Mutant Farmer in The Apocalypse

Yang Zhang left the room and was stopped by the old man standing in front of the door.

"How was it? Did you get the badge?"

Yang Zhang showed the Kobra badge to the old man, and Fei Mu's face brightened instantly. He patted Yang Zhang's back and said, "Kid, you're now part of the settlement. This human settlement is called The Cobra Shelter. So if you're out there and someone asked you where you came from, just tell them that you're from Cobra Shelter."

"Um… I'm sorry, Uncle. But I'm not interested in joining the settlement. I already told Big boss about this, and she said it is fine. I can visit the settlement anytime since I have the Kobra badge now."

"Ah, really? You're not interested in joining with us?" Old man Fei Mu asked.

Yang Zhang shook his head, confirming that he wouldn't be part of this settlement.

Old Man Fei Mu sighed pitifully, "Well, if that's the decision from Big boss. You're allowed to explore the settlement yourself. I can't accompany you around, though. I also have things to do."

Yang Zhang bowed his head slightly to show respect, "Thank you, Uncle. I'll leave now."

Yang Zhang went out and started exploring the city. The first place he wanted to visit was the smithy.

When he came to the smithy, the blacksmith was busy pounding a soon-to-be sword with a hammer.

'Huh, people still use a sword in the apocalypse?' Yang Zhang thought. Because he always thought the normal humans here used guns, and the ability users out there didn't need a weapon. Even if they did, they would use a gun as well.

"Good afternoon, Uncle. I'm here to look for weapons!" Yang Zhang said as he entered the smithy.

The blacksmith stopped pounding the sword and looked at the door. He got up when a customer was standing at the door. He observed Yang Zhang from head to toe, "You're new here, aren't you?"

"A—Ah, yes! My name is Deng Fan. I got recruited just now."

"Can you show me your Kobra badge?"

Yang Zhang showed the Kobra badge to the blacksmith, and the middle-aged bearded man nodded with a hum.

"Go pick something that you like here. It's free of charge," the blacksmith said.

"Eh? You allow me to take a weapon for free?" Yang Zhang was surprised. He came here to check around and asked what the blacksmith would accept in exchange for the weapon. But now he got one for free after showing his badge?

"The Kobra badge has the privilege to take something for free for the first purchase. The big boss told me that it would encourage you to go and hunt something with a regular weapon instead of guns. Because we're low in ammo," the blacksmith said.

"So take one, and go hunt something."

The blacksmith returned to his seat and started pounding the sword again, allowing Yang Zhang to look around the shop to pick his favored weapon.

What the blacksmith said was correct. It was better to hunt with traditional weapons like knives or spears because ammo was difficult to obtain in the apocalypse.

In his previous shelter, only the higher-ups could use guns because of the limited ammo production.

Yang Zhang looked around. He saw swords, spears, mace, sickles. It really looked like a smithy came straight out of a medieval fantasy game.

Yang Zhang was fascinated by the range of weapons that he could choose. He was interested in the sword, especially big swords like a greatsword.

So he picked up the claymore and dragged it to the middle of the shop, where there was an empty space.

"Okay, I can do this. One... two… hrrrggghhh!" Yang Zhang tried to swing the greatsword. But no matter how much strength he extorted to lift the sword, he couldn't even make it budge even a little.

All he could do was drag it left and right, which was definitely not battle-worthy.

"Ugh, and those lolis in anime could use greatsword or claymore easily, talk about unrealistic," Yang Zhang complained. He put the greatsword back and then checked the other swords.

He tried all the swords, from the big ones to small ones, and found himself lacking.

His swing was weak, his posture was wrong, and his arm started hurting when he held the sword for too long. He never trained to be a martial artist, so he had no physical strength.

Yang Zhang decided to try other weapons, from the spear to mace.

Yet, he still found himself lacking.

He spent an hour trying everything he could touch and returned them to their place. He could only sigh pitifully as he realized that he had no talent to be a warrior.

The blacksmith had been eyeing Yang Zhang for a while. Seeing the kid look so depressed, he got up from his chair and asked, "Kid, you never had any training before?"

"No, I don't, Uncle. That's why I can't use these weapons," Yang Zhang replied honestly. He really didn't have experience with it anyway.

"Hmm… for a scrawny kid like you, I don't think you'd fit to fight in close range. It's very dangerous, and you have no fighting capability at all," the blacksmith commented.

"Ouch, that hurts a bit, Uncle."

"Hey, I'm not here to talk you down. I'm just observing how you handle all weapons. Obviously, you have no training at all. It surprises me that you can escape and find this settlement."

The blacksmith rubbed his beard for a moment, seemingly thinking about something important, and he said, "How about I give you a ranged weapon instead? It should fit your cowardly style better."

'Ack, that's so mean! At least try to make it less obvious!' Yang Zhang was spitting blood in his heart, but he just nodded in agreement.

At least, he would get a weapon that he could actually use.

"Okay, hold on, let me get it for you."

The blacksmith went inside his forgery for a while and returned with a gauntlet in his hand, "This is what I'm talking about, a good weapon for you, gauntlet gun."