Rebirth: Leading Families to Survive in the Apocalypse

“It’s me. As for you, how did you end up looking like this?” Lu Hao asked with a laugh.

The Xue Wanyi standing before him bore little resemblance to his former heroic self, his dark face covered with a full beard, only those bright, sparkling eyes retained some of his old look, saying he looked like a bear was truly fitting.

“Look who’s talking! I got into outdoor adventures, got sunburned, you see,” Xue Wanyi, for some reason, felt shy, perhaps because the Lu Hao in front of him was too dazzling. He didn’t know how this kid had grown, but he had become more handsome as time passed.

“By the way, how’s Guo Yang doing?” Xue Wanyi still fondly remembered the brothers from their youth. Although they were young then, they truly connected on a deep level.

“He’s doing well, now working as an investment manager,” Lu Hao replied.

“Haha, I could have guessed, his destined idol has always been the God of Wealth,” Xue Wanyi laughed heartily. Standing outside the door, Liao Yifan looked baffled by the laughter inside. Was Captain Lu always this cheerful during an interrogation?

Xue Wanyi had met Lu Hao because of Guo Yang. Although Guo Yang was carefree now, he had once been bullied by delinquents to nearly death, until Lu Hao intervened to rescue him. Coincidentally, Xue Wanyi was passing by and reported the incident to the police, and compassionately donated 800cc of blood to the severely bleeding Guo Yang, and the trio became friends from then on. Yet, after Xue Wanyi left H City, seven or eight years had flown by in the blink of an eye, and it was because of that incident he had returned and reunited with an old friend.

“Let’s talk serious, what’s going on with you?” Lu Hao could guess most of it, but wanted to hear it straight from Xue Wanyi’s mouth.

Xue Wanyi recounted his experiences to Lu Hao. He’d told his story to many police officers before, but no one believed him; he had even been sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

Cannibalism, human transmission—how could that be possible? No one would believe it if he said it out loud.

“I believe you,” Lu Hao put down the case file and looked at Xue Wanyi as he spoke.

“Brother, I knew you would believe what I say. Listen, I think I’ve even developed some kind of special power; otherwise, I would’ve been dead a long time ago,” Xue Wanyi whispered.

“Are you saying you flew up at a critical moment?” Lu Hao tapped his fingers on the table, thinking. He had turned off the surveillance in the interrogation room before coming in, so no one could hear what they were saying.

“Yeah, I don’t know how it happened. Later, I tried on my own and couldn’t do it again,” Xue Wanyi would have proven his “special power” if he could, otherwise, so many wouldn’t have thought he was mentally ill.

“I think you’ve awakened a Special Ability, but you just don’t know how to use it yet,” he felt Xue Wanyi’s Special Ability might be what Su Jin described as Wind Element, unseen and untouchable, only felt.

Xue Wanyi looked at Lu Hao in amazement, finally someone believed him. And they told him his special power was actually a Special Ability. But what does Special Ability mean, something superhuman?

“I’ll explain that to you another time. For now, try to focus your energy here,” Lu Hao pointed to his own head.

“Are you saying, use my brain to focus my thoughts?” Xue Wanyi didn’t know what energy was, but figured thinking with his brain was right. He followed Lu Hao’s instructions, aimed his hand at the stack of files on the table, and suddenly one of the files blew away like it was caught in a gust of wind, falling beside the wall.

“Did it work? Is this it?” Xue Wanyi finally experienced that familiar sensation.

“It looks like it’s the Wind Element, no doubt,” Lu Hao nodded.

“How did you know, brother? Are you also…?” Xue Wanyi felt the world had become thoroughly mystical.

Lu Hao smiled and nodded, then said, “You stay here for a while, you’ll be able to leave in a few days. Let’s keep the matter of your Special Ability to ourselves for now.”

Xue Wanyi readily agreed. This was his brother trying to pull some strings to get him out—what a great brother. Little did he know that by “in a few days,” Lu Hao was actually referring to the impending apocalypse…

As soon as Lu Hao stepped out, Liao Yifan rushed over, “How did it go, Captain Lu? He was somewhat interesting, right? It seemed like you guys had a pleasant chat.”

“Yeah, thanks for this time.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal with me. We’re practically brothers. If you really want to thank me, when are you going to have another match with me?” Liao Yifan patted Lu Hao’s shoulder. Man, was he solid.

“Hehe,” Lu Hao walked away without turning back.

Hehe, what does that mean? Liao Yifan pursed his lips but didn’t take it to heart and turned around to joyfully find someone to arm-wrestle with.

Su Jin and Mao Zhihang also had a smooth experience. The owner of a small supermarket wanted to urgently sell his shop because he needed to return to his hometown to care for a sick family member. There were only three months of rent left on the store, meaning temporarily they’d only need to pay for three months’ rent to the supermarket owner.

After examining the small supermarket, Su Jin and Mao Zhihang noticed that the shelves were still stocked full, and there was also a back corridor crammed with supplies. Su Jin glanced at Mao Zhihang, who nodded in understanding, and then they started negotiating the transfer with the store owner.

Even Mao Zhihang didn’t realize that unconsciously, everyone at home began to follow Su Jin’s lead. Her words and her actions influenced the whole family, and he just subconsciously listened to Su Jin, finding that her suggestions coincided with his.

The store owner was a middle-aged man whose mother had gotten sick recently. Worried sick, he had already sent his wife back to take care of her, but since she was hospitalized, his wife was very busy on her own. He was very polite and friendly with the two visitors who wanted to buy his store.

“I won’t charge you for the shelves, just pay me three months’ rent and the cost price of these goods,” said the middle-aged man, determined to sell off his store, hence he made various concessions.

“Okay, boss, we can pay today,” Su Jin saw that Mao Zhihang and the middle-aged owner had almost finished discussing, so she decisively made the final decision.

The middle-aged owner nodded. He could tell that, although it was Mao Zhihang who talked business with him, it was the young girl who made the decisions. Having run the store for decades, he felt comfortable transferring it to them and promptly pulled out a transfer contract and receipt he had prepared beforehand.

Lin Cheng, Huang Yunxiang, and Lin Xiuyuan found an outdoor gear store together.

Honestly, most people wouldn’t know what to buy in an outdoor gear store, but while looking at this one, they found many items that were very useful for them, things they hadn’t thought of when stockpiling. Items like flashlights, anti-slip chains for cars, first aid kits, folding tables and chairs, ropes, cookware, and even a foldable portable toilet…

Lin Xiuyuan had never paid attention to these items before, but now they truly opened his eyes.

Lin Cheng then called Su Jin to report the situation. Since Su Jin was almost done on her end, she agreed to drive over to take a look.

After Su Jin checked out the outdoor gear store chosen by her uncle’s family, she immediately decided to buy it. Lin Xiuyuan felt excited but also worried; buying so much now, but what if they couldn’t take it all with them later? This kind of street-front store was easily susceptible to robbery.

Su Jin looked at him appreciatively when she heard Lin Xiuyuan’s concerns, thinking that he wasn’t as foolish as she had presumed, considering he worried the store might be robbed.

“Don’t worry, my dear little brother, just leave these matters to me, really, there’s no such thing as too much stuff,” Su Jin said mysteriously to Lin Xiuyuan.

“Yeah, right, that sounds nice. Do you have a storage bag or something?” Lin Xiuyuan rolled his eyes, unsure of what Su Jin was scheming.

Su Jin stumbled a bit, this Lin Xiuyuan was quite something.