Chapter 1: One piece of chewing gum costs ten thousand?

"Where am I?" Wei Lun looked around, feeling anxious and uncertain.

The surrounding area was vast and boundless, with only a narrow forest path and sparse trees. In the distance, one could see a few figures.

What should have been a lush, green field is now filled with trees covered in scorched yellow leaves, and the paths are dilapidated, making it seem as if one has arrived in a place after a great battle, giving it a distinctly exotic feel.

"I was riding my little electric scooter home, did I somehow time travel?" Wei Lun looked at the electric scooter under his feet, his mind full of questions.

On his way home on his electric bike, Wei Lun passed through the antique street and saw a dark object on the ground. He stopped and picked it up. It was a round, black jade pendant. At that moment, Wei Lun felt dizzy. When he opened his eyes again, he was here.

Wei Lun, from 2030, traveled to 2330, spanning three hundred years.

The world here was originally a prosperous one, with high-tech products everywhere, happiness permeating every corner, and people all living exceptionally affluent lives.

Unfortunately, this period of prosperity was short-lived. Market disputes arose between established European and American countries and emerging developed countries in Africa and Central Asia. Multiple attempts at mediation failed, which became the trigger for direct geopolitical conflict. Ultimately, the countries of the Pan-Asian region were forced to participate, forming two major camps, North and South. This completely ignited intense conflicts that spiraled out of control, eventually plunging the world into nuclear war, which destroyed the entire planet.

Driven by curiosity, Wei Lun walked towards the place where there were people, intending to ask a passerby where he was.

"Men can cry, it's not a sin, even the strongest man..." Wei Lun hummed a song as he rode his electric scooter toward the figure.

"Oh, oh, oh... Oh my god!!!" Wei Lun saw the side profile of the figure.

Its eyes were blood red, and it was bald. Its facial features were already rotten and unrecognizable. Only sharp teeth remained at the corners of its mouth, and its intestines were exposed and hanging on the ground. It moved forward with shuffling steps, looking particularly sinister and terrifying.

As soon as the zombie saw someone approaching, it rushed forward, liquid dripping from its mouth—it was hard to tell if it was blood or saliva, but it was all black. Wei Lun immediately turned the car around and accelerated! Accelerated! Accelerated!

"My goodness, what the hell is this?" After escaping the zombies' pursuit, Wei Lun was panting heavily. Even though he had only been riding an electric scooter and hadn't been exercising, he was still so scared that he couldn't catch his breath.

In order to avoid encountering such a horrifying scene again, Wei Lun decided to stop and find a secluded place to study the jade pendant. Since he could come here, he was sure he could go back. He kept cursing the zombie in his heart.

He took out the jade pendant, and there were words on the pure black jade pendant: Sixty percent. What did it mean? Wei Lun looked at it from left to right but couldn't understand it. Just as he was concentrating on studying the jade pendant, he suddenly heard a gunshot: "Bang!"

Because Wei Lun was hiding behind a tree in a very tricky position, he was invisible to others. However, he happened to see a middle-aged strong man shoot and kill the zombie that was chasing him with a gun, hitting it with one shot.

Are all marksmen in the apocalypse this accurate?

Wei Lun broke out in a cold sweat. Had this guy discovered him?

"Oh no! He can see the electric scooter!" Wei Lun exclaimed in despair, realizing he had been so focused on hiding himself that he had forgotten to hide the electric scooter.

The burly man cautiously glanced around, aimed his gun at Wei Lun, and strode over. "I've been discovered after all," Wei Lun thought to himself, "but thankfully he's human; he probably won't be so ruthless."

However, Wei Lun was wrong. In the apocalypse, humans are far more terrifying than zombies. It is a world without order, where murder and robbery are commonplace for resources and profit. That's why the burly man was attracted by the electric car.

"Who goes there? Get out from behind the tree!" the burly man shouted in an unquestionable tone.

Wei Lun slowly emerged from behind the tree, raised his hands, and said, "Brother, don't shoot, we're on the same side!"

"You idiot! Tell me honestly, who are you?!" The burly man was actually a retired soldier. In this wasteland, a trace of discipline remained, so he didn't shoot Wei Lun directly.

Wei Lun was extremely nervous. Anyone would panic if a gun was pointed at them like that. In order not to reveal that he had traveled from the modern era, Wei Lun smiled and said, "Brother, I fled from the south. Can you tell me where this is?"

The burly man stretched out his hand and looked at Wei Lun. After a moment, Wei Lun understood. Knowledge payment, indeed, is fashionable. I get it! But when he reached into his pocket, it was emptier than his face. The only savings of three hundred yuan were still in WeChat. Wei Lun really wanted to ask: Do you accept WeChat transfers?

In the end, Wei Lun only took out a half-eaten piece of chewing gum and handed it to the burly man.

To everyone's surprise, the burly man's eyes lit up when he saw the chewing gum, as if it were a fresh meat bun. His mouth watered, and he ate the gum in one bite, his Adam's apple bobbing as he savored its deliciousness.

Wei Lun wanted to say he couldn't eat it, but before he could speak, the burly man took out a small gold nugget and tossed it to Wei Lun, saying, "I'm not going to eat yours for free. Here, take this. Do you still have that one?"

Wei Lun was stunned when he saw the gold nugget. He had only bought the chewing gum for five yuan; how could it be worth a gold nugget? Wei Lun thought to himself, but still handed all the remaining chewing gum to the burly man.

The burly man, tears welling in his eyes, chewed his gum and said between bites, "Brother, do you have any more?"

Wei Lun shook his head and said, "This is all I have. May I ask where this is?"

Seeing that Wei Lun was so sensible and honest, the strong man told him everything. This was the central region of China in 2330, three years after the disaster. If you go straight ahead on this road, you can reach the valley stronghold, where there are more than a thousand humans.

After the burly man finished speaking, he left, saying before he went, "Be careful, I advise you to go to the human settlement as soon as possible!"

Although Wei Lun couldn't understand his words, he was still very grateful. Wei Lun just wanted to figure out how to get back to the modern world. He had inexplicably traveled here, surely there was a way to go back? Was he just going to stay in this strange place like this? Oh no!

Wei Lun took out a black jade pendant, which now read 100%. Wasn't it supposed to be 60%? It's changed? Wei Lun looked at the pendant and said, "I want to go back!"

With a whoosh, a flash of white light, and Wei Lun rode his electric bike back to the modern antique street.