Volume One, Chapter 18: A Windfall from the Heavens?

A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.

Lin Yuyu had no tools on hand; saying she wanted to analyze the mushrooms was merely a joke.

At most, she could only use the basic detector on her terminal to check whether the radiation levels of these fungi exceeded the safety limit.

Passing time was one thing; her main goal was to get some activity and warm up her body.

Using the faint light inside the cave, Lin Yuyu found a small, somewhat sharp stone on the ground.

After wiping it clean with her sleeve, she gently scraped the surface of one mushroom, collecting the pale blue liquid that oozed out, and dropped it onto the sensor of the detector.

“Beep! Edible!”

Lin Yuyu’s eyes widened slightly: the first one was “edible”? What a coincidence.

As mentioned before, the basic detector’s function was crude and simple: a hard cutoff. Anything with high radiation was deemed “inedible,” anything below that was “edible.”

Even if the item was a stone or something toxic, it would still report “edible,” so this label didn’t guarantee the item was truly safe to eat.

But for most people, they wouldn’t use the basic detector to test stones or unknown objects; it was mainly used for foraging food outdoors.

So this design wasn’t problematic for most islanders.

Only for Lin Yuyu...

The basic detector was clearly insufficient.

She felt little emotion about the first glowing mushroom’s reading, just a coincidence.

However, after testing a dozen more and finding all “edible” results, Lin Yuyu grew uneasy.

The probability of none exceeding radiation limits was too high.

But...

The cave was huge, with many mushrooms inside. It was too early to jump to conclusions—she had only tested a dozen, maybe she was just lucky.

Yet, two hours later, Lin Yuyu no longer thought so.

She randomly tested dozens from nearly a dozen different species, nearly a thousand mushrooms, and not one exceeded radiation limits.

This was incredible.

Was this some kind of blessed sanctuary?

The original owner guarded such a treasure trove yet was still so poor. It couldn’t be that all the mushrooms in the entire cave were safe but utterly useless, could it?

That would be too unreasonable.

Lin Yuyu rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache of various kinds.

Whatever the reason, she would have to wait for the storm to pass, take a few mushrooms back for research, and then discuss the findings.

With that in mind, she returned to the tunnel entrance, picked up the weeds she had thrown on the ground to use as a cushion, and went back inside to find a dry, warm spot to sit.

Using the dim cave light, she wove a crooked, roughly one-foot square grass bag.

She placed several freshly tested glowing mushrooms inside.

Then, leaning against the wall, she rested.

Accompanied by the cave’s flickering light, Lin Yuyu drifted into a dream.

—

In her dream was a long table covered with glowing delicacies, each dish looking delicious and mouthwatering.

No matter how she reached, she could never touch or taste them, and she woke up frustrated.

Awakening, Lin Yuyu stretched leisurely and then casually listened outside the cave.

When no sound remained, she gathered her leaf bag and grass bag and retraced her steps to the small, dark cave she had first entered.

Climbing near the entrance, she peered out through gaps in piled branches and leaves.

The howling wind had stopped, leaving only a fine drizzle.

Looking down, her terminal showed it was already past five in the afternoon.

It was too late to forage now; better to go home.

A few hundred meters from the cave, she pulled up the local map on her terminal to mark her location.

Then, carrying her bags, she headed home.

At home, Lin Yuyu saw two unopened tubes of nutrient solution on the table.

After much hesitation, she opened one and took a sip.

The taste was like rotten vegetables left too long in the fridge—sour, foul, and sticky—evoking a strong urge to vomit.

Lin Yuyu thought: I knew this stuff tasted bad, but not this bad. Yuck.

The original owner’s memory hadn’t deceived her.

The owner was used to it and could drink it without flinching, but this was Lin Yuyu’s first time, and despite mental preparation, it was hard to accept.

Still, if today’s harvest continued, she would have to get used to it, or else she’d go hungry.

Unless she could find another way.

Speaking of which...

She still needed to find time to visit the administrative hall.

But for now, her priority was to change into clean clothes; being wet risked catching a cold, and she couldn’t afford to fall ill.

After tidying herself up, heavy rain started again, and with night falling, the administrative hall was closed.

She had no choice but to rest early and make plans the next day.

—

The next day, the rain still poured.

Lin Yuyu hid the grass bag of glowing mushrooms under the bed, then carried her leaf bag next door to ask to borrow an umbrella.

“Knock knock knock!”

“Qingyu ge, are you home?”

“Knock knock knock—”

“Lu Qingyu? Lu Qingyu!”

She called his full name but got no response; he was truly not home.

At this hour... Lin Yuyu glanced at her terminal; it was past six. Well, it wasn’t too early.

Sigh, the neighbor wasn’t home—where else could she borrow an umbrella?

—

She only had the dry clothes she was wearing; the other set she’d washed last night was still damp.

Looking around, Lin Yuyu suddenly remembered many people had moved out from this floor.

Could the original owner have left behind some belongings in their old apartment that weren’t moved in time?

Lin Yuyu went back inside to put down her leaf bag, then stepped out again.

Standing at the doorway, she carefully observed the floor layout.

The building had only five or six floors.

The staircase was located slightly left of center, facing the wall between rooms 6 and 8.

There had once been an elevator beside the stairs but it had long been out of service.

The staircase led to a T-shaped corridor, with rooms 1 to 7 at one end and 8 to 20 at the other.

Aside from some water pooled from rain and foot traffic, the corridor looked fairly clean and free of clutter.

But a closer look revealed some rooms hadn’t been entered for a long time; dust and spiderwebs had formed on their doors.

Lin Yuyu walked to the end of one corridor, rested one hand on the windowsill.

With her other hand, she reached out through the metal grille protecting the window, removed a wire securing the grille.

She picked up a short stick blown in by the wind from inside the railing, then lifted a dirty rag and wiped the spot where her palm had rested.

Once the windowsill showed no trace of her handprint, she dropped the rag and turned toward a room’s door.

It was the innermost room on one side of the corridor.

A triangular space between the door and frame was covered in a well-formed spiderweb, clearly uninhabited for a long time.

Yet...

Lin Yuyu hesitated.

Holding the wire, she stood before Room 320, unable to act.

Though she only wanted to see if there was an umbrella to scavenge, taking it without permission would be stealing.

Even if the room was empty, it still belonged to the landlord; entering without consent was improper.

Perhaps she could find the landlord on the first floor to get a key and enter openly?

But what excuse could she give? Wanting to rent a new room and look around?

On Earth, many people left belongings behind when moving, and landlords welcomed others to take them to avoid disposal work.

But here, in this wasteland where every stitch and nail was precious, would anyone leave things for others to take? Would landlords allow casual entry and removal?

Lin Yuyu turned the doorknob; it wouldn’t budge.

She looked down at the wire in her hand, thought for a moment, then decided against it. She would brave the rain.

She went back inside to grab her leaf bag, feeling lighter, then headed downstairs.

Just as she was about to rush into the rain, someone grabbed the corner of her headscarf.