Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Apparently, I was more tired than I thought I was because I must have fallen back asleep since the Wicked Witch of the West came this morning. Poor Chen Zi Han was tasked with waking me up like I was some kind of wild animal that would attack when provoked.  For the record, I was not.

He gently rubbed my back, encouraging me to get up and get my cups of coffee that they had specially prepared for me.  I was being treated like a Queen and I would fully admit to loving every minute of it.

Why they didn't get Liu Yu Zeng to wake me up, seeing as how I was sleeping on the man, I didn't know. But I wasn't going to complain either.  There was something about the calmness around Chen Zi Han that make me more relaxed around him. Like even if I bit off his head, he would still just smile.

I made it into a sitting position with Liu Wei handing me a cup of coffee before anyone spoke. In fact, if I was more awake, I might have thought that they were waiting for me to finish my first cup before they brought up whatever was on their mind.

But that was stupid. Right?

"Apparently, everyone on the base is waiting for us in the training rooms downstairs," said Wang Chao as he watched Liu Wei trade out one cup of coffee for another, this time with a carrot muffin on the side.

"Okay?" I said, not sure what he was getting at.

"But you, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han are not welcome in the training area," said Liu Wei, knowing how much I hated for bad news to be drawn out. But was this really bad news?

"So we get to stay here?" I asked, not seeing a downside to this yet.

"No, unfortunately, the Rear Admiral would like you three to go out and collect supplies," admitted Wang Chao as he looked at me. A smile formed on my face at the idea of going out to get supplies.  As long as I didn't have to drive, or be in a car, I should be good.

"But there is a catch," continued Liu Wei as he crouched down and rested his hands on my knees. I raised an eyebrow, this catch had to be big if Liu Wei needed to tell me like this. "They aren't sending anyone from the base out with you."

I let out a surprised bark of laughter. Unable to stop, I continued to chortle until the men looked at me as if I had gone insane. "And they put this man as the head of the safe zone?" I continued to chuckle. "It won't last long if that is the case."

"What do you mean?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, clearly surprised at my reaction.

"Only an idiot would send people that he didn't trust out to grab supplies while those that he does trust remain inside the base," I said, trying to point out the flaw in the Rear Admiral's logic. "You might want to teach him."

Wang Chao nodded his head, understanding what I was getting at. Supplies were literally the only thing that stood between you and certain death. By sending someone you didn't trust out to collect them, you are simply allowing them to collect whatever they wanted with no need to hand them into the safe zone afterward. At the very least, he should have sent a watchdog to watch over me and make sure I was being honest.

Now I just had to figure out if I was going to keep the supplies for myself or share them. Yes, I knew I didn't technically need them, but there was nothing saying that I wouldn't need them in the future. You were never supposed to be stocking up for today or even tomorrow… if you were, you were in a lot of trouble and more than likely had one foot in the grave as it was.

Supplies were always for future use.

But I digress, the Rear Admiral, whether he did it out of spite or because his hands were tied, let me have a free day with two of my guys doing one of the things that I liked the most. It must be my birthday.

"Is it?" asked Wang Chao, stunned.

"Is it what?" I asked, confused.

"Your birthday?" 

I shook my head. "That was in October," I admitted as Wang Chao and Liu Wei shot to their feet.

"Why didn't you say anything?!?" they demanded, looking at me like I had just confessed to murdering someone. My eyes widened, not understanding just what was going on.

"We had enough shit to do in October, my birthday was pretty far down on the list," I admitted with a shrug. "Besides, I don't know when is this body's birthday so it seemed weird to celebrate it."

"This body?" asked Chen Zi Han and I realized that I had never told them that this was not my original body. They knew I was reborn, but not that I transmigrated before that.

"Yeah," I said shyly. "I took over this body three years into the apocalypse."

"I thought you were reborn," said Liu Yu Zeng, looking at me like I had grown a second head. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut about that small fact.

"I was," I admitted. "But this is my third life," I continued. "Maybe I'm like a cat and will have 9 lives," I joked, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

None of the guys looked impressed with that statement. "So…. Supplies," I said quickly, trying to change the subject before they could get even more worked up. I didn't know if they were more upset over the transmigration or the idea that I might die another 6 times.

"Definitely the idea of you dying 6 more times," said Wang Chao, reading my mind.

"Don't worry," I assured him. "If something does happen, I will come looking for all of you."

I received four grunts in reply before Liu Wei stood up and offered me a hand. "That is two cups of coffee, so you should be feeling a bit more human," he said as he helped me up into a standing position. "You guys go get the supplies."

Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han, and I nodded our heads and started getting dressed in our snowsuits. I was determined to wear my snow pants this time around, but it did take me a few tries to figure out where I had put them.

All bundled up, the three of us left the apartment and started to walk down the stairs. "Damnit," I grumbled as I started to overheat in all my gear. I started to take off my layers as we continued to go down the remaining flights of stairs.  It was just as important not to get too hot in your gear before leaving as it was to be dressed properly for the outside.

The more you sweated, the colder you would be once you got outside. It was a very delicate balance.  Then again, if I didn't have to walk down 13 flights of stairs, I would not have this problem. 

The men behind me simply chuckled. "You good, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he watched me unzip my parka.

"Yeah," I grumbled, "I just forgot about overheating. I guess it has been a while."

"Does that mean the winter gets better?" asked Chen Zi Han, not even breaking a sweat after all the walking and gear. Maybe it was just me that was dressed like the Abominable Snowman.

"No," I scoffed. "If it's not freezing, there is a lot of snow. I guess I just didn't really remember."

The guys grunted as we reached the lobby and I started to get dressed all over again. Hopefully I wouldn't get too much of a chill. 

Ready to face the great beyond and look around City J, I opened the lobby door and made my way to the gate. There was no problem leaving the base, but a small part was worried if I could get back on afterward.

Fingers crossed the boys had fun today and could get us back if needed.

-----

"You are late," pointed out Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as Wang Chao and Liu Wei opened the doors to the training hall, located in the basement of the apartment complex.

Wang Chao raised an eyebrow as he looked at the older man in front of him. Although he did not believe in regretting his decisions, a part of him wondered if things would be better if they had stayed in City A. At least that way Li Dai Lu would still be at her ranch and not off to get supplies for the base.

"Last we checked, we were no longer military, so, we didn't know if we should be able to attend this training session," said Liu Wei, his typical assistant mask on his face. Without Li Dai Lu around, there was no point in showing his emotions.

Zhou Gang Jia froze for a second, not realizing that they had officially been classified as retired. He knew they would be going deep undercover for whatever the Brass had sent them to do, but he didn't know that they would no longer be in the army. Then he shook his head. "That doesn't matter," he said, looking at the two men in front of him. "We need you to teach us how to use our powers."