Novels like Wasteland Kingpin: Leizi, Fresh Out of the Undesignated Zone
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Wasteland Kingpin: Leizi, Fresh Out of the Undesignated Zone, best match first.
- 1 The River-Crosser: A Fugitive 过江龙：亡命之徒 His parents died in a mining disaster, and he was forced out of work. Wang Yue only wanted to tend his barbecue stall and live quietly and honestly with his brothers. But the son of a powerful family kept pushing him, refusing to leave him even a way to survive! With nowhere left to retreat, he would retreat no further! (This book has a gritty style and realistic plot. Proceed with caution.) 55kReads8.2Score3.9k14d adds
- 2 The Jianghu Never Sleeps: Song of a Madman 江湖不熄：狂人歌 [Not a power fantasy, not invincible] [Passionate] [Brotherhood] [Youth] A jack can’t hold up a shattered home, and a wrench can’t stop a gang’s blade. The days spent with fingertips stained by grease come to a bloody end! Brothers stand together with burning hearts, enemies tremble at their name. Bai Hao’s dictionary has no word for forgiveness, only the laws of iron and blood! Anyone who stands in his way will be crushed beneath a boulder. No mercy! 428Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 A Disciple of the Generation 一代门徒 In the 2000s, we entered a new century. Tower after tower rose from the ground, and people moved from a simple, kindhearted world to one filled with complicated struggles of human nature. The times changed and taught us so much, so very much. We also lost so much, so very much... 109Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 The Mystery of the Golden Beans Crossing Borders 金豆子跨国疑云 The Mystery of the Golden Beans 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 An Age of Turmoil: The Gangster Who Rose from a Village 混乱年代：从村走出来的枭雄 After leaving the military, Wu Wenjun drifted around the village, looking for a trade to take up. Just then, the village was holding an election for village chief. His Third Uncle, the former chief, was provoked at a banquet. Enough was enough: if you can dish it out, you can take it. How could he stand by while someone bullied a man in his own village? He stepped forward at once, and so began his life in the underworld. When he looked back, he had become a famous young boss in the criminal worl 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 The Martial World: The Wild Heavenly Fragrance 江湖：混世天香 The martial world is about both fighting and human relationships. If you know how to get by, you can live in luxury, surrounded by beauty. I always thought I was an honest kid. People bullied me from elementary school all the way through vocational school. A guy who was five feet two inches tall had me, at six feet one inch, pinned to the ground and rubbing my face in it. It wasn’t until my biological father came to take me home that I found out how much power and how many connections I had behi 13.8kReads8.4Score1.8k14d adds
- 7 Apocalypse! I Lead the Villagers in Building an Army 末世！我带领村民建立军团 In 1992, a strange electromagnetic storm swept across the globe. Every electronic device was destroyed. Temperatures plunged, and an endless winter descended. There are no zombies and no supernatural powers, only ravenous giant beasts and desperate bandits taking advantage of the chaos. Zhang Fan, a former field soldier, makes his stand in Qingshan Village, defending his home, making weapons, and organizing his people. Starting from a tiny village, he takes in refugees, wipes out bandits, and bu 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 Tales of the Northeast: Wang Pinghe 东北风云往事之王平和 The underworld of Northeast China in the 1990s had no beauty filters, just tough men with hard fists. Wang Pinghe, nicknamed Little Hoodlum, was the second child in his family. He should have lived a quiet life under his parents’ care, but instead plunged headfirst into the underworld. He fought viciously and was fiercely loyal. The iron gates of the detention center could hold him, but they couldn’t contain his wild streak. He would take a knife for his brothers, yet treat beautiful women with 28.8kReads8.6Score1.6k14d adds
- 9 1998: My Underworld Career 1998：我的黑道生涯 After returning home from Southeast Asia, he wanted to live as an ordinary man. But a local thug humiliated him, and in a fit of rage, he rose to power in the underworld. If he couldn't keep a low profile, then he'd go all out! 12.2kReads8.5Score83414d adds
- 10 Lord of the Apocalypse: From Death Row Inmate to King of the Planned Zone 末日之主：从死囚到待规划区之王 Xiao Ke, a special forces instructor, wakes up in the body of a death-row prisoner with only half a month left before his execution. After awakening the Collection System, he makes his “first fortune” and stages a breathtaking escape from death row. The price, however, is that he cannot enter a safe zone for three years. In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, the unplanned zones are ruled by the law of the jungle, but he's like a dragon released into the sea. Standing on the barren land of an unplan —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 I Took the Place of a Big Shot’s Most Loyal Lackey 我顶替了大佬的死忠小弟 Urban action + one female lead + the underdog rises among his brothers + power plays + personal growth + not invincible Because his face is identical to that of a missing underworld boss, he's forced to take the place of the boss's right-hand man. Alone and posing as a villain, he has no choice but to become one. Standing at the boundary between black and white, what should I choose? And who's pulling the strings? Who's really whose pawn? Stick with it for ten chapters, and things are su —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 The Third Republic 第三共和国 [Apocalyptic wasteland]+ [underworld]+ [political intrigue]+ [underdog rises]+ [war]+ [no System] After an asteroid strikes Earth, civilization and order disappear without a trace. Resources are scarce, society is in chaos, and corruption runs rampant… Chen Wei makes his way alone from the lawless, chaotic zone to Shanxing City. All he wants at first is enough to get by, but the cutthroat environment, self-serving superiors, and privileged second-generation heirs… force him to transform from 3.7kReads6.0Score37514d adds
- 13 Underworld Storm: The Iron-Blooded Road of the Martial World 黑道风云：铁血江湖路 [I'm Ma Tiejun. I'm a man of few words, but if you cross me, I'll take you on.] To make it in the underworld, you have to build up your business and earn plenty of money in the early days; shift into legitimate industries and establish yourself in the middle; then gradually clean up your act so you can walk away unscathed. The road through the underworld is hard, and few make it out alive, but I have no choice. I can only grit my teeth and keep going... Now that I'm on this ship, I'll be the fie 7.8kReads7.8Score68514d adds
- 14 The Initiator 发起者 The waning moon is like a foot-long hook, every curve a hook that takes a life. It has always been so, for thousands of years. Hello, everyone, I’m the author. This time, I want to tell the story of a spy’s despair. Without faith to sustain them, no one can hold on to the very end. If this story is at all to your liking, please lend me your precious support and leave a five-star review. I’m deeply grateful! 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 The Underworld! 黑道！ [Gangland, realistic, no wish fulfillment, no mindless plot, no System, frequent updates] Five years ago, Lin Jun enlisted in the military. During those five years, he earned countless military honors. Five years later, Lin Jun returns home after leaving the military, only to find not a happy life awaiting him, but his mother's cold corpse. To avenge his mother, Lin Jun has no choice but to embark on a path of no return, stirring up countless waves in the underworld! 34.9kReads8.5Score2.6k14d adds
- 16 Southeast Asian Widows Help Me Become a Tycoon 东南亚寡妇助我成大佬 Multiple heroines, exotic settings, mature women, young women, and foreign beauties. Decisive and ruthless, with no frustrating setbacks. When it's time to indulge, he does so without hesitation. Wang Da Qiang, a crime boss, is caught in the act from the start. Then a System that appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as quickly dumps him in An Nam in the 1980s. With the help of all kinds of beautiful women, he rises to become a Southeast Asian crime lord. 242Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 Winter Reigns Supreme 凛冬为王 In 1998, Frost City was battered by wind and snow. The young Chen Lin had lost his family and been left crippled, suffering one humiliation after another. The moment he entered the underworld, he made ruthlessness his way of life and ruled the streets with his fists. From discarded pawn to overlord, he climbed to the top and became king in the depths of winter. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 The Broken Stele of the Northern Frontier 北境残碑 Twelve years ago, during Operation Northwind, three thousand Federation brothers were betrayed by their superiors and left to die in the northern wasteland. Reconnaissance platoon leader Lu Chen crawled back to the land of the living from a pile of corpses, only to become an outlaw in a lawless gray zone. Here, there is no law, only guns, black markets, and survival. Thirty-two-year-old Lu Chen carries the lives of eighty-seven of his brothers in his hands and guards a checkpoint on North Sevent 2kReads—Score23014d adds
- 19 The Jianghu: A True Account of Half a Life in the Underworld 江湖：混社会的半生真实经历 A chaotic age, filled with flashing blades and clashing steel! The martial world is like a cup of tea. Everyone tastes it differently. My name is Zhao Long. Back then, most people called me Long Si, Brother Si, or Fourth Master! I'm not exaggerating when I say my reputation back then was almost as great as that of the famous Fourth Master Qiao up north! I was a poor kid who couldn't afford a meal. Through sheer grit and ruthl 4.7kReads7.1Score20114d adds
- 20 Dongguan: Starting by Conquering a Powerful Woman 东莞：从征服女大佬开始 [Guan City fiction + urban underworld + period drama + passionate + ultimate wish fulfillment] A man must have courage and grit. When his cousin was carried back to Niulan Village, crippled, Chen Xiaolong accompanied his cousin's wife south to Dongguan the next day. Dongguan in 2008 was a chaotic place, crowded with all kinds of people and gangs. To protect his cousin's wife, Chen Xiaolong stepped onto a blood-soaked path through the underworld. The worlds of black, gray, and white were turbulen 30.9kReads7.8Score1.7k14d adds
- 21 My Years in the Underworld: Three Fingers 混黑道的那些年：三根手指 (Period Setting + Underworld + Urban + Satisfying Read + Passion + Mockumentary Style + Brotherhood + No Harem) This novel may touch on real underworld events. Any similarities are purely coincidental! The audiobook is officially out now! It's a real thrill! Brothers, dive right in! Northeast China, 1994. A young man cuts off three fingers with a knife and flees to the northwest. His parents are divorced and his family is well-off, but he insists on making his way through sheer ruthlessness. Fol 94.8kReads9.2Score10.2k14d adds
- 22 Underworld Kingpin: From Medical Student to Emperor of the Underworld 黑道枭雄：从医学生到地下皇帝 He was once the medical school’s brightest star, wielding a scalpel and dreaming of saving lives, until his sister’s serious illness shattered everything. A hundred thousand yuan for her life-saving treatment. Three months of compounding interest turned it into a bloodsucking debt of three hundred thousand. The moment a steel pipe smashed his kneecap, Cheng Mo saw the truth through the debt collectors’ sneers: in this world, kindness is a knife that cuts to the bone. Either you devour others, or 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 The Gray Years 灰色岁月 He walks the edge of the law, yet never crosses the line of his conscience. This is the story of a generation’s wild rise, and of one man’s redemption amid the era’s towering waves. A gritty business-war novel about the entrepreneurial boom in Pengcheng in the 1990s, it follows an ordinary man driven to desperation by fate as he defies the odds and changes his destiny in the tides of the times. 2.8kReads7.7Score24114d adds
- 24 The Age of Gloom 灰暗纪元 [No System]+ [Passionate]+ [No golden finger] In the bleak era after the war, resources are desperately scarce. Places suitable for habitation, relatively untouched by the fighting, have been designated as residential zones. Outside those zones lies a desolate wasteland, ravaged and hostile. A young man who wants nothing more than to survive makes his debut in this chaotic age and is swept into one struggle after another. Will he ride the wind and soar ever higher, or will his burning passion be 6kReads8.6Score49914d adds
- 25 Schoolyard Storms, Northeast Underworld 校园风云，东北江湖路 [Wherever there are people, there will be a world of the underworld] [A Northeast underworld story] [Decisive and ruthless] [A road of no return] [First person] [Recollections] [This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.] My name is Han Tian. I was kidnapped by human traffickers as a child and forced to beg on the streets. It wasn't until Uncle Han rescued me from them that I was given a name. He showed me that a person could live like a re 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 1959: What's Wrong with Me Riding a Tricycle? 年代1959，我蹬三轮咋的啦？ The man standing before you is none other than: Wang Xingguo, arrested for selling duck eggs! Wang Er, the fishmonger! Wang the Rickshaw Driver, the smelly tricycle guy! Second Master Wang of the black market! Wang the Headache, who turned the black market into a vegetable market! Director Wang, who turned the vegetable market into an after-hours bargaining market! And now he’s Section Chief Wang of Transportation Section Four! There’s still a long road ahead. Let’s see how Director Wang continu 18.4kReads7.5Score1k14d adds
- 27 He and His Thousand Brothers 他和他的一千个兄弟 A sweeping crackdown on organized crime by the municipal Party committee and government brought Kangcheng ten years of peace. But after a decade, criminal forces sprang up like mushrooms after rain and returned in force. A breakup, having his identity stolen in the college entrance exam, and a construction boss’s schemes led Chen Li’an to give up on making an honest living. In the end, he went down a path of no return, turning against society. 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 Bright Darkness 明媚黯黑 Jiang Dapeng leaves the army with a pair of iron fists and goes undercover, but a sudden turn of events completely changes the course of his life. Faced with the lure of enormous profits and mounting pressure, when humanity is put to the test, who will prove human, and who will turn out to be a monster? Caught in the maelstrom, Jiang Dapeng repeatedly finds himself at the eye of the storm and at crossroads of fate. Will he sink into the shadows, join forces with the tiger, and share in its riche —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 Bandit City 匪城 [Not a wish-fulfillment power fantasy, and the protagonist isn't invincible: a comeback story + underworld conflict + a rock-bottom start + personality reversal + ruthless decisiveness + brains and brawn + ruthless bandits and war criminals abound] I'm Shen Liu. Ever since my father was imprisoned for seriously injuring someone when I was seven, I've endured humiliation at every turn. Then a girl appeared, and my life began to change... Once again, they knocked me down. As they unzipped their —Reads—Score2.2k14d adds
- 30 Those Confused Days of Youth 那些年迷茫的日子 One thought can lead to heaven, another to hell. Half a life wasted, with the past too painful to look back on. I once ruled my corner of the world, and I once ended up in prison. From being adored by everyone to the desolation of today, I dedicate this book to the friends I once had. 726Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 31 The Boss of the Underworld 江湖话事人 [Not many readers, so the rating just won’t go up] One wrong turn brought me into the jianghu. Watch as I summon storms with one hand and calm them with the other. Starting from nothing, I’ll carve out a path through the jianghu. They say you become what you eat, so if you want to climb higher, there’s only one thing to eat... 2.7kReads7.8Score20314d adds
- 32 The Pawn Who Crosses the River: Beyond Forgiveness 过河卒：罪无可恕 People who make money through shady dealings need to learn to burn incense and pray to Buddha. Those who move in the underworld have to believe that good things come to those who wait. After the turn of the millennium, Jiang Xinze was kicked off the police force for saving someone. He led his brothers into a world of guns and blades, with blood on their military daggers, riding the winds of a turbulent era to forge a dazzling legacy. If you’ve got a score to settle, settle it. If you won’t back 10.6kReads8.5Score89614d adds
- 33 Black, White, and Gray? How Can You Get Ahead Without Getting Your Hands Dirty? 黑白灰？不涉灰怎么出人头地 Brotherhood + slow-burn ensemble cast + one female lead + not overpowered + first-person perspective Some people say black is black and white is white, and anyone who falls into the underworld is a bad person. I wanted to be a good person. I never wanted to fall into the underworld. But does being a good person mean being looked down on? Does it mean being powerless when trouble strikes? Only later did I realize that society isn’t simply black or white. The world’s true colors are black, white, 22Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 I Chopped Until My Blade Chipped, and You Say I Hit the Wrong Person? 刀都砍崩了，你说我砍错了人 [Underworld + passionate jianghu + ruthless and decisive + a true kingpin] To stand up for the girl I loved, I blinded the village bully in one eye and spent three years in prison. When I got out, the goddess never came to greet me. Instead, I received an invitation to her wedding to the village bully... The jianghu is colorful and exciting, but it’s also rife with bloodshed, schemes, and deception. Brothers may share life and death, but there’s no shortage of betrayal, infighting, and estrangem 16.3kReads7.8Score1.1k14d adds
- 35 The Northeastern Transfer Student Conquers Tokyo! 东北插班生制霸东京！ [Tokyo + hot-blooded action + System + hard-hitting fights] Li Yuan, a crime boss, died unexpectedly, and his soul transmigrated into the body of a transfer student from Northeast China at Suzuran High School. On his very first day, a delinquent gang cornered him at the entrance. When Li Yuan faced the gang, he awakened the Villain System. As long as he defeated delinquent gangs, he could keep getting stronger. [Defeat the punks who came looking for trouble. Gain +1 physique.] From then on, he t 1.4kReads6.8Score10214d adds
- 36 Gangland: Starting by Winning Over a Stunning Beauty 黑道：从拿下极品红颜开始 [The short drama adaptation of this novel, Urban Good Guys, is now streaming. It’s exciting and thrilling, so come watch!] [Urban life + underworld + mature beauties + conquest + multiple heroines + comedy + feel-good power fantasy + period setting + underdog comeback] An underdog comeback story with multiple heroines! In 1990s Donghai, country boy Chen Feng starts out guarding a nightclub. With his fists and his brains, he carves out a bloody path, gathering brothers, seizing territory, taking 64.9kReads8.3Score4.9k14d adds
- 37 Big Brother of the Streets: Starting as a Demobilized Soldier 社会大哥：从退伍军人开始 My name is Wang Yi. Wang as in “king,” Yi as in “number one”! My big brother told me there are three essentials to making it in the underworld: being ruthless, knowing when to endure, and having a plan. But he never told me that life in the underworld would mean blood and tears, death and farewells! Countless bones pile up in the wilderness, and the law's net is wide enough to catch every hoodlum. Of the countless gangsters out there, only one or two ever make something of themselves! And I'm on 8.2kReads8.7Score80914d adds
- 38 A Song for the Underworld 混子的挽歌 [Raise our cups and toast the rugged road through the underworld.] [Through blood and fury, a brotherhood that lasts a lifetime.] A naive, timid young man, to keep from losing the brothers at his side again, chooses to take up a three-foot steel blade and step into a world stained red with blood. Behind the brotherly bravado and drunken revelry of the underworld, the only things that never change are ruthless exploitation and cold reality. The people he meets make him sick. And little by little, 2.4kReads7.3Score23914d adds
- 39 After Getting Out of Prison, the Underworld Princess Pursued Me 出狱后的我被黑道公主倒追 [Passionate youth] [Ruthless and decisive] [Tattoos covering his back] [A crowd of loyal brothers] On the eve of the college entrance exams, Li Shu lands in prison for using excessive force in self-defense. Three years later, having “successfully completed his studies,” he returns like a king. After surviving one bloody battle after another, he finally stands at the top of the city. Only then does he suddenly realize that his seemingly sweet and clueless girlfriend is the biggest boss in the ent 2.8kReads7.0Score19914d adds
- 40 I Killed My Former Self 我杀死了曾经的自己 My new work is out! You can read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 169Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 41 The King of Hardened Criminals from Prison 监狱出来的悍匪之王 In 2001, Hanjiang City was named the safest city in the country. Chu Tianhong made an indelible contribution to that distinction, because two of his underlings were arrested. 23.9kReads8.8Score1.4k14d adds
- 42 The Cocoon Breaker's Forbidden Zone 破茧者禁区 A pandemic that swept across the globe divided most of human civilization into three zones: the Infected Zone, the Quarantine Zone, and the Sterile Zone. Zombies, Grayfolk, and the Healthy each occupied their own territory. But a property deed that quietly made its way out of the Sterile Zone shattered the fragile peace, sparking fierce clashes between the Grayfolk, the Healthy, and the interest groups they served. Li Xuan, a healthy man raised in the Infected Zone, bears the hopes and trust of 58Reads—Score—14d adds
- 43 The Jianghu: I Am the Kingpin 江湖：我即为枭 [Underworld] [Brothers United] [Mind-Bending] [Passionate and Thrilling] Three years in prison couldn't dull my edge. My name is Wang Xiao. I spent three years behind bars for offending a powerful figure. After my release, I returned to my old stomping grounds with my brothers and the skills my master taught me. Some want to trample me underfoot. Some want to stab me in the back. And my enemies, lurking in the shadows, are watching me like hawks. But my life is no longer something just anyone ca 114Reads—Score—14d adds
- 44 The Underworld as Seen Through a Madman's Eyes 疯子眼中所谓的江湖 His father goes bankrupt overnight. His mother receives a notice that she is critically ill. A carefree young wastrel stumbles into the world of the martial underworld! Confronted with all the different lives in the martial world, and one situation after another where he has no choice, the young man, already mired in the quagmire, gazes around in confusion. The martial world is a road of no return. You have to go mad to become a demon. An unseen hand pushes him ever onward... Can this dashing yo 768Reads7.0Score10314d adds
- 45 Northeast China Underworld: The Autobiography of a Crime Boss 东北黑道：一位黑道大哥的自传 [Urban] [Underworld] [Outlaws] [A Cast of Villains] [Justice Served] [An Unvarnished Northeastern Chinese Gangster Story] The underworld rises and falls, settling old scores in blood. To others, the jianghu is about loyalty, passion, and settling scores with a thrilling flourish. The jianghu I’ve seen is nothing but deceit and betrayal. There are no bonds of brotherhood, only greed. There is no mercy, only merciless extermination. On this road, a knife is leverage, blood is the price, and a cons 31.3kReads8.8Score1.7k14d adds
- 46 Southwest Storm: Turmoil on the Black Sea 西南风云：黑海沉浮 When I was eighteen, I met someone who led me down a certain path. Some describe this path with the idealistic word “jianghu.” But the jianghu you actually find yourself in is better summed up by a rather funny saying: “After all this time, I’ve made no friends, only learned lessons.” My name is Lin Dongxia, and I’ve learned my fair share of lessons. 33kReads9.3Score3.2k14d adds
- 47 The Bad Guy: I Transmigrated into Xie Wendong, but I Won’t Join the Underworld 坏蛋：穿越谢文东，我不混黑道了 Xie Wendong opened his eyes and discovered that he had become the younger version of the future underworld kingpin. Looking at his youthful yet ruthless face in the mirror, he smiled. “Run with the underworld? That’s way too low-tech.” Armed with modern business thinking, he founded the Dongsheng Group. San Yan became chairman of the security group, Li Shuang took charge of logistics, and Jiang Sen switched careers to become 807Reads—Score5914d adds
- 48 1998: My Bloody Era! 1998：我的血色年代！ When I hit the streets, I rely on just three things! Being ruthless, having money, and having tough brothers! These are passionate, fiery times! These are times when tough guys are everywhere! The moment I picked up a three-edged military dagger, I was destined to spend my life battling through the underworld! Don't talk to me about big shots in the underworld. That won't work on me! Welcome to my story of life on the streets! 6.3kReads8.5Score45314d adds
- 49 Eight-Year-Old Bandit: I Made Forbes Through Extortion 八岁悍匪：靠敲诈勒索进入福布斯 [School gangsters + How a ruthless bandit is made, coming-of-age story] [Reborn + Passionate + Arrogant + Bandit of the century + Blackmail and extortion + Robbery + Building a criminal organization + Satisfying read + No System, just pure badassery!] [Five chapters a day, plenty to keep you fed!] [In the style of Gao Qiqiang, the story of a bandit's rise. Don't read if you don't like it.] Zhang Shiqiang, the bandit of the century, was taken to the police station at age twelve after getting into 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 50 Underworld Storms: Zhang Yue 黑道风云之张岳 He is the staunchest believer in the code of the underworld, fiercely loyal to his brothers to the point of obsession; he believes most in repaying every blow, dealing with his enemies with ruthless finality; he holds fast to his fighting spirit, staying true to himself to the very end. He is Zhang Yue, the underworld boss known as the Pale-Faced Scholar. 10.9kReads8.1Score60814d adds
