Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



'Apparently, Elysian Fields was some type of paradise,' thought Liu Wei as he looked down and his ringing cell phone. 'As soon as I left, shit managed to hit the fan.'

"Hello," he said, waiting for whoever had called him to respond. He had just made it back to his private apartment and was sitting on the couch when his phone started ringing. At first, it was his grandfather, but when Liu Wei didn't pick it up, the next person to call was Wu Bai Hee. If he didn't answer his grandfather, there was no way that he would answer it for Wu Bai Hee.

When he saw her name pop up, he paused for a second. Wu Bai Hee was the woman that his family had chosen for him to marry. She was the eldest daughter of the leader of the Black Mountain Syndicate and their families had been pushing marriage as a way of strengthening the ties between the two… groups. In City H, where he was from, this type of arrangement was very typical for... those in his situation.

As the eldest, and the one that was supposed to have taken over after his father had died, the marriage between Liu Wei and Wu Bai Hee would have made sense. However, he had chosen to follow a more… legitimate path, which included serving his country in the military. Since his syndicate had ties with the government as well as the underground, this was easy to accomplish. The fact that his brother was willing to step in with the other side of the coin made the brothers pretty much unstoppable in any situation.

Besides, if marrying Wu Bai Hee left a bad taste in his mouth before, it was nothing compared to the physical disgust he felt towards her now. Having met Li Dai Lu, Liu Wei could not imagine touching anyone else, or even being touched by them.

It was one thing, not knowing the possibilities, to survive in a marriage like his parents. But to enter into a contract like that where he would never be able to relax, or just be him? He would much rather just kill her and be done with it.

He sighed when his phone rang for a third time. This time it was his younger brother. Remembering how he looked in his dream, and how desperate he was to find him, Liu Wei couldn't help but answer the phone.

"Heads up, Yu Xuan," came the rough voice from the other end of the phone. Liu Wei hummed in acknowledgment, his head resting against the back of the couch, his eyes closed. From Heaven to Hell in only two hours. He chuckled to himself, counting the days until he could go back there permanently.

"What now?" Liu Wei asked. "And call me Wei. Yu Xuan was a lifetime ago."

"I don't care what the fuck you call yourself. You are my older brother and will therefore be addressed as Yu Xuan. If you have an issue with that, come down here and solve it."

The smile on Liu Wei's face was genuine, one that he only showed a small group of people. His brother being one of them. "Yes, yes, yes. You are the big scary enforcer. Now, why are you calling?"

There was a brief silence on the phone before Liu Yu Zeng spoke again. "You are different," he said, not sure about the change.

"Things are different. I'll explain it to you later. Now, why are you calling?"

"Black Mountain is making waves. They are insisting that you hurry up and come back home. Wu Bai Hee is also pushing for the marriage to happen."

"And just who are they to try and insist anything from the Red Dragons? Have you become so soft that just anyone can walk all over you?"

Liu Yu Zeng scoffed. "Grandfather is insisting on the marriage. He wants it done by December."

"December, huh? A lot of things can happen between now and December," said Liu Wei slowly, opening his eyes and looking around the room.

Liu Yu Zeng hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that statement. "And a lot of things will stay the same," he replied.

"Very true. But if I might be able to make a suggestion to the Enforcer of the Red Dragon?"

"Haha, very funny. Why don't you come down and take over as head? Then you wouldn't have to ask for favors from a lowly enforcer."

"I am being serious, Zeng. You need to take the next month and weed people out. Anyone that is not blindly loyal to our family will need to go. Anyone who is on the fence or you have questioned them before…kill them. I don't care if our numbers go from the thousands to ten. If they are not loyal to YOU and only you. Kill them."

"Grandfather won't like that. A lot of people that you just mentioned are on his side," said Liu Yu Zeng, pointing out the holes in the plan. He might be a hothead when the situation warranted it, but the man also knew when to back off and think. That trait was what made him one of the best enforcers in the world.

"At this point in time, I am not going to care about what grandfather likes or doesn't like. I will have more instructions for you later but keep me informed about everything going on. I might not want to be head, but there are a lot of things coming down the pipe from the government and we will need to be prepared," said Liu Wei as he got up and started packing. He would go to the apartment that he shared with Wang Chao. This one felt too suffocating being in here alone.

"Another raid?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng, not sure what was going on but knew that his brother was on edge about something.

"A raid would be a lot easier than what is expected to happen."

"Can you give me any more details?"

"Not right now. This line is not secured enough. But remember, only keep those around you that are completely loyal to you."

"Understood. And your marriage?"

"Tell grandfather that if he wants the alliance so bad, he has my blessing to marry Wu Bai Hee himself. But there is no way that I will be going through with it."

"What changed?"

"The world." With that, Liu Yu Xuan, otherwise known as Liu Wei, hung up the phone and left his apartment. The world had changed. His world. And before the apocalypse came, he would do his best to protect his brother and the two people he now considered family.

The rest of the world could go to hell. Step one was not just for Li Dai Lu.