Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1: Alan

Dawn 423.

On the first Sunday of June, the land was deathly silent.

In a corner of the earth, a rock moved, and the rock scorpion, which was nearly a meter long, arched open the rock and climbed out. After the Battle of Dawn, 50% of the original species on Earth had disappeared completely. However, most of the remaining creatures had long since evolved into dangerous creatures.

Surviving humans call these creatures "dangerous species".

As the Rock Scorpion was searching for food, a dense aura suddenly rose from afar. This aura was so enormous that it was like a mountain coming from the sky. The Rock Scorpion raised its head and saw a shadow crawling over.

The shadow was so vast that it stretched across almost the entire horizon. It moved at a slow but constant speed, casting a shadow over an island the size of Texas, one of humanity's greatest creations after the Battle of Dawn. The Babylonian floating island was powered by Magic Cube energy, following a set orbit and orbiting the planet like a near-Earth satellite.

It wasn't until dusk that Babylon's floating island became a silhouette of the distant sky. At this time, the Gobi became lively again. Some of these dangerous species, such as the Rock Scorpion, are gradually moving toward the western edge of the Gobi Desert, where there is a small town where people make their living by digging mines. In the eyes of dangerous species, humans were the best food.

The town wasn't big, and there were hundreds of people living in it. The houses were simple and crude, and the iron shed that could block the wind and rain was already a luxurious mansion. Most of them were bungalows made of wooden planks and rusty iron sheets.

Outside the town, there was a circle of barbed wire and a wooden fence sharpened at one end. They could effectively prevent some low-level dangerous species from intruding into the town, and at night, three or five hunters would act as guards, guarding the exit of the town with a fire.

The night wasn't necessarily completely dark, in the wilderness outside the town. Blue, green, red, and specks of strange fluorescence were swimming. Suddenly, a rough gunshot came from the town entrance. The sound of gunpowder and firearms echoed in the wilderness at night, so the fluorescence of the night wandering was much less.

One was wearing a cowboy hat and a patched lattice shirt. The man in a pair of polished jeans with his legs in greasy boots is putting away a double-barreled shotgun with a muzzle that emits green smoke. He was in his prime, with gray-blue eyes, and the green beard on his well-defined face was as hard as steel thorns.

"Damn, there are more and more dangerous species." The man cursed softly.

"Come on, Wootz. You're the best hunter in our town. The more dangerous the plants are, the more you earn, right? I think you're secretly having fun." A bald Negro joked, his left eye covered and his right leg joints equipped with mechanical prostheses. The black man had a submachine gun on his back. It was second-hand, but it was more powerful than the shotgun in the cowboy's hand.

"Shut up, Bigger. I'm serious." The cowboy said angrily.

"Alright, Bigger, don't provoke Wootz. He's not in a good mood right now." The last hunter was wearing a miner's hat and a leather jacket, which made him look a little unsightly. He was playing with a dagger in his hand. The dagger seemed to be spiritually rotating between his fingers, illuminating the flames in the dark night and pulling out circles of orange-colored rainbow light.

The black man patted his head and laughed loudly, "Oh right, I almost forgot that Lanny is going to give birth tonight."

"That's not the worst, Peggy. The biggest problem is that our boss Wootz doesn't seem to have even kissed Lanny's lips, and she's going to give birth."

"God, if you don't shut up, I'll stab you in the ass with this gun!" Wootz's angry voice echoed in the night sky.

However, instead of shouting angrily, the laughter between the two of them grew louder. Just as Wootz was about to take action, a woman's shrill cry came from the town. Hearing this scream, the three hunters looked into the town. The black man sighed, "I don't know which bastard was so lucky to have such a hot girl like Lanny. But that son of a bitch actually abandoned a woman just like that. She's really not a fucking man!"

The saber hunter looked at the cowboy and said in a low voice, "What are your plans? Wootz Lanny is no longer a girl, but a mother."

"No matter who she is, I will take care of her!" Wootz's tone was irrefutable.

Under the dark night, at the entrance of the town, a faint sigh drifted away with the wind.

In the center of the town, in a fairly reasonable tin room, a few middle-aged women were circling around a bed.

"Use more strength, Lanny. I can already see his little head."

"For God's sake, hold on a little longer."

"Yes, that's right. Use the power of your abdomen, miss!"

Production is so difficult, but this is only the first obstacle a new life has to overcome. Fortunately, this little life had a strong mother. With a hoarse cry, a new life was finally born smoothly.

"Look, it's a boy." A short-haired woman wrapped the baby in a ragged blanket and put him in front of her mother's bed.

The young mother looked at her flesh and bones exhaustively. Her face was still stained with blood, her nose was slender and straight, and her pair of big bright red eyes were looking at this strange world curiously. His lips were tightly pursed into a knife-like line, with a little stubbornness. Unlike the other newborns, he didn't cry nor make a fuss. He was too quiet.

The women beside them were discussing until they were glared at by the short-haired woman before they shut their mouths. The short-haired woman said softly, "Lanny, he's your son. Have you thought of a name yet?"

The young mother nodded and looked at the baby. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions, but she said in a gentle voice like the wind, "Alan, his name is Alan."

The baby's expression froze slightly when he heard his mother's voice. Then, he turned around and looked at the woman who had given birth to him. Finally, the tightly pursed lips formed an arc.

He laughed.

Seeing this tender smile, Mother felt that the flames in her heart seemed to have subsided by quite a bit.

Alan was born in June 423. The first thing he remembered was his mother's beautiful and tired face. People remember babies who don't cry, but no one knows. Alan, who had just been born, already had memories!

The world was still moving at its own pace, and the wheel of time was rotating. The nobles of Babylon's floating island were still having fun. Mobit, who had just been elected as the new president, had just finished a celebration feast when an extraordinary life was born in an unremarkable corner of the earth's surface.

Destiny always liked to leave behind a small surprise when people were unaware of it.

On the last Saturday of the late autumn, 428 Dawn Calendar, clanging sounds resounded in the small town.

It was the rally number for purchasing winter supplies. When a woman walked into an alley with a large bag of food, the men sitting at the corner nodded and followed.

It was getting late, and night fell.

In the alley, the woman had already discovered the stalker behind her. She quickened her pace. Just as the men were about to make a move, a double-barreled shotgun suddenly stretched out from the shadows in the corner. The black muzzle of the gun immediately quieted them down.

Just like five years ago, Wootzping, still dressed in cowboy attire, walked out of the shadows with a shotgun in his hand. He was talking about a cigarette, which was about to burn out. Wootz spat out the cigarette butt and said in a low voice, "Get lost!"

Under the threat of firearms, the men gradually retreated and disappeared into the alley. Wootz put away his gun and walked towards the woman. "I came back in time, Lanny."

The woman took off her scarf and revealed a beautiful face. She sighed and said, "I owe you another favor."

"Hurry up, don't do this. I was hoping to get your free treatment when I was injured." Wootz raised his cowboy hat with a muzzle and smiled broadly.

"Come, let me help you carry it. It looks heavy enough."

The cowboy took the bag from Lanny and walked back to the town with her. It was a simple and crude iron hut, but it was still firm enough to block the snow and ice in winter. Just as he entered the room, a small figure crashed into Lanny's arms. Lanny squatted down and picked him up. Under the light was a five-year-old boy, but he was stronger than his peers.

With a rare grey short hair, under the reflection of the lights, the light of the grey hair flowed like a myriad of star fireflies.

The boy had a childish face and had a knife-like outline. One could imagine that when he grew up, he would definitely be a handsome man. However, there was a small bruise on the child's cheek, which made Lanny frown, "What's going on?"

A trace of panic flashed through the boy's eyes, and then he looked at Wootz as if he was asking for help. Wootz smiled and shrugged, expressing his helplessness. The boy bit his lip and said, "Moss next door said I'm a white pig today, so I "

He looked at Lanny, who had a stern expression. "So I punched him in the nose and he pushed me to the ground and accidentally knocked me down. But don't worry, Mom, I've already taken care of that guy. He won't dare to scold me again."

Wootz whistled, "That's right, Alan Moss. He seems to be a year older than you."

"To be exact, he is 13 months older than me!" The boy corrected.

Lanny looked at Wootz angrily and the latter obediently shut up. She sighed and stroked her child's hair, "Alan, not everything can be settled with a fist. Besides, you always meet people who can't win. What will you do then?"

The boy rolled his big bright red eyes and blurted out, "I'll run away. Then when I grow up and get stronger, I'll come back and show him!"

Then he proudly said, "But Mom, there's nothing I can't win yet. The things Uncle Wootz taught me are so useful."

Wootz's face turned awkward. When Lanny turned around, he smiled bitterly. "I only taught him something to protect himself, really."

"Well, I suddenly remembered that Bigger had something to discuss with me, so I'll leave first."

The cowboy fled. Looking at the man's back, Lanny shook her head. "Come on, it's time for us to eat."