Apocalypse Rebirth: Making Billions With My Fortune-Telling Skill

​April swallowed hard, her face remaining entirely frozen, though a rare, prickling heat of absolute embarrassment rushed up the back of her neck.

Driving was apparently not like playing Winecraft. There were no digital inputs here—only a raw, hyper-sensitive mechanical connection.

It lookedso easy when Samuel was driving. So why is it so difficult? She wondered. I’ll get used to it in no time.

​Determined to correct the error, she cautiously eased her foot off the brake again and tapped the gas.

The Jeep lurched forward with a hard bounce. Nervous that she was gaining too much speed inside the hangar, she panicked and hit the brake once more.

​Jerk. Slam. Jerk. Slam.

​The multi-ton, matte-black beast of a car began rocking back and forth violently in the center of the exhibition bay.

Inside the cabin, April and Alexander were being tossed back and forth like ragdolls, their heads snapping with every chaotic movement.

​”Brake! Just hold the brake!” Alexander yelled over the engine, his hands desperately gripping the ceiling handle.

​April slammed her foot down one final time, bringing the rocking car to a dead, trembling halt right before the threshold of the warehouse doors. The engine hummed deeply, mocking her silence.

​For a solid ten seconds, neither of them spoke.

​April kept her hands glued to the steering wheel at ten-and-two, staring rigidly straight ahead through the thick glass.

Her ears were burning red. In her mind, she was screaming. Seeing people do it on the streets made it look completely effortless but it was all lies. LIES!!!

​It was not effortless. It was a stressful nightmare.

​Alexander let out a long breath, slowly releasing his grip on the handle. He turned his head to look at her stiff, unmoving profile.

Seeing the untouchable, mysterious seer looking genuinely rattled and embarrassed was a sight he never expected to witness.

He thought by some miracle, she would just get the hang of it with some sort of supernatural power, but she wasn’t. She was starting out just like every average Joe.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, but he managed to keep himself from laughing out loud to save what was left of her dignity.

​”Turns out you’re actually human,” Alexander remarked, his voice dropping into a dry, teasing amusement. ”Look at your knuckles—you’re gripping that wheel so hard you’re gonna leave imprints in the leather. Relax your shoulders.”

​April didn’t move an inch. ”The pedal mechanics possess an uneven resistance distribution.”

​”No, you’re just incredibly tense,” he countered smoothly, leaning back against his seat. ”The car only does what your foot tells it to do. You don’t need to force it. Just let the weight of your foot rest on the pedal. Take a breath, ease off the brake slowly, and let the car crawl on its own first. Don’t even touch the gas until we’re completely out on the track.”

​April took a slow, steadying breath, forcing her tensed shoulders to drop by a fraction. She cautiously eased the pressure of her right foot.

​This time, the black beast didn’t surge. It rolled forward smoothly, with a silent momentum, finally leaving the shadow of the hangar doors and stepping out onto the wide, sunlit private track.

As the Jeep rolled out onto the open asphalt, the wide space seemed to give April a bit of breathing room.

She kept her foot completely off the gas, letting the heavy diesel engine gently pull them forward at a steady, slow crawl. The sun glared off the matte-black hood, and the asphalt track stretched ahead, completely empty.

​”See? That’s it,” Alexander said, his tone casual as he watched the front wheels align with the white boundary lines. ”Now, very lightly, just add a tiny bit of pressure to the right. Don’t push it, just lean your toe into it.”

​April cautiously shifted her foot over and gave the accelerator a tiny nudge. The engine hummed deeper, and the Jeep picked up speed, moving into a smooth, steady roll.

The terrifying jerking stopped. She kept her eyes glued to the center of the track, her jaw still locked tight as she carefully navigated the first wide curve. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

​”You’re drifting toward the left shoulder,” Alexander noted, his eyes tracking the front edge of the truck. ”Nudge the wheel right. Gently. Don’t yank it.”

​April turned the leather wheel by a fraction. The heavy armored frame responded instantly, shifting back into the center of the lane.

She felt the heavy resistance he had warned her about; the armor plating made the machine feel less like a regular car and more like a solid block of iron rolling down the pavement.

​”How fast am I going?” she asked flatly, refusing to take her eyes off the road to look at the dashboard.

​Alexander glanced at the speedometer and let out a dry chuckle. ”Fifteen miles per hour. A brisk jog, Miss April. You can afford to give it a little more juice. We have a straight line coming up.”

​April squeezed her toes down a bit further. The engine responded with a deep rumble, and the wind began to whistle against the thick ballistic glass as the speed climbed to thirty.

The sensation of speed, paired with the massive weight of the vehicle under her direct control, sent a sudden, sharp thrill straight through her chest.

It was entirely different from running on foot, where every step was a physical drain on her body. Here, a simple movement of her foot gave her the power to outrun anything.

​”Not bad,” Alexander admitted, watching her profile lose a bit of its rigid tension. ”Your steering is steady once you get moving. Just remember to look ahead where you want to go, not directly in front of the hood. If a horde ever blocks a road, you need to see the escape route early, not when you’re already hitting them.”

​The direct mention of the incoming world collapse brought April’s cold focus right back. She nodded once. ”Understood.”

​They completed the first full lap around the private three-mile circuit without another violent lurch.

By the second lap, April was handling the brakes with much smoother control, slowing down for the tighter curves and accelerating out of them without making the chassis rock.

Alexander stopped correcting her every move, leaning his head back against the leather headrest, looking thoroughly satisfied with his choice of gift.

​”Hey, Miss April,” Alexander said suddenly, his voice dropping into a quieter, more relaxed frequency as he stared out at the passing trees.

​”Yes?”

​”Thanks,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, looking slightly uncomfortable with the sudden drop in his usual guarded demeanor. ”For... everything with my family. My grandfather is actually sleeping through the night now. The lawyers are wrapping up the final paperwork to liquidate the non-essential assets, and we’re moving the capital directly into our shelter project. If you hadn’t shown up and told us what would happen, my grandfather and I would’ve...”

​”The exchange was mutually beneficial, Alexander,” April interrupted flatly, her eyes still fixed on the upcoming straightaway. ”You provided the necessary capital, and I provided the data required to preserve your lives. There is no need to get emotional about it.”