Sang Luoluo dragged her exhausted body back to the shack, fetched a basin of water, and cleaned the wound on her knee. By tomorrow morning, it should have scabbed over. She still had to go out early tomorrow to search for food.
With only this little Nutrient Solution left, if the weather turned bad, she wouldn’t even be able to go outside. Without food, she would truly starve to death.
After a simple wash, she climbed onto her small bed and lay down.
A notification from the Shantytown appeared on her Wrist Device.
Tomorrow, the Guard Corps would be conducting an inspection patrol, with dozens of large trucks heading out. Residents needing to gather supplies should assemble at the Base’s main gate at five in the morning.
Following that was detailed information about the destination.
Sang Luoluo perked up and read carefully. To prevent more people from starving, the Base organized a collective Scavenging trip every five days, mobilizing the Guard Corps to transport dozens of truckloads of residents out for Scavenging.
Tomorrow’s Scavenging site was a wilderness area recently cleared of large Mutated Animals by the Guard Corps, designated by the Base as Zone 31A. It was about twenty kilometers from the Base, roughly an hour’s journey.
The Guard Corps would do their best to ensure the residents’ safety—though, of course, only to the best of their ability. If anyone met with an accident, it would simply be considered bad luck.
After all, this was the Wasteland World. The Base could only strive to keep everyone alive, not guarantee the safety of every individual.
Regardless, this was good news for her.
The two Credits she earned from selling water today gave her motivation. With so many people going Scavenging tomorrow, if anyone needed water, she could carry a few bamboo tubes of water to sell.
She had as much Spirit Spring Water as she wanted. This was a business with no cost, and she was determined to pursue it.
Without a reliable food source, selling water was currently her only means of income.
With that thought, she climbed out of bed again, rummaged through the other bamboo tubes used for storing water in the corners of her home, cleaned them under the lamplight, and placed them in her backpack.
Early the next morning, she woke at four-thirty, grabbed her Nutrient Solution, slung her backpack over her shoulders, took her Stone Knife, and headed out.
Following her memory, she arrived at the Base’s main gate by five-ten. Hundreds of people had already gathered. Many families had turned out in full force, each person carrying a large backpack, some even bringing several urea bags.
The convoy of trucks had already rolled out, and people were boarding one after another.
Someone called out to her.
“Hey, miss, it’s me—the one you sold water to yesterday.”
Sang Luoluo turned to look at him, responding somewhat awkwardly. Seeing he looked much better today, she asked, “Oh, it’s you.”
Her eyes conveyed the question: What is it?
The middle-aged man said, “My name is A Suo. Thank you for selling me water yesterday—you saved my life. Speaking of which, that water was really delicious, so sweet. As far as I know, there doesn’t seem to be water like that in the Shantytown.”
Sang Luoluo looked at him warily and said, “I found this water outside too. Do you want to buy more?”
A Suo understood her wariness. Seeing she still had some in her backpack, he recalled how good the water tasted. Drinking it yesterday, he felt it was sweeter than any water he’d ever had in his life. When he tested it at home, he discovered it was even Low Radiation water. Buying it for two Credits was a steal. Still, compared to the Shantytown’s price of one Credit for two buckets of water, it was quite expensive.
But at the thought of that sweet water, A Suo gritted his teeth and asked, "Still two Credits?"
Sang Luoluo nodded. "Yes."
A Suo said, "Then give me one cup."
Sang Luoluo immediately took out a bamboo tube from her basket. As it touched her hand, she had already filled it to the brim. "Here's the water. The bamboo tube is mine."
A Suo promptly transferred two Credits to her, but since he had only brought one bamboo tube, now filled with water, he said, "Let me use the bamboo tube for now. I'll get you a new one later."
Sang Luoluo nodded, pleased with the two-Credit income.
Seeing there were still several bamboo tubes in her basket, A Suo thought to himself that if he took this water into the Base, he could sell it for quite a few Credits. There was no shortage of wealthy people inside the Base, and they were generous spenders. This sweet water was definitely worth more than just a few Credits.
Instantly, a business plan formed in his mind.
A Suo continued, "Um… how about selling the rest of the water to me? I'll see if I can sell it to others."
Sang Luoluo: ???
After a moment's thought, she realized A Suo probably wanted to sell the water to those who needed it in the Safe Zone, acting as a middleman. This would be much more convenient than finding buyers herself.
"These bamboo tubes cost 1 Credit each. There's a bamboo grove just outside the Base perimeter, so they're not worth much."
A Suo urged her, as they were about to board the vehicle soon.
Sang Luoluo nodded. "Alright, I have seven left. I'll keep one for myself to drink, and give you the other six."
A Suo quickly agreed, transferring another 13 Credits to Sang Luoluo and loading all the bamboo tubes into his own basket.
The two added each other as contacts and prepared to line up for boarding.
As she followed the line forward, Sang Luoluo said, "If you manage to sell this water, I have more. No matter how many Credits you sell it for, I'll supply it to you at 2 Credits per bamboo tube. If you need more, you can contact me later. But I should warn you, the water supply is limited, so availability is restricted."
A Suo happily agreed. "No problem. I'll contact you anytime."
Once on the vehicle, Sang Luoluo found a corner to settle in. Her Wrist Device now showed 15 Credits, giving her a sudden sense of security. 15 Credits = 5 bottles of Nutrient Solution. If she bought near-expiry ones, she could even get two extra bottles. That was enough to last her a week.
The vehicle rocked along, and before long, she began to feel drowsy. Clutching her basket tightly, she dozed off for a while.
An hour later, the sky was already bright, though it was only six o'clock, and they had reached their destination.
Yawning, she followed the people ahead and lined up to disembark.
The Guard Corps regularly came here to clear out Mutated Animals, preventing them from establishing nests and multiplying, which could eventually pose a threat to Base 71. Ordinary residents rarely ventured here. Mutated Animals had evolved hard exoskeletons and massive sizes, while humans seemed abandoned by this world—exposure to Radiation only made them sick and then die. A small number of Genetically Modified Humans possessed greater strength and physical abilities than ordinary people, awakening various powers. In the Base, they were called Evolved Humans.
Even Evolved Humans needed various weapons, equipment, and high-tech gear to survive safely in the wild. Otherwise, they were just slightly more capable ordinary people who could still contract Radiation Sickness and die under intense Radiation.
When she recalled these memories, Sang Luoluo couldn't help but think: the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.
Evolved Humans only managed to secure a place to survive in the Base because they had developed special abilities, living slightly better than ordinary people.
Sang Luoluo found a less crowded spot. Taking advantage of the early hour, she located a relatively safe patch of wilderness where no one ventured.
The area was overgrown with grass as tall as a person. She recognized most of the plants, knowing it would be too difficult to find edible things through detection alone. Instead, she decided to use this opportunity to search for Crystal Cores.
With herself as the center and a five-meter radius as her activity range, she paced back and forth in the area. Holding a wooden stick, she repeatedly poked through the grass, only moving forward once she confirmed it was safe.
She still felt a lingering fear from her last encounter with a Red Flower Snake.
Suddenly, a faint palpitation struck her. Though not intense, Sang Luoluo immediately pinpointed its source—at the roots of a large lamb's quarters plant about five meters ahead.
Glancing around to ensure no one was paying attention, she walked over and began digging with her Stone Knife. About thirty centimeters deep, within just over ten minutes, she unearthed a pale pink Crystal Core the size of a fingernail.
“Just this little?”
Sang Luoluo was disappointed. She had expected it to be at least as big as the one she found last time.
Tossing it into her Space, she made a wish: “Space, oh Space, please unlock an area where I can grow food.”
The next moment, she felt her Space unlock an acre of potatoes.
The potatoes were nearly ready, most of them edible. These were the very ones she had planted with her own hands.
An acre was a bit small, but for now, it was a lifesaver.
She tried to see if she could store the Stone Knife in her Space but found it still impossible.
Probably because the energy from that small Crystal Core was too weak.
With a good start, she continued searching for Crystal Cores. Now that she had potatoes to eat, why bother with grass and leaves?
Still, whenever someone passed by, she made a show of detecting a few plants.
Today seemed to be her lucky day. By chance, she detected an edible morning glory flower, about the size of two adult palms. She carefully plucked it and placed it in her backpack.
After walking some distance, she discovered another spot with Crystal Cores—inside the buds of a vibrant wildflower as tall as two people, growing beside her.
The sensation came from several directions above, suggesting there was more than one.
It was a wild rose, its branches sprawling over nearby trees, covered in blooms as large as human heads. The stems were thick with thorns, each as big as her palm.
She glanced down at her Stone Knife—not sharp enough.
But giving up felt even worse. Going back for tools would be more trouble than it was worth. If she could store these Crystal Cores in her Space, she might unlock more things.
Identifying which flowers contained the cores, Sang Luoluo used her Stone Knife to chop away the thorns on the stems. After a full hour of hard work, she finally cleared a spot where she could get a grip.
Grabbing the stem with both hands, she pulled down with all her strength, finally snapping it. She then used the Stone Knife to cut off the bud.
Collapsing to the ground with the bud in her arms, Sang Luoluo tore it apart with her hands and eventually dug out a red Crystal Core the size of a fingernail from inside.
Without delay, she tossed it into her Space and clasped her hands together: “Space, oh Space, let me come and go as I please.”
The Space didn’t listen to her this time. Instead, it unlocked one square meter in the Stasis Zone, allowing her to store and retrieve items freely, but she still couldn’t enter it herself.
Even so, it made her quite happy.
She opened the bamboo tube and drank half the water.
Continuing her work, the remaining few flowers were too high up, and the branches below were too thick. Using the same method would take too much time. After a moment's thought, she cut some grass nearby and wove a simple, long rope, tying a stone to it and tossing it upward.
Once the stone had entangled the branches near the flower buds, she pulled hard downward, hooking the buds and dragging them down. Using the same method, she finished gathering the four flower buds she had her eye on. It was already half past nine.
With practiced ease, she dug out four crystal cores the size of fingernails from deep within the buds and tossed them into her Space, where they were instantly absorbed.