Abnormal Doomsday Records

Chapter 4 04. I, the fighter of Slag Town, want money!

"Xiaoya, my dear girl, are you safe on your way to deliver the goods this time?"

The next morning, in the "mansion" of the mayor of Slag Town, Mayor Old Joe, who was about to go to the slag furnace to check the "production situation", smiled and handed a boiled egg to his lovely daughter who had just woken up. His sharp eyes were full of kindness.

Qiao Ya, who was standing opposite, made a face at her old father, peeled the fist-sized "wasteland egg" with light movements, ate the egg white herself and then stuffed the yolk into her father's mouth with a smile. She had been a sensible child since she was young and knew that her father, who worked every day, should supplement his nutrition.

The few six-winged chickens we raise at home are rare poultry in the badlands, and the daily eggs are also a good nutritional supplement.

"Uncle Ohm is with us. Why are you worried, Dad? He is an ascended ranger who can walk sideways in the bad land."

Qiao Ya, wearing a green shirt, overalls and boots, walked out the door holding her father's hand, chattering about her experience of delivering goods to several towns. She also boasted that her "trading" of selling high and buying low made her earn thousands of more consortium coins this time. Old Qiao was very satisfied after hearing this, and praised his good daughter for growing into an excellent Badlands merchant.

Qiao Ya was very happy with her father's unique exaggerated encouragement, so she soon said to Lao Qiao:
"Father, our fighters are going to the End Castle tomorrow, right? I plan to go with them, and by the way, settle the goods for the past few months with Tiger State, and collect the payment, so that we can have more financial resources during the New Year."

"I'll just worry about these things. My daughter just came back so she should rest at home."

Old Joe was impatient to talk to his daughter about these business matters. He was still quite traditional at heart, although in this era of "the collapse of rituals and the decline of music", sticking to tradition itself was a kind of pedantry.

Besides, his daughter is a beautiful girl in the area, how can he let her go to the place where the biological gangs of Hubang gather? Even with Ohm's protection, it doesn't mean everything will be fine.

The strong ones in the sublimated state are indeed powerful, but the well-known forces in the evil land also have sword-holders of equal strength under their command.

Old Joe shook his head and said to his daughter earnestly:

"Some merchants from the City-State District will come over in a while. Dad will take care of everything for you then. Wouldn't it be better to open a shop in the City-State District and do business there directly?

It's no use doing well in the Bad Land. Girls will always get married in the future. I don't want my good daughter to marry a gangster in the Bad Land and ruin the rest of her life. You should stay at home obediently recently. When your dad makes some connections, I will send you to the city-state area. Stay there for the rest of your life and don't come back.

You are born to live a good life as a civilized person, don't you know?"

"But my mother was also a young lady from the city-state area, and she married you, a hero from the evil land, didn't she?"

Qiao Ya refuted her father fiercely and said:

"It's not like I haven't seen those city-state people before. They are all very hypocritical. I still prefer to stay in Slag Town. This is my home. Just let me go and take a look around the Castle of the End."

At this point, seeing her father's expression that did not allow negotiation, Qiao Ya rolled her eyes and whispered in her father's ear:
"I will stay at home obediently after I come back from delivering the goods, and follow your instructions. I promise that I will only go there to collect the payment, and will not stay in the Castle of the End for too long or even go in. If you are worried, just let Uncle Ohm keep an eye on me.

Even if I go to the City State District to do business in the future, I still need to go out and see the world now, so as not to be cheated in the future, don’t you agree?”

"Um"

Old Joe thought about it but still didn't give in, and said casually:
"I'll think about it some more. Go ahead and take a rest."

After comforting his obedient daughter, the mayor shook his head helplessly. The mayor, who commanded seven hundred villains in Slag Town, could not muster the aura of a lord in front of his daughter.

There's no way. The child's mother passed away early, and I have always owed her all these years.

However, when Old Joe walked to the other side of the yard, the sadness on his rough face suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by the indifference that should be possessed by a "Lord of the Evil Land", the kind that could kill ten people in one breath without even raising an eyebrow.

He glanced at Ohm, who was standing at the door with a knife in his hand and his eyes closed. The latter nodded slightly to indicate that it was safe inside. Old Joe then walked into the container in front of him accompanied by several gunmen. His gunman captain was now shirtless and receiving treatment from the butler Old Li.

There were several more knife wounds on his scarred body, all of which were caused by Zhou Ke's hunting knife. However, the biochemical warrior had a strong physique and extraordinary self-healing ability, so these wounds were not fatal and had scabbed over overnight.

In a cage not far from the gunner captain, Zhou Ke leaned there and enjoyed a "baby-like sleep".

All his equipment was removed and put aside, and his face was washed with water, revealing a face that looked too young and fair despite the dust.

This made Old Joe raise his eyebrows. This young man looked to be in his early twenties, right?
"How about it?"

Old Joe stepped forward, picked up the "Wolverine" rifle, and fiddled with it in his hands, asking a question without any context. The gunner captain, who had closed his eyes to calm his rage, opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice:

"Generally, just an ordinary person with better shooting skills."

"Ordinary people?"

Old Qiao raised his eyebrows and scolded unhappily:

"An ordinary person knocked down the four gunmen I trained with great expense! You almost got yourself into trouble. If Ohm hadn't just happened to be protecting Xiaoya back to town, I'm afraid there would have been a bigger incident. Qiao Shan, tell me the truth, what happened?"

"He is really just an ordinary man, uncle. I don't mean to fool you."

The Gunners captain could no longer pretend to be cool and could only pout helplessly.

From the title, we can tell that this guy is related to Old Joe. No wonder Old Joe spent a lot of money to make him the most powerful biochemical warrior in the area.

He knew that his uncle would not tolerate any injustice, so he could only tell everything he saw, and finally guessed:
"Just looking at the clothes and weapons on this kid, I know he might be a city dweller. I asked old Taff, and he said his name is Zhou Ke, and he seems to have lost his memory, which is why he ended up in this situation. I suspect he might be from the Acholi Consortium, and he came to the Bad Land to do something shameful and ended up in trouble.

Maybe it's in Time Maze No. 11.
You know, the Acholi Group has been active there since last year.”

The Gunners captain Qiao Shan first glanced at his uncle's expression before continuing:

“This also explains why he is just an ordinary person, but his shooting skills are so good and he obviously has a well-trained foundation. And look at the device on his left arm. Doesn’t it look like the smart devices in the hands of those pretentious researchers?

Only they dare to use these things of old civilization in this evil land without fear of accidents.

Also, I want to emphasize!
Even if Master Ohm doesn't come, I can still take him down.

That guy must have injected himself with the violent needle in an attempt to fight to the death, but his body simply couldn't withstand the fighting style of the biochemical warrior, and I exhausted him to death."

"Humph, with your half-baked knowledge, I'm afraid you'll lose control before you kill him."

Old Joe agreed with his nephew's judgment, but he knew that his nephew had not yet perfectly mastered the power of the biochemical warrior, so he said no more, but just squatted down and looked at Zhou Ke who was sleeping in the cage.

After a moment, he turned back and asked the housekeeper, Lao Li:

"Do you think this guy can do it?"

"no problem."

The housekeeper Lao Li, who played the guest role of "White Paper Fan" in Slag Town, chewed an energy bar and said slowly:

“So what if he’s from the city?
He has lost his memory, so it's okay to send him to the End Castle. No one has ever left there alive. The 'Tiger King' Wu Qinhu doesn't care about his identity. Those lunatics just want to complete that damn ceremony. If something really goes wrong, we can distance ourselves from it.

This guy has some brains, and I'm sure there's something going on between him and old Taff.
Three of the four people who were knocked down last night only had minor injuries, and only Bud was left disabled. Bud's wife Ami and old Taf have been having an unclear relationship for more than a year or two, and there are doubts about whose fathers the two children are.

But it would be good to talk to him, Old Joe.

It would be best if he could go willingly, so as to avoid any more trouble on the way. The three fighters are the sacrifices that every town must hand over. Don't let the biochemical lunatics from Tiger State mess up at this critical moment."

"When he wakes up, bring him to me."

Qiao Can nodded, stood up and left the container.

He has to go to the slag furnace to work every day, but he doesn't have much time to spend here. His life is more like that of a factory manager in the wasteland era than that of a lord. It's the end of the world and he still can't be free. It has to be said to be a black humor.

But when he left, Old Joe walked over to Ohm and took out a pack of unwrapped and unfiltered cigarettes from his arms, and gave two to Ohm.

The latter no longer maintained the silent image of a "master". He took the cigarette in his mouth and turned his head to let Old Joe light it. While puffing out smoke, without waiting for Old Joe to speak, Ohm said in his hoarse voice:

"The gun belongs to the Snake Party, but the man has nothing to do with the Snake Party. He was hired by old Taft on his own initiative for personal purposes."

"Well, that's good. I don't want to mess with 'Snake Man' Yuri again. Although the old man is not as cruel as Wu Qinhu, he is also a legendary figure in the Bad Land. We in Slag Town can't mess with him." Old Joe glanced at the new black knight's sword on Ohm's waist. He hesitated for a moment and whispered:
"I'll tell you the truth, buddy. We're going to sell the thing we found. We can get a lot of money. We'll split it in half. But you also have to tell me what you're going to do next. Don't fool me. We've been friends for more than ten years."

"Don't worry, Old Joe. I am only grateful to you. I have no other thoughts."

Ohm blew out a smoke ring and sighed:
"I'll leave my share to Xiaoya. Once she's settled in the city-state, I'll spend the rest of my life in Slag Town. When you're gone, I'll help your nephew Qiao Shan take control of this place. He's at least half my apprentice."

"But I was wondering, do you think it's better for Xiaoya to go to the City State or the Snake State?"

Old Joe rarely showed his doubts in front of others. He took a deep puff of his cigarette, letting the smoke escape from his nostrils, rubbed his face, and said:

"She has the same personality as me. I'm afraid she won't be able to adapt to the City State District. Perhaps the Snake State is more suitable for her. After all, she has your relationship with her."

"It's been so many years, Old Joe. People are gone and the relationship I had is no longer the same as it used to be."

Ohm stamped out his cigarette and said:

“Send it to the city-state!
That's where Xiaoya should go, away from this stinking ditch where people are eaten without leaving any bones.

Also, don't touch the device on that guy's arm. I've seen it before, and it's a bit more complicated than the personal smart device used by the Acholi Consortium. This guy's identity is a bit questionable, send him away as soon as possible!"

"Ok?"

Old Joe narrowed his eyes immediately, a hint of coldness flashed across his eyes. He believed in the judgment of Ohm, a man who had seen the "big world", so he made a decision in his heart. Then he looked around and lowered his voice to talk about another thing.

"Jiubang sent someone here yesterday. They are very interested in the 'things' we have, but they want to see them in person before making an offer. I don't think this is reliable. What do you think?"

Ohm frowned when he heard this, and he scolded in a low voice with a hint of severity:
"The Acholi Consortium has already made an offer, Old Joe, and that was already a very good price. I asked you to hand over the item at that time, but you insisted on waiting for a higher price. Now that the Jiubang has also gotten involved, you think you can have the best of both worlds, but I think this is going to be very troublesome.

It’s better to act as soon as possible.

The origin of that thing is a bit too hot to handle, and it is beyond our control.”

"Calm down, Ohm. We lost more than a dozen people and you almost died before we got that thing. We must sell it for a good price. And I haven't finished talking yet. In fact, a few days ago, Rust Castle also..."

"Don't get involved with those crazy robots. You're crazy, Old Joe! Sell the stuff quickly! If you still want to save the more than 700 lives in Slag Town. Even for Xiaoya's sake, don't mess around. I beg you."

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, I'll think about it."
-
When Zhou Ke opened his eyes, he saw a big young man with short hair squatting outside the cage and staring at him.

This guy was shirtless, revealing scars of varying sizes, as well as the bandages that had just been applied. He was holding something like an energy bar in his hand and eating it while staring at Zhou Ke intently. His pair of bloodshot eyes did not contain much emotion.

That look is like a wolf.

He seemed to be waiting for Zhou Ke to speak first, and the guy in the cage was not shy either. He stretched his neck and stood up, feeling the pain in his chest, and reached out to the guy outside the cage and said:

"Anything else? Have one. I'm hungry."

"Ok?"

This familiar reaction confused the Gunners captain.

This was completely different from the confrontation he had imagined, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it. If you are hungry, you naturally need to eat, so he took out an energy bar from his pocket and handed it over.

Zhou Ke took it in his hand and glanced at it, and found that the packaging of this thing was very rough. It should be made by the Slag Town using food machinery. It should be the daily food for the townspeople. Then he looked at the production date. Shit, tomorrow?
"Well, we can't pursue too much right now."

He complained in a low voice, endured the pain in his chest, tore open the bag and took a bite. The taste was just as he had imagined, only slightly better than the pig food cooked by Boss Taf.

"You're not a Bionicle."

Qiao Shan outside the cage imitated his master Ohm's cold tone and said:

"But you can use bio-rage. I sensed it clearly last night. This is not normal. So, you are a psychic? Is imitating other people's fighting abilities your ability?"

"Well, I could be, depending on the situation."

Zhou Ke replied without even looking up, chewing the energy bar with difficulty, and said:
"I'm waiting for Mayor Qiao Chan to talk to me about the 'fighter'. You captured me alive for this. I'm willing to become the third fighter of Slag Town and replace poor Old Wang. But I have a few conditions."

"I am only responsible for taking you to see your uncle. Get up."

The captain of the gunners stood up and kicked the cage open. When Zhou Ke stood up, he saw the young man casually picked up an injection without any instructions or marks and threw it to him, pointing to his chest and said:
"I'll give you an injection. It will speed up the healing of bones and wounds. You have at least two broken ribs."

Zhou Ke couldn't help but gritted his teeth as he looked at the "three-no product" in his hand. The light yellow liquid flowing in the injection always made him feel as if "he would be infected with at least seven diseases if he got the injection", so he did not choose to have the injection.

On the one hand, he was being cautious, and on the other hand, the wound on his chest had actually healed a little.

This is not an illusion.

In his remaining memory, the last scene he saw in the thick smoke last night was a flying big foot with a strange green light spot kicking him in the face, breaking Lao Wang's mask. At the moment he fell unconscious, he clearly felt the broken mask turning into light spots and merging into his body.

After waking up, my perception became sharper, my strength seemed to be stronger, and the pain from the wound was decreasing over time. So, does my "Gold Finger Mask" still have the effect of healing and strengthening after being shattered by external force?
"What are you doing standing there?"

The indifferent Qiao Shan put on a coat and said:
"My uncle is waiting for you. He wanted to talk to you about becoming a fighter. Consider it us hiring you to fight for your life. You can make an offer, but don't be too high."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Zhou Ke put the healing injection in his pocket, walked out and looked around, and asked:
"Then there is only one last question left. So, what exactly is the duty of a fighter? And what is the purpose of the 'End of Life Celebration' held by Tiger State? Just by listening to the name, it sounds like a party."

"what?"

Qiao Shan, who had been pretending to be cool, couldn't hold himself back anymore.

In fact, he was not much older than Qiao Can's daughter Qiao Ya. He was still a young man and his emotions were not stable due to the biochemical transformation. At this moment, he turned around and looked at Zhou Keru with wide eyes as if he was a madman.

He complained:

"How dare you agree to be a 'fighter' when you know nothing? Old Taff wasn't lying, you really don't know anything!"

"I lost my memory. Maybe I was hit on the head by some monster in the Bad Land."

Zhou Ke took the last bite of the energy bar, pointed at his head and said:
"But I guess Mayor Qiao Chan would be willing to explain it to me, so please help me prepare a clean room, a decent set of clothes, a meal that's not too bad, and a place to take a shower. I'm sure I can get these things from him.

This is the most basic employee benefit besides salary after being successfully hired.”

"There are quite a lot of requirements."

The Gunner Captain bared his teeth and said:

"But you have ruined Bard. He is my subordinate."

"so what?"

Zhou Ke rolled his eyes and said:
"Do you want to avenge the cuckold king who took advantage of the situation?"

"Nothing, just thank you for helping me get rid of an incompetent relative, so that someone with ability can have a chance to come to the fore. My uncle won't spend more money to expand the guards, and everyone under my command has their own job."

The captain threw Zhou Ke's belongings over and said:
"I like people who are capable, courageous, and have character. My master said that such people can become heroes in any era, so when you come back, join me."

Zhou Ke did not answer. He just waved to Qiao Shan with his back to him, carrying a bag of things on his back. Then he went to see the mayor under the guidance of two gunmen.

Qiao Shan watched this "different" guy leave, unpacked another energy bar, and silently added in his heart:
"If you can really come back alive, I hope you can come back alive, but don't die in that damn place."

(End of this chapter)