Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Liu Wei and I were sitting on the couch in the basement watching a superhero movie this time. I tried to explain to him that aliens from another planet could not be considered a superhero, because superheroes needed to be human. Aliens were not human.

He, in turn, pointed out that having more money than God to invent your own toys didn't make you a superhero either. Rolling my eyes I agreed, simply because as far as I was concerned, a blond pigtailed girl was the best hero…or villain… around.

Too bad they didn't have her movies here.

I was trying to not touch my DVD collection, so pretty much everything that we had been watching for the past two days had been through streaming. It has been the most laid back that I have been since this rebirth, and I have to admit, I've enjoyed it.

The need to constantly be stocking up had lessened when I had company. I guess it was because I was not in my own head as much.

The only thing that caused tension with Liu Wei and I was waiting for Wang Chao to come out of his room.

I heard the sound of a knock coming from Wang Chao's room.

Speak of the Devil.

I looked at Liu Wei and saw that he heard the same thing.

"I guess it turned out well," he remarked, looking at the door but not making a move to get up.

"Yeah," I replied, "The zombies never seemed to be one to knock on a door."

I sighed and stood up. Here goes nothing.

I unlocked the deadbolt from the outside and let Wang Chao open the door on his own. Just in case I was wrong about zombies and doors, I let the blue flame come out.

Slowly the door opened and Wang Chao stood there on the other side, staring at me as if he had never seen me before. Seeing as he wasn't blue or purple I let out the breath I just realized that I was holding and extinguished my flame. "So… how'd it go?" I asked as I turned my back on him and started to walk over to the couch where Liu Wei sat looking at Wang Chao, a concerned look on his face.

What I did not see coming was the rushing of air behind me. I stiffened, not expecting an attack, and was caught off guard. I felt my eyes widen and was about to call my flame back when I felt arms wrap around me and a face burry itself in my neck.

Have to admit, I did not see that coming.

I looked at Liu Wei, wide-eyed, a 'what the fuck' look on my face. He shrugged his shoulder as if he didn't know either and got off the couch.

"You okay there?" He asked Wang Chao, who still refused to let me go. Coming from a man that was so stoic I thought he didn't have emotions, this was so out of left field that I was beginning to wonder if he transmigrated too.

"Wang Chao?" I asked, hesitant.

He hummed in reply, still refusing to remove his face from my neck. Given how tall he was and how short I was, this position could not have been comfortable for him.

"When did you first meet Liu Wei?" I asked, thinking that this would be the best question to determine if it was still the Wang Chao I knew in his body.

"When I was 10," came the muffled reply.

I looked at Liu Wei to confirm. When he nodded his head that that was the correct answer, I shrugged my shoulder and let myself be a human body pillow for a while. I had never experienced the vaccine, this body had already gotten it before I transmigrated the first time, but I knew that it was a rough experience. I was willing to give Wang Chao some time to regroup before I hounded him with questions.

"Any reason why you asked that question?" Asked Liu Wei as he prepared to give himself the vaccine.

"I didn't come with memories, and with what I had read, most memories when they came back were current ones, not from a long time before. If he wasn't him, there would be no way for him to remember what happened when he was 10. Or at least, not this early."

Liu Wei nodded his head and gave himself the injection. I watch the process, not taking my eyes off him for a second.

Once he was done, he disposed of the needle in the lockbox and then walked over to where I stood with Wang Chao at my back. His steps were slow and measured, his eyes never broke contact with mine. "I will see you in two days," he said, his voice making a promise that I could tell he was determined to keep. He bent down to give me a soft kiss on my forehead before walking to the room that I had prepared for him.

I nodded to him, tears in the corner of my eyes. I refused to shed them. He would come out in two days, just like Wang Chao did, and just like him, he would be perfectly fine.

And I would tell myself that as many times as I needed to until I started to believe it.

He reached the door of his room and turned around again to look at me. He briefly glanced at Wang Chao who had finally raised his face from my neck, only to rest his chin on my shoulder. The two exchanged a look and I could feel Wang Chao nod his head.

Men.

"Make sure to lock the door behind me," said Liu Wei as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

Now it was his turn to face the future. Hopefully, he would come out the other end still him.

"All right, big man," I said tapping Wang Chao on the forearm. Seeing as it was still wrapped around my waist, it was the easiest thing to reach. He squeezed me one more time before letting me go and composing himself.

I turned around and watched as he straightened up, standing as tall and proud as the first time I saw him. He looked at me, studying my face and my body as if he was remembering something.

"You were right," he said slowly, as if he had never said those words before in his life. And I was pretty sure that he never had.

I nodded, "I tend to be," I replied. "Now, let's go to one of the fireproof buildings away from my house and see what type of power you got."

It turned out that a man like Wang Chao would not be someone with an average power in the apocalypse. I guess in this case, the novels were right. The CEO-military character would always be exceptional. I just didn't expect him to have three fucking powers.