“Heavy contamination!”
“Heavy contamination!”
“Heavy contamination!”
…
Xu San San had been testing this massive aloe plant for over thirty minutes, yet all she heard from her Optical Brain were alerts for heavy contamination.
Well, it seemed this place was filled with heavily contaminated items everywhere. No wonder it was called the Wasteland—it truly had nothing to offer!
Feeling somewhat discouraged, Xu San San began to lose focus, though her hands kept moving mechanically. Still, the results remained the same: continuous reports of “heavy contamination.”
Alright, she had tested this aloe plant thoroughly, and it seemed completely hopeless.
No wonder there wasn’t a single person around—had the Scavengers already tested this aloe plant long ago…
Xu San San started to doubt her professional skills.
Bah! What professional skills? She didn’t have any to begin with…
Sigh…
As she passed by other plants, Xu San San tested each one, but the results were just as disappointing.
Along the way, she encountered a few equally dejected Scavengers. It seemed she wasn’t the only one coming up empty-handed.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted not far away!
A startled exclamation rang out:
“Wow! It’s only lightly contaminated!”
Followed immediately by a sharp rebuke:
“Shh! Shut your mouth!”
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps. Xu San San watched as the Scavengers who had been wandering nearby all rushed toward the source of the disturbance.
Were they going to openly snatch it?
She felt like she had learned another lesson: indeed, keeping a low profile was the way to go!
It was already 9 o’clock. The sun hung high in the sky, and although the protective shield filtered out radiation, the heat was still intense. Xu San San felt weak from the heat, so she found a large tree and sat under its canopy to cool off, taking the opportunity to hydrate.
Her water bottle was only half full. She drank in small sips, afraid she might accidentally finish her afternoon supply.
Sigh… she had never had to ration water like this before.
After another sigh, she absentmindedly picked up a vine beside her and tested it out of habit.
“Moderate contamination, usable!”
What?!
Xu San San froze for two seconds, then tested the vine again:
“Moderate contamination, usable!”
Heavens!
Finally!
Her persistence had paid off!
This sudden stroke of luck gave Xu San San a tremendous boost of confidence.
She immediately took out her surgical knife and began cutting with vigorous effort.
The vine was as thick as a calf. Xu San San sawed back and forth for several minutes before finally severing it from the root. Then, she tugged hard along the tree trunk, pulling it down.
“Whoa!”
Only then did she realize—this single vine was over ten meters long!
Xu San San quickly coiled it up like an electrical cable, then continued testing nearby.
As the saying goes, success never comes alone.
And indeed, this theory proved true.
Without much effort, she detected three more vines of similar size on nearby trees, all moderately contaminated.
By the time she securely fastened all four large coils of vines to her cart, it was already noon.
After avoiding the peak hour of sunlight, Xu San San, now brimming with confidence and determination, resumed her scavenging.
That’s just how people are—when luck is against you, everything goes wrong. But once fortune smiles on you, it just keeps coming.
She walked with frequent pauses, collecting several moderately polluted dry branches along the way. She broke them one by one, arranged them neatly, and bundled them with vines—firewood for the evening was secured!
Her mindset had completely shifted; Xu San San was no longer limited to plants she recognized. She tested anything she came across, whether edible or practical—as long as it met the criteria, she wanted it!
Thus, as she wandered, she arrived at a patch of reeds.
“Reeds! What a find! Just what I need for bedding at home!”
Her eyes lit up, she rolled up her sleeves, and began testing relentlessly.
The reed patch was exceptionally dense.
After over an hour of setbacks with “severe pollution,” Xu San San finally detected one reed with “moderate pollution.”
Her mindset had grown much calmer compared to hours earlier.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed this moderately polluted reed was slimmer and more tender than the severely polluted ones.
“So that’s it!”
It must be a newly grown reed, less exposed to pollution, hence the higher chance of being usable.
Based on this reasoning, Xu San San focused on the smaller reeds…
Another two hours passed, and a thick stack of moderately polluted reed stalks had piled up on the cart behind her.
Unconsciously, Xu San San had ventured deeper into the reed patch, drawing closer to the boundary of the light shield.
“Beep! Approaching protective shield limit. Please take note!”
“Beep! Approaching protective shield limit. Please take note!”
Fortunately, the Optical Brain issued timely warnings. Xu San San looked up and realized she was completely surrounded by reeds, with no sign of anyone else in sight.
A sudden sense of fear gripped her.
She quickly secured the reed stalks and hurriedly pulled the cart back.
After just a few steps, there was a “crack!”—the cart had hit something and tipped over.
Xu San San turned to check. Thankfully, everything was tightly bound and hadn’t scattered, but it took her quite some time to right the overturned cart.
“Huh?”
Beneath the tilted cart was a pile of dry branches, but why did they look so much like…
Xu San San quickly crouched down, pushing aside the reeds covering the branches.
“Wow! It’s a bird’s nest!”
Inside the nest were three eggs the size of human heads!
“Th-these… these must be dinosaur eggs!”
Though panicked, her body acted on instinct—she immediately took out her Optical Brain and tested each egg.
“No pollution, edible!”
“No pollution, edible!”
“No pollution, edible!”
What!
Fearing exhaustion-induced hallucinations, she tested them again.
This confirmed it: the three “dinosaur eggs” before her were indeed pollution-free.
Without wasting time pondering whether they were bird eggs or dinosaur eggs, Xu San San hurriedly hid them among the reeds in the cart.
Then, she scrambled away as fast as her short legs could carry her, fleeing the scene promptly.
“Thump-thump-thump—”
Her heart pounded violently, almost leaping out of her chest.
Her mind involuntarily replayed the Xeno-beast she’d seen before her original self fell—she was truly terrified. What kind of enormous bird could lay such gigantic eggs?
She didn’t dare dwell on it.
Forty-five minutes later,
Just as Xu San San was panting and gasping, having run back to the familiar dense forest, a large wild duck wobbled from outside the protective shield toward the reed thicket…
At that moment, a sudden scream erupted from the other end of the woods:
“Help!”
“Ah! There are flying insects!”
…
Immediately after, more than a dozen figures in ochre combat uniforms abruptly emerged from somewhere in the forest, rushing straight toward the source of the sound.
“Locust swarm detected in the mulberry grove!”
“Locust swarm detected in the mulberry grove!”
“Received! Heading there now!”
“Received! Heading there now!”
“Received! Heading there now!”
“Received! Heading there now!”
…
Then came a series of “bang bang bang” gunshots and “whoosh whoosh” flamethrower sounds…
The dense forest had become chaotic, with countless Scavengers rushing back from all directions. They looked panicked, clutching the spoils they had gathered that day tightly, and fled toward the spacecraft.
Amid the crowd, a few Scavengers armed with heavy weapons moved against the flow, sprinting toward the mulberry grove.
Xu San San hid among the crowd, keeping an eye on her small cart while staying vigilant overhead.
Locusts!
Those were locusts that left nothing but barren land in their wake!
Her heart was filled with both fear and anxiety.
Especially when she saw the clear claw and bite marks on the arms and faces of many people, she felt even more strongly that she must cherish her life and prioritize safety.
Indeed, the Base’s special missions were not so easily accomplished.
How could collecting Mulberry Leaves be so simple!
How could they offer such high Contribution Points for no reason!
Even if the mutated leaves were large, thick, and heavy, one still had to make it back alive…
Thank goodness, thank goodness I disembarked late today and didn’t follow the main group…
Even when seated in the returning spacecraft, Xu San San remained immersed in the lingering fear and terror of death.
The towering pile of vines, branches, and reed stems on her cart drew frequent sidelong glances from many.
Still lost in her frantic thoughts, Xu San San remained completely unaware of everything happening around her…