“Welcome to Iron Nail Town,” read the slogan hanging at the town’s entrance. Rather than a town, it was more accurately described as a refugee camp. Scrapped cars, furniture, and corrugated iron were piled together, riveted, and then formed into a circle, creating the rudimentary shape of the town.
The two-meter-high wall looked precarious, covered in various spikes and barbed wire. Outside the wall, there were also various wooden fences, more barbed wire, and armed soldiers.
Feng Jun thought it was ridiculous for such a dilapidated place to call itself a town; in his eyes, it wasn't even a village.
However, this was the largest human settlement within dozens of miles, and Feng Jun had traveled for two days to reach it.
A long queue had already formed at the guard post by the entrance, as regulations required a fee to enter the town.
If you didn't have the fee, it was impossible to get in, and you shouldn't even think about blending into the crowd or forcing your way through.
On both sides of the gate stood more than a dozen tall crosses, each with an unfortunate individual tied to it with barbed wire.
A sign hung around each person's neck, stating the reason for their public display.
Some were caught trying to sneak into town by the guards, some violated regulations by fighting in town, and others were thieves.
Among them, Feng Jun even spotted a very strong Black man, though he was barely clinging to life, his limbs broken, and the barbed wire deeply embedded in his neck.
He would likely die soon and turn into a zombie tied to the cross.
Soon, Feng Jun reached the front of the line to enter the town.
Standing at the entrance were two militiamen with relatively well-equipped gear, holding two strangely shaped guns.
However, Feng Jun didn't dare doubt the power of these two guns; he had just witnessed them shoot a person who was causing trouble at the entrance.
Their two guns were somewhat old, and one of them even had its original stock replaced with wood, giving it a somewhat primitive feel.
“Entrance fee: 4 helium crystal points, no time limit,” the soldier said coldly, without making any other demands.
Hearing this, Feng Jun breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that, as he understood, as long as he paid, he could stay as long as he wished.
“I don’t have helium crystal. Can I use this can of food?” Feng Jun reached into his Pregnant and pulled out a can of luncheon meat, offering it to the guard.
The two guards’ eyes widened as they saw the item, then became ecstatic.
One of them glanced around to confirm no one else was nearby, quickly took the can, and waved to the other, signaling to let Feng Jun pass.
Feng Jun also breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing their reaction, he could guess that the can of food was quite valuable here.
Just as he was about to enter the town, the militiaman behind him suddenly spoke.
“Wait a moment.”
Hearing them call out to him, Feng Jun immediately became wary, his right hand instinctively reaching for his waist.
Were these two men planning to take advantage of his wealth?
After calling Feng Jun, the two soldiers exchanged a few words.
One of them, a burly man with a full beard, walked over and handed Feng Jun two black crystals the size of a thumb.
“Friend, take these. We just looked at this can of meat. It’s probably worth over 50 helium crystal points.
We can’t just take such a big advantage of you. These two helium crystal are your change, worth 30 helium crystal. Please take them.”
Feng Jun then understood that these two felt they had taken too much advantage of him by accepting the can of food, which was why they called him back to offer some compensation.
He never expected to find such good people in this Doomsday.
He recalled how, just a few days ago, he had given a packet of biscuits to a pitiful child outside, only to be caught and robbed by a group of people.
They even considered boiling and eating him that night, seeing his fair skin.
Fortunately, Feng Jun was not an ordinary person; he had transmigrated from another world.
He managed to escape by instantly transmigrating when the group wasn't paying attention, thus avoiding disaster.
Therefore, Feng Jun was now extremely wary of everyone around him wherever he went.
However, the actions of these two men touched Feng Jun considerably.
There were still good people in this world!
Feng Jun was not originally from this world.
After a solo mountain climb, he was struck by lightning, gaining the ability to transmigrate.
He also acquired a storage space the size of a garage, about 12 square meters.
Initially, Feng Jun was overjoyed at gaining the transmigration ability, thinking he was the chosen one who could become a middleman between two worlds, using transmigration and storage space to get rich.
However, this space didn't come for free.
The storage space informed Feng Jun that he had to find something called a gene seed and put it into the storage space.
Otherwise, he would be erased after one year.
Helpless, Feng Jun had no choice but to explore the Doomsday while inquiring about the whereabouts of the gene seed.
The wasteland was sparsely populated, and as an ordinary person with no survival experience, Feng Jun found exploration extremely difficult.
He had been exploring the wasteland for over a month, encountering several dangerous situations, but he always managed to escape by instantly transmigrating.
Looking at the helium crystal offered to him, Feng Jun reached out and took it.
Since this item could be used as currency, it naturally had its value.
The two militiamen smiled slightly when they saw Feng Jun accept the helium crystal.
The bearded man spoke, “My name is Song Peng, and this is my brother Song Zhan.
From now on, if you come to Iron Nail Town, just look for us brothers.
We are on duty at the entrance today, so we can’t invite you for a drink.”
Feng Jun observed Song Peng and Song Zhan.
The two looked very similar and were likely biological brothers.
Song Peng had a full beard, while Song Zhan had a scar running from his left eye to the corner of his mouth, making him look fierce and intimidating.
However, sincerity shone in their eyes, and Song Zhan even gave a simple, honest smile.
Feng Jun felt that these two could be befriended, so after introducing himself, he took out another pack of cigarettes and offered it to them.
Even Song Zhan, who was standing behind, couldn't stand still when he saw the cigarettes.
Since there was no one else entering the town at the moment, the two brothers gathered around.
The two pulled Feng Jun aside, checked that no one was around, and then carefully opened the cigarette pack.
They each took out two cigarettes and sniffed them thoroughly for a long time.
Feng Jun took out his lighter to light them.
However, Song Peng only lit one cigarette, and the two brothers took turns smoking it, one puff after another.
The other cigarette was carefully put away by Song Zhan, and the opened pack of cigarettes was handed back.
“Little brother, where are you from? You have so many supplies; you shouldn’t show them off anymore,” Song Peng said, extinguishing his half-smoked cigarette and putting it away.
“Exactly, exactly! This one pack of cigarettes could buy several rooms in town, and it’s still in high demand but short supply,” Song Zhan seemed to be still craving, continuously inhaling the secondhand smoke exhaled by Song Peng.
“Big brothers, I’m new here and don’t know the market prices.
I’m going to trade some supplies later.
Could you two big brothers give me some guidance?” Feng Jun didn’t take back the cigarettes; instead, he pushed them back to Song Peng.
He still had more than a dozen packs of such Liqun cigarettes in his storage space.
He noticed that these two seemed to be professional soldiers, different from ordinary people.
It would be best if he could win them over.
“Since you’re here to trade supplies, don’t trade at the stalls in town.
Those are just mobile vendors and small mercenary teams.
They won’t give you a good price, and they might even covet your goods.
There’s an ‘Iron Rose Bar’ in town; I’ll take you there later.
The owner there will naturally give you a fair price, and you won’t have to worry about being targeted.” Song Peng saw that Feng Jun insisted on giving him the cigarettes, so he no longer resisted and accepted them.
Then, Song Peng took out his walkie-talkie and called another soldier.
After giving him a cigarette, he asked him to take over the gate duty for him and Song Zhan.
He then led Feng Jun into the town.
Iron Nail Town was indeed true to its name; inside, houses were constructed everywhere from patched-together iron sheets and rivets.
The people on the streets were not much better off than those in the wasteland.
Most pedestrians on the streets were emaciated.
Many people sold homemade food on the street, such as Mutated Creatures rat meat, fist-sized Mutated Creatures snails, four-eyed Mutated Creatures bullfrogs, and there were even a few women and men confined in iron cages, being sold as slaves.
Pedestrians on the streets were also in a hurry, with hardly anyone stopping to buy things.
Occasionally, a few mercenaries carrying guns were seen buying food; one jin of Mutated Creatures rat meat cost about 5 helium crystal points.
Feng Jun was curious how they determined the points within the helium crystal, so he asked Song Peng.
“Don’t you have your own IEM?” Song Peng was surprised when he learned that Feng Jun couldn’t distinguish helium crystal points.
“What is an IEM?” Feng Jun indicated that he didn’t know.
Song Peng then gave Feng Jun a thumbs-up.
“Brother Feng Jun is too fierce; he dares to wander the wasteland without an IEM.” Then, he raised his left hand and pulled up his sleeve, revealing something tightly attached to his forearm, like an armguard.
“A Personal Wrist Terminal. You can’t get by in the wasteland without this.” Song Peng said, taking out an identical item from his backpack and handing it to Feng Jun.
Feng Jun took it with some confusion and, mimicking Song Peng, put it on his left arm.
He didn't know what material this item was made of; it was elastic and retractable.
It was also very light and felt almost imperceptible on his hand.
It had several buttons and a touch screen.
Feng Jun tried it out and quickly figured out how to use it.
Soon, the screen lit up, displaying Feng Jun’s physical status.
Name: Feng Jun, Young Man
Physical Condition: Healthy, Slight Radiation
Muscle Strength: 8
Bone Strength: 9
Nerve Activity: 8
Brain Cell Development: 6
…
Radiation Value: 9
Upon seeing his physical information, Feng Jun's previously pleasant mood plummeted.
“Slight Radiation”—what was this about?
He had been irradiated without even realizing it, but it was understandable.
This world had become a wasteland Doomsday due to nuclear war, and the indigenous people of the wasteland knew this and had methods to remove radiation.
Fortunately, Feng Jun hadn't ventured into the cities these past few days, where not only were zombies and Mutated Creatures more prevalent, but the radiation was also far higher than elsewhere.
After all, every city had received the attention of one or two nuclear bombs, or even more, before the war.