The sour jujube grove.
Under the effects of radiation, the sour jujube trees had grown incredibly thick, each trunk measuring one to two meters in diameter. Their branches spread wide rather than tall, and groups of scavengers stood on them, checking fruit for radiation levels.
Some fallen jujubes littered the ground, each as large as a fist.
People searched the branches for edible fruit, bundled up from head to toe, exposing only their eyes. Some even wore protective goggles.
Song Zhizhi took out a pair of goggles and gloves.
“Su Yue, didn’t you bring gloves or goggles? Getting stung by the mutated caterpillars here is no joke.”
Su Yue had brought neither.
She knew there were mutated insects in the area, but she hadn’t known they were mutated slug caterpillars.
These creatures loved jujube trees. If the hairs on their bodies touched a person, they burrowed into the skin through the pores, causing excruciating pain.
Just imagining their bright green bodies made Su Yue’s scalp tingle.
She had never been afraid of anything growing up—
Except bugs.
“I didn’t bring any.”
Song Zhizhi grinned and, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out an extra pair of gloves from her bag.
“My family only has one pair of goggles, but you can borrow these gloves.”
Normally, Song Zhizhi wore two pairs of gloves at once.
She was the only breadwinner in her family. If she got stung, her whole family would go hungry.
Seeing Song Zhizhi lend her the gloves without hesitation, Su Yue felt a warmth in her heart.
She understood this was an act of goodwill.
Without putting on airs, she accepted them.
“Thank you. I’ll return them before we leave.”
Song Zhizhi smiled and headed toward a giant jujube tree where there were fewer people.
“Su Yue, over here! There aren’t many people around. You can take that branch, and I’ll stay on this one. If anything happens, we can look out for each other!”
With a few quick movements, Song Zhizhi climbed onto a branch and reached down to help Su Yue.
The gloves were oversized and badly worn, clearly made for an adult man.
They probably belonged to Song Zhizhi’s father.
Su Yue grabbed her hand and climbed up.
After helping her, Song Zhizhi immediately got to work scanning the fruit.
Su Yue appeared to be doing the same, but in reality, she activated her ability and sensed the life force of the surrounding plants.
She discovered that after her recent advancement, the range of her ability had doubled.
Naturally, her efficiency had doubled as well.
The jujubes within reach had already been scanned countless times.
But people still held onto hope, believing they might find one edible fruit that everyone else had missed.
That was why they always checked the fruit first.
After sensing the area, however, Su Yue confirmed that none of the nearby jujubes on her branch were edible.
On the other hand, several of the leaves showed promise.
Carefully avoiding Song Zhizhi’s gaze, she used her ability to select likely candidates before scanning them.
[Target plant radiation level: 1,139. Consumption not recommended.]
[Target plant radiation level: 1,078. Consumption not recommended.]
[Target plant radiation level: 841. Safe for consumption.]
[Target plant radiation level: 922. Safe for consumption.]
…
More than two hours passed.
The grove grew increasingly crowded.
By now, Su Yue had found seven edible sour jujube leaves, each the size of two or three palms.
Song Zhizhi, however, hadn’t been nearly as fortunate.
After scanning every jujube she could reach without finding a single edible one, she turned to checking leaves and managed to find only one.
Finding even one leaf was considered lucky.
But Song Zhizhi’s entire family depended on her.
One leaf wasn’t nearly enough.
Her expression dimmed.
“Su Yue, how’s your si—”
Before she could finish speaking, a large green caterpillar dropped from a branch above her.
Hearing her call, Su Yue turned just in time to see it.
Without a word, she shoved Song Zhizhi aside and pressed her against the tree trunk.
The ten-centimeter-long caterpillar landed exactly where Song Zhizhi had been standing.
“Ah! Su Yue, thank goodness for you!”
Screaming, Song Zhizhi stomped down with a loud splat, crushing the insect.
At that exact moment, cries of pain and panic erupted all around them.
“Ah! It hurts!”
“Aaah!”
“My son! My son!”
Two trees to the south suddenly unleashed a rain of insects.
The scavengers beneath them had no time to dodge as countless green caterpillars rained down on them.
Once the mutated caterpillars landed on someone, they extended the fine hairs covering their bodies.
The hairs slipped beneath clothing, pierced the skin through the pores, and released their toxins.
The pain was enough to make grown adults scream and cry.
Just a few hairs carried enough venom to kill a healthy adult.
Ordinary protective clothing could block drifting hairs carried by the wind.
It offered no defense against an insect storm of this scale.
Su Yue and Song Zhizhi instantly became alert.
They jumped down from the tree and retreated north.
But before they could get far, terrified screams erupted from the north as well.
Turning around, they saw another shower of caterpillars cascading down.
Panic swept through the crowd.
People shoved and trampled one another in a desperate attempt to flee east and west.
Without hesitation, Su Yue grabbed the stunned Song Zhizhi and ran east.
Earlier, Su Yue had observed the terrain.
To the west, the trees were denser, and she had already spotted green caterpillars clinging to the jujubes.
To the east, however, the grove bordered the mountains and lay in shadow. The trees were sparser there.
It offered the best chance of survival.
Although her healing ability meant she probably wouldn’t die from a sting—
No sane person wanted to endure that kind of pain.
Dragging Song Zhizhi behind her, Su Yue ran through gaps between the trees while holding her cloth bag over her head.
Others noticed her actions and quickly copied her.
“Song Zhizhi! Use your bag!”
Su Yue shouted over the chaos.
Song Zhizhi immediately raised her bag over her head and kept pace.
Within three to five minutes, they escaped the grove through the eastern side.
But to everyone fleeing, it felt as though they had been running for hours.
Those who failed to escape were buried beneath the rain of caterpillars.
Their bodies quickly swelled, blistered, and festered.
They stopped moving.
Even among those who made it out, many had still been stung.
Their screams echoed through the air.
One beautiful young woman in her twenties drew Su Yue’s attention.
Without hesitation, she took out a knife and carved away the flesh where she had been stung.
Her swinging ponytail, the blood staining her blade, and the cold sweat on her brow caught Su Yue’s eye.
She didn’t cry out once.
Su Yue couldn’t help admiring her.
Even after surviving years in the zombie apocalypse, she wasn’t sure she could calmly cut flesh from her own body like that.
The woman’s decisiveness and composure left a deep impression.
Su Yue memorized her face.
By then, Song Zhizhi had finally recovered from the shock.
Her trembling hand grasped Su Yue’s as she offered over the sour jujube leaf she had found.
“Su Yue, you’re my lifesaver! Here—this is everything I found today. It’s all yours!”
Su Yue pushed the leaf back.
“No need. Keep it and eat it yourself. We were lucky you picked a good tree. We weren’t near the northern or southern sides.”
Hearing those words, Song Zhizhi was deeply moved.
Su Yue had saved her life, refused her food, and even thought about her future.
She was like a goddess descending from heaven.
Song Zhizhi looked at Su Yue with tear-filled eyes, practically radiating admiration.
It seemed as if she were only missing a wagging puppy tail behind her.
“But we can’t stay here for long. The safety patrol should come clear out the area soon.”
Su Yue glanced back toward the grove.
“If we’re lucky, we might be able to follow them and pick up whatever they leave behind.”