diymy Chapter 2 Which version of the late Qing Dynasty is this?
Chapter 2 Which version of the late Qing Dynasty is this?
That's right, this world has been drastically altered!
Rock didn't know if this was a parallel world or some other place, but in any case, this place was vastly different from the historical events he remembered.
According to Lu Xiong, about ten years ago, rumors spread that a strange star had fallen in the capital, foreshadowing a calamity. Immediately afterward, the world began to veer off course in an unknown direction at an alarming speed.
For example, there are martial arts masters in this world.
In Rock's opinion, someone like Lu Xiong, who wasn't afraid of even freezing weather and could even break a tree trunk as thick as a bowl with a single punch, was already considered a very skilled expert.
But according to Lu Xiong, his level was nothing special; he was just a martial artist who could barely make a living.
In terms of internal strength, he is currently only considered an external strength martial artist who has reached the inner level, meaning he has cultivated his internal strength into his flesh and blood, and his power is fierce.
Above him are internal energy martial artists who have cultivated their internal strength to the level of their internal organs, and can draw their punches without releasing them, and can deliver their internal energy deep into the body without causing any damage to the surface, thus killing the enemy from the inside.
And the master of transforming force can use the opponent's own methods against them, and can exert force and dissipate force at any time from any part of the body. He can destroy gold and jade with his bare hands, like a human cannon!
To be honest, when Rock heard Lu Xiong describe the strength of a Grandmaster of Transformation, he immediately thought of Guo Haihuang from Baki.
If such martial artists truly exist in this world, then they are indeed no longer human.
But that's not all. Besides these martial artists, there are also superhumans in this world who possess all sorts of strange and bizarre abilities. They can control others with their minds and hurt them, which sounds just like superpowered individuals.
Even in the desolate wilderness, there exists a phenomenon in this world called the Corpse Calamity:
For some reason, there is a significant chance that people in this world will become zombies or similar undead after they die!
Although these undead move slowly, they are fearless and tireless, retaining only an endless thirst for flesh and blood!
Once the undead gather in large numbers, they can become even more ferocious than an army!
Moreover, if people bitten by zombies do not disinfect their wounds with glutinous rice in time, they will become infected and turn into zombies themselves in about an hour!
Strangely enough, in this world, only humans become zombies after they die; other animals do not. Even if bitten by a zombie, they only suffer a simple bite. This is something that Rock can't understand at all.
For this reason, people in this world are required to be cremated after death if conditions permit.
Even if cremation is not possible, the corpse's head must be chopped off; otherwise, if the corpse becomes a living corpse, the trouble will be immense.
In the past few days, Rock and his group of people who ventured to the Northeast encountered a small number of zombies on the road. Some of the people in the group who had frozen to death were even able to struggle to get up and then bite people like madmen!
For this reason, if anyone in their team dies, the body must be disposed of on the spot and absolutely cannot be carried away!
At night, they had to take turns keeping watch, fearing that the zombies might sneak up on them without them noticing and bite them.
Thinking of this, Rock couldn't help but feel despair.
If he had simply traveled back to the original late Qing Dynasty history, he might have been able to use his understanding of the world situation to at least become an opportunist, find a way to survive, and perhaps even build a career.
But without a doubt, with such a bizarre array of things already appearing in this world, how could the course of history possibly remain exactly the same as before?
Moreover, Rock didn't believe that after all these strange things had appeared, the Manchu army in this world would still remain the same as before, without any other means.
If the other party really has some strange and unusual methods, then he might accidentally crash and burn for some inexplicable reason!
"Hey, you guys over there, what are you doing here?"
Just then, Rock suddenly heard someone in the front of the group shouting to the other side.
Following the sound, he saw another group of about ten people slowly walking towards them not far in front of his own group.
Judging from the way these people were dressed in tattered clothes, carrying backpacks, and leaning on sticks, they seemed to be similar to the group of people they were here to venture into Northeast China.
But for some reason, when Rock looked at the group in the distance, he felt that something was off about them.
He couldn't quite explain why for the time being, but it was just some kind of strange intuition.
Thinking this, he subtly moved to the back of his group, trying to hide himself in the crowd as much as possible.
"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid, we're just here to make a living!"
"Fellow villagers, we got exhausted and fell behind the group. Now we're lost and don't know which way to go!"
"Please, kind folks, let us follow you wherever you end up!"
Faced with this group of people, the man leading the group was unsure whether or not he should let them come over.
"Brother, why don't we just let them come over? More people means more strength, and even if we encounter another zombie outbreak, we'll be safer!"
Beside the team leader, a young man offered advice, and after listening to this, the team leader thought about it and realized that it seemed to make sense.
So he shouted to the other end:
"Alright, since that's the case, you can come with us, but don't get any funny ideas!"
"There are quite a few of us. Even if you're thinking of doing something shady, you'd better think twice!"
Upon hearing this, the other team was overjoyed and quickly said that they would never have any ulterior motives, and then they joined in.
Just then, Rock suddenly felt a large hand grab his shoulder.
"Brother Luo, let's hurry up and get out of here, those guys are up to no good!"
Lu Xiong grabbed his shoulder, curled his lip, and gave a cold smile.
Seeing the puzzled look on Rock's face, he explained:
"Let's put aside the direction they came from, why they came from the other side of the mountain. Just look at this group of men, they're all strong and healthy. Do you think they could have gotten separated from the group?"
Upon hearing this, Rock suddenly realized what was going on!
Along the way, he had seen a few people fall behind.
But without a doubt, all those who fell behind were the elderly, the weak, women and children, because these were the people with the worst physical strength.
In comparison, the young and strong people in the group are definitely the fastest walkers, so how could they possibly fall behind and get lost?
Moreover, these people who ventured to Northeast China were most wary of going deep into the mountains and forests.
Because bandits are rampant in the Guandong region nowadays, these places could easily see bandits appear at any time!
Realizing this, Rock no longer hesitated and quickly followed Lu Xiong to the back.
Regardless of the consequences, let's get away from each other first.
Rock and his group had only walked a short distance when those people casually mingled into their group, each one appearing extremely familiar and at ease.
This made Rock even more alert, realizing that something was wrong.
Faced with a group of strangers, and with more people on the other side than themselves, shouldn't their normal reaction be to huddle together for warmth?
The current approach of simply dispersing and inserting themselves into the crowd is definitely a problematic reaction!
Without a second thought, Luo Ke and Lu Xiong quickly hid behind a large rock and then cautiously observed the area.
It seemed that someone in their team also realized that something was wrong and started to speak up.
But with a loud gunshot and the smoke billowing, the refugees who had fled the famine quickly covered their heads and crouched down, barely daring to breathe.
A tall, burly man holding a short gun fired a shot into the air and then roared:
"This mountain is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll! Otherwise, don't blame me for killing you without burying you!"
Besides that person, the dozen or so people who had previously infiltrated the group also took out long and short guns or sharp short knives from their bags, and aimed them at the people around them with great skill.
Judging from their posture, they must have done this tactic of first infiltrating the enemy's group by lowering their guard, and then suddenly launching an attack. They must have done it more than once or twice, otherwise they wouldn't be so skilled at it.
"Damn it, they really are thugs; they're like a persistent ghost!"
Lu Xiong couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath, while Luo Ke was more concerned about what the bandits had said when they robbed them on the road.
Who would have thought that bandits in this world would actually say that?
Or is it that the local bandits liked to say similar things when they robbed people?
Just as Rock was thinking this, the bandits over there had already begun to force the refugees who had come to Northeast China to pay money one by one.
"Please...please spare us, sir! We're all refugees, poor folks, and we barely have any money with us!"
"Gentlemen, please have mercy! We'll hand over all the coins we have, and you can let us go!"
The leader of the group knelt down in front of the bandits with a thud, crying and pleading, and then pulled out a small handful of copper coins from his person.
He only had this much money on him. After all, they were just a group of peasants who had fled from disaster. How could they possibly have brought with them a fortune?
Forget about family wealth, they'd have a hard time even getting them to produce two pieces of silver!
Unfortunately, after the bandits picked up the copper coins, they didn't seem to intend to let them go.
"Haha! Men, tie them all up, and hurry up!"
"Keep all the women here and take them back to the village. Send the rest to Blackie Liu to sell; each one is worth two taels of silver!"
Upon hearing this, Rock was dumbfounded; he realized he had been too naive.
He used to think that bandits would rob these poor people and then leave after taking a few coins, since there really wasn't much money to be made from these poor people.
But he forgot that while these people might not have much money, human trafficking is a significant source of income!
Whether it's selling women and children, selling young men to landlords, or selling them to some other place as slaves, it's all a sum of money!