Chapter 8: Beneath the Thorns, the Seed of Hope

The sparse thorn fence surrounding Hope Outpost swayed in the wind, its spikes glinting faintly, adding a stern, defensive air to the small outpost. Ellie’s vigilance thorns, though crude, were an unspoken declaration: this land is claimed; intruders will be wounded.

Lin Mo’s wounds, rebandaged with anti-inflammatory powder and relatively clean cloth traded from Old Karl, had improved significantly; the redness and swelling had visibly subsided, restoring much of his strength. The pressure of survival had temporarily lessened (a relatively stable water source was now available), but the food crisis hung like a sword above his head—those few strips of raider’s dried meat and black bread would not last long.

His gaze settled on the precious bag of 【Radiation-Resistant Potato Seeds (Low Quality)】 and the bottle of 【Primary Soil Enhancer】 in his system space. Farming! This was the most sustainable food source he could think of—and the instinctive call of his “farmer” soul!

But the wasteland soil… Lin Mo walked to the edge of the depression, crouched down, and scooped up a handful of charred earth. The soil was hard, compacted, utterly barren; he could even smell a faint chemical tang and the whisper of radioactive dust. The manual clearly warned: planting ordinary crops in untreated wasteland soil would yield either nothing, or toxic mutated plants.

Hope lay in that bottle of enhancer and the “radiation-resistant” seeds!

“Ellie, I want to try growing potatoes,” Lin Mo told Ellie, who was sharpening her knife.

Ellie paused, looked up at the barren depression, then at the seeds in Lin Mo’s hand and the small bottle. A flicker of doubt passed through her cold eyes. “Wasteland soil doesn’t grow anything.” Her voice carried the ingrained belief of a wasteland dweller.

“We have to try! These are ‘radiation-resistant’ seeds, and this!” Lin Mo shook the enhancer. “The manual says one small bottle can improve a small patch. If it works, we’ll have a stable food source!”

Ellie fell silent for several seconds, weighing risk against potential gain. Finally, she nodded and pointed to a corner of the depression, relatively sheltered from the wind and near the shack. “There. Closer to the water.” She said no more, but her action showed support. She picked up her short crossbow and moved to a slightly higher vantage point, providing vigilance for Lin Mo’s “agricultural experiment.”

A warmth surged in Lin Mo’s chest. He chose the patch Ellie indicated—roughly two square meters. The soil was just as barren, but relatively flat and closer to the depression’s water hole where they drew water.

He used a relatively sharp metal shard he’d found to laboriously break up the compacted earth. The work was far more exhausting than he’d imagined; within moments he was gasping for breath, arms aching. The wasteland soil was like solid rock, mixed with pebbles, metal fragments, and unidentifiable plastic trash. He gritted his teeth, clearing and turning the soil bit by bit; sweat soon soaked his back.

After tilling, he carefully unscrewed the cap of the 【Primary Soil Enhancer】. Inside was a thick, dark green liquid with a faint grassy scent. Following the system’s instructions, he evenly sprinkled it over the tilled earth. The dark green liquid instantly seeped into the charred soil—and something miraculous happened: the soil touched by the enhancer darkened visibly before his eyes, its texture softened, and even emitted a faint, earthy odor!

“It works!” Lin Mo’s spirits lifted! He immediately pulled out the bag of potato seeds. The “seeds” were actually wrinkled tubers with sprout eyes. Recalling old agricultural knowledge, he carefully cut each tuber into pieces, ensuring each had one or two sprout eyes. Then, he planted these precious “seeds” into the improved soil and covered them with a thin layer of earth.

Exhausted, he nearly collapsed—but staring at this small patch of land, bearing his fragile hope, he felt profound anticipation. He fetched some filtered clean water and carefully poured it over the soil. The clear liquid seeped in, nourishing the life hidden beneath.

“It takes time,” Ellie said, appearing beside him without warning. She stared at the freshly watered soil. Her voice remained flat, but the initial skepticism had lessened.

“I know,” Lin Mo wiped his sweat and grinned. “I hope they survive.”

In the following days, Lin Mo’s focus centered on guarding this small patch of hope and keeping the water filter running. He watered daily, carefully pulling up the occasional stubborn weed. Ellie handled vigilance and scouting, occasionally returning with edible succulent roots or a few unlucky, low-radiation small lizards to supplement their meat supply.

Old Karl did not reappear. The area around the depression remained unnaturally quiet—only the wind and the occasional mutated insect’s hiss disturbed the stillness. But this silence made Lin Mo and Ellie even more alert. Before a storm, the quiet is always the heaviest.

That afternoon, Ellie left as usual for reconnaissance. Lin Mo was inside the shack, trying to reinforce a metal barrel with screws and nuts, pondering whether he could fashion a lid. Suddenly, he heard a muffled, intermittent sobbing from outside.

The sound was faint, seemingly coming from a corner of some ruin near the depression’s edge.

Lin Mo’s heart tightened. He gripped his rusted knife and cautiously peered out. Huddled in the shadow cast by a tangle of fallen concrete slabs was a small figure—a girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, wearing a large, tattered, filthy gray smock. Her hair was matted and yellowed; her face was caked in grime, save for a pair of wide, terrified eyes. She clutched a rag-wrapped bundle tightly to her chest, trembling with each sob.

Seeing Lin Mo, the girl flinched like a startled rabbit, her sobs cutting off instantly, replaced by ragged, fearful gasps.

“Don’t be afraid… I mean no harm,” Lin Mo said, slowing his tone, staying where he was. “Why are you alone here? Where are your family?”

The girl stared at him in terror, lips trembling, unable to speak. Tears streamed silently down her face, carving two clean trails through the dirt. Her gaze kept flickering toward the shack, especially when she saw the bowl of clean water Lin Mo had left near its entrance—her throat visibly bobbed. A sign of extreme thirst.

Lin Mo understood. Another pitiful soul struggling to survive in the wasteland. He hesitated, then turned back into the shack, carefully poured half a bowl of clean water, broke off a small piece of the hard, gritty black bread, and stepped out again.

“Here. Drink. Eat,” Lin Mo placed the bowl and bread on the ground several meters from the girl, then stepped back.

The girl stared at the food and water, her eyes blazing with desperate longing and inner struggle. She licked her cracked lips, glanced warily at Lin Mo, as if checking for a trap. Finally, hunger and thirst overcame fear. She lunged forward, snatched the bowl, and drank greedily, gulping loudly, then grabbed the bread and shoved it into her mouth, choking and rolling her eyes but refusing to stop.

Watching her devour the food, Lin Mo felt a mix of emotions. In the wasteland, life was so fragile—a sip of clean water, a moldy piece of bread—was all that stood between survival and death.

The girl finished everything, drained the bowl. She held the empty bowl, looking at Lin Mo, uncertain. The fear in her eyes had lessened; now there was confusion and gratitude.

“I’m Lin Mo. This… is my outpost. We call it ‘Hope Outpost,’” Lin Mo said gently. “What’s your name? How did you end up alone?”

The girl hugged her knees, silent for a long while, then whispered in a voice barely audible: “Ling… Lingna… Village… gone… monsters… all dead…” As she spoke, tears welled again; she pulled the bundle tighter.

Another victim of a destroyed home. Lin Mo sighed. “What will you do now?”

Lingna shook her head helplessly, eyes vacant. She had nowhere to go.

At that moment, Ellie’s figure emerged like a ghost from behind a ruin, her short crossbow already raised, cold eyes locked on Lingna. “Who is she?” Her voice held accusation.

Lingna shrieked at Ellie’s sudden appearance and the lethal aura, scrambling back into her corner, trembling violently.

“Don’t panic, Ellie!” Lin Mo quickly explained. “She’s Lingna, a child who lost her village. She fled here alone.” He briefly recounted what had happened.

Ellie’s arrow remained raised, her sharp gaze sweeping over Lingna, lingering on the bundle she clutched. She walked to the spot where Lingna had eaten, crouched, pinched a few bread crumbs between her fingers, sniffed them, then studied Lingna’s muddy hands and feet and terrified expression.

“Open the bundle,” Ellie commanded Lingna coldly.

Lingna flinched, clutching the bundle tighter, shaking her head frantically.

“Ellie, she’s just a child…” Lin Mo tried to intervene.

“In the wasteland, there are no children,” Ellie said without emotion. The tip of her crossbow lowered slightly, now aimed at Lingna. “Open it. Or I’ll open it for you.”

Under pressure, Lingna trembled, slowly untying the ragged bundle.

Inside: no weapons, no valuables. Only a few more tattered small clothes, a filthy cloth doll, and… a small packet of carefully wrapped oil paper, filled with… seeds of various colors?!

Lin Mo froze. Even Ellie’s cold eyes flickered with surprise.

Lingna clutched the doll and the seed packet tightly, tears falling in large drops, voice trembling: “…Mother… Mother left me… she said… plant well… survive…”

Plant? Seeds? Lin Mo stared at the packet of colorful, well-preserved seeds, then at his own small patch of potato field, where faint green sprouts had just begun to emerge—a thought flashed through his mind!

“Ellie!” Lin Mo turned to her, eyes gleaming with hope. “She knows how to farm! Maybe… she can help us!”

Ellie’s gaze shifted between Lingna’s terrified face and Lin Mo’s hopeful expression. Finally, she slowly lowered her crossbow. But her words remained icy: “Stay. Work. No work, no food.” She pointed to Lin Mo’s small potato field. “Watch them. If one dies, you leave.”

Lingna seized this lifeline, nodding frantically. For the first time, her filthy face showed an expression beyond fear—a tearful, desperate hope of finding shelter.

Hope Outpost welcomed its third member—a weepy little farm girl. Lin Mo’s farming venture seemed to find a turning point? Yet as Ellie stared at Lingna’s mysterious seed packet, a trace of unreadable suspicion still lingered deep in her eyes. Were these seeds truly just ordinary seeds?