Hunter and Scavenger

Salt Well Town.

Nestled at the foot of the Four Mountains to the north, it backs onto the salt mines and is defended by simple stone walls.

Because the town produces salt, surrounding human settlements of all sizes regularly trade supplies with Salt Well Town, and merchants from Colossus City specifically come to Salt Well Town to buy salt every month, bringing high-quality goods from Colossus City.

With production and trade comes food and armament.

This has made Salt Well Town the largest settlement in the Four Mountains region, growing from a small village to a 'town'.

The town's total population is just over 500, quite prosperous.

And there are quite a few guns, so Raiders don't easily bother Salt Well Town, making it relatively safe.

Early in the morning, hunters headed out with their hunting rifles and trap gear, their targets being the Mutated Species in the Four Mountains.

The dangers of nuclear radiation were evident in every aspect of the world.

There were very few normal animals left from before the war, and the rate at which new species appeared would have made humanity's greatest biologists exclaim in disbelief.

So, they were collectively called Mutated Species.

"Uncle, Uncle! Can I really go hunting with you guys today?"

"Of course, you're 14 this year, a proper young man. It's time you learned real Wasteland survival skills. Our family, the Wangs, are born hunters! Come on, Uncle will take you to hunt a Blood Deer today, and we'll make bone soup for you tonight. It's very nourishing! Hahaha!"

Two men dressed in animal skins were organizing their gear with a boy under 1.6 meters tall at the gates of Salt Well Town.

In Salt Well Town, 14 years old was already old enough to stand on one's own.

The boy blinked his innocent eyes, "Uncle, if we catch prey today, can we keep a little bit of the meat? I want to eat meat."

"Don't be silly! One jin of meat can be exchanged for three jin of beans. If you cook the beans in the bone soup, it'll taste like meat, it's the same,"

Another man with a stern face said, frowning.

"But meat smells so good when you chew it..."

"Say that again and I'll smack you!" the stern-faced man said, his face darkening.

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother, why are you being so mean to Xiao Hao? The kid has been eating beans for a month, what's wrong with him wanting to eat some meat? Uncle will make the decision, if we catch prey, I'll give Xiao Hao a big piece of meat!"

Xiao Hao's eyes lit up with surprise.

"You shouldn't spoil the child all the time. In the Wasteland, being frugal with food is a mandatory course. If he eats a piece of meat today, he might go hungry for a day tomorrow. Meat is for the mayor and the important people from Colossus City. My mom always told me, children from poor families learn to be responsible early..."

But seeing the light in the child's eyes gradually fade, the stern-faced man's words got stuck. He turned his head and said in a gruff voice, "Only this once, and no more."

"Yay! Dad, you're the best! Uncle, you're the best!"

Xiao Hao jumped up happily.

Looking at the child's carefree face, Wang Qian's intentionally stern expression softened into a smile.

In the Wasteland, hope is the most valuable thing.

He believed that in the future, his child would become an even better hunter than him, catching so much prey that they wouldn't need to exchange it all for beans to survive. Oh, and maybe they could even go to Colossus City to become a soldier and be city folk.

"Dad, is the Blood Deer powerful? What if it attacks me?"

Wang Qian placed his cleaned hunting rifle into the slot on his back and took out a homemade crossbow from his pocket.

"Haohao, the Blood Deer is a less threatening mutated animal. Because its blood-producing function is very vigorous after mutation, its blood sometimes seeps through its skin, so its body is often covered with a layer of red blood scabs. That's why it's called a Blood Deer, and it's easy for us hunters to track its movements."

"It's one of the few purely herbivorous animals among mutated creatures, and it has no predatory desire towards humans, so it generally doesn't attack proactively. It only counterattacks when threatened. Its speed is very fast, and its horns are extremely sharp. An adult hit head-on by it would immediately lose combat capability, or even die."

"So, we need to hide behind cover and attack it from a distance. Take this crossbow, and aim using the method I taught you before..."

Wang Qian patiently explained the knowledge to the young hunter; these were essential survival lessons for hunters.

After listening, Xiao Hao nodded, then looked at a young man walking in, his eyes lighting up.

"Feng Ge!"

"You're back? That's great!"

"My uncle said last night you might have died out there, and I argued with him. I knew you'd come back alive!"

The other man, Wang Wan, looked a little embarrassed, "Xiao Feng... you were out for a rather long time this time. I thought... alas! It's good that you're back alive. When we catch prey tonight, we'll bring your beans and have bone soup at our place!"

Wang Qian patted Cheng Shaofeng on the shoulder, "Why did it take so long? Did you encounter that thing?"

Cheng Shaofeng shook his head, "No, I ran into some Raiders on the way back. Barely escaped with my life."

"Raiders... deformed monsters! They've gotten rampant again lately. They were shouting outside our town last night, and we had to turn on the lights and fire a few shots to drive them away. We really should have the mayor lead an expedition to clear out their camps!"

"Yeah, exactly! Brother Qian, Brother Wan, are you taking Xiao Hao hunting today?"

"Yes, he needs to learn to survive on his own. Otherwise, who knows when we might suddenly be gone like your Brother Bai and Brother Shi."

Cheng Shaofeng nodded, "Understood. By the way, Brother Qian, Brother Wan, don't sell your prey to the town today. I want to buy it, I have a use for it."

"You? Alright, then I'll bring it to your place when I get back."

Xiao Hao asked pitifully, "Then my meat..."

"We'll save a piece for you, you little glutton!"

Wang Qian and Wang Wan took Xiao Hao out of the small town.

Xiao Hao's voice could still be faintly heard.

"Dad, can I go scavenging with Brother Feng? He has lots of fun toys."

"Scavengers? Their job is more dangerous than hunting. If it were decades ago, back when my grandfather was around, it'd be fine. But now, the route from Salt Well Town to Colossus City has been picked over by scavengers again and again. There's nothing left. To find anything useful, you'd have to go to the Red City Ruins, right under their noses..."

"Hunting is what you should be learning."

The voices faded in the wind, but still reached Cheng Shaofeng's ears.

"Scavengers... That's right, my predecessor was a scavenger. The last item he picked up was a watch."

The memories of his predecessor's final moments were hazy. Cheng Shaofeng vaguely recalled picking up a watch in a city.

After that, he had collapsed in the wilderness of Four Mountains.

As for that watch... he looked at his wrist.

'Calamity Nano Base, why... why did it say that first thing?'

This question had been lingering in Cheng Shaofeng's mind, but yesterday he had been close to death and hadn't delved into it further.

When he was lying down last night, he had asked Zero about it. Zero had said it was a pre-programmed message from the base.

Programmed by whom?

He didn't know.

Shaking his head, Cheng Shaofeng decided to focus on what he needed to do now.

After entering Salt Well Town, he felt a slight chill spread through his body, as if stepping from the sun into shade.

"No wonder people always tell ghost stories about this cold wind. Still, it's quite refreshing in the summer."

Cheng Shaofeng greeted a few acquaintances he knew along the way, then walked into the makeshift shelter his predecessor had set up.

It was already empty.

Even the sleeping mat had been rolled up and taken.

Cheng Shaofeng wasn't surprised. For scavengers nowadays, a trip out could take several days, and home was never a secure place.

He turned and walked into the adjacent shelter.

In the corner, all his supplies were neatly arranged!

The new book is being written very, very slowly. Chapter two is only half done. I'll post it later, probably before 1 AM.