Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Just as I was trying to figure out where we were going and how fast we could leave this place to get there, I heard a thump coming from across the room.  Looking up, I saw the Old Master hitting the coffee table a second time with his hand.  "You will stop this nonsense," he yelled, his eyes fixed on me. "This type of behavior is not acceptable in my house!"

I looked down my nose (in more ways than one) at the old man that thought he was still in control of everything. Not impressed by his lack of concern about the situation, I scoffed and turned my attention back to Chen Zi Han. He had been very patient in answering my questions and was doing quite well handling my freakout. Not many would have been so calm in his situation... or at least, they would have been a lot crankier. All in all, I was impressed.

"Do you know roughly how many facilities are in a 20km radius from us?" I asked.

He shook his head.  "I have no idea; I just know about this one because it was close enough to the house to potentially cause a threat to the syndicate."  I nodded in understanding and looked at the men around me.

"We are going to have to figure out where we are going and be gone fast… like yesterday… fast." I saw Wang Chao nodding his head, clearly thinking through the logistics, but when I heard another thump on the table, I was ready to commit murder. "What do you want?" I snapped at the man that probably not that long ago could have had me killed and my body buried with a simple snap of his fingers. Unfortunately for him, while he was used to being a big fish in a little pond, he was now a little fish in a big pond… and he hadn't even realized it yet.

"You will cease this… this… fearmongering! There is no reason for us to leave this place before we are good and ready to, and I will be the one to determine exactly when that is. Not some little girl who is in way over her head," the Old Master Liu Hao Yu sneered like I was something to be wiped off of his shoe.

Truth be told, I enjoyed it when Wang Chao called me 'little girl', but hearing it coming from the old man simply made my temper burn even hotter than normal.

"Then, by all means, you stay here, make yourself at home. I am so sorry that I have done whatever it is that I have done by arriving here and trying to save you. Now that you have made your decision, I am going to head to my own home now. I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors," I said with a sneer of my own. I went to stand up, but before I could make it to my feet, I was held down by four hands.

Looking around, I saw that Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Hao were all holding a different part of me down. I snarled at them. If I was not welcome here, I would not stay here a moment longer.

They forgot; all the complex niceties that governed social interactions were now no longer a consideration.  Sons could and would kill their own mothers over a sip of water. I did not have to stay here and put up with someone that meant less to me than Hades.

But then again… I guess for the most part, everyone meant less to me than Hades so maybe that wasn't the best example.

Long story short; I was leaving, those that wanted to come could, and those that did not, were more than welcome to stay here and die.

"I think—" Wang Chao started before he cut himself off.  I raised an eyebrow and looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. You know it probably would have put him in the doghouse, that was for sure. When I saw him nod his head, I started to chuckle.  At least he was smart enough to know it before he said it and got himself into trouble.

He cleared his throat and started again; "I think that we should leave Liu Wei and his family to figure things out. We will be outside, come inform us when you have made a decision. Either way, we will be leaving first thing in the morning."

I was okay with that and he was right.  I was not family; I really did not have a say and I would be pissed if an outsider had pushed me to make a quick decision. Nodding my head, I left the house and pulled an RV out of my space, and set it up on the more than spacious front lawn.  At least this way I could have a shower, a nap, and maybe… a caramel cheesecake.

-----

Liu Wei sat down on the same couch that Wang Chao and Li Dai Lu had just vacated, but instead of being the one on the side, he was flanked by his brother and his brother's second in command. Looking across the coffee table at Wu Bai Hee and his grandfather, he wondered how things had gotten this far.

He always remembered his grandfather being a strong, cold man. His prowess and skills were legendary, not only in his own syndicate but in others as well. How could a man such as that stoop so low to be controlled by another syndicate, he had no idea. But one thing was for sure, his grandfather was certainly showing his age to those that knew him, and Liu Wei felt a small twinge of regret for the hard life that his grandfather had lived.  But, at the end of the day, everything was based on the choices he had made, and he would have to live with the consequences of those decisions.

Then Liu Wei remembered his dream and that his grandfather, although worried about him, didn't really bother to go out looking for him, preferring to stay at home with Wu Bai Hee instead. Maybe he wasn't too far off when he suggested that his grandfather marry the woman himself.

"I do not approve," said the man as he slapped the armrest of his chair this time. Liu Wei fought not to roll his eyes in a very Li Dai Lu way.

"You don't approve of what?" Liu Wei asked as he leaned back against the couch and got comfortable.  He would have never done something like this in the past, but this situation was far from normal. The Old Master was throwing a temper tantrum, over what- Liu Wei had no idea… but this was not the time for that type of nonsense. The world had literally changed overnight and the old man needed to keep up or be left behind.

"That little girl has no idea what she is talking about. Imagine, having such a reaction to a simple power outage. It will get fixed in a few days and she will be proven as foolish as her actions suggest," replied Liu Hao Yu as his face twisted into a snarl of disgust.

"And the zombies outside that we had to fight in order to get back home? What about them? Asked Liu Yu Zeng as he too leaned back to become more comfortable. He felt that his grandfather's mental state had been declining lately, ever since Wu Bai Hee had come to live with them.  He didn't know what she was whispering in his grandfather's ears, but he has become paranoid about everyone and everything else besides the Black Mountain Syndicate.

Clearly, something was going on, some type of obscure power struggle was happening between the two syndicates that Liu Yu Zeng was not aware of. And as the Acting Dragon Head while his brother was gone, as well as the fact that he was the Head Enforcer of the entire syndicate, he should be aware of any and all threats to their organization.

But he was kept in the dark…

By his own grandfather…

Any control that the old man had over the Liu brothers officially snapped at that moment and they both knew it.

The Old Master scoffed when Liu Yu Zeng brought up the zombies. "Clearly just some kids playing a prank," he said as he waved his hand.  He looked at Wu Bai Hee as if to get her approval over that statement.  When she nodded her head, he looked back at his grandsons and sat taller in his chair. "There is nothing outside of these walls to worry about."

Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng looked at each other when they saw the brief interaction between Wu Bai Hee and Liu Hao Yu. What on Earth was going on between the two and just how was that woman managing to manipulate their grandfather to such an extent?

They had no idea, but they would be keeping their eyes open from now on. Or maybe, Li Dai Lu was right… the best way to deal with a situation like this was Step One.

Maybe they should just kill Wu Bai Hee and not have to worry anymore.