Chapter 74 - 73: Scavenging in The Murkwood with Hayden Hanson

Rusty and Zephyr, having heard that the vines for weaving the cushions had arrived, excitedly rushed over to sort through the raw materials. They had a blast keeping themselves busy.

Although Firestone’s weaving skills were terrible, he still found a way to make himself useful. He took the vines out of the sack one by one, tossing aside any that were worm-eaten or cracked. He also discarded the ones that were too hard or too tender and prone to snapping. Then, he sorted the selected vines by thickness and length, cutting them to the appropriate size for the cushions. Finally, he used a soft brush handmade from Mutated Tiger Tail Grass flower spikes to scrub away the dirt and impurities from their surfaces.

The cleaned vines were handed over to Sev Steele. She plunged them into boiling water for half an hour, scooped them out, and submerged them in cold water to cool down before setting them aside to dry.

The vines Goldie had given Sev last time were pre-treated, but they lacked sufficient flexibility. They had likely only been soaked in water rather than boiled. This time, the vines he delivered were gathered fresh from the wild and completely untreated. Goldie probably figured that since he was outsourcing the weaving to her anyway, there was no need for him to go through the extra processing step.

Sev had no objections to this. After all, their agreement was that he would provide the raw materials and handle the sales of the finished products.

By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, all the vines had been spread out to dry on a salvaged bed board they had brought home. Hayden Hanson had specifically saved this board for her. Since the bamboo in Virenswood would remain highly radioactive for the foreseeable future, they couldn’t cut any down to make bamboo mats.

After dark, Sev lay in bed. She thought, "Another exhausting, busy day."

Ever since transmigrating here, she felt like she never had a single moment of free time. Back on Azure, she would feel restless and anxious if she was away from her phone for even half a day. But now, thrust into this wasteland, she felt like twenty-four hours a day simply wasn’t enough. Right before drifting off into a hazy slumber, a line from an old sketch comedy act echoed in her mind: "Close your eyes, open them, and the day is gone."

When she woke up the next morning, the sky was just barely beginning to lighten.

Sev decided to go out scavenging today. They had already eaten more than half of their dried vegetables, so she needed to hurry and stockpile more before winter arrived.

Skinny had dropped by yesterday evening to reinstall the milk box. Sev walked over to check and, sure enough, today’s four liters of milk had already been delivered. Since she was heading out into the wild to scavenge, Sev wasn’t in the mood to cook an elaborate meal. She simply boiled two liters of milk, stirred in some powdered sugar, and tossed in six Nutrition Blocks to make a milky porridge.

The whole family gathered around the dining table to eat. The children licked their lips as they ate, their faces glowing with sheer enjoyment.

"Well, it’s a bit worse than milk oatmeal, but it’s drinkable enough," Sev thought.

Once she had eaten her fill, Sev slung her tattered canvas bag—stuffed with three ragged gunny sacks—over her shoulder and headed right out the door. The children watched her leave before turning back to their respective tasks.

Rusty and Zephyr busied themselves weaving the cushions, leaving Firestone to twist hemp ropes. Eager to prove his usefulness, he applied the newly learned vine-weaving techniques to craft an exceptionally thick and long hemp rope. As for Rose, she was just as busy. She had to feed Silvy milk and channel green light into the seeds. As long as it didn’t overdraw her Ability, she also shared a bit of green light with Coco Holden and Curly on the side. Even though her mother had told her not to spoil Curly, Rose couldn’t bear to listen to the little plant constantly crying out in hunger.

Sev had barely taken a few steps outside when she received a message from Hayden asking if she was going out to scavenge today. She immediately replied, and they agreed to go together.

Today, they were heading to The Murkwood, the most popular destination for scavengers in District Nine.

The Murkwood was originally an artificial windbreak planted before the nuclear war, backed against Mount Volgrad. The area around Mount Volgrad was littered with jagged rocks and battered by year-round whirlwinds. Coupled with the mountain’s rich deposits of black iron ore, it eventually earned its ominous name.

Following the nuclear war, vast swaths of forests across Azure had withered and died. Yet, for some unknown reason, this artificially planted windbreak collectively mutated. The original small grove grew into an endless, towering primeval forest, thus earning the name "The Murkwood."

When the Ninth Security Zone was first established, they had chosen this location precisely because of the mutated Murkwood. Its presence ensured that the residents of the security zone would have a never-ending supply of wild vegetables to forage. Meanwhile, the Mercenary Guilds would venture deep into the forest to hunt Mutant Beasts and harvest high-Level mutated plants.

Sev followed Hayden all the way toward The Murkwood. Occasionally, they bumped into one or two other scavengers. They all lived in District Nine; even if they hadn’t interacted before, they were familiar faces. However, no one took the initiative to greet strangers.

Walking down the road, Sev couldn’t help but think back to the day she first transmigrated here. The gory image of Marcus Wyatt being gnawed on by the Mutant Pine Marten flashed before her eyes, and she subconsciously shivered.

"The weather is slowly getting colder. Remember to wear a thick coat when you go out," Hayden said from beside her. He pulled a clean, old jacket out of his Tactical Backpack and handed it to her.

Sev didn’t reject his kindness. She took the jacket, slipped it on, and then pulled out two roasted ant eggs to press into his hands. "I brought these to line my stomach. They keep the hunger away for a long time."

Hayden figured that since he had already given all his leftover ant eggs to her family anyway, there was no need to politely decline. He took them and popped one straight into his mouth. As his teeth lightly bit down, the thin, crispy shell let out a satisfying CRUNCH CRUNCH. A bizarre, warm, sweet aroma—much like roasted nuts—instantly exploded in his mouth.

As expected, anything Sev made was absolutely delicious!

There were noticeably fewer people on the road today, filling Sev with a sense of bleak desolation. Remembering the ninety percent of Area D’s residents who had perished, she couldn’t help but sigh. Born into the wasteland, merely surviving was an arduous task.

Hayden wasn’t usually a man of many words, but sensing her low spirits, he spoke up. "Actually, the casualty rate for scavengers has always been very high. Even if they don’t die in the jaws of Mutant Rats, they might be killed by other Mutant Beasts.

"Or they might freeze or starve to death during the bitter winter. Sometimes I think that a quick death is better than a prolonged one.

"I actually envy the way they go. At least they won’t end up like me, dying a slow, agonizing death from illness."

"Hanson, is there really no chance of curing your genetic collapse?" Sev asked.

"Well, I’ve never heard of anyone in District Nine being cured of genetic collapse," Hayden chuckled. "But getting to eat all the different kinds of delicious food you make before I die means I haven’t lost out entirely."

He had already come to terms with his situation and simply wanted to live out his remaining days in peace. If there ever came a day when he truly couldn’t endure the pain anymore, he planned to spend a night deep in the forest, fighting the nocturnal Mutant Beasts to the death until he was swallowed whole.

Seeing how optimistic and open-minded he was about it, Sev didn’t know what else to say.

Soon, they traversed the long path and arrived at the fringes of the dense forest. This was the area where scavengers routinely foraged for wild vegetables. Because mutated wild vegetables grew incredibly fast, a new batch would sprout just ten to fifteen days after a harvest.

Upon arriving, everyone would consciously fan out to avoid interfering with one another. Hayden and Sev also parted ways, agreeing to meet up at four in the afternoon by a cluster of mutated Flame Euonymus bushes before heading home together. In autumn, the leaves of this shrub turned a striking scarlet, making it highly recognizable and easy to spot from a distance.

Sev carefully observed her surroundings as she walked. According to her original body’s memories, the most common edible mutated wild vegetables in this area were mutated shepherd’s purse, mutated lamb’s quarters, and a type of "purple-backed amaranth" with a faint violet hue on the underside of its leaves.

Despite being on the outskirts of The Murkwood, the surrounding vegetation grew lush and thick. As Sev threaded her way through the forest, she quickly spotted a stalk of mutated shepherd’s purse.