Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Liu Wei and I walked back to the front of the convivence store section of the gas station. Liu Wei carried my slice of cake, and I carried my mug.

"Really, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han with a sigh.

"What? You don't like it?" I said with a smirk on my face. It was a smaller mug for me, more in line with what an actual coffee mug should look like and not the monstrous ones that I normally went for. But there was a unicorn with a bunch of stars around it, and on it was written, 'Back the fuck up, sprinkle tits, today is not the day. I will shank you with my horn.' I thought it would be perfect for most situations, but more specifically for when someone (mostly from the military) was going to ask for our help with something.

"It's perfect," said Liu Yu Zeng, coming over to give me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled at him, happy that he understood.

"Trouble," called Wang Chao, looking for me. "Can you come here for a second?"

"Why do I feel like I am being called to the principal's office?" I asked, rolling my eyes and looking at Liu Yu Zeng.

"Probably because you are," smirked Liu Wei, giving me a kiss on my cheek before pushing me toward Wang Chao.

"My cake!!" I yelled, looking over my shoulder at Liu Wei.  He simply laughed at me, that ass. 

"I'll keep it safe," he promised. 

"If it is missing so much as a single bite, I will kill you," I told him, completely serious. I mean, this was a piece of cake that we were talking about. That stuff was not easy to come by.

Pouting over the fact that I had to leave my cake behind, I took a sip of my coffee, grateful that I wasn't dumb enough to let him hold onto that one too.

"Yeah?" I asked as I came up to Wang Chao's side. I had a very good idea of what was coming, thanks to Liu Wei, but that didn't mean that I was going to make life easy for him.

"I would like to introduce you to Commander Huang Nian Zu," said Wang Chao as he pulled me into his side. "He is the commander for one of the Sea Dragons Teams that is posted to the City N Naval Base."

"Nope," I said automatically. "Not going to happen."

"Excuse me?" demanded Huang Nian Zu as he stared me up and down. 

I looked up at Wang Chao with a sigh. "Sorry, knee-jerk reaction to anything involving the military or navy," I said with a strained smile. 

"I understand," answered Wang Chao, stroking my hair and giving me a kiss on my temple. "But please, just hear me out." I blinked for a second. Was Wang Chao really going to plead on the commander's behalf? Clearly, he considered this to be an important matter. 

"And if I say no at the end of hearing you out?" I asked, completely ignoring the glare that was coming from the military members around me.

"Then it is no," he answered, reassuring me. 

Taking in a deep breath, I braced myself.

"His team was on a special mission right before the EMP hit," started Wang Chao, not paying attention to anyone but me. 

"You can't tell her that!" snarled the woman that opened the door with a shotgun. "It is a sensitive military matter that does not involve a civilian."

"Lieutenant," growled her commander, and I was impressed when she no longer pressed the issue. I looked at the man standing in front of me with new eyes. To have that much control over your team member, you were either a good leader or one that was feared. And I didn't see any fear in the woman in front of me.

"They have been trying to get to City A all this time, but there have been a few issues," continued Wang Chao, not paying attention to the woman's outbursts.

"A few issues," scoffed the commander. "I think that losing a bunch of my men counts as more than a few issues."

"How many have you lost?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I quickly counted the people around me.

"Six," came the terse reply from the woman. 

"Six out of 16? That doesn't seem all that bad. Where were you that you lost them?" I asked, curious.

"Trying to get from City N to here," replied the commander as he studied me. I didn't mind, I knew what I looked like. Besides, at this point in time, if I stopped being underestimated, I might start to worry.

I smiled at the man before turning my attention back to Wang Chao. 

"They need to go back to the river between City B and City N, retrieve the device that they were required to get, and return it to City A," finished Wang Chao quickly as if I would be more likely to agree with helping if he took less time to tell me about it.  He looked at me as if gauging my reaction.

"Can I now say no?" I asked with a tired sigh. I know that Wang Chao wanted to help, but I was not sure why he wanted to go.

"You can," replied Wang Chao slowly. 

"Why are you going with what she says? Admiral, please, we really need your help. The government needs your help," said the woman as she looked at Wang Chao. 

"I am starting to lose count of how many military ranks you have," I grumbled under my breath as I looked up at the man beside me.

"None of them matter," Wang Chao assured me. "At the end of the day, the decision is yours."

Fuck my life. 

We went from the potential for trouble right into FUBAR territory.

"Let's go," I said with a sigh. If it wasn't for the fact that I was really on the fence about going back to the ranch, I might have put up more of a fight. As it was, maybe this wouldn't be that bad of a thing.

What the Hell happened to Step One? I asked myself with a sigh. 

"Thank you," whispered Wang Chao, and I had never heard him so relieved. That tone alone made me realize just how important this was to him.