Elvin stood before the mountain of junk. It was a towering pile of broken wood, rusted metal, and dead vines at the very edge of the camp.

He looked left. He looked right. The nearest patrol was far away, their backs turned.

He took a deep breath. The sickly, weak look vanished from his face. His eyes turned sharp, as cold and hard as steel.

He reached out with one hand. His fingers wrapped around a thick, hardwood beam buried deep under a ton of garbage. He gave it a sharp pull.

The entire pile shuddered. A cascade of debris fell away as he ripped the beam free. He tossed it aside like it weighed nothing. He selected three more sturdy support beams and a massive bundle of tough vines.

He tied them together with efficient, brutal knots. He hoisted the entire bundle onto one shoulder. It weighed hundreds of pounds.

He started walking back. As the shelter came into view, he shifted his posture. He bent his knees. He let his shoulders hunch. He forced his breathing to become loud, ragged, and desperate.

Ariel heard the heavy footsteps. She looked up and saw Elvin staggering under the load, looking like he was about to collapse. She rushed over.

"Put it down! You'll hurt yourself!" she cried, helping him shrug the bundle off his shoulder.

She grabbed a clean leaf, folded it into a cup, and filled it with water from the pot. She handed it to him.

Elvin took it. He drank it in one gulp. A faint, satisfied smile touched his lips, though he kept his eyes cast down, looking exhausted.

"First things first," Ariel said, pointing at the pile of materials. "We need tools."

She picked up a sharp stone flake she had been working on. She handed it to Elvin.

"Whittle this handle down. Make it smooth."

Elvin took the stone. His fingers wrapped around it naturally. Without thinking, his wrist flicked. The stone spun in a flashy, perfect arc-a move only a master fighter would use.

His heart skipped a beat. That was a mistake.

He instantly let out a fake yelp, loosening his grip. The stone clattered to the ground.

"Sorry," he mumbled, playing the weakling, his face contorting in feigned pain. "My hand slipped."

Ariel paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. For a split second, the move had seemed impossibly fluid, dangerously precise. But his immediate clumsiness and the pained expression on his pale face quickly erased the thought. It must have been a fluke. She let out a breath and offered a mild laugh. "Be careful next time."

Elvin picked up the stone again. This time, he forced his movements to be clumsy, slow, and shaky. But even with the act, his cuts were precise, his efficiency terrifying.

Ariel sat beside him, grinding a piece of mutated beast bone against a rough rock, shaping it into a knife.

The sun climbed higher. The heat of the day set in. Ariel wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her stomach let out a loud, embarrassing rumble.

She stood up. "I'm going to check the second fish basket. Keep working."

Elvin put down the wood. "I'm coming with you." His tone was firm. "The riverbank isn't safe."

They walked to the river together. Ariel hauled up the basket. This time, it wasn't just fish. Dozens of giant mutated river crabs clicked and snapped inside the trap.

Their shells were black and hard as iron. Their claws were massive. In this camp, they were considered garbage. Too hard to crack, too little meat, too dangerous to handle.

Ariel's eyes sparkled. She looked at them like they were gold coins. She carefully dumped the furious crabs into a woven basket.

Back at the shelter, Ariel showed Elvin what to do.

"Grab them from the back. Twist the head off. Pull this black line out." She demonstrated, her movements quick and practiced.

Elvin copied her. His long, pale fingers moved like surgical instruments. He didn't fumble. He didn't hesitate. He stripped the shell away, leaving the meat perfectly intact.

Ariel stared at him. "You're a natural," she said, genuinely impressed.

Elvin lowered his head, hiding the flush of pleasure that crept up his neck.

Ariel chopped the crab and shrimp meat, mixing it with wild herbs. She dumped it all into the iron pot to make a rich seafood stew.

As the steam rose, carrying the mouth-watering smell, they sat side by side on the stone floor. For a moment, the harshness of the wasteland seemed very far away.

The iron pot bubbled. Thick, creamy foam rose to the surface, releasing a smell so rich and savory it made Ariel's head spin.

She ladled a huge bowl of the stew and handed it to Elvin.

He took it with both hands. As he did, his fingertips brushed against hers. Her skin was warm from the fire.

Elvin flinched. His fingers curled inward, pulling back slightly. He dropped his gaze, hiding the sudden, rapid thumping of his heart.

He took a sip of the hot broth. The intense, sweet flavor flooded his mouth. It pushed away the constant chill that lived in his bones. He felt a gentle warmth spread down his throat, easing the burning ache of the poison in his chest.

He looked up. He watched Ariel. She was clutching her own bowl, slurping the soup happily, her cheeks flushed.

Elvin set his bowl down on his lap. His hand slipped inside his shirt. His fingers closed around the cool, smooth surface of a diamond-shaped crystal.

It was the "Miracle" pendant. The only thing his mother had left him. A relic of the old world. It was his most precious possession. It represented a promise he had never thought he'd make.

He took a breath. He pulled the pendant out. The crystal caught the dim light, glowing with a faint, eerie blue hue. He held it out toward Ariel.

He opened his mouth, ready to speak the vow he had prepared.

Ariel slammed a heavy rock down onto a giant mutated crab claw. The shell shattered. A piece of white, tender meat popped out.

"Oh, yes!" Ariel cheered, completely oblivious to the glowing object in Elvin's hand. She grabbed the meat and shoved it into her mouth. "So good!" she mumbled, chewing happily.

His hand hung in the air. He froze. A beat of silence passed. A flicker of deep frustration crossed his mind, the sacred words dying on his lips. He had prepared himself for this moment. But then he looked at her, her dirty face lit with pure, unadulterated joy over a simple piece of crab meat, and the frustration melted into a deep, helpless affection. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He slowly pulled his hand back. He tucked the pendant safely back inside his shirt, close to his skin. This wasn't the right time. The vow deserved her full attention. He decided to wait. He would give it to her when the underground fortress was finished.

Ariel finished the claw. She licked her fingers, savoring every drop of flavor. She looked up and caught Elvin staring at her, a soft look in his eyes.

She blinked, then smiled. She picked up the last piece of fish from her bowl and dropped it into his.

"Eat. You need the strength."

Elvin didn't refuse. He ate the piece of fish, tasting something far sweeter than seafood.

When the meal was over, Ariel pointed at the pile of crab shells and shrimp husks.

"Don't throw those away," she said. "They're treasure."

She made Elvin find two flat, heavy stones. He placed the shells between them and pressed. His grip was immense. The hard shells crumbled into a fine, white powder in seconds.

Ariel scooped the powder into a broken wooden bucket. "Fertilizer," she explained. "The best kind."

She walked to the wasteland behind the shelter. She scooped up a handful of dirt. She rubbed it between her fingers, feeling the texture, analyzing the composition.

She frowned. The soil was hard. Compacted. Dead. It desperately needed help.

She turned and grabbed the stone hoe she had made earlier. She tested its weight in her hand.

She took a deep breath. She raised the hoe high above her head. She swung it down with all her might.

THUD.

The heavy impact echoed across the empty land. The construction of the underground fortress-and the farm that would feed them-had officially begun.

The stone hoe smashed into the yellow-brown earth. It left behind a shallow white scratch. Nothing more.

The shock of the impact traveled up the wooden handle, vibrating painfully through Ariel's wrist. Her palms stung, the skin stretching tight over her bones.

She gritted her teeth. She raised the hoe again. She swung it down. Again. Again.

After a dozen strikes, her lungs were burning. She gasped for air, her chest heaving like a broken bellows.

A wave of dizziness hit her. Her vision went black for a second. She stumbled backward, her back hitting the rough stone wall of the shelter. She slid down, panting.

Elvin dropped the pile of rocks he was sorting. He was at her side in two strides. He grabbed her shoulder, steadying her.

He pried the hoe out of her grip. He looked at her hands. Two large, bloody blisters had formed on her palms, the skin torn and raw.

A flash of anger crossed Elvin's eyes. A dark, violent fury aimed at the cruel world that forced her to suffer like this.

"Sit," he ordered, his voice low and hard. "Rest."

He turned to face the stubborn patch of dirt. He gripped the handle of the hoe. Secretly, he channeled a thread of his silver wolf energy into the wood.

The hoe seemed to gain weight, becoming an extension of his arm. He swung it casually.

The hard, packed earth exploded. Chunks of dirt crumbled and flipped over like soft tofu.

Ariel sat on a rock, watching him. Her mouth fell open in surprise. He was moving so fast.

But every few swings, Elvin would stop. He would lean on the hoe, wiping sweat from his forehead, faking a harsh coughing fit. He made sure to look completely exhausted.

While his back was turned, Ariel stared at her torn palms. The pain was sharp, throbbing.

She closed her eyes, letting the sharp, throbbing pain ground her. She had survived worse in the old world. Her body had developed an incredible tolerance for pain, a stubborn resilience forged in the harsh wasteland. She tore off a clean strip from the hem of her shirt and tightly bound her raw palms, biting her lip to stifle a groan. It wasn't perfect, but it would stop the bleeding.

She stood up and walked over to the freshly turned soil. She scooped up a handful, closing her eyes. She let her senses probe the earth.

It was dead, but deep down, there was a tiny spark of life. It could be saved, but it would take hard, physical labor.

"Spread the shell powder," she instructed Elvin. "Evenly."

Elvin nodded. He grabbed a handful of the white dust and began to scatter it over the dark soil.

"Then go to the edge of the forest," Ariel added. "We need a lot of those broad-leaf vines, and any rotting leaves you can find under the mutated trees. We have to mix them in deeply to create a compost base."

Elvin picked up the hoe and walked toward the dark, mutated woods.

As soon as he was out of sight, Ariel dropped to her knees. She plunged both bound hands deep into the soil.

She didn't hold back this time. She used every ounce of her remaining strength to manually break apart the deepest, hardest clods of earth, mixing the scattered shell powder into the lower layers. Her muscles screamed, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she physically worked the dirt, relying purely on her old-world agricultural knowledge of deep tilling and soil aeration.

When she finished, Ariel collapsed. She lay on the ground, her clothes soaked with cold sweat, her body completely drained.

She looked up at the gray, smoggy sky. A real, bright smile spread across her face.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the distance. Ariel scrambled up. She grabbed a handful of dry grass and began wiping the dirt off her clothes, pretending she had just been cleaning up.