Cannot Afford

She almost didn't make it out alive.

A pungent stench flooded her nostrils, immediately stinging her eyes into watering.

"Gag!!!!"

Even someone like her, who had seen her fair share of intense situations, couldn't tolerate this overwhelmingly foul smell.

She gagged and quickly retreated, putting distance between herself and the mutated mushroom.

Jiang You wiped the corners of her eyes, swallowed hard, terrified she might actually throw up.

What kind of mushroom was this!

This thing probably relied on its stench to ward off predators!

She steadied herself against a bamboo stalk, calming her nerves.

Then, she put her gas mask back on and took several deep breaths, finally feeling somewhat relieved.

Fang Mu, meanwhile, had already retreated far, far away. He stood at the end of the path outside the bamboo forest, looking at her with admiration.

Good heavens, this is practically a biological weapon, right?

If she were to bring something like this home to cultivate, Jiang You figured she wouldn't last three days.

Picturing the entire building enveloped in that stench, she silently abandoned the idea.

While it was indeed a mutated plant, the smell... forget it. She wasn't worthy!

She'd leave it for someone else with better luck.

Jiang You turned and left, abandoning this unique mutated plant.

If she kept this thing, she was afraid she'd end up pickled in its own aroma.

Seeing her emerge from the forest, Fang Mu quickly asked.

"How was it? Is that mushroom a mutated plant?"

Jiang You nodded. "Yes."

"So you don't want it?"

Jiang You: "Can't afford it."

Fang Mu: "Then about what we agreed, the fee for me guiding you, are you still paying?"

"...Yes."

Jiang You wasn't one to go back on her word. They had agreed that if she found a mutated plant, she would pay him a guiding fee.

Now that the item was found, it was her choice not to take it.

It had nothing to do with anyone else.

Jiang You took out two packs of instant noodles from her Space and handed them to Fang Mu. "Here."

Fang Mu happily accepted the instant noodles from Jiang You, pulling out the leaves he had stuffed into his nostrils.

Then, he took a deep breath, holding the packet close.

Even though he couldn't smell anything, just hearing the crinkling sound made him feel satisfied.

His mouth watered uncontrollably, and Fang Mu swallowed.

Then, as if remembering something, he looked at the pack of braised beef noodles and the pack of old altar pickled vegetable noodles in his hand.

"You showed me a pack of braised beef noodles and a pack of spicy pepper beef noodles earlier."

"What about it?"

"Can I exchange it for the original combination?" He hesitantly handed the old altar pickled vegetable noodles back to Jiang You.

Jiang You raised an eyebrow. "What, afraid of the smell of feet? It's still better than those mutated carp in the lake that grew by eating human flesh and zombie flesh, isn't it?" He quickly waved his hands, explaining.

"One pack of beef flavor, one pack of pickled vegetable flavor. It's difficult to divide at home. But if both packs are beef flavor, then it's fine, hehe."

He scratched his head, smiling a little awkwardly.

"You've certainly thought this through," Jiang You chuckled and took out another pack to swap with him.

Fang Mu grinned and quickly put the instant noodles into his backpack behind him.

He was quite satisfied. All he did was guide her, and he got two packs of noodles.

He could guide her like this every single day!

Thinking that Jiang You had returned empty-handed, he felt a bit bad about the two packs of instant noodles, so he said.

"Don't mind the smell, but that stench also repels insects and zombies.

Honestly, if it wasn't so overwhelming, we would have wanted to live in this bamboo forest. It's quite safe too."

"Then why aren't you living there?"

"We tried. After staying inside for too long, we'd get dizzy and see stars. We'd feel like vomiting, even throwing up bile. If we didn't get killed by zombies, we'd probably die from vomiting first."

He shook his head with a bit of regret.

Then, remembering that Jiang You could carry many things around with her, he looked at Jiang You with even more envy.

"Jiang You, you're a Space ability user, right? Do you want to join us? This lake park is so big, and there's no shortage of water. We can even eat fish when we're hungry. If you join us, it'll be much more convenient for us to search for supplies in the future."

He was being honest, openly stating his thoughts.

"With you, it's like having a mobile warehouse! If you join us, we'll definitely give you the best treatment! We don't have many people right now, just my parents, my girlfriend, Song Cheng and a few other brothers, plus some neighbors. We have over twenty people in total. Except for a few children, everyone works very hard and no one is freeloading! We also have a few brothers and sisters who are very skilled! If you join us, you definitely won't lose out."

He genuinely hoped Jiang You would join. After all, if the team had a Space ability user, everything would be much easier. Before, they risked their lives every time to gather supplies, but the amount they could bring back was limited. Bringing back too many supplies would affect their mobility and combat effectiveness. Bringing back too few made every risky trip seem not worth it, especially since they weren't guaranteed to return each time. However, with a Space ability user, they could bring back a lot of supplies.

Fang Mu's gaze was very earnest.

Jiang You shook her head. "Thanks for the invitation, but I'm used to being alone."

Fang Mu sighed in disappointment. Although he had expected she would likely refuse, he still felt a bit dejected when she actually did. But then, he thought it was only natural. She had weapons and a Space; she could manage perfectly well on her own. If she were to join them, she might feel like she was being held back...

The two walked to the tree where Da Zhuang was lying. Jiang You looked up and called out, "Da Zhuang, let's go."

Hearing the voice, the furball in the tree startled. Seeing them return, Da Zhuang jumped down from the tree, landing steadily at Jiang You's feet. He then followed her closely, walking obediently. However, when he turned to look at Fang Mu, his expression was fierce. Fang Mu suspected this cat disliked him. How could its expression change faster than flipping a book!