Chapter 5: The Hidden Plot
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhou Qingfeng's conversation with Tony Parker did not go too well. Clearly, that hippie boy already saw him as an enemy. The other party must have felt that Zhou Qingfeng had provoked him in order to embarrass him in front of Angie.
Well, that chick Angelina Lawrence was very beautiful indeed. Zhou Qingfeng thought she was worth pursuing. However, he valued that robot dog more. It was an intelligent helper equipped with powerful combat strength.
By the time they finished their dinner and had chatted for a while, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening. After expressing his gratitude toward the Lawrence family, Zhou Qingfeng returned to his house. Hmm... the burnt house.
Zhou Qingfeng's house was much more inferior compared to the Lawrence's house which had a smart home design. It simply looked like a slum. There weren't any home robots there, nor any personalized electrical appliances. Since the first floor had been burnt into a pile of mess in the recent fire, Zhou Qingfeng did not even have the mood to take another look and went straight to the second floor.
Staring at himself in the mirror in the bathroom, Zhou Qingfeng saw how he looked like—it was indeed his eighteen-year-old self, though he felt a lot more refined. With his height of one point eight meters, he seemed a tad more handsome now. However, when he took off his clothes, he realized that he looked scrawny. He estimated his weight to be less than seventy kilograms.
It made him look like a loser! He had to figure out a way to strengthen himself, strengthen himself, and strengthen himself further!
He had a very simple bedroom. There was a bed, a table, a wardrobe, and a few stools. However, what stunned Zhou Qingfeng the most was the various photos on the walls of the bedroom. Judging from the angle of the photos, they were candids of the Lawrence family that had been secretly taken from the rooftop of his own house.
Naturally, David Lawrence was not the target of those candids. However, it was not Angelina Lawrence who shared a close relationship with Zhou Qingfeng either. Instead, it was the mature, sexy, gentle, and generous wife—Rachel Connor.
There were candids of Rachel wearing formal clothes while watering flowers in the garden; drying clothes on the windowsill; cooking dinner in the kitchen, and reading books on the balcony. They were still considered pretty normal.
However, there were also d*mn candid that had been taken through Rachel's bedroom window of her in pajamas, as well as candids of Rachel coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel. There were even photos of her, someone else's wife and a mother, wearing a bikini and sunbathing in the backyard.
'F*ck me… Which pervert took these candids? What a pervert. Uh… It can't be me, can it? Oh god, get your *ss out here. So this is what you set me up to be—a shameless and lowly perverted young man? Don't tell me I did this. I would never...
'Hold on a minute… to say that I would never do it is a little too much!' Zhou Qingfeng thought to himself, 'I should view this matter from an artistic point of view. It is completely normal for me to throw in a few extra glances occasionally since she's such a hot momma!
God would forgive every mistake that the 18-year-old youngster committed. Nevertheless, the photos should have been hidden on a computer, they were too lewd to wash and post on one's bedroom wall! If David Lawrence found out that Zhou QIngfeng had taken sexy photos of his wife in secret, the latter might not be able to date his daughter anymore.
Zhou Qingfeng tore the candids down one by one, stuffed them in a box that he found, and tossed them under his bed because he thought that it would be a pity to burn them.
Once he had gotten rid of Rachel's sexy photos, Zhou Qingfeng sat in front of his bedroom desk and started his computer. Compared to Angie's latest model that came with a virtual screen, Zhou Qingfeng's computer was an old piece of junk that was more than ten years old. At the very least, it came complete with a mouse, keyboard, PC, and a monitor.
The piece of trash was already considered outdated in 2016. In 2030, it was more like an antique that belonged to the trash pile.
The operating system it used was still the all-too-familiar windows. Zhou Qingfeng opened up a notebook and began typing in the necessary preparations required to face the imminent cataclysm.
First of all, transportation was necessary. Though his tiny physique carried excellent potential, potential still did not equate to ability after all. During the early stages of the cataclysm, the top priority was not to take advantage. On the contrary, having a suitable mode of transportation guaranteed his expeditious escape! He had to escape immediately as soon as he detected that something was wrong.
When the time came, New York's traffic would be paralyzed. It would be impossible for large vehicles to move. Therefore, a moderate-sized high-horsepower motorcycle with strong off-road capabilities was necessary. If possible, a police motorcycle would be the best.
Getting hold of a means of transportation was easy. Abandoned cars would flood the streets the moment the cataclysm broke out. On the contrary, food, drinks, medication, and fuel would pose serious problems. No matter where Zhou Qingfeng ran to, he would not be able to survive for long without such resources. Hence, Zhou Qingfeng could not leave New York within a short period of time as it was a more convenient place to collect huge amounts of resources.
Nevertheless, if he wanted to complete those tasks before the catastrophe, he had to have money, a huge amount of it too. Zhou Qingfeng did not have much money, though. His current identity was that of a lower-class who was heavily dependent on the government and lived off social welfare. Food stamps and stuff like that were the only things in his pocket.
Around forty to fifty million people in the United States lived off food stamps. The food stamps were distributed through real-name stored-value cards and could only be exchanged for food in certain local restaurants and supermarkets. Hence, relying on Zhou Qingfeng's own savings to purchase supplies was entirely impossible.
If Zhou Qingfeng wanted to obtain supplies after the cataclysm broke out, then he would not need any money at all. However, he would have to compete with physically robust illegal immigrants and all kinds of gangsters and criminals. With his tiny physique, would he be able to beat gangsters with an average height of one point nine meters and a weight of more than 100 kilograms?
Even if he could, so what? The United States had a proliferation of firearms and scumbags running rampant all over the country. Those scumbags often carried one or two firearms and moved in groups. If Zhou Qingfeng only encountered such gangsters, he would not stand a chance in escaping.
"I don't care whether I have to steal, rob, or swindle, I need to get my hands on some money. It should at least be enough for me to buy supplies that will last me for more than a week. With that, I won't have to worry about going hungry. Only then would I have the energy to get to Columbia University and get my hands on that robot dog when the cataclysm breaks out."
Zhou Qingfeng spent two to three hours trying to recall Wasteland's plot and recorded all the events that took place in the film on his computer. Whether he would survive the early stages of the cataclysm depended on whether he was lucky and could avoid calamity by recalling the plot he already knew. He would be able to gain an upper hand with that.
It was three nights before the cataclysm. Zhou Qingfeng suddenly recalled a piece of news that would be broadcasted on TV the next day. There would be a homicide in his neighborhood. The victim was a prostitute from a nearby underground bar. Zhou Qingfeng began to brainstorm, trying to find an opportunity to make a fortune out of the situation.
Zhou Qingfeng spent an hour connecting a few unrelated pieces of information from the film. Finally, he walked toward the street outside the house, ready to execute the plan he had visualized in his head.
It was already late at night. The neighborhood was pretty quiet. The streets were basically devoid of humans. Zhou Qingfeng came to an intersection by recognizing the signboards at the side of the road. After checking the time, he waited for a while more. At this moment, his heart began thumping very hard; he was about to bet on his own guess.
Down the quiet street, the clicking of high-heeled shoes could be heard. The shadow of a lady emerged whereas two strong and robust men could be seen tailing her. Soon, the woman could be heard pleading, while the men could be heard cursing in low and rough voices.
'Homicide, it's definitely homicide!'
The heroic undertaking that Zhou Qingfeng wanted to carry out was—shout at the top of his lungs, "What are you guys doing?"
It was quite ear-piercing to shout in the middle of the night. The two ferocious faces appeared out of the shade of the trees at night. They glared at Zhou Qingfeng with a look of hostility. The two perpetrators were hunky guys. One of them stepped forward. With a bear-like figure and wolf-like eyes, he cursed in a vicious voice, "Kid, do you know you're getting yourself into trouble?"
Zhou Qingfeng watched as the brawny man approached him step by step. His hair suddenly began to stand on end as he broke out in cold sweat. He repeatedly said to himself, 'Calm down, calm down.' This was because Zhou Qingfeng finally recognized who he was competing with—the murderous Potaski brothers, the Russian Americans, the famous Mafia members in Queens, as well as the murderers of the case.
'I accidentally triggered a hidden plot event! Furthermore, I'm already skipping levels and jumping straight into challenging an elite monster! Please give me a huge reward when I complete my mission later.'
-- Gift
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