Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Quickly sidestepping the woman that was rushing up to him, Wang Chao walked toward Liu Wei and the rest of his men.

"How is she?" asked Liu Wei as soon as Wang Chao got close.  The latter simply shook his head indicating that they would talk about it later, and turned his attention back to Zhao Jia Li. "Captain," he nodded at her. "You might be able to get your guns back tomorrow, it will depend on a few factors."

"And what factors are those?" asked Zhao Jia Li drinking in the sight of the man that she had not seen for a few years.  She fought and clawed her way to become part of the Navy, simply to be able to stay by Wang Chao's side, something that her family vehemently opposed. She simply found it more romantic, the idea that they were a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

Unfortunately for her, Wang Chao was transferred before she could become part of his unit. Now 30, her family was trying to push for her marriage, but she kept putting them off, knowing that Wang Chao would come back to her.  And see? She was right! Here is he, looking for her.

Wang Chao couldn't help the sneer that appeared on his face as Zhou Jia Li unknowingly projected her thoughts to him. He had always known about her plans, so when the Brass asked him to take on a secret mission and transfer to the Army, he happily obliged.

"What time she wakes up at," said Wang Chao with a straight face.  His little girl had a very long and stressful day, and now that the snow had arrived, there was no place for them to go. She could take as long as she wanted to rest and relax before dealing with anything else.

Zhao Jia Li looked at him confused. "What time who wakes up?"

Completely ignoring her, he turned to another woman that was hanging at the back of the crowd.  "Huang Xiu Yan," he called, indicating for the other woman to come forward. "I am going to need a set of standard clothes to be brought to 1373."

The other woman, Huang Xiu Yan simply saluted without saying a word. "Not for us," Wang Chao said, clarifying his order. "It will be for someone your size," he started, looking the woman up and down. "Actually, she is a bit shorter than you."

Once again, Huang Xiu Yan simply nodded her head. "And bring them by tomorrow around 1 pm," said Liu Wei interjecting. Turning to Wang Chao he added, "She is not a morning person, and if we don't wake her up, she will probably sleep until she gets hungry."

Wang Chao nodded, not considering when to have the clothes delivered, but Liu Wei was right, it was better not to wake up the little girl for something like that.  Huang Xiu Yan waited for a moment to see if there were any more instructions, but when the two men remained silent, she saluted and returned to her place at the back of the unit.

Captain Zhao Jia Li was the head of this unit and she didn't care for Huang Xiu Yan, so Huang Xiu Yan tried to play least in sight.  She sighed when she realized that the captain would probably have a few words for her before the end of their watch.

She joined the military to get away from the high school drama, but some days, it seemed even worse than it was back then.

"We are all here," confirmed Liu Yu Zeng as he and Chen Zi Han made their way back to the other two men.

"Thank God," said Liu Wei, rubbing his forehead again in an unconscious gesture. "Let's get everyone settled in for the night. The Vice Admiral is here, so that seems to be the only bonus right now.  Do you know when she plans to leave?" he asked Wang Chao, assuming that she would want to be heading back to City A and her ranch as soon as possible.

"In the spring," Wang Chao deadpanned looking at the man standing beside him. "And you will not suggest anything different, am I understood?"

Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han looked startled. Li Dai Lu had made it quite clear that she was going back to the ranch as soon as possible, so why were they now staying here for the next few months?

'She doesn't drive in the snow,' said Wang Chao in their heads, not willing to say it aloud. 'We will not be making her drive in the snow unless she tells us otherwise.' With those final words, everyone was in agreement. They would go according to her schedule and that was the end of it.

"I can show you to some free rooms you can use," offered Zhao Jia Li as she came to stand between Wang Chao and Liu Wei, putting a hand on Wang Chao's arm.  The two men looked down at the woman between them and could help but feel disgusted.  The feeling that she gave off was completely different from Li Dai Lu, and the two men hated it. 

Shaking off her hand, Wang Chao looked at the others in the room. "Everyone get to bed, there will be enough to deal with in the morning, and I don't think this snow is going to stop any time soon." Completely ignoring Zhao Jia Li, he waited as his men disappeared down the halls and up the stairs. They would be able to find their own accommodations, his job was to get him and the others back to Li Dai Lu before she woke up.

He promised that he would be there when she did and he would not accept anything less.

"Are you sure that I can't help in some way?" asked Zhao Jia Li, getting frustrated that so many people were ignoring her. "And the woman you brought in before. I know I should have asked, but I had assumed that you would tell me about her. Who is she? Does she need accommodations with the rest of the women here?"

Liu Yu Zeng simply smiled at her, focusing his attention completely on her in a way that made her somewhat uncomfortable. "Who is she?" he asked in a dark tone. "You don't need to know who she is, you just need to know to avoid her any time you see here. And she will be staying with us."

----

"You do realize that you just sicced a rabid dog onto Princess, right?" asked Chen Zi Han as he followed Wang Chao up the stairs and to the rooms that he had chosen for them.

"What do you mean?" replied Liu Yu Zeng, genuinely confused. "I specifically told her to stay away from your princess."

"That is exactly what he means," interrupted Liu Wei, looking down at his brother. "You basically said that she is so important to us that she needs to be left alone and that she was staying with us.  For a woman that has been chasing after Wang Chao for close to 15 years, that is enough to set off warning bells.  Maybe we should just give her Wang Chao to keep her away from Li Dai Lu. What do you think?" he continued, throwing a smirk at the man.

"I think that you are the only one here with a legitimate fiancé," replied Wang Chao as he opened the door to the 13th floor. "Which means, you have no say in anything."

"Yeah, but I am pretty sure that even if she is currently alive, she is going to be in the middle of a zombie-run city and is no longer my problem. Besides, I think I was kicked out of the family when I refused to stay with Grandfather in City B," said Liu Wei, the aggravation clear in his voice that he was out of the running. 

"Which means, you are the only one with a woman actively chasing you," he continued, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"I would like to point out that out of the three of us, I am the only one not to have any past issues or future issues like those.  Clearly, I am the best candidate," said Chen Zi Han as he made his intentions known to the other men. He was not sure how this would all work, but he was not willing to miss out on the one person that did not seem to care about his darker side.

Somewhat blindsided, the other three men looked at Chen Zi Han. "What?" asked the man in question as they all stood outside of room 1373. "I thought it was only fair to warn you guys ahead of time." Wang Chao snorted at his answer and the other two let out low chuckles of their own.

Opening the door, Wang Chao's gaze went directly to the couch and the pile of blankets in the middle of it.  That was good, she had not woken up.

Cracking his neck, Wang Chao started unzipping his jacket and hung it up on the hooks provided. Getting comfortable, he took his seat on the sectional right by her head and waited for her to wake up. "You all need to remember, I am the only one inside her head right now," he smirked at the other three men as they too made themselves at home. "I think my advantage is clear."

Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and Chen Zi Han looked at the fourth member of their brotherhood, waiting for him to weigh in and tell them his thoughts.

"What?" Liu Yu Zeng said with a smirk. "Do you really think I am going to tell you guys one way or another?" He scoffed at the very thought. He was a master at flying under the radar, only striking when he was sure of the kill. Growing up as he did, he knew the benefits of playing his cards close to his chest.

Why give them anything that they could use against him? After all, they were clearly his competition.