Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were tossed about on the sea for a long time, and their injuries were severe, requiring rest. Without ceremony, they occupied the shrine's main hall. The shrine was not large, consisting of the hall for worshipers and a row of houses where an old man and a group of children lived.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi disdained the rice soaked by seawater, but the children here didn't care, as long as it was edible. They called their friends and moved all the rice from the boats on the shore into the shrine. They also put the fish and crabs they collected into clay pots to cook porridge.
These children were all orphans and very young. Out of necessity, they gathered to live in the shrine. The old man in the shrine took them in. The old man had a craft, which was weaving fish traps, but unfortunately, this skill could not support dozens of children.
When the fish porridge was cooked, the old man placed the entire clay pot outside the shrine. Yue Hengyi smelled the aroma, pulled aside the sliding door, found a bowl, and drank two bowls of rice porridge before waking up the sleeping Shen Feng to have a taste. This was Shen Feng's first time drinking seafood porridge. Although there were no seasonings, he found it delicious.
After drinking the porridge, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi went back to sleep. Sleep was the best way to recover one's spirit. Therefore, if someone suffered from insomnia, their spirit would quickly deteriorate. This was because reduced sleep weakened the ability to regulate stress, and once faced with a blow, their spirit would collapse rapidly.
Moreover, in their current state, quiet sleep was the best way for Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi to regain their energy.
Under the care of the orphans, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi slept continuously in the shrine for three days. Although they did not consume anything particularly nutritious during these three days, their muscles had somewhat recovered their elasticity, their skin had regained a slight luster, and their strength had also been significantly restored.
After three days, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi could bask in the sun on the bluestone slabs. While bathing in the sunlight, they began to chat. They were almost at Treasure Island, but misfortune struck again. Their boat, already damaged, was battered by waves. They encountered pursuers in the Luzon Strait, followed by a typhoon that blew them all the way to Wōguó. They didn't know their exact location.
"Where do we go next? We have two routes, north and south. Going north, we go to Hán|guó, then to Qīngdǎo. Going south, we go to Ōkinawa, then to Treasure Island, and finally to Fújiàn!" Yue Hengyi said, looking at the map.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and said, "It depends on the situation. I can't decide where to go right now!"
This was the truth. Shen Feng didn't even know where he was. Wōguó had four islands. If they were on Hokkaidō, then going north would be the most suitable. However, if they were on Kyūshū Island, the best route would be to go south.
While Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were chatting, a child suddenly ran over, anxiously saying something to them. However, neither of them understood Japanese and couldn't comprehend the language at all.
Before long, a group of children from the mountain came up, supporting the old man from the shrine. The old man was covered in bruises, clearly having been beaten. He had few teeth to begin with, and now several more had been knocked out. Blood was constantly flowing from his mouth, making him look very pitiful.
Shen Feng saw this scene and was also puzzled. He found a child and drew a question mark on the ground with a wooden stick.
Fortunately, punctuation marks were universal and did not pose a barrier to communication. The child immediately understood Shen Feng's meaning and quickly found a stick to draw on the ground. Of course, the child's drawing skills were far from those of a cartoonist, and the drawings were merely stick figures. However, they were understandable.
The general meaning was that the shrine had run out of food recently. Fishing yielded nothing substantial, and even foraging on the shore only yielded a few crabs. Therefore, the old man took the gold buttons Shen Feng had given him to the city to exchange for some food. However, on the way back after exchanging for food, they encountered a group of bandits who robbed them of everything. The old man was also injured, and now the shrine had nothing.
Shen Feng looked at Yue Hengyi and asked, "What do you think?"
"I'm lying down and thinking about it!" Yue Hengyi replied casually.
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "Still lying down? All the food was stolen, and we're going to starve. Why are you still lying down?"
Yue Hengyi quickly sat up from the bluestone slab and said, "Then let's go and rob all the food back! Damn it, daring to rob our food, they must have a death wish!"
Yue Hengyi then asked someone to lead the way, preparing to retrieve the food. Shen Feng also stood up. After three days of recuperation, although he was still weak, basic combat was not a problem. Both of them had passed the most difficult period, and dealing with a group of bandits would be no problem at all.
However, all the children were afraid of death and dared not lead the way. Only the young boy who had brought Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi to the shrine stepped forward, leading them to find the bandits.
Before leaving, Shen Feng pointed to the dark meteorite in the courtyard and said seriously, "Everyone, pay attention and guard this stone for me. If it's lost, you won't be able to afford to compensate!"
Xiong Yi led the two down the mountain. After the typhoon passed, the area became sunny and bright again. Looking around, the scene was one of devastation. Many houses had been abandoned and were uninhabited. The weeds were tenacious, growing wherever there were cracks in the walls.
"It seems that Wōguó is also in a miserable state!" Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi as he observed the surrounding environment.
Yue Hengyi shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't these people still have cities? There are probably miserable places and prosperous places. After all, wealthy people can always live comfortably no matter when."
Shen Feng agreed with this point. As long as one had money, it was the same everywhere. If one didn't have money, it was also the same everywhere, except that "the same" here referred to living conditions not fluctuating significantly.
The boy named Xiong Yi soon led Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi to the outside of a dilapidated building. The entire street was abandoned, filled with garbage. The smell was unbearable. Living here required considerable skill.
There was a large iron gate outside the building, which had rusted. Shen Feng didn't want to touch it, so he kicked it, knocking the iron gate down directly. Then, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi entered first.
As the large iron gate was kicked down, it made a loud "clang." A group of people inside the building came out, holding various weapons, but no firearms were visible. It was evident that their weapons were all cold weapons, including baseball bats, golf clubs, and homemade spiked clubs.
Shen Feng looked at this scene and couldn't help but be surprised. Weren't the gangs here very rampant? Why did they look so miserable now?
The group of people in front of Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were all teenagers, appearing incredibly arrogant. They charged at the two with their weapons, their ferocious expressions frightening Xiong Yi, who couldn't help but hide outside the house, not daring to show himself.
Shen Feng disdained to fight with these people. He simply raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Snap," in an instant, dozens of wind blades condensed in the air, piercing through more than a dozen people in the corridor. Blood flowed out, and the smell of blood filled the limited space.
Yue Hengyi saw the tragic scene created by Shen Feng and couldn't help but say, "Your ability is too bloody!"
There were more than a dozen thugs remaining in the building. Their clothing looked relatively neat, but after witnessing their companions being instantly killed, they felt fear. These were more than a dozen living people. Why did their bodies suddenly have so many bloody holes?
Unable to comprehend any of this, they could only watch as two devil-like figures approached them. As they walked, the thugs retreated continuously, their psychological defenses being destroyed by the approaching figures.
As Shen Feng took a step forward, these young men retreated a step. They had witnessed their companions being killed and couldn't even see how the opponent had made the move. The opponent had made no unnecessary movements; he had simply snapped his fingers. That was all it took to kill more than a dozen people. If he continued to snap his fingers, wouldn't they also be killed?
Finally, someone shouted, "These two are demons from hell! We can't defeat them, run!"
After saying this, more than a dozen people ran towards the rooftop. The exits of the building had been blocked by Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi. These bandits naturally dared not charge head-on. After thinking about it, the only place they could escape to was the rooftop!
Shen Feng unhurriedly pursued them upstairs. Yue Hengyi went into a nearby room to search for food. Without food, there would be no dinner that night. However, when Yue Hengyi entered the room, he discovered not only food but also several women in scanty clothing. Judging by their ages, some were in their forties or fifties, and some were teenagers.
"A bunch of beasts!" Yue Hengyi couldn't help but curse at this sight, then walked out of the room and shouted up the corridor, "Brother Feng, don't show mercy! Kill them all!"
Shen Feng didn't know what Yue Hengyi had seen, but after spending so much time together, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had developed a tacit understanding. Since Yue Hengyi said not to leave any alive, then there was no need to leave them alive; they should be killed directly. Yue Hengyi had his own reasons.
Shen Feng used his ability again. The sound of blades entering flesh echoed continuously from the upper floors: "Pfft, pfft..."
A few minutes later, blood slowly flowed down the stairs. Shen Feng casually walked down from upstairs, his face expressionless.
Yue Hengyi casually took the food from the bandits' den, including rice, flour, and vegetables. As he was leaving, he said to the women who had been freed, "You are free now. The bandits have been killed!"
"Arigato!" the women thanked the two profusely. Yue Hengyi shrugged, said nothing, and turned to leave with the food. Xiong Yi peeked out from outside the building and saw the blood throughout the corridor, his heart filled with admiration. If only he could be so powerful.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi prepared to return. Their trip out was solely to retrieve the food. The rescued women also hurried home. The women who had no homes continued to follow Yue Hengyi and Shen Feng.
"I really don't understand these bandits. They don't even have a gun, and they dare to operate on the streets!" Yue Hengyi said helplessly.
Shen Feng shrugged his shoulders upon hearing this and said, "You don't understand this. These people are not from the streets. In Wōguó, the yakuza are legitimate professions. During earthquakes, local gangs are the first organizations to participate in disaster relief. They have their own operating principles and their own businesses, and they have no need to rob. What we encountered were at most hooligans!"
After hearing Shen Feng's explanation, Yue Hengyi suddenly understood. So that was the reason why the opponents only had cold weapons in their hands. They were just a bunch of hooligans, and dealing with them was simply too easy.
Suddenly, Yue Hengyi thought of something and quickly asked, "By the way, you've never traveled abroad before, right? How do you know about this?"
Shen Feng patted Yue Hengyi on the shoulder and said, "If you watch more anime, you'll understand. Japanese anime can reflect social conditions very well. Although I like watching anime from other worlds, every time I watch anime, the comment section is full of explanations. Over time, I've learned a little!"
"I didn't expect your otaku nature to be useful here! I'm really impressed with you!" Yue Hengyi couldn't help but say.
"Don't be so disrespectful! You should call me 'Big Brother.' Let's go back and continue recuperating!" Shen Feng said.