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I Live in a Post-Apocalyptic World
墨書 Inktalez
In the distance, towering skyscrapers loomed under a sky shrouded in dark clouds, as if they were about to swallow the entire city. Faint sounds of distant roars could be heard.
The desolate outskirts had become a coveted place for people, free from the menace of zombies. The ground was much drier here, and the lush green grass reflected the gaunt faces of women whose cheeks were sunken in, clearly having endured hunger for a long time. Their clothes were tattered, barely concealing their pale skin beneath. Upon closer inspection, one could see through the holes in their garments the emaciated remnants of what once might have been fullness.
Yet they remained indifferent, tirelessly scouring the grass for anything edible. Occasionally, when they found a water source, these emaciated women hurriedly filled their bottles with drinking water.
Amidst this crowd that seemed to be fleeing from disaster, several large hybrid trucks occasionally passed by on the highway, filled to capacity with people. The original paint on these vehicles had long been obscured, leaving only the striking words: "Counterattack City."
In stark contrast to the women foraging for wild vegetables and collecting water, these individuals appeared healthier and more robust.
What was most surprising was the weaponry they carried; there were no firearms or powerful weapons like RPGs or machine guns among them—only sharpened steel rods. Among this group, possessing a fire axe was considered a significant advantage.
The entire highway operated in an orderly manner as these individuals sought remnants of civilization.
"Achoo!" Zheng Yifan sneezed forcefully, feeling the chill in the air. The weather had turned cold since his last visit; just days ago it had been sunny. He wondered how erratic the climate would become and decided he would need to prepare a down jacket for his next trip here.
Carrying a large travel backpack, Zheng Yifan walked along the highway.
Behind him lay the decaying city, dark and foreboding, sending shivers down his spine as piercing howls echoed endlessly.
"Tch! Counterattack City? That's just wishful thinking on your part. You’ll be lucky if you can just catch a breeze on the outskirts; there's no skill involved at all," Zheng Yifan scoffed dismissively at them.
"With firearms rendered useless, you’re left wielding such crude cold weapons. You can't even take on the weakest first-level zombies one-on-one," he said angrily.
Today marked Zheng Yifan's second visit to this cursed place.
After graduating from university, he found himself unemployed and took a job at a courier company—one that required no skills at all—but delivering hundreds of packages became tiresome quickly.
Once he discovered that a scar from falling while climbing trees had transformed into a peculiar tattoo that allowed him to traverse into this world ravaged by the Zombie Virus, he quit his job to become a full-time time-space merchant—a venture he found promising.
Here, he could sense an air of advanced technology; however, the names of places and technological advancements deviated slightly from Earth’s standards, making it hard to pinpoint an exact timeline.
Undoubtedly, technology here was marginally more advanced than on Earth but not overtly so. Most vehicles he saw were still hybrids; oil had not completely shed its status as an energy source. Even if it surpassed Zheng Yifan's world technologically, it wouldn’t exceed fifty years.
Shaking off the dirt from his legs, he noted that without maintenance, this highway had become dusty and neglected. The thick layer of mud mixed with dried blood formed deep brown stains that were intimidating to behold. Looking ahead, there was still at least three or four miles to go.
There was no choice; each teleportation point was fixed—wherever he arrived was where he would return.
When he first arrived here, he didn't bring much with him—just a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Just in case, he planned to teleport back to a remote area where no one was around.
That visit was purely accidental and unprepared, but just that half pack of cigarettes allowed him to exchange for several pairs of gold earrings and a few gold necklaces, fetching over twenty thousand in total.
A box of cigarettes costing one dollar yielded a thousandfold profit, further confirming to Zheng Yifan that this path could lead him to great success.
The three or four miles were not too far, yet not close either. Carrying over thirty pounds of goods was quite a challenge.
However, he couldn't bear to drop anything from his backpack to lighten the load.
As he walked further away, the crowd began to concentrate. Here, not only women were present; even some elderly people and children were desperately searching the ground for anything edible. Some were carefully peeling tree bark and wrapping it in their clothes, fearful of being robbed by other women.
Zheng Yifan wasn't worried about his belongings being stolen; he was strong enough not to be preyed upon by those on the brink of starvation. There were rulers here who wouldn't allow anyone to break the rules they had established. Their laws were even stricter than those during peacetime; theft, regardless of the amount, was punishable by death.
Of course, this was only if one flaunted their wealth.
Here, the death penalty wasn't simply decapitation or execution by firing squad. Instead, those sentenced to death were tied to poles and had dozens of wounds cut into their bodies, bleeding out slowly before being placed on pickup trucks to attract zombies.
And losing the crystal in one's brain could be exchanged for food.
With such opportunities, greater benefits could naturally be gained.
Because of this, criminal activity was rare; moreover, there would be adequate relief supplies available in gathering places.
Of course, most of those relief supplies consisted mainly of tree bark and vegetable roots along with a small amount of old rice.
But even that counted as lifesaving food.
"Brother, can you give me something to eat?" Suddenly, a child's voice called out.
This was something he hadn't encountered last time.
Turning around, he saw a girl crouched beside the highway, slowly searching for something edible. Her bright eyes were fixed on Zheng Yifan.
Seeing a child in such a remote place was extremely rare. This wasn't an absolute safe zone; there were still some stray zombies wandering around. Only women in relatively good health could escape in advance.
"Hey! Friend, do you want something tasty?" Zheng Yifan glanced around and noticed no one was paying attention to him before crossing over the highway barrier.
Zheng Yifan bent down and pulled a chocolate coin from his pocket, then handed over half a bottle of mineral water.
The mineral water was what he had left from his journey, and he directly stuffed the chocolate into the girl's mouth.
"Hurry up and eat, drink some water after you're done. Make sure you finish it all at once, and don't let anyone see," Zheng Yifan urged the girl to eat all the chocolate.
This kind of thing absolutely couldn't be left over; otherwise, it could become a source of chaos, and one might even lose their life over a single piece of chocolate.
The girl had clearly adapted to this survival rule long ago. She gobbled down the chocolate in just a few bites and gave Zheng Yifan a thumbs-up, saying, "Brother, you're a good person, but you mustn't let those people in the Gathering Place see it. Otherwise, they will snatch your things away. Even the law can't restrain those who are starving to death."
The girl smiled sweetly, her frail hand waving vigorously in the air.
"I will," Zheng Yifan nodded with a smile and continued walking toward the Gathering Place.
With a joyful expression, humming a familiar tune, he walked slowly. He was just a merchant making some pocket money between two worlds, without much ambition or ability. As long as he lived well and his family was well, that was enough for him.
If he really managed to build a career, it would probably be quite overwhelming for him.
(This book tells the story of an individual from the beginning. He may start with narrow-mindedness, make mistakes, or act out of anger, but after all, he is an ordinary person who will gradually become extraordinary.)
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