Welcome to the Wasteland - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Robbery

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was sunny and bright, but Zhou Qingfeng felt cold inside. He was in an extremely lonely area. Although there were many people prowling the streets, all of them had cold expressions. They were all burly black men that looked ferocious and intimidating.

Their gazes were sharp and unfriendly. No one talked loudly on the streets; they gathered in clusters of two or three and whispered ominously amongst themselves. No matter what they were doing, they tended to steal glimpses left and right out of habit, as if expecting an enemy to jump out behind them any minute.

As the only Chinese face amongst all the African-American people, Zhou Qingfeng felt nervous. He found a street sign, but there were only a few words—”North Brooklyn District”—on it. A part of the sign had already rotted away. There were also a few glaring bullet holes in it.

‘Damn it, where is this place?’

Zhou Qingfeng did not see any buses nearby. Neither did he see taxis. Sometimes a few cars would pass by. They shot by fast, as if their butts were on fire, or like danger would befall them if they stayed here for long.

The streetlights were all shattered by people practicing their aim. The occasional cameras by the streets were reduced to husks. The alleys reeked of piss. Now and then he could see several disheveled wanderers scavenging trash bins. 

Zhou Qingfeng roamed the area for half an hour. His stomach began to growl. He saw a Turkish kebab store by the road, so he pushed the door open and walked in.

There were several customers in the shop, all talking quietly among one another. A burly woman sat by the counter. When she saw Zhou Qingfeng walk in, she called, “What do you want?”

“A kebab.” Zhou Qingfeng eyed the menu in the store and chose the cheapest option.

The woman held her knife, cut some beef from the stand, and added some greens and salad dressing. After plating it, she handed the plate to Zhou Qingfeng, saying, “Six dollars.” 

Zhou Qingfeng had been starving for almost a whole day. After paying, he snatched a fork and knife and dug into the food with gusto. On that topic, the Turkish kebab was a palatable option in the States. The portion was rather generous too, so it did a good job of filling an empty stomach.

As he ate, Zhou Qingfeng considered his options. He could no longer stay at Catarina’s, but that was not the end of the world. After calming down, he had thought it through. Things did not go smoothly all the time. It would be fine as long as he survived.

‘I need to find that robot dog called “Dog Meat”. That dog will be more reliable than any human. At least it won’t abandon me halfway like Catarina did.

‘And I can’t lose my bet with Tony Parker. If I see that hippie stand in front of me with Dog Meat, I’ll be f*cking pissed.

‘I can’t steal Dog Meat without Angie, so I should try to find a way to contact her.

‘I also have to make some cash, or I’ll starve to death before we even talk about Dog Meat.’

Zhou Qingfeng’s mind wandered. As he was finishing his meal, the kebab woman set a glass of Coke down in front of Zhou Qingfeng and said, “This is for you. On the house.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Qingfeng was thirsty. He picked up the glass and drank more than half of it.

The kebab woman said slowly, “The man you killed robbed our store once. I cursed him countless times, praying that he’d die on the streets. Looks like my wish has finally come true today.”

What? Zhou Qingfeng paused for a while hearing that. He slowly looked up at the kebab woman. The woman pointed toward the TV on the wall. Footage of the murder near Target was playing on TV as a reporter discussed the worsening public security on the streets.

“F*ck, I’m on TV!” Zhou Qingfeng gaped at the TV in shock. The CCTV footage from nearby McDonald’s was shown on screen. It clearly showed himself being mugged, and then turning back, withdrawing the knife, and killing the man.

“Good job.” An old man on the seat next to him gave Zhou Qingfeng a thumbs up. He also mimed the way Zhou Qingfeng killed the man and said admiringly, “You turned back very fast and fought nasty. You’re Chinese, aren’t you? You got great kungfu!”

‘Kungfu, your *ss! How the heck is this kungfu? I’m a wanted murderer now, how can you joke around about it?’

Zhou Qingfeng was dripping beads of cold sweat at the sight of his portrait on TV. He downed the Coke, put down the glass, and turned to leave the kebab shop. However, it was at this moment the door was pushed in with a thump and two policemen walked in. 

Zhou Qingfeng did not stop in his tracks or make a run for it. Instead, he calmly walked outside with his head lowered, averting the policemen’s gazes. With his head down, he noticed that the policemen slowed down slightly. They then separated to stand at either side of Zhou Qingfeng, and both of them reached toward their holsters at the same time.

He had been recognized!

Zhou Qingfeng, being Chinese, was too conspicuous in a sea of other races. It was hard for him to not bring attention to himself. The TV on the wall was broadcasting his portrait, too, and that made it even easier to discern his identity.

‘I’m dead! If I’m caught, I’ll definitely be thrown inside the jail and I’ll rot to death there!’

Zhou Qingfeng’s heart plummeted. He raised his head and saw the two white policemen staring at him intently. One of them opened his mouth to shout as he unholstered his gun.

‘I can’t be caught. I can’t!’

Wittier than All, he would always attack first!

The passive ability that Zhou Qingfeng had acquired was activated. He moved, pouncing on the policeman who had just put his hand on his holster. He pushed the man’s arm aside and unholstered the Glock 17 pistol before the policeman could.

And then… He pulled the gun out, raised it, and aimed. The three actions were done simultaneously. Everyone present exclaimed at Zhou Qingfeng’s agility in the face of danger.

When the policemen had appeared, the others in the shop thought that the young man would be done for. No one expected that he could be this fast and that he would get the upper hand on the policemen. The old man that had praised Zhou Qingfeng exclaimed softly, “Kungfu!”

‘Old man, you watch too many movies!’

Zhou Qingfeng was breathing heavily. The actions just now required a lot of explosive power. His heart was beating wildly, and sweat covered his forehead.

There were two policemen on the scene. The first one had his pistol snatched. The other one had his hand on his holster. They were both in a standstill; neither one of them moving.

After recognizing Zhou Qingfeng, the policemen had moved fast and coordinated well, but everything became a blur in front of their eyes, and then suddenly the situation was turned on their heads. They had never seen anyone move that fast, almost ghostlike.”

Zhou Qingfeng pointed the gun at the holstered policeman. He snarled, “Put your gun and walkie-talkie on the table and handcuff your friend to the table leg. Quick, do as I say, or I’ll fire.”

Both of them did as he said. They put their guns in front of Zhou Qingfeng obediently. A policeman handcuffed the other one and threw the key out of the door. The process went smoothly. After seeing first-hand Zhou Qingfeng’s inhuman speed, neither man dared to act recklessly.

Both policemen were no longer a threat to him. Zhou Qingfeng let out his bated breath. It was then when he saw the holsters that the policemen equipped. He growled, “Take your clothes off.” 

What?

Both policemen thought, ‘Did we encounter a pervert? He’s a wanted man, and he still wants to take our clothes off?’

The bloody clothes Zhou Qingfeng were wearing were a little too eye-catching. He ordered one of the policemen to take off his shirt and trousers, and he put them on himself. Although they were a little baggy, they were decent.

Holsters, walkie-talkie, handcuffs, chili powder, a taser, and a police flashlight. After he handcuffed both policemen and grabbed these items, Zhou Qingfeng walked out of the shop, now looking like a policeman prowling the Brooklyn streets.

‘F*ck… I just robbed two policemen! I’m getting in deeper and deeper sh*t. After this, every cop in New York will be after me!’