Rise of the Wasteland in Cultivation

Killing is not a crime, waste is; deception is not shameful, stupidity is; weakness is not pitiful, kindness is. —Wasteland Maxim.

In the dark gray sky, a strangely shaped nuclear radiation cloud was slowly moving over the city, like a large, rotten egg that had been mashed up, thick and yellow, and even the wind carried the smell of rotten eggs.

The nuclear war twenty years ago killed 40% of the population on Earth, and the subsequent natural disasters pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Today, less than 10% of the world's population is barely surviving.

The nuclear explosion triggered a global eruption of volcanoes, disrupted the magnetic field, distorted space, and released massive amounts of sulfide gases into the atmosphere, forming a unique nuclear radiation cloud that lingers for years. This cloud not only contains a large amount of radioactive dust but also harbors highly corrosive acid rain.

The city before us was once a world-renowned financial center. Its once magnificent skyscrapers are now nothing but ruins, like rows of rotting skeletons, forlornly pointing towards the sky.

The streets were filled with abandoned vehicles, most of which had been scorched by the high temperatures of the nuclear explosion and were now just metal frames. Years of acid rain had repeatedly corroded them, leaving them rusty and as if they would crumble into dust at the slightest touch.

A gas station on the side of the street, with its mottled signboard, still faintly reveals the words "Huada Petrochemical".

At this moment, a group of reeking zombies had cornered a scavenging team inside the convenience store of a gas station. They bared their teeth and scratched incessantly at the glass door, cracks spreading across it like a spider web. It was clear they wouldn't last much longer.

This scavenging team consists of five people, led by Brother Leopard, who has a fierce appearance and looks like a ruthless character. However, this wasteland is full of ruthless people, because kind people have long since died out. Only those who are more ruthless than others have the right to survive.

"It'll be dark in two hours. If we don't leave now, we'll die here. Let's fight!"

The speaker was the only woman in the squad. She was tall and burly, with dark and rough skin. A centipede-like scar ran from her forehead across her nose and down to the left corner of her mouth. She held a butcher knife upside down in her right hand, and her triangular eyes flashed with a cold light. She looked even more ferocious than Brother Leopard.

This woman is the deputy team leader. Everyone calls her Scarface. No one knows her real name. But in this world, names don't matter anymore. Human life is cheap as grass. Wherever you die, you're left there. No one will erect a monument for you.

Roar roar roar—

The zombies outside grew increasingly frenzied, slamming against the glass door frame and attracting even more zombies wandering nearby.

A zombie dragging a gas cylinder along its calf staggered out from the street corner, the sound of metal scraping against the ground was jarring and terrifying, as it clattered and clattered as it moved toward this side.

Leopard Brother had a sudden inspiration. He raised the old, worn-out AK47 in his hand and said in a deep voice, "I'll blow up that gas cylinder later, and then we'll all rush out together. Same old routine, Scarface and I will lead the charge, Black Dog and Skinny Monkey will provide cover on both flanks, and Leng San will bring up the rear."

"Brother Leopard, you only have three bullets left!" Black Dog reminded him.

"And it often misfires," Skinny Monkey chimed in.

"Shut your mouths, you jinxes!" Leopard Brother smacked Skinny Monkey with the butt of his gun and kicked Black Dog, his eyes practically spitting fire.

Scarface added mercilessly, "Your broken gun down there often misfires too."

Leopard glared angrily at Scarface, quickly raised his gun and aimed, while the others hurriedly hid behind the empty shelves.

The scavenger named Leng San was the youngest, only about eleven or twelve years old. He was as thin as a piece of dry wood, but his movements were extremely agile. He held a dagger in his right hand, and his eyes revealed a wolf-like ferocity, cold and alert.

At that moment, the zombie dragging the gas cylinder stumbled and mingled into the horde of zombies.

Leopard held his breath, about to pull the trigger—

The convenience store's glass door shattered first.

The horde of corpses surged in like a flood bursting its banks, and the putrid stench was almost suffocating.

Leopard Brother hurriedly pulled the trigger—click!

Damn it! This damn gun jammed at this crucial moment.

A zombie roared and pounced in front of them, its rotting face inches away, spewing a stench from its dark mouth.

With lightning speed, Leopard shoved the gun barrel into the zombie's gaping mouth, while simultaneously pulling out a triangular military dagger with his left hand and plunging it into the zombie's forehead. Blood splattered everywhere, and the zombie immediately went limp and became motionless.

However, hordes of zombies surged in like a tidal wave, their impact far beyond what human could withstand. In this critical moment, Scarface roared and shoved the shelves forward, attempting to slow the advance of the zombie horde.

—Bang!

The horde of zombies easily overturned the shelves, crushing Brother Leopard, who had no time to dodge, beneath them. AK47 was also thrown out and spun around on the ground.

Scarface lunged forward fiercely, her butcher knife moving swiftly and ruthlessly, smashing the heads of several zombies in succession.

Black Dog and Skinny Monkey worked together to pull Leopard Brother out from under the shelf. Leopard Brother's arm was cut by broken glass, and blood flowed freely. The zombies, smelling the blood, went even crazier.

Over there, the thin Leng San had already picked up the AK47 from the ground, pulled the bolt sharply to eject the jammed bullet, and aimed at the gas cylinder in the horde of corpses—rat-a-tat-tat, he fired two shots!

--boom!!!

The violent explosion blasted the horde of corpses into a bloody mess, with limbs and remains flying everywhere. Half of the convenience store's roof was also blown off, and a wave of scorching heat, carrying the stench of death, rushed towards us.

Although Brother Leopard and the others reacted quickly and lay down immediately, they were still thrown against the wall by the shockwave. Their internal organs seemed to have shifted, their ears were ringing, and they saw stars before their eyes.

"Damn it, Leng San, that idiot!" Skinny Monkey crawled out of the pile of broken bricks, ripped off a zombie leg hanging on his body, and spat out several disgusting spittles.

Leopard and Scarface stood up, covered in dust. Seeing several zombies still struggling and crawling on the ground with missing limbs, they immediately stepped forward and chopped off their heads with their knives.

These zombies are infected with a virus and are practically immortal. They can only be killed by attacking their heads and destroying their central nervous system; otherwise, they will "live" forever and instinctively tear apart any living thing.

The most terrifying thing is that they are covered in corpse poison. If a living person is bitten, they will mutate within half an hour and eventually become a walking corpse.

"Black Dog is dead!" Skinny Monkey said sadly.

The scavenger nicknamed Black Dog is dead.

A broken metal bar from a shelf pierced his neck, blood pooling on the ground. His eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the gray sky.

Leopard glanced calmly at the corpse, then bent down and picked up Black Dog's backpack and the stainless steel baseball bat—Black Dog's supplies and weapons, which were now his.

Scarface and Skinny Monkey seemed to have no objection and walked away without a trace of sadness, as if they were strangers.

In this wasteland, death is the norm, and survival is the exception. Everyone is used to it. Today someone else dies, but tomorrow it might be your turn. Instead of wasting time being sad, it's better to scavenge more supplies.

Life is too short to waste time. In this world full of nuclear radiation and danger at every turn, the average human lifespan is only about twenty-five years. Living to fifty is considered a long life, and only the nobles living in the "Green Zone" have this kind of blessing.

"Where's Leng San?" Brother Leopard asked in a deep voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.

Soon, they found Leng San near the corner of the wall. He was trapped under a collapsed piece of ceiling, his thin body motionless, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Scarface reached out and touched his carotid artery—there was no pulse.

So she picked up the dagger on the ground, as well as Leng San's backpack sewn from a woven bag. She casually opened it and glanced inside. There was only a half-full bottle of water, two tubes of synthetic nutrients, a palm-sized diary, and a pencil that was only half an inch long.

"We need to get back to camp before it rains, don't waste time!" Leopard said coldly.

The three were about to turn and leave—

Leng San suddenly sat up, his eyes darting around blankly, as if seeing this world for the first time. His thin face was still stained with blood and dust, but his eyes... Scarface couldn't quite put her finger on it, only feeling that his eyes were different from before, like an undercurrent suddenly appearing in a stagnant pool.

"Holy crap, Leng San, that idiot, isn't dead!" Skinny Monkey blurted out.

A hint of doubt flashed in Scarface's eyes. She had just touched Leng San's carotid artery and found that there was no pulse.

Leopard stepped forward and removed the ceiling covering Leng San's lower body, quickly feeling his legs. They didn't appear to be broken. He asked, "Can you still walk?"

Leng San nodded, his movements somewhat stiff, as if he hadn't fully adapted to this body yet.

Scarface tossed the woven bag and dagger back to Leng San, saying, "Let's go then. It's going to rain, and I don't want to spend the night here. Those ghostly things come out at night, and they're much scarier than during the day."

Leng San hurriedly slung his woven bag over his shoulder, picked up his dagger, and followed the crowd as they rushed toward the outskirts of the city. The nuclear radiation cloud in the sky was getting closer and closer, pressing down lower and lower, and the smell of rotten eggs was getting stronger.

Sizzle—Boom!

A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, followed by rumbling thunder, and acid rain began to pour down from the northwest corner of the city. The wind howled from behind, and the rain seemed to be chasing after everyone, pelting the ruins with a pattering sound and sending up plumes of strange smoke.

Leopard and the others sprinted away, with Skinny Monkey, as agile as an eel, leading the way.

Leng San couldn't help but look back—and saw rolling yellow clouds churning, raindrops falling like a stampede of horses, sweeping in from all directions. Raindrops fell on abandoned bicycle frames on the street, hissing and emitting white smoke. The metal was corroding at a visible speed, and rusty water flowed down the frames like streaks of blood and tears, a shocking sight.

Leng San's expression changed drastically. He took long strides and ran after the others, but he was too thin and weak. Even with all his strength, he still lagged far behind Brother Leopard and the others.

The torrential rain behind us drew ever closer, pattering down like the drumbeats of death!

Fortunately, this place was located on the edge of the city, not far from the Scavenger Camp in the suburbs. Just as the terrible acid rain was about to engulf them, Leng San practically tumbled and crawled into the camp gate.