That night, Zhuang Xiao didn’t sleep well. She dreamt of herself—skin and bones—walking slowly along a road when, all of a sudden, her head rolled right off her neck.

Imagine, in a dream, watching your own head roll away and land in front of you. How terrifying is that?

You’re watching it happen—maybe it’s you, maybe it’s not.

So, before her alarm even went off, Zhuang Xiao jolted awake from the nightmare. When she reached up and touched her forehead, it was soaked in cold sweat.

Huo Xiao was already gone.

Huo Xiao stared down at the puddle he had spilled with his ladle. His hand, still holding the ladle, was trembling slightly. He knew his condition was getting worse, but there was nothing he could do about it.

No energy stones, no proper living conditions—his body would keep deteriorating. Without a healthy body, it was nearly impossible to secure better living conditions, let alone obtain energy stones.

It was a vicious cycle.

And the end of that cycle, inevitably, was death.

Exhaustion surged over him—both physical and mental. So much helplessness and lack of control in life; no matter how hard you tried, the future seemed unchangeable.

And his future… was all too clear.

Huo Xiao opened a small box and took out half a vial of nutrient solution. He chopped up the tender green leaves Zhuang Xiao had found yesterday and divided them into two portions—one mixed with the nutrient solution, the other brewed into a green herbal liquid.

He wasn’t planning on going out today. The job he’d completed could be exchanged for two vials of nutrient solution. Compared to going out to forage, this seemed like the safer bet.

Besides, ever since they moved out of the safe zone, his luck seemed to have taken a nosedive. He could spend an entire day outside and still not find a few edible leaves.

Better to do odd repair jobs for that old man.

Though he knew even those wouldn’t last much longer.

Inside the house, Zhuang Xiao had no idea she would have to face the world alone today.

Still rattled from the nightmare, she didn’t dare go back to sleep. She simply got up early to begin the day’s foraging.

She had barely finished eating when she received the dreadful news—she was going out alone.

Sure, Huo Xiao was sickly and his luck was terrible, but even so, having him around gave her a sense of security.

Although he had explained many of the survival rules of this world, she still felt like a helpless “baby.”

She imagined 101 different emergencies she might run into, each one ending in 101 different deaths in the wasteland.

Oh god, someone save her.

She wanted to live. She needed help. Desperately.

Huo Xiao, tireless in his worry, reminded her yet again, “Did you remember everything I told you?”

“Ah… yeah, I remember everything.” In her mind, the dozens of panicking mini-versions of herself merged into one. Whatever happens, it is what it is. She would have to face it alone eventually. You got this. You got this. You got this.

Zhuang Xiao stuffed a bottle of water into her cloth bag, gripped her knife, and set off with false bravado.

Huo Xiao stood at the doorway, watching her bluff her way out, sighing quietly to himself.

Yesterday, they had gone out in the afternoon and barely ran into anyone. But today, as soon as she stepped onto the main road, she saw people spilling out of the shantytown.

Zhuang Xiao didn’t even know how to describe the scene—it was like the Beggars’ Sect had organized a company outing. Everyone wore ragged clothes. Some were fully armed with axes, machetes, or even bows and arrows, while others had only a knife at their waist—or nothing at all.

The road was quiet, with only the occasional whispering among the people.

Zhuang Xiao’s destination wasn’t far, and she soon arrived. Most others continued on, heading for more distant places.

Even after reaching the site, she didn’t start working right away. There were too many people around. She couldn’t focus on finding food. She felt totally unsafe.

She wandered aimlessly, trying to spot any familiar-looking plants. Though the world had changed drastically, and plants had become alien, their general shapes and traits still resembled their old forms—just bigger, and no longer safely edible.

It felt like humans had fallen from the top of the food chain.

After a long search, Zhuang Xiao finally spotted a very familiar-looking plant. It looked like…

Goosefoot.

A wild vegetable often mistaken for a weed.

If she hadn’t eaten it a lot as a child, she probably wouldn’t have recognized it now—it had grown absurdly large and intimidating.

Weeds usually reproduce quickly and grow in clusters. And sure enough, after carefully inspecting the area, she found that several other towering plants that looked like locust trees were also goosefoot.

She plucked a few leaves from both a tall and a short plant, smeared their juice on her scanner.

Beep beep. High radiation mutation detected. Inedible.

Beep beep. High radiation mutation detected. Inedible.

…

A string of warnings rang out.

No surprise—so close to the shantytown, how could she expect to find edible plants so easily?

Yesterday must have been a fluke.

The main crowd from the shantytown had already moved on. There wasn’t a single other fool hanging around nearby to forage like she was.

Pick a leaf. Test it. Fail. Pick another. Test again. Fail again.

Zhuang Xiao had gone numb.

Beep beep. High radiation mutation detected. Contains neurotoxins. Inedible.

Holy crap, not only inedible, but poisonous?

This plant looked exactly like purslane—and it was toxic? What do you think you are, deadly datura? You’re poisonous??

This world was doomed.

Zhuang Xiao plopped down on the ground, pulled a water bottle from her bag, and chugged it down.

The sun climbed higher, and the temperature rose with it.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and decided to try a different foraging spot.

Clearly, this area wasn’t vibing with her.

After resting by the roadside for fifteen minutes, she made her way—by memory—to the place Huo Xiao had taken her to yesterday afternoon. At least there, she had found one edible wild leaf.

Just as she arrived, she saw two scrawny kids in tattered clothes. They looked about four or five years old, their faces pale and yellowish—it was hard to tell if they were boys or girls.

The two kids heard footsteps and simultaneously looked up, eyes guarded as they stared at the approaching adult.

They hadn’t found a single edible plant yet, but who could say what bad intentions adults might have?

Zhuang Xiao had no idea what they were thinking. She gave them a glance, then continued on toward her destination.

You can’t judge people by their looks. Nor the sea by its depth.

In the past, Zhuang Xiao wouldn’t have been the least bit afraid of two skinny little kids. But now? This was the wasteland—where Huo Xiao had warned her countless times to always be cautious.