Apocalypse Rebirth: Making Billions With My Fortune-Telling Skill

​”If you have any questions,” Xavier spoke up, stepping forward to completely block April from the doctor’s line of sight like an impassable iron wall, ”then you should ask politely instead of rudely grabbing a woman’s arm.”

​Oliver Baxter pulled his struck hand back slowly. He didn’t rub his red wrist, nor did his expression falter under Nat’s murderous glare or Xavier’s towering barricade. He merely adjusted his glasses with two fingers.

​”The force applied to my wrist was entirely unnecessary, Nat Collins,” Oliver stated, his tone flat, even, and thoroughly unbothered. ”However, my query remains valid. Matter does not spontaneously materialize in a vacuum without an energy-to-mass displacement protocol that breaks every standard physical variable known to modern science.”

​He leaned slightly to the side, trying to peer around Xavier’s broad shoulder to catch April’s eye.

​”I have monitored spatial displacement theories for a decade,” Oliver continued, his voice tight with an obsessive, analytical rhythm. ”The ’Miracle Water’ was anomaly number one. That handkerchief was anomaly number two. You do not possess a noticeable storage device on your person, yet object retrieval occurred in less than 0.4 seconds. What is the nature of your spatial dimension?”

April didn’t hide behind Xavier, nor did she flinch at Oliver’s relentless questioning. She simply looked around Xavier’s broad shoulder, her brown eyes blinking twice in a moment of surprised disbelief.

She was a bit stunned at how he had managed to deduce that she had a spatial dimension just from observing. And he did not find it hard to believe. Rather, he wanted to actually study it.

​Emily, still leaning lightly against April’s side with her sister’s arm supporting her waist, looked between Oliver and April in utter bewilderment.

​Alexander let out a low, disbelieving whistle from the back, shaking his head. ”This guy really has no self-preservation instinct, does he? He just got threatened by the most dangerous man in the city, and he’s still asking for a physics lecture.”

​”He is single-minded to a fault,” Samuel murmured softly, his hand resting neatly over his suit jacket. ”It is both his greatest asset as a surgeon and his most dangerous social defect.”

​”Oliver Baxter, you said you were going to observe silently,” April finally spoke up, her voice dropping into a low register. ”Grabbing my arm and demanding answers to things beyond your comprehension falls well outside the terms of our agreement, does it not?”

​”Empirical observation requires active inquiry when an anomaly breaks physical law,” Oliver countered instantly, not backing down an inch. ”If you expect me to sit idly by while you casually manipulate spatial physics—”

​”I don’t expect you to do anything, Dr. Baxter,” April cut him off cleanly, her tone as sharp as a scalpel. ”Because if you open your mouth to demand answers from me one more time before I’ve even had my breakfast, I will have Xavier revoke your clearance to this facility, and Nat will ensure your hands never hold a surgical blade again.”

​Nat’s eyes gleamed behind his dark lenses, a cruel, predatory smirk spreading across his face as he took a half-step toward the doctor. ”I’m still waiting for the green light, sweetheart. Just say the word and I’ll remove his fingers one by one.”

​Oliver went quiet for a second. His analytical mind rapidly calculated the probability of Nat actually carrying out the threat versus his immediate access to April and figuring out all the things she could do.

Recognizing that pressing further in this exact second would result in his physical removal from the experiment entirely, he gave a single, rigid nod of his head.

​”A temporary pause in inquiry is acceptable,” Oliver conceded smoothly, stepping three paces back to restore his observational distance. ”I shall reserve my questions for the post-shopping survey.”

​”There won’t be a survey,” April muttered dryly under her breath.

​She tightened her arm around Emily’s waist, supporting her twin as they began walking down the sterile corridor toward the elevator.

Xavier and Nat fell into step on either side of them like an armored escort, Nat making sure to snort loudly at the doctor, while Alexander and Samuel followed right behind, leaving Oliver Baxter to trail at his strict three-pace distance, taking silent notes on his tablet.

And on the fresh line he wrote, it said, In order to walk at a closer distance and observe April Gabriel thoroughly, it seems I must gain her trust. He paused, looked up at the leads in front of him. He looked at the four men and then he looked back at the tablet, writing something fresh. A single question. How do I achieve this?! And then he underlined it.

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and the group stepped inside. The spacious interior was suddenly packed with tension, physical mass, and the absurd juxtaposition of four formidable men, a silent mad-genius surgeon, and two identical twin sisters—one supporting the other.

​Nat pressed his back against the mirrored wall, his dark shades fixed on Oliver, who stood precisely three paces away near the handrail, his stylus flying across his tablet screen.

​Subject shows heavy reliance on non-verbal boundary enforcement. Tactical assets (Reed, Collins, Greels) act as physical shields and enforce these boundaries. Strategy: To gain clearance for spatial analysis, direct confrontation yields 0% success. Alternative route required: Demonstrate utility. Become indispensable.

​Oliver paused, his silver-rimmed glasses catching the LED lighting of the elevator. He tapped the stylus against his chin, his analytical mind executing a rapid diagnostic of his current situation.

​Gaining April’s trust wasn’t a matter of social charm—a concept he found entirely inefficient anyway. It was a matter of leveraging his unique capabilities.

And at this very moment, he could use his capabilities to his advantage.

He looked at Emily, taking note of her slight postural lean, the faint residual tremor in her left hand, and the distinct lack of proper caloric intake.

​”If we are proceeding to a public commercial venue,” Oliver spoke up suddenly, his voice breaking the heavy silence of the descending elevator, ”the secondary subject—I mean Emily Gabriel—will experience acute sensory overwhelm and physical collapse within twenty minutes.”

​April didn’t turn her head, though her dark eyes flicked toward him in the mirror’s reflection. ”I didn’t ask for a medical opinion, Dr. Baxter.”

​”It is not an opinion; it is a physiological guarantee,” Oliver replied calmly, tapping a series of data points into his tablet. ”Her central nervous system has barely recovered from severe oxygen deprivation, prolonged psychological trauma, and sudden metabolic acceleration caused by your liquid anomaly. Exposing her to high-density crowds and cognitive stimulation without preliminary stabilization will cause a syncope episode.”

​Nat let out a dark, dry laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. ”You really just don’t know when to shut your mouth, do you, doc? I thought you agreed to a temporary pause in inquiry.”

​”This is not an inquiry,” Oliver countered, looking dead at Nat without a single trace of fear. ”This is preventative clinical triage. If she faints in the middle of a clothing store, your shopping expedition will be terminated prematurely. Unless, of course, Nat Collins intends to carry her shopping bags while she is unconscious?”

​Alexander snorted, quickly covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a laugh, while Samuel quietly adjusted his glasses, hiding a faint smirk. The barbarian got served. He thought.

​Xavier glanced down at April, his deep voice dropping into a quiet, grounded murmur. ”He isn’t entirely wrong about her physical condition, April. Miss Emily seems... fragile.”

​April paused, feeling the slight, irregular hitch in Emily’s breathing against her side. She looked at her sister, who was trying her best to stand tall and hold her ground, but whose pale skin still bore the faint, translucent exhaustion of someone who had walked into the jaws of death just hours ago.

She thought the revitalization water would heal everything, but some things don’t just need healing, it seemed.

​April took a quiet breath, turning her head slightly to glare at the surgeon. ”And what is your brilliant solution, Doctor?”

​Oliver’s fingers flew across his screen. ”We do not visit the public commercial sector. I have a private, high-end medical-grade tailor on call—a firm that services elite political figures requiring anti-ballistic formal wear. They can bring custom selections directly to Xavier Reed’s private estate, along with a specialized clinical nutrient drip that will restore her glucose levels while she dines.”

​He stopped typing, looking up at April through his thin lenses with a flat, unwavering gaze.

​”Efficiency maximized. Risk minimized. Zero public disruption,” Oliver stated, as if presenting a flawless mathematical equation. ”What do you think of this brilliant solution?”

​Silence fell over the elevator as the digital floor indicator clicked down to the ground level and the elevator chimed.

​Nat narrowed his eyes behind his dark shades, looking at the doctor like he was a bizarre, alien specimen. ”Did the mad scientist just actually make himself useful?”

​”It appears he did,” Xavier noted smoothly, his arm brushing against April’s shoulder as the doors slid open to the private underground garage. He looked down at April. ”It’s a logical choice. It will keep Miss Emily safe and away from prying eyes for a little longer while she recovers. Maybe that is just what she needs right now.”

​April stared at Oliver Baxter for a long, silent moment. The man was obviously arrogant, obsessed, and completely devoid of basic social etiquette, but his clinical precision was undeniable. He was useful to a fault.

​”Fine,” April flatly conceded, stepping out into the subterranean garage while holding Emily firmly at her side. ”Call your tailor. But if the food isn’t high-tier, I am letting Nat use your tablet for target practice. Be warned.”

​Oliver didn’t flinch. He simply made a swift notation on his screen.

​Protocol accepted. Utility demonstrated. Trust increment: +2%. Phase one complete.