It was just past four o’clock. Go back?

No way. The house was a mess—what was the point of going back?

Go to the creek? That wouldn’t work either—she hadn’t brought her fishing gear. Just as she was racking her brain trying to remember what her plan for the day was, she overheard someone nearby saying they were heading to the mulberry forest.

Oh right, she could go to the mulberry forest too.

She’d only had half a mulberry last time.

And she actually kind of missed it.

Besides, she’d been there once already—she had some experience now.

So, Zhuang Xiao followed the person ahead and headed toward the mulberry grove.

---

Huo Xiao woke up to find two unread messages on his watch.

The first one read:
Zhuang Xiao has transferred 1,500 points to your account.

He raised an eyebrow. Was he being sponsored by a sugar mommy now? Then again, building a house did require quite a bit of credit. Given the circumstances, he figured there was no need to get all sentimental about it.

He swiped past the first message and opened the second—it was a photo of a man, with a line of small text underneath:
Recognize him? He’s the one who threw you down the slope last time.

Huo Xiao shot to his feet and immediately called Zhuang Xiao’s wristwatch. After a few beeps, she answered.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You ran into the guy in the photo?” Huo Xiao asked urgently.

“Huh? Oh—yeah… well, I must have, otherwise how would I have taken the photo?” Zhuang Xiao muttered.
What’s with him—just woke up and still foggy in the head?

“Stay away from those people!” Huo Xiao’s tone turned stern, and then as if remembering something else, he added, “Also, don’t go to the wheat-gathering zone today. Just… go home.”

He recognized that guy, of course.

A member of the Wild Wolf Squad from the shantytown—nickname: Black Wolf.

A notorious group known for petty theft, scavenging, and even killing for food.

He hadn’t realized it before, but it turned out the people who ambushed him last time were from that gang.

He’d been caught off guard, knocked out cold, and never even saw their faces.

If not for Zhuang Xiao, he still wouldn’t know who had attacked him.

Zhuang Xiao was startled by Huo Xiao’s serious tone. “I couldn’t go even if I wanted to,” she said. “Those people cut in line, and a bunch of us didn’t even get on the shuttle. I’m heading to the mulberry forest instead. I’m almost there.”

Hearing that, Huo Xiao relaxed—at least a little.

Going to the mulberry grove wasn’t a bad idea. Compared to wheat, mulberries had much lower value. Plus, the area was patrolled by the security team, so it was rare for anything like robbery or murder to happen there.

He gave her a few more instructions—basically, to stick close to the guards and just collect mulberries honestly.

Zhuang Xiao agreed to everything, and only then did Huo Xiao hang up.

Huo Xiao had always lived by the rule: “Don’t mess with me, and I won’t mess with you.”
Even though he’d heard of the Wild Wolf Squad’s reputation, he’d never intended to get involved. Life and death on the wasteland were determined by fate and strength.

Being killed or starving wasn’t unusual.

But still… to think he had become one of those victims?

And he had one very bad trait—he held grudges.

Now that he knew who it was—

He had to settle the score!

---

Zhuang Xiao was having a great time in the mulberry grove, completely unaware that her roommate was plotting murder and revenge.

The grove was still bustling with people today, with even more children than last time.

She had seen a few kids during her last visit too, but they were obviously with adults.

This time, though, it was clear that the kids had come alone.

Most importantly—she spotted those two little rascals again.

They and a few other kids were perched in a tree, huffing and puffing as they tested everything—right down to the leaves.

Zhuang Xiao gave them a glance, then focused on her own “business.”

There were far fewer mulberries on the trees this time—not because they had been picked, but because many had ripened too much and fallen to the ground. The air was thick with the sweet scent of overripe berries.

Unfortunately, most of the fallen fruit wasn’t edible. It was a classic case of “looking at plums to quench thirst.”

Even so, people remained enthusiastic.

After all, food was hard to come by on the wasteland—especially fruit.

Zhuang Xiao’s tree had three other people besides her.

The four of them each took a branch, staying out of each other’s way.

In addition to checking for fruit, she also tested plenty of leaves and managed to find four that were edible but mildly irradiated.

By midday, a few people had left the grove.

But others, like Zhuang Xiao—and quite a few kids—remained.

Outside the mulberry grove was still a dangerous place for children.

The grove itself had grown quiet—everyone had likely set their wristwatches to silent mode.

At the moment, Zhuang Xiao was the only one left in her tree, hidden snugly by the dense foliage.

She chugged a bottle of nutrient solution, pulled a rough sack over her head with only the eyes exposed. The ointment Huo Xiao gave her last night worked well, but the cut on her face still stung and itched.

Suddenly, she heard children yelling nearby.

She paused, pushed aside some leaves, and through a gap in the branches, saw four or five kids surrounding two much smaller ones.

“Are you gonna hand it over, or do we have to take it?” one boy snarled.

A little girl’s voice replied, “We found it ourselves. Why should we give it to you?”

Zhuang Xiao gave the girl a mental thumbs-up. Nice. Brave little thing.

If it were her, she probably would’ve just handed it over.

They were already surrounded, outnumbered—what’s the point of resisting? Better to avoid getting beaten up.

Live to fight another day!

Her mind wandered again to the morning fiasco at the shuttle stop.

Trouble was everywhere. If you weren’t strong enough, you could only bide your time and survive.

Doing what you knew you couldn’t—was that courage? Or just foolishness?

She looked around at the nearby trees and saw several little figures munching on snacks and watching like it was a show.

“You bullies… wuwuwu…”

Crying and shouting rose from below.

Wait a second—why did that voice sound so familiar?

No way—

Not those two again!

Help or don’t help?

But… why should she help? They weren’t related.

Still, not helping felt wrong. The two brats seemed close to Yan Ming and Yan Hu, the brothers next door.

If they were complete strangers, she’d walk away without a second thought.

But they had shared a shrimp-fishing trip, after all.

As her mind wrestled with itself, her legs made the decision first.

She used to be a model young citizen—how could she tolerate bullying in a mulberry forest?

Forgive her rashness!

“What do you think you’re doing? You two—get over here!” she barked at the two little ones.

Everyone froze.
Who was this?
Why was she so fierce?
Who was she yelling at?

Zhuang Xiao kept observing—good, no adults nearby. These were probably just some orphans from the shantytown.

That was reassuring.

And she had a weapon today—a bit of confidence too.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Come here already.” She strode forward, yanking the kids and their bags away. As she moved, her sleeve arrow “accidentally” became visible.

The teenager clutching one of the bags instantly let go.

The others took two steps back in unison.

In just a few seconds, Zhuang Xiao had the two kids in tow and was sprinting away.

She didn’t stop until they were almost out of the grove. Looking back—thank goodness. No one was following them.

If those older kids had ganged up on her, she might not have won. She hadn’t brawled with anyone in ages.

“Big sis… it’s okay now. No one’s chasing us,” the little girl said in a sweet, soft voice, totally different from her earlier feistiness.

Zhuang Xiao let go of their hands and awkwardly wiped the sweat off on her clothes.
“Okay then, I’ll get going. There’s a security team over there—go find them.”

She had zero experience with kids.

Protecting humanity’s young? Better leave that to the police.