Red Rainstorm Warning, Trading Grounds…
After venting her anger through a round of cursing, she finally calmed down.
Exhausted, she sat on the ground. She wasn’t even dead yet, and people were already eyeing her belongings.
This shantytown truly offered no sense of security. Even when asleep at night, she had to worry about someone sneaking in to slit her throat.
When the original owner’s brother was still around, she never had to consider such problems. But now, left alone as a scrawny, almost zero-combat-potential weakling, it was no surprise others would bully her.
She urgently wanted to buy a house in the Safe Zone. The Safe Zone within the base was genuinely secure. Every household was equipped with high-tech locks that required personal verification for entry. Anyone attempting to pick the lock would trigger an automatic alarm.
She couldn’t stay here any longer. When winter arrived, she wouldn’t even have a way to keep warm in the shantytown.
Remembering she still had things to do, she entered her Space and wandered around for a bit. Inside, she bathed with Spirit Spring Water before emerging.
She took out some dry firewood from her Space and placed it on the ground, then lit a fire in the stove. Fortunately, she had gathered some stones earlier. She found a flat one to cover the stove. From her Space, she pulled out a potato plant, harvesting six large potatoes and four small ones. She set aside half and placed them directly into the fire to roast.
She needed to roast extra for tomorrow’s meals.
"Beep! Beep!"
A message arrived on her Wrist Device.
【Alert! Base 71—Red Rainstorm Warning】
Sang Luoluo tapped to read it. 【Heavy to torrential rain expected over the next three days. Base residents are advised to minimize outdoor activities. Weather forecasts are not guaranteed; please prepare for potential disasters. Rainwater is corrosive; avoid contact as much as possible.】
Below were more details about the rainfall coverage.
Another "Beep! Beep!" followed immediately.
Another message arrived: 【Due to weather conditions, base collection activities are temporarily suspended. They will resume after the rainfall ends. Please await further notice for specific timing.】
The Wrist Device was connected to the network, allowing Sang Luoluo to see others’ reactions online.
The sudden heavy rain disrupted many people’s plans.
"Damn weather! If we can’t go out to collect, what will my family eat?"
"They say it’ll rain for three days, but who knows if it’ll really be three days!"
"My family is running out of food, and there are so many mouths to feed."
"This rain looks heavy. Better reinforce the house quickly."
"…"
Seeing this, Sang Luoluo hurried outside to check her shack. The ground beneath it was slightly elevated. When her brother, Sang Yunpu, built the shack, he deliberately raised it to prevent flooding.
Sang Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the shack was relatively sturdy. She just had to endure these three days of heavy rain.
With that thought, she flipped the potatoes roasting under the stove and continued cooking.
Taking a moment, she retrieved the bat from her Space. Using a Stone Knife, she slit its belly and reached inside, guided by a strange pull. She found a white Crystal Core the size of a grain of rice.
She had expected it to be at least the size of a fingernail, but this was all she got.
The Crystal Core was too small. For now, she didn’t toss it into her Space. Eager to move into a new house, she placed it in a cloth pouch inside her backpack. She could save up a few more and rent a place in the Safe Zone first.
She tested the bat for radiation.
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Radiation Level 102. High Radiation—not recommended for consumption!"
She waved her hand and stored the items in the Space Stasis Zone, planning to discard them later when she went into the wilderness.
The first batch of roasted potatoes was ready. Sang Luoluo placed them into the Space Stasis Zone while they were still hot to preserve them, then threw the remaining half of the potatoes into the fire to continue roasting.
Taking advantage of the time she had now, she roasted more potatoes to store away for emergencies.
Just after storing the potatoes, thunder began to rumble outside, followed by raindrops as large as beans falling. Sang Luoluo closed the door tightly and bolted it from the inside.
Her Wrist Device beeped again.
[Alert! Base 71—Strong Wind Warning!]
Outside, heavy raindrops pounded against the shack, making a crackling sound. She could hear the shack groaning under the strain, as if it were bearing more pressure than it could handle. Before long, water began leaking through the gaps in the shack.
???!!!
She quickly climbed onto the table to investigate. To her dismay, she discovered that the waterproof material on the roof was almost entirely gone, with only a few scraps remaining. The thief had even stolen the waterproof layer from the roof. How despicable.
Once again, Sang Luoluo couldn’t help but curse under her breath: “#￥……#&%……”
After some thought, she dug up some soil from the one-acre potato field in her Space, mixed it into mud, and plastered it onto the roof.
But this alone wouldn’t do—over time, the rainwater would wash away the mud.
She decided to use her mental energy to manipulate the Space, retrieving a few wooden planks and placing them on the roof to block the rain, at least temporarily.
However, it wasn’t long before other parts of the roof began leaking again.
Exhausted and unable to keep up the effort, she decided to sleep in the potato field within her Space that night.
Jumping down, she tended to the fire, adding more firewood. She stored the newly roasted potatoes in the Stasis Space and took out the potatoes she had removed earlier to continue roasting them.
By midnight, she had roasted over eighty potatoes before finally stopping. Watching the rain continue to leak into the shack, she climbed onto the wooden bed, stored her only pair of tattered shoes in the Space Stasis Zone, found a dry spot on the bed, and slipped into the potato field within her Space.
After rearranging the area and making a somewhat passable place to lie down, she ate a hot potato—the first proper meal she’d had since arriving here. She had never thought potatoes could taste so good. Once she was full and satisfied, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The Space was eerily quiet. She had stayed in the Space before but never for too long. Although the items produced in the Space were excellent, the magnetic field inside was different from the outside world. Staying there alone for extended periods could feel oppressive.
But now, in the Wasteland World, she found this quiet environment quite pleasant. At least the temperature remained around 20 degrees Celsius—warm and comfortable, almost like heaven.
Due to the heavy rain, the shack was damp, and the wind made it feel even colder. Apart from the clothes she was wearing, she had no other garments.
Perhaps because she was exhausted from the day’s work, she slept deeply. When she woke up, she felt refreshed and full of energy. Thinking she should still check outside, she left the Space and found herself back on the wooden bed. The shack was still leaking, and a puddle had formed on the ground, though half of the bed remained dry.
With nowhere to step, she peered through a crack in the shack’s wall near the bed. Outside, several neighboring shacks had collapsed.
Faintly, she could hear their shouts as they tried to prop up their fallen shelters while wearing raincoats.
The rain had been pouring all day and had finally stopped for a while.
Unfortunately, just then, someone knocked on her wooden door.
“Knock, knock, knock~”
"Luoluo, I know you're home. It's Auntie Wang from next door."
"Hurry up and open the door. I have something to tell you."
Sang Luoluo sat on the bed, squinting her eyes. What could she possibly want to talk about at a time like this? It was definitely nothing good.
She glanced up at the leaking roof of her shack, slipped on her shoes without caring about the acid rain corrosion, and went to open the door. Feigning surprise, she said, "Auntie Wang, what brings you here? You came at just the right time. Auntie, my house was robbed. Yesterday, I went out with the Base's convoy to scavenge, but not only did I not find any food, when I came back, everything in my house had been stolen. The thief even took the waterproof material from my shack's roof."
"My house has been leaking all night. Auntie Wang, do you have any food left? Could you lend me some? I'll pay you back once I find something to eat."
Upon hearing this, Auntie Wang immediately refused, looking troubled. "Luoluo, my family doesn't have any food left either. With so many mouths to feed, I'm not even sure if we can make it through the next couple of days."
As she spoke, she glanced inside. The shack was practically flooded, and the girl's feet were soaked in water while rain still dripped from the ceiling. Looking at it this way, it was even worse than her own shack—at least hers could still be propped up and used.
Not only that, but the inside was completely empty. There wasn't even a pot on the stove for cooking. It seemed she really had been robbed.
"Well, Luoluo, you'll have to think of another way. My shack collapsed, so I need to hurry back and fix it."
Sang Luoluo wiped the distressed expression off her face and breathed a sigh of relief. In such harsh conditions, with no food, people might even resort to cannibalism. At least her house had only been robbed. Who knew what would happen after the heavy rain?
Checking her Wrist Device, she saw that the rain would stop for two hours.
The trading spot in the Shantytown wasn't too far from here. She decided to go out and take a look, slinging a basket on her back. She might as well ask how much it cost to rent a place in the Safe Zone.
Closing the door behind her, she jogged toward the trading spot.
She found the shop where she had bought the near-expired Nutrient Solution last time. The owner was an elderly man who ran a secondhand shop with his family in the Shantytown. They bought and sold everything. Even items from the black market could be found here, though at a higher price. While his shop couldn't compare to those in the Safe Zone in terms of variety, it had all the essentials.
Having met Sang Luoluo once before, he remembered her. The white-haired old man, wearing old-fashioned glasses, looked over and greeted her proactively, "Little girl, you're back. What are you buying this time?"
Sang Luoluo asked, "Do you still have near-expired Nutrient Solution?"
Without even lifting his eyelids, the old man replied, "Yes, but because of the heavy rain, the price has gone up. Near-expired ones are 4 Credits each, and regular ones are 5 Credits each."
Sang Luoluo hesitated for a moment. In the old man's eyes, she probably couldn't afford it, but he didn't rush her. He had seen many people like her—if they couldn't buy anything, they would leave on their own.
Sang Luoluo continued, "What's the buying price for Medium Radiation plants? And what about Low Radiation plants?"
Seeing her ask, the old man didn't lose his patience. After all, she might have something on hand. In business, harmony brings wealth, and one must never offend others completely. Who knew if someone might suddenly strike it rich? Especially in the Wasteland, anything was possible.
Clearing his throat, the old man explained, "Moderately radiated plants with radiation levels between 45 and 60 are 5 Credits per jin, those between 30 and 45 are 10 Credits per jin. Low-radiation plants with levels above 10 are 20 per jin. Plants with radiation levels below 10 are 50 per jin, and those below 5 are 100 Credits per jin."
Sang Luoluo’s eyes lit up, and she continued asking, "What about edible plants here?"
There had always been quite a few people coming to sell mutated plants.
The old man was used to it.
Sang Luoluo pulled a large trumpet flower and two large flower buds from her weed-filled basket and placed them on the counter.
Then she took out two giant potatoes, freshly retrieved from her Space. She wanted to earn more Credits—even if it was just to lay low in the Safe Zone for a while.