Chapter 6: Insufficient Balance

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Gu Xiaomai decided to go ask the natives. Seeing Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi basking in the sun, she sidled over and whispered, “Brother Chen, Brother Yu Mi, do you know how I can take a bath here?”

Yu Mi opened his eyes and looked at Gu Xiaomai with confusion. “Why don’t you go with those four women to the camp next door?”

“What do you mean? Those four women went to bathe?” Gu Xiaomai’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Jiang Chen’an also opened his eyes.

Yu Mi said, “Yeah. This morning, Wanchun Cui asked Mi Tang, and Mi Tang said you can bathe when the soldiers in the camp are training, but it costs 20 points per person. So the four of them went, and a bunch of men went too. They should be back soon.”

It made sense—the four had left when she went to exercise. No wonder she hadn’t seen many people when she returned.

While the three were talking, those who had gone to bathe returned clean and refreshed.

Gu Xiaomai immediately went into the tent to ask the others about the bathing process, what to bring, and so forth.

Coming out of the tent, Gu Xiaomai asked the two, “Are you two coming? I’m going.”

Yu Mi shook his head; his ID card had no points left.

Jiang Chen’an stood up and said he would go, dragging Yu Mi along with him.

Yu Mi quickly followed, jumping up and wrapping his arms around Jiang Chen’an’s neck, excitedly saying, “Brother Chen, will you pay the points for me? You’re so kind!”

Jiang Chen’an smiled and said, “I just find you too dirty to want to stay that close to you.”

The three headed toward the south gate of Camp E4. After identifying themselves and stating their purpose to the guards, they were allowed in.

One of the guards specifically led them along. “This way. This is the south gate. Next time, you can use the north gate—it’s closer. But don’t look around or wander off inside. Some areas in the camp are confidential, and if you’re caught, they might shoot on sight.”

“Okay,” the three responded obediently. They were just here to bathe, nothing more.

Gu Xiaomai kept her eyes straight ahead but could still catch glimpses of the tents on either side—just like the one they lived in, all bright yellow, silent and empty inside. These tents were clearly for lodging within the camp.

Passing through the yellow tent area, they continued forward. On the right was a row of orange tents with many people moving about—it seemed to be some kind of administrative area.

Gu Xiaomai’s sharp eyes spotted Jiao Yang inside one of them, so this must be the logistics unit.

On the left was a large purplish-red metal building. Judging by the color, Gu Xiaomai guessed it was made of the same metal as the manual broadcast device.

The main door was tightly shut, and she had no idea what it was used for.

After walking a long distance, they arrived at a smaller purplish-red metal building with a sign that read “Bathhouse.”

The men’s bath was on the left; the women’s on the right. On the wall between them were several small machines.

“This is the point deducer. Place your ID card on it, and it will deduct 20 points from your card, then automatically dispense a shower switch control card. This card is the key to activating the shower. Once inside, you’ll understand how to use the shower.”

After explaining, the guard pointed them toward the exit and left.

Gu Xiaomai understood—it was similar to transferring money from a bank card to a meal card at university, then using the meal card to buy food.

She placed her ID card on the point deducer, which immediately displayed: “Insufficient balance.”

A bucket of cold water doused all her hopes.

Other than the clothes on her back and the ID card, the original owner had nothing else; she should have known this would be the result but still held a tiny bit of hope.

Fortunately, she had brought Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi along.

Putting away her ID card, she turned around and looked pitifully at Jiang Chen’an, her voice suddenly very sweet, “Brother Chen~”

“Ugh—” Yu Mi got goosebumps.

“Cough, be normal,” Jiang Chen’an said, feeling a bit uneasy.

“Oh,” Gu Xiaomai’s voice instantly returned to normal; she wasn’t used to her previous tone. “Can you help me buy a shower switch control card? I promise I’ll pay you back.”

Jiang Chen’an fiddled with a point deducer for a moment, which then dispensed three cards—one for each of them.

Gu Xiaomai took the card, beaming, “Thank you, Mr. Jiang, the wealthy one.”

Yu Mi chimed in, “Thank you, Mr. Jiang, the wealthy one.”

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Jiang Chen’an rolled his eyes at them. “Stop wasting time.”

The three separated and entered the bathhouse.

Inserting the switch control card activated the shower, which lowered some device. Gu Xiaomai wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t water; it smelled strongly of chemicals.

Following what Liu Ju and the others had said, Gu Xiaomai quickly scrubbed her dirty clothes, shoes, and socks, then washed her hair and body.

If it weren’t for the fact that her skin no longer itched and her hair felt fresh, Gu Xiaomai would have thought she hadn’t washed at all.

However, she could immediately put on her clothes and shoes afterward, which was very convenient.

Gu Xiaomai came out expecting to see the others’ real faces, but they still looked dirty.

“You two didn’t really bathe?” she asked.

Yu Mi said, “We did.”

“Then why do your faces still look so grimy?” Gu Xiaomai was puzzled.

Who would bathe without washing their face?

She had washed her face and hair first.

Yu Mi scratched his head. “Uh... it just can’t get clean.”

“What do you mean?” Gu Xiaomai didn’t understand.

She thought she had washed quite thoroughly!

Only the chemical smell remained, which was unpleasant.

Seeing Yu Mi hesitating as if he couldn’t say more, and Jiang Chen’an silent, Gu Xiaomai murmured to herself but didn’t press further.

The three followed the route pointed out by the guard and exited the camp through the north gate.

With nothing better to do, they wandered around the camp.

“Little Xiaomai, is your health better? You don’t look as pale,” Yu Mi said.

“It is better than when I first arrived,” Gu Xiaomai nodded, then touched her face. Since there was no mirror around, she had no idea what her complexion actually looked like.

“What do you mean by ‘not as pale’? Don’t tell me I’ve tanned,” she asked.

“No, no. What’s the word...?,” Yu Mi struggled to find the right description and turned to Jiang Chen’an for help. “Brother Chen?”

Jiang Chen’an spoke from behind them, “He means your complexion isn’t so pale and sickly. Your cheeks have a clear flush; you look much healthier.”

Yu Mi nodded eagerly. “Yeah, that’s it. And these past few days, everyone has been exhausted. The pace of land reclamation has slowed compared to the beginning, but you’ve kept up your speed, maybe even more energetic.”

Gu Xiaomai thought carefully and found Yu Mi was right.

After a night’s rest, others hadn’t fully recovered their energy or stamina.

She was different. Thanks to her body’s ability to “regenerate” and the expansion of her “blood pool,” she woke up fully charged every day, looking far more spirited than the others.

Time passed leisurely, and the day off was over.

At night, after Gu Xiaomai fell asleep, the rough, uneven little bead inside her body began to secrete a liquid that no longer flowed through her body into the marrow as before. Instead, it slowly extended like a spiderweb, completely enveloping the bead.

Then the web began to vaporize, and the bead vanished within the mist.

When it reappeared, its surface was much smoother.

The next day, at dawn, someone from the camp woke Mi Tang, gave a few instructions, and left.

Mi Tang went from tent to tent, waking everyone.

Knowing something was up, no one dared to delay; they hurriedly dressed and left their tents.

Gu Xiaomai quickly joined Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi.

“Good morning, brothers,” Gu Xiaomai greeted them with a bright smile.

Yu Mi yawned. “Morning, Little Sister Xiaomai.”

Jiang Chen’an looked much more energetic and nodded at Gu Xiaomai.

Seeing everyone assembled, Mi Tang said, “The corrupted creatures on the southern side of Mountain No. 1 have just been cleared. Today, we’re going with the camp personnel to collect purification plants. Each group should come to me for a detector, then take any tools needed for collection. We’ll set off shortly.”

As soon as Mi Tang finished speaking, the reclamation team became excited.

Everyone had thought something bad had happened, but it turned out they were going to gather purification plants—that was great.

But as the excitement faded, some timid members began to worry.

“If we run into corrupted creatures, that would be bad.”

“What are you afraid of? Officer Mi said the corrupted creatures have been cleared.”

“Corrupted plants disappear quickly after being cleared, but corrupted animals can move! The mountain’s huge—what if they show up?”

“Just scream loudly and try to stay alive until the soldiers arrive.”

…

People chatted as they headed back to their tents.

Gu Xiaomai didn’t know what to bring for collecting purification plants, so she asked Yu Mi.

“Anything you think might be useful, plus a nutrition injector and a day’s worth of water,” Yu Mi said quickly, knowing she lacked experience.

Then he went into Tent No. 4 and rummaged under the beds of Jiang Chen’an and himself, pulling out bags of gear issued the day before. He packed any potentially useful tools and a day’s water supply.

An axe and a machete were placed by the bed to take along.

They took out four nutrition injectors—two for them to use that day, the other two as backup in case they didn’t return by nightfall.

When Jiang Chen’an came in, Yu Mi had already prepared everything. After taking their nutrition injectors, the two went out to wait for departure.

Gu Xiaomai was already outside, carrying all the gear issued for collecting, plus a hoe she took as a weapon.

Soon everyone emerged with their equipment and locked their tents.

Mi Tang led the reclamation team north, skirting the edge of Camp E4 through the untamed wasteland, then west to the camp’s north gate.

After a short wait, Jiao Yang arrived leading a large group out of the camp.

Gu Xiaomai looked but couldn’t see the end of the line; inside the camp were soldiers with bandaged arms in slings.

The two groups met and headed straight for the northern side of Mountain No. 1.

Before ascending, they crossed a river bridged by an all-metal structure. The bridge was wide and several meters above the water.

Gu Xiaomai had seen the bridge from afar the day before but hadn’t dared approach.

Walking beside it, she noticed the metal was the same as that used for Camp E4’s walls and ground.

After a while, with daylight brightening, they reached the foot of the southern side of Mountain No. 1.

Each group was assigned a starting point. After announcing the time to descend, everyone began searching uphill for purification plants.

Jiang Chen’an stood with Yu Mi and Gu Xiaomai at their designated spot, opening a detector and selecting a random plant to demonstrate its use.

“Just insert the probe into the plant. If the yellow light comes on, it’s an ordinary plant. If green lights up, it’s a purification plant. Got it?”

Yu Mi and Gu Xiaomai nodded repeatedly. It was simple, and they understood.

Gu Xiaomai asked, “What about corrupted plants? Would it show a red light?”

Both Jiang Chen’an and Yu Mi looked at her, thinking, What kind of family raised this kid to have no common sense?

Feeling embarrassed by their looks and unsure whether to explain, Jiang Chen’an said, “If you encounter a corrupted plant, you’ll notice it without even getting close.”

Did corrupted creatures have obvious identifying traits?

For her own safety, Gu Xiaomai pressed further, “Why?”