In front of the two of them sat a wooden crate filled with baby rabbits.

Yan Ming’s gaze happened to sweep over to Zhuang Xiao, and he was completely stunned. Wha—what… since when does Brother Huo have a girl living in his house?

Huo Xiao noticed Yan Ming’s strange reaction and turned around.

Zhuang Xiao was standing in the doorway, her skin fair and delicate. Huo Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “You’re awake?”

“Mm,” Zhuang Xiao softly replied.

Then Huo Xiao pointed at Yan Ming. “This is Yan Ming.”

And then at Zhuang Xiao. “This is Zhuang Xiao.”

A truly concise introduction.

Zhuang Xiao raised her fair little hand and waved at him. “Hello.”

“H-hi… hello.”

Yan Ming stammered through his greeting, then turned to Huo Xiao and said, “Brother Huo, I’ll get going now. Let me know if you need anything.”

Carrying the wooden crate to the door, he suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, it’s best not to go to the nearby gathering area these days. I heard on the way here that a mutated rabbit went berserk and injured seven or eight people.”

Don’t be fooled by the fact that mutated rabbits are herbivores. As long as you don’t provoke them, they usually ignore you.

But come on—this is the wasteland. If a potentially edible piece of small mutated animal meat is right in front of you, who wouldn’t be tempted?

Not to mention, mutated animals might have energy stones inside them. Energy stones! Finding one is like winning the lottery.

In the wasteland, energy stones are widely used for making weapons, anti-radiation shields, medical supplies, and more.

But when a mutated rabbit goes berserk, it’s not something an unarmed civilian can handle.

As the saying goes: “Even a rabbit will bite when it’s cornered.”

If it hadn’t been for the security team returning from an outside mission at just the right moment, it wouldn’t have been as simple as just seven or eight people getting hurt.

“Brother Huo, did you hear me?”

Listening to Yan Ming’s endless nagging, Huo Xiao glanced meaningfully at the crate Yan Ming was carrying.

Confirmed.

The poor mama rabbit came back from foraging only to find her home robbed.

How could she not go berserk?

Huo Xiao responded with a simple, “Got it.”

And Yan Ming happily left with the box full of baby rabbits.

He never once made the connection between the violent, injured-inducing mutated rabbit and the five kits now in his hands.

Once Huo Xiao closed the door—

Zhuang Xiao asked, “That uncle—is he your friend?”

Huo Xiao: ……

Did she not hear Yan Ming calling him Brother Huo? If Yan Ming is an uncle, doesn’t that make him a grandpa?

Yan Ming: ……

Who’s an uncle?! Who?! I’m still a teenager, okay?!

Thinking of Yan Ming’s burly build and scruffy beard, Huo Xiao could only say, “He’s fifteen.”

“Who… who’s fifteen?” Zhuang Xiao’s brain and mouth took a moment to reconnect. Then she realized he meant the “uncle” she just mentioned.

“Oh… so young? He really doesn’t look it.”

She quickly changed the subject. “What are we eating tonight?”

A row of black lines formed on Huo Xiao’s forehead. This girl acts like every meal is poisoned, yet she’s always thinking about what to eat?

Seeing that Huo Xiao didn’t answer, Zhuang Xiao didn’t mind. She had just asked to ease the awkwardness anyway.

Huo Xiao picked up the small bag of soil Yan Ming had brought and headed inside. He planned to plant the mutated plant Zhuang Xiao had brought back.

The soil Yan Ming delivered had already been treated.

All that was needed was a suitable flowerpot to plant it in.

But when Huo Xiao returned with a suitable pot, he found that the once lush-looking plant had been trimmed into a bald stump—only a few pitiful new shoots remained in the center.

“How about stir-fried greens tonight?” Zhuang Xiao beamed as she showed off her handiwork.

Huo Xiao stood in the doorway, stunned. He replied instinctively, “Okay.”

Thankfully, the roots were still intact.

Seeing his agreement, Zhuang Xiao excitedly hugged the few green leaves and ran outside to wash them—planning to cook herself.

But reality slapped her hard. Aside from salt, there wasn’t a single seasoning in the house. More importantly, there wasn’t even any oil.

Stir-fried greens without oil? Impossible.

Chef Zhuang’s dream was shattered before it even began.

Helpless, Zhuang Xiao could only blanch the greens in hot water, sprinkle a bit of salt, and give them a stir.

Two vibrant green plates of salted wild greens were served.

She took a bite. A faint bitterness, somewhat like cold bitter melon, came through. Maybe the salt was off—there was a slight astringency with the saltiness. Not exactly tasty, but not inedible either.

Compared to the bland green porridge, at least it had flavor. That was enough.

When Zhuang Xiao set the two large plates of wild greens in front of Huo Xiao, he rubbed his flat belly, said nothing, and started eating in silence.

Luxury. Absolute luxury.

That’s what Huo Xiao thought as he quietly scarfed it down.

In the end, even the half plate of greens left by Zhuang Xiao ended up in Huo Xiao’s stomach.

Seeing him enjoy it so much filled Zhuang Xiao with pride.

She declared: First cooking attempt in the wasteland—success!

Huo Xiao: Never letting her cook again. This way, we’ll be starving by tomorrow.

After a rare “feast” by wasteland standards, Huo Xiao washed the dishes and then sat at his workbench, sanding wood.

Zhuang Xiao curled up in her personal grass nest, weaving herself a summer mat.

As for a bed—well, with only 30 points to her name, that was just a dream.

Huo Xiao had said that harvesting wood required special logging tools and a mercenary team. Why the mercenaries? To fend off possible mutated creatures hiding in the tree canopies, of course.

Around 8 p.m., Yan Ming came back again, carrying two old electric fans.

“Brother Huo, Old Yu asked me to bring you this new task. He wants them delivered in three days.” Yan Ming handed over the fans.

“And about today’s five baby rabbits—three were highly irradiated mutants, 15 points each. Two were moderately irradiated, 100 points each. Total: 245 points.”

That was after transaction fees, of course.

Huo Xiao nodded. That matched his expectations. After deducting 15 points for Yan Ming’s delivery fee, he’d still have 230 points left.

“Just deduct your 15-point fee and transfer the rest to Zhuang Xiao,” Huo Xiao said.

After all, this was her haul. She should get the credit.

Yan Ming glanced at Huo Xiao and, seeing he was serious, didn’t question it. “Uh, Zhuang… Zhuang…”

He suddenly forgot her name. Damn this memory!

“Zhuang Xiao,” she reminded him.

“Right. Zhuang Xiao, let’s add each other as friends. I’ll transfer the points to you,” Yan Ming said.

He still didn’t understand why the points were going to her. Of course, he had no idea all five rabbits were her doing.

But since Brother Huo said so, he wasn’t about to argue.

The 15 points he earned today felt like free money. He and Huo Xiao had been heading to the exchange center anyway.

In the wasteland, points were hard currency—just like money in Zhuang Xiao’s time.

Points mainly came from the exchange center, and the primary way to earn them was by selling gathered goods.

Compared to the black market and private shops, the exchange center might offer slightly lower prices because of transaction fees.

But in terms of safety and reliability, nothing beat it. That’s why most people in the shantytown chose to sell their goods there.

As luck would have it, just when Yan Ming was about to head out in the afternoon, he got word that Brother Huo had goods to sell.

And so, he naturally took on the delivery job.