Chapter 13: Isn't It All But a Faint Hope?

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Just as the two were about to be dragged into the river, Mi Tang arrived just in time. With swift reflexes, he grabbed Jiang Chen’an’s hand that was holding the long whip. His arm muscles bulged as he forcibly pulled the giant catfish out of the water, splashing water everywhere, as if even the air trembled.

Mi Tang and Jiang Chen’an then threw the giant catfish onto the shore, causing Gu Xiaomai to be flipped over, lying face-up. At that moment, both men had no time to attend to Gu Xiaomai. Mi Tang clenched his fists, muscles rippling, intending to strike the fish’s head directly. However, the constantly whipping tentacles successfully blocked his blow, forcing him to instead hammer the catfish’s spine.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen’an used his long whip to entangle the catfish’s tentacles, preventing Mi Tang from being struck. Meanwhile, Gu Xiaomai seized the opportunity to sit up and tugged at the tentacles with all her might, hoping to inflict some pain and make them release her.

But with her limited strength, it was no more than a tickle to the tentacles, which remained motionless.

At that moment, Gu Xiaomai regretted having left her bone-cutting knife under her pillow and forgotten to bring it out.

Whether it was her intense desire or some other reason, the bone-cutting knife suddenly appeared in Gu Xiaomai’s hand.

Without hesitation, she slashed once. The catfish’s tentacles were immediately severed.

At the same time, a crisp “crack” sounded.

Mi Tang delivered a punch that shattered the catfish’s spine. The two excruciating injuries caused transparent fluid to continuously seep from the fish’s body.

The clear liquid spilled onto the ground, flowing to Mi Tang’s feet. When he moved slightly, he slipped hard and fell, unable to approach the catfish.

Gu Xiaomai was the same; every movement caused her to slide and fall, unable to get close to the fish. Even the tentacle she had cut still tried to wrap around her as she approached.

Mi Tang and Gu Xiaomai lay on the ground, crawling out of the transparent fluid’s range, then sat up to watch Jiang Chen’an fight the catfish—one wielding a whip, the other swinging tentacles.

Jiang Chen’an was able to inflict damage with the whip.

However, the catfish used the momentum from the whip to accelerate sliding back toward the river.

Gu Xiaomai watched anxiously. “Officer Mi, where’s your gun? Shoot it! It’s about to escape.”

Mi Tang gave her a disdainful glare. “You think everyone has a gun? Even in the military camp, they’re a rare commodity!”

But how come when she first woke up, she had seen Wei Gang and the others each with a gun? The sentries at the camp entrance had guns too; she had thought guns were standard issue here.

Gu Xiaomai was stunned. “Then what do we do? We can’t just let this fish get away.”

If this fish escaped, they wouldn’t be able to come to this river again.

“Chen, keep the fish entangled and don’t let it escape. Officer Mi, come help Chen! He might not be able to hold on alone,” Gu Xiaomai urged.

“All right.” Although Jiang Chen’an didn’t know what Gu Xiaomai was planning, he responded and cracked the whip, tightly wrapping it around the giant catfish.

Mi Tang also moved forward, grabbing the whip.

Gu Xiaomai dodged the fish’s tentacles, circling around its head.

Soon, the bone-cutting knife flew out of her hand and returned to Gu Xiaomai’s grasp.

The giant catfish, sliding toward the river, suddenly stiffened and stopped moving. Its eyes lost their luster.

Gu Xiaomai breathed a sigh of relief. “Chen, reel in your whip.”

Jiang Chen’an and Mi Tang looked on in confusion, not understanding what Gu Xiaomai had done after slashing through the fish’s gill cover that caused it to stop moving.

They remained alert and didn’t make a move.

“What did that slash do?” Mi Tang asked.

Just then, deep red blood began to flow continuously from the fish’s gills, mixing with the transparent fluid on the ground.

Before Gu Xiaomai could explain, a shout rang out behind them.

Turning around, they saw Yu Mi running toward them swiftly with a wooden cleaver raised.

“Stop!” Gu Xiaomai yelled.

Yu Mi ran too fast; even with the warning, he couldn’t stop on the slippery ground and slid, kneeling right in front of the catfish, ending up face-to-face with the fish instantly.

Yu Mi’s eyes widened. The slick, wet sensation on his mouth made him immediately realize what had happened.

Panicked, he tried to retreat but slipped and fell flat on his back.

The three nearby—Gu Xiaomai, Jiang Chen’an, and Mi Tang—suppressed their laughter painfully.

Yu Mi saw their stifled smiles and, furious, hammered the ground. Just as he struggled to sit up, he fell over again.

“Ahhhh!!”

“You three!!!”

“For whom am I doing all this?!”

“You three are still laughing!!”

“Chen, pull me up!”

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(╥﹏╥)ooh... So embarrassing!

“Pfft hahaha...” Despite Yu Mi’s deep frustration, the three couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

After all this commotion, the giant catfish didn’t react anymore. The group confirmed it was truly dead.

Jiang Chen’an retracted his whip, wrapping it around Yu Mi to pull him out of the transparent fluid area. “Why did you come here?”

“Peh, peh, peh...” Yu Mi wiped his mouth and spat.

“I heard a scream and thought you two weren’t around. Worried something had happened, I came to check. If I hadn’t seen Officer Mi and you being dragged by the catfish and Xiaomai’s weak fighting ability, would I have rushed over blindly and ended up like this? And you guys... humph humph~” He gave the three a disapproving look one by one.

Gu Xiaomai and Mi Tang busied themselves looking everywhere but at him.

They did laugh, admittedly unkind, but it was really funny!

What could they do? They still wanted to laugh thinking about it!

“They’re wrong to laugh at you!” Jiang Chen’an said seriously.

“Right, they’re in the wrong,” Yu Mi agreed but then sensed something was off.

Gu Xiaomai and Mi Tang immediately shot Jiang Chen’an a look. Why did their shared blame suddenly lose one person?

Seeing the two glaring at him, Jiang Chen’an changed the subject. “Xiaomai, how exactly did you kill this big fish with that slash?”

Hearing that Xiaomai killed the fish, Yu Mi looked curiously at his delicate little sister.

Could this nearly two-meter fish really have been killed by her?

Wasn’t it supposed to be Mi Tang or him, Chen?

“There’s a method chefs use to kill fish called ‘blood draining.’ You cut quickly under the gills to sever the main artery. This ensures the blood drains rapidly, keeping the fish’s flesh white and fresh,” Gu Xiaomai explained with a smile.

She had previously only used the bone-cutting knife to chop meat for cooking, not as a weapon. But since the fish tried to escape, she panicked and remembered her father’s method of killing fish.

Fortunately, she found the right artery.

Looking at the giant catfish, Gu Xiaomai asked, “What do we do with this fish? Leaving it here isn’t appropriate.”

“I’ll take it back to the camp. If it’s a purified fish, Jiang Chen’an gets a share. If not, someone else will handle it,” Mi Tang replied.

Gu Xiaomai nodded; with her current status, she couldn’t keep any harvest for herself.

Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi agreed too.

Yu Mi thought the fish was already dead before he arrived, so he hadn’t contributed much.

Still, he hoped it was a purified fish so Jiang Chen’an would get more credit.

Mi Tang held the fish by the gills, preparing to drag it back to camp. “By the way, tell everyone we continue clearing the wasteland today.”

“Got it.” The three nodded and followed him, leaving the riverbank.

Seeing Gu Xiaomai follow Mi Tang directly, Jiang Chen’an grabbed her arm. “That’s the way to the camp.”

“I know! We’re so dirty. Don’t we need to shower?” she replied.

Yu Mi said, “One shower now, then at least seven days before the next.”

“Why?” Gu Xiaomai was puzzled. What kind of strange rule was that?

She used to bathe every day.

“It’s a camp rule. To save resources and because frequent dry washing harms the skin,” Jiang Chen’an explained.

Hearing this, Gu Xiaomai changed direction and headed back to the tent area.

“Don’t you all use water to wash clothes and bathe?”

Water was scarce in the camp; she understood that.

In this world, polluted energy still existed, some of it in the water. The extent to which viruses and bacteria contaminate the water was unknown.

But even the camp used dry cleaning, which Gu Xiaomai found hard to understand. Didn’t management want to solve this problem?

“How many points does it take to use water for washing?” Yu Mi wondered. The thought was beautiful.

Jiang Chen’an said, “Those with tons of points or water-element abilities find it easy to wash clothes and bathe with water.”

Like his two uncles: one had water powers, the other plenty of points. Even a little leakage from them could supply his daily drinking water.

Gu Xiaomai looked at Jiang Chen’an seriously. “How can I get water-element abilities? I want them!”

Yu Mi also looked at Jiang Chen’an, wanting the same.

Chen had the most knowledge and might know some secret information.

“Just keep dreaming!” Jiang Chen’an gave them a sideways glance. Small as they were, they dreamed big—and he wanted it too.

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“Are there many water-element ability users in the camp?” Gu Xiaomai asked, holding onto hope.

“Only about 1% of awakened ability users each year are water-element,” Jiang Chen’an replied.

“Ah?! Then my chances of becoming one are slim! What about my freedom to use water?” Gu Xiaomai wailed. The ratio was too low.

She missed the pure tap water from her past life, running freely without restraint.

“Xiaomai, you can earn lots of points and still achieve water-use freedom,” Jiang Chen’an said.

“Sigh! If I can’t become a water-element user, I’ll just earn more points. Yu Mi, do you have plans to earn points quickly? Let’s study them together!”

“I really have researched ways to earn lots of points fast. Selling purified plants is easiest.”

“Hmm, that’s good, but we need to eat them ourselves. Next?”

“Killing purified or polluted creatures can get energy stones, but chances are low...”

“Another is finding research materials for the institute...”

...

Jiang Chen’an was too lazy to listen to these dreamers, carrying a bag of medicinal herbs and walking briskly ahead.

He was quite impressed by these two, discussing plans as if they could earn huge points immediately.

Yu Mi’s plan could earn many points, but neither of them considered their own abilities—they were all wishful thinking.

When the three returned to the tent area, the reclamation team swarmed around them, asking what had happened.

Seeing their disheveled state and hearing the screams, everyone guessed something had occurred, but the dangers of the wasteland deterred them from rushing over.

Gu Xiaomai wasn’t surprised by their cautious approach; after all, they had only known each other briefly, and some had never even spoken.

She briefly recounted the catfish attack. “Officer Mi said we continue clearing today.”

Xia Yang asked, “Did the fish escape or die?”

Gu Xiaomai replied, “Officer Mi killed it. Everyone must be careful near water from now on.”

The group breathed a silent sigh of relief. Better dead than alive—if it lived, they might still encounter it, and luck might not be on their side.

Gu Xiaomai turned to Liu Ju. “Grandma Liu, can you lend me a set of clothes?”

“All ready,” Liu Ju said as she and Gu Xiaomai went inside to get clothes.

Wan Chuncui, Liu Ju, and Meng Xue followed to get their selected clothes.

Wan Chuncui gave new underwear; Wei Xiaoqin provided a handkerchief she carried; the tops from Liu Ju and pants from Meng Xue had patches but were the least patched among their clothes.

Gu Xiaomai didn’t mind and changed. She then laid out the medicinal herbs to dry in front of Tent No. 5. Her dirty pants and shoes were also aired out there.

The gathered group dispersed after Gu Xiaomai and others left to work, each silently warning themselves not to wander recklessly. If danger struck, it would be too late. They also quietly admired Gu Xiaomai’s luck in being rescued by Mi Tang.

Wearing noticeably larger shoes and pants, Gu Xiaomai carried a hoe and rake to join their team at Plot 34.

This was the fourth piece of wasteland Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi had opened just two days ago while she was planting corn.

When Gu Xiaomai arrived, Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi were already working.

Yu Mi said, “Xiaomai, you handle soil breaking and weeding. Afterward, you can level it with the rake.”

“Okay,” Gu Xiaomai agreed and got to work.

Near noon, Mi Tang returned to the reclamation team and called Gu Xiaomai and Jiang Chen’an to Tent No. 4.

“That fish is purified, weighing 270 jin [about 135 kg]. Do you want the fish meat or the points?”

“Points,” Jiang Chen’an quickly calculated. Ten percent was 27 jin. Even after deducting Mi Tang’s half, he’d still have over 3,000 points. The morning’s scare wasn’t for nothing.

Though he didn’t show it, his voice revealed his happiness to Gu Xiaomai and Mi Tang.

“Give me your ID cards,” Mi Tang said with a smile, no longer needing to persuade Jiang Chen’an.

Old Jiao Yang was stingy; after subtracting inedible parts and bones, he had ordered Jiang Chen’an to ensure he got points.

After exchanging points, Mi Tang looked at Gu Xiaomai and Jiang Chen’an. “Tell me why you went to the riverbank.”

Jiang Chen’an said, “I went to practice whip skills.”

Gu Xiaomai added, “Yesterday I dug up a lot of purified plant roots. I wanted to wash them in the river. Then I encountered that fish.”

“What roots? Are they useful enough to risk going to the river?” Mi Tang asked, genuinely curious.

Everyone knew natural water bodies in the wasteland contained various purified or polluted creatures, some highly corrosive.

Gu Xiaomai’s willingness to wash these roots in the river meant their value outweighed the danger.

“They’re Angelica, Codonopsis, and Astragalus—three herbal medicines that replenish qi and blood. I lost a lot of blood before, and after Officer Jiao said he wouldn’t take them, I thought I’d take them back to nurse myself. Do you want to collect them?”