She picked up a fish, hefted it, and felt its weight was substantial.
It should be enough for her to eat for several days.
With the bone knife Rhys Blackwood tossed by the river, she skillfully cleaned the fish, took a few, and got ready to head back.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a set of bathing supplies left on the shore, so she bent down and hugged them into her arms.
She didn't grill the fish by the riverbank.
If Rhys saw her lingering, he might very well think she was seducing him on purpose, and would probably hate her even more.
By then, he'd be even harder to win over.
Luna Sutton brought the bathing set back to the cave first.
At that moment, Corbin Crowley was already gone. She had no idea when he'd left.
She was secretly relieved; she really didn't want to face that cold stare, and she was afraid that man might kill her.
Thinking about the kick she'd given him before, she felt a bit of a guilty conscience, wondering if trouble was brewing.
After putting down the bathing set, she grabbed the fish and left the cave.
She remembered there was a small hill hollow near the tribe. Normally, no one went there, and there weren't any wild beasts. She planned to head there to grill her fish.
This spot was pretty secluded. The original owner would come hide here alone whenever she was in a bad mood.
According to her memory, she found her way to the hollow, where thick weeds grew and massive trees—so big it would take five or six people to encircle one—provided deep shade that blocked out the sun. It was surprisingly cool.
Ideal for grilling fish.
No lighter at hand, she had to use primitive methods—making fire by drilling wood.
Actually, there was a bonfire at the Tribal Square.
Every night, all the tribe's men, women, children, and elders would gather there to roast meat, sing and dance. It got lively.
But she didn't feel like going there right now.
After some work, she finally got a fire going.
Watching the flames burn, Luna Sutton skewered the cleaned fish onto sharpened branches and set them over the fire to roast slowly.
As they cooked, the fish sizzled with an increasing "zhi zhi" sound, filling the air with an ever-stronger aroma.
She swallowed, feeling even hungrier now.
She didn't have any spices, but the fish itself was fresh, pure, and pollution-free. Roasted till crispy and fragrant, the taste was surprisingly good.
During the apocalypse, eating uncontaminated fish was as rare as winning the lottery.
It wasn't just fish—shrimp, any kind of seafood…
In short: anything edible, wearable, or usable was either polluted or carried a virus. You couldn't eat it, and you couldn't use it.
Luna Sutton sighed inwardly, shook her head helplessly, and kept eating till her mouth was full of savory flavor.
Soon, she'd finished a whole fish but didn't even feel half full. Just barely took the edge off her hunger, so she started roasting a second one.
Only after eating three big fish did she finally feel somewhat sated.
The original owner's appetite was extraordinary—no wonder she was so fat, her stomach was stretched out.
But it felt terrible not to eat.
She wrapped the leftover fish in leaves to take home, planning to eat it for breakfast the next day.
As for tonight, she'd just go hungry—think of it as dieting.
By now the sun was already slanting west. She put out the fire, got up, and prepared to head back.
She'd just taken a couple of steps when suddenly, someone dropped from the sky with a "thud," landing right in front of her and giving her a huge shock. Instinctively, she stepped back.
Her gaze landed ahead, and she saw a woman in a dress—styles much like those from the apocalypse era.
The woman lay face-down, revealing snowy-white arms and bare, pale thighs. One high-heeled shoe was still on her foot; the other had flown off somewhere unknown.
That outfit told Luna right away who it was.
But… wasn't Chloe Callahan supposed to be brought back by Corbin Crowley? How did she end up appearing like this—falling right in front of her?
Luna Sutton looked up at the sky. If you fell from up there, how could you not get killed?
She was deeply skeptical.
She walked over and rolled her over. The girl's skin was quite pale, her features delicate—neither beautiful nor ugly—just an utterly ordinary young woman.
She looked about the age of a recent college graduate.
But in the Beastman world, where everyone's skin was dark, yellow, and rough, she already counted as a rare beauty.
Luna checked her breathing—steady and even, not in danger. She was probably just knocked out.
Right now she was incredibly conflicted, not knowing whether she should bring the girl back to the tribe, or just dump her far away.
Chloe is the female lead. If she stays in the tribe, all the beastmen will revolve around her, including the original owner's five Beast Husbands.
With Chloe as competition, everyone would hate Luna even more.
Luna Sutton wouldn't be as self-destructive as the original owner, but she'd also never allow a threat to exist.
Besides, her mission was to win over those five Beast Husbands. In that case, there was even less reason to let Chloe exist here.
She made up her mind, bent down, and lifted Chloe Callahan onto her shoulder, heading into the depths of the forest, intent on dumping her far away.
Whether she lived or died—it wasn't Luna's concern.
After so many years fighting to survive in the apocalypse, she'd long learned to be cold and selfish. It was the only way to stay alive.
The forest was dense, sunlight barely peeking through gaps in the leaves to dapple the ground.
She deliberately walked far out, afraid Corbin Crowley would bump into her and bring her back.
Actually, killing Chloe would be even safer, but, deep down, Luna's basic conscience kept her from doing it.
She picked a discreet spot, made sure it was far from the tribe and not a place where people would usually hunt, and only then dumped Chloe Callahan onto the ground.
"You're on your own now."
Luna Sutton said coldly.
Seeing that night was falling, she didn't dare linger in the forest any longer and quickly turned to leave.
On her way back, she found quite a lot of wild fruit, and, with some luck, even discovered a bird's nest with eight eggs inside.
She also saw a lot of wild vegetables, but because night was falling, she was worried a wild beast could suddenly jump out from some corner, so she didn't dare pick them today.
She thought she'd come back tomorrow to pick them, and also check whether Chloe Callahan was dead or alive—or even still there at all.
By the time she got back to the tribe, night had completely fallen.
At the Tribal Square, the bonfires were blazing, lighting up everything and warding off the evening chill.
The men, women, young, and old of the tribe were gathered around the bonfires, roasting meat and chatting merrily. The place was rowdy and bustling.
Just as she was about to head over, Mia spotted her. Mia froze for a moment, then walked toward her.
Mia was the most beautiful female in the tribe, with a hot figure and an open-minded personality. She had seven Beast Husbands, all outstanding beastmen in the tribe.
But that wasn't enough for her—she still wanted to snatch a few of the original owner's Beast Husbands.
Especially Corbin Crowley and Rhys Blackwood. That's why she was especially hostile toward Luna, and would pick trouble with her from time to time.
Luna Sutton saw Mia coming. She didn't even need to guess what Mia wanted—just more mockery and insults, as usual.
"Luna Sutton, we all know about you drugging Corbin Crowley with aphrodisiac fruit today. You really are shameless! Corbin Crowley doesn't even like you, and you resort to such dirty tricks."
Mia's tone was full of disdain and ridicule.
She said it loudly—so loudly that everyone nearby heard and turned to stare, their faces full of contempt and disgust.
Luna Sutton couldn't care less about being watched. She just looked at Mia, expression cool, and said, "So? What's it got to do with you?"
Mia was so enraged by Luna's nonchalant attitude that her face turned instantly ugly.
Then she glimpsed the wild fruit and bird eggs in Luna's hands and sneered, "Pathetic. You're a female and you actually have to go find food for yourself? If I were you, I'd have smashed my head in a long time ago."
Instantly, a round of laughter erupted all around.