The voice that spoke was the original owner’s mother.
The Shen family was a mid-sized clan within the Fengtu City base.
Hundreds of years ago the Shen ancestor had been one of the founders of the base, and the family had carried that ancestral glow to keep their name. But winds and waters change; nobody remembered who you once were. The Shen family had gradually declined.
At long last a talented descendant — Shen Yazhi — had appeared, and the whole clan had pinned its hopes on her. Everyone, that is, except for Shen Guoguo.
She was the Shen family’s shame.
In the wasteland world, citizens were divided into five ranks: robots, defectives, ordinary people, warriors, and then the technicians/agronomists/chefs. Above warrior were three tiers: junior, intermediate, and senior.
Shen Yazhi was an intermediate-level warrior. The original body’s owner — now Shen Guoguo — was classified as a defective.
What the defect actually was, Shen Guoguo didn’t know. In the base, if you made no contributions, your status was lower than a robot — at least robots didn’t need to eat. Shen Guoguo couldn’t fight and lived off her family. Because of her, her whole household treated her coldly.
No matter. Coincidentally, farming and cooking were her strengths. She knew a little traditional medicine. In the present she could roughly be called an agronomist and a cook.
“As a defective who brings no honor to the clan, stubborn and rebellious by nature—what’s the Shen family asking you to do?” the clan head demanded, small in stature but loud in voice, launching into a soul-searching interrogation.
Do what? Carve flowers in excrement? Keep quiet and wait to be assigned a man — if luck favored you and you got assigned some important person, you might even get extra rations.
The original Shen family’s intent was plain; the Shen Guoguo who had traveled through time was no fool — she understood such scheming at a glance.
Shen Yazhi’s father chimed in with a regretful, self-satisfied tone. “You’re really something. If you’d been assigned with Li Ge you could at least eat; you chose a cripple instead. How does the Shen family plan to support you after that?”
Shen Guoguo blinked with big eyes. “Did you ever support me before?”
Li Ge’s face went cold. “Shen Guoguo, everyone’s concerned for you — don’t be ungrateful.”
Pah!
Shen Guoguo looked at Li Ge’s pale pretty-boy face, at the combat uniform with sleeves longer than his pants, and at his effeminate manner of speaking — she felt sick.
She couldn’t imagine how someone like that could go out and kill mutant beasts.
“Li Ge, a genius like you is welcome in the Shen family — keep your concern to yourself from now on,” she said, mocking openly though politely.
Unfortunately, people in the wasteland age could not appreciate Shen Guoguo’s humor.
“Also, I’m getting married now. If I’ve got nothing to do in the future, let’s keep our distance.”
Shen Guoguo said the words first.
They took everyone in the Shen clan by surprise.
A pairing like Shen Guoguo with Huo Tao meant, without question, they wouldn’t even get the lowest-tier nutrition rations. The Shen family would gladly rid themselves of the two burdens. But because Shen Guoguo publicly disowned them first, the clan head nearly fainted with rage.
He spat out, “Black sheep — the Shen family doesn’t have descendants like you!” and turned to walk away.
That effectively acknowledged Shen Guoguo’s severance from the Shen family. It was that casual.
When the officials left, the remaining younger generation of the Shen clan let their manners go and started to sneer and mock openly — especially Shen Yazhi’s younger brother.
“Tsk tsk, how are two useless people like you supposed to survive?”
“I heard the mutant slaughterhouse is hiring. You can ask Li Ge to pull some strings — oh, wait, you didn’t pick Li Ge!”
“Your two useless brothers are only ordinary warriors. Sigh, what a family…”
“If you ask me, it’s the Shen Tianliang genes that are crap.”
Hearing that, Shen Tianliang wanted to retort but held himself back. In the base, where survival of the fittest ruled, he had little room to speak.
At first Shen Guoguo wasn’t going to bother replying. But when the insults turned personal, she frowned and cut in, “Don’t you dare spout bullshit here — if you’ve got time, go work on improving yourself.”
“What I do with my life is none of your business. You’re sixteen and still relying on your parents’ political nagging to get by!” she snapped unexpectedly.
Her coarse words stunned the others.
“Shen Guoguo, who do you think you are? Go home and cling to your worthless man and cry,” one sneered. “If you kneel and lick my shoes clean, I’ll give you a nutrition ration every day.”
Looking at their bratty faces, anger boiled up in Shen Guoguo. People with filth-mouthed attitudes needed to be cleansed physically.
Her eyes scanned the plaza. She ran two steps, grabbed a steel pole with a flag stuck in it by the square, and yanked the flag free.
Wielding a pole about a meter and a half long, she swung it at the legs of those men.
“Ah! Ah!” they screamed.
Bang!
She hit hard.
So what if she was a defective? So what if they were warriors? If they had the guts, then stand up and fight!
Screams of pain rose up. Shen Guoguo didn’t hold back.
She’d always been stronger than kids her age from years working the fields; she’d even once bent 304 stainless steel pipe with her bare hands. Though the body she now inhabited was not particularly robust, Shen Guoguo pushed herself and beat Shen Yazhi’s brother until he howled.
Even a warrior like Shen Yazhi’s brother couldn’t take it.
The distant Shen clan head’s steps faltered; he turned and saw the violent scene. “Stop! What are you doing, child? Fighting is forbidden inside the base!” Shen Yazhi’s father rushed in to pull people apart as his son was being beaten.
Shen Guoguo flicked a strand of hair out of place and, leisurely, picked up the flag, fitted it back onto the pole, and stuck the pole back where it had been.
“Keep your mouth clean from now on. If I see you, I’ll hit you,” she said flatly. “Now get lost.”
Her domineering, savage behavior left everyone gaping. Shen Tianliang and his wife both looked at their daughter as if she’d been possessed.
Fighting was forbidden in the base — who would have expected Shen Guoguo to be so reckless? She even pointed at Shen Yazhi’s father and said more brazenly, “You planning to kick me out of the base?”
“Fine. I’ll go tell the official now that I regret switching partners,” Shen Guoguo taunted.
Though everyone knew she might just be blustering, if she actually went and it was approved… who knew.
“Let’s go home,” Shen Yazhi snapped, pulling her brother away. “Don’t provoke this lunatic!” She didn’t want Huo Tao, that cripple, whatsoever. Before leaving she shot back, “Shen Guoguo, you beat my brother today — someday you’ll pay!”
“Go to hell!”
“Fighting is forbidden in the base, Shen Yazhi — didn’t you hear your father? What, you got cocky right after getting married?”
When it came to fighting back with words, in her previous life Shen Guoguo could take on the whole neighborhood of gossiping aunties. Especially in this wasteland era where cultural norms had been shredded — she wasn’t intimidated.
When the crowd had dispersed, Shen Tianliang stepped forward and looked at Shen Guoguo, tears streaming. “It’s all my fault…I’m useless…”
Shen Guoguo’s mother choked up. “Guoguo, you’re too impulsive. If you break with the Shen family, how will you and that child live?”
Something warm stirred in Shen Guoguo’s chest. She still had two brothers who were ordinary warriors and were on missions — unable to return. Perhaps this faint tenderness was leftover compassion from the original body.
She composed herself, scratched her head, and smiled at her parents. “Um…you take care of yourselves…”
Her family, used to her being dull and passive, looked at the changed daughter — now showing initiative to comfort them — and were even more emotional.
Shen Tianliang nearly cried harder.
Shen Guoguo turned and saw Huo Tao still waiting nearby.
“There’s nothing for me to pack. I won’t go back to the Shen house, to avoid any more trouble,” she said. “You take care…you can come visit when you have time.”
She swept a final look at her parents, then without another glance, waved and walked toward Huo Tao.
The way the young girl suddenly softened and approached, like a little sun, made Huo Tao unconsciously lower his gaze.