Chapter 76 - 75: A Pendant That Not Even an S Level Dagger Can Scratch

She took out her Detection Knife and sliced a leaf from the plant closest to the large tree stump.

The automated voice quickly announced, "BEEP! Plant not on the edible list detected. Radiation level 88: severe to high radiation. Approaching the lower limit of lethal radiation. Foraging is not recommended!"

Startled, Sev Steele’s hand trembled, dropping the Detection Knife onto the ground. She wondered what kind of disaster-magnet constitution she had to actually encounter something suspected of being a radiation source. Her first reaction was to run—as far away as possible.

However, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a fleeting flash of silver on the side of the large stump. It looked like sunlight reflecting off a metal surface. Earlier, she had only noticed the absence of green plants around the stump; she hadn’t looked closely for any other debris. Or perhaps the angle had been wrong, keeping the reflected sunlight hidden. She figured that since she had already sat on the stump anyway, if there really was a radiation source hidden beneath it, she had probably been exposed already. Since that was the case, she wasn’t in a hurry to run away anymore. She wanted to see exactly what was reflecting that silver light!

Mustering her courage, Sev approached the stump again, circling around to the direction of the silver reflection, and crouched down for a closer look. Now she could finally see it clearly: a thumbnail-sized piece of matte silver metal. A portion of it was buried in the dirt, leaving only a tiny sliver exposed, which explained why she hadn’t noticed it before. If it hadn’t been hit by the sunlight while she was standing at the perfect angle, she likely would never have seen it at all.

She quickly pulled out a small trowel and carefully dug away the surrounding dirt. Soon, a round metal box about the size of a Copper Coin was unearthed.

The front of the box was engraved with an unknown flower, and the back featured a single leaf. Perhaps because the surface was too smooth to carve easily, both designs were mere stick-figure outlines. The two ends of the metal box connected to a thin chain of the same material, resembling a simple choker. Sev guessed this was a locket meant for pictures of family or a lover. So, had she dug up a... necklace?

She fumbled around the edge of the metal box but couldn’t find any ridges or seams. There was no way to pry it open. In short, it was simply unopenable.

She began to worry. What if the box didn’t hold photos, but a lethal radiation source? She quickly took out her Detection Knife and sliced down on the edge of the box. The next second, she discovered that the blade of the Detection Knife had actually curled! Meanwhile, the surface of the suspected locket remained pristine, without a single scratch!

"Holy crap! What exactly is this made of?" she wondered.

The Detection Knife was standard issue from the safe zone officials. Its blade was top-notch, said to be forged from a B Level alloy. After all, in the wilderness, one would encounter all sorts of Mutated plants, some with incredibly tough stems and roots. If the blade wasn’t durable enough, it would blunt within a few days. The fact that this busted little metal box could blunt a B Level alloy blade meant its material was at least an A Level or higher.

Thinking of the S Level Dagger she carried on her person, Sev decisively drew it and lightly sliced against the edge of the metal box. Yet... it still failed to leave a mark! She was dumbfounded.

Doctor Jenkins had given her this S Level Dagger, and she had used it to kill countless Mutant Rats. Every time she stabbed, it would pierce straight into a Mutant Rat’s skull. It felt as effortless as slicing melons and chopping vegetables. For such a razor-sharp dagger to leave no trace on this metal box, Sev couldn’t even imagine what kind of material it possessed.

But no matter what, this item had to be incredibly valuable. She decided to risk the high radiation and keep it. Didn’t the old saying go: fortune favors the bold? In the days since she had crossed over, she had come to realize that if she strictly followed the routine of picking wild vegetables every day, putting food on the table would be a struggle. Her only two major windfalls had both been earned by dancing on the edge of death.

Sev wiped the metal box clean, carefully slipped it into her inner pocket, and continued digging with her trowel.

Suddenly, a toe bone broke the surface, followed by the withered bones of a human hand. Soon after, an entire human skeleton was unearthed piece by piece. The skeleton was curled into a fetal position, with no visible fatal wounds on its body. No stench of decay wafted up when the corpse was excavated; this person had likely been dead for a very long time.

Sev felt that since she had taken their locket, she couldn’t just leave their remains exposed in the wilderness. Sighing helplessly, she took out two vacuum seal bags, carefully packed the bones inside, and then placed them into a burlap sack which she carried in her hand. Lugging a bag of human bones, she lost the mood to continue scavenging. She turned back, planning to wait at the agreed-upon rendezvous point for Hayden Hanson’s return.

As she walked, her foot suddenly stepped on something smooth and hard. She slipped, stumbling a few times and nearly falling over. After regaining her balance, Sev looked down and saw a kidney-shaped fruit, about the size of a pecan, colored deep red with black spots.

Ever since arriving in the wasteland, whenever Sev saw a plant, she would subconsciously wonder what plant from Azure it would resemble if shrunk down. This one immediately reminded her of a Dragon Claw Bean.

Last summer vacation, she had gone with her roommate to her hometown in Channon. In the open clearing in front of her roommate’s house, she had seen a Dragon Claw Bean plant. According to her roommate, once planted, this thing grew wild and didn’t require any tending. As long as a trellis of thin bamboo poles was built for it, its vines would entangle themselves around it. The Dragon Claw Bean plant at her roommate’s house had been growing for over ten years. Its main vine was nearly woody, looking gnarled and vigorous as it tangled with the entire pergola, exuding a certain antique charm.

After picking the Dragon Claw Beans, her roommate’s mother had specifically taught her how to prepare them. According to her, the seeds were somewhat toxic. Before eating, they had to be boiled in their pods for half an hour. Then, they were scooped out, placed in cold water, carefully peeled, and soaked in fresh cold water for an entire day. During the soaking process, the water had to be changed three times—morning, noon, and night—to completely eradicate the toxins.

Although the preparation was tedious, detoxified Dragon Claw Beans were truly delicious. They could be stir-fried or served as a cold salad. Any leftovers could be dried out and used for winter meat stews, which tasted even better than when fresh. The most crucial point was their extremely high yield; planting just one was enough to feed an entire family.

Recalling this information about Dragon Claw Beans, Sev’s heart began to pound with excitement. If she could plant one in her own yard, she would have an endless supply of Dragon Claw Beans. Compared to foraging for wild vegetables every day, she much preferred growing her own food.

However, her yard was quite small, and ordinary wild vegetables were hard to keep alive. Planting a mutated Dragon Claw Bean was the best option. If she could plant a couple of fruit trees too, it would be absolutely perfect! Her Hearthland farming spirit was ablaze; just thinking about it brought Sev immense joy.

Not entirely sure if the fruit she had stepped on was indeed a mutated Dragon Claw Bean, she scoured her surroundings carefully. Finally, her gaze locked onto a dense, towering thicket of shrubs by the roadside.