Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Feng Lijian and his crew of posers had no idea how they even managed to leave.

The whole group was in a daze, shuffling away at a snail’s pace. They walked stiffly, stumbling through the snow with one deep step after another.

After who knows how long, one of the underlings suddenly spoke, his voice trembling, ”Our... our sister-in-law... she’s... she’s actually pretty good to us, right?”

”Huh?” Feng Lijian, lost in his own thoughts, replied absentmindedly.

The underling swallowed hard and said weakly, ”Yesterday, we stormed right up to Chen’s door, acting all rude, but our sister-in-law... she actually managed to hold back from attacking us? Sh-she must have done it for... for the boss’s sake!”

”Oh, right.” Another one nodded repeatedly, a woeful look on his face. ”With our sister-in-law’s power level, if a f-fight had broken out yesterday, she definitely would’ve beaten us to death, right?”

Everyone flinched numbly, recalling the sharp CRACK they had just heard. They felt a weakness spreading through their very bones.

’Our sister-in-law must be a truly kind-hearted and gentle person. That’s why she didn’t bother stooping to the level of dumbasses like us!’

The underlings all nodded in unison, silently making a vow to themselves: ’If we want to live, we have to follow the boss and properly respect our sister-in-law!’

”We were too hasty today. These few gifts aren’t nearly enough.”

”Yeah, yeah, tomorrow I’ll bring that can of tea my dad’s been saving. We’ll pay our sister-in-law another visit.”

”You’re right. I’ll catch a few of the koi my grandpa keeps in his pond and bring them over tomorrow.”

Feng Lijian’s mouth twitched. ’What a bunch of devoted followers,’ he thought.

...

Xie Ning’s fever spiked again that night. After taking some fever reducer, she woke up in the middle of the night, feeling as if she were soaked in sweat.

Groggily, she opened her eyes and met Gu Chen’s deep, dark gaze.

Seeing she was awake, he quickly got up, added some hot water to a cup, and brought it for her to drink. ”Aunt Song just went back to her room to sleep.”

He handed her a dry towel to wipe away her sweat.

”It’s so hot,” Xie Ning said, her voice dry and hoarse. ”How did I get sick?”

”The research institute extracted a viral substance from the electronic dog that attacked you. This virus specifically targets Third Rank and higher Superpower Users.”

”Song Shijun and Song Kexin are also sick with fevers now, but their conditions seem to be under control.”

Xie Ning quickly pushed herself up. ”My mom...”

”Aunt Song is fine.” He added more hot water to her cup, his expression turning serious. ”Today, the military received an electronic message from the Global Superpower Academy.”

”Basically, the X Realm wants to hold a video conference with our higher-ups.”

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak.

Gu Chen placed the glass of water on the nightstand and sat beside her, speaking in a low voice. ”If the talks are successful, the situation is likely to change.”

”We already know the virus most likely came from them,” Xie Ning said with a humorless smile. ”Talk about what? How to turn Earth into a garbage dump for viruses? How to use humans as lab rats?”

Xie Ning paused. ”The people from the X Realm, are they aliens?”

”No.” Gu Chen looked at her curious gaze, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He took out a photograph and handed it to her. ”Their known leader looks no different from us Earth people.”

Xie Ning took the photo and glanced at it.

The person in the photo was a middle-aged man with regular features, looking exactly like any other person from Earth.

”Why is their technology so far beyond ours?”

They even created a virtualized Dimensional Space.

Gu Chen pressed his hand to his forehead. ”According to the research institute, the X Realm exists on the same Earth as us. But it’s very likely we exist in different spatio-temporal dimensions.”

”They can likely predict problems that our technology is incapable of detecting.”

”What do you mean?” Xie Ning couldn’t help but sneer. ”So your research institute thinks that this so-called X Realm planted a virus here, possibly to *help* us?”

”So all those people who died, they died for nothing, is that it?”

Gu Chen squeezed Xie Ning’s hand. ”Until the peace talks happen, everything is still up in the air.”

”What will you choose?” Xie Ning stared at him, her expression serious.

”My choice will always be your choice.” Gu Chen squeezed her hand again. ”No matter what you choose, I will always be with you, okay?”

Xie Ning gave a slightly helpless smile. ”I thought you were going to say that sometimes our hands are tied.”

”Saying your hands are tied is just an excuse. The real choice is always in our own hands.” Gu Chen was exceptionally serious, his gaze sincere.

”I will never forgive the people who released this poison,” Xie Ning said, her face earnest as she looked into his eyes, which were as deep as a starry sky.

”Me neither.”

Xie Ning’s expression shifted into a slight smile. ”They deserve to die, just like those electronic dogs. Being shattered to pieces is the only fate they deserve.”

”You said before that you discovered the existence of the X Realm three years ago.”

”The Global Superpower Academy was also established before the apocalypse.”

”So, from the very beginning, a certain group of people knew, long ago, that Superpower Users would appear and the apocalypse would come.”

With a heavy heart, Gu Chen gave a slight, difficult nod.

”Does that make you sad?”

”What’s the use of being sad about the past?” Xie Ning’s voice was flat. ”Can I see the video of the talks?”

”Mhm, I’ll get it for you later.”

”I’m about to break through to the Sixth Rank,” Xie Ning said suddenly.

Stunned, Gu Chen quickly turned to look at her.

It was as if a brilliant light was swirling in her eyes. ”You tell them: whoever makes the Starfire Team uncomfortable, I’ll make their entire family uncomfortable.”

”If anyone from the Starfire Team so much as loses a single hair, I’ll make their whole family, young and old, pay for it with their lives.”

Gu Chen stared blankly at her, speechless for a long moment.

After a while, he leaned in, placing his hand on her cool forehead to check her temperature. ”Do you think someone at the research institute is colluding with the X Realm, using this virus to test you repeatedly?”

”I’ll find out. You just get some rest.”

Xie Ning nuzzled against his warm palm and said nothing.

Once Xie Ning was fast asleep, Gu Chen checked her temperature and found it was normal. Only then did he get up and leave the room.

Outside the villa, car lights flickered faintly. The moonlight cast a dim glow on the stark white snow.

Gu Chen slipped into the car and closed the door. ”What’s the word?”

”We’ve had people watching the local branch of the Global Superpower Academy all day. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

”Send me a copy of the video from tomorrow’s talks.”

”Got it.” Lu Wei reached out and pressed the button to lower the window. ”It’s supposed to start warming up tomorrow.”

Gu Chen glanced out the window.

”I feel like the real winter has only just begun.”

Sensing the car outside gradually drive away, Xie Ning slowly opened her eyes and stared silently at the ceiling.