Chapter 1

A cold sweat trickled down Jiang Chen's forehead. He swallowed hard and stared at the weapon swaying before his eyes.

No, it’s a chest weapon, at least 36D...

Under the willow-like eyebrows were a pair of phoenix eyes that exuded a fierce aura. A high nose bridge and a cherry mouth, if not for the harsh expression, she would have been a beauty. The somewhat worn black leather jacket hugged her well-shaped and heavy chest, and the slightly faded white jeans were cut off below the knees, revealing her alluring thighs and buttocks. A black pistol and a cold, menacing leather whip... If the surroundings were decorated with some romantic touches, there might not be a man in the world who wouldn’t fantasize about what could happen here...

Fantasize my ass!

At this moment, Jiang Chen felt nothing but regret and fear, not a bit of physiological excitement... Wait, why does my pants feel a bit tight? This must be an illusion. How could I be a masochist!

First, let me clarify, Jiang Chen absolutely has no special preferences. The reason he is now firmly tied to the chair by this beautiful woman with a leather whip is entirely due to an accident...

"Name?" The big-chested woman in the black leather jacket and slightly faded white jeans flicked her slightly disheveled long hair and rudely stepped on the armrest of the chair with one foot.

"Jiang Chen..." He swallowed hard and honestly gave his name. As a civilized person, he had never seen such a savage beauty.

The woman raised an eyebrow, "Why such a girly name?"

Go ask my mom, damn it! Of course, he could only think this in his heart. He was truly afraid that if he said it out loud, she would put a hole in his head with the gun in her hand.

Yes, this beauty was holding a gun! The atmosphere instantly became less pleasant.

"... My mom gave birth to me in the morning." Jiang Chen muttered. To be honest, the name wasn’t that girly, but because of his delicate appearance... even if he had a manly name, it would still feel out of place.

"Don’t change the subject," the woman swung the whip in a lewd manner, hitting the leather sofa beside her. The sound made Jiang Chen shrink back. "I’m not interested in your mom."

Damn, you asked! Jiang Chen’s face turned green as he cursed in his heart.

"Upon closer inspection, you have the potential to be a pretty boy." The woman chuckled and suddenly leaned in, lightly touching Jiang Chen’s cheek with the whip. "Answer my questions truthfully. If you lie, I don’t recommend adding a few unattractive cuts to your face."

Jiang Chen’s face turned a deep red.

Damn, why do I feel like I’m about to be raped?

"Hopei City has never had snow, where are you from?" The woman narrowed her eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"I’m from the north." Jiang Chen lied casually. He didn’t believe this woman could really see through his secrets. Hopei City? Is this Hopei City? This shabby place?

"This can... Co-la, where did you get it?" The woman’s pronunciation was very awkward, as if she had never heard of cola before.

Jiang Chen felt the woman’s tone becoming more urgent, and it seemed to be filled with greed?

"Cola... a carbonated drink."

"Rubbish! Of course, I know it’s a carbonated drink. I’m asking where you got it!" The woman took a big gulp of cola, sighed contentedly, and threw the empty can on the ground. Then she picked up the leather whip and hit the sofa again.

Jiang Chen saw the strangely shaped gun pressed against his forehead.

A cold sweat trickled down his forehead again. Jiang Chen slowly calmed his breathing and tried to stay calm.

"I can’t explain."

"Do you want to die?"

"Is this how you treat your savior?" Jiang Chen, for some reason, mustered the courage to retort.

...

The woman fell silent. After a while, she sighed, put the gun in her waistband, and threw away the leather whip she had picked up.

"Alright... maybe I did go too far." Although she said this, she didn’t seem to have any intention of untying Jiang Chen.

She had been hitting the sofa all along, which suggested that her nature might not be as evil as it seemed. Jiang Chen guessed bravely.

"... Believe me, I have good intentions." Jiang Chen wasn’t sure how long his conscience would make this venomous beauty hesitate, so he lied casually.

"Good intentions?"

"Like saving you from starvation. If I say anything today, our future won’t be easy." Jiang Chen continued in a mysterious tone, leaving her plenty of room for imagination.

"Ha ha." The woman laughed somewhat disdainfully, but the hesitation in her eyes was very obvious.

"Maybe we can cooperate. I just arrived here. Well, how to put it, everything is a mess. I need a guide... and I can pay you a generous reward." Jiang Chen controlled his speaking speed, calmly offering a carrot.

"Oh? Are you from the Northern United Zone?" The woman raised an eyebrow.

In this wasteland, if there was any semblance of order, it was in the distant northern grasslands where the United Zone was established. Because it had hardly been hit by nuclear strikes and had not experienced an outbreak, a stable order had been established there.

However, stability was relative. Slavery, exploitation, and civil wars were rampant. The only advantage was a slightly higher food production, but it wasn’t much better than the lawless Hopei City.

"No, I’m from a relatively wealthy place... well, I’m collecting some useful things for someone. And I’m offloading some excess goods... like the can of soda you drank and the can of chicken curry you licked clean." Jiang Chen didn’t dare to claim he was from the United Zone; he had never been there, and what if he was exposed?

The best strategy now was to insist he was from a special place. A place no one had been to, where he could say whatever he wanted.

Hearing "licked clean," the woman’s face turned red, realizing her eating manners weren’t very elegant. She glared at Jiang Chen, who smiled to show he didn’t mind. He knew the negotiation was largely successful.

"I don’t know what you’re after here. All the supermarkets, granaries, and even the refrigerators in the houses in Hopei City have been emptied. You won’t find even a slice of bread..."

"Beautiful lady, may I ask your name?" Jiang Chen shook his head, smiled, and asked.

"Sun Jiao." Sun Jiao raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully. "Let me make it clear, if the so-called cooperation includes some abnormal services, I might put a hole in your head..."

"You’re overthinking it, Miss Sun Jiao." Jiang Chen sighed. He wouldn’t get into bed with a tigress who might bite him. "I only need an experienced guide... and do you think I’m short of food?"

"Then what are you looking for? Could it be... slaves?" Suddenly, Sun Jiao’s face changed, and her eyes turned hostile.

Indeed, if he wasn’t short of food, he must have a farm or plantation. Sun Jiao’s first thought was that he might be a human trafficker. Slaves were the best labor force in the wasteland, and human trafficking was common. However, Sun Jiao deeply hated it because her sister was probably sold by traffickers. If she was sold to a factory, it would be better, but if she was sold to a brothel or a cannibal tribe... it would be a nightmare.

"No, no, you misunderstood." Jiang Chen hurried to explain. "We don’t need slaves... we need technology."

"Technology?" Sun Jiao was taken aback.

"Exactly, like the laser gun in your hand and the computer on your arm... we have these things, but we can’t produce them independently, so we decided to come to this abandoned city to find old technology."

"Those things?" Sun Jiao was clearly taken aback and looked at Jiang Chen suspiciously. "Are they hard to make? Many people in Liuding Town can assemble them."

Damn. Jiang Chen cursed inwardly but showed no expression on his face.

"I was just giving an example. Our technology is advanced in food production and logistics, but relatively... well, general technology is a bit lacking, which is why I’m here." Lying without blushing, Jiang Chen admired his own acting skills.

He had noticed that although this world once had extremely advanced technology, civilization had declined after the nuclear war and the zombie virus. The fact that the human world wasn’t completely destroyed was a miracle.

To describe the current state of the wasteland in one word: uneven.

High-tech hover cars and old internal combustion engine cars coexisted on the streets.

"Whatever," Sun Jiao gave up on further questioning and, after staring at Jiang Chen for a while, said, "So, let’s talk about my payment."

"What do you want as payment?" After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chen asked. He didn’t know what currency was used in this world.

"C-type batteries, food, or sub-crystals, but I prefer food." As Sun Jiao spoke, she licked her red lips and continued, "By the way, do you have any more of those... chicken curry cans?"

"They’re all gone." Jiang Chen sighed, pretending to be heartbroken. He had never seen batteries or sub-crystals, so using food as payment was the best option.

"Sorry," Sun Jiao scratched her head awkwardly but quickly resumed her fierce expression, stepping on the armrest and demanding, "Payment, 10 cans a month. Meals included!"

"Deal."

Jiang Chen’s quick agreement made the aggressive Sun Jiao feel a bit guilty. Although in this wasteland, only fools had a conscience, it was undeniable that a conscience still lingered in people’s hearts.

Ferocity was just a protective color.

"... I’ll be responsible for your safety." Sun Jiao coughed and added, somewhat guiltily.

Duh, if I die, who will pay you? Jiang Chen cursed inwardly. The cost wasn’t much to him, but it was still a few hundred yuan.

"So, my beautiful bodyguard, can you untie me now?" The crisis was over, and Jiang Chen relaxed, his limbs almost numb from the ropes.

Sun Jiao skillfully pulled out a dagger from her waist and quickly cut the ropes binding Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen moved his gradually recovering limbs and gave Sun Jiao a resentful glance, picking up his ransacked backpack.

Sun Jiao blushed and laughed awkwardly, whistling to dismiss the incident.

"What’s next? Leave here?"

"Leave? Why, this is our base for now."

Outside the window, the steel and concrete city had lost its former vitality. The once bustling streets were empty, replaced by endless zombies. Occasionally, unknown monsters tore at lifeless corpses, howling like lords. Distant gunfire could be heard, and in this city of death, battles between humans and monsters, and humans and humans, were a daily occurrence.

Through the dirty glass, Jiang Chen saw danger, death... and a ground full of gold.

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