Prologue

Prologue: The Seven Deadly Sins

Catastrophe.

In the wake of a sudden catastrophe, the land lay in ruins — species had mutated, food was scarce, living conditions were brutal, the old era was utterly destroyed, and civilization had ceased to exist.

……

In an unplanned anarchic zone three hundred kilometers to the left of Special District Nine, on a nameless street, a twenty-three-year-old young man walked briskly with his head down, clutching the front of his jacket.

The street was dilapidated and ugly. The underground sewage system had completely collapsed god knows how many years ago, and rows of makeshift outdoor toilets reeked of filth, connected one after another to the storefronts lining the road. Lighting was rare throughout the area, and from time to time you could see clusters of people standing together along the roadside — mostly women, with few men among them.

The young man walking briskly with eyes fixed straight ahead was named Qin Yu. He stood one meter eighty-two, with a solid, muscular build. He had lost his job that day and was on his way to buy an official resident identity for Special District Nine — the first step in his plan.

Qin Yu had originally been a clean-cut, good-looking guy with well-defined features — the sunny, handsome type. But right now he looked rather slovenly: unshaved, his slightly long hair clumped together, his clothes visibly stained with grease and grime. In short, he blended right into the crowd without drawing a second glance.

After walking briskly for a while, Qin Yu looked up at the intersection and prepared to turn left toward his place.

“Hey, mister, hey…!”

A clear voice rang out. A woman in a washed-out dress, wrapped in an outer coat, reached out from the roadside and lightly tugged at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu froze for a moment and looked back. “What do you want?”

“Thirty yuan.” The woman held up three slender fingers, glanced back at the run-down storefront behind her, and said quietly, “We can go in there.”

“Ha, can’t afford it.” Qin Yu smiled and kept walking.

“Wait.” The woman reached out and tugged at him again. “Twenty-five — will twenty-five work?”

Qin Yu turned and looked her over, paused for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t have money.”

“Not interested in me? There are others inside.”

“I really don’t have money.” Qin Yu shook his arm free. “Let go of me, I need to get home.”

The woman bit her red lip, her small hand gripping Qin Yu tightly. After a long silence she added softly, “Two bowls of rice would work too, but you’d have to use my bowl to measure.”

Qin Yu frowned. “I told you I don’t have any. Get lost!”

The woman still didn’t let go. She looked back longingly at a group of children around seven or eight years old standing near the storefront and said, “…I have three kids. No business tonight means I can’t feed them… Mister, please have a heart. Help me just this once — even one bowl of rice. I’ll kneel down for you.”

Qin Yu looked at her and said coldly, “How many years has the world been like this? In conditions like these, if you don’t have the means to raise children, why are you having them?”

The woman froze.

Qin Yu yanked his arm free and walked on, clutching the front of his jacket.

After standing there for a long moment, the woman ran back to the storefront, breathless, and said, “That man has some — he has it. When I grabbed his arm, I saw what he had tucked inside his jacket.”

……

About half an hour later.

Qin Yu returned to a crumbling six-story building and climbed the old, dust-covered stairs to his home on the fifth floor.

Only Qin Yu and his friend Xiao Zhuang lived in this building. Large sections of the outer walls had collapsed — back in the old days it would have been condemned as a dangerous structure on the verge of demolition. But in this era, the meaning of “home” was simply wherever you happened to be, with nothing to do with what kind of place you lived in. Qin Yu had chosen this spot because there was no electricity and no water supply, so he didn’t have to pay any expensive living costs.

The room was sparse: one bed, two broken cabinets, no entertainment of any kind, and a single dog-eared military enthusiast magazine with a publication date of 2019.

After coming inside, Qin Yu took off his dirty outer coat and pulled a worn, shiny canvas bag from inside his jacket. He carefully made his way to the bedside, picked up a chipped bowl, and began scooping out tempting white rice, calling out as he did, “Xiao Zhuang, is the food ready?”

“Not yet, I just got back too.” Someone answered from the inner room, and a young man about the same age as Qin Yu walked out — dark-skinned, with a rugged face.

Thud thud thud!

Just as Qin Yu was about to talk to Xiao Zhuang, a thunderous sound of footsteps suddenly erupted from below. He froze, then immediately hid the bag and bowl in the cabinet and stepped toward the doorway, which had nothing but a battered wooden plank for a door.

In less than ten seconds, seven or eight children under the age of ten appeared in the stairwell, leading dozens of men and women behind them.

The staircase was on the outside of the building — concrete cracked, iron railings rusted. With so many people charging up at once and at such a frantic pace, the whole decrepit building seemed to sway.

Qin Yu immediately threw out his hand and shouted, “Don’t — don’t rush up like that, damn it, the stairs are going to collapse.”

“Uncle, I’m hungry.”

“Uncle, I want food…”

“…!”

Each child held a small bowl, standing on the stairs, looking up at Qin Yu with dirty faces.

“Uncle’s hungry too — have you had dinner at your place? If not, let’s eat together,” Qin Yu shot back with a grin.

The children’s eyes were innocent and their minds simple, but the adults behind them had stripped away the most basic pretense of humanity. A stocky, shaved-headed man was the first to shout, “Hand over the food, or you’re not getting past us.”

“I don’t have any food,” Qin Yu waved his hand. “I really don’t. We’re all starving ghosts in this unplanned zone — nobody has it easy. If I actually had some, I wouldn’t say I’d cover all of you, but at least I’d give some…”

“Cut the crap. Someone saw you carrying food.” The big man kept shouting. “Hurry up — hand it over and we’ll leave. We won’t take much, just half.”

“I don’t have any.”

Qin Yu shook his head.

“Get inside his room.” The big man bellowed in a deep voice.

“Uncle, I want something to eat.”

“Give me food.”

“…!”

The crowd surged toward the doorway. The staircase bolted to the outside of the building began to shake again, as if it could give way at any moment.

Qin Yu looked at the swarming crowd and his eyes went red in an instant. He raised his right leg, yanked a knife from his grimy trouser leg with his right hand, pointed it at the crowd and shouted, “Damn it, you think I’m some lone wolf you can push around?! Who the hell is afraid to die out here? I’ve got food — snap this blade in half and I’ll give it to you.”

The crowd paused briefly. The big man called out coldly, “The kids are up front. Go ahead and stab them first.”

“What the f—…!” Qin Yu was at a loss for words.

“Get inside. Get the food.” The big man waved his hand and roared again.

The moment he finished speaking, the people on the stairs shoved forward in a swarm. The children closed in too, grabbing at Qin Yu and shouting, “Uncle, give me something to eat.”

“Uncle, I haven’t eaten in days.”

“All of you, get lost!”

Qin Yu held the knife, helplessly yelling at the children, “Or I’ll really stab — I’ll stab…”

Inside, Xiao Zhuang saw the commotion at the door and rushed forward to hold Qin Yu back, shouting at the crowd, “Everyone calm down, let’s talk this out.”

The children were so starved they were beyond fear, and they kept clinging to Qin Yu while the adults behind them had already squeezed through the gaps and pushed forward.

Qin Yu, with his solid build, planted himself sideways in the doorway, eyes bulging as he roared, “I only live for myself — don’t push me!”

The crowd pressed forward in a frenzy toward the door, ignoring every word Qin Yu said.

The short children kept dragging Qin Yu sideways away from the doorway, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually stab them, so he could only struggle and brace himself for the adults pushing through.

“Uncle, just one bowl of rice is all I need…”

“Get lost!”

A child of about ten was pulling hard at Qin Yu when Qin Yu swung his arm sharply to break free — but the child unexpectedly crashed into the surging crowd, lost his footing, and fell backward through a gap in the iron railing.

“Ahh!!”

A child’s terrified scream rang out and echoed for a long time.

Thud!

Then the sound of a body hitting the ground rose from below.

Qin Yu and Xiao Zhuang were stunned. They stared at the iron railing, gasping, momentarily at a loss.

The crowd went silent. The staircase steadied.

“The child — that child fell.” Xiao Zhuang was the first to shout, his voice urgent.

Dozens of people turned to glance down below, their expressions blank. In less than two seconds they all turned their heads back again. The child’s mother stood frozen for a moment, then let out a wail and bolted down the stairs.

Qin Yu stood there dumbstruck.

“The food.”

“A kid just fell — they’re definitely not letting him go without handing over the food.”

“Just rob him.”

“…!”

Shouts filled the air, the pressure overwhelming. Not a single one of the remaining adults turned to check on the child who had fallen below — they kept pressing together, pushing forward.

Xiao Zhuang stood in the doorway, eyes wide, staring at the surging crowd. He knew perfectly well that if they didn’t give something up today, they’d have to fight for their lives. So he licked his lips and shouted, “Fine, you win. I’m backing down, I give… I’ll get it for you.”

Qin Yu heard this and immediately grabbed Xiao Zhuang’s arm, ordering him in a low voice, “Don’t give them anything — not a single grain.”

Xiao Zhuang stared at the swarming crowd outside, eyes wide. “The food’s already been spotted. If we don’t give them a taste, these people aren’t going anywhere.”

“Giving them a taste will only make things worse.” Qin Yu’s tone was dead serious. “Better fight to the death than give an inch.”

“Bullshit!” Xiao Zhuang disagreed. He held his ground and said, “Between the two of us, you’re the only one with a weapon. But there are so many people out there — are you sure you can hold them off? If you can’t, we’re definitely getting robbed. They’ve already lost their heads — can’t you see that?”

“Just listen to me. I’ll go get the weapon.”

“Xiao Yu, didn’t you see? A kid fell and they still didn’t leave. These people have lost all reason…” Xiao Zhuang pulled free of Qin Yu’s grip and replied in a low voice, “We’ve got more than enough to eat, and we’ve already converted what we needed to cash. Giving them one bowl of rice isn’t a big loss for us, so I’m not willing to gamble with my life. That food is partly mine, and I have the right to decide how it’s used.”

Qin Yu had nothing to say to that.

Xiao Zhuang squared himself up, eyes wide, and shouted at the lead man, “Even the unplanned zone has its own rules for survival. Take the rice and don’t cause any more trouble — now get out of here!”

“As long as we’re not starving, we’ll clear out right away.” The lead man nodded.

Xiao Zhuang stepped back inside, walked over, and came back with a large bowl of rice, setting it down on the ground with a thud. “Now go.”

Dozens of people stared at the rice on the ground, every pair of eyes gleaming with greed, yet none of them moved to take it.

The lead man was silent for a few seconds, then reached down and untied the cloth bag from his waist, pouring all the rice into it in one go.

“Get moving!” Xiao Zhuang said impatiently, waving them off.

The crowd stood at the doorway without moving. The lead man looked the two of them over, sweat beading on his forehead, the rice tied back at his waist — and he didn’t leave either.

“I told you to go. Don’t you understand?” Xiao Zhuang frowned and waved them off again.

After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd — no telling who — shouted, “If he could give us one bowl of rice, he’s got at least a whole sack of it!”

“Give us more — there are too many of us, this isn’t nearly enough.”

“More rice.”

“Why bother talking? Just go in and take it.”

“…!”

Shouts and curses echoed through the six-story building again, and this time some in the crowd quietly produced knives and weapons, eyeing Xiao Zhuang with dark, sunken stares — not a trace of gratitude on their faces…

The lead man opened his palm and said in a low, heavy voice, “You can see for yourself — these people have gone mad with hunger. I can’t hold them back. Why don’t you just bring out the rice sack and we’ll split it half and half.”

“You people are f—…!” Xiao Zhuang panicked and pulled out his own knife.

“What are you going to do, fight us?”

“You think we’re scared? We’re half-dead from hunger — you think we’re afraid of knives and guns?”

“…!”

The crowd paid no attention to Xiao Zhuang at all and followed the big man, surging into the room.

Xiao Zhuang was stunned, rooted to the spot, completely at a loss. At this point he wanted to fight back,But he didn’t have the confidence to handle these grain-grabbers who were about to go berserk; yet if he didn’t act, it was clear he couldn’t protect his own things.

　　”Click, click!”

　　Just then, Qin Yu yanked out of the cabinet a large-caliber handgun at least 20 centimeters long with a three-cylinder rotating loading mechanism, and immediately turned the cylinder to chamber a round.

　　The crowd instinctively stopped in their tracks at the sight of the gun.

　　Qin Yu expressionlessly pulled an entire large bag of grain out of the cabinet and tossed it onto the floor, shouting, “All the food’s right here, anyone who wants it can come and take it.”

　　The crowd fell silent.

　　”Who do you think you’re scaring?” the lead tough guy shouted with bloodshot eyes, “Starving to death is still dying, you think we’re afraid of some broken gun?”

　　Qin Yu tilted his head and looked at him, pointing at the grain bag with his left hand and shouting, “The food’s right here, if you’ve got hands you can take it, so come on up!”

　　The lead tough guy hesitated for only half a second before turning and shouting, “There are so many of us and he’s only got one gun, I don’t believe he can shoot us all dead.”

　　With that, the lead tough guy stepped forward and reached out to grab the grain bag.

　　”Bang!”

　　The gun fired, the cylinder turned.

　　The lead tough guy flew back half a meter, blood splattered across the floor, a massive hole blown through his chest.

　　Qin Yu held the gun in his right hand and called out with no change in expression, “Without food, you might starve to death in a few days. But whoever reaches for it first right now, I’ll put a bullet in them first.”

　　Everyone looked at each other in silence, not saying a word.

　　”I’ve got two rounds left, are you taking it or not?” Qin Yu suddenly roared.

　　Everyone stepped back two paces.

　　Qin Yu stepped forward, bent down and untied the grain bag from the tough guy’s waist, and called out in a low voice, “Xiao Zhuang, grab your stuff, we’re leaving.”

　　Xiao Zhuang heard this and immediately went back into the room.

　　Qin Yu raised his gun and shouted, “Line up in two rows and get out of my way.”

　　The crowd didn’t move.

　　Qin Yu raised the gun and aimed it at the person nearest to him, yelling, “You moving or not?”

　　That person hesitated half a second and immediately stepped aside, and the rest of the crowd followed suit, clearing the path to the stairs.

　　Five minutes later, Qin Yu reached the ground floor and found the mother holding her injured child, wailing loudly.

　　Qin Yu was silent for a few seconds, then reached out and tossed over the rice he had just given to the tough guy, saying, “They’ll be coming down soon, you should hide the food.”

　　The mother was stunned for a moment, then quickly took the grain bag and said, “Thank you, thank you, I’ll kowtow to you, with food we won’t have to die…….”

　　Qin Yu led Xiao Zhuang away and quickly disappeared into the night.

　　……

　　Just past 3 in the morning, in the vast and endless Gobi desert, Qin Yu divided up the grain and tossed Xiao Zhuang’s share to him, saying, “I’ve given you back your things, let’s go our separate ways.”

　　Xiao Zhuang was stunned and asked in confusion, “Is it really necessary? It was just the two of us disagreeing earlier……I don’t think I even…….”

　　Qin Yu waved his hand to cut him off, “Xiao Zhuang, when two people aren’t on the same path, they shouldn’t stick together, it’s easy to end up hurting you and hurting me. I’m heading to Zone 9……take care of yourself.”

　　With that, Qin Yu turned and left without a moment’s hesitation, heading toward his first destination in this new life, Special Zone 9.

　　……

　　Inside a military camp to the left of the planned zone, a Black man flashing a big white smile asked in fluent Mandarin, “Someone just fired a gun in there, should we go check it out?”

　　”Check what, there’s grain-grabbing and people dying here every single day, they even dare to ambush military vehicles, who the hell are we to get involved……?” an old hand lying lazily on a worn wooden bed inside the room replied, puffing on cheap dry tobacco.