In the Name of Martial Arts: Reshaping the Apocalypse

The new era began in 101.

Outside Linan District, at a checkpoint for entering and exiting the district, a tall young man wearing a cotton-padded coat and carrying a military bag walked towards the place where entry and exit procedures were checked with his hands in his pockets.

The checkpoint was noisy, with vehicles and pedestrians lined up in an orderly queue. There were many people leaving the area, but only a handful entering.

"If you don't have any documents or paperwork, it'll cost five hundred. Hurry up."

An impatient voice rang out, and even the toll was demanded with a sense of entitlement.

The young man quickly took out his identification from his bag and handed it to the soldier checking the paperwork.

"Feng Wu, male, born in 1977, 23 years old, 1.85 meters tall, 76 kilograms in weight, works in the Third Military District of the Southern Federation, and holds the position of regimental commander."

After the soldier finished looking at the documents in his hand, he stood up abruptly, his chair tilting backward as he quickly saluted Feng Wu.

"Good morning, sir!"

"Okay, give me your documents."

"Yes, sir."

Feng Wu took the documents and walked on the road at the checkpoint. Looking at the scattered houses and the few pedestrians on the road, he realized that this place must be quite far from the district.

This was Feng Wu's first time entering the district. He had lived in the refugee area until he was 16, and then joined the army. He had never seen what the district looked like before.

The soldiers at the checkpoint glanced at Feng Wu and, noticing that he wasn't asking about the toll, muttered to themselves:

"Such a high-ranking official doesn't even have a private car to pick him up? That scared me half to death. It's still twenty or thirty kilometers away from the district. You'll walk yourself to death, you bastard."

As he walked, Feng Wu took out his phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang for a few seconds before a deep voice came through.

"Who?"

Upon hearing this deep voice, Feng Wu smiled and shouted, "It's me, Da Lei, your crazy brother!"

"I'm in the district. Where do you live?"

"Crazy Bro, you're back! Where are you? Should I come pick you up?" The deep voice on the other end of the line was also a little excited, asking several questions in quick succession.

"No need, I'll provide a private car. Just tell me where you live." Feng Wu put on a show, not daring to tell the truth.

After all, it's been several years since we last met. When you're out in the world, you have to earn your own living.

"Okay, Crazy Bro, I live at 308 Baishi Street. I'll call Xiaolin and wait for you."

"OK."

Feng Wu hung up the phone and noticed a tall, thin young man walking straight toward him from across the street, wrapped in a thick cotton coat with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

As the young man across the street drew closer, Feng Wu reached into his pocket and continued walking toward the road.

When the young man was only a few meters away from Feng Wu, he lowered his head and quickened his pace to walk towards Feng Wu.

"Don't move."

Feng Wu shouted.

The young man looked up when he heard the sound, his hands trembling as he quickly raised them above his head, his lips quivering.

"Brother, don't, don't misunderstand."

"What do you do?"

Feng Wu opened his shirt, revealing a dark pistol inside.

"Brother, please don't misunderstand. I just saw you walking alone and asked if you needed a ride into the area."

The young man looked at the dark pistol and replied quickly.

Feng Wu scrutinized the young man for a few moments, then put the pistol back inside his cotton-padded coat and said:

"Damn it, if you're going to pull the line, then pull the line. What are you doing sneaking around like that? It's pretty scary, you know?"

"Brother, I'm always like this, you're overthinking it." The young man looked at Feng Wu speechlessly.

"Alright, how much does it cost to get into the area?"

"300, bro, this is absolutely honest of me."

"30!"

"what!"

The young man stared wide-eyed at Feng Wu: "Brother, are you kidding me? How can you bargain like that? We're still twenty or thirty kilometers away from the district!"

"Um?"

Upon hearing that they were still twenty or thirty kilometers from the district, Feng Wu scratched his head sheepishly, realizing that the cuts had indeed been a bit too harsh.

He was a bit of a penny-pincher and stingy, and thought it was normal for him to haggle over the exorbitant price since the other party was asking for too much. Little did he know that he had hit a nerve.

In this world of scarce resources, oil, grain, and cotton are the most valuable things.

Charging 300 yuan for 20 or 30 kilometers is indeed not expensive. Now a liter of gasoline costs tens of yuan, and you can't get this kind of thing without connections.

Feng Wu couldn't help but glance at the tall, thin young man a few times.

"Brother, the gas money for this round trip is over two hundred yuan. I only earn a little bit of hard-earned money." The tall, thin young man thought the order had been cancelled and quickly explained.

"Okay, let's go. Where did you park the car?"

"Thank you, thank you for your support, brother. I live in one of those houses up ahead, and my car is parked there." The tall, thin young man pointed to five or six houses not far ahead as he spoke.

Seeing that Feng Wu was looking at the buildings without speaking, the tall, thin young man assumed he was worried about something and quickly said, "Brother, don't worry. You're a respected person. Would I joke around with my own life?"

"Alright, alright, stop nagging and let's go," Feng Wu urged.

"Uh, okay, okay, big brother."

"My name is Fang Zheng, brother. Give me your phone number, and I guarantee you the lowest price for rides within the area..."

"I know this area very well, I guarantee my car will be the most comfortable."

The young man named Fang Zheng kept talking and promoting himself as he walked.

……

About ten minutes.

The two walked to the perimeter of several buildings. Fang Zheng was still nagging, and Feng Wu, whose ears were practically calloused, impatiently roared:

"Dude, can you please shut the hell up? Am I supposed to become a recluse for life just because I rode in your car once?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng scratched his head sheepishly and quickly apologized, saying that he had always been talkative and couldn't control himself.

If Feng Wu hadn't already agreed to his request and hadn't seen that he didn't have any ill intentions towards him, he really would have turned around and left, not knowing how much more his ears would have to suffer on the way.

Fang Zheng kept his mouth shut this time and led the way for Feng Wu. When they reached the outermost building, Feng Wu heard shouting coming from a building in the middle.

Neither of them paid any attention. Robberies and rapes happen all the time in the area; there are no saints left in this world.

Everyone is living for themselves.

When they reached the middle building, there was a dilapidated pickup truck parked in front of them. Fang Zheng introduced it to them with a grin, saying that it was his beloved car.

Walking in front of the pickup truck, Fang Zheng, who was all smiles just a second ago, suddenly changed his expression and shouted:

"Damn it, who punctured my tire? I'll curse them out!"

The four tires looked as if they had been cleaved by a knife, with the rims exposed inside – a truly horrific sight.

Fang Zheng angrily unlocked the car door with his key, took out a large machete from under the back seat, raised the machete, and shouted at the buildings:

"You son of a bitch, who is it that gave birth to a son without an anus? Come out here! If you don't like me, come and find me if you dare! What kind of hero punctures my tires?"

Feng Wu looked at the furious Fang Zheng without trying to persuade him. He examined the tire carefully and found that the knife marks were all from different angles, which did not seem to be the work of one person.

Feng Wu was about to persuade Fang Zheng when he heard the sound of a window breaking on the left side of a building.

Looking up, I saw a young man fall straight down from the second-floor window and land on the ground, convulsing and rolling on the floor.

At this moment, the door on the second floor opened, and several burly men rushed out, looking fierce and carrying machetes.

Leading the way was a massive, one-eyed man, at least 1.9 meters tall, like a small mountain.

The group rushed downstairs, making the whole building seem to shake.

The young man who had fallen out of the window struggled to crawl toward Feng Wu, shouting loudly:

"Help, brother, save me!"

Feng Wu ignored him. Seeing this, Fang Zheng lowered the cleaver he had raised and stood next to Feng Wu, his earlier impulsiveness gone.

Seeing that Feng Wu didn't move, the young man crawling on the ground hurriedly said, "Brother, please, one million, save my life, I'll give you one million."

"Really, I'm not lying to you, the 'Shuangde Tiao' dance hall is mine," the young man continued.

"snort!"

"You give him a million, but ask him if he'll even live to spend it?"

The burly men had already rushed downstairs, and the one-eyed man in the lead said mockingly to the young man on the ground.