The green walnut juice had already stained her fair skin a protective, darker color.
Her hand looked even darker after she patted Etta’s head.
“We won’t have to do this once we’re married,” Etta said with a grin.
The line finally moved up to them.
Gary waved to his brother and Mandy Donovan.
“It’s our turn.”
“Let’s go.” Mandy Donovan walked over to Gary, noticing the look of relief on his face.
‘He really is just a kid, unable to hide any of his emotions.’ Mandy Donovan held out her hand to the registrar.
“I’m taking husbands.
These two.”
Gary and Etta held out their hands as well.
The registrar took out a device and scanned their wristbands.
“Mandy Donovan, Gary Moore, Etta Moore… alright, the registration is successful.
The three of you are now legally married.”
Mandy Donovan saw two names appear under her profile.
Her status changed to “Married,” and she could even see both of their credit balances.
“Bro, we’re married!
We can buy a house now!” Etta pulled back his hand, saw the word “Married” on his wristband, and jumped for joy.
Gary was more composed, but the joy on his face and in his eyes was practically overflowing.
“That’s right, we’re married!”
“Now, you’ll draw for your housing and work eligibility.
Your job placements are tied to the housing location you draw.” The registrar turned the computer monitor toward them and placed the keyboard in front of the three of them.
“Mandy, you do it,” Gary said, standing still and giving her a slight nod.
“We agreed.
You make the big decisions.”
‘This will decide where we’ll live from now on.’ Mandy Donovan felt a thrill of excitement.
After years in the welfare center, where her life was a monotonous cycle between the facility and the gathering zones, she had long yearned to see somewhere else.
Gary and Etta stood shoulder to shoulder.
Etta whispered, “Bro, where do you think we’ll end up?”
“Anywhere is better than here,” Gary said, staring at his wristband.
The heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.
“You don’t want *that person* to find us, do you?”
He spoke of “that person” cryptically.
Even the usually carefree Etta’s face filled with terror.
He shook his head vigorously.
“I never want to come back to this place again.”
‘He had already made up his mind.
Even if Mandy beat or yelled at him, it would be better than falling into that person’s hands.’
The two weren’t standing far away, and Mandy’s sharp hearing picked up their conversation.
‘They’re my housemates now.
If they have secrets they don’t want to share, I won’t ask.
Everyone has secrets, and who’s to say whose are bigger or smaller?’
She pressed a key on the keyboard.
A string of place names flashed across the computer screen: New Capital District, New Orlan District, New South District, New North District, New East District, New West District, Old East District…
Dozens of names scrolled by at high speed.
None of the names were of cities she remembered.
For a moment, she almost thought she wasn’t on Earth anymore.
Until she saw the outline of the map on the computer.
It was still Earth, but in the past few hundred years, its topography and features had changed drastically.
It just bore no resemblance to the world she remembered.
A name settled inside the box on the screen.
Seeing the location, the registrar said with envy, “Wow, you’ve got good luck.
The radiation in New Sharn District is low.
I hear the highest level there is only moderate.”
“The closer you get to Rivenhall, the higher the radiation, right?” Mandy Donovan asked casually, feigning ignorance.
‘This place, Old East District, feels more like the old Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area.’
The registrar nodded helplessly.
“You can say that again.
I heard there used to be a small country to our east.
When it was destroyed, its nuclear contamination polluted the entire globe.
During the Great Quake, that island nation fell into the Newborn Trench, and the whole country just vanished.”
“Thank you, I understand.” After the new settlement was assigned, there was no paperwork.
On their wristbands, the household registration for Mandy Donovan, Gary Moore, and Etta Moore was now listed as New Sharn District.
“So where did we get?” Gary asked anxiously.
Etta’s eyes were shining.
“Tell us!”
Mandy Donovan put her hands behind her back, affecting a mysterious air.
“Can’t you just look at your own wristbands?” she teased.
The information on them had updated the moment she made the selection.
Not only had their profiles updated, but three electronic train tickets had also appeared.
Gary lifted his wrist, his other hand swiping quickly across the band.
“New Sharn District.
Departure in two weeks.
We still have to stay here for two weeks.”
At these words, even Etta’s expression soured.
‘They’re clearly hiding from someone,’ Mandy thought for a moment before speaking.
“Since we have two weeks, why don’t we go out and gather some supplies?
We can trade them for points and then head straight for the train.
How about it?
Do you dare to live in the wilds for two weeks?”
There are Mutant Beasts outside the safe zone.
Crisis and opportunity go hand in hand.
Mutant Beasts provide meat and Crystal Cores.
The wilds are full of things buried underground, just waiting to be dug up.
But unlike others who dig blindly, Mandy Donovan knew her geography.
“We dare!
If you dare to go, why wouldn’t we?” Etta hastily agreed.
“Let’s go pack our things right now.
Before we’re—”
Gary gave Etta’s sleeve a sharp tug.
Mandy couldn’t help but ask, “Did you two make an enemy at the welfare center?” If not, she couldn’t imagine why these two kids would disguise themselves so thoroughly they were unrecognizable.
“We…” Etta began, but he trailed off after a glance at his brother.
“I’ll tell you,” Gary said, moving closer to Mandy and whispering in her ear.
“The caregiver in charge of the boys… he wants to introduce us to his relative.
This relative is in his forties, and every year he takes two boys from the welfare center.
He’ll just… pull down their pants to see if their ‘little bird’ is big enough!”
‘A sick predator,’ Mandy thought.
She didn’t doubt the brothers’ story for a second.
The fact that they knew to use soot to hide their faces proved they weren’t stupid.
She made an instant decision: they would leave the city immediately.
Just as the three of them were about to leave, the registrar offered a kind reminder.
“I hear the weather over in New Sharn District is different from here.
If you have the means, you should get some thicker clothes.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Mandy pulled two mutated orange leaves from her pocket and handed them to the registrar.
“These are mutated orange leaves.
You can eat them to stave off hunger, or chew them to freshen your breath.”
The registrar took the leaves and scanned them with her wristband.
“DING.
Low-level contamination.
Edible.”
Items with low-level contamination were worth a good amount of points.
The registrar quickly pocketed the leaves, her attitude becoming even friendlier.
“Points are accepted nationwide.
You should try to earn as many as you can before you leave.
Even though the contamination in New Sharn District is low, it’s a new development.
There’s practically nothing there.”
The implication was clear: while the air there might be more habitable, the living conditions were much worse than here.
They needed to prepare accordingly.
Mandy went to the kitchen to say goodbye to Archie Young and tell him she was moving to New Sharn District.
Archie’s face lit up with surprise.
“You found someone to marry?”
“I did.” Her new husbands were even people he knew.
As for that guy, Rocky, Mandy was no longer angry.
‘There’s no point wasting energy on someone I’ll never see again.’ “It’s Etta and Gary,” she explained.
“I was taking husbands, and they both agreed to marry me together.
So it’s settled.”
Watching the child he had raised from a young age prepare to leave again, Archie Young felt his nose sting with unshed tears.
“Live a good life in New Sharn District.
And if you can’t make it… you can always come back.
This will always be the place where you grew up.”
“We don’t leave for a few more days.
I just wanted to say goodbye in advance.
We’re planning to earn some more points over the next few days so we can have a better life there.” Mandy opened her arms and hugged Archie Young.
“You take care of yourself, too.
I hope things turn out well for all of us.”
“Okay… okay…” Archie Young was used to goodbyes, but Mandy’s hug was too much, and he started to cry.