Shen Tangtang continued searching for edible food as if nothing had happened.
She had only remembered her spatial storage after seeing Bai Yanjun. The character names and background were not just similar to the novel she read in her past life—they were identical.
Yet, Shen Tangtang had never once imagined she would transmigrate into a book.
First off, she hadn’t written a 1,000-word negative review for the novel.
Secondly, she hadn’t seen any female lead or supporting character with her exact name.
Thirdly, she wasn’t a secret agent or some overpowered badass.
She was just an ordinary college student who stayed up late reading a web novel. Who would have guessed such a coincidence could lead to sudden cardiac arrest?
She had checked—none of her ancestors across three generations had any history of hereditary illnesses, let alone heart conditions.
This sudden death had caught her completely off guard. If she ever got a second chance, she swore she would never stay up late again.
She just hoped her dear roommates wouldn’t be too traumatized by her corpse. Otherwise, all she could say was: Sorry girls, forgot to drag you down with me.
The second she realized she had transmigrated, she had bolted straight into a public restroom. Ignoring the choking stench around her, she bit down hard on her middle finger and used the blood to bind the wooden plaque hanging around her neck.
Lin Daiyu, who had spent half a day blushing, finally noticed her best friend had vanished. Hearing responses coming from the restroom, she assumed her friend had a bad stomach and spent a long time shouting words of encouragement from outside.
Regarding that incident, Tangtang only had this to say: Thanks, having you is truly my blessing.
Suddenly, a gorgeous clivia plant ahead caught Tangtang’s eye.
Even knowing that plants like this usually had exceptionally high radiation levels, she still couldn’t resist the itchy urge, using the sharp corner of her stone knife to slice open a leaf.
[Scan result: Radiation level 77%, inedible.]
No matter, try again. Let’s check the other leaves first.
[Scan result: Radiation level 90%, inedible.]
[Scan result: Radiation level 56%, inedible.]
So close. Tangtang blinked, then sliced open the next leaf.
[Scan result: Radiation level 59%, inedible.]
…
[Scan result: Radiation level 49%, edible.]
Goodness, what kind of luck was this today? She actually found something she could eat.
The entire leaf was quite long—a full meter in length and two palms wide. Clivia leaves were naturally thick and broad, and in the wasteland world, they looked even more plump and juicy. Furthermore, as long as the base was sliced open and found to be edible, the entire leaf could be eaten.
Shen Tangtang finally broke into the second smile since arriving in the wasteland.
As for the first smile? That one hadn’t been nearly as obvious as this.
Besides, there wasn’t a single soul around.
Shen Tangtang rotated her wrist and excitedly began harvesting her second prize of the day.
Five minutes later, another vibrant green leaf was tucked safely inside her 5,000-cubic-meter storage space.
This was going to be her future rations, after all.
From the information fed back by the space, she knew it couldn’t be upgraded and nothing could be grown inside it, but it possessed a preservation function. Plus, the space had a height of 10 meters; unfortunately, she didn’t have any shelving units to make full use of the vertical space.
Having a space like this gave a terrified and anxious Tangtang a sliver of genuine security.
She didn’t have the destiny of a female lead, nor did she have a female lead’s endless troubles, but a space like this was more than enough for her.
As a young girl, any treasure she managed to snag in this wasteland world had to be handled with extreme care. Now that she had the space, she didn’t have to fear theft anymore.
Shen Tangtang glanced at her rubbed-raw, reddened palms and blew on them, as if that would make the pain go away.
She took her water bottle out from her burlap sack, took a small sip, and waited for the burning sensation in her throat to fade before looking up at the sun in the sky.
It should be around 8:00 AM now.
She checked her wristband: sure enough, 8:03 AM.
There were still two hours left until her agreed meeting time with Lin Daiyu, but walking back from here would probably take about half an hour.
She might as well finish scanning the clivia and head back slowly!
Unfortunately, it seemed her luck had run out on that last find; none of the remaining leaves had a radiation level below 50%.
Shen Tangtang had to stop with a twinge of regret. Clivia leaves were thick and long—a single leaf could last her two days. If she had found just a few more, she could have gone and traded them for credits.
Lin Daiyu had Bai Yanjun to take her in, but she wasn’t so sure about herself. She certainly didn’t want to die in some run-down shanty, leaving the supporting-character best friend to shed a couple of tears over her corpse before casually looting her body.
In the end, her wooden plaque space would inevitably wind up in the hands of the female lead.
Where on earth was there true affection in the wasteland world? It was just that Lin Daiyu felt Tangtang always listened to her (not really, Tangtang was just too lazy to argue) and helped her with chores (even less true, Tangtang only did it because there were rewards afterward, while Lin Daiyu found work tiring and rewards scarce)…
Sigh~ Could it be that her little steamed buns failed to grow because she worked too hard?
Shen Tangtang lowered her head to look at her flat chest and straightened up.
Very well, absolutely zero change.
“Help! Help! Quick, run toward that side! There’s a little girl over there who can buy us some time to block them…”
What? Let me see who’s brazen enough to pull a stunt like this.
Hearing the commotion, Shen Tangtang looked into the distance…
Oh mother dearest, what kind of ant’s nest did these two idiots poke? Those ants were the size of pre-apocalyptic rabbits, and the sheer number of them was staggering.
Her body moved faster than her brain. Without forgetting to grab her empty sack, she bolted like the wind.
“Hey, you in front! Don’t run, save us!”
“Damn it, little bitch, stop running…”
Hearing those words, Shen Tangtang ran even faster.
She swore that not even during her final sprint in the 800-meter dash back in her past life had she ever pushed herself this hard.
Shen Tangtang felt as though her heart was about to leap straight out of her chest, yet the two guys behind her stubbornly maintained a 20-meter gap.
Tears streamed from Shen Tangtang’s eyes, whipped away by the wind. “Big brother, please don’t come over here! I don’t have an ounce of meat on me; I won’t be able to block anything!”
“Cut the crap and stop right now!” The tall guy wore a ferocious expression, looking as though he desperately wanted to grab Tangtang and throw her behind him to block the mutant ants.
“Hah… hah… this… this little girl runs pretty fast.” The fat guy was panting heavily, but the thought of the ants trailing right behind him made his short legs pump a few notches faster.
“Thanks for the compliment. I actually used to be an Olympic champion.”
Though she had crossed the finish line chest-first… was this life punishing her for that?
While running with a deceptively calm composure, Shen Tangtang pondered the meaning of life. Could that really be the reason?
Not that she had planned it that way; it was just a collective decision made by the judges after reviewing the replay. Was having a big chest really her fault?
“Damn it! Stop talking nonsense, or I swear I’ll kill you!”
The tall guy was clearly reaching his physical limit. Although the fat guy next to him was sweating profusely, he apparently still had a shred of stamina left. Turns out fat guys really were potential powerhouses.
“Ah… Help! Save me!”
Before Shen Tangtang even needed to reply, she heard the fat guy’s screams.
Confused, she turned her head to look and caught sight of the tall guy’s outstretched hand—one he hadn’t managed to pull back in time.
She swallowed a mouthful of air. So much for sharing a brotherly bond in adversity a second ago; the next second, it turned into disposable cannon fodder bonds. “Such feelings can be recalled, but at the time they were already lost.” You really couldn’t gamble on human nature in the wasteland world.
“Fatty, I-I didn’t mean to! I was just too scared… You died for me, so you should be happy. Didn’t you always say you’d willingly die for me?”
By the time the tall guy finished mourning, Shen Tangtang had already sprinted past him without him even noticing.
Eight mutant ants swarmed the fat guy’s lower torso, tearing into fresh flesh and ripping open his soft belly to drag his intestines out to horrifying lengths.
The reek of blood drifted far into the air.
Taking advantage of the tall guy’s distraction, Shen Tangtang flicked her wrist and struck his pressure points, finally putting an end to their brotherly bond.