Everyone had different catches, so they swapped around. Those who couldn't fish used grain to get meat. And people without any food at all traded survival gear for some grain. For a while, the floating market was buzzing with energy. Natalie had been stuck indoors too long, so she figured she'd take a look around. She was hoping to get her hands on some chemical fertilizer. Since she wanted to grow herbs in her storage space, fertilizer was a must. Right now, she was using homemade compost from herself and Lucky, but she still wanted extra fertilizer stored up to feel safe. Meanwhile, Harold and Olivia also wanted to visit the market. They planned to keep some crocodile meat for themselves, along with the dried fish they made, but the rest would be traded for useful supplies. So, the three of them decided to go together. They piled into Natalie's inflatable rescue boat and towed Harold's kayak behind. Even so, there wasn't enough space for all the crocodile meat, so they left part of it at home to bring on the next trip. The floating market was set up on a big patch of water in the Centralview District. When they arrived, the place was packed and noisy. People shouted everywhere. "Fresh fish! Who wants some?" "Flood-soaked grain! Selling cheap!" "Knives, axes, anything you need—only swapping for dry food!" Everything here was trade only. No one cared about money anymore. For most people now, the only thing that mattered was filling their stomachs.Money was useless—they couldn't eat it. The three of them paddled around. People traded all sorts of things, with fish being the most common. Still, Natalie didn't see a single person offering fertilizer. That made sense. Who would lug that stuff around? Most of it was probably ruined by the flood. She frowned, wondering if it would even work if she dove down and dug some up. While she was still thinking about it, Harold suddenly pointed ahead in shock. "Hey, look! Someone is selling chicks!" What? After three months of disasters, there are still chickens alive! They rowed closer. On the other boat, there was a big cardboard box full of tiny yellow chicks, chirping nonstop. Since the chicks barely had meat and would take food and time to raise, not many people were interested. The old man with the chicks spotted them right away and immediately asked enthusiastically, "Want to buy some chicks?" He'd been hanging around for hours without selling a single one. Noticing their curiosity, he eagerly started talking up the chicks. Natalie already had plenty of chicken stocked in her storage space. She didn't want to deal with more chicken. She still had Lucky to care for anyway. Olivia barely had food at home, so keeping chickens wasn't an option. But Harold was super interested. He had plenty of grains and vegetables at home, but he was always running low on meat—especially the fresh kind. His eyes lit up as he stared at those chicks. If they laid eggs and hatched more, he'd never have to stress about meat again. He asked excitedly, "What do they eat?" The old man quickly answered, "Just oats! If I had extra grain, I wouldn't even be selling them. These chicks are like lucky charms. If my wife hadn’t wanted to raise some, we might not have lasted this long!" Harold didn't care if they were lucky or not. His mind was already full of different chicken dishes. After bargaining a bit, he swapped two pounds of crocodile meat for ten chicks. The three of them moved on down the market. There were lots of fish stalls, but barely anyone had two whole boats stacked with crocodile meat like they did. Crocodile hunting was tough, and the meat was rich and filling. So, buyers jumped on it fast, and they traded for plenty of supplies in no time. Olivia managed to get 100 pounds of oats, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, along with two boxes of bottled water, three packs of matches, and two gas cylinders. Harold scored some hardware, 80 pounds of oats, ten chicks, and even a pair of rabbits. The rabbit seller kept patting his shoulder. "Guy, you've got a good eye! These things multiply like crazy—every month or so, you'll get a dozen more. You'll never run out!" Harold nodded and tried to talk Natalie into getting a pair as well. But she wasn't into rabbit meat. She'd bought it before from the farmer's market and once even cleared out a rabbit nest in the hills. So, she waved it off. "Nope, not raising rabbits. They stink up the place." Harold nodded. That made sense—not everyone had two units on the same floor like he did. Even if the animals smelled, it wouldn't bother him.