The First Order

In the wasteland after a nuclear war, civilization has collapsed and humanity has retreated into walled "barriers"; outside lies irradiated land and genetically mutated flora and fauna, and only inside the barriers is there any chance of survival. Refugee youth Ren Xiaosu and his younger brother Yan Liuyuan struggle to survive in the wilderness and poor market towns outside the barriers: hunting, practicing medicine, teaching—whatever earns a meal. An accident reveals a mysterious "palace" in his mind; completing its tasks grants attributes and skills, even replicating the technological knowledge of the old era. With this power, he and his brother escape danger time and again from mutated creatures like wolf packs and human-faced bugs, and gradually stumble upon the vast injustice and undercurrents on both sides of the barriers: conglomerates and the Fire Seed Company hunting superhumans inside, and various factions fighting over wasteland resources outside, all pushing the youth into a greater maelstrom. Alongside him is Yang Xiaojin, who later becomes his ally, and the unyielding soldiers of the Northwest Army. Centered on the idea that "spiritual will is humanity's first-order weapon against danger," the work unfolds a layout spanning eras amid humorous, brisk daily life and escalating trials, telling the growth of a nobody from the wilderness into a leader of the age. Originally a long serial on Qidian totaling about 2.89 million characters; this entry is the "Series One" volume edition from Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House.