Song Zhizhi wasn’t particularly picky about where to dig. Seeing that there weren’t many people nearby, she grinned.
“Let’s do this!”
She lowered her head and started digging enthusiastically.
Before long, both of them unearthed their first sweet potatoes.
“Wow! We actually found some! Su Yue, you’re seriously my lucky star!”
As usual, Su Yue didn’t bother checking the radiation level. She simply stuffed the sweet potato into the sack.
The two of them kept digging for a while.
Su Yue found twenty-three sweet potatoes, while Song Zhizhi dug up a little over ten.
Compared to the people around them, their harvest was already impressive.
More and more people were arriving, and most of the nearby spots had been claimed.
Su Yue used her ability to check the area and confirmed that there were no sweet potatoes left beneath this patch of ground. She picked up the sack, preparing to leave.
“We won’t be able to carry any more anyway. There are too many people now, and all the good spots are taken. Let’s come back tomorrow morning.”
Song Zhizhi looked reluctant.
“What if there are still some left here?”
Su Yue couldn’t exactly tell her that she’d already scanned the ground with her ability.
So she said, “Getting twenty sweet potatoes from one vine is already considered a great harvest. We dug up more than forty from these two vines. Even if there are any left, there can’t be more than one or two.”
After thinking it over, Song Zhizhi decided to keep digging.
After all, her whole family depended on her.
Su Yue didn’t want to leave alone.
The mountain roads were difficult, and the remote location made robbery a real danger.
Fortunately, there were plenty of wild plants nearby. While Song Zhizhi kept digging, Su Yue could search for edible leaves.
“You keep digging. I’ll take a break.”
Song Zhizhi nodded and continued working without rest.
Meanwhile, Su Yue sat down and began testing the surrounding plants.
By around ten o’clock, Song Zhizhi finally collapsed onto the ground.
“That’s it, I’m done! There really aren’t any left!”
By then, Su Yue had already found four edible leaves.
Seeing that, Song Zhizhi regretted her decision.
“You were smart. I should’ve stopped digging and searched for edible plants instead.”
They packed up their things and prepared to find a place to eat lunch before beginning the long journey home.
(Friendly reminder: you may not want to read the next part while eating.)
It had taken them an hour to hike to the field.
Now they had to carry half-full sacks of food back.
There was no way they could return to the refugee district in under three hours.
With their small frames, stopping to rest along the way, they would be lucky to arrive by evening.
Song Zhizhi took out her lunch.
Two roasted caterpillars.
The green insects had been charred black. When she bit into one, a whitish-brown liquid oozed out.
The sight made Su Yue’s stomach churn.
After the caterpillar outbreak, many people had started selling edible caterpillars.
They were disgusting and difficult to prepare, but they were still a source of protein.
No matter how small, meat was meat.
And they were cheap enough that some people bought them.
Song Zhizhi ate happily.
She was used to going hungry.
Only because they had traveled so far today was she willing to bring two caterpillars as a meal.
“Want some? I’ll share a bite with you—but only a little. I’ve only got two.”
She held one out to Su Yue with a mixture of generosity and reluctance.
Su Yue quickly waved her hands.
“No, no. You eat them.”
Still, Song Zhizhi’s offer surprised her.
After working all morning, she must have been starving.
Yet she was still willing to share her tiny meal.
Su Yue believed in returning kindness with kindness.
So she took out a near-expiration mango biscuit, broke off a piece, and handed it to Song Zhizhi.
“Shh. I found this on a dead body after the caterpillar storm.”
Song Zhizhi’s eyes lit up.
“Wow! Thank you!”
Su Yue took a bite of her biscuit.
The sweet mango flavor instantly filled her mouth, washing away her unpleasant thoughts.
After eating, they prepared to head home.
But just as they stood up, something unexpected happened.
“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”
“Ah! Mutated rats! Aaaah!”
Someone had accidentally dug into a mutated rat nest.
Although the rats weren’t very large, their incisors and fangs had evolved into deadly weapons.
Their bites carried venom, much like poisonous snakes.
One bite was fatal.
And each nest contained dozens of rats.
Once their burrow was disturbed, they would swarm out all at once.
Most of the people scavenging here had little combat ability.
Unlike beast hunters, they didn’t make a living fighting mutated creatures.
They had no desire to take such risks.
The moment the first scream rang out, people around the area grabbed their bags and fled in every direction.
Su Yue pulled Song Zhizhi to her feet and looked toward the commotion.
“Oh no, a pack of mutated rats! Why are we so unlucky? Su Yue, let’s run!”
Song Zhizhi tried to flee, but Su Yue stopped her.
“Wait. Look carefully. The rats only chase people within a certain area. They won’t go far from the nest.”
Suppressing her fear, Song Zhizhi looked again.
“You’re right… That’s strange. Mutated rats hold grudges. Why would they stop chasing people?”
Most people had already finished digging and planned to leave anyway.
Hearing about the rats only made them run faster.
Within minutes, the area around the nest had emptied completely.
New arrivals chose plots farther away.
Only Su Yue and Song Zhizhi remained.
“Let’s go too, Su Yue. Forget about the rats.”
Song Zhizhi was terrified of getting hurt.
If she was injured, no one would take care of her family.
“Don’t worry. Take our things, go around this area, and wait for me by the path we used to get here.”
Su Yue tied the sack shut and handed it to her.
“Huh? What are you planning to do?”
Su Yue pulled out her improvised iron knife.
“Or would you rather distract the rats while I dig into their nest to see what they’re guarding so fiercely?”
Song Zhizhi immediately waved her hands.
“I-I’ll wait with the bags!”
Su Yue nodded and handed over the sack and tools, keeping only her small cloth bag.
She wasn’t worried that Song Zhizhi would run off with their belongings.
Only three or four of the sweet potatoes in the sack were likely edible.
That wasn’t enough to make someone abandon their entire life and disappear.
After repeatedly telling Su Yue to be careful, Song Zhizhi hoisted both sacks and hurried away.
She didn’t try to stop Su Yue.
People in the refugee district risked their lives every day to survive.
Everyone fought desperately because they had no other choice.
She respected Su Yue’s decision.
Soon, Su Yue was alone.
The area was surrounded by hills and enclosed by trees, isolated from the other sweet potato fields.
It was the perfect place for rats to build a nest.
Let’s finish this quickly.
After confirming that no one could see her, Su Yue ran forward and summoned two thick vines.
She drove them into the ground, lifting herself about half a meter into the air.
Then she sent another vine into the burrow.
Almost immediately, the vine came under attack.
The rats poured out of the nest, squeaking furiously as they tried to defend their home.
Unable to reach Su Yue, they turned their attention to the vines supporting her, gnawing at them viciously.
Su Yue tied her iron knife and the sharpened chicken-beak blade to her vines.
Guiding them with her power, she stabbed at the rats below.
One strike.
One kill.
Soon, a ring of dead rats surrounded her.
At the same time, she didn’t forget the real objective.
While the adult rats were distracted outside, she sent another vine deep into the burrow.
A moment later, it emerged carrying more than a dozen tiny, pink baby rats.