“Huh? You still want to go there?”
When Song Zhizhi heard Su Yue say she planned to return and scavenge leftovers, she immediately waved her hands in alarm.
“I’m definitely not going back, and honestly, you shouldn’t either.”
“Did you see how miserable those people looked? It was terrifying.”
What Song Zhizhi didn’t know was that Su Yue possessed a healing ability.
Now that the jujube forest had suffered an insect plague, the Safe City’s special Defense Corps would definitely be sent in to clear out the swarm.
Even with professional equipment, however, the Defense Corps could only deploy a limited number of people.
For such a huge forest, they would inevitably recruit civilians from the refugee district to assist.
According to the usual rules, participants would be issued basic equipment by the Defense Corps. The gear had to be returned afterward, but anything they personally collected during the operation belonged entirely to them.
For people in the refugee district, it was an excellent opportunity to stockpile food for winter.
Naturally, Su Yue had no intention of missing it.
“It’s okay. I’ll be careful.”
Seeing she couldn’t change Su Yue’s mind, Song Zhizhi continued reminding her of every possible danger until they reached the refugee district.
Finally, she sighed.
“Alright, alright. If you’re absolutely determined to go, take these gloves.”
She handed over the gloves she had lent Su Yue before.
“They belonged to my dad. But he got radiation syndrome and passed away. They’ve just been sitting at home ever since. You can use them.”
“Thank you.”
For a few seconds, Su Yue hesitated.
Since they were her father’s belongings, she hadn’t wanted to take them.
But seeing the sincerity in Song Zhizhi’s eyes, she accepted.
Song Zhizhi is worth befriending.
She might be somewhat timid, but she was careful, thoughtful, and sincere.
Perhaps she could become someone Su Yue could trust with her back.
“By the way, weren’t you looking for a scavenging partner? Let’s team up from now on.”
Su Yue smiled.
Song Zhizhi immediately beamed.
After they parted ways, Su Yue returned home.
The moment she entered, Xingxing ran over and grabbed her cloth bag.
“Sister! You’re home so early~”
“Mhm. I found some leaves today, so I came back sooner.”
After the disaster in the jujube forest, scavengers had abandoned not only that area but the surrounding regions as well.
Everyone was terrified of the mutated caterpillars.
No one wanted to get anywhere near them.
As a result, the remaining safe scavenging grounds became overcrowded.
Rather than fighting others over scraps of food, Su Yue figured it would be better to work on winter preparations.
The weather was getting colder every day.
The old quilt could no longer keep them warm.
To keep Su Xing from getting sick, making a new winter blanket was far more important.
While Su Yue knew how to weave, she was terrible at sewing.
During the zombie apocalypse of her previous life, she’d never had much reason to stitch quilts.
As a result, the blanket took her an entire afternoon to finish.
And it came out crooked and ugly as sin.
But Su Xing didn’t care.
All she saw was a brand-new blanket.
Hugging the thick quilt stuffed with cotton and reed fluff, she giggled happily.
“It’s so soft! It must be so comfy! I want to go to sleep right now.”
“Silly child. Just wait until after dinner.”
Since Su Yue had returned before noon, she hadn’t needed the nutrition capsules she’d packed.
Instead, the sisters each ate a piece of red-date biscuit for lunch and dinner.
The carbohydrates filled their stomachs.
Warmth and drowsiness followed.
Wrapped in their newly made winter quilt, the two sisters drifted peacefully to sleep.
Early the next morning, the Defense Corps officially posted a recruitment notice for volunteers to help clear the insect infestation.
Song Zhizhi took a picture and sent it to Su Yue.
[Look! The Defense Corps leaves tomorrow. They’re confirming participants today. If you’re really going, stay near the outer edge and be careful, okay? Come back safe, my new partner.]
While washing up, Su Yue replied.
[Got it. Don’t worry.]
After drinking a bowl of jujube-leaf soup, Su Yue put on her old padded coat and bundled herself up as usual before heading to the registration point.
The moment she arrived, a certain figure caught her eye.
The instant she saw him, memories surfaced.
A knife.
A brutal stab.
The original Su Yue collapsing.
It was the man who had murdered her predecessor.
As if sensing her gaze, the scar-faced man standing in line turned his head and scanned the area.
Searching for whoever was watching him.
Heh. Sharp senses.
The cleanup operation had been divided into four teams, responsible for the east, south, west, and north sectors.
Originally, Su Yue intended to join the safer eastern team.
But the moment she saw Scarface, she changed her mind.
Silently, she moved to the line for his team.
The northern sector.
It wasn’t that she felt obligated to avenge the original owner.
Rather, this man had already robbed and murdered “Su Yue” once.
If he encountered her again, there was every chance he’d decide to kill her a second time.
Leaving such a threat alive in the refugee district was dangerous.
Better to remove the problem early.
After all…
During a dangerous cleanup operation, people died all the time.
If she handled things cleanly enough, even if Scarface had connections somewhere in the Safe City, nobody would trace anything back to her home.
Su Yue observed him carefully.
He appeared to be participating alone.
And he clearly knew how to fight.
About six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and heavily built, he resembled a black bear.
Disgusting.
A grown man stealing from a thirteen-year-old girl.
Have some shame.
Su Yue sneered inwardly.
Robbing someone was bad enough.
Stabbing them afterward was even worse.
The man clearly had no moral limits.
The sooner he was dealt with, the better.
The Defense Corps quickly finished processing registrations.
Anyone could join—male, female, young, old.
However, participants were repeatedly warned:
No protection would be provided.
All risks were their own responsibility.
The Defense Corps would only supply temporary equipment.
The equipment itself would not be distributed until the following day.
Otherwise, people might simply run off with it.
After registering, Scarface immediately left.
On the way out, he even shoved someone violently for standing in his path.
Su Yue finished registering as well and was preparing to leave.
Then she noticed someone familiar standing in another line.
The ponytailed woman.
The one who had cut flesh from her own arm to save herself.
Her right arm hung stiffly at her side.
An icy expression covered her face as she waited in line, radiating a clear message:
Stay away.
She had been injured that badly and still came?
Su Yue remembered clearly.
That day, the woman had carved away several centimeters of flesh from her arm with her own hand.
Hidden beneath layers of clothing, the wound wasn’t visible now.
But unlike Su Yue, she didn’t possess healing powers.
Her arm couldn’t possibly have recovered fully yet.
And despite that, she was still volunteering for such a dangerous mission.
That meant she must possess abilities far beyond ordinary people.
If possible, Su Yue would really like to get to know her.
A strong and beautiful older sister?
Who wouldn’t like that?
The cleanup mission wouldn’t begin until the next day, and participants would be gone all day.
Since she had already come out, Su Yue decided not to waste the opportunity.
Instead, she headed toward the sweet-potato fields nearby to try her luck.
The area had already been dug over countless times.
Potato vines lay scattered everywhere.
The ground was riddled with deep pits.
Mutated sweet potatoes grew enormous.
They also buried themselves exceptionally deep underground.
Each vine produced many tubers.
On top of that, sweet potatoes were delicious, sweet, filling, and nutritious.
For all these reasons, the sweet-potato fields were one of the most popular scavenging locations around.
Every day, hopeful scavengers came searching for overlooked leftovers.
And every now and then, someone really did find a forgotten sweet potato.
For most people, it was a matter of luck.
For Su Yue, however, it was simply another test of her ability to detect life underground.
Thinking about the soft, sweet aroma of roasted sweet potatoes, Su Yue rubbed her hands together eagerly.
Hehe.
Sweet potatoes… here I come~