The biggest difference between a post-apocalyptic wasteland world and a typical apocalypse is that here, there are no disgusting zombies.
Yet, just like in other apocalyptic tales, the people living in this wasteland don’t possess any extraordinary supernatural powers.
In this world, humans can only rely on their own skills and wits to fend off danger. Although there are no zombies, the world is still fraught with peril—dangerous animals are far more numerous and vicious than before the apocalypse.
Late at night, Lin Duxi and his teammates stood back to back around a campfire. Surrounding them was a pack of gaunt but ferociously aggressive wolves.
A man beside Lin Duxi said, “Old Lin, this time, we might not make it out of here.”
Lin Duxi’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the wolf pack before him, then smiled, “In the next life, we’ll still be brothers.”
*
Time passed in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was Wednesday. Having already handed over today’s tasks in advance, Lin Xi set her alarm for 4:30 a.m.
She woke up during the coldest part of the night. The chill of the wind instantly snapped her awake.
After making herself some noodles, she grabbed her bag and stepped outside, where the cold was even more biting. In the courtyard on the first floor, she spotted Aunt Wang, the landlord, carrying coal out from a side shed.
Lin Xi had been living here for four years and had a very good relationship with Aunt Wang. Seeing Lin Xi, Aunt Wang glanced at the sky and put down the coal basket, saying, “Little Lin, why are you heading out so early?”
Aunt Wang was a true native of the capital city, her speech tinged with the unmistakable local accent. Even after four years of hearing it, Lin Xi still found it amusing.
“Yeah, got a busy day ahead. Has the heating been turned on in our courtyard?”
The courtyard Aunt Wang rented out was a self-built house. Lin Xi lived on the first floor, which had three units in total, each with two bedrooms and a living room. Aunt Wang’s family occupied one unit, while the other two were rented out to two different families.
The entire second floor was made up of single rooms, mostly rented by early risers and late-returning workers like Lin Xi.
Lin Xi’s rent was a thousand yuan a month, excluding utilities, but it did include heating.
Since self-built houses like hers didn’t have centralized heating, the landlord was responsible for turning on the heat.
“I checked the weather forecast. It’s dropping in temperature today, with lows hitting minus five degrees. It’s definitely time to get the heating going. If not, people will freeze to death out here,” Aunt Wang said.
It was indeed cold. As Lin Xi spoke with Aunt Wang, her breath formed a white mist in the air. She glanced at her wristwatch. “Yeah, it’s colder than usual this year. Aunt Wang, you keep busy—I’ll be off now.”
“Take care on the road,” Aunt Wang reminded her.
“Will do.”
With Aunt Wang’s blessing, Lin Xi opened the door and stepped outside.
The northern winter winds were fierce. Walking beneath the dim streetlights, her loose hair whipped wildly in the gusts behind her.
At 5:30 a.m., Lin Xi boarded the first bus of the day. The bus was nearly empty, and she took a seat by the window in the middle section.
Thanks to the gene repair serum, Lin Xi was eager to fly straight to her grandmother’s side. But having promised Lin Duxi, she had to fulfill her commitment before heading home.
There was another reason too—she simply couldn’t figure out the proper dosage for the gene repair serum. She wanted to ask in the chat group but didn’t even know whom to ask. So, she decided to wait until Lin Duxi finished his mission and came back.
These past few days, she had been anxiously waiting.
After just two subway stops, Lin Xi squeezed onto the morning rush hour train like a sardine.
Three and a half hours later, Lin Xi found herself standing on a relatively quiet street.
Although it was only nine in the morning, the entire street was almost deserted—not a single soul in sight, not even the usual elderly folks who would be out early for a stroll or to buy groceries.
Every house had a big red circle painted on the wall, with a large character meaning “demolish” written inside it. Lin Xi couldn’t help but envy them.
From her research, aside from the illegal methods listed in the criminal law, the only ways to get rich overnight were either winning the lottery or benefiting from demolition compensation.
Lin Duxi had told her this was the home of his ex-girlfriend Fang Qianqian’s affair partner, Zhang Qiang. The residents slated for demolition were also a key reason why Fang Qianqian chose to betray Lin Duxi.
Lin Xi took out her phone to carefully compare the address, making sure she wasn’t mistaken, before continuing forward.
Compared to outside the village, the inside was much livelier, with many elderly folks watching over children on both sides of the street.
People were very curious about Lin Xi’s arrival. As she walked by, everyone’s eyes followed her. She kept a calm expression, briefly glancing at the house number 29 on Heguang Street, then confidently strode toward the shop at number 28.
The shop was nearly empty. Pushing aside the thick door curtain, Lin Xi stepped inside and was greeted by a warm breeze. The shopkeeper’s wife behind the counter was sipping red jujube tea, the sweet aroma of heated jujubes filling the air.
The scent made Lin Xi a little hungry, and with her pressure easing, she decided to buy a red bean and coconut bread, along with two marinated eggs. Passing by the fridge, she grabbed a bottle of water as well.
When she reached the counter to pay, Lin Xi struck up a casual conversation with the shopkeeper’s wife. “Ma’am, I’m thinking of opening a nail salon here. I noticed the storefront next door looks good. Is it for rent?”
The shopkeeper’s wife paused her movements and looked at Lin Xi in surprise. “Young lady, hardly anyone comes here. Most of the residents are elderly. You won’t make much money opening a nail salon in a place like this.”
She earnestly advised Lin Xi, and seeing that Lin Xi was listening, she continued, “Besides, this village is about to be demolished soon. Even if you rent the place, you’ll have to move out before long. All the money you spend on renovations and rent will be wasted.”
The shopkeeper’s wife was in her forties and had two daughters, so she generally felt a soft spot for young girls.
She glanced outside quietly and whispered, “The people next door aren’t trustworthy. If you rent from them and your business picks up, they’ll find excuses to raise the rent. When the village was busier, someone rented from them to sell clothes. As soon as they started making money, the neighbors caused trouble. Now that place has been empty for five or six years. It’s not worth renting.”
After finishing her words, she already did the math: “That’ll be eight yuan in total.”
Lin Xi took out her phone to scan the QR code and casually remarked, “So heartless, huh?”
“Exactly. Not a single decent person in the Zhang family,” the shopkeeper’s wife muttered, pursing her lips and falling silent.
At that moment, a rumbling sound came from outside. A sapphire-blue sports car drove down the street. Through the half-open window, Lin Xi caught sight of a young couple inside.
The girl was stunning—wearing a white coat over a black turtleneck sweater, her jet-black straight hair framing lips that were faintly tinted a soft pink. She was the quintessential pure and fresh beauty that was all the rage these days.
The young man behind the wheel, however, was rather plain-looking—small eyes and a bit on the heavy side.
“Tsk,” Lin Xi clicked her tongue and turned away.
“Big sister, do you know them?” someone asked.
“How could I not? That’s the Zhang family next door. Like I told you, that family. They used to live in the neighboring village, but at the end of last year, their land was taken to build a school, so they had to move. Zhang Qiang is their only son. He got the compensation money from the relocation and spent it all on his car.”
“The girl sitting next to him is Zhang Qiang’s girlfriend. She’s supposedly some kind of school beauty at Zhang Qiang’s school. But she’s not a good person either. Not long ago, someone came looking for her, asking if she knew about her ex-boyfriend’s situation.”
It was kind of funny, actually—Zhang Qiang and Lin Duxi were in the same major and even the same class.
Lin Xi and the shopkeeper’s wife had been chatting for a while, and finally, some news about Lin Duxi surfaced. Lin Xi kept her expression calm: “If they’re exes, why would anyone be looking for her?”
The shopkeeper’s wife let out a sigh, clearly exasperated: “That’s exactly why they’re not family—they just don’t get along. I heard that this so-called school beauty was actually ‘taken’ by Zhang Qiang. When they first got together, she hadn’t even broken up with her ex yet.”
“They weren’t together long before her ex found out. He’s an orphan, and apparently, this hit him really hard. So he left town and cut off all contact.” The shopkeeper’s wife clicked her tongue twice, clearly looking down on the ex who had run away after being hurt.
A grown man, breaking up is one thing, but to be so devastated he runs off? What kind of future does he have? The shopkeeper’s wife was convinced that if her own daughter ended up with a man like that, she’d have a stroke.
“If that’s true, he’s pretty irresponsible. Shopkeeper’s Wife, how do you know all this?”
“Oh, how could we not know? Zhang Qiang’s parents are like open books—can’t keep a secret to save their lives. They look down on that so-called school beauty, always gossiping about how she’s throwing herself at Zhang Qiang. The whole village knows, and with how connected we all are these days, we even have a group chat.”
“Besides, that whole family is so loud and boastful. Lots of people around here have gotten relocation money, but no one else shows off like they do. Especially Zhang Qiang—he drives that beat-up little car around the village every day. It’s so annoying.”
This village is divided into Upper Village and Lower Village. Upper Village is here, while Lower Village isn’t far from here. Last summer, the compensation payments for demolition arrived first in Lower Village. Zhang Qiang’s family owns a piece of land in Lower Village. As soon as rumors of demolition began to circulate, his family spent money to leverage connections and had that land converted into a residential plot, then built a house on it.
Now, with the demolition, they received several million yuan in compensation plus two houses.
The Shopkeeper’s Wife felt a pang of bitterness as she thought about this. Just then, someone came in to buy cigarettes, so she hurried over to serve them. Lin Xi stepped out of the room, exhaling deeply before pulling out her phone to check it.
Only then did she realize that Lin Duxi had sent her a message. Lin Xi immediately opened it.
[Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: I have returned safely.]
The heavy weight on Lin Xi’s heart finally lifted. She replied: [Today’s Wednesday. I went to the address you gave me and met Zhang Qiang and your ex-girlfriend. Their family’s demolition happened at the end of last year.]
Although she knew this news wouldn’t be good for Lin Duxi, who hoped day and night for them to get their comeuppance, as a client, Lin Xi still reported the facts honestly.
Lin Duxi’s reply came quickly: [Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: I guessed as much.]
In the post-apocalyptic wasteland dimension, Lin Duxi sat in a room styled like something from Syria. Sitting by the window, he gazed out at a vast, misty world. A gust of wind blew, sending clouds of yellow dust swirling through the air.
“Desolate” was too mild a word to describe it.
Lin Duxi withdrew his gaze and messaged again: [Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: I guessed as much. I discovered what was going on late at night. That day, I had just finished a project and returned home, but she wasn’t there.]
[I found a man’s belt at home and recognized it as Zhang Qiang’s. Angry, I went to Zhang Qiang’s house, but at the intersection, I saw the two of them kissing inside a car.]
[They saw me too. Zhang Qiang drove the car straight at me.]
Even now, the memories of that night remained painfully vivid — every detail etched clearly in Lin Duxi’s mind.
Because he hated them so much, because he was so unwilling to accept it, that hatred and unwillingness gnawed at his heart day and night, haunting his dreams over and over.
Lin Xi sighed: [Should I help you report this to the police?]
Feeling powerless, Lin Xi thought helping Lin Duxi file a police report was the only thing she could do for him.
[Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: If you can, thank you.]
Just as Lin Xi read this, another message popped up: [Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: I have a habit of blogging, and because of my work, I routinely back up all the data on my phone.]
[Also, the room I rented has a hidden camera pointed at the entrance hallway. Every four hours, it automatically backs up footage to the cloud, and the recordings are kept for three years.]
Seeing Lin Duxi’s messages, Lin Xi felt a flicker of hope. She left the village and found an internet café, logging into Lin Duxi’s cloud account. After entering the password, she searched by date and found the footage stored on the day Lin Duxi “disappeared.” She clearly saw the scenes inside the rented room before he vanished.
In the video, Fang Qianqian, with her pure and innocent looks, was seen embracing a slightly overweight, plain-looking man as they entered the house. Before they even reached the foyer, they were already kissing passionately. Soon after, they leaned against the shoe rack by the entrance, indulging in an intense moment of physical harmony.
Lin Xi clenched his teeth, fighting back nausea as he fast-forwarded the footage. Five minutes later, the two stepped out, still locked in a kiss.
The camera then lingered on an empty shot of the foyer. About two hours later, at around 2 a.m., Lin Duxi returned home. Upon seeing the chaotic mess scattered across the entrance, he pulled out his phone to check the cloud storage. His face turned ashen before he silently left.
An hour later, Fang Qianqian hurried back. Her pure white dress was stained with a large, vivid red blotch—resembling a blooming rose in full glory.
