“Hu Jiang! It’s true! Food with zero radiation really can reduce mutation levels!” 

As soon as the door closed, Chen Zui could no longer contain her excitement and vigorously shook Hu Jiang’s shoulders. 

Hu Jiang was also excited but became dizzy from the shaking. Before he could respond, another thought came to mind. 

“We need to save up silver coins quickly and bring Grandma Liu and Tian Tian over. Even though they haven’t left the Central Base all these years, their mutation levels must have increased quite a bit.” 

Chen Zui sighed inwardly. 

“Yes, Tian Tian is still young and even the radiation inside the Central Base is difficult for her to resist.” 

“It’s just… I saw that a set of anti-radiation suits on the shelf costs 500 silver coins. And lately, it’s been getting harder and harder to exchange for silver at the market. More people are trading in, but fewer are buying. Who knows when we’ll save up enough.” 

Hu Jiang appeared troubled. 

“Hey, we could sell to the convenience store owner!” 

He looked up, eyes full of doubt. 

“It’s not unusual for convenience stores to sell goods, but do they actually buy things?” 

Chen Zui tapped him on the head and began packing up the food in her bag, ready to take it over to Grandma Liu. 

“Have you forgotten? I sold that piece of mutated meat to the store owner. You even ate some of it just now.” 

“Although convenience stores pay less for materials, we can bring back what we find in the wild directly, avoiding transportation losses and wasting no time at the market.” 

Only then did Hu Jiang remember the battered fried meat he had eaten. He took the flour and followed her out the door. 

“That’s great. It’s a win-win situation.” 

When they arrived, Grandma Liu was helping Tian Tian mend her torn outerwear. Tian Tian sat still on the stool, and Grandma Liu squinted her eyes, struggling to thread the needle. 

“Grandma Liu, we brought some food~” 

Chen Zui, being the more lively one, stepped through the door first. Tian Tian looked up, saw the sandwiches and drinks, and couldn’t help but exclaim. 

“Sister, you brought so much delicious food!” 

Hu Jiang skillfully placed the flour next to the kitchen utensils in the corner, then reached out to pat Tian Tian’s head. 

“Why do your eyes only see Sister Chen Zui? What about me?” 

“Thanks to you too, Uncle! You’re the best!” 

Even though he was being praised, Hu Jiang showed a wry smile. He was only three to five years older than Chen Zui, but somehow looked like he was a whole generation ahead… 

He touched the stubble poking out on his chin and thought to himself… 

I wonder if the convenience store sells razors. 

Chen Zui excitedly told Grandma Liu about the convenience store’s products. 

“Grandma, the food at the convenience store really has zero radiation. Once we save enough silver coins to buy anti-radiation suits, we will bring you and Tian Tian over!” 

“Did you say… zero radiation?” 

Grandma Liu looked a bit stunned. She turned to Hu Jiang and saw him nod. A sense of relief slowly spread across her face. 

“That’s wonderful, truly wonderful.” 

“From now on, I won’t have to worry about you not making it back anymore.” 

“I’m old already, what’s the point of going? You two are already having a hard time out there. Just the fact that you think of me is enough. Don’t waste silver coins on me.” 

She glanced at the innocent Tian Tian beside her and couldn’t bring herself to refuse completely. Letting out a deep sigh, she added: 

“As for Tian Tian… she is still young, so I leave her in your care.” 

Chen Zui and Hu Jiang said nothing in response but exchanged a glance, silently reaching a decision. 

They would all go together. No one would be left behind. 

✧✧✧ 

Oasis Convenience Store 

No new customers had arrived throughout the entire morning. Feeling somewhat bored, Wen Yu took out an A4 sheet of paper from beneath the counter and quickly folded it into a small paper boat within a few folds. 

She then pointed at the store’s main entrance and said, “This is the oasis.” 

Then she pointed at the freshly folded paper boat. “And this is Noah’s Ark.” 

The pristine white “Noah’s Ark” was placed on the windowsill by Wen Yu as a simple decoration. 

The midday sun hung high in the sky, casting its light downwards, causing the paper boat to cast only a small shadow. 

“Oh, it’s getting late; it’s time for lunch.” 

Flipping through several pages in the ingredient section of the control panel, Wen Yu’s eyes brightened upon seeing a new page featuring hamburger buns. 

Without hesitation, she placed an order for the buns, then added beef patties, tomato sauce, cheese slices, and pickles to the order. 

Today’s lunch would be a double cheeseburger. 

Since she was already making a burger, she figured she might as well complete the classic fast food trio and ordered some pre-cut fries to deep-fry. 

After ordering an oven and frying pan, Wen Yu efficiently dropped the fries into the hot oil while simultaneously placing the beef patties on the preheated pan. 

The patties sizzled in the pan, emitting an aroma distinctly different from that of mutated meat. 

Chef Wen opened the oven to heat the burger buns. Managing three tasks at once, she still moved with ease. 

The fries tumbled in the fryer, turning from white to a tempting golden color. As soon as she sprinkled on some salt, she couldn’t help grabbing one and popping it into her mouth. 

Crispy on the outside and soft inside, the fries carried the natural aroma of potatoes and brought a content smile to her face. 

While she was sneaking bites, the burger was also ready. The double beef patties were sandwiched between soft buns, the heat from the patties melting the cheese, blending it perfectly with the toppings. 

Wen Yu couldn’t resist taking a bite. The bun was fluffy, the patties juicy and tender, and the cheese and pickles added a rich complexity, creating a delightful interplay of flavors. 

Just as it started to feel a little greasy, she took a sip of iced cola. Alternating between burger and fries, she couldn’t stop eating. 

The garbage-cleaning robot proactively approached to collect the used utensils. Although it had no sense of smell, it mimicked the motion of sniffing by tilting its head. 

“It smells so good; too bad Xiao Xin can’t taste it.” 

“Then I’ll let you taste it~” 

“No need, sob, Xiao Xin doesn’t have taste… But the boss can charge me, that’s Xiao Xin’s way of feeding~” 

“Of course.” 

That was when Wen Yu realized Xiaoxin needed recharging too. After finishing lunch, she plugged in the robot and casually brainstormed ideas to promote the convenience store. 

Even good wine needs a herald. Since there were no customers at the moment, it was the perfect time to think about how to attract more. 

✧✧✧ 

“Captain, watch out!” 

“Get out of the way!” 

The young man wearing goggles was knocked to the ground by a tremendous impact. Helplessly, he watched as the captain, who had pushed him aside, was pierced through the shoulder by the razor-sharp fangs of a gigantic mutated wild hare. 

Another teammate had already fallen to the ground nearby. Just as he tried to get up, he witnessed the scene. 

With his eyes reddening, the young man disregarded the intense pain in his arm, grabbed a scattered steel fork, and stabbed forward. 

Although the mutated wild hare had hardened fur and intimidating fangs, it was classified as a B-grade mutated creature. Given the combat strength of their four-person squad, such an error should not have occurred. 

However, during the battle, the wild hare’s eyes suddenly turned a crimson hue—a sign the experienced captain immediately recognized as abnormal. 

“It’s not good; it’s entered a berserk state. Everyone, get out of the way!” 

Because the teammates were too close and the berserk mutated hare’s speed increased dramatically, two of them failed to evade and were thrown five meters by a single strike. 

As the young man wearing goggles clenched his teeth to confront the beast again, the captain lunged forward, pushing him aside. The captain himself was bitten but mustered all his strength to stab his long knife into the creature’s vulnerable abdomen. 

At the same time, the young man’s steel fork struck the creature’s eyes directly. The berserk state ended, and the mutated wild hare crashed heavily onto the desert floor. 

The three survivors, unable to attend to the carcass, hurriedly scrambled up and gathered around the captain. 

“Captain! How are you?” 

“Are you okay?” 

“It’s all my fault… Captain, I’ll take you to get medicine.” 

The young man in goggles burst into tears and, without hesitation, lifted the captain onto his back and started heading toward the central base. 

The captain, clutching his bleeding wound, did not blame him but weakly smiled at the young men he had trained and led. 

The captain, Wang Chaoyun, had owned a martial arts school before the apocalypse and possessed some martial arts foundation. After the catastrophe, relying on his superior physical fitness, he hunted in the desert to support several children abandoned at his dojo’s doorstep. 

He taught these children martial arts from a young age, forming a four-person hunting squad. Their initial expeditions were relatively successful, but this time they encountered a mutated wild hare in a berserk state. 

Wang Chaoyun knew well that supporting these children was costly, and his savings were almost depleted; even if they returned, they could not afford medicine. 

Moreover, with the rate of blood loss, he wouldn’t make it back to the central base alive. 

“Zhang Yuan, put me down. Take the hare’s meat with you.” 

“Go back and exchange it for some money.” 

“Don’t worry about me. I won’t make it to the base. Go quickly.” 

Zhang Yuan refused, choking back sobs as he trudged toward the central base, too overwhelmed to speak clearly. 

“Captain, we… we will find medicine right away. We will go back and get medicine.” 

A younger teammate cried as well. 

“But it’s at least two hours back to the central base. We took a detour to get here, and we don’t even know the direction of the nearest route.” 

Zhang Yuan looked up in confusion. Around them was an endless expanse of yellow sand, and not even a shadow of the central base was visible. Scanning the horizon, he spotted a three-meter-high cactus covered with enormous blue-glowing thorns. 

Suddenly, one of the teammates remembered something he’d heard before. 

“Brother Yuan, I think the mutated cactus pulp can stop bleeding!” 

Zhang Yuan was skeptical, but with the captain fainting on his back, he had no time to verify and rushed toward the cactus. 

But the mutated cactus could move and shoot spines. Despite trying everything, they couldn’t get close. Instead, they were led further and further away. 

Under the direct desert sun with extreme heat, the captain’s hands grew colder. The three of them were on the verge of despair and were about to head back. 

Even through thick boots, the burning sand scorched their feet. Zhang Yuan grew weak, dizzy. Shaking his head to stay alert, he faintly sees a flickering orange-green house. 

He instinctively stepped toward it but thought it was a hallucination and was about to turn back. 

“Captain, hold on! Don’t sleep! We’ll be back soon! We’ll be back soon!” 

“Brother Yuan, look! What’s that?” 

“Brother Yuan! There’s a house over there!” 

The two younger team members shouted. Zhang Yuan shook his head. 

“There’s no way anyone would be here. Stop dreaming. Let’s go.” 

“It’s real!” The younger one had sharp eyes. “It says—Oasis Convenience Store!” 

Convenience store? 

Zhang Yuan recalled the captain mentioning that before the apocalypse, there was a convenience store next to the dojo, stocked with food, drinks, and supplies. But when the apocalypse began, convenience stores were among the first to be looted, leaving no survivors. 

He carefully examined the lettering on the small building, then hurriedly carried the captain toward it. 

“It’s… a convenience store…” 

Clear glass. Fully stocked shelves. This was just like the convenience store the captain had described. 

And in the middle of the shelves… were basic medical supplies! 

The captain could be saved! 

Upon seeing the medicine, Zhang Yuan’s strength failed. His knees buckled as he collapsed at the entrance and pushed the door open with all his might. 

“Medicine! I’m here to buy medicine!” 

“Please, sell us a box of medicine!” 

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