Out of all the people in their group, the first fishing rod to show any movement was surprisingly Wen You’s.

The rod bent down slightly, and a small splash appeared on the water’s surface—something had taken the bait.

The little girl Wen You gripped the rod tightly, her face filled with nervous anticipation. Then, with a firm yank, she pulled it up. Splash! A palm-sized fish, wriggling energetically, leapt out of the water.

It landed mercilessly on the grass, flopping and gasping, struggling to return to the stream.

But a fish that was so difficult to catch wouldn’t be let go so easily.

Quick and decisive, the girl scraped a bit of scale from the fish’s body with her dagger.

“Beep beep—high radiation mutation, inedible.”

Her hope was dashed, though it wasn’t unexpected.

From a distance, Zhuang Xiao watched the girl kick the fish cleanly back into the water.

Zhuang Xiao: …

Nice technique. Swift and clean.

But what if the fish’s belly had a power stone in it? You’re not even going to check?

Still, judging by the little wastelander’s experience, the chances of a power stone in such a tiny fish were basically zero.

After that, the fish seemed to go crazy, swarming the baited hooks—except for Zhuang Xiao’s. Her bait remained untouched.

But even so, no one else managed to catch an edible fish or river shrimp.

Another hour passed like this. The fish and shrimp would get caught, get kicked back into the water, then get caught again, only to be tossed back. In the end, not a single one made it to shore successfully.

Meat was, as expected, not so easily obtained.

Might as well look around for some vegetables instead. According to Huo Xiao, the purplish-red plant was indeed Houttuynia cordata (fish mint). It was only now that Zhuang Xiao discovered her wristwatch could also display plant names.

However, most of the time, they only cared if something was edible—what it was called didn’t matter.

While identifying unknown flora and fauna could earn a good amount of points at the exchange center in the safe zone, such findings were increasingly rare.

Besides, the watch would give a special alert for any unidentified species, so hardly anyone ever displayed plant names on the main screen.

After all, the display was small, and screen space was limited.

Since fishing wasn’t working out, Zhuang Xiao decided to shift focus back to gathering plants—better than walking away empty-handed.

She handed her fishing rod to Huo Xiao and began a thorough search within a 10-meter radius.

By the stream’s shallow edge, she spotted a patch of water celery (Oenanthe javanica). However, only a limited number were within reach. After pulling up around thirty stalks, the rest were too far out.

The leaves looked fresh and full of moisture. Squatting down, Zhuang Xiao began testing each leaf individually, even checking the stems of every plant.

Eventually, from over thirty stalks and hundreds of leaves, she identified four leaves with moderate radiation levels—safe for consumption.

At least her effort hadn’t been in vain. It had taken some risk of falling into the water, but it paid off.

Though she had come here hoping to catch meat, she was still short on vegetables too—anything edible was welcome.

As the sun climbed higher, the shrubs they had been using for shade were no longer effective.

They’d definitely have to move elsewhere in the afternoon.

“Beep beep—moderate radiation mutation, edible.”

Who was that?

Zhuang Xiao looked up and saw Huo Xiao calmly placing a river shrimp into a collapsible plastic bucket beside him. Then, just as composed, he cast his hook back into the water.

The two youngsters between Huo Xiao and Yan Ming noticed the movement.

Their discouraged expressions quickly turned to renewed determination.

There was still hope.

Maybe she should give it another try too.

After all, based on recent luck, hers had been better than Huo Xiao’s.

This stretch of the stream was perfect—thick with aquatic plants and upstream to boot.

She’d also found food here, so maybe it really was a lucky spot.

She grabbed her fishing rod, gave a strong cast, and after a splash, the hook disappeared into the patch of water celery.

Ripples quickly spread across the water, and the celery leaves above swayed.

This looked promising—there had to be a lot of fish or shrimp underneath.

Moments later, the rod bent sharply. Zhuang Xiao’s heart leapt—something had taken the bait! And judging by how much the rod was bending, it was something hefty.

Without thinking, she gripped the rod with both hands and pulled hard—but nothing budged.

What on earth was this thing?

Something felt off. Could it be another large mutated aquatic creature?

Zhuang Xiao yanked several times, but the thing wouldn’t come up. It had been quite a while too, and it was still holding on to the bait, refusing to let go. She had a bad feeling—it didn’t feel like a fish.

She decided to give it one last try. If it didn’t work, she’d have to call for help.

Bracing her feet apart, she stood up and pulled with all her might.

Suddenly, a large black object flew over her head, still attached to the hook, and landed with a thud behind her.

She dropped the fishing rod and turned to look.

Wait—was that… a freshwater clam?

She used to see these all the time in muddy ditches as a kid, though none were ever this big.

Back then, she’d heard rumors that clams contained pearls and would often go digging for them with friends. But after years of searching, they never found a single pearl.

Later she learned—not all clams produce pearls.

Now, years later, she was face-to-face with another one.

Not expecting pearls. If the meat’s edible, that’s good enough.

Clam soup for dinner would be delicious.

This one was about 40–50 cm long, half as wide, with a fan-shaped black shell covered in ridged growth lines.

She turned it over. The fishing line was caught in the shell, and the hook was definitely inside—she must’ve accidentally tossed it into the open shell.

She wasn’t sure what to do. She couldn’t just smash the shell open—that would kill it.

And in this heat, the meat would spoil before nightfall.

Zhuang Xiao picked up the line and went to find Huo Xiao. Maybe he’d have an idea.

Luckily, he didn’t disappoint. They placed the clam in a shallow puddle, and soon enough, it opened its shell again. Huo Xiao retrieved the hook, and perhaps sensing danger, the clam quickly clamped shut again.

“How do we test if it’s edible?”

Zhuang Xiao stared at the clam, now under protective shielding, speechless.

You can hide now, but once I get home, I will pry you open, she vowed silently.

Huo Xiao picked up the clam, scraped some shell powder with his dagger, and applied it to the scanner.

“Beep beep—low radiation mutation, edible.”

Zhuang Xiao: …

Today, us ordinary folks are truly, truly happy!

She’d seen it earlier—there was a big lump of clam meat inside. At least two or three jin (1–1.5 kg), easy. She could even dry it into clam jerky and add it to nutrient paste for an extra burst of flavor.

No more suffering through bland green porridge.

Her next meal was about to feature gourmet seafood nutritional congee.