Chapter 126: Sun Xiaoshan’s Autumn Fruit (1)

Long Zhanhai’s master, Lu Wanfang, was a man of great skill, wielding both the spear and the fist with exceptional proficiency. Upon hearing Long Zhanhai recount his struggle against the Special Committee and Sun Xiaoshan, he fell into deep contemplation.

"This is not easily countered," the old master, a director of the Martial Arts Association with extensive real-world combat experience, remarked. Though he had long since left his days as a street tough behind, his insight remained sharper than ever. "This transcends the realm of martial arts; it is the brutal, pragmatic style of the battlefield. There is no hidden brilliance to it—it is simply a willingness to trade life for life, nothing more than striking fast and viciously. Even I could not easily overcome such a man alone," he added with a self-deprecating chuckle. "Even an old master fears a flurry of wild, desperate blows."

The old master’s youngest daughter and Long Zhanhai’s junior apprentice-sister, Lu Cuifeng, was displeased. "A pretty boy like that? What is there to fear? I’ll risk it all; sooner or later, I’ll show him what I’m made of."

Twenty-three-year-old Lu Cuifeng was a university graduate. In the post-apocalyptic era, where education had become widespread, university degrees were common, and she had been admitted as a sports specialty student. Having practiced her family’s martial arts since childhood and studied under several masters, her reputation for winning fights led to her university placement. Even Long Zhanhai would sometimes admit that, apart from his spear and fist techniques, his junior apprentice-sister surpassed him in nearly every other regard.

Sun Xiaoshan had arrived at the Dagang Oilfield accompanied by officials from the Energy and Industrial Ministries. Before the apocalypse, the Energy Ministry had been preparing for internal meetings with Sinopec and PetroChina, rumored to involve major policy shifts and potential incentives. However, the sudden onset of the apocalypse had wiped out the elite—and the primary targets of anti-corruption investigations—in one fell swoop. Their deaths were an irreparable loss to the Chinese people.

The Special Committee failed to reorganize a functional Energy Ministry like other departments, largely because the potential spoils were too tempting, and the prospect of internal settlements between Sinopec and PetroChina remained a lingering obsession. Consequently, post-apocalyptic energy data could only be gathered through broad surveys of survivors conducted by the Human Resources Department. The sheer volume of recovered files meant that even with optimized indexing, a full review would take ages—a deliberate design intended to prevent outsiders from easily reconciling the accounts of the corrupt.

Sun Xiaoshan led his team to Xiaoxinbao Village, where many survivors resided. During the initial anti-corruption surveys, their occupations had been documented, revealing a high concentration of former petroleum industry workers. Following the protocols for unrecovered territories established by the United Front Work Department, Sun Xiaoshan first paid a courtesy call to the village’s autonomous leader, Lu Wanfang, a director of the Martial Arts Association. There, he was surprised to encounter his old acquaintance, Long Zhanhai.

Long Zhanhai felt a touch of awkwardness and offered a traditional martial arts salute. Sun Xiaoshan, however, remained unfazed, silently reminding himself: "I am a leader; I must not stoop to his level. Besides, in truth, I couldn't beat him anyway. He has a group of burly men behind him; if I provoke him, I can forget about leaving this village alive. They’d just toss me into the salt flats and swarm me... oh, dear."

With this thought, Sun Xiaoshan bowed and shook hands with humble courtesy, stopping just short of an embrace.

Both sides had their reservations and sought to avoid embarrassment, making cooperation surprisingly smooth. They agreed on recruitment terms and compensation, and even discussed sending the children to the school the Special Committee had established in Cangzhou. Since Huangye City had been largely abandoned except for a few key industrial sites, the people of Cangzhou agreed to the proposal.

"Halt!" Just as the tension eased and the general terms of cooperation were settled with Lu Wanfang, a young woman dressed in mourning white charged in, clutching a blade.

The weapon was a five-foot-long Miao dao—three feet and eight inches of blade, one foot and two inches of hilt, with a one-inch-two-fen width and a circular guard. It was a renowned weapon in Cangzhou, and one that had become essential for combatting the zombie hordes since the world fell.

As the old saying goes, "A woman in white is a beauty." The girl, mourning her late mother, radiated youthful vitality, her large, fire-bright eyes a testament to her spirit.

She gripped the guard with her left thumb and the web of her hand, her index and middle fingers clamping the hilt, while her ring and little fingers braced the guard. With the spine of the blade resting against her forearm, she shouted at Sun Xiaoshan, "Sun! Everyone else may fear you, but I certainly do not!"

The room fell into an awkward silence. Sun Xiaoshan grimaced.

"A misunderstanding, miss," he said, adopting the air of a gentleman who refuses to fight a woman. "We are only here to accomplish something, and we need to work together."

"Indeed, indeed," Long Zhanhai said, feeling miserable. Why bring that up now? He flushed and explained, "The Special Committee wants to resume production and is recruiting here. It could improve everyone's lives."

Lu Cuifeng glared at him, frustrated by his lack of spirit, then turned to Sun Xiaoshan. "If you want us to work for you, you must first defeat the blade in my hand! If it agrees, I have no objections! If not..." She brandished the Miao dao. "Hmph!"

How could Sun Xiaoshan possibly agree? He might handle a fight for survival, but a martial arts duel? He didn't even know the basics of a horse stance. Furthermore, he was outnumbered and outmatched; aside from Liu Mang, who had fought alongside him against the zombie hordes, the rest of his team were standard administrative staff. They had only ever dispatched a few freshly turned zombies and had spent the rest of their time in logistics and industrial work. How could they possibly prevail against these warriors?

One had to realize that the girl was on her home turf—she was not fighting alone.

Seeing the awkwardness, Liu Mang stepped in to mediate. He was also from Cangzhou and skilled in the staff. Having recently returned to his home only to find his family gone, he had rejoined Sun Xiaoshan. He had remained quiet while things were going well, but now he had no choice but to intervene.

"Brother Lu," he said, turning to Lu Wanfang, "our work is urgent. What do you think?"

Lu Wanfang had no desire to cause trouble. Those who truly practice martial arts value martial ethics, and besides, these people carried the official authority of the Special Committee.

He cleared his throat and commanded, "Cuifeng, stand down!"

Lu Cuifeng was indignant. "Father..."

"Stand down!" Lu Wanfang barked.

"Hmph!" Lu Cuifeng shot Sun Xiaoshan a furious glare and stormed out.

With the arrangements finalized, Sun Xiaoshan politely declined Lu Wanfang’s invitation to stay, eager to avoid further complications. He left his staff in the village to handle the recruitment and led his group along the S364 highway to the Chenghai No. 1 well site, 3.5 kilometers away, to inspect the production equipment.

They found the site records in the office and continued their survey until dusk. With no electricity yet restored, they adopted the rhythm of the rising and setting sun.

The late summer heat was intense, and they had already arranged for the solar water heaters at the site to be filled upon their arrival. The team began to bathe, one by one. The martial artists had done an excellent job clearing the zombies in Cangzhou, making the area quite safe, and everyone looked forward to a good night's rest.