“Are we still picking mulberries this afternoon?” Zhuang Xiao asked.

She didn’t dare climb up to the higher branches—if she fell and broke something, who would she even cry to?

Besides, medical care here had to be insanely expensive.

In a time when people could barely feed themselves, getting treatment was a luxury.

And as it turned out, Zhuang Xiao was right.

From ancient times to now, getting sick has always been something ordinary people couldn’t afford. In the wasteland, there’s only one rule: endure. Modern medicine still can’t cure the illnesses caused by radiation.

Unless—

Unless you had enough energy stones.

But getting energy stones was a gamble between life and death.

So no matter what era it is—don’t get sick.

Just as they were waiting for Huo Xiao to explain the afternoon plan, a burst of alarmed screams came from the western mulberry grove, mixed with scattered gunfire.

Huo Xiao, Yan Hu, and Yan Ming immediately tensed and stood up.

This was—

The three of them exchanged glances.

Mutated doves.

It was mulberry season, so mutated doves showing up wasn’t surprising. After all, mulberries—sweet and sour—were a bird’s favorite.

But what terrible luck—this was their first time here this year, and they ran into a flock of mutated doves feeding.

These doves weren’t especially deadly, but a single swipe of their wings or a scratch from their claws could leave you in bad shape.

Still frozen in place, Zhuang Xiao was suddenly yanked up from the ground by Huo Xiao, who grabbed her arm tightly. “Stay close. Don’t run off.”

Zhuang Xiao nodded quickly, not even knowing why.

When in doubt—just listen.

The dense mulberry grove began to empty as most people fled. But others ran toward the noise. On closer look, those heading in were armed with bows, crossbows, and guns.

Danger and opportunity often come hand in hand.

Now was the time to risk everything for a shot at a windfall.

Zhuang Xiao followed Huo Xiao out of the grove until they finally stopped.

From the forest behind them came continued screams. Someone must have been too slow to escape and got hurt. If they could collect enough edible mulberries, they might be able to afford treatment.

Otherwise, today would be a total loss—both harvest and manpower.

This picking trip had been cursed from the start.

To be honest, Yan Ming also wanted to go in and try his luck—he had brought his crossbow, and his brother Yan Hu also had one slung across his back.

Compared to Huo Xiao and Zhuang Xiao, the brothers were clearly better equipped.

But he looked at his brother and Huo Xiao’s condition—not to mention Zhuang Xiao, who didn’t look strong at all. Three of their four-person team weren’t in fighting shape. He hesitated.

They were safe for now, but who knew if a wild mutated dove might suddenly burst out of the woods? It was better to stay back and act as a bodyguard.

After all, he, Yan Ming, was the main combat force of this team.

Truthfully, Zhuang Xiao was terrified.

The gunfire and shrieks in the woods made her realize something very real—this world wasn’t peaceful or safe anymore. This was the wasteland, where your life could end at any moment.

Gunfire—something she’d only ever heard in movies—was now happening in real life.

“Shouldn’t we be running?” Zhuang Xiao asked, pale-faced and trembling, clutching tightly to Huo Xiao’s shirt as she fought to stay calm.

“No need. The guards are handling it. Mutated doves move in flocks, but usually no more than ten. With the guards and others rushing in to grab the spoils, it’ll be over soon,” Huo Xiao said.

“Yeah, yeah, sis, don’t worry. It’ll be fine,” Yan Ming chimed in.

Yan Hu added a few calming words of his own.

Seeing how calm the three of them were—and noticing that even the people standing near the forest edge had relaxed, some crouching to inspect leaves—Zhuang Xiao finally began to relax a little too.

She even started to get curious about the mutated doves.

She’d been running too fast to get a good look earlier. She remembered that doves looked like pigeons—but were wasteland doves the same?

This was only the second mutated creature she’d seen!

“Are mutated doves like mutated rabbits? Just… bigger?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Huo Xiao replied. “They usually don’t attack people. Someone probably tried to catch them, and the flock panicked.”

“They’re one of the more docile kinds of mutated animals,” Yan Hu added.

But it wasn’t until the gunfire stopped that Zhuang Xiao truly understood what Yan Hu meant by “docile.”

More than a dozen people were carried out of the woods, their faces and bodies covered in bloody scratches.

That was considered “mild”?

Even street fights didn’t get this intense.

Soon after, another group came out of the forest. They were also injured but looked thrilled, each carrying a large bird.

Grayish-brown feathers, dark beaks, purplish-red claws—each bird weighed more than ten pounds.

They were nearly the size of golden eagles.

Just… without the strength or speed of golden eagles.

Otherwise, no way a few guns and crossbows could have taken them out.

Aside from mocking the doves’ poor combat abilities, Zhuang Xiao mostly just felt envious. The onlookers around them stared with red eyes, practically drooling.

Zhuang Xiao counted—there were way more than the ten Huo Xiao had mentioned.

Some even had beautiful iridescent feathers that shimmered in the sunlight.

She glanced at Huo Xiao with disbelief, as if to say, “These are the ten or fewer you were talking about?”

Huo Xiao clearly got her meaning—he had heard her counting.

But this was beyond his expectations. Anyway, he had said “usually.”

So—not his fault.

“These birds… not all of them are edible, right?” Zhuang Xiao asked.

In her mind, if something wasn’t edible, it wasn’t worth bringing home—especially something that big. Seeing everyone take so many of them, she felt like she still didn’t fully understand this world.

“Of course not,” Yan Ming—the tall, broad-shouldered teen—answered first. He leaned over and said quietly, “They’re probably heading somewhere quieter to search for energy stones.”

Energy stones—Zhuang Xiao had heard Huo Xiao mention those before.

But… he never said how to find them?

Don’t tell her… the energy stones are inside the mutated creatures?

If that’s true, getting rich just got a whole lot harder.

She suddenly thought of the little rabbit she sold. She looked up at Huo Xiao and asked, “My little rabbit…”

The meaning was obvious: What if there was an energy stone inside it?

Huo Xiao saw the “I missed out on millions” expression on her face and sighed, answering firmly, “It didn’t.”

Zhuang Xiao felt relieved hearing that… but also a little bitter?

Why couldn’t her rabbit have had an energy stone?

While she wavered between emotions, the crowd around them finished wiping their mouths and began heading back into the mulberry grove to resume their work.