A cold wind blew, causing Tang Wen, who was standing at the door, to shiver.
Is it already October?
Is winter coming soon?
Without further delay, he stepped inside the room and closed the door securely.
He placed the rice jar back in its original spot.
The girl, or rather, his older sister, was already starting a fire to cook.
The sound of bubbling water filled the air as it boiled. She carefully grabbed a handful of golden foxtail millet in her palm, paused for a moment, and then gently put half of it back into the jar.
Tang Wen, who occasionally cooked porridge himself, estimated in his mind that this amount was roughly equivalent to what he would eat in two mouthfuls.
She meticulously washed the millet and then put it into the pot.
Tang Wen sat cross-legged on the dry grass, silently calling out in his mind, "Panel."
[Name: Tang Wen]
[Age: 14 years and 9 months]
[Physique: 0.3]
[Spirit: 0.7]
[Skill: Farming Proficiency (719/1000)]
With these stats, in a TV drama, he would undoubtedly not survive the first episode.
He needed to start exercising.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Well, okay, exercising would have to wait until he was full.
The foxtail millet cooked, releasing a delicate fragrance.
Tang Wen picked up his bowl, which was barely filled with a thin layer of millet.
He glanced at his sister's bowl, where each grain was distinct and countable.
His heart felt heavy. He lowered his head and said while eating, "I'll find food as soon as possible. You stay home and take care of yourself."
His sister seemed a bit surprised. Her delicate face stared at him for a few seconds before she nodded and said in a soft, clear voice, "Be careful."
The siblings had a good relationship, though the original Tang Wen wasn't one to say such things.
His sister didn't have a mark on her hand, and as a frail young girl, she couldn't leave the camp.
Otherwise, she would surely be targeted by Scavengers, which was too dangerous.
After the meal, Tang Wen took his only weapon—a crude knife with a handle wrapped in hemp—and stepped out of the house.
Looking back at the rows of dilapidated huts, he sighed and headed toward the west gate, following his memory.
No acquaintances, no neighbors, no social interactions, and certainly no emotional entanglements... These were luxuries in the wasteland, something one could only afford to think about after having enough to eat.
Well, at least no one would notice that something was off about him.
Outside the west gate stretched a vast field of crops, extending all the way to the distant hills.
This was the foxtail millet field. The changes in the wasteland environment had affected the plants.
Foxtail millet, after natural selection, had become the most suitable grain for the wasteland.
Except for winter, it could be harvested three times a year.
The spring harvest was slower, while the summer and autumn harvests grew quickly.
Countless wasteland survivors depended on it to stay alive.
Tang Wen's parents were farmers in the camp who had rented a piece of land to cultivate.
The Flame Queen was merciful, requiring only 70% of the harvest as tribute, allowing them to keep the rest.
In his memories, his parents had been grateful for the Queen's kindness until their dying day.
It was thanks to the food they had saved from their harvests that they had paid three years' rent in advance before their deaths, ensuring the siblings' survival until now.
As for their deaths, it was a common occurrence in the wasteland, just as normal as college graduates in another world struggling to find jobs.
"Kid!"
Seeing someone approach the farm, a towering, dark-faced man walked over. His voice was deep: "I've told you before, winter is coming. We don't need you here anymore."
With winter approaching, the foxtail millet fields required no maintenance. Even tasks like weeding and watering were no longer necessary.
As for scaring away birds and catching insects, those were only good jobs when the foxtail millet was about to ripen!
Tang Wen forced a smile: "I can do any kind of work, I don't need grain, just a meal will do."
"Get lost." He pointed into the distance, his voice calm, devoid of any emotion, as if he had said it countless times before.
Tang Wen didn't dare to persist any longer and retreated with a forced smile.
The camp wasn't large, and by the time he reached the east gate, his stomach began to growl.
The little he had eaten in the morning was already used up.
Taking a deep breath, Tang Wen stepped into the wilderness.
The guards on the wall glanced at him and continued chatting and boasting.
The original owner of this body had a dream, to become a guard.
Now, Tang Wen just wanted to eat his fill and survive.
And, become transcendent?
Gurgle...
His stomach growled again, as if reminding him.
As he stepped out of the camp gate, Tang Wen was immediately shocked by the scene before him.
The land was desolate, the soil cracked in patches, and if not for the black grass growing, it seemed as if the earth itself had died.
Black Death Grass, its roots and stems were poisonous, only the leaves were barely edible.
But the leaves had long been picked clean.
Winter was coming.
For the past two years, every winter, the siblings had to sell off things left by their parents to exchange for some grain to get by.
But this year, there was nothing left to sell.
Nothing at all.
They had also moved from their original position near the farm to the worst spot by the camp wall.
Shaking his head, Tang Wen picked up a relatively straight branch and headed towards the Blackwater River.
As the name suggests, the Blackwater River had black water, and as it flowed here, it lost its channel, forming a swamp that nourished a forest.
There were fish in the water.
As he neared the river, Tang Wen slowed his pace.
He saw people in the swamp, dressed in hemp clothes and cloaks.
They were emaciated, like walking corpses.
Tang Wen didn't dare to get close, he wanted to leave, but this was the only place he thought he might be able to get food.
Gently, he moved his steps.
Occasionally squatting down to pick up a small stone.
Hmm, in case someone approaches, I can throw a stone first.
The wasteland scavengers were very afraid of injury, injury meant weakness, and it was a world of the survival of the fittest.
Splash, splash, splash!
Someone started running in the water, and then more people followed him.
Fish!
The person in front was holding a black fish with both hands!
Seeing more and more people surrounding him, he started biting into it desperately.
Blood smeared his mouth as he swallowed large chunks of fish meat, then was pounced on by someone from behind.
One by one, it was like playing a crazy game of stacking.
The scene was chaotic.
"Guard, guard!"
Someone shouted loudly.
Tang Wen was stunned, would the guards handle this?
Contrary to his expectations, a team of guards really emerged from the jungle, one of them holding a crossbow, shooting an arrow into the sky.
The sharp sound dragged a long tail, streaking across the sky.
A whistling arrow.
The people chasing the fish stopped and scattered.
Only those closest to the core were still fighting in the water, vying for the larger part of the black fish.
Splash, splash, splash!
Several guards in leather armor cursed as they stepped into the water.
One by one, they effortlessly dragged people out and took them away.
Tang Wen recalled related events and couldn't help but turn pale.
The reason the guards intervened in these matters was simple: if the fight continued, people would inevitably die, leading to cannibalism, and more people would swarm in.
Blood flowing into the water would release a scent that would attract the real danger—Mutated Beasts!
Since this place was too close to the camp, if the Mutated Beasts were attracted in large numbers, the Scavengers would flee toward the camp to save their lives, and that would be a major problem.
Therefore, it was necessary to stop it in advance.
As for taking these people away, it wasn't to save their lives.
It was to squeeze out their last bit of value—to use them as bait.
As if guided by some strange force, Tang Wen followed from a distance.
After walking for a while, the guards led the people to stone hollows in the wilderness.
These hollows had been manually carved, with three stone walls and one entrance.
The guards stripped the Scavengers of their clot
hes, hacked at them like chopping winter melons, and then hung them from the highest point of the stone walls, like farmers hanging cured meat. The scent of blood slowly drifted with the wind, attracting nearby Mutated Beasts.
The guards and the people in the camp referred to this practice as hunting.