"Never would I have imagined I'd transmigrate into Apocalyptic Wasteland World—could this be heaven granting me another chance?"
Mu Liang still couldn't make sense of how such a bizarre transmigration could have happened to him.
He had rested for five days, and with his military background, he'd gathered some basic intelligence.
This world was far larger than Earth, yet it lay in ruin and decay—civilization all but extinguished.
Crops couldn't grow; thousands of miles stretched in desolation.
Rain was scarce, and when it did fall, it was acid.
Dust perpetually veiled the sky, and sunlight only occasionally pierced through.
"At this rate of recovery, another day or two of rest should suffice."
Mu Liang flexed his arms; the soreness had already subsided.
After five days of convalescence, he could finally muster his strength again.
He pried open a crack in the wooden shack door and peered outside.
Dusk had fallen across the bleak terrain—no hint of green anywhere.
"Apocalyptic Wasteland World… on Earth that was just a theoretical scenario, yet here I am living it."
Back on Earth, Mu Liang had been an orphan; unable to afford his university tuition, he'd enlisted halfway through.
Five years as a special forces soldier ended only when old injuries forced his discharge.
He planned to use his survival skills to become a short-video creator—shooting wild survival clips.
Who would've thought he'd be unlucky enough to trigger a fatal quake-induced fissure?
He'd assumed that would be his end.
But in the blink of an eye, he awoke in a desolate wasteland of the Wasteland-Like Apocalyptic World, his entire body aching and immobile.
Fortunately, fate wasn't entirely unkind—a girl disguised as a boy rescued him and secretly dragged him back to her camp to hide.
Mu Liang sighed helplessly: "Well, perhaps this really is the start of true wilderness survival."
As an illegal stowaway, discovery by the camp meant immediate expulsion.
According to what Mino had said, stowaways caught could be beaten to death in severe cases, or worked to death otherwise.
Neither outcome appealed to Mu Liang.
Mino—the girl in boy's clothes who happened upon him—had saved him and sheltered him in her home.
"Crack…"
A faint snap of wood jolted Mu Liang from his thoughts.
He edged open the gap in the shack door and peered out alertly.
A frail, dirt-smudged figure crept toward the shack.
Mu Liang relaxed slightly—this furtive figure was Mino.
Crack… the drafty wooden door was gently pushed open, then snapped shut the next moment.
"Ah… why are you hiding by the door without saying a word?"
Mino had just closed the door when she turned and saw Mu Liang mere inches away, her heart fluttering in fright.
"How was the harvest?"
Mu Liang stepped back and sat against the doorway.
"Mu Liang, you're incredible—those trap designs you taught me work perfectly."
Mino's eyes lit up as she spoke excitedly.
She chattered on: "Today I caught far more little lizards than ever before!"
"How many?" Mu Liang asked with a light laugh.
He hadn't revealed to Mino that she was a girl in disguise after five days together.
"Heehee… you'll be surprised."
Mino grinned mischievously, tugged a cloth pouch from her shoulder, and produced a brown lizard no bigger than two fingers' length.
Then she took out seven more flat little lizards and neatly arranged them before Mu Liang.
"How many Stone Press Traps did you set today?" Mu Liang glanced at the cut on the girl's finger.
"Not enough time—only twenty-two traps today."
Mino pouted in dissatisfaction: "Tomorrow I'll manage over thirty traps for sure."
"Don't set too many, or someone might spot them," Mu Liang warned calmly.
"Oh." Mino suddenly realized.
Biting her lower lip anxiously, she fretted, "But if I can't set enough traps, there are only three days left to pay taxes—what about your share?"
"How many do I still owe?" Mu Liang furrowed his brow.
In five days he'd learned the camp's rule: to stay here you must pay tax in the form of food.
"With today's lizards, you still need around thirty more."
Mino hung her head in disappointment.
In five days together, Mu Liang had gone from cautious stranger to trusted mentor—he'd taught her how to set Stone Press Traps, and she'd come to rely on him, tasting the warmth of care she'd long missed.
Mu Liang asked without concern, "Have you completed your own tax quota?"
Paying his own tax would be easy once he'd fully recovered—he had bigger catches in mind than little lizards.
Mino's spirits dipped as she whispered, "I've already paid thirty-five little lizards—just five more to go."
"Don't worry. If I can't pay my share, I'll leave," Mu Liang assured her.
"Huh? You're leaving?"
Mino shot to her feet, astonished, unsure how to dissuade him.
"I'm nearly recovered," Mu Liang said, clenching his fist.
"But there are still three days left! I'll definitely gather your share." Mino blurted.
Without waiting for his reply, she rummaged through a pile of rubble in the corner and pulled out a wooden box.
"I still have some dried lizard meat—between that and today's catch, you'll have enough tax."
Mino opened the box and withdrew eight dried lizard strips.
"Put these away—consider them your reserve rations."
Mu Liang's eyes narrowed; he felt a twinge of gratitude.
He reminded her in a low voice, "Remember, I'm an adult—my tax requirement isn't the same as yours."
"I…" Mino trembled, her voice shaking with reluctance, "There must be another way."
Of course she remembered adult taxes differed—she simply wanted to keep Mu Liang here, and secretly set more traps to reach fifty lizards.
"Have you forgotten what you said on our first meeting?"
Mu Liang looked calmly at the girl.
On the day she rescued him, thinking he was dead, Mino rifled through his belongings—startled when he spoke, she'd frozen in shock.
In her naïveté, she'd then been easily persuaded by his few words: trading her help for his knife and canteen.
That was the day Mino said: "This is just a transaction—once you're well, you leave at once."
"I…" Mino's face flushed; she fumbled for words but had none.
Wordlessly she turned and dragged a camouflage backpack from beneath the bed.
"None of it's been used—it's all inside."
Mino placed the pack before Mu Liang, eyes pleading: "I've returned everything—please stay?"
"Why must I stay?"
Mu Liang didn't glance at the pack; he merely asked, "We've only known each other five days—aren't you afraid I might be a bad person?"
He wasn't trying to retrieve his gear—he wanted to know why she'd suddenly changed.
"I…I don't know," Mino whispered, tugging at her hem.
The thought of him leaving simply made her uneasy.
It was the same crushing loneliness she'd felt four years ago, when her sister had to depart to pay taxes.
Uncertain child that she was, she now grasped desperately at any chance to avoid that abandonment once more.
"Wait, I have one more thing that should cover your tax."
Mino bit her lip, a bright idea sparking.
She rifled through the shack and, after a moment, clambered under the bed.
"Found it—and it's still alive!"
After what seemed an age, she cried triumphantly.
"What is it?" Mu Liang leaned in.
Mino crawled out, offering a palm-sized turtle before him.
"A turtle?" Mu Liang exclaimed, reaching to lift the land-tortoise-like creature.
At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind:
"Ding! Detecting a tamable creature. Binding Beast Tamer System…"
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