The sound of the autumn sea waves seemed much louder than in summer, sending an involuntary chill down one's spine.
Facing the sea breeze, Fu Xin Ci quietly tightened the little cloak around her.
It was something Madam Fang had chased after her to wear just as they were leaving.
Indeed, thanks to this little cloak, she was probably able to maintain her composure at this moment.
Xi Zi and Xiao Fang were also seeing the sea for the first time, and they paid no mind to the cold.
Like newborn calves, they wanted to dash onto the beach as soon as they took off their shoes.
Seeing this, Fu Xin Ci quickly stopped them. "Wait."
Qi He also quickly stepped in to explain, "Xi Zi, Xiao Fang, you can't go down like that. It's autumn now, the beach is too cold and will really freeze your feet."
Xi Zi knew that Xiao He and the others were right, but he didn't want to give up. "Xiao He, we finally came here once. We don't know if we'll have another chance. Can you just let us pick up some seafood?"
Xi Zi's words left Qi He at a loss for how to respond, so he looked at Fu Xin Ci for help.
Fu Xin Ci: "It's not impossible."
"Sister Fu, you have a way?"
"Mm." Fu Xin Ci responded and then led the way to a spot by the pine forest where many vines grew. She took out a dagger and used it as a cover to cut down many vines.
This left the three boys behind, who wanted to help, with nothing to do.
"Sister Fu, what are you cutting vines for?"
"Weaving something." Fu Xin Ci said, then began to activate her wood-element ability. Her small hands moved quickly between the vines, and soon she had woven two vine nets with large holes and small openings.
"Sister Fu, what is this for?"
"Brother Qi, help me bring them over, and you'll know what they're for."
"Alright, we'll bring them." The Xi Zi brothers each carried a vine net to the edge of the beach.
"Miss Fu." Xi Zi felt that Fu Xin Ci would marry Xiao He in the future and would be his cousin-in-law, so he felt a little awkward calling her Sister Fu along with Xiao He.
"You can just call me Xin Ci."
"Hey, Xin Ci." Qi Fang didn't think as much. In his heart, this young girl was quite good. It would be great if she married Xiao He in the future; they would all be family.
Qi He didn't know his two cousins were thinking so much. What he wanted to know most now was how Sister Fu would use these two vine nets to collect seafood.
Fu Xin Ci did not disappoint them. She placed one vine net on the beach and then stood on it. She then placed the other vine net in front of the first one.
Although the vine nets were not woven very well, they at least separated their feet from the damp beach.
Seeing Fu Xin Ci fiddle with the vine nets twice, Qi He shouted loudly, "Sister Fu, if we do it like you, we can come and collect seafood even in the coldest weather!"
Fu Xin Ci really wanted to say that she had high-waisted water boots and leather gloves in her space, so they wouldn't need to be so troublesome when they were alone.
Xi Zi and Xiao Fang were a bit confused at first, but when they heard Qi He shouting loudly, their minds quickly caught up, and they clamored that they wanted to try too.
When they went up themselves, Qi He was afraid they wouldn't do it right, so he first took Xi Zi as an example. While he was teaching Xi Zi, Xiao Fang was so anxious that he could barely stay by the sea.
Looking at Xiao Fang scratching his ears and cheeks in agitation, Fu Xin Ci had to look away. She was truly afraid that she might burst out laughing if she couldn't hold back.
Finally, when it was his turn to use the vine net, Xiao Fang leaped onto it like a monkey.
Seeing that the three of them were having fun and didn't need her to worry, Fu Xin Ci sat on a fallen dead tree and secretly checked the situation in her planting space using her consciousness.
The planted crops had all sprouted, and the ground surface had already turned a tender green. From a distance, the rows looked exceptionally neat, though the large pile of straw was quite an eyesore.
As her gaze swept past the notice board, she thought about what good food she should prepare for her friends today.
A gasp came from ahead, "That was close! This guy almost clamped my hand."
"I told you to be careful, but you didn't listen. Don't be so rash. With a crab this big, if it clamps your finger, it might even break it. It's no joke."
Hearing Qi He lecturing like an old man and not paying attention to her side, Fu Xin Ci had an idea.
She walked a bit further away, put on a pair of water boots from her space, and quickly activated her wood-element ability. Soon, she caught several large crabs.
Thinking that they were running low on clams at home, she urged the vines in her hands to form a net bag and started targeting areas that felt promising.
Heh heh, with a few net bags, she easily scooped up over ten pounds of clams from beneath the sand.
After putting the clams into her space, she placed them in a large basin to purge sand. Thinking that the clams would be almost purged by evening, she couldn't wait for it to get dark so she could trade all this seafood with her friends to satisfy their cravings.
After the apocalypse, both rivers and seawater were polluted.
The creatures in the water had either mutated or died.
She had also transmigrated here for several months, and her friends hadn't eaten fresh seafood for almost two years.
Once little foodies, they now had restrictions in the apocalypse. Days when they couldn't eat their fill were the hardest.
Fu Xin Ci secretly vowed that from now on, she would ensure her friends had freedom in eating seafood.
...
After the apocalypse began, it got dark earlier than before.
In the past, Dragon City had very little nightlife. The highest leader of the base advocated for saving electricity.
However, some people who couldn't sleep at night liked to go to the trading hall in groups.
The reason was simple: the trading hall was the only place in Dragon City that was lit at night.
When the Dragon Soaring mercenary team arrived, they immediately alerted some watchful eyes. But no one moved; they were still trying to figure out if it was what they thought.
It wasn't until the vending machine's display lit up with the words "sea crab" and "clam" that all the gangs in Dragon City were in an uproar. The leaders sitting in the top chairs all rushed to the trading hall as quickly as possible.
Ten sea crabs, ten pounds of clams.
Looking at the actual items displayed on the vending panel, everyone was swallowing their saliva.
Xu Jia Can even hugged the captain, wanting to gnaw on him. But the captain stopped him; otherwise, the twenty-eight-year-old bachelor would have lost his innocence long ago.
Yesterday, Pang Dun stayed at his lodging to sleep in and missed a good show.
When his friends returned, they chattered incessantly, spitting everywhere, until they were hoarse. It was only then that he could join the conversation.
"Xin Ci is really still alive?"
"Look at the heart on the rice sack."
Upon receiving a affirmative answer from Xu Jia Can, Pang Dun became even more excited than they were.
In the world of foodies, only foodies truly understand.