I became a farmer in the apocalypse.

Jiang Tang's thoughts drifted back to the past. Their parents died early, in the first year of the apocalypse. When they passed away, Xiao Li was only 12 years old, Xiao Yan was 10 years old, and she was 15 years old.

After fleeing from other cities to the Ninth Safety Zone, the three siblings used scrap wood and sheet metal scavenged from the junkyard to build a small shack on the outermost edge, which could shelter them from the wind and rain, and lived there for three years.

Those three years were the first three years of the apocalypse, the time when the mutated beast tide was at its most ferocious. Whenever the mutated beast tide struck, the first to die were those living in the shacks on the outskirts. The shacks were no match for the mutated beasts. Every year at that time, in order to save their lives, large numbers of survivors frantically squeezed into the buildings, into the corridors, into the basements, until the army wiped out the invading mutated beasts...

Those survivors who couldn't squeeze in were eventually bitten to death.

As Jiang Tang thought about it, her eyes welled up with tears.

The safe zone is much better now than before, the troops on the front lines are better able to defend it, and their lives are not as hard as they used to be.

As Jiang Tang walked towards No. 9 Community, she passed through a narrow street when a commotion suddenly broke out at the street corner!

"Help! Someone is eating mutated beast meat!"

"This person has been mutated! He has been mutated! His eyes are red!"

Before Jiang Tang could figure out what was going on, a large group of patrol soldiers rushed past her and pinned a homeless man on the street corner to the ground.

The homeless man, his eyes bloodshot, was frantically devouring a piece of processed meat.

He looked so hungry, as if he hadn't eaten for more than ten days!

"This is insane!"

The leading patrolling soldier snatched the mutated beast meat from his hand and tested it with a detector.

It was a red light, as expected! He handed it to his subordinate, "Take this and destroy it immediately!"

The onlookers were buzzing with discussion.

"Has someone else stolen food containing the mutation toxin and then mutated?"

"This kind of thing happens every few days; it's really dangerous."

Someone sighed, "What can we do? Those who can't afford food will have no choice but to eat poisonous food when they are starving."

A woman was holding a child's hand. The child was very young and asked, with a bewildered look, "..."

"Mom, why did that person become like this?"

The mother explained, "That person kept stealing food containing mutated toxins. As the toxins accumulated in his body, he turned into this, into a monster."

This mother probably wanted her child to understand the dangers of the mutated toxins, so she exaggerated a bit.

In fact, if too many mutated toxins accumulate in the human body, while they won't turn you into a monster, they will turn you into a walking corpse.

Having lost the ability to think, they will bite people on their own initiative due to hunger and are aggressive. However, unlike zombies, mutated individuals will not cause infection when they bite people; they will only cause physical damage.

Furthermore, once a person exhibits obvious signs of mutation, such as red eyes, they will inevitably die within a month. At the time of death, their corpse will appear gruesome due to the effects of the toxins.

This is also why major safe zones strictly prohibit the buying and selling of mutated animal meat and mutated plant vegetables.

These substances, containing mutating toxins that can cause humans to become mutated, are contraband in the safe zone!

"Captain, this person seems to still be somewhat conscious. We should be able to take him back for questioning and find out who the seller is!"

The captain nodded. "Take him back!"

That alienated homeless man was taken away just like that.

He walked with a trembling mouth and unsteady steps, appearing to be severely affected by the mutated toxins.

Jiang Tang sighed.

At the very beginning of the apocalypse, many people ate food containing mutated toxins to stave off hunger.

At first, they didn't know the consequences. Only after discovering that some people had mutated did they realize that things containing mutated toxins should not be eaten.

During that period, the mutated toxins alone killed many people.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Jiang Tang carried her things back to No. 9 Community, only to unexpectedly run into Qiu Mei.

Qiu Mei, with her sharp eyes, spotted the green peppers and eggplants in Jiang Tang's bag and immediately clenched her fists.

Now that it's raining heavily, vegetables are selling for more than usual, and Jiang Tang is actually willing to buy them to eat.

How can she live such a good life?

Qiu Mei deliberately called Chen Jiqi in front of Jiang Tang:

"Brother Chen, are you off work yet?"

"Will you come with me to set up a stall tonight? I found a great spot in the clothing market. It'll be dry in the rain, and there will be lots of people. Business is sure to be good."

Chen Jiqi had just finished get off work and left the clinic.

He frowned upon hearing Qiu Mei's words.

"Qiu Mei, I'm a doctor, not some small-time vendor. If my colleagues see me setting up a stall with you, they'll laugh at me."

Qiu Mei had turned on the speakerphone, deliberately hoping Jiang Tang would hear, but Chen Jiqi refused, and her expression immediately turned rather unpleasant.

Qiu Mei softened her tone, speaking in a coquettish voice, knowing that Chen Jiqi was most susceptible to this.

"Brother Chen, just come with me~ You can just watch me collect the money."

Chen Jiqi didn't want to go, but he couldn't resist Qiu Mei's persistent pleading and had no choice but to agree.

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Mei snorted coldly and gave Jiang Tang a smug look.

Jiang Tang turned and left with a cold expression.

"What are you pretending for?" Qiu Mei stared angrily at Jiang Tang's tall and slender back.

Jiang Tang has been eating so well lately that her complexion has visibly improved, making Jiang Tang's teeth itch with envy!

Qiu Mei returned to her 8-square-meter rented room and took out the crocheted dolls she had made over the past few days.

In order to earn more money, she made a lot at once, more than thirty in a whole box!

She plans to sell them for 20 points each, and she estimates she can earn six or seven hundred points from this trip!

Thinking of this, Qiu Mei's mouth twisted into a smile.

When Chen Jiqi came to pick her up, Qiu Mei took his hand, and the two got on an electric tricycle and headed to the clothing market.

There are many vendors setting up stalls inside the clothing market.

Selling socks, shoes, secondhand clothes...

Qiu Mei found a spot, spread out a cloth, and took out the yarn dolls she had prepared in advance and arranged them one by one.

Chen Jiqi watched from the side, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

There were too many people coming and going, and he was worried that his colleagues at the clinic would see him, which would be disgraceful.

"Brother Chen, come and help me quickly," Qiu Mei said.

Chen Jiqi pursed his lips and reluctantly went over to help.

He needs money to make a living in the future, and he's reached the age where he wants to have a child. If he marries Qiumei and has a child, he'll need more money for food. He hopes that Qiumei's small business can take off and ease his financial burden.

Qiu Mei warmly greeted passersby, "Don't miss out! Beautiful crocheted dolls, perfect as pendants or decorations! Only 20 points each."

Chen Jiqi also called out, "Take a look! Rabbit dolls, 20 points each."

Qiu Mei saw someone passing by and went up to them. "Little friend, do you like this doll? You can buy it for only 20 points."

The child glanced at it and was pulled away by his parents.

The parent said with a resentful look, "These days, we can't even afford to eat, why would we buy crocheted dolls?"

Qiu Mei's face stiffened upon hearing this.

She looked around at the stalls; some sold secondhand cookware, some sold clothes, shoes, and socks, and others sold toilet paper and shampoo...

She was the only one selling crocheted dolls.

Qiu Mei clenched her fist. Poor people don't buy it; rich people do!

With that thought in mind, she continued to shout enthusiastically:

"Crochet dolls, only 20 points each! Come check them out!"

However, half an hour passed—

No one stopped at the stalls; they all just passed by in a hurry.

Even those who looked wealthy only glanced at the items and left, seemingly unwilling to spend money to buy them.

Qiu Mei's heart sank to the bottom.

How could this happen?

What went wrong?