by <unknown>
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s expression changed and he jumped backwards abruptly. In the same instant that he had reacted, a huge net sprung up from beneath the sand. It was embedded with shards of metal.
“The bastard dodged!”
A long-haired young man carrying a shotgun walked out from behind a tree. His clothes were ragged and patched with animal skin.
“Stand still!” he shouted.
The young man was most likely one of the residents from the encampment, and Han Xiao, not wishing to create unnecessary trouble, held his hands up above his head.
“I’m just a passerby.”
“A passerby?”
Han Xiao’s bulging backpack caught the young man’s eye.
“What’s in the bag? Take everything out! ”
Han Xiao sighed. No wonder the trap was so big; it was precisely meant to catch people. Morals are always blurred in times of trouble. Most wanderers were surviving citizens of the old countries who opted not to join the Six Nations. As life in the wild was harsh, killing and stealing might have been frowned upon, but they were inevitable occurrences.
“Are you deaf? I said, take everything out!” yelled the long-haired young man as he walked forward to hit Han Xiao on the forehead with the butt of his shotgun.
Han Xiao was exasperated. The only contents in his backpack were guns, ammo, and equipment that belonged to the Germinal Organisation. How was he going to explain that?
“Do you not understand me? Want me to screw you up‽”
The long-haired young man cocked the shotgun threateningly.
Suddenly, Han Xiao threw an elbow into the chest of the unsuspecting young man, sending him flying back in shock. Han Xiao grabbed the shotgun from him out of mid-air.
The young man landed heavily on the ground, and he clutched his chest in terror as he scrambled to crawl away.
Han Xiao cut out some rope from the trap and tied the whimpering young man to a tree.
When he examined the shotgun, he realized that its barrel was outright crooked and shook his head. At the very least, it implied that the young man had never killed before and that he had only been acting.
Nonetheless, the young man was so terrified that when he saw it in Han Xiao’s hand, he panicked even more.
“Big brother, please spare me! Forgive me for not recognizing Mt. Tai.”
Han Xiao slapped him squarely on the face, reprimanding, “So, you know that you were wrong‽”
“I was wrong. I was wrong,” blurted the young man shamelessly.
“Why?”
The young man thought for a moment before carefully answering, “I… should have brought one more gun?”
Han Xiao burst into laughter.
“You’re a funny one, eh?”
“Please show me mercy, Mr. Saint. Just let me go as if you’re passing wind,” sobbed the young man with dripping tears.
“Get lost! I’ve never passed such a big wind before.”
Han Xiao raised the shotgun and struck the young man across his face to knock him out cold. At the end of the day, the young man was most likely a resident of the encampment, and Han Xiao still needed to obtain food and water from them.
“Count yourself lucky.”
Half an hour later, Han Xiao finally reached the encampment. His appearance seemed to unsettle the wanderers.
Life in the wild was full of perils, and wanderers were often unwelcoming to outsiders. Their way of life was similar to that of the gypsies, and they were frequently on the go. There were pick-up trucks lined up outside the tent. Most of them were rusty and some didn’t even have exteriors.
Han Xiao noticed that there were only a few dozen tents, making this community a relatively small one. Nevertheless, it was a miniature society in its own, and Han Xiao located the camp’s merchant: a bearded westerner who conducted his business by his pick-up truck.
“Outsider?” The bearded man raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know the rules?” he asked.
“What rules?”
“Barter trading only.”
Well, that’s just fine , thought Han Xiao, since I don’t have a single penny.
“I want a map, three buckets of water, and five kilos of food. Bread or dried meat will do.” said Han Xiao as he retrieved a handful of bullets from his bag and put them on the truck.
“I’ll pay with this.”
“Gunpowder?”
The bearded merchant’s eyes flashed with greed.
Gunpowder was extremely valuable among wanderers as hunting was a key source of food.
“150 bullets,” stated the bearded merchant.
Han Xiao’s face darkened.
Daylight robbery!
The items he had asked for were basic necessities. There was no way that they could be worth so much.
Han Xiao’s bronze bullets were high-quality bullets that could easily go for $10 apiece, yet the merchant was asking for 150 of them, equivalent to $1,500!
“Up to you,” added the merchant nonchalantly as he turned his attention to his fingernails.
Chapter 14. The Old Era and the New |
As Han Xiao desperately needed food and water, he gave in to the merchant’s demand.
Sighing, he aligned 150 bullets on the back of the truck.
Suddenly, the big bearded man waved a finger.
“180.”
Han Xiao glared at him.
“Ohoho! Such scary eyes. Do you want to kill me or something? Quickly, people, come and see! This man wants to kill me!”
Dozens of wanderers gathered around in an instant. Some of them even came with sticks and bats.
“This is our territory. Are you trying to be funny kid?”
“Okay, okay. 180 bullets. Fuck me.”
Han Xiao hastily threw out more bullets in case he jacked the price up further.
The merchant laughed shrewdly and sent someone to fetch the goods.
After confirming the items, Han Xiao raised a middle finger at the merchant before turning around.
Suddenly, the merchant spoke.
“Hey, are you planning to walk out of the forest?”
“Why, you have a problem with that?”
“I have an old pickup. Want it?” asked the bearded merchant nicely.
“Not as though I can afford your price.” Han Xiao shot back.
“Oh, I think you can,” said the merchant as he pointed towards Han Xiao’s bag. “You have so many bullets. You must have many guns too.”
Han Xiao’s bag was indeed full of guns—high quality ones at that. He had looted from the Night Owl Squad. He even had the sniper rifle and some Kevlar vests. He could easily afford an old pickup.
However, Han Xiao shook his head.
A car would leave a trail. Han Xiao would rather not try racing a helicopter. Walking was safer.
Furthermore, if the Germinal Organization’s agents discovered their guns here, it would be disastrous not only for Han Xiao, but for the wanderers here as well. In some sense, it would be dishonest of him to sell them.
Although Han Xiao had recently killed a big number of people, it was not out of perverseness. It was to survive.
The merchant, however, was not an easily dissuaded person.
He was about to speak again when, suddenly, a man’s voice boomed out. “Kai Luo! You’re taking advantage of outsiders again!”
A well-built man clad in hunter’s clothes patched with animal skins appeared behind the crowd. As he strode forward to the centre of the crowd, everyone shifted to make way for him. The man seemed to command respect.
The big bearded merchant groaned.
“Hu Xuan Jun, I just painstakingly closed a deal. Don’t come and interfere!”
Hu Xuan Jun grabbed the bullets on the truck up and pushed them back into Han Xiao.
“The stuff you want isn’t actually worth much. Treat it as a gift. Here, take these back.”
Han Xiao was stunned by the man’s chivalry and stared at him in disbelie
f. The man was an extremely muscular Mongolian with white hair on the sides of his head, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. He looked very much the part of a righteous man, and Han Xiao instantly warmed up to him.
“Hey, what about me?” interrupted Kai Luo.
“Isn’t it just some food? I’ll give you more tomorrow,” replied Hu Xuan Jun casually.
Kai Luo was frustrated. It wasn’t every day that a foreigner came by for him to make a quick buck.
“He who comes from afar is a guest. You look too frail to be travelling alone. Why not recuperate over at my house?”
Han Xiao hesitated. He did indeed need a proper place to recuperate. In any case, Hu Xuan Jun had given him a very good first impression, so he nodded.
As Han Xiao followed Hu Xuan Jun, the crowd scattered. Kai Luo fumed, but there was nothing that he could do. He did not dare to offend Hu Xuan Jun.
Hu Xuan Jun led Han Xiao to his tent. As he entered the tent, he shouted, “An, we have a guest today. Cook more.”
“Okay!” replied a woman’s voice..
Han Xiao followed behind Hu Xuan Jun into the tent. An was a woman who looked rather ordinary and wore a simple waist skirt. Han Xiao noticed that she was blind.
“This is my wife,” introduced Hu Xuan Jun with a smile.
“Nice to meet you,” greeted An as she faced the entrance. She then turned back to pick up crockery, dried meat, and wild vegetables and arranged them inside a simple clay oven in the center of the tent.
Han Xiao and Hu Xuan Jun sat down and chatted away.
After a while, Han Xiao became certain that Hu Xuan Jun did not have any ulterior motives; he was simply an extremely nice person.
“I noticed earlier that most of the people in your community are white. How did you end up with them?” asked Han Xiao.
There were four races of humans on Aquamarine: black, white, yellow, and shanu.
“There wasn’t any special reason for it. It just happened to be a chaotic time. I met some travelers by chance and decided to stay with them as An was sick at the time. Although we come from different countries and are of different races, we are all remnants of the old era, and have all experienced the loss of our countries. There isn’t a need for distinction. We are all human after all.”
Some of those who had lost their countries chose to join the Six Nations. Others opted to join the Germinal Organization. The rest could only become wanderers. Wanderers made up a third of the planet’s population.
Aquamarine used to have over a hundred nations, but that all changed when an advanced civilization came into contact with the planet. The idea of advancing humanity and stepping out into space sparked a movement for sustainability, and the idea of unifying countries gained some popularity. While it was indeed far-fetched to think that that alone could change the face of the entire planet, there were people in power who supported the idea and conspired behind the scenes to make it happen. Long story short, after numerous wars, negotiations, and all kinds of peaceful and non-peaceful efforts, all the countries were united into the Six Nations in the span of a few decades.
Many things that people had once thought to be irreplaceable were simply shove aside by the unstoppable tides of change, and many lives were sacrificed in the process.
Such is civilization. People are like the sediments in the river, destined to go with the flow.
While maintaining the status quo is always easy, revolution always comes with pain and suffering. When comparing individual gain to societal improvement, it is natural for people to favor the former. Truly selfless people are rare creatures, otherwise selflessness would not be seen as a virtue. Statements such as “see, there are still good people in the world” are sad to hear.
Nevertheless, change had come too soon to Aquamarine.
“The Battle of Andrea was the nail in the coffin. Sometimes, I think about the way we took our lives for granted. I miss how life was peaceful back then. Who would have thought that change could come so suddenly? I mean, even if the planet’s resources do end up being depleted, wouldn’t that be in a few hundred years from now? Why do we have to answer for something like that?” lamented Hu Xuan Jun.
Han Xiao sighed empathetically.
Chapter 15. Burglary |
“Who knows, perhaps it was inevitable. Societal strife was destined to reach a boiling point. Maybe short-term pain is better than long-term suffering.” Han Xiao shrugged.
The Battle of Andrea set the post-unification landscape of the planet in stone.
Andrea was the name of a continent, once home to several nations. As the war developed, Andrea had, for some reason, became the proxy of the conflict. It was as though all the countries had agreed to settle things there once and for all, as though they were trying to contain the scale of damage inflicted onto the planet. However, billions of lives were lost as a result.
By the time the war ended, all that remained of Andrea was a desolate land of scorched earth and withered trees. Its rivers were left blighted, and the once fertile, lush landscape was no more. The Six Nations simply packed up and left as soon as the battle ended, ignoring the destruction that they had caused.
Han Xiao noticed an old blister on Hu Xuan Jun’s palm.
“You used to be a soldier?” he asked.
“Yes, for over ten years.”
“I thought that remnants like yourself would choose to join the Germinal Organization.”
Hu Xuan Jun shook his head.
“My home country was peacefully annexed by Stardragon. Soldiers like me didn’t have any say. We simply follow the decision that our leaders made. I do detest the Six Nations, but the Germinal Organization is no better. They popped out of nowhere to take advantage of our hatred for the Six Nations. Sigh… I’m a simple man. All I want is to escape war.”
“War is cruel. My eyes were blinded by a flash grenade. My husband and I fled tirelessly before settling here. Even though life as a wanderer is not easy, it is better than war,” An chimed in.
As she finished speaking, the smell of meat filled up the tent, causing Han Xiao’s mouth to water.
“How do you cook without being able to see?” he asked.
An puffed her cheeks.
“Don’t look down on me! I might be blind, but I can still smell, hear, and feel! It’s not like I don’t have any limbs.”
Hu Xuan Jun smiled.
“She has a strong character. Won’t even let me take care of her.”
“I don’t want to be your baggage,” responded An meekly, prompting Hu Xuan Jun to scratch his head in embarrassment. He hurriedly changed the subject.
“Oh right, I’ll let you take a look at my baby.”
Hu Xuan Jun opened a storage box beside him to retrieve an old-fashioned gun.
“Let’s see if you know your guns,” he said proudly.
_____________
Bayonet Musket (Old Era)
Grade: Average
Base Stats:
Damage: 38-40
Fire Rate: 0.9/s
Magazine Capacity: 20
Range: 200m Range
Power Output: 25
Durability: 5/300
Stat Bonus: +1 Dexterity
Length: 0.77m
Weight: 7.1kg
Additional Effects: Accurate
Remarks: This weapon has accompanied its master through countless battles.
_____________
“It is a fine gun,” praised Han Xiao. “Even though it has been used for so long, you still keep it well polished. The barrel is perfect. Truly a well-made gun.”
“This gun is my partner. He’s been with me for close to ten years,” laughed Hu Xuan Jun. “It only looks new because I frequently oil it. The truth is that its workings have aged. It can’t be used anymore.”
The pair continued to chat until the sky darkened and An had finished cooking.
An had cooked a gigantic pot of creamy soup filled with tender meat and wild vegetables. Not only was it extremely fra
grant and flavorful, it was also visually appetizing, and Han Xiao couldn’t help but drool.
Han Xiao gulped at the sight of the meat. He had had nothing good to eat for the past seven days! His closeness with Hu Jun Xuan was skyrocketing on the spot. +1! +1! +1!
After dinner, Hu Xuan Jun asked Han Xiao to stay for the night.
Han Xiao decided to stay since he did not intend to travel at night anyway. They laid a mattress for him and set up a partition.
“Your bag is too big. I’ll put it outside,” said An.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Before bringing his bag out, Han Xiao dismantled all the guns in his backpack to take out their triggers. He wrapped them in some animal skin that he got from Hu Jun Xuan and set the package in a corner.
Han Xiao also loaded up his 73-WASP and placed it under his pillow. Of course, he was not being weary of his warm hosts or anything like that. It was simply important always to be prepared and alert.
As soon as Han Xiao’s head hit the pillow, he instantly fell asleep.
His snoring could be heard through the curtain. Hu Xuan Jun laughed as he shook his head.
“Looks like he’s beat. Let’s not disturb him.”
An nodded and proceeded to take the cutlery outside to wash.
“Uncle, uncle! I’m famished!”
Suddenly, a disheveled young man entered the tent. His entire face was covered in mud, and there was a swollen bump on his head. It was none other than the young man that Han Xiao had encountered this afternoon.
He was Hu Xuan Jun’s nephew, Hu Fei.
“Where have you been all day? I didn’t see you at all,” questioned Hu Xuan Jun.
“I— I went out hunting,” stammered Hu Fei.
Hu Xuan Jun could tell that his nephew was lying. He pulled Hu Fei’s ear and began to scold him in a strict but soft voice, “Are you up to your pranks again‽ I told you that I would fucking chop them off if you took that broken shotgun to scare people again, didn’t I?”
Tears began to flow out of Hu Fei’s eyes as he filled up with indignance and pain. “Your nephew not only got bullied today, he was even tied to a tree for the entire day! I’m so tired and hungry, uncle, give me a break,” he thought.
