themselves nearby.

For them, every chance to go out to a distant gathering point was precious—there could be no wasting even a second.

Seeing the kids hard at work, the adults couldn’t justify just sitting around any longer.

With Huo Xiao along on this trip, Zhuang Xiao wanted to familiarize herself with the area as much as possible. If she ever had to go out alone, at least she wouldn’t be completely clueless.

After a quick word to Yan Ming and the others, the two groups split up to act separately.

The upper stream of the creek also ran through this forest. Huo Xiao led Zhuang Xiao upstream.

At first, they could still hear the occasional sound of wristband reports in the distance, but as they moved farther away, only the rustling of grass under their feet and the increasingly loud sound of rushing water remained.

Zhuang Xiao grew excited and was about to run ahead, but Huo Xiao grabbed her shirt, “Not that way! Go this way!”

“Why?” she asked, puzzled but still changing direction under his guidance.

“Beyond that point is a blind zone,” Huo Xiao explained.

In the wasteland, blind zones were undeveloped and uncleared areas, filled with unknown mutated plants, mutated animals, and often high-radiation zones.

High-radiation zones—ordinary people should stay far away.

Zhuang Xiao looked around. There weren’t any walls, fences, or even warning signs. How were they supposed to tell where the safe areas ended?

With thick bushes and overgrown grass everywhere, it seemed far too easy to wander into danger.

“If you accidentally stumble into one, you might not even know how you died,” she muttered.

But Huo Xiao quickly revealed the answer.

The wristbands had maps, with every area clearly marked. High-risk areas even had alerts. So, the chance of someone accidentally wandering in was almost zero.

Realizing this, Zhuang Xiao couldn’t help but sigh:
“This wristband’s functions are really something.”

Everything was designed purely for survival.

Watching videos or reading entertainment news? Completely impossible.

Here, survival came first. Leisure and entertainment were luxuries reserved for the rare few.

The stream they arrived at now was wide and rapid, with large rocks in the water. Standing on the bank, splashes frequently hit them.

No wonder no one else was here.

You couldn’t even get near the water, let alone fish.

Zhuang Xiao didn’t want to go back the way they came, and Huo Xiao happened to know of a spot further downstream with a large patch of fish mint near a bend in the stream.

So the two decided to check it out.

Truth be told, the shallows were much smaller than Zhuang Xiao expected, but the abundance of fish mint made up for it.

Testing them all would keep them busy for quite a while.

Huo Xiao was already satisfied with the day’s fishing and wasn’t intent on forcing more. Zhuang Xiao, on the other hand, didn’t want to just sit and wait for a fish to bite.

It was too draining.

She’d rather spend her time searching for edible wild greens.

But once again came the never-ending chorus of:
“Beep beep. High radiation mutation. Inedible.”

Zhuang Xiao had grown used to the sound by now.

This world just never wanted her to happily find food.

As she moved to the next patch of plants, she lifted some leaves and spotted a deep water pocket underneath, with clear water.

And inside—a whole nest of river shrimp.

They were juvenile shrimp, but each one was nearly the length of her palm.

Zhuang Xiao carefully observed the puddle. It was a contained space, likely left behind when water levels rose and a mother shrimp laid eggs here.

There were about thirty to forty juvenile river shrimp in there.

Looking at the densely packed shrimp, her heart—tormented hundreds of times—felt just a little bit healed.

Zhuang Xiao looked up and saw Huo Xiao still squatting nearby, testing more fish mint leaves.
“Huo Xiao! Over here!” she called, unable to hide the joy in her voice.

He finished testing the leaf in his hand and walked over. As he approached, he saw the nest of… juvenile river shrimp beneath Zhuang Xiao’s hand.

He had been to this spot many times. How had he never seen these stranded shrimp before?

His heart—ugh, it was a sour-sweet kind of pain.
Comparisons kill.

There were 34 juvenile shrimp in the puddle: four with moderate radiation mutation, two with low-level mutation, and the most outrageous thing—one completely uncontaminated shrimp.

That was beyond outrageous.

In the wasteland, this was practically impossible.

Even though “uncontaminated food” was technically a category in the radiation index, he had never heard of anyone actually finding it.

So as shocked as he was, Huo Xiao also started wondering why on earth uncontaminated food would appear here.

While he was frowning and deep in thought, Zhuang Xiao suddenly let out a startled cry.

Huo Xiao looked down—the water in the puddle had turned murky again, something seemed to be moving rapidly beneath the surface.

“It’s a crab! A crab! Should we catch it?” Zhuang Xiao said, part terrified, part thrilled—but she didn’t dare make a move.