Future's Edge

Chapter 2 - RR

The South Bank Housing Complex, designed as an affordable housing project, utilizes its land to near maximum capacity, with each building resembling a massive, square concrete pillar. The spacing between the residential buildings was evidently designed with no consideration for sunlight.

Luo Feng's home is on the 32nd floor of one of these towering 36-story buildings.

"A Feng, are you going to the martial arts school tonight?" Wei Wenchao walked toward another building.

"Tonight, I have a tutoring session, and I may go to the martial arts school afterward, but I can't say for sure when. Don't wait for me tonight." Luo Feng waved with a smile before quickly bounding up the stairs, his pace swift and steady, each step covering four flights. He moved with the grace of a cheetah, blinking twice, and was already on the second floor.

Third floor, fourth floor…

"Thud! Thud!"

Luo Feng raced up the stairs with ease, nimbly dodging residents as they climbed up.

"A Feng, are you back from school?"

"Yes, Uncle Wang." Luo Feng’s breathing was unaffected. As an advanced student at the martial arts school, climbing stairs at this speed was no more strenuous than taking a walk.

The affordable housing complex, in the opinion of most residents, had no elevators. If they were to be installed, rents would rise. For most people, even climbing dozens of floors was a simple task.

For them, having an elevator in the building would be an extravagant luxury. After all, electricity was expensive, and the entire city's 'defense system' relied on electrical power, which the entire nation urgently needed.

…

32nd floor!

There were eight households on this floor, and Luo Feng's family was one of them.

"Click!" Luo Feng unlocked the door with his key.

"Brother, you're back?" came a voice from within.

"Mm." Luo Feng closed the door and surveyed the room. His home was a one-bedroom apartment, 36 square meters in size.

His family of four, including his parents and younger brother, lived in this small space. They had lived here since he could remember.

"Ahua, what book are you reading?" Luo Feng walked toward the small balcony.

On the balcony, a thin, pale boy sat in a wheelchair, holding an English book. Luo Feng glanced at it and smiled. "Oh, it's a book about the investment master 'Price,' right? Isn't 'Buffett' the most famous among the investment masters?"

Luo Feng knew nothing about investments or stocks.

"Buffett's theories don't suit me. But Price's ideas and theories are close to my own thoughts, and they are useful as a reference," the frail boy, Luo Hua, looked up and smiled slightly.

"Keep reading," Luo Feng said with a smile.

Unconsciously, Luo Feng’s gaze lingered on his brother’s legs, and his heart tightened. His brother's legs had been crushed by a car when he was young, leaving him permanently disabled. In today's society, being disabled and trying to survive was an immense pressure. His brother could only receive education online through remote learning.

Long-term exposure to the lack of sunlight had left his brother with a sickly pallor. Moreover, without many friends, his brother was quite introverted.

"Mom and Dad's salaries aren't high, and they have to support both me and my brother, especially since my brother is disabled… The burden on the family is too great, so we can only live in this affordable housing."

"My brother is disabled and has little social interaction. Finding a wife will be incredibly difficult for him. Who would want to marry a cripple who can't even walk properly?"

"I must change the fate of our entire family!"

Luo Feng silently vowed in his heart.

"Why is it that I secretly admire Xu Xin, yet I haven’t pursued her or entered a relationship?"

"According to the law, you can marry once you turn 18, so many people date in high school and marry right after graduation. Those who didn’t date in high school are rare. Why haven’t I?"

"Because I don’t have time to waste on dating! My family isn’t wealthy, and I don’t have any influential teachers guiding me. Everything I achieve must come from my own effort." Luo Feng’s gaze fell on the old couch in the living room, which could also be laid flat as a bed. "For all these years, my family of four has lived in this small apartment, one bedroom and one living room. My brother and I sleep in the only bedroom, while our parents have slept on this couch for all these years…"

"I will make sure my parents and my brother live in a big house, one with an elevator."

"I want my parents to have a real bed."

"I want my brother to not have to struggle just to go downstairs."

"The house must have large windows so sunlight can pour in!"

These thoughts had replayed in Luo Feng’s mind countless times. It was because of this determination that he worked tirelessly from a young age.

And so—

He became one of the three students in the top 500 of the third high school to earn the title of 'Advanced Martial Arts Student.' Of the three, only he came from an ordinary family. The other two were children of wealthy families.

…

"Whoosh~~" The sound of running water filled the air as it quickly filled the electric kettle.

"Shh…" Luo Feng plugged in the kettle, then sat on the couch with a history book in hand, memorizing key points from the book.

Suddenly—

"Ding!"

The kettle boiled. Luo Feng set the book down and poured the hot water into a thermos. He also poured a large plastic cup of hot water and placed it on the table.

"In the year 2026, the 'Battle of Hongze Lake' took place…" Luo Feng reflected on historical events. Among all the subjects he studied, mathematics was his strongest. However, history was what truly fascinated him. Whenever he read about the history of the 21st century…

He couldn’t help but sigh.

This was a period of great human transformation!

"Ahua," Luo Feng walked over to his brother.

"Brother, what's up?" Luo Hua set his book down.

"This book has 139 key points, and I’ve marked them. Test me on them," Luo Feng handed his history book to his brother. Luo Hua smiled as he accepted it. "Okay, I rarely get a chance to quiz you. Get ready, I’m about to ask questions. If you get it wrong, you’ll be embarrassed."

"Ask away," Luo Feng said with a smile, sitting on the couch.

"Who, single-handedly, slayed the 'Tiger Head Monster' on the banks of the Yangtze River, saving hundreds of thousands of people and successfully relocating them to the Jiangnan base? Who was it? Where were they from? What was their age at the time of death? When exactly did it happen?" Luo Hua flipped through the book before asking.

"The brave soul was 'Dong Nanbiao,' posthumously awarded the four-star Hero Medal by the state. He was from Taixing, Jiangsu. He died at the age of 39. The event happened in 2018…" Luo Feng furrowed his brow.

His brother Luo Hua quickly pressed, "What was the exact date in 2018?"

"Uh, I’m not entirely sure, but I think it was… June 18th."

"Haha, you got the first question wrong." Luo Hua shook his head, "Dong Nanbiao, indeed, was from Taixing, Jiangsu, and died at 39, but the exact date of the event was June 16th, 2018."

"Ah!" Luo Feng slapped his forehead, shaking his head with a wry smile, "I always mix up the 16th and 18th. Ask the next question."

"Alright, listen carefully for the second question," Luo Hua said eagerly. "In the year 2023, at…"

…

The brothers exchanged questions and answers, and time passed swiftly.

"I’ve asked half of the questions in this book. Out of 68, you got 63 right and missed 5," Luo Hua looked at the clock on the wall, "Mom and Dad are about to return, so I’ll ask you the last question. We’ll pick up the other half next time."

"The last question? Okay, ask away." Luo Feng focused intently.

"This one is the most basic. Recite the major events of the 'Great Nirvana Period,'" Luo Hua said.

Luo Feng's expression became serious. The Great Nirvana period was one of the most important in human history: "At the beginning of the 21st century, several viral flu outbreaks occurred globally, starting with the SARS virus in 2003…"