Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 18 - Rob the Police

Chapter 18        Rob the Police

It was a bright and sunny day, and yet, Zhou Qingfeng felt oddly cold. The street he was on was very deserted. Even though there were a lot of pedestrians on the road, they were all staring fiercely at others. They were all niggers, who were stout and ferocious.

Those niggers looked at people with a cold stare and they never spoke out loud on the street. Two or three of them would whisper to each other in a group, looking sneaky. No matter what they were doing, their eyes habitually looked around, as if an enemy could appear from behind.

Looking at those niggers walk up and down, Zhou Qingfeng felt extremely scared and nervous because he was the only Asian face among them. He found a street sign with a few words on it. It said, ‘North Brooklyn’. It was broken in half and there were several bullet holes in it.

Damn it, where the hell is this?

Zhou Qingfeng could not see any buses or taxis. Occasionally, there were a few cars which zoomed past like the wind. It was as if their cars were on fire; they could not even stay for a second.

All of the street lamps were out as they were used as targets for people to practise shooting. There were a few empty security cameras on the street, occasionally. You could always smell urine in the alley and sometimes, you would find a few unshaven vagrants rummaging through the trash.

Zhou Qingfeng had been walking on the street for half-an-hour when his stomach started to growl. He saw a turkey barbecue shop by the roadside and he went in.

There were a few customers speaking softly in the shop. A strong and robust lady was sitting at the barbecue grill. She saw Zhou Qingfeng come in, walked forward, and yelled, “What would you like?”

“A set of barbecue meat,” Zhou Qingfeng glanced at the menu with prices and chose the cheapest option.

The shop lady grabbed a table knife and cut a few slices of beef from the grill, then added some lettuce and salad sauce. She carried the plate to Zhou Qingfeng and said, “Six dollars.”

Zhou Qingfeng had not eaten all day. He grabbed the cutlery and started to devour his food ravenously. The barbecued turkey was not a bad choice in the United States. Its portion was huge enough and it was suitable to fill the stomach.

While Zhou Qingfeng was eating, he thought about what he needed to do next. Even though he could not stay with Katrina anymore, things were not that unacceptable. When he felt calmer and thought about it, he understood that everything was full of challenges and it’s never a smooth ride. It’s fine as long as you survived.

“I should find the machine-dog, Dogmeat, as soon as possible. That dog would be more reliable than humans. At least, it wouldn’t dump me halfway, like Katrina did.”

“I can’t lose the bet I made with Tony Parker. I would be so pissed if I saw that hippie standing in front of me with the DogMeat.”

“But, it’s impossible to get the DogMeat without Angie’s help. I have to think of a way to contact her.”

“I have to make some money too. Otherwise, I would starve to death before I get the DogMeat.”

Zhou Qingfeng pondered while he ate. As he was nearly done, the barbecue lady put a cup of Cola in front of Zhou Qingfeng and said, “Here you go, it’s on the house.”

“Thank you,” Zhou Qingfeng was indeed thirsty. He drank half the cup in one sip.

The barbecue lady said lazily, “The black that guy you killed robbed our shop too. I’ve cursed him countlessly, hoping that he would be dead on the street, and my dream came true today.”

What? Zhou Qingfeng was stunned and rose his head gradually to look at her. The strong and robust barbecue lady pointed to the TV screen on the wall. It was broadcasting the crime scene near the Target shopping centre. A reporter was on the screen, talking about the problems of the law and the deterioration of order.

“Mother fucker, I’m on TV,” Zhou Qingfeng looked at the screen, stunned. The TV screen was showing the surveillance video at McDonald’s. The scene of him being robbed and stabbing the black guy was clearly shown on the screen.

“Good job,” an old man next to Zhou Qingfeng gave him a big thumbs-up. He even imitated the way he killed the robber and praised him, “Your speed was fast and your attack was ruthless. You’re Chinese, right? Your kung fu is great!”

Kung fu, my ass! Which eye of yours saw that I knew kung fu? I’m now, really, a wanted murderer, and you’re still in the mood to joke with me?!

Looking at the big picture of his face on the TV screen, Zhou Qingfeng had cold sweat all over him. He finished the cola, put down the cup, and prepared to leave the shop. Contrary to what he expected, the doorbell rang and two policemen walked into the shop.

Zhou Qingfeng did not stop, nor did he turn around to run. He lowered his head and walked out calmly. He avoided eye contact with the police. However, he saw the police’s legs slightly pause. Then both of them, nonchalantly, reached for their guns at the same time.

They recognized!

Zhou Qingfeng’s Asian face was too eye-catching for the Americans. It would be hard to not notice him. His picture on the TV screen on the wall was the best evidence.

I’m fucked. I’ll be up for death sentence once I’m arrested!

Zhou Qingfeng nearly dropped dead. He looked up and the two white policemen looked at him suspiciously. One of them already opened his mouth, took the gun, and was ready to shout.

I cannot be arrested. No way!

‘As Quick as Lightning’. I’d always get the first move in an attack!

Zhou Qingfeng activated the passive attribute that he had just received. With a flash around his body, he dashed towards one of the police. The police’s hand was just reaching for the holster. Zhou Qingfeng pushed his arm away and he took his Glock 17 pistol.

Following that, three actions: draw, grip, and aim were done in one go! Everyone in the barbecue shop was amazed by Zhou Qingfeng’s agility in the hopeless situation.

When the police came in, everyone in the shop thought that this young man could not escape anymore. It was unexpected that his reaction would be so quick. The policemen were controlled by him, instead. The old man who praised him previously, whispered, “Kung fu!”

“Old man, You’ve been watching too many movies!”

Zhou Qingfeng was breathing heavily. The previous, instant action required powerful pyrodynamics. His heart thumped like thunder. His forehead was covered by a thin layer of sweat.

The policeman in front lost his pistol and the one at the back, with his hand on the holster, stood still. They were both dumbfounded.

In that instant when they saw Zhou Qingfeng, they were so quick and their teamwork was nearly in sync. However, they felt dizzy for a second and the situation turned around completely. They had never seen anyone with such speed. It was like the shadow of a ghost!

Zhou Qingfeng aimed at the police standing in front with the pistol and said, “Put the gun and the intercom down on the table. Handcuff your mate and yourself to the leg of the table. Hurry up, do what I say. Otherwise, I’ll fire.”

Both the police did what he said. They put the gun down carefully in front of Zhou Qingfeng and handcuffed themselves. The keys were thrown out of the shop. The whole process was extremely smooth and quiet. No one dared to act rashly after seeing Zhou Qingfeng’s ghost-like speed.

Zhou Qingfeng heaved a sigh of relief when the police were no longer threatening. He turned on the safety lock. He was going to hang the pistol on his belt when he saw the police uniform with the holster. He said, “Take off your clothes.”

What?

The policemen thought, Did we meet a pervert? He wants us to take off our clothes even though we’ve been taken down?

The bloodstains on Zhou Qingfeng’s clothes were too obvious. He took the shirt and trousers of one of the policemen and wore them. They were a little too big for him, but it was fine.

Holster, walkie-talkie, handcuffs, even the chilli powder, taser and flashlight. When Zhou Qingfeng walked out of the turkey barbecue shop with those items, he looked completely like a patrol police officer in Brooklyn of New York.

Fuck…. I just robbed two policemen! It seems like my trouble is getting bigger. The entire police force of New York will come after me.

Chapter end